User:Drachenfyre/ArchiveThis

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[edit] Melisende

Hi Drachenfrye, you've been making good edits, just a matter of fixing the spelling mostly :) I'm not sure why Eleanor and Maud were chosen to succeed William and Henry...as far as I know, Aquitaine was dominated by outsiders (England and France), so it wasn't too important there to have a strong male leader. And in England it turned out to be a mistake on Henry's part, since it led to a horrible civil war. As for Jerusalem, which is what I study so I am somewhat better informed, there was first of all the unusual situation of Baldwin II having four daughters, and secondly there was no specific law or rule for the succession. It was the custom that whoever was the closest relative of the previous king and was already in the kingdom would be chosen (thus Godfrey and Baldwin I's older brother Eustace was passed over twice). 1131 was the first time the kingdom passed from a father to a child, so there was no custom about that particular procedure. I'm sure Baldwin knew it would be a problem, since he took so much trouble to arrange a marriage to Fulk, and I suppose Jerusalem was lucky that there was no all-out civil war like there was in England. I hope that helps...I don't really know enough to attempt to analyze England or Aquitaine. Adam Bishop 06:12, 4 Mar 2005 (UTC)

By the way, where are you getting this info about Melisende? From the source you gave on the page, I assume? (that is, "Medieval Women, edited by Derek Baker, Ecclesiatical History Society, 1978") Adam Bishop 03:00, 5 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Thanks, I'll take a look at those books. About Maud, yeah, it's just the Wikipedia convention to spell it "Maud", we could just as easily write "Maude" or even "Matilida", but for whatever reason we've picked the Maud form. I've seen a number of spellings for "Melisende" as well but that seems to be the most usual way. By the way, if you type ~~~~ on talk pages, it will leave a signature! Adam Bishop 05:33, 5 Mar 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Elizabeth

Welcome to Wikipedia! It has been held by the courts that the Sovereign cannot hold a peerage title, because the Sovereign is him or herself the source of such titles. Thus, the Queen would not be Countess of Chester; it is the Prince of Wales who holds this earldom. The Queen owns the Duchy of Lancaster, but the title "Duke of Lancaster" is not used (again, since it is a peerage title). -- Emsworth 11:43, 4 Mar 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Melisende Psalter

Well, the sources I used suggest that Fulk commissioned it (especially as it seems to have his name on it), although I'm sure Melisende knew about it - not like it was a surprise birthday present or something. No one really knows though, only the circumstancial evidence from the calendar suggests it was even commissioned for/by Melisende at all. Adam Bishop 01:04, 9 Mar 2005 (UTC)

The library here doesn't seem to have the Hamilton book you're using, but I knew who he was because I have seen his book about Baldwin IV. It sounds interesting though, I'll have to check at other libraries. As for Agnes, Guy, Sibylla, Raymond, and Baldwin, it's very difficult sometimes to sort out who was a member of which faction and who was influencing whom. You might also want to see if you can find a copy of William of Tyre's chronicle, there is an English translation of it, and that is where Hamilton is getting his information (William himself was a member of Raymond's faction). Also, I suppose it would be appropriate to use the Melisende Psalter image on the Melisende article, although it doesn't depict Melisende herself. I'll add that. Adam Bishop 00:35, 12 Mar 2005 (UTC)

You'll have to ask Alberia about that picture, I don't know where it comes from. I'm pretty sure it's not from the Psalter...it doesn't look familiar, anyway. Adam Bishop 00:19, 16 Mar 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Sibylla

Heh, I think you may have seen the crappy hand-drawn map I made...but it's not in any article at the moment. We've tried to find good maps of the crusader states in the past, but it's very difficult to find a suitable map for the kingdom specifically. Anyway, I'll look at Sibylla, thanks. Adam Bishop 04:13, 15 Mar 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Re: Melisende Image

Hi Drachenfyre! Since Adam inquired about the Melisende image I've contacted my source to see if he can direct us to the original art work. The image was found here: http://www.guide2womenleaders.com/womeninpower/Womeninpower1100.htm. I'm still scouring around to find other sources that name that image as Melisende. I'll let you know what I find. Alberia Torkenkluvin 16:33, Mar 21, 2005 (UTC)

My source says it's part of the Melisende Psalter, but I haven't been able to confirm that by viewing the manuscript. Do you have any resource online for viewing it in it's entirety? Alberia Torkenkluvin 18:15, Mar 22, 2005 (UTC)

The whole thing isn't online, but there are a few books that have pictures (the ones listed in the Melisende Psalter article. I'll take a look at them again when I have the chance, although as far as I remember the pictures look much different than the one we have here. But there were a bunch of different artists involved, so who knows. Adam Bishop 00:53, 23 Mar 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Sandbox

[edit] 21st century

In a speach at the 2000 National Eisteddfod at Llanelli, Cynog Dafis, Plaid Cymru AM, called for a new Welsh language movement with greater powers to lobby for the Welsh language at the Assembly, UK, and EU levels.^[1] Dafis felt the needs of the language were ignored during the first year of the Assembly, and that in order to ensure a dynamic growth of the Welsh language a properly resourced strategy was needed^[1] In his speach Dafis encouraged other Welsh language advocacy groups to work closer together creating a more favorable climate in which in which using Welsh was "attractive, exciting, a source of pride and a sign of strength".^[1] Additionally, Dafis pointed towards efforts in areas such as Catalonia and the Basque country as successful examples to emulate.^[1]

Lord Elis-Thomas, former Plaid Cymru president, dissagreed with Dafis assessment, however. At the Urdd Eisteddfod Lord Elis-Thomas said that there was no need for another Welsh language act, citing that there was "enough goodwill to safeguard the language's future".^[2] His controversal comments prompted Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg to joined a chorus calling for his resignation as the Assembly's presiding officer.^[2]

[edit] 2001 census and Second Home Controversy

In 1991 the Welsh language stabilized at the 1981 level of 18.5%.

According to the 2001 census the number of Welsh speakers in Wales increased for the first time in over 100 years, with 20.5% in a population of over 2.9 million claiming fluency in Welsh, or one in five.^[3] Additionally, 28% of the population of Wales claimed to understand Welsh.^[4] The census revealed that the increase was most significant in urban areas; such as Cardiff with an increase from 6.6% in 1991 to 10.9% in 2001, and Rhondda Cynon Taf with an increase from 9% in 1991 to 12.3% in 2001.^[5] However, the number of Welsh speakers declined in Gwynedd from 72.1% in 1991 to 68.7%, and in Ceredigion from 59.1% in 1991 to 51.8%.^[6] Ceredigion in particular experienced the greatest fluctuation with a 19.5% influx of new residents since 1991.^[7]

The decline in Welsh speakers in Gwynedd and Ynys Môn may be attributable to non-Welsh-speaking residents moving to North Wales, driving up property rates above what local Welsh speakers may afford, according to former Gwynedd county councilor Seimon Glyn of Plaid Cymru.

Glyn was commenting on a report underscoring the delemma of rocketing house prices outstripping what locals could pay, with the report warning that '...traditional Welsh communities could die out..." as a consequence.^[8]

Much of the rural Welsh realistate market was driven by buyers looking for second homes for use as holiday homes, or for retirement. Many buyers were drawn to Wales from England because of relatively inexpensive house prices in Wales as compared to house prices in England.^[9][10] The rise in home prices outpaced the average earnings income in Wales, and ment that many local people could not afford to purchase their first home or compete with second-home buyers.^[10]

In 2001 nearly a third of all properties in Gwynedd were bought by buyers from out of the county, and with some communities reporting as many as a third of local homes used as holiday homes.^[11][12] Holiday home owners spend less then six months of the year in the local community.

The issue of locals being priced out of the local housing market is common to many rural communities throughout Britain, but in Wales the added dimension of language further complicated the issue, as many new residents did not learn the Welsh language.^{[11][13] [14][15]}

Concern for the Welsh language under these pressures prompted Glyn to say "Once you have more than 50% of anybody living in a community that speaks a foreign language, then you lose your indigenous tongue almost immediately".^[16]

Plaid Cymru had long advocated controls on second homes, and a 2001 taskforce headed by Dafydd Wigley recommended land should be allocated for affordable local housing, and called for grants for locals to buy houses, and recommended council tax on holiday homes should double, following similar measures in the Scottish Highlands.^[12][13][16]

However the Welsh Labour-Liberal Democrat Assembly coalition rebuffed these proposals, with Assembly housing spokesman Peter Black stating that "we [can not] frame our planning laws around the Welsh language", adding "Nor can we take punitive measures against second home owners in the way that they propose as these will have an impact on the value of the homes of local people".^[16]

In contrast, by fall 2001 the Exmoor National Park authority in England began consideration to limit second home ownership there which was also driving up local housing prices by as much as 31%. ^[14] Elfyn Llwyd, Plaid Cymru's Parliamentary Group Leader, said that the issues in Exmoor National Park were the same as in Wales, however in Wales there is the added dimension of language and culture.^[14]

Reflecting on the controversy Glyn's comments caused earlier in the year, Llwyd observed "What is interesting is of course it is fine for Exmoor to defend their community but in Wales when you try to say these things it is called racist..."^[14]

Llwyd called on other parties to join in a debate to bring the Exmoor experience to Wales when he said "... I really do ask them and I plead with them to come around the table and talk about the Exmoor suggestion and see if we can now bring it into Wales".^[14]

By spring 2002 both the Snowdonia National Park (Welsh: Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri) and Pembrokeshire Coast National Park (Welsh: Parc Cenedlaethol Arfordir Penfro) authorities began limiting second home ownership within the parks, following the example set by Exmoor.^[17] According to planners in Snowdonia and Pembroke applicants for new homes must demonstrate a proven local need or the applicant had strong links with the area.

[edit] 21st Century discrimination

Dispite provisions in the Welsh Language Act 1993 providing an equal footing for the Welsh language in the public sector, Welsh speakers faced continued discrimination in the workplace and education. The Welsh Language Act of 1993 does not cover the rights of individual Welsh speakers in the workplace.^[18]

In 2001 hotel chef Gwilym Williams was awarded £10,738 for his 1996 wrongful termination suite against the owners of the Stables Hotel in Llanwnda, Gwynedd.^[19] According to testemony William's was dismissed because he refused to speak English to fellow Welsh-speaking colleagues.^[20]

In 2003 fast-food giant McDonald's failed to provide bilingual literature during a student union gathering at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, or in its resturant located there.^[21]

In 2005 Nottingham University in England initially rejected the application of Cemlyn Davies from attending there, citing that Davies' study of Welsh was unacceptable for qualification as it was Davies' native language.^[22]

In 2007 travel agency Thomas Cook was taken to court over its language policy, which baned all languages other then English in its workplace and when discussing work-related matters.^[18] The company cited the need for clear communication among employees and management, and noted that English was the common language of the UK.^[18] The position

It seems that the rise of Welsh nationalism rallied supporters of the language, and the establishment of Welsh television and radio found a mass audience which was encouraged in the retention of its Welsh. Perhaps most important of all, at the end of the twentieth century it became compulsory for all school children to learn Welsh up to age 16, and this both reinforced the language in Welsh-speaking areas and reintroduced at least an elementary knowledge of it in areas which had become more or less wholly Anglophone. The decline in the percentage of people in Wales who can speak Welsh has now been halted, and there are even signs of a modest recovery. However, although Welsh is the daily language in many parts of Wales, English is almost universally understood.

[edit] William of Tyre

Thanks! I've seen the coat of arms they have on the French Wikipedia, but we have one too, on Kingdom of Jerusalem. I like ours better :) I don't think it's necessary to put it on every article, though.

What atlases did you find? They are probably not public domain unless they are really old, like more than 80 years.

I've been using the standard English translation of William of Tyre, I should write a proper citation when I use it, I'll fix those eventually. (The Latin version is in the Medieval Studies library but we can't take books out from there.) Adam Bishop 02:43, 28 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Yeah, Babcock and Krey is the standard English translation. The Latin is in the Corpus Christianorum series (volume 68 and 69, I think), although I imagine that would not be in a public library. The citation for the Derek Baker book you've been using would probably be "Derek Baker, ed., Medieval Women, Oxford: Ecclesiastical History Society, 1978." It seems to have a further title, "dedicated and presented to Professor Rosalind M. T. Hill on the occasion of her seventieth birthday", as far as I can tell (but I don't have the book in front of me). Rosalind Hill, by the way, translated another crusade chronicle, the Gesta Francorum, it's pretty interesting (not much about medieval women in it though). Adam Bishop 03:49, 28 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I don't have the book but I can look at it if I have time. I don't know about the Cathars though, there are a lot of reasonable explanations for women inheriting property without involving them. Don't get too enthusiastic...I know it's fun to explore theories that don't get much attention, but there is a lot of nonsense concerning the Cathars. Adam Bishop 05:04, 28 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I'm not sure what to suggest...do a subject search for "medieval women" in your library catalogue, that might be a good start. And look through the bibliographies of any books you find, those always point to something interesting. I have no special knowledge of this area so I don't know what specific books you should look for. Maybe you could ask User:Mississippienne, I think she might be able to help. Adam Bishop 00:26, 29 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I hope this doesn't get lost among Mississippienne's response, but I forgot to ask - who says Boulogne was a Cathar stronghold? That seems very strange, they shouldn't be that far north. Adam Bishop 07:29, 29 Mar 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Medieval heiresses

Hello Drachenfyre! You contacted me regarding the inheritance of medieval heiress. The only case I've studied in any detail is that of the Empress Maud, the daughter of King Henry I of England. In that case, many factors were at work. Maude was Henry's only surviving legitimate child; moreover, she was porphyrogenita, born in the purple, born of a reigning king. Henry himself had been porphyrogenitus, a fact that in the eyes of many made him a fitter king than his elder brothers.

At the time of the death of William Adelin, Henry's heir apparent, there was still a surviving, legitimate male-line descendant of William the Conqueror: William Clito, Henry's nephew. But Henry was reluctant to nominate William Clito as his heir for various reasons. First of all, he had taken the throne of England from William Clito's father, Robert. Henry making William Clito his heir would've been admitting that his entire reign was illegal, not something Henry was eager to admit to. Also, Henry was not terribly old at that time, and seemed confident that he could father more children. His second marriage was childless, but Henry could not have known that at the time. Had he sired a legitimate, porphyrogenitus son by Adeliza of Louvain, neither William Clito nor Maude would've been neccesary as heirs.

Henry was a smart man, however, and one to hedge his bets. After a few fruitless years with Adeliza, he married Maude to Geoffrey of Anjou. This had two-fold intentions: (1) to produce grandchildren as heirs for England, (2) to secure a long-term alliance with Anjou. Henry had long sought an alliance with the Angevins; William Adelin's wife had been Geoffrey's sister. The next year William Clito died, childless, so even that remote possibility was gone. It wasn't until 1133 that Maude actually produced a child, the future Henry II of England, no doubt much to her father's relief.

But why didn't Henry nominate another male relative instead of Maude? Well, his infant grandson was too young. William Clito was dead. His sons were all illegitimate, including the eldest and most capable, Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester, who was not only a bastard but also not porphyrogenitus. His favorite nephew, Stephen, was there at court, but Stephen was not his son and Henry doesn't seem to have believed that Stephen would make a successful king (he was right, as later events would show).

Maude, on the other hand, was his legitimate, porphyrogenita daughter. In her veins flowed the blood of the old Anglo-Saxon kings. She was married to the Count of Anjou (a powerful warrior) and had a legitimate son. Henry probably hoped that by making his barons swear loyalty to her, that the transition from his reign to hers would flow smoothly. It didn't, but once again, he couldn't have known that at the time. Missi

[edit] Kings of Jerusalem

Hi! In response to your note at User talk:Wetman, hope you'll approve of the tweaks I made, all designed to fit the article within broader context. Should there be an italicized header: "Main article on the Kingdom itself is at Kingdom of Jerusalem.? I'm not genealogically competent to assess the data in bio-genealogies themselves. --Wetman 09:50, 29 Mar 2005 (UTC)

[edit] The Empress Maude and her dynasty

Hello Drachenfyre,

Firstly, a note on names. William Adelin's name derives from the Anglo-Saxon word "Æthling", meaning prince. Similarly, his cousin William Clito's name derives from the Latin "clito", also meaning prince. These names were used not only to differentiate from one another (there being a surplus of Williams around this time) but also to reflect their royal descent, they being the only princes in the legitimate male-line descent from the Conqueror.

As for Geoffrey of Anjou, an alliance with the Angevins had long been sought by King Henry. Fulk V of Anjou had long been a thorn in Henry's side, but not one he could ignore. The marriage of William Adelin to Fulk's daughter was supposed to forge a permanent alliance, but of course this was dashed by the White Ship disaster. So Maude and Geoffrey was another grafting of the same families. Robert of Torigny, when talking about the marriage, rather apologetically says that while the Count of Anjou was nowhere near the Emperor of the Germans in dignity and prestige, but still Geoffrey was of a noble line and a descendant of Charlemagne.

Orderic Vitalis says that Henry intended Geoffrey to be a "commander on his wife's behalf", a powerful warrior who would safeguard the succession of Maude and her son. Henry doesn't ever seem to have intended Geoffrey to wield any real political power in England -- he gave Geoffrey no lands, no titles, no official positions at all. He was to be content with Anjou, now that his father left to be king of Jerusalem. So it's no surprise Henry II emphasized his status as "FitzEmpress" -- his claim to the throne, and his claim to power, came through his mother, not his father. Missi

[edit] Changing attribution

There is a way to do it: Wikipedia:Changing attribution for an edit, but I think there is an enormous backlog and it may take months (if ever) for those edits to be assigned to your username. Adam Bishop 03:25, 8 Apr 2005 (UTC)

[edit] King Guy

Well, let me see if I can remember what happened then...basically, when Richard and Philip showed up on the Third Crusade, they assumed that there was no longer a king or a kingdom, because almost all of it had been lost (except Tyre, thanks to Conrad of Montferrat). They eventually took back Acre and most of the rest of the Mediterranean coast. But neither Richard nor Philip were willing to simply restore Guy, especially as there were other people with better claims, for example Isabella. If they were going to restore the kingdom to anyone, they wanted it to be a blood relative of the last reigning royal family member, that is, Sibylla, who was now dead, as you say. This is why Isabella was married so many times - whoever was married to her had the best claim to the throne. Therefore, Conrad became king in 1192, when the Crusade was basically over and they were finally able to restore the kingdom, in Acre. Conrad was supported by Philip, while Richard had supported Guy, and in compensation for losing Jerusalem, Richard gave Guy Cyprus instead. Does that make any sense? It's pretty confusing. Adam Bishop 04:10, 8 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Oh, I see what you mean...I don't know what happened in 1190, I'll have to look it up. I assume Guy still considered himself king, because everyone had bigger problems to worry about than the specific details of succession. Conrad didn't recognize him as king even while Sibylla was still alive, and he seemed to realize the importance of marrying Isabella, but I don't think Isabella was promoted as queen in 1190. As I said though, I'm not really sure...I'll see if I can find anything more definite. Adam Bishop 15:14, 14 Apr 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Star Wars wikipedia

Greetings! I JUST discovered the Star Wars Wikipedia you started! I love it! I was the one responsible for the Naboo major rewrite on 11 Nov 04, when I myself just discovered the wikipedia. I didnt have an acct at first, then created one under Wildorchid- then forgot my access code, now am back as drachenfyre. I saw that there was a Star Wars Wikipedia through the SOE Galaxies forums: were you the one to post there? I am gald to see my contrabutions in Naboo and Corellia are going to good use.Drachenfyre

Hello, Drachenfyre. I was not around in November, but signed up for Wikipedia on Jan 5, 2005. Also I haven't been to the SOE Galaxies forums, so it must have been someone else, and I might have a good idea who. Also, I should let you know that I only was a co-founder. Credit for getting the wiki off the ground goes to WhiteBoy. I hope you do make good contributions at Wookieepedia. -- Riffsyphon1024 02:31, Apr 19, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Cathars, Troubadours, and Women

Hi! Sorry to take such a long time to reply to you. The idea of the troubadours veneration of the domna being linked to Catharism is an old classic, as far as I can tell: it appears to me that e.g. René Nelli, L'Érotique des troubadours, Toulouse: Privat, 1963 espouses that view (but I've only glanced at it), and it is certainly often mentioned. It might spring partly from the once-common perception of the cathars as proto-protestants. While it is of course difficult to ascertain exactly what the beliefs of the cathars were (see e.g. Peter Biller, 'Through a Glass Darkly: Seeing Medieval Heresy', The Medieval World ed. Peter Linehan and Janet L. Nelson, London and New York: Routledge, 2001; Mark Gregory Pegg, 'On Cathars, Albigenses, and Good Men of Languedoc', Journal of Medieval History 27 (2001), 181-95; and indeed the first chapter of John H. Arnold, History: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), it appears to me that the troubadours probably weren't cathars, nor significantly influenced by catharism. Linda Paterson emphasises that cathars' focus on the spiritual world, and abhorrence of the physical world, and the consequent dislike of sexuality per se, especially female. This dualism also included the idea of Jesus as 'pure spirit', '[t]he role of the Virgin Mary was therefore very much reduced: for some, she was the symbol of the Church, for others a woman through whom Christ had passed in order to appear in spiritual form on earth' (The World of the Troubadours: Medieval Occitan Society, c. 1100- c. 1300, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993, p. 335). She also notes that while a few women did indeed have the status of perfect, they were few and far between. And, 'Cathars commonly held woman to be an instrument of the Fall of heavenly spririts...some Cathars thought women had to change into men to be admitted to heaven' (p. 251). The desexualised nature of Catharism also jars with the frankly sexualised veneration of the troubadours. Regarding inheritance etc., it's a vexed question, but it does appear that under customary law in Occitania, women could inherit at least something, and some did indeed inherit large lands they ruled by their own authority (see Paterson; Fredric L. Cheyette, Ermengard of Narbonne and the World of the Troubadours, Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2001). However, through the twelfth and thirteenth centuries this changed (a classic article is Cheyette, ‘Suum cuique tribuere’, French Historical Studies 6 (1969/70), 287-99; see also F. R. P. Akehurst, ‘The Legal Background of the Troubadours and Trouvères’, The Cultural Milieu of the Troubadours and Trouvères, ed. Nancy van Deusen, Ottawa: Institute of Medieval Studies, 1994). William Paden also has some interesting comments in his introduction to The Voice of the Trobairitz: Perspectives on the Women Troubadours, Philadelphia: Pennsylvania University Press, 1989.In conclusion, I wouldn't link Catharism to the troubadours in any significant way, especially as regards the domna of their lyric. I hope I answered some of your questions! Tobyox 08:04, Apr 21, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] CJZ and Welsh

Hello, Drachenfyre,

Just saw that your attention was drawn to the same line in the Catherine Zeta Jones article as was mine. I've never seen or heard of her in Welsh-language projects. I'm not altogether sure that she is a Welsh-speaker, native or otherwise. Telsa 14:20, 30 Apr 2005 (UTC)

The original source for the Welsh fluency was, I gather from Gabbe, from IMDb, but IMDb lists no Welsh-language projects in her filmography. I hadn't heard that about chatting with Hopkins -- indeed, I wasn't aware that he spoke it either -- but I am happy to be corrected. I have never heard/seen her on S4C/Radio Cymru, but I don't have them on 24 hours a day and only started learning the language long after she departed for Hollywood. You're quite right about the house, incidentally: there has been much coverage in the local paper. (I live in Swansea.) Anyway, I shall try to find out about this once and for all. For every reference I find claiming she speaks Welsh, I find another (often in Welsh) saying she doesn't. Baffling. It would be nice if Wikipedia had it right, whichever the answer is! Telsa 18:16, 1 May 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Kingdom of Heaven

I haven't figured anything more out about Isabella yet...I don't think there is a clear answer, there was just too much chaos at the time.

The movie was entertaining I suppose, but barely historical...the best part was Raynald's execution, I think. I can see where they have taken other things directly from William or Ernoul, and I can understand why some things are extremely simplified. But the reason you've never read that Balian was a blacksmith from France is because he wasn't :) And Ibelin wasn't a dusty piece of land either! My biggest problem was not with the characters, but with geography - Saladin crosses the Jordan and then goes to Kerak, for example. Oh well. Adam Bishop 22:42, 10 May 2005 (UTC)

Well, I was going by the claim - otherwise, there are two years where the kingship is vacant, essentially. I suppose we could say in the box that Guy claimed it and Isabella was the eventual true heir.

By the way, where are you getting the info about the relationship between Balian and Sibylla? I am unfamiliar with that. Adam Bishop 04:27, 11 May 2005 (UTC)

Oh, I see...yeah I still have the Medieval Women book in the pile of books in my room, I just haven't looked at it yet! :) Thanks! I wish there was an English translation of Ernoul, but I'll look there too. Adam Bishop 05:18, 11 May 2005 (UTC)

Oooh, I see what's going on now...Baldwin of Ibelin wanted to marry Sibylla, not Balian. Balian's his younger brother, and the character in the movie. Balian actually married Sibylla's step-mother Maria Comnena. Adam Bishop 06:25, 11 May 2005 (UTC)

Ok, I changed the box to say "vacant" with Guy as claimant as Isabella as legal heir. Is that better? By the way, we don't necessarily have to take Bernard Hamilton's word for everything...there are plenty other crusade scholars out there :) As for Balian and Sibylla, sure, stranger relationships have happened or were claimed to have happened (Eleanor of Aquitaine and her uncle Raymond of Antioch, for example)...but Sibylla didn't seem to think Guy was detestable, despite what the movie says. She was scheming with him the whole time. Adam Bishop 15:13, 11 May 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Agnes of Courtenay

Sure, that's fine...I'll keep editing them as I see them, Agnes could still use some work when I get more time. Adam Bishop 7 July 2005 18:03 (UTC)

[edit] Baldwin I and II

No, they certainly weren't brothers...Baldwin I, Godfrey, and Eustace were brothers, Baldwin II was a more distant relative. Adam Bishop 03:26, 15 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Latin titles

Hi, you got some of them already:

• King/Queen is Rex/Regina
• Prince/Princess is Princeps/Principessa
• Duke/Duchess is Dux/Ducissa
• Count/Countess is Comes/Comitissa
• Baron/Baroness is Baro/Baronissa
• Marquis/Marquess (or whatever the English forms are!) are Marchio/Marchionnisa (or Marquisus/Marquisa)
• Lord/Lady is Dominus/Domina (this is more common than Baro/Baronissa, I think, especially because "baro" doesn't always mean "baron" in a noble sense, it can just mean "man" or "husband")
• Emperor/Empress is Imperator/Imperatrix
• Constable is Comestabulus, and probably Comestabula in the feminine, but I don't think there were ever any female constables
• Marshal was Marescalus or Mareschalus (same for constables, no women)
• Seneschal was Senescalus or Seneschalus (again, no women)

Any others? Are you wondering about titles for Jerusalem specifically, or just in general? There are a lot more, depending on the area and time period (but not that many more for Jerusalem). Adam Bishop 16:18, 24 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Melisende image again

As I said here a few months ago, it just doesn't look right...you can see a couple of pictures on the Melisende Psalter article, and they don't look like the supposed Melisende image. There are some other clues: most of the Psalter images are religious in nature, so why would there be a picture of Melisende? And, more importantly, there's no direct evidence that it was even written for Melisende. If there was an image specifically identifying Melisende in the Psalter itself, then there would be no problem identifying who it was written for. The more I think about it, the less likely it seems that it is a picture of her! Adam Bishop 16:00, 2 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Latin

I don't know, it would depend on the name...for medieval names there are always a few different ways of spelling them in Latin. Where did you see Melisende as "Melisendum"? I have never seen that spelling before, and it seems impossible, since no female name should end in -um... Adam Bishop 17:02, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Oh, right, Melisendem, that is fine...Melisendum is much different. William spells her name "Melisendis" or "Milisendis", which (if I may be technical for a moment) in Latin means it is a third declension noun, and becomes "Melisendem" in the accusative case (and in the sentence quoted by Hamilton she is the direct object of the verb "resedit"). Melisenda, Melissenda, Milissenda, etc, are other ways of spelling her name (it was a popular name in northern France). Spelled like that, the accusative would end in -am. The -um ending is masculine (or neuter), for example Melisende's father Baldwin is "Balduinus" in William's Latin, which would be "Balduinum" in the accusative. I hope this makes sense :) Adam Bishop 18:56, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Images

Uploading images from old manuscripts is probably fine...I've done that (the image in William of Tyre for example). As long as you say what manuscript it's from, I think it's acceptable. I have The Crusades: An Illustrated History at home, actually...at least I'm pretty sure, is it by Thomas Madden? I never really looked through it though! I should bring it back with me next time I'm at home. Maybe that image was from the Histoire, that would make sense. I'll help out as much as I can, let me know what you find! Adam Bishop 05:55, 21 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Kingdom of Gwynedd

Hello again, another question. On the Kingdom of Gwynedd page, list of Gwynedd rulers, I wish to distingish the direct decendents froom Rhdori Mawr from any "usurpers" who rulled or annexed Gwynedd for only their own personal lifetime. I am thinking that it would be too cumbersom to list next to their name, but also too confusing to create a seperate list. Ill look it over but please review ok? Thanx! Drachenfyre 20:05, 25 February 2006 (UTC)

Hi

That would indeed be a good idea. What about putting a (*) or something similar next to the name and a note above or below the list saying that (*) indicates someone not descended from Rhodri Mawr?

As regards the name Melisende, I'm pretyy sure I've seen "Melisent" used in Welsh, but I'll need to check it. I enjoyed reading the articles - I'll have a go at doing them in Welsh one of these days, though it might have to be a summary at first to get things started. Rhion 20:17, 25 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Sibylla and Agnes

Not sure why you changed my work on the Sibylla of Jerusalem and Agnes of Courtenay pages, re: the Old French Continuation of William of Tyre's account of Sibylla's marriage to Guy. This is not regarded as a reliable account - stylistically, it shows strong influences from romance, as well as being politically loaded. The ref. to Sibylla as "fickle" was about the OFC's characterisation of her. Baldwin of Ibelin was in the Kingdom of Jerusalem (he was on bail) at the time of the marriage. It's clear that the marriage to Guy was cooked up quickly to prevent Raymond and Bohemund's plan to force a marriage to Baldwin of Ibelin. Have you read Hamilton's The Leper King & His Heirs? Silverwhistle 09:20, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

Hamilton's The Leper King & His Heirs (2000) is more recent than his piece on the Queens of Jerusalem (1978 - crusade studies have come a long way since then!). It gives more detail on the politics of Baldwin IV's reign, and I recommend it highly. Yes, Raymond was attempting to marry her off to Baldwin of Ibelin, but how does that give credibility to the notion of a 'romance' portrayed in the Old French Continuation, with love-letters and such? It's pure power-politics: Raymond and Bohemund had no interest in what Sibylla might have wanted, they just wanted to marry her to one of their own faction. As for your claim re: Sibylla and Guy - "She might just as easily have been his prisoner in 1184 as his accomplice" - There's universal agreement among all the sources, pro and anti, that, whatever might be said against them politically, they were a devoted couple. She even stuck by him at Acre, to the cost of her own and their children's lives, and was regarded as a model wife for doing so.

Re: the Aleramici - I've been researching Conrad since I was in my teens, and find him quite remarkable - dashing and engaging and tragic. I love the trobadors his family supported, too. I also like his sister Azalais, although I could cheerfully hit Boniface for screwing up re: the Fourth Crusade. Listening to the Venetians was a bad idea... Silverwhistle 10:12, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] ap v/s ab

Hello again :) I have a question about the differences between the two. I know ap means son of, but does not ab mean grandson of? The reason I ask is because of Gruffydd ap Cynan was known in historical records as Gruffydd ab Iago

"When Gruffydd first appeared on the scene in Wales the Welsh annals several times refer to him as "grandson of Iago" rather than the more usual "son of Cynan", indicating that his father was little known in Wales." From Cynan ap Iago page.

So I am confused. Also, if ab is not grandson of, is there a patronomic for this?

Hope you have enjoyed your wikibreak!Drachenfyre 02:56, 17 April 2006 (UTC)

Hi! I see James got in first with the explanation of this. In modern Welsh "grandson" is "wyr" (with a circumflex which I'n too jetlagged to remember the charcters for at the moment). "grandson of" was not normally used as a patronymic; the description of Gruffydd [ap Cynan] in the annals as "the grandson of Iago" is the only example I know of this, and must indicate that his father was unknown in Wales whereas his grandfather was known.

I'll get back to you regarding Welsh law and inhertance by women when I've had a chance to consult "The Welsh law of women". Basically, I think, there had to be no male member of the kindred with a claim. Rhion 15:00, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

Hellow there.I didn't understand your question fully but i think you asked for the diffrance between "ab" and "ap".It simple, Ab is used when a vowel is after it while Ap is used before a consonant(did i spell that right?). The Vowels in the welsh language are: e, i, o, u, w, y. E.x. Gruffydd ab Iago - Letter I which is a vowel is the first letter of the fathers name so ab is used.Sion 22:45, 4 December 2006 (UTC)

Hi I've finally got my home internet connection back - sorry to take so long in responding. "Ap" dates at least as far back as the 12th century. Previously, "vab" ("fab" in modern orthograohy) would have been used. "Map" is a very old form, and there would certainly be no justification for using "Llywelyn map Gruffydd" for example.Rhion 12:29, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Melisende of Jerusalem

Greetings. I have a strange request. I am a Welsh learner but clearly do not have any expertise in translating. I rewrote an artical that I truely wish to see translated into Welsh. The artical is on Melisende of Jerusalem. In your free time, might you translate that artical for me? It would mean alot to me to see it written in "the language of heaven". Also, can you tell me for truth if Melisant or Melisent is the Welsh version of Melisende? I know that Melissendia appears in the Merionedd Lay Subsidy rolls of 1293.

thank you very much for any assistance you might be able to give,Drachenfyre 14:38, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Hi, Drachenfyre. You really will have to wait a while, I'm afraid - at least until September. At the moment I'm making the sort of contributions that take half an hour at most - more a distraction from more pressing work than anything else. Translating a longish article would take rather longer and rather more attention to detail (ancient names need translating as much as other words). I'm afraid I don't know the Welsh version of Melisende either. Melisant and Melisent both look plausible. Melissendia looks too Latinate to be really Welsh, but I'll try to look into it for you. Hope that's some help! I'll do my best with translating as soon as work eases. garik 14:44, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

I've long left Wales, but I suppose I could translate this article into school-boy Welsh. But I'm not sure of the point? Is there any Welsh connection in this article whatsoever? Tomrawlinson 23:11, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

No real connection no... other then I truely would love to see the artical in the language I am learning. It would help, as I know the subject so well, to see how it might translate. If you could help, I would be so appreciative!Drachenfyre 05:10, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Wales

Polls are not binding. Also, I'm not the only editor who would think so; if you like, I will ask others their opinion on this, which might be a good idea given the naked POVery you and one or two others are showing on this issue. MarkThomas 15:45, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

I have left comments about your edit of the introductory section of the Wales article. Suggest we broaden its scope and move some of the very useful historical detail. Happy to discuss. Normalmouth 17:26, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Hi Drachenfyre, just to let you know I've followed up to your comment at Talk:Wales. Vashti 15:18, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Brut y Mathrafalion

Hi

I suspect that if there had been a chronicle of the House of Mathrafal in medieval times, it would probably just have been called "Brut Mathrafal". "Brut Llinach Mathrafal" might be a possibility, but I would go for Brut Mathrafal personally.

On the meanings:

Aberffraw: The River Ffraw was apparently originally called the "Ffrawf", meaning a "flow" or "stream".

Dinefwr: "Din" is an old word for a "fort"; "efwr" is a plant - "Cow Parsnip".

Mathrafal : "Ma" is an old word for a plain or open space, c.f. the modern Welsh "maes" meaning "field". The second part of the name is from "trafal", the triangular piece of land in the angle formed where two rivers meet.

Hope this helps. Rhion 14:40, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] List_of_Welsh_Peers

You need to be careful with you use of terms. eg Extant, Extinct & Abeyant and understand their meaning and when to use them. Alci12 13:00, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Politics of Wales

Excellent work on the Politics of Wales article. You have improved it immeasurably. I have some minor suggestions, but I think this is a really solid piece of work. Normalmouth 06:42, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Plaid Cymru

Do you know that the image you've added isn't actually appearing? Deb 18:35, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

As I understand it, anything that's cleared for use on any version of wikipedia can be used on any other -- but you have to store them separately on each different language pedia in order to access them. That's about all I know. Deb 10:59, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Hi. Managed to do it (after consulting the help facility) by placing a colon inside the square brackets, before the word "category". Have a look and see if what I've done suits you. Deb 12:48, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Will you make sure you get your spelling right. It is Plaid NOT Pliad. I seam to spend ages correcting your mistakes Scifry2007 13:41, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Contemporary Welsh Law

I was thinking about your idea and an early article would not do any harm. An article about the new powers would make it clear to people how it will all work. I am wondering if you could set up the article or you want someone else to? Amlder20 22:48, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Excellent, I will leave you deal with it, but I am around if any information is needed. Also I am sure there's an error on the Government of Wales 2006 article, I don't think the Measures and the Orders-in-Council are the same. Always leave me a message if you need any info.Amlder20 20:24, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

I forgot also, don't forget to put the Politics of Wales template in there, it will help. Good luck!Amlder20 20:38, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

How are your plans going? Amlder20 20:27, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

I received your message, I am pleased. At the moment I am not pleased about a small poll going on over a category I created. If this poll fails I intend to leave Wikipedia as to me it's like a vote of no confidence in my work, but if you want me to, I will hang around to help you with your Contemporary Welsh Law article. Amlder20 21:46, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

I will stick around then, only for this article I can't wait to see. Amlder20 19:11, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

Hi, I just thought I'd let you know that I am remaining on the Welsh language wiki, and I am creating the article Cyfraith Cyfoes Cymru, which will be an article that will translate your article Contemporary Welsh law into Cymraeg. Amlder20 10:48, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

Excellent, I am pleased with this article you created. I also have a little Welsh Assembly source for you. Government of Wales Act 2006, this will contain some detail on the law making powers of the Assembly after May 2007. Amlder20 19:27, 1 March 2007 (UTC)

How is your article on Contemporary Welsh law going? (please leave message under same subject in talk page) Amlder20 18:33, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

Sorry, I have had no time to translate that article for you. Meanwhile do me a favour and tell me what you think of my additions to the Contemporary Welsh Law page. The List of Measures of the National Assembly for Wales article has also been created. Amlder20 19:12, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

Tell me, I think the Counsel General for Wales article should be made once a Counsel General has been appointed at the Welsh Assembly, what do you think? Amlder20 21:05, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Legislative Compentency Orders

Hey, You have seen my List of Measures of the National Assembly for Wales article, I was wondering if I might need to create a List of Legislative Competency Orders for Wales article too. This would be the secondary legislation that would transfer power to the National Assembly for them to legislate. Amlder20 13:19, 10 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Neil McEvoy

Hi. Just to let you know that I have redeleted Neil McEvoy as it doesn't meet the notability criteria and makes no attempt to assert notability. Candidates for elections, unless otherwise notable, don't generally warrant articles. If McAvoy gets elected (unlikely I'd've thought from the results last time), he can have an article. Cheers. Whouk (talk) 13:16, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Melisende of Jerusalem - See what I can do

About the translation of article "Melisende of Jerusalem", see what I can do. About the Contemporary Welsh Law article, submit what you have for me to see. I will look over it and you can add bits later on if you like. If you do an article peice by peice, it will look ok, and carefully written. I wish you luck. Amlder20 18:36, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Plaid Cymru

Hi. There's a two-man edit war going on within this article at the moment. I'd like to see the debate widened again. Deb 16:36, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Plaid Cymru's early leadership and fascism

Here are two quotes from two academic texts, both from highly respected authors:

1. "Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru, founded in 1925, significantly during the Eisteddfod at Pwllheli, was in the main a pressure group of intellectuals and litterateurs campaigning on behalf of the Welsh language. Its early politics were complicated and compromised by the apparent neo-fascism of its charismatic first President, the poet and dramatist Saunders Lewis, and the sympathy for fascist-style corporatism shown by him and other Roman Catholic leaders of the party."

- Morgan, K O, Welsh Devolution: the Past and the Future in Scotland and Wales: Nations Again? (Ed. Taylor, B and Thomson, K), (1999), University of Wales Press.

2. "During the 1930s Plaid became even more of a right wing force. It’s journal refused to resist Hitler or Mussolini, ignored or tolerated anti-Semitism and, in effect, came out in support of Franco. In 1941 Saunders Lewis’ pamphlet "The Church and the World" explicitly rejected the war against Nazi Germany while in 1944 Ambrose Bebb condemned the plot to assassinate Hitler."

- See also Williams, G A When Was Wales?, (1985), Penguin

From those two authoritative sources I derived the following sentence:

"The party’s early political appeal was complicated further by the apparent neo-fascism of Saunders Lewis, who assumed the Presidency in 1926 together with similar leanings by other leading members."

Now, please tell me exactly where I have erred in my interpretation and representation of this information, or please identify why these sources are not considered sufficient. Normalmouth 07:34, 31 March 2007 (UTC)

I note you objected to the use of one source, (K O Morgan) on the grounds he described Saunders Lewis's "neo-fascism". You stated on Talk:Plaid Cymru that "You can not be a "neo-facist" before 1945 (end of facism in Itally/Germany), and possibly even 1979 (end of Franco Spain). Neo facism is a post WWII concept, "New Facist," as opposed to old or classic facist. So... either Lewis was a legitimate facist in the 1920s/30s or Saunders Lewis was not a facist in the 1920s or 30s...this is clearly a biased statement."

You may be interested to learn of this criticism levelled against PC in the Western Mail in January 1943, during the time of the University of Wales Parliamentary by election:

"Week by week for years they have been preaching their doctrines of racialism and neo-Fascism in the by-ways of Wales".

The attack was made by Prof. W J Gruffydd, the Liberal Candidate for the seat and therefore Saunders Lewis's opponent. The nature of his attack isn't important, and clearly as a rival to PC he had an agenda. However, I thought you might be interested to learn that the term "neo-Fascism" was used before the end of WWII, and in connection with Saunders Lewis personally. I hope therefore you will reconsider your earlier objections to this source.

Lastly, you asked for an exact text on the Saunders Lewis quote that used to feature in the article, but has since been removed. The primary source was the party's journal Y Ddraig Goch, from June 1933. I hope that clarifies things. Normalmouth 07:58, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for your message. I'll have a look at the neo-fascism article with a view to including this information.

I don't think the reference does feature heavily, nor is it solely connected to SL. I've done a very long post on Talk: Plaid Cymru to try and explain why I think this is worthy of inclusion, but in short the opinions of PC's early leadership (perceived or real) were a significant factor holding up the party's early growth. I do accept that this is is a somewhat charged subject, that is why I have attempted to be meticulous in my sourcing. Ultimately, however, this is an academic article; we should not omit important and pertinent information because of present-day sensitivities. That is akin to censorship. Normalmouth 08:36, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Carnedd Llywelyn

Hi Drachenfyre, I don't know if you're still following the endless argument about Carnedd Llywelyn (or "Carnedd Llewelyn") but I see you've contibuted to it in favour of the Welsh spelling. There's only one strong and persistent objector. Here's what I've just written at the bottom of the page to try and get this finished with once and for all:

I've just read through this page again in order to come up with some stats. Here they are:

Contributors' views.

FOR Carnedd LLYWELYN - 5 (CatlinJ, BrynLlywelyn, Hogyn Lleol, Enaidmawr, Drachenfyre)

Initially neutral, finally in favour of Carnedd LLYWELYN - 1 (Blisco)

UNDECIDED/NEUTRAL - 1 (Stemonitis)

Generally against - 1 (garik)

Strongly against - 1 (ras52)

Authorities quoted in list (see above).

Carnedd LLYWELYN - 18

Carnedd LLEWELYN - 10 (mostly following the OS or unreliable, e.g. GoogleEarth)

I move that this article be moved to Carnedd Llywelyn as the majority of contributors to this debate are for it and the sources back their argument.

We need a vote of some sort. Please could you add a comment (in favour / against) so we can finally get this over with? Enaidmawr 00:15, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Wales: principality?

Hi... just checking that you saw my comment under "Principality of Wales", as it would have been easy to miss. Vashti 08:19, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Carnedd Llywelyn

I have written to some of the other protagonists regarding this article, but could you take a look at the latest deletions by ras52, I put in other citations and references yesterday and they have been unilaterally deleted by the above user, I have not reverted the deletions as its probably best to get some idea if there is any support for citing the RGS and other such bodies, and other books, i.e. "Gerald of Wales" in 1198. It took quite a while trawling through the libraries to locate them, but they got deleted in justa few minutes. Admitedly they are not perfect, but I didn't deserve that treatment. Diolch yn fawr. (Gowron 08:03, 12 April 2007 (UTC))

[edit] Baneri Tywysogaeth

Croeso - glad u like them! (Please correct any Welsh I have mangled!) Yes I would be really interested to see the files you have on the arms of some of the early princes'lords of Wales and would be delighted to render them so they are larger and clearer. Please send them to jfrankcom@btinternet.com

Diolch yn fawr

James Frankcom 14:10, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Image copyright problem with Image:Saunders_Lewis_1936.jpg

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[edit] Request for Mediation

A Request for Mediation to which you are a party was not accepted and has been delisted. You can find more information on the mediation subpage, Wikipedia:Requests for mediation/Welsh Peers. For the Mediation Committee, ^demon[omg plz] This message delivered by MediationBot, an automated bot account operated by the Mediation Committee to perform case management. If you have questions about this bot, please contact the Mediation Committee directly.

[edit] Welsh Peers

Thanks for your comment regarding Lord Heseltine. When this page was up for deletion I was under the impression that it was also to contain all those peers that were born in Wales i.e. Heseltine (Swansea born) and those that consider themselves Welsh i.e. Phillips of Worth Matravers (parents are Welsh and he still farms land in Wales), in addition to those titles that qualify due to territory. Sorry, I should've probably discussed this first as the page was created by yourself. Personally, I think we should include them as these people moved outside of Wales to better themselves and ended up with a peerage, or at least in the past they have. As you can see, I've started adding quite a bit and now that I've returned home (got to have some fun on a Saturday afternoon...lol) am just about to add more, which should exhaust my list. What do you think? Glamorgan 16:47, 7 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Plaid Cymru in the 30's

Helo, just noticed your re-wording on the PC article. I've been following the 'discussion' about this particular section of the article for some time but haven't contributed to the debate, although I'm very unhappy about Normalmouth's addition. The changes you have made is similar to one of NM's previous amendments, and makes it seem more anti-PC then the current one (I'm sure it's not your intention). I admit I am a Welsh nationalist and a PC voter, but I think the reference to Plaid Cymru and Fascism is wrong to be included.

Firstly, I don't deny that Saunders Lewis may have praised Hitler in the mid 30's, but so did Lloyd George (in 1936) and Winston Churchill praised Musollini [sp] in late 20's. This doesn't mean SL is not a fascist, but he could just be a man of his time more than anything else. We're not told who the other leading members are supposed to be.

Secondly, and more importantly from a Wikipedia point of view, the "metaciously researched" quote of the "highly respected" Dr Morgan is pure speculation. Poor showing in early elections could be down to a number of factors, namely lack of funds and bad/no coverage from media. Also, I'm reading a book about Gwynfor Evans at the moment, and SL plays a big part in the first part of the book. In it the author mentions how Plaid's opposition made a lot of the fact that SL was a Catholic as opposed to a fascist. Apparently the Welsh (and British?) population was quite anti-Catholic at the time. Possibly something to do with events in Ireland at the time?

Anyway, your talk page probably isn't the right place to have dumped all of the above (and sorry for that), but since you took part in the early discussion re. the PC article and questioned Normalmouth's intentions yourself I thought I'd start here. When I'm more confidence to have a proper debate on the PC talkpage, I might just cut and paste this there!

Hello prior poster! I do not know who you are (should leave your signature :) ) but would love to discuss further with you on your knowladge to bring balance to the Plaid Cymru pages. Currently I started a History of Plaid Cymru page that mayhap you would be interested in, and further edits on the Ieuan Wyn Jones pages. I look forward to working with you! Drachenfyre 03:56, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

Wps, it was I. I'm not hugely into politics, just that I don't feel this particular part of the article is fair at all, and is an obvious attempt in my opinion to falsely associate PC with fascism (or neo-fascism of was originally attempted before you pointed out neo-fascism didn't exist then!). My knowledge of PC history is more or less limited to the book whick I'm now reading.

I noticed the History of Plaid Cymru page you have started. Are you proposing to insert a link to this page in place of certain sections of the main PC article? It looks good to me, although some questions:

a) although I can't fault them, the way you've split the different periods seem a bit random - in a way I prefer Normalmouth's splitting into decades

b) not sure about the way party leaders is presented (in a visual/wikipedia sense that is)

c) how do you decide the ideology of each person?

Two things for addition to the article (with info/refernces I can possibly provide later)

1) Although the Tynged yr Iaith radio talk and Cymdeithas yr Iaith's formation was beneficial to PC as it allowed them to concentrate on politics as you say, it wasnt SL intention for a seperate organisation to be set up. He intended PC to become more involved in welsh languagae campaigning.

2) I've already forgotten the dates and the name, but PC set up a private radio station in the 50's, maninly as they were denied a party political broadcast on state radio. At the time there was a ruling that a party must contest all seats (i.e all UK seats) before they were granted a broadcast. As PC only contested Welsh seats, this was an obvious disadvantage.

Hope some of this helps--Rhyswynne 11:46, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Capel Celyn

If you've no objection, I'm going to slightly change your edit on the meaning of this, because Celyn = holly, so we might as well say so if we're translating it. Hogyn Lleol 08:04, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Welsh

A while ago you asked whether I could help translate some articles into Welsh. I'm not terribly fluent, but I'm willing to lend a hand-- which articles were you thinking of? Marnanel 23:48, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Tynged yr Iaith

Thanks for your comments on this. Obviously it needs more work because I have only scratched the surface on discussing the many commentaries that have been written, and any further references are welcome. As regards having the whole translated article, it's clearly impossible because of copyright considerations. The original article is available in full in the National Library link (which was my own working text). . . .LinguisticDemographer 18:38, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Politics of Wales

It seems to me that he is genuinely trying to improve the evenness of the article by avoiding bias - though of course I also accept that Plaid Cymru's importance in Welsh politics is out of proportion to its electoral success.

One thing I do feel strongly is that both of you should avoid simply reverting or undoing the other one's contributions. That just sets off a tit-for-tat edit war. It is much better to look for compromises. Deb 23:06, 10 November 2007 (UTC)

I understand how frustrated you are, but I think you will achieve more if you try not to take his comments quite so personally. He is intelligent enough that he knows how far he can go, so try not to get drawn into a "fight" over this. Concede some points and you will get further in the long run. Deb 23:36, 10 November 2007 (UTC)

Okay, that's how you see it at the moment. Just try and take a step back from it. This has happened to me more times than I care to remember. It's too easy to become obsessed with one other editor or one article. If you really feel you can't work with him, then you need to go off and look at something else for a while (I mean other articles, I don't mean leave the project). But I do believe you can get over your differences if you just try and stop insulting each other. Deb 00:00, 11 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] History of Plaid Cymru

Thanks for your work on this article. I've left a small note of concern on the talk page on which you might want to comment. Sam Blacketer 22:06, 1 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Lewis Valentine

Nice to see you back. I see that Anatiomaros was the one who added the image, so I have asked him to respond - he speaks Welsh properly! He may contact you through wicipedia instead of here. Deb 12:57, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

Hi, I've given a fuller reply to your query about getting images onto the English Wikipedia over on my talk page. The basic problem at the moment is that there's no copyright information at all, but I have made a few suggestions for you! -- Arwel (talk) 12:42, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Hi Drachenfyre. Deb left me a message to contact you on cy. (cy:Defnyddiwr:Anatiomaros). I presume you need the details for the Lewis Valentine image. It was scanned by me from a small poor quality photo printed in the 1937 Plaid Cymru pamphlet "Coelcerth Rhyddid." I can't see that there are any copyright problems there. If it's challenged for some reason - and goodness knows why! - you can always claim it as a publicity image or something. But after all we are talking of an image created by myself of a 1937 poorly printed photograph. Surely no copyright problem there? Enaidmawr 14:36, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Hi again. I see you're using these images in various articles. Please be aware that simply putting a "fair use" template on the image description page on its own is not enough to make the use acceptable: for each and every article which uses the image you also need to give a "fair use rationale" explaining why it's OK to use the image on that page - use the template ":Template:Non-free media rationale" on the image description page, otherwise Betacommandbot will keep tagging the image for deletion from the article, and orphanbot will delete it a week later. See Wikipedia:Image description page. Regards -- Arwel (talk) 07:50, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

No, the image is OK where it is, it's just the image description which needs to have a "fair use rationale" added for each time that the image is used in an article. See the link I gave before! -- Arwel (talk) 08:12, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

I still don't see what the problem is. Why should this be classed as "Non-free media"? This is crazy. I make an enhanced scan of a small faded newspaper-quality photo which is printed in a 1937 pamphlet in my possession, primarily as a resource for wikipedia, and the use of that image is hemmed about by all this bureaucracy. It IS free. Use it as such. Enaidmawr (talk) 23:49, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

The problem is one of copyrights, quite literally the right to make copies of something which is published. I think it's fair to say that over on cy.Wicipedia a fairly relaxed attitude has been taken to using pictures from external sources, rather less so to text which has been lifted from elsewhere; each language version of Wikipedia has independently developed its own policies about copyright - e.g. German Wikipedia absolutely forbids the use of "fair use" images, since the concept doesn't exist in German law. The Wikimedia Foundation has certain principles (see this Meta Wikipedia article) which apply to all Wikipedias, and in particular this policy resolution which the Foundation passed last March. The implication of these policies is that Wikipedia's requirements for using "fair use" images are considerably more rigorous than those required by US law; I personally think the whole thing is rather overdone and the hobgoblin of a foolish determination to only use free content sources, but that's the policy which we all have to abide by. While a minor language Wikipedia like cy can slip under the radar, en Wikipedia is much more prominent, and this is why the rules are applied much more strictly there. Now, to come back to the issue of the Lewis Valentine photo, despite what Enaidmawr thinks, copyright normally rests with the person who created the article rather than with the person who currently owns the document, so in this case it belongs to the original photographer who took the picture back in around 1937 and the photographers' estate will still hold the copyright until 70 years after his death, so the picture is almost certainly still in copyright and in order to use it you will have to make a "fair use rationale" for each use of the picture. I know it's an enormous hassle, but if it's not done then sooner or later the bots will find the image and delete it, so I would urge you to get it right first time in order to avoid having lots of wasted work. -- Arwel (talk) 01:51, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

Thank you for explaining the situation regarding wikipedia policy on this issue, Arwel. I do not, of course, believe that I myself own the copyright on the original picture just because I have a copy of the pamphlet in my possession (I believe there have been certain legal arguments about the point in which a manipulated picture becomes a creative work in its own right, but let's move on). Speaking of copyright, no credit is given for the photo in the pamphlet and I rather imagine, with it being such a radical cause, that the image was freely given to Plaid by the photographer; if that is not the case then Plaid Cymru may guilty of copyright infringement in retrospect, not that I think anybody would take them to court over it!

To say that "the whole thing is rather overdone" is an understatement. This will create particular problems with Wales-related illustrations as they are so hard to come by in the first place. However I accept that if that is wikpedia policy we'll just have to live with it and hope it's changed in the future (the sooner the better). I believe they did away with intellectual property at one stage in Cuba; can we register the Wikipedia Foundation there? Well, maybe not. Enaidmawr (talk) 23:23, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Multiple tiny edits

Argh! I was just looking for something in the history of the Welsh language article and 90% of the last 100 or so edits seem to be by you, with no edit summaries, and fractional changes. If you're adding a sentence, saving, deleting a sentence fragment, saving, changing a sub-heading to a sub-sub-heading and saving, etc, couldn't you use a sandbox to frame it all and then just add it all as one big addition with an edit summary? The history of the article is completely unnavigable now. :( Telsa (talk) 10:50, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

Thanks! :) Telsa (talk) 10:57, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] History of Plaid Cymru

You're welcome! Glad I could be of help :) I see someone's already started reviewing the article on the talk page, thats good to see. Jashiin (talk) 22:49, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Disputed fair use rationale for Image:D.J. Williams 1936.jpg

Thanks for uploading Image:D.J. Williams 1936.jpg. However, there is a concern that the rationale you have provided for using this image under "fair use" may be invalid. Please read the instructions at Wikipedia:Non-free content carefully, then go to the image description page and clarify why you think the image qualifies for fair use. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to ensure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If it is determined that the image does not qualify under fair use, it will be deleted within a couple of days according to our criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the media copyright questions page. Thank you.BetacommandBot (talk) 06:45, 19 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Saunders_Lewis_1936.jpg

Thanks for uploading or contributing to Image:Saunders_Lewis_1936.jpg. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in Wikipedia articles constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use. Suggestions on how to do so can be found here.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to ensure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If you have uploaded other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on those pages too. You can find a list of 'image' pages you have edited by clicking on the "my contributions" link (it is located at the very top of any Wikipedia page when you are logged in), and then selecting "Image" from the dropdown box. Note that any non-free media lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you. Rettetast (talk) 22:09, 5 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Mediation for Scotland article

As an agreement between editors at Scotland seems ever more unlikely, some users have decided to contact mediation. However, mediation require the acceptance of all involved parties. Would you be willing to accept? Thanks for your compliance...--Cameron (t|p|c) 18:40, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Archive header

Note this - as a result I have removed your archive code until you fix the target code. Agathoclea (talk) 22:34, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Signature

If you click on "my preferences" above top right, you will see the signature box in user profile. If you then copy and paste the following:

[[User:Drachenfyre|<font color="red">'''''♦Drachenfyre♦'''''</font>]]·<small>[[User_talk:Drachenfyre|Talk]]</small>

into that box and save it, then your signature should appear like this -

♦Drachenfyre♦·Talk

Hopefully!!! ♦Tangerines♦·Talk 20:54, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

test[[User:Drachenfyre|<font color="red">'''''♦Drachenfyre♦'''''</font>]]·<small>[[User_talk:Drachenfyre|Talk]]</small> (talk) 21:34, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

test 2♦Drachenfyre♦·Talk 21:37, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Two maps in Template:Infobox_Country

04-April-2008: To show two maps, use the 2 sets of parameters:

• For map 1: image_map, map_width, with map_caption;
• For map 2: image_map2, map2_width, with map_caption2.

Note the 2nd width is "map2_width" and using incorrect "map_width2" will be ignored. Remember to include "px" in widths (such as: map2_width=270px).

As typical, each map is named by only the file-name portion (image_map=XXX.jpg), so remember to omit "Image:" from the name. Note that image magnification has "threshold sizes" where just a slight enlargement can make blurry edges sharpen: a size of 270px might be blurry, while 280px could be crystal clear. Rule of thumb: if map labels are almost readable size, then 10% larger becomes readable. If creating your own maps, make labels 5-pixels-thick for each 600px of map width, so those labels can be readable when thumbnail size. As an example, see Hong Kong Disneyland on the map at Lantau Island. -Wikid77 (talk) 17:09, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Gruffudd ap Cynan

Hi Drachenfyre, sorry to be so long in replying but I've not been doing much here over the Easter period. You're welcome to use the image of Gruffudd ap Cynan. I had to rummage to find the book I used but found it at last. Its from Ein Hen Hen Hanes by W. Ambrose Bebb, a history book for younger readers published by Hughes and Son, Wrexham, 1932. The original picture, by T. Prytherch, dates from about 1900. It's quite a well-known image found in at least a couple of other books from that period, some printed earlier (have to have another rummage!). Can't see there should be any problem but I know from experience how fussy some people can be, especially on Commons (which is why I've given up on that option). If there is any problem let me know. (PS For what it's worth, the Welsh caption reads "Gruffudd escaping"). Cofion, Enaidmawr (talk) 22:03, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Color for Wales Infobox_Country

05-April-2008: I have added a white border around the Infobox_Country for article "Wales" to allow coloring the edges in a reddish hue. The green auto-coloring of the Ireland Infobox was generated by class as "Island" (rather than "Country"), and there is no option for a reddish Infobox_Country, yet. Meanwhile, the new border in "Wales" can be set to a reddish hue by changing the table-row ("tr") as follows, when editing the "Wales" article:

• Change line 4 from: <tr style="background:#FEFEFE;">
• Change line 4 to:   <tr style="background:#CE0022;">

 Infobox_Country of
 Wales is enclosed
 in a colored border.

Typically, the color bright red is culturally marked in the USA as indicating error or STOP, as on a roadway stop-sign. Plus, Wikipedia uses red to indicate a broken/undefined wikilink. However, many sports cars are red, but Chinese culture treats bright red as a sign of fortune or good luck. For those reasons, avoid using too much bright red, and use a dimmer, reddish background as the border color for the "Wales" article, such as hex-color #CE0022. Beware that people might complain about a reddish border on the Wales Infobox as being excessive, so you might need to get several people to support your choice for border coloring. Good luck. -Wikid77 (talk) 16:05, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Other shades of red

05-April-2008: Here are several other colors to try, depending on the level of the R/G/B (red/green/blue) components in the color setting: #CE9999 is lighter than #CE2222.

The higher the last 4 hex characters, the more of a washout gray will occur in diluting the effect of the red. The final 2 hex digits, controlling blue, will make the color shift towards purple, with higher values at the end: intense purple is #FF00FF.

The first 2 hex characters control the red intensity (with the prefix "#88" as dim red, "#FF" as brightest red). Adding green will turn the coloring towards yellow, which becomes tan or brown when red & green are both low numbers. -Wikid77 (talk) 16:49, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Left border wider on Infobox_Country

05-April-2008: The Template:Infobox_Country has a preset wider left margin, but that might be controllable by passing another parameter. The lefthand gap for an infobox is intended to separate the middle of the page, between the text and the box alongside. I suspect Template:Infobox_Country would need to be modified to allow custom parameters for the width of the border. -Wikid77 (talk) 16:49, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Created Wales map like Scotland

05-April-2008: I have extracted new map "Image:Map Wales Location UK.jpg" as a quick UK-area map of Wales, as you mentioned under Talk:Wales, in the same style as done for "Scotland" with Green-copyright license crediting artist User:David Liuzzo. To create the map, I downloaded the full Wales-in-EU map, then extracted a 480x430 copy/paste portion in the graphics editor MS Paint, finally saving the image in quick JPEG format (I've created dozens of map images). Now, before you put the new map into the Wales Infobox, I guess you'll need agreement from some other users, but you could contact them personally for their opinions. Fortunately, switching maps for similar maps is typically accepted by everyone. The new map sizes could be: map_width=260px and map2_width=260px (or 270px?). -Wikid77 (talk) 18:57, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] talk:Scotland

Drachenfyre. I am posting here to avoid cluttering up an already cluttered page. I am well aware that different parts of the UK got different forms. The one I linked to (2001_Scotland_Household.pdf) is the Scottish one, and it doesn't have a box for nationality. It does have a box for ethicity. The BBC report you linked to does talk about nationality, bizzarrely, but an earlier BBC report here does not. The figures (27% of people in Scotland call themselves British) come from the General Household Survey, not the census. Where have you got the 73% number from? Regards, Mr Stephen (talk) 15:14, 6 April 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for your message. As I'm sure you know, nationality and ethnicity are different things, the BBC don't use them interchangably as a rule - it's just that one article got it completely wrong. FYI the figure for Scottish nationality from the 2001 General Household Survey is 80%, not 73%. Regards, Mr Stephen (talk) 19:15, 6 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Re protest vote

I really don't think there will ever be an agreement for the reasons already given, so I will stick by my decision! I hope I am wrong and once again wish you luck. --Jack forbes (talk) 05:34, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Wikipedia: List of colours

07-April-2008: Just in case you didn't think that Wikipedia was an amazing collection of information, more colors than most people would ever learn in an entire lifetime are in article: List of colors. The title also redirects for British-variant spelling "List of colours" or "colors" in American spelling. Thanks for contributing to the history of Wales, Kingdom of Gwynedd, and Kingdom of Powys. -Wikid77 (talk) 12:15, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] RE: Styalsitic borders

Mainly because they are only on that one page, I have never seen a border used anywhere else. Other nations have the former country infobox but not the border, so it is unnecessary for only one former country to have it. Rcduggan (talk) 19:11, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

The only thing I had issue with was just putting it only on Welsh kingdoms. But I suppose it is alright, you can do what you want with those things. Rcduggan (talk) 22:13, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Cantrefs of Wales

Hi mate - I found an excellent source for the cantrefi of Wales; http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/cantref.html the original source is The text of the Bruts from the Red book of Hergest (edited by John Rhys and J. Gwenogvryn Evans. Oxford: J.G. Evans, 1890) it states "Such are the Cantrefs of Gwynned--15--and the Commots are 36" - I think we should work on getting this set up James Frankcom (talk) 21:30, 8 April 2008 (UTC)