Clipmarks | brazilnut72's History collection

Brazil, the Original America?

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 18:41:07 GMT

clipped by: brazilnut72

The map is thought to have been drawn exactly 500 years ago by a monk in the present-day French region of Lorraine.

The word America - said by many scholars to be derived from the explorer's name - appears however not where the modern US is but where Brazil now is.

For whatever reason, the map-makers had replaced the word America with a term which both thrilled and terrified explorers of the 16th Century.

It had become "terra incognita" - unknown land.

Oops!

Sat, 03 Mar 2007 09:33:12 GMT

clipped by: brazilnut72

Clip Source: www.twincities.com

Swiss accidentally invade Liechtenstein

ZURICH, Switzerland - What began as a routine training exercise almost ended in an embarrassing diplomatic incident after a company of Swiss soldiers got lost at night and marched into neighboring Liechtenstein.

Tags: humor, international, incident

Jerusalem

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 17:55:08 GMT

clipped by: brazilnut72
clipper's remarks: Stirring poem. I bought the song on iTunes. Equally stirring. Almost makes me feel British.

Clip Source: quotations.about.com

And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England's mountains green?
And was the holy Lamb of God
On England's pleasant pastures seen?

And did the Countenance Divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among these dark Satanic mills?

Bring me my bow of burning gold:
Bring me my arrows of desire:
Bring me my spear: O clouds unfold!
Bring me my chariot of fire.

I will not cease from mental fight,
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England's green and pleasant land.

Tags: jerusalem, england, british, blake

Etymology Dictionary

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 15:32:02 GMT

clipped by: Socratoad
clipper's remarks: I clipped this some time ago, however it never really took off, so to speak.

IMO this is a great resource and one can spend quite a bit of time learning, and even being surprised. So here it is again.

Clip Source: www.etymonline.com

This is a map of the wheel-ruts of modern English. Etymologies are not definitions; they're explanations of what our words meant and how they sounded 600 or 2,000 years ago.

The dates beside a word indicate the earliest year for which there is a surviving written record of that word (in English, unless otherwise indicated). This should be taken as approximate, especially before about 1700, since a word may have been used in conversation for hundreds of years before it turns up in a manuscript that has had the good fortune to survive the centuries.

The basic sources of this work are Weekley's "An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English," Klein's "A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language," "Oxford English Dictionary" (second edition), "Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology," Holthauzen's "Etymologisches Wörterbuch der Englischen Sprache," Ayto's "20th Century Words," and Chapman's "Dictionary of American Slang." A full list of sources used in this compilation can be found here.

Since this dictionary went up, it has benefited from the suggestions of dozens of people I have never met, from around the world. Tremendous thanks and appreciation to all of you.

Tags: etymology, word origins, language

Another Family Castle

Sat, 06 Jan 2007 05:12:51 GMT

clipped by: brazilnut72
clipper's remarks: Than and now.

Clip Source: www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk

Tags: family, comyn, castle

Old Comings (Comyn) Family Residence

Sat, 06 Jan 2007 05:10:52 GMT

clipped by: brazilnut72
clipper's remarks: A little bigger than our current "castle"...not quite as comfortable.

Clip Source: www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk

Tags: comyn, comings, family

More Family History--William Wallace Connection

Sat, 06 Jan 2007 05:02:10 GMT

clipped by: brazilnut72
clipper's remarks: My ancestor was an ally of Bravehart himself. Cool.

Clip Source: www.rampantscotland.com

Murder
Many of the nobles did not give much support to the efforts of William Wallace to remove the English domination of Scotland but Red Comyn was one who did. As a Guardian of Scotland (1298-1301 and 1302-1304) he often quarreled with the other nobles - in 1299 he was seen to seize the Earl of Carrick (later Robert I) by the throat. At the Battle of Roslin in 1303, an invading English army led by Sir John Segrave was defeated by Red Comyn. Following the death of Wallace, Bruce and Red Comyn appeared to be moving to an alliance to rise up against Edward. The two met at Greyfriar's Kirk, Dumfries on 10 February 1306. We don't know the details of what happened but during the meeting but Robert the Bruce stabbed Red Comyn. Comyn (and his uncle who was also present) were killed and the following month King Robert I ("The Bruce") was crowned at Scone.

Tags: family history, family, comyn, braveheart

Some of my Family History

Sat, 06 Jan 2007 04:57:06 GMT

clipped by: brazilnut72

Clip Source: features.i-magery.com

The Cummins surname finds its roots in the lands of Normandy (Home of the Northmen), France. Our earliest ancestors were followers of Rollo the Viking, who signed a treaty with King Charles the Simple in 911 A.D. The treaty gave the Norseman a permenant home on French soil, and they soon began to intermarry with the local girls and even adopted the French language. Rollo's descendants became Dukes of Normandy, and his Viking Leaders became Knights who controlled their own local fiefs from wooden castles on earthen mounds. Soon the trans-planted Norsemen had absorbed the local culture so thoroughly that their sons had to be taught Norse as a second language.

The name Comyn became an integral part of early Scottish nobility. Willelmus Comyn was the Chancellor to King David the First. He was a churchman, and was assiassinated with poison over disputes with his fellow clergymen. William de Comyn married the granddaughter of King Donald III in 1144 and thus his descendant became one of the competitors for the Scottish throne in 1291. His nephew, Richard de Comyn, married a grand-daughter of King Duncan I. Through "carefull alliances and beneficial marriages the Comyn held three earldoms by the 13th century; Monteith, Mentieth and Atholl and Buchan." By the 13th century the Comyn clan was the most powerful clan in Scotland, claiming nearly one quarter of all the earls.

Tags: scotland, comings, comyn, family tree, family history, history

Pearl Harbor Photos

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 14:35:54 GMT

clipped by: brazilnut72
clipper's remarks: This page was sent to me by a friend. As far as I can tell, these photos are authentic. Does anybody out there know anything about them? I clipped the ones I felt were the most spectacular. There are others.

Whatever the case, as we face a new supreme struggle, we must not forget the one that went before.

Clip Source: www.sflistteamhouse.com

Tags: pearl harbor, photos, history, wwii