Historical Profile of the Visigoths

The Visigoths were a Germanic group considered to have separated from other Goths around the fourth century, when they moved from Dacia (now in Romania) into the Roman Empire. Over time they moved further west, into and down Italy, then to Spain -- where many settled -- and back east again into Gaul (now France). The Spanish kingdom remained until the early eighth century when they were conquered by Muslim invaders. East-German Immigrant Origins The Visigoths origins were with the Theruingi, a group comprised of several peoples -- Slavs, Germans, Sarmatians, and others -- under the recently acquired leadership of Gothic Germans. They came to historical prominence when they moved, along with the Greuthungi, from Dacia, across the Danube, and into the Roman Empire, possibly because of pressure from Huns attacking westwards. There may have been approximately 200,000 of them. The Theruingi were â€Å"allowed† into the empire and settled in return for military service, but rebelled against Roman strictures, thanks to the greed and mistreatment of local Roman commanders, and began plundering the Balkans. In 378 CE they met and defeated the Roman Emperor Valens at the Battle of Adrianople, killing him in the process. In 382 the next Emperor, Theodosius, tried a different tactic, settling them in the Balkans as federates and tasking them with the defense of the frontier. Theodosius also used the Goths in his armies on campaign elsewhere. During this period they converted to Arian Christianity. The Visigoths Rise At the end of the fourth century a confederation of Theruingi and Greuthungi, plus their subject people, led by Alaric became known as the Visigoths (although they may only have considered themselves Goths) and began moving again, first to Greece and then into Italy, which they raided on numerous occasions. Alaric played off rival sides of the Empire, a tactic which included plundering, in order to secure a title for himself and regular supplies of food and cash for his people (who had no land of their own). In 410 they even sacked Rome. They decided to try for Africa, but Alaric died before they could move. Alaric’s successor, Ataulphus, then led them west, where they settled in Spain and part of Gaul. Shortly after they were asked back east by the future emperor Constantius III, who settled them as federates in Aquitania Secunda, now in France. During this period, Theodoric, who we now regard as their first proper king emerged, who ruled until he was killed at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains in 451. The Kingdom of the Visigoths In 475, Theodoric’s son and successor, Euric, declared the Visigoths independent of Rome. Under him, the Visigoths codified their laws, in Latin, and saw their Gallic lands to their widest extent. However, the Visigoths came under pressure from the growing Frankish kingdom and in 507 Euric’s successor, Alaric II, was defeated and killed at the Battle of Poitiers by Clovis. Consequently, the Visigoths lost all of their Gallic lands bar a thin southern strip called Septimania. Their remaining kingdom was much of Spain, with a capital at Toledo. Holding together the Iberian Peninsula under one central government has been called a remarkable achievement given the diverse nature of the region. This was helped by the conversion in the sixth century of the royal family and leading bishops to Catholic Christianity. There were splits and rebel forces, including a Byzantine region of Spain, but they were overcome. Defeat and End of the Kingdom In the early eighth century, Spain came under pressure from Umayyad Muslim forces, which defeated the Visigoths at the Battle of Guadalete and within a decade had captured much of the Iberian peninsula. Some fled to the Frankish lands, some remained settled and others found the northern Spanish kingdom of Asturias, but the Visigoths as a nation ended. The end of the Visigothic kingdom was once blamed on them being decadent, easily collapsing once they were attacked, but this theory is now rejected and historians still search for the answer to this day.

William Shakespeare s A Midsummer Night s Dream - 904 Words

The woods in many forms of media is portrayed as a place of enchantment, mystery and horror. Often a common place characters become lost within, or use as an escape from the binds of society. In A Midsummer Night s Dream, the scenes that take place in the woods are full of enchantment and mystery, but Shakespeare also uses the word wood in several very unique and distinct ways. The term is associated with several meanings and Shakespeare uses these differently throughout the play. The purpose of this essay is not to focus on the wood as a setting in the play, but how Shakespeare plays with the various meanings of word wood and in turn connects those meanings with the setting. As mentioned, the word wood has many meanings but I will be focusing mainly on the Oxford English definitions associated with insanity, enclosure, and violence. During Shakespeare s time the word wood could have meant a variety of things ranging from a simple grouping of trees, to much deeper meanings involving insanity, collectiveness, violence and beasts (OED). In A Midsummer Night s Dream Shakespeare seems to use some of the various meanings to influence the actions of his characters. Some experience fury and insanity, some simply seek refuge and community, while others are actually turned into beasts, all of which only occur in the wood. Not only are the characters actions within the wood influenced by Shakespeare s understanding of the word, but the setting itself is very fitting in that itShow MoreRelatedWilliam Shakespeare s A Midsummer Night s Dream1339 Words   |  6 PagesHonors For A Midsummer Night s Dream By William Shakespeare 1. Title of the book - The title of the book is called A Midsummer Night s Dream by William Shakespeare. 2. Author s name - The author of the book A Midsummer Night s Dream is William Shakespeare. 3. The year the piece was written - A Midsummer Night s Dream by William Shakespeare was believed to have been written between 1590-1596. 4. Major Characters - There are three major characters in the book A Midsummer Night s Dream by WilliamRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s A Midsummer Night s Dream1474 Words   |  6 Pagesinstance, one could look at the movies A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Shakespeare in Love. The latter follows the life of William Shakespeare himself, everything from his love affair with Viola de Lesseps to his creation of Romeo and Juliet. A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is one of the most famous plays of Shakespeare’s, revolving around the tumultuous relationships of four lovers, aided, and sometimes thwarted by the mischief of fairies. Although Shakespeare in Love outlines a few of the characteristicsRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s A Midsummer Night s Dream1548 Words   |  7 Pagesspoken by Helena in Act 1 Scene 1 line 234, explains that it matters not what the eyes see but what the mind thinks it sees. In the play, A Midsummer Night s Dream, written by William Shakespeare, there are several instances where the act of seeing is being portrayed. The definition of vision is the ability to see, something you imagine or something you dream. This proves that even though one has the ability to see; the mind tends to interfere and sometimes presents a different picture. VariousRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s A Midsummer Night s Dream867 Words   |  4 Pagesspecifically how they will benefit that other person, you’re in love.† In A Midsummer Night s Dream, William Shakespeare intertwined each individual characters. Through the concept of true love and presented to the audiences a twisted yet romantic love story. The love stories of Renaissance are richly colorful, so Shakespeare used multiple literary techniques to present to the readers a vivid image of true love. Shakespeare applied metaphor in the lines of Lysander. In Act 1, scene 1, Lysander saysRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s A Midsummer Night s Dream990 Words   |  4 PagesSymbols in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream Symbols help to play an important part in giving a deeper meaning to a story. William Shakespeare uses a variety of symbols in his play A Midsummer Night’s Dream and by using these symbols he offers some insight onto why certain events take place in the play. Symbols are sometimes hard to decipher but as the reader continues to read the symbol’s meaning might become more clear. Shakespeare uses a variety of symbols in A Midsummer Night’s DreamRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s A Midsummer Night s Dream1397 Words   |  6 PagesShakespeare’s comedies, like those of most Renaissance playwrights, involve love and its obstacles. Much of the comedy in A Midsummer Night’s Dream derives from the attempt of Lysander and Hermia to remain together while overcoming the adult authority figure who attempts to hinder the love of a young couple. The overcoming of an obstacle functions as a common motif in Renaissance comedy. The audience must wonder, however, whether Lysander and Hermia, as well as Demetrius and Helena, actually loveRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s A Midsummer Night s Dream1207 Words   |  5 PagesWilliam Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream has been categorized as a comedy play because of all the characters being passionately in love to the point of being foolish. It’s a play all about love, and the characters that are in love are only young adults, so they are still naive when it comes to love. Their naivety and foolishness regarding love is what allows them to be taken advantage of by mischievous fairies when they all run away into the woods. By critiquing the love affairs and numerousRead MoreA Midsummer Night s Dream By William Shakespeare1882 Words   |  8 PagesWritten during the Elizabethan era where gender roles played an important part in society and relationships, A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare portrays the interaction between both sexes, and the women’s respo nse to the expectation of such norms. Although the characters: Hippolyta, Hermia, Helena, and Titania, are portrayed as objects (both sexual and material) contingent upon their male lovers, they are also given empowerment. During the Elizabethan Era, and present throughout MNDRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s A Midsummer Night s Dream1277 Words   |  6 Pagestogether. Nor will love ever be a controllable compulsion. Maybe we are fools for going into the perilous, eccentric universe of love; yet what fun would life be without it? William Shakespeare s play A Midsummer Night s Dream investigates the unconventional, unreasonable and unpredictable nature of love during his time. Shakespeare conveys this through the main plot of the play, which is composed of the relationships between three couples. The three couples show examples of three different types ofRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s A Midsummer Night s Dream1442 Words   |  6 Pages William Shakespeare is estimated to have lived from 1564 to about 1616. He is often recognized as great English poet, actor, and playwright, and paved the way for many on all of those categories. Over that span he wrote many pieces that are still relevant today such as Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Macbeth. I would like to take a deeper look into one on his pieces â€Å"A Midsummers Night’s Dream.† This piece is estimated to have first been preformed in about 1595 and then later published in 1600. Many

Assassination Of Abraham Lincoln Essay Research Paper free essay sample

Character assassination Of Abraham Lincoln Essay, Research Paper Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in Kentucky. In 1818 he moved to Indiana. On November 4, 1842 Lincoln married Mary Todd. In 1832 Lincoln became a campaigner for province legislative assembly but he lost. Later that twelvemonth he was appointed to postmaster of New Salem, so subsequently became deputy county surveyor. Lincoln ran for the Illinois legislative assembly but was non successful. Two old ages subsequently Lincoln was elected to the Lower House for four footings as a Whig. After this he ran for a place in the U.S. senate but he was defeated. Lincoln so joined the freshly formed Republican Party. He was chosen to run against John C. Breckenbridge for U.S. president and he won and became the 16th President of the United States. Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes booth on April 14, 1865. Booth started be aftering to assassinate Lincoln in 1864. Samuel Arnold, Michael O Laughlen, John Surratt, Lewis Powell, George Atzerodt, and David Herold helped Booth in assassinating Lincoln. We will write a custom essay sample on Assassination Of Abraham Lincoln Essay Research Paper or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page John Wilkes Booth was a racialist and a southern sympathiser. Booth was against everything Lincoln represented. Lincoln was assassinated at the Fords theater in Washington D.C. Booth wanted retaliation for the south s ailments which he thought Lincoln brought. The Lincoln Assassination On April, 14 1865 President Abraham Lincoln was shot while watching a public presentation of An American Cousin at Ford s Theater. President Lincoln died the following forenoon. The individual who had killed Lincoln was John Wilkes Booth. A few yearss before he was killed, Lincoln had told his partner about a dream he had, he saw a president shrouded on a catafalque in the east room of the White House. Even after this dream he attended An American Cousin at Ford s Theater. John Wilkes Booth thought the president was determined to destruct the fundamental law, set aside the rights reserved to the provinces, crush civil autonomies, and restore monarchy. He saw the Confederacy was the lone means to of continuing the values of the establishing male parents. He devoted much of late 1864 and early 1865 to a series of secret plans to kidnap Lincoln and utilize his gaining control to invalidate the Union s war purposes. Every strategy stoping in defeat. After Lee ha d surrendered to the Army of the Potomac, in the 2nd hebdomad of April, he saw that merely the most despairing steps offered any hope of salvaging the Southern Cause. Shortly before he went into the theater, he stopped at tavern for a drink. While in the bar an acquaintance jokingly remarked that â€Å"he would never be as great as his father,† Booth replied by saying â€Å"When I leave the stage, I will be the most talked about man in America.† The Atlanta Campaign of 1864 In the spring of 1864, Gen. W. T. Sherman concentrated the Union armies of G. H. Thomas, J. B. McPherson, and J. M. Schofield around Chattanooga. On May 6 he began to move along the railroad from Chattanooga to Atlanta. Sherman had two objectives, one was to destroy the army of General J. E. Johnston and the other was to capture Atlanta. Johnston realizing that he was outnumbered started to retreat south. Sherman tried a direct assault on Johnston s forces and was repulsed. Johnston had retreated back to the south bank of the Chattahoochee river. On July 17, John Bell Hood replaced Johnston as General. He tried t o continue with Johnston s plan, but failed to stop the advance of Union troops. He retired to Atlanta, which Sherman soon had under bombardment. On September 1 Hood abandoned Atlanta, the next day Sherman moved in and burned it. The Maryland Invasion A year after the confederate defeat at Gettysburg. Robert E. Lee planned to invade the North again like he did in the campaigns of Antietam and Gettysburg. He hoped that this would be enough to get Grant to detach part of his army to protect Maryland, Pennsylvania and Washington City, or to have Grant attach fortifications and risk heavy lose. Miscellaneous Fort Pillow Massacre: An incident that took place in Fort Pillow, Tennessee, April 12, 1864. Confederate troops commanded by General N. B. Forrest, stormed and captured Fort Pillow on the Mississippi River. The garrison of black soldiers and Tennessee Unionist held out beyond all possible hope. The joint committee on the Conduct of War investigated and charged that the Confederates indiscriminately slaughtered more than 300 black soldiers. General Sherman was ordered to investigate, but his report was never published. Battle of Franklin: November 30, 1864, a Civil War engagement in which the Confederate forces were defeated. After abandoning Atlanta, General Hood reorganized the Confederate army at Lovejoy s Station. His hope was too cut off Sherman s lines of communication.