MaryAnn Bernal's Blog, page 214
December 4, 2014
Stafford Dog Club Players presents Behold - December 6th, 2014, 4 pm
The Stafford Dog Club players will perform and delight you with their rendition of the Blessed Nativity with a Christmas pageant titled "Behold!" complete with costume and music.
A full course dinner (ziti, salad, garlic bread, meatballs, roast chicken, cake) to follow after the play.
Read the article on page 22
Stafford Dog Club LLCThe Stafford Dog Club LLC is a non-profit organization located at
2945 Mountain View Road, Stafford, VA 22556
www.StaffordDogClub.org
For more information call Karen at (540) 752-2314
Purchase Tickets
A full course dinner (ziti, salad, garlic bread, meatballs, roast chicken, cake) to follow after the play.
Read the article on page 22
Stafford Dog Club LLCThe Stafford Dog Club LLC is a non-profit organization located at 2945 Mountain View Road, Stafford, VA 22556
www.StaffordDogClub.org
For more information call Karen at (540) 752-2314
Purchase Tickets
History Trivia - Charlemagne becomes sole ruler of the Frankish empire
December 4,
771 Austrasian King Carloman died, leaving his brother Charlemagne sole ruler of the Frankish empire.
1093 Anselm of Canterbury was consecrated as Archbishop.
1110 First Crusade: The Crusaders sacked the Syria harbor city Saida (Sidon).
1154 Nicholas Breakspear was elected Pope Hadrian IV, the only Englishman to become pope.
1259 Kings Louis IX of France and Henry III of England agreed to the Treaty of Paris, in which Henry renounced his claims to French-controlled territory on continental Europe (including Normandy) in exchange for Louis withdrawing his support for English rebels.
1563 The final session of the Council of Trent was held (it opened on December 13, 1545).
771 Austrasian King Carloman died, leaving his brother Charlemagne sole ruler of the Frankish empire.
1093 Anselm of Canterbury was consecrated as Archbishop.
1110 First Crusade: The Crusaders sacked the Syria harbor city Saida (Sidon).
1154 Nicholas Breakspear was elected Pope Hadrian IV, the only Englishman to become pope.
1259 Kings Louis IX of France and Henry III of England agreed to the Treaty of Paris, in which Henry renounced his claims to French-controlled territory on continental Europe (including Normandy) in exchange for Louis withdrawing his support for English rebels.
1563 The final session of the Council of Trent was held (it opened on December 13, 1545).
December 3, 2014
England's King Richard III identified with DNA
DNA confirms identity of King Richard III's remains By Maria Cheng LONDON – Scientists say there is "overwhelming evidence" that a skeleton found under a parking lot is that of England's King Richard III, but their DNA testing also has raised questions about the nobility of some of his royal successors.The bones of the 15th-century king were dug up in the city of Leicester in 2012, and experts have published initial data suggesting they belong to Richard, including an analysis of his curved spine and the injuries that killed him.
Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com
Richard was the last English monarch to die on a battlefield, in 1485.
In the new study — probably the oldest forensic case ever solved — scientists compared DNA from the skeleton to living relatives and analyzed DNA data identifying eye and hair color, which they matched to the earliest known portrait of the king.
"Richard can be likened to a missing person's case," said Turi King, a geneticist at the University of Leicester who led the research. "The probability that this is Richard is 99.999 percent," she said. When King and colleagues compared the skeleton's DNA obtained from the ground-up powder of one tooth and a leg bone to samples provided by a 14th cousin on Richard's maternal side, they found a perfect match.
Based on the skeleton's DNA, King and colleagues hypothesized that Richard had blue eyes and blond hair in childhood, which darkened with age. With no contemporary paintings of the king available, they compared their findings to the earliest known painting of him, which depicts the monarch with light brown hair and blue eyes, painted about 25 years after his death.
The research was published Tuesday in the journal, Nature Communications.
Scientists also compared the skeleton's DNA to samples from living relatives on Richard's father's side. They found no match, a discovery that could throw the nobility of some royals into question.
While researchers weren't able to say where on the family tree the adultery occurred, they said the findings potentially raise questions about the legitimacy of Henry V, Henry VI and the entire Tudor dynasty, including Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.
Still, Kevin Schurer, pro vice chancellor of the University of Leicester and another study author, said claims to the throne are based on more than simply having royal blood and also rest on other things such as battlefield victories and royal marriages.
He said England's current royal family — which is related to Richard's sister and to the House of Tudor — should not be worried. "We are not in any way indicating that Her Majesty (Elizabeth II) shouldn't be on the throne," Schurer said.
Researchers said it was the first time there was scientific evidence that questioned medieval lines of succession in the monarchy.
Other academics said history is littered with claims and counter-claims of royal legitimacy.
"When Richard took the throne, he said his brother Edward should never have been king because he was illegitimate," said Steven Gunn, a tutor in history at Oxford University.
Gunn said it was unlikely anyone would ever learn the truth behind the most damaging rumors about Richard — that he murdered his young nephews to hang onto his crown. Still, Gunn said, a more complex picture of the king is now emerging.
"This opens up a new posthumous discussion about Richard's legacy," the historian said. "He has been misrepresented as just a king with scoliosis."
Fox News
History Trivia - Galileo invents the telescope.
December 3
1368 Charles VI of France was born. Known as "Mad" and as "Well-Beloved," Charles had a long reign during which he remained primarily a figurehead because of his occasional fits of madness.
1468 Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother Giuliano succeeded their father, Piero de Medici, as rulers of Florence, Italy.
1586 Sir Thomas Herriot introduced potatoes to England, from Colombia.
1621 Galileo invented the telescope.
1368 Charles VI of France was born. Known as "Mad" and as "Well-Beloved," Charles had a long reign during which he remained primarily a figurehead because of his occasional fits of madness.
1468 Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother Giuliano succeeded their father, Piero de Medici, as rulers of Florence, Italy.
1586 Sir Thomas Herriot introduced potatoes to England, from Colombia.
1621 Galileo invented the telescope.
December 2, 2014
History Trivia - St Paul's Cathedral opens in London.
December 2
537 Pope Saint Silverius died. When Silverius refused to restore Anthimus as Patriarch of Constantinople, Empress Theodora ordered him deposed. He was banished and died on the island of Palmaria, allegedly murdered or starved to death.
1409
The University of Leipzig was founded by Frederick I, Elector of Saxony and his brother William II, Margrave of Meissen, and originally comprised four faculties. Since its inception the university has enjoyed over 600 years of uninterrupted teaching and research.
1697 St Paul's Cathedral opened in London.
537 Pope Saint Silverius died. When Silverius refused to restore Anthimus as Patriarch of Constantinople, Empress Theodora ordered him deposed. He was banished and died on the island of Palmaria, allegedly murdered or starved to death.
1409
The University of Leipzig was founded by Frederick I, Elector of Saxony and his brother William II, Margrave of Meissen, and originally comprised four faculties. Since its inception the university has enjoyed over 600 years of uninterrupted teaching and research. 
1697 St Paul's Cathedral opened in London.
December 1, 2014
Biggest ancient block of stone is discovered
File photo of a different ancient quarry. (AP Photo/IAA, Assaf Peretz)By John Johnson
Archaeologists studying an ancient quarry that is home to a famously gigantic stone block have now found an even bigger stone block at the site, reports io9.
This monster, which dates back to 27 BC, is 64 feet long and 19.6 feet wide. Though it is still mostly buried, researchers estimate that it's 18 feet high and weighs somewhere around 1,650 tons, thus making it the biggest stone block from antiquity, reports the Archaeology News Network.
German archaeologists uncovered it in the quarry at Baalbek in what is now Lebanon. It is next to a fully exposed stone block of similar, but smaller, dimensions, known as Hajjar-al-Hibla, or Stone of the Pregnant Woman.Archaeologists previously determined that Hajjar-al-Hibla was probably left in the quarry because its edges had low-quality stone that might get damaged during transport. Further excavations will try to determine whether the bigger stone block suffered the same fate.
It was presumably cut for use in a Roman temple—before ancient builders determined that it wasn't up to snuff. (Click to read about why ancient terracotta warriors looked so realistic.
Book Launch - The Talking Walls by Lydia North
Kim Scott‘THE TALKING WALLS' IS HERE!
"Off the coast of Maine is the island of Grand Pins. There you'll find the Baleine family mansion. It's a centuries old house that is really quite haunted. Joanne and Kevin found the house while on vacation. The price was just too good to resist. Now they're living with angry spirits who have their own agendas. They must make peace with the ghosts or they will likely join them." ~ This is Book 3 in The Spirits of Maine Series.
Amazon Link
History Trivia - The Festival of Juno celebrated
December 1
The Festival of Juno occurred on this day.
1135 Henry I of England died and the crown was passed to his nephew Stephen of Blois instead of his daughter Matilda, which resulted in civil war (the Anarchy). The dispute was settled when Stephen named Matilda's son Henry Plantagenet as his heir.
1170 Becket returned to Canterbury. After establishing an uneasy reconciliation with Henry II, the Archbishop returned to his See, ending a six-year-long self-imposed exile.
1653 An athlete from Croydon is reported to have run 20 miles from St Albans to London in less than 90 minutes.
The Festival of Juno occurred on this day.
1135 Henry I of England died and the crown was passed to his nephew Stephen of Blois instead of his daughter Matilda, which resulted in civil war (the Anarchy). The dispute was settled when Stephen named Matilda's son Henry Plantagenet as his heir.
1170 Becket returned to Canterbury. After establishing an uneasy reconciliation with Henry II, the Archbishop returned to his See, ending a six-year-long self-imposed exile.
1653 An athlete from Croydon is reported to have run 20 miles from St Albans to London in less than 90 minutes.
