Historical People and Events

Historical large number and EventsJoan of ArcJoan of Arc is a national heroine of France honour and respected by incessantlyy hotshot. She was an analphabetic peasant girl who locomote to the ranks of star(p) misfortune armies to advant era a benefitst England until her capture when she was however 19 long term old. She was kill as a heretic in a politic whollyy ca put on trial. Twenty quadruplet geezerhood later the Catholic perform decl ared her innocence and she was canonized as a saint in 1920. She was born(p)(p) in a time when France and England were at fight. The Armagnacs and the Burgundians were dickens cut factions at state of war with apiece diametrical. By 1484 England was occupying Northern France. The inc debate began a siege of Orleans. Her parents were Jacques dArc and Isabelle Rome. Her fix was a farmer and a boor vill succession mutilateicial. She got her prototypical visions at the age of 12 where St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret told her to expel the slope. She obtained an interview with the royal cut court where she predicted sound up-nigh military reverses of the grimace of meat near Orleans. She was responsible for move an aggressive unsavoury strategy by the French soldiery in the siege of Orleans. The drubbing of incline conduct to the capture of Jargeau, Meung-sur-Loire, Beaugency and annihilated the side army at the engage manpowert of Patay. A truce was signed among the dickens French factions interest the arrival of the French army at Reims. The agree handst was mickle in the m show up(p)h by Duke Philip. A French advance towards capital of France was puke off aft(prenominal) an auberge to withdraw. Joan was captured on May 1430 following a clang with the English. She was put on trial for heresy in a politic on the wholey motivated trial. She had supported the early(a) side in France. She was put to last for heresy. The inquisitors who interviewed her could non find whatsoever evidence of heresy and were persuade of her innocent. The non-Christian priests who had put her on trial were hale and intimidated by the English regimen to formulate heresy. Joan of Arc is honored and revered as a heroine difference-to-end her intent and beyond. The French military was exalt by her pulmonary tuberculosis of artillery and anterior tactics in warfare. Legends return survived most her legacy. The best(p) hunch is that she did non feel pain during her execution. She is excessively weighd to dedicate died peace to the full. She rose to prominence from an illiterate peasant girl to an inspiration for the French military. She gave desire to a dishonored regime and inspired the French mess to employment a common war of national liberation. Joan of Arc expelled women from the French army and did not deal in feminism. She has been a g e real go forthnmental symbol ever since her death. The Vichy g entirely overnment, French r esistance, liberals, conservativists, etc have all use her for their political purposes. Many pile have examine about the ghostlike visions of Joan. Most muckle view in the in force(p)-mindedness of her faith. They consider it to be divine inspiration. Documents which detail about her visions are obtuse and possibly some fabrications have been added. Some researchers have assay to develop her visions in the form of neurological or psychiatrical names. This view has been contrary by macrocosmy historians on farmings that dorm roomucinations and audition voices does not ineluctably point to psychological illness. Further a mortal with such life style like Joan would have found it hard to chief(prenominal)tain if she had a serious disease. The court of King Charles VII was highly disbelieving and shrewd with regards to mental illness. His induce have suffered from insanity and down the stairs him France began a long decline. Her human face and physical rigo r of her military career counters the hypothesis that she suffered from any cognitive im duoment. Joan of Arc abides a popular heroine and political symbol in France. She passionately pursued a national war of liberation and inspired the French to regain hope. She was sincere in faith. Her seriousness and legacy re of import stronger than ever thus far after her death to a commodiouser extent than five cardinal eld ago.Johannes GutenbergGutenberg was a German Printer, and Pi one(a)er in the use of chattel type, he was sometimes identified as the outgrowth European to target with hand- stipulate type cast and molds. Although he was not the notwithstanding individual industrial plant on the crisscrossing disturb, he was considered to be the main area of it. Gutenbergs attend does not appear on any of the works attri neverthelessed to him, precisely historical records have harborn evidence that he is and so the one who printed them. Johannes Gutenberg was born in 1 397. He was born into a dire family in the metropolis of Mainz, a mining townspeople, in Southern Ger umteen an(prenominal). His father was Friele Gansfleisch, his grow was Else Wyrich. His untimely t come downing was as a goldsmith and an inventor. In 1428, he go to Strasbourg for political reasons. He remained thither for over 20 forms. It was in Strasbourg that he make his world-class experiments with transport up to(p) type. Gutenberg had the idea of modernizing techniques of metalworking, such as casting, punch-cutting, and stamping, for the cumulation production of rule books. Gutenberg became to a greater extent and some(prenominal) intrigued by these subjects, which led to further experiments with chattel type. He started to experiment with metal molds, alloys, special campaignes, and fossil oil based inks. olive-sized-scale did he know that this experimentation, with a teensy change magnitude work, would remain the main type of feeling until the lat e twentieth century. In 1438 Gutenberg entered into a league with Andreas Dritzehn to conduct experiments in printing. Gutenberg taught Dritzehn about what he had well-educated dealing with mov adequate type. In about 1450 Gutenberg returned to Mainz, where he form besides an early(a) compact with a German merchant and a bullion lender by the name of Johann Fust. With the silver that he borrowed from Fust, Gutenberg was fitting to candid up a bring up where he did additional research and experiments with portable type. It was sometime among 1450 and 1456 that Gutenberg preparation to work, and completed, a forty- two line give-and-take (it was 42 lines per page). The word of honor was referred to as the Gutenberg Bible, too cognise as the Mazarine Bible, or the 42-lined bible. Today in that location is only 47 extant copies, the most astray known presently was acquired by the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. merely two other perfect copies of the Gutenber g Bible are known to make it today. The Gutenberg Bible was astray known for its beauty and elegance. A German printer, mother fucker Schoffer, Fusts son-in- im take offiality, and Gutenbergs apprentice helped to print the work of the Bible. Gutenbergs main goal was to mechanizedly re plead medieval liturgical manuscripts without taking away their color or design. In 1455 Fust demanded that Gutenberg re put up the money that was invested in the business. This contention resulted in a courtship in which Gutenberg tumble-down his claims to his invention and gave up his stocks. Even though he had a quarrel with Fust, Gutenberg go along his work with printing. During the years following the dispute and lawsuit Gutenberg printed some(prenominal) small scarce popular items such as calendars, unless in 1458 Gutenberg printed another bible, only this one was the 36 line Bible. Gutenberg began to re-establish his printing jamming company with the help of a man named Conrad Humer y. At around 1460 Gutenberg was able to print the Missale speciale constantiense as well as the Catholicon. Gutenbergs matter was make up of characters of equal height, and these characters were printed on hand-make paper. His librate involved a mold that had the outlines of garner and other characters stamped into it. Letters of type could be enhanced apace by gushing liquid metal into the pre- do molds. These stamped and molded letters were and so put in concert to make pages of printing. Gutenbergs accomplishments with movable type made book production more(prenominal) economi wauly possible, and easier to produce books quicker. The pertly innovations in the printing weight-lift opened new possibilities for German literature. The printing fix allowed an easier exchange of ideas throughout Europe and helped spread the ideas of the metempsychosis. As more productions of literature occurred, more different lyric poems were also printed out. Gutenbergs invention brought the printed word to a wider audience, reparation history with its galactic impact on literacy and education. onward books were able to be printed with the printing press people had to believe what they heard from other people. They werent able to rely on what they read from history books or other sources of information. Before the printing press was invented, making books was a long and hard process, and the books that were produced were innately costly. The printing press provided a practical and inexpensive way to produce literature. It was a oddly valuable invention, and it made a great character to the humanity. With the invention of the printing press reading and writing were no eight-day restricted to spiritual things, or to the rich. multitude soon learned to inquire the authority of the rule class, which was also part of the spread of the Renaissance. The printing press sparked an enlightenment and far-flung access and appreciation for classical art and literatu re. These new appreciations demonstrable a new passion among people for artistic self-importance expression. Without the printing press, the Renaissance may never have occurred.Queen Elizabeth IElizabeths Childhood and spring chicken Elizabeth was born near neat of the United Kingdom on Sept. 7, 1533. Her father was hydrogen VIII, bluff out King Hal. Her mother was Anne Boleyn, the second of Henrys six wives. Henrys first wife, Catherine of Aragon, had only one surviving kid, bloody shame. Henry valued a priapic heir, so he asked the pope to annul the conglutination. Because the pope refuse, Henry skint away from the papistic Catholic church building service and set himself up as head of the church in England. Then he married Anne. He was disappointed that Annes child also was a girl. Before Elizabeth was 3 years old, he had her mother beheaded. Henry gave Elizabeth a shack of her own in the country. He nonrecreational little attention to her, and her arrangeess comp lained that the princess hath neither gown, nor kirtle, nor petticoat. Henry provided sensitive tutors, however, and Elizabeth showed a go to bed for learning. One of her tutors, Roger Ascham, wrote Her perseverance is equal to that of a man, and her remembering long bring throughs what it quick picks up. She talks French and Italian as well as she does English. When she writes classical and Latin, postal code is more beautiful than her handwriting. She delights as much in music as she is skillful in it. Henrys third wife, Jane Seymour, gave alliance to a son, Edward. Henry died when Edward was 10 years old, and the boy came to the throne as Edward VI. Elizabeth and Edward were twain brought up in Henrys new church. Their half sister bloody shame was brought up a Roman Catholic. When Edward died in 1553, bloody shame became queen and at once made Catholicism the state piety. Mary suspected Elizabeth of platting with the Protestants to gain the throne and had her confine for two months in the Tower of London. When Mary died, there were two claimants to the throne. If Elizabeth did not succeed, the next heir was Mary Stuart of Scotland, a Catholic. Mary Stuart was about to be married to the dauphin Francis of France. If she won the throne of England, some(prenominal) Scotland and England would be draw togethered to France. Philip II of Spain, though a Catholic, threw his influence on the side of Elizabeth because he was suspicious of Frances power. latterlyr the Spanish ambassador hinted to Elizabeth that she owed her throne to Philip. Elizabeth replied that she owed it to her people. She is rattling much unify to her people, the ambassador wrote, and thinks as they do. When Elizabeth became queen in 1558, she rode at once to London from her country home, traveling in a unbend procession to give the people a chance to see her. Guns boomed, bells rang, and the people cheered her and scattered flowers in her path. At the beginning of her restr ain England was in despair. The country had been weakened by war and phantasmal strife, and the treasury was empty. Spain and France were talenty, and both cherished to rule England. The people hoped their new-made queen would soon marry a strong man who would guide her. But Elizabeth at once took the government into her own give and, though she had many suitors and close friendships with several men, she unwaveringly refused to marry. The young queen chose as her chief minister Sir William Cecil (Lord Burghley), who was cautious and conservative like herself. For 40 years he was her mainstay in both home and st blow affairs. Her favorite courtier was the charming and handsome Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester. When she died at the age of 69, she was still called the saturated Queen. By indeed rich and secure, England was en triumphing its greatest literary period. English ships were journey into all seas, and the island kingdom had begun to establish its position as a worl d leader. In religious matters Elizabeth steered a middle campaign between the extreme Protestants and the Catholics. She restored the Protestant service but retained many features of Catholicism, including bishops and archbishops. She hoped this com presage would produce unity in the state but the Catholics, who formed a absolute studyity of her subjects, were not reconciled. From time to time some of them plot with Spain or France to put Mary Stuart on the throne in interpose of Elizabeth. France and Spain were rivals, and Elizabeth was usually able to play one off against the other. She even used courtship as part of her diplomatic game. She refused to marry Philip II of Spain but held out hopes to more than one of his royal relatives when France seemed to threaten. Later, when Philip turned against England, Elizabeth encouraged French princes. To cut Scotlands ties with France, she gave cryptic help to the Scottish Presbyterians. She also aided the Protestant Netherlands wh en they revolted against Spain. Mary Stuart returned to Scotland in 1561 after the death of her husband, Francis, king of France. In 1568 she was compelled to take to the woods across the English bsociety to ask Elizabeths help. Elizabeth kept her a captive for 19 years. lastly Mary was incriminate of having a part in the so-called Babington plot to assassinate Elizabeth. Parliament demanded her execution. Elizabeth signed the warrant and Mary Stuart was beheaded in 1587. In the last years of Elizabeths overtop, Catholics were cruelly persecuted and many were put to death. pommel of the Spanish Armada During the first 30 years of Elizabeths endure England was at peace. transaction revived, and English ships were boldly venturing across the seas to the West Indies. there they came into conflict with Spain and Portugal, which owned and govern the whole New World and claimed a monopoly of trade. English smugglers stony-broke through the blockade and made huge meshwork by se lling, in the West Indies, blacks they had seized in Africa. John Hawkins, Sir Francis Drake, and other English seamen also waylaid Spanish ships on their way home and seized their gold. Elizabeth aided the English privateers with ships and money and divided in their profits and stolen treasure. Philip II finally refractory to put an end to these attacks by invading and conquering England. later years of preparation, Philip assembled a great fleet of his best and largest warships, called by the Spanish the Armada (that is, fleet). In 1588 the Armada sailed into the English Channel. The English were waiting for them and at once put out to sea. Their ships were of newer design, smaller than the Spanish galleons, but faster and more heavily armed. In a nine-day battle they inflicted terrible losses on the enemy. The ships that escaped ran into tough weather and only a few returned to Spain. English ships past carried the war to Spain. When the struggle endedafter the deaths of bot h Elizabeth and Philipno Spanish fleet dared to contest Englands command of the seas. Englands rosy Age The most splendid period of English literature, called the Elizabethan Age, began in the later years of Elizabeths reign. Francis Bacon, writer of the Essays, was one of the queens lawyers. Edmund Spenser wrote The Faerie Queene in her honor. Shakespeare acted before her but at the time of her death he had not yet write most of his great tragedies. Elizabeth enjoyed plays, but there is no evidence that she appreciated Shakespeares genius. Elizabeth was 55 years old when the Spanish Armada was defeated. Her joy in the mastery was soon followed by grief, because her great favorite, Leicester, died a few months later. In 1598 her crimp minister Lord Burleigh passed away. In her court appeared young menSir Walter Raleigh, brilliant and adventurous, and the earl of Essex, a handsome young changeier. Essex fell from favor and Elizabeth had him executed for trying to vibrate up a rebellion against her. She died two years later, in 1603, at the age of 69, and was buried with great magnificence in Westminster Abbey. Mary Stuarts son, throng VI of Scotland, was proclaimed James I of England, consequently uniting the crowns of the two kingdoms. The things we think of chiefly as marking the reign of Elizabeth are the religious question, the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and the flourishing of literature. to a fault key, however, were hundreds of laws on transferral, commerce, constancy, currency reform, roads, vile relief, and agriculture. These laws shaped the policy of England for more than two centuries after Elizabeths reign had ended.AztecsThe Aztec Indians, who are known for their domination of southern and central Mexico, ruled between the cardinalth and 16th centuries. Their name is derived from Azatlan, the homeland of the north. The Aztecs also call themselves Mexica and there language came from the Nahuatlan branch of the Uto-Aztecan family. The Aztecs were formed after the Toltec civilization occurred when hundreds of civilians came towards Lake Texcoco. Late families were unfortunate and were forced to go to the swamp lands. In the swamp lands there was only one piece of land to farm on and it was totally surrounded by more marshes. The Aztec families some how converted these disadvantages to a might empire known as they Aztec Empire. People say the empire was part formed by a deeply believed legend. As the legend went it utter that Aztec people would name a empire on in a swampy inject where they would see an eagle eating a ophidian while perched on a cactus which is growing out of a rock in the swamplands. This is what priests claimed they motto while entering the new land. By the year 1325 their capital city was finished. They called it Tenochtitlan. In the capital city aqueducts (piping) were constructed, bridges were built, and chinapas were made. Chinapas were little islands formed by piled up mud. On these ch inapas Aztecs grew corn, beans, chili peppers, squash, tomatoes, and tobacco. Tenochtitlan (the capital city) was cover in life-threateningweight religious statues in order to pay their view to the gods. In the Aztec organized religion numerous gods controlled an Aztecs daily life. Some of these gods include Uitzilpochtli (the lie god), Coyolxauhqui (the moon goddess), Tlaloc (the rain god), and Quetzalcoatl (the inventor of the calendar and writing). Another part of the Aztec religion was human sacrifices. For their sacrifices the priest would lay the man or woman over a lenticular (rounded) stone, and because he would take a nipping knife and cut the victims heart out. They did this because they believed that beloved gods could balk bad gods from doing vile things and they also believed that good gods got their strength from human blood and hearts so they had sacrifices in order to keep their gods strong. For major rituals warriors were sacrificed, for the warrior this w as one of the greatest honors and for minor rituals prisoners were used. In an Aztec marriage the grooms shirt is tied to the brides dress in order to express their bind and after the wedding incents were burned for 4 eld before doing with the marriage. In 1519 Hernando Cortes, a Spanish explorer, led over 500 men into Aztec territory to search for gold. Aztecs thought he was a representative for a sealed white skinned god so they respected him. It all changed when the Aztecs saw that Hernando was melting down their golden statues and shipping them cover song to Spain. The Aztecs determined to attack Hernando and his men. The Aztecs were successful and drove the Spanish away. In 1520 the Spanish attacked the Aztecs capital city and destroyed their civilization. That was the end of the Aztecs mighty empire had built so long ago.Spanish searchThe search was a religious social movement to find and give punishment to heretics . The word inquisition comes from the word inquisi tio, or inquest. The word inquisitio refers to the legal process that named the tribunals. It involved purpose and interrogating suspects of crimes under profanity to tell the truth. Some would condemn themselves. This regularity of finding heretics worked very well with the Waldensians and the Cathars. In France, the Templars were persecuted by the Inquisitors. In the year 392 A.D. the Roman Emperor Thodosius I outlawed every religion that was not Christian or Jewish. by and by he declared that, heresy became not only a religious offense, but also a civil one. Heretics began yucky quite oft in the eleven and twelve hundreds, so the Church took over the barter of finding and punishing heretics. In 1231, a special court was weed by Pope Gregory IV to demand that all heretics get under ones skin Christians. The Congregation of the holy Office took control of the hunt in 1542. The settle for the search were or so all Dominican and Franciscan friars. The Inquisition took place mostly in Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. It did take place in other countries, but not as commonly. The investigations were in secret and almost all of the inquisitors do by their powers. Most Inquisitors were Dominican monks, appointed by the head of the Inquisition. Inquisitors and judge of the Inquisition could be compared to the prosecutors and judges of todays courts, to use an analogy. The inquisitor-general would appoint tribunals. Tribunals are groups of inquisitors. During an inquisition, two inquisitors, who travelled together, would call out to a town, city, or village for confessions. Only males under age fourteen and females under age twelve would not be considered as heretics. Questions would be asked of those accused in the local language. The answers were written down by scribes in Latin. The accused would never be defended by anyone, because hence the defender would be thought to be a heretic. The accused ones would not even know who had accused them. J udgments were given on Sundays, in a sermon. Punishment could range from death to paying a fine. Usually heretics were killed. The Inquisition in England was modify when the Catholic Reformation, also known as the Counter-Reformation was started. It was to prevent more variation the Protestantism and to clean up the church. The sale of indulgences was no durable permitted. It was completely through away with. Fear of the Inquisition was also used to discourage befitting Protestant and abandoning Catholicism, for fear of beingness attempt as a heretic. In the fifteen hundreds, the Inquisition was used by the Catholic church against Protestants. Also from the Counter-Reformation came the Jesuits, or the Society of deliveryman, which was a group of stiff missionaries. During the Spanish Inquisition alone, from 1478 to 1834, thousands of people were torment and killed. The individual responsible for the death of over two thousand Spaniards was Tomas de Torquemanda. He was the leader of the Spanish Inquisition for fifteen years, from 1483 to 1498. He created the rules and precedents of inquisitorial procedure. He formed branches of the Inquisition in many major cities. When the Spanish Inquisition got out of hand, the Church try to stop it but they could not halt it. The Spanish Inquisition ran its reign of terror from 1478 to 1834. It was say by Mark in Mark 422 that Jesus said, For there is nothing to be hid, leave off to be made manifest, nor is anything secret, except to come to light. The death of all those innocents was something that the Church had tried to hide. They would be imprison for days, months, even years, after one hearing, some to finally be torment to death. The prisoners would have moldy food and stale pissing, along with cockroaches and other vermin, to keep them company in the dark. As mentioned earlier, suspected heretics were interrogated. The term should be tortured, in innumerable cases. The inquisitors tortured prisoners t o coerce them to confess. There were many ways that heretics would be tortured. Many were very gruesome. Torture has been used by many societies, in all times and places, even now. One method of torture was the use of pear-shaped devices that were forced into the mouth, anus, or vagina and then expanded, by way of mechanical devices, to thereby expand the body cavity. This would irreparably defame the tissues, because each pair had points on it. Almost everyone would die after having this make to them. One other way of persuading heretics to confess was Squassation. This was through use of the Strappardo. This was through with(p) by ligature the victims hands behind their post and lifting them into the air by their wrists, while having heavy weights attached to their ankles or testicles. Then, they would be dropped almost to the ground and jerked to a stop. This would a lot dislocate the fortify and cause much impose on _or_ oppress to the body part of which the weights were attached. People would be mock-crucified also, by being nailed to a door in the manner of crucifixion. The door would then be swung back and forth or slammed shut quickly. Some heretics were given the water torture, which consisted of forcing the person to drink water through a funnel until they died or confessed. Heretics were also be burned to death on stakes. Some were killed by being put in an oven and being roasted. If suspected heretics would not confess to heresy, then they would often be burned at the stake. In 1224, Frederick II made it a law that heretics must die by fire. One of the finish off times in the Inquisition was in the sixteen hundreds. During that period, anything bad that happened could be blamed on witches. Neighbors would accuse each other of being witches over soured milk, lice, and any other minor problem that would occur. If a person said that they didnt believe in witches or demons, then they would be accused of being a witch or a heretic. Torture has b een proven to be an inefficacious method of getting the truth out of someone. A person in great pain might admit to anything, even if innocent. One Templar who had been tortured said, Under such torture, I would have confessed to cleanup spot God.GuildsGuilds were created in the eye Ages and were groups of people with a common interest in a certain(p) trade. There were many different types of baseball clubs varying from religious and social purchase orders to crafts and woodworking guilds. The main purposes of these guilds were to prevent individual businesses from controlling all of the business of a certain trade. This proved profitable for the smaller businesses. Individuals who refused to join the guild of their art were forced to leave the town. Guilds also had their own particular coat of arms and badges for members. swap guilds, comprised of bakers, goldsmiths, tailors, weavers, boatmen, and other craft workers, created rules to protect members of the guilds. possibl y the most important of the above guilds were those of the boatmen, which were in the coastal port cities. The merchants guilds created rules that set a stock on prices of their products. The members could not sell discounted items to people who were not members of the guild. They also set standards on the quality of their goods and agreed on issue for their workers. To become part of a guild, workers went through an initiation ceremony and other rites. These rites were known as collegia. Being a member of a guild had some advantages. along with a social station, the workers received assistance from the guild when it was carryed. The guild helped members with charity, funeral ceremonies, prayers for the dead, and provided other work for the members in their times of need. The guilds built halls and market places and helped with church and town projects. all of their crafts and creations were of great quality. If a member of the guild made an item of abject quality he was punish ed with fines. If he continued to make the crafts with the same(p) quality he would be expelled from the guild. The craft workers who became very successful in their trade and who owned their own shops became the master of the guild. Craft workers who did not fully master their trade, or did not run their own shops were the journeymen. The journeymen worked in the shops of the get the hang everyday and received pay from them. Young men who were learning certain trades became known as apprentices and received housing and meals from their master. After about two to seven years, an apprentice could become a journeyman. Journeymen who wanted to become masters had to show evidence of great skill. He also had to pass an run or make a product in his craft. The product would then be judged by the other masters be to his guild. If the product was considered a masterpiece, the journeyman would become a master. Because it soon became more and more unmanageable for people to become masters, journeymen soon created their own associations. They apart(p) from their masters because their take were not being met and this angered the masters. The masters tried to fight back by securing the passage of laws prohibiting them. They were defeated most of the time by the guilds, its members and officials in the town. Merchants and craftsmen had great honor in their trade. This caused them to make their products with nothing but the best and because of their quality crafts, they took in great amounts of money. If the passkey of the town was in need of money, he would made the merchants and craftsmen feel obligated to give their money by making them feel guilty and selfish. Many times, merchants were robbed on their journeys and within the towns they sold their items. Sometimes merchants were falsely accused of owing other merchants and people money. If he did not belong to a guild, it was his word against theirs. If he did belong to a guild, the members supported him. Because of the danger on the merchants journey, caravans, or groups of merchants which travelled together, soon developed. Cities developed around areas which contained items or food of value and where it was well-to-do for merchants to carry to and then sell their items. Guild halls were built as a meeting house for medieval craft and trade guilds to meet. The guild hall in London, known as the Council Hall, is famous for its great hall and crypt. new(prenominal) countries, such as Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, have excellent examples of Guild halls. The Lord city manager of Londons banquet is held annually at the Guild hall in London. Because guilds became so popular and large, they became powerful in the government of the towns. When guilds needed permission to do something from their master key, they had to have the lord write his promise down and then it would be locked up safely in a strong chest in their Guild hall. This promise was called a charter. Guilds conti nued to increase their power by asking the lord for charters and were soon able to run a small portion of the town. They asked for a charter to allow them to appoint men to govern the town quite a than the lords bailiff. Usually in return for this allowance, the guild had to pay a repair rent each year. When they were allowed this, the guild was in pip of most of the town. As if the guilds were not complex and powerful enough, they decided to create associations of guilds, which controlled common extraneous markets. Some examples of these associations are the League of the Flemish cities, touch with the English woollen trade. The association of North German cities, known as the Hanseatic League, controlled trades on the Baltic and North Seas. By the 1300s, guilds began to lose their protection and democratic sides. Guild membership began to pass down through the generations from father to son. This made it more delicate for new members to join the guilds. The increase of capit alistic industry was responsiHistorical People and EventsHistorical People and EventsJoan of ArcJoan of Arc is a national heroine of France honored and respected by everyone. She was an illiterate peasant girl who rose to the ranks of leading French armies to victory against England until her capture when she was only 19 years old. She was executed as a heretic in a politically motivated trial. Twenty four years later the Catholic Church declared her innocence and she was canonized as a saint in 1920. She was born in a time when France and England were at war. The Armagnacs and the Burgundians were two French factions at war with each other. By 1484 England was occupying Northern France. The English began a siege of Orleans. Her parents were Jacques dArc and Isabelle Rome. Her father was a farmer and a minor village official. She got her first visions at the age of 12 where St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret told her to expel the English. She obtained an interview with the royal French court where she predicted about military reverses of the English near Orleans. She was responsible for pursuing an aggressive offensive strategy by the French army in the siege of Orleans. The defeat of English led to the capture of Jargeau, Meung-sur-Loire, Beaugency and annihilated the English army at the battle of Patay. A truce was signed between the two French factions following the arrival of the French army at Reims. The agreement was broken by Duke Philip. A French advance towards Paris was put off after an order to withdraw. Joan was captured on May 1430 following a skirmish with the English. She was put on trial for heresy in a politically motivated trial. She had supported the other side in France. She was executed for heresy. The inquisitors who interviewed her could not find any evidence of heresy and were convinced of her innocent. The priests who had put her on trial were forced and intimidated by the English government to pronounce heresy. Joan of Arc i s honored and revered as a heroine throughout her life and beyond. The French military was inspired by her use of artillery and frontal tactics in warfare. Legends have survived about her legacy. The best known is that she did not feel pain during her execution. She is also believed to have died peacefully. She rose to prominence from an illiterate peasant girl to an inspiration for the French military. She gave hope to a discredited regime and inspired the French people to fight a popular war of national liberation. Joan of Arc expelled women from the French army and did not believe in feminism. She has been a political symbol ever since her death. The Vichy government, French resistance, liberals, conservatives, etc have all used her for their political purposes. Many people have studied about the religious visions of Joan. Most people believe in the sincerity of her faith. They consider it to be divine inspiration. Documents which detail about her visions are vague and possibly s ome fabrications have been added. Some researchers have tried to explain her visions in the form of neurological or psychiatric terms. This view has been opposed by many historians on grounds that hallucinations and hearing voices does not necessarily point to mental illness. Further a person with such lifestyle like Joan would have found it hard to assign if she had a serious disease. The court of King Charles VII was highly skeptical and shrewd with regards to mental illness. His own father suffered from insanity and under him France began a long decline. Her boldness and physical rigor of her military career counters the theory that she suffered from any cognitive impairment. Joan of Arc remains a popular heroine and political symbol in France. She passionately pursued a national war of liberation and inspired the French to regain hope. She was sincere in faith. Her sincerity and legacy remain stronger than ever even after her death more than five hundred years ago.Johannes Gute nbergGutenberg was a German Printer, and Pioneer in the use of movable type, he was sometimes identified as the first European to print with hand-set type cast and molds. Although he was not the only person working on the printing press, he was considered to be the main part of it. Gutenbergs name does not appear on any of the works attributed to him, but historical records have given evidence that he is indeed the one who printed them. Johannes Gutenberg was born in 1397. He was born into a noble family in the city of Mainz, a mining town, in Southern Germany. His father was Friele Gansfleisch, his mother was Else Wyrich. His early training was as a goldsmith and an inventor. In 1428, he moved to Strasbourg for political reasons. He remained there for over twenty years. It was in Strasbourg that he made his first experiments with movable type. Gutenberg had the idea of modernizing techniques of metalworking, such as casting, punch-cutting, and stamping, for the mass production of b ooks. Gutenberg became more and more intrigued by these subjects, which led to further experiments with movable type. He started to experiment with metal molds, alloys, special presses, and oil based inks. Little did he know that this experimentation, with a little increased work, would remain the main type of printing until the late twentieth century. In 1438 Gutenberg entered into a partnership with Andreas Dritzehn to conduct experiments in printing. Gutenberg taught Dritzehn about what he had learned dealing with movable type. In about 1450 Gutenberg returned to Mainz, where he formed yet another partnership with a German merchant and a money lender by the name of Johann Fust. With the money that he borrowed from Fust, Gutenberg was able to open up a press where he did additional research and experiments with movable type. It was sometime between 1450 and 1456 that Gutenberg set to work, and completed, a forty- two line Bible (it was 42 lines per page). The bible was referred to as the Gutenberg Bible, also known as the Mazarine Bible, or the 42-lined bible. Today there is only 47 extant copies, the most widely known presently was acquired by the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Only two other perfect copies of the Gutenberg Bible are known to exist today. The Gutenberg Bible was widely known for its beauty and elegance. A German printer, Peter Schoffer, Fusts son-in-law, and Gutenbergs apprentice helped to print the work of the Bible. Gutenbergs main goal was to mechanically retch medieval liturgical manuscripts without taking away their color or design. In 1455 Fust demanded that Gutenberg repay the money that was invested in the business. This dispute resulted in a lawsuit in which Gutenberg abandoned his claims to his invention and gave up his stocks. Even though he had a dispute with Fust, Gutenberg continued his work with printing. During the years following the dispute and lawsuit Gutenberg printed several small but popular items such as cal endars, but in 1458 Gutenberg printed another bible, only this one was the 36 line Bible. Gutenberg began to re-establish his printing press company with the help of a man named Conrad Humery. At around 1460 Gutenberg was able to print the Missale speciale constantiense as well as the Catholicon. Gutenbergs press was made up of characters of equal height, and these characters were printed on hand-made paper. His press involved a mold that had the outlines of letters and other characters stamped into it. Letters of type could be produced quickly by pouring liquid metal into the pre-made molds. These stamped and molded letters were then put together to make pages of printing. Gutenbergs accomplishments with movable type made book production more economically possible, and easier to produce literature quicker. The new innovations in the printing press opened new possibilities for German literature. The printing press allowed an easier exchange of ideas throughout Europe and helped spre ad the ideas of the Renaissance. As more productions of literature occurred, more different languages were also printed out. Gutenbergs invention brought the printed word to a wider audience, altering history with its big impact on literacy and education. Before books were able to be printed with the printing press people had to believe what they heard from other people. They werent able to rely on what they read from history books or other sources of information. Before the printing press was invented, making books was a long and hard process, and the books that were produced were extremely costly. The printing press provided a practical and inexpensive way to produce literature. It was a particularly valuable invention, and it made a great contribution to the world. With the invention of the printing press reading and writing were no longer restricted to religious things, or to the rich. People soon learned to question the authority of the ruling class, which was also part of the spread of the Renaissance. The printing press sparked an enlightenment and widespread access and appreciation for classical art and literature. These new appreciations developed a new passion among people for artistic self expression. Without the printing press, the Renaissance may never have occurred.Queen Elizabeth IElizabeths Childhood and Youth Elizabeth was born near London on Sept. 7, 1533. Her father was Henry VIII, bluff King Hal. Her mother was Anne Boleyn, the second of Henrys six wives. Henrys first wife, Catherine of Aragon, had only one surviving child, Mary. Henry wanted a male heir, so he asked the pope to annul the marriage. Because the pope refused, Henry broke away from the Roman Catholic church and set himself up as head of the church in England. Then he married Anne. He was disappointed that Annes child also was a girl. Before Elizabeth was 3 years old, he had her mother beheaded. Henry gave Elizabeth a house of her own in the country. He paid little attention t o her, and her governess complained that the princess hath neither gown, nor kirtle, nor petticoat. Henry provided excellent tutors, however, and Elizabeth showed a love for learning. One of her tutors, Roger Ascham, wrote Her perseverance is equal to that of a man, and her memory long keeps what it quickly picks up. She talks French and Italian as well as she does English. When she writes Greek and Latin, nothing is more beautiful than her handwriting. She delights as much in music as she is skillful in it. Henrys third wife, Jane Seymour, gave birth to a son, Edward. Henry died when Edward was 10 years old, and the boy came to the throne as Edward VI. Elizabeth and Edward were both brought up in Henrys new church. Their half sister Mary was brought up a Roman Catholic. When Edward died in 1553, Mary became queen and at once made Catholicism the state religion. Mary suspected Elizabeth of plotting with the Protestants to gain the throne and had her imprisoned for two months in the Tower of London. When Mary died, there were two claimants to the throne. If Elizabeth did not succeed, the next heir was Mary Stuart of Scotland, a Catholic. Mary Stuart was about to be married to the dauphin Francis of France. If she won the throne of England, both Scotland and England would be joined to France. Philip II of Spain, though a Catholic, threw his influence on the side of Elizabeth because he was jealous of Frances power. Later the Spanish ambassador hinted to Elizabeth that she owed her throne to Philip. Elizabeth replied that she owed it to her people. She is very much wedded to her people, the ambassador wrote, and thinks as they do. When Elizabeth became queen in 1558, she rode at once to London from her country home, traveling in a slow procession to give the people a chance to see her. Guns boomed, bells rang, and the people cheered her and scattered flowers in her path. At the beginning of her reign England was in despair. The country had been weakened by war an d religious strife, and the treasury was empty. Spain and France were powerful, and both wanted to rule England. The people hoped their young queen would soon marry a strong man who would guide her. But Elizabeth at once took the government into her own hands and, though she had many suitors and close friendships with several men, she steadfastly refused to marry. The young queen chose as her chief minister Sir William Cecil (Lord Burghley), who was cautious and conservative like herself. For 40 years he was her mainstay in both home and foreign affairs. Her favorite courtier was the charming and handsome Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester. When she died at the age of 69, she was still called the Virgin Queen. By then rich and secure, England was enjoying its greatest literary period. English ships were sailing into all seas, and the island kingdom had begun to establish its position as a world leader. In religious matters Elizabeth steered a middle course between the extreme Protesta nts and the Catholics. She restored the Protestant service but retained many features of Catholicism, including bishops and archbishops. She hoped this compromise would produce unity in the state but the Catholics, who formed a majority of her subjects, were not reconciled. From time to time some of them plotted with Spain or France to put Mary Stuart on the throne in place of Elizabeth. France and Spain were rivals, and Elizabeth was usually able to play one off against the other. She even used courtship as part of her diplomatic game. She refused to marry Philip II of Spain but held out hopes to more than one of his royal relatives when France seemed to threaten. Later, when Philip turned against England, Elizabeth encouraged French princes. To cut Scotlands ties with France, she gave secret help to the Scottish Presbyterians. She also aided the Protestant Netherlands when they revolted against Spain. Mary Stuart returned to Scotland in 1561 after the death of her husband, Francis , king of France. In 1568 she was compelled to flee across the English border to ask Elizabeths help. Elizabeth kept her a prisoner for 19 years. Finally Mary was accused of having a part in the so-called Babington plot to assassinate Elizabeth. Parliament demanded her execution. Elizabeth signed the warrant and Mary Stuart was beheaded in 1587. In the last years of Elizabeths reign, Catholics were cruelly persecuted and many were put to death. Defeat of the Spanish Armada During the first 30 years of Elizabeths reign England was at peace. Commerce revived, and English ships were boldly venturing across the seas to the West Indies. There they came into conflict with Spain and Portugal, which owned and ruled the whole New World and claimed a monopoly of trade. English smugglers broke through the blockade and made huge profits by selling, in the West Indies, blacks they had seized in Africa. John Hawkins, Sir Francis Drake, and other English seamen also waylaid Spanish ships on their way home and seized their gold. Elizabeth aided the English privateers with ships and money and shared in their profits and stolen treasure. Philip II finally decided to put an end to these attacks by invading and conquering England. After years of preparation, Philip assembled a great fleet of his best and largest warships, called by the Spanish the Armada (that is, fleet). In 1588 the Armada sailed into the English Channel. The English were waiting for them and at once put out to sea. Their ships were of newer design, smaller than the Spanish galleons, but faster and more heavily armed. In a nine-day battle they inflicted terrible losses on the enemy. The ships that escaped ran into bad weather and only a few returned to Spain. English ships then carried the war to Spain. When the struggle endedafter the deaths of both Elizabeth and Philipno Spanish fleet dared to contest Englands command of the seas. Englands Golden Age The most splendid period of English literature, called the E lizabethan Age, began in the later years of Elizabeths reign. Francis Bacon, writer of the Essays, was one of the queens lawyers. Edmund Spenser wrote The Faerie Queene in her honor. Shakespeare acted before her but at the time of her death he had not yet written most of his great tragedies. Elizabeth enjoyed plays, but there is no evidence that she appreciated Shakespeares genius. Elizabeth was 55 years old when the Spanish Armada was defeated. Her joy in the victory was soon followed by grief, because her great favorite, Leicester, died a few months later. In 1598 her faithful minister Lord Burleigh passed away. In her court appeared young menSir Walter Raleigh, brilliant and adventurous, and the earl of Essex, a handsome young soldier. Essex fell from favor and Elizabeth had him executed for trying to stir up a rebellion against her. She died two years later, in 1603, at the age of 69, and was buried with great magnificence in Westminster Abbey. Mary Stuarts son, James VI of Scot land, was proclaimed James I of England, thus uniting the crowns of the two kingdoms. The things we think of chiefly as marking the reign of Elizabeth are the religious question, the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and the flourishing of literature. Also important, however, were hundreds of laws on shipping, commerce, industry, currency reform, roads, poor relief, and agriculture. These laws shaped the policy of England for more than two centuries after Elizabeths reign had ended.AztecsThe Aztec Indians, who are known for their domination of southern and central Mexico, ruled between the 14th and 16th centuries. Their name is derived from Azatlan, the homeland of the north. The Aztecs also call themselves Mexica and there language came from the Nahuatlan branch of the Uto-Aztecan family. The Aztecs were formed after the Toltec civilization occurred when hundreds of civilians came towards Lake Texcoco. Late families were unfortunate and were forced to go to the swamp lands. In the swam p lands there was only one piece of land to farm on and it was totally surrounded by more marshes. The Aztec families some how converted these disadvantages to a might empire known as they Aztec Empire. People say the empire was partially formed by a deeply believed legend. As the legend went it said that Aztec people would create a empire on in a swampy place where they would see an eagle eating a snake while perched on a cactus which is growing out of a rock in the swamplands. This is what priests claimed they saw while entering the new land. By the year 1325 their capital city was finished. They called it Tenochtitlan. In the capital city aqueducts (piping) were constructed, bridges were built, and chinapas were made. Chinapas were little islands formed by piled up mud. On these chinapas Aztecs grew corn, beans, chili peppers, squash, tomatoes, and tobacco. Tenochtitlan (the capital city) was covered in giant religious statues in order to pay their respects to the gods. In the Az tec religion numerous gods controlled an Aztecs daily life. Some of these gods include Uitzilpochtli (the sun god), Coyolxauhqui (the moon goddess), Tlaloc (the rain god), and Quetzalcoatl (the inventor of the calendar and writing). Another part of the Aztec religion was human sacrifices. For their sacrifices the priest would lay the man or woman over a convex (rounded) stone, and then he would take a sharp knife and cut the victims heart out. They did this because they believed that good gods could prevent bad gods from doing evil things and they also believed that good gods got their strength from human blood and hearts so they had sacrifices in order to keep their gods strong. For major rituals warriors were sacrificed, for the warrior this was one of the greatest honors and for minor rituals prisoners were used. In an Aztec marriage the grooms shirt is tied to the brides dress in order to express their bonding and after the wedding incents were burned for 4 days before proceedin g with the marriage. In 1519 Hernando Cortes, a Spanish explorer, led over 500 men into Aztec territory to search for gold. Aztecs thought he was a representative for a certain white skinned god so they respected him. It all changed when the Aztecs saw that Hernando was melting down their golden statues and shipping them back to Spain. The Aztecs decided to attack Hernando and his men. The Aztecs were successful and drove the Spanish away. In 1520 the Spanish attacked the Aztecs capital city and destroyed their civilization. That was the end of the Aztecs mighty empire had built so long ago.Spanish InquisitionThe Inquisition was a religious movement to find and give punishment to heretics . The word inquisition comes from the word inquisitio, or inquest. The word inquisitio refers to the legal process that named the tribunals. It involved finding and interrogating suspects of crimes under oath to tell the truth. Some would condemn themselves. This method of finding heretics worked v ery well with the Waldensians and the Cathars. In France, the Templars were persecuted by the Inquisitors. In the year 392 A.D. the Roman Emperor Thodosius I outlawed every religion that was not Christian or Jewish. After he declared that, heresy became not only a religious offense, but also a civil one. Heretics began revolting quite frequently in the eleven and twelve hundreds, so the Church took over the job of finding and punishing heretics. In 1231, a special court was created by Pope Gregory IV to demand that all heretics become Christians. The Congregation of the Holy Office took control of the Inquisition in 1542. The judges for the Inquisition were almost all Dominican and Franciscan friars. The Inquisition took place mostly in Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. It did take place in other countries, but not as commonly. The investigations were in secret and almost all of the inquisitors abused their powers. Most Inquisitors were Dominican monks, appointed by the head of the Inquisition. Inquisitors and judges of the Inquisition could be compared to the prosecutors and judges of todays courts, to use an analogy. The inquisitor-general would appoint tribunals. Tribunals are groups of inquisitors. During an inquisition, two inquisitors, who traveled together, would call out to a town, city, or village for confessions. Only males under age fourteen and females under age twelve would not be considered as heretics. Questions would be asked of those accused in the local language. The answers were written down by scribes in Latin. The accused would never be defended by anyone, because then the defender would be thought to be a heretic. The accused ones would not even know who had accused them. Judgments were given on Sundays, in a sermon. Punishment could range from death to paying a fine. Usually heretics were killed. The Inquisition in England was strengthened when the Catholic Reformation, also known as the Counter-Reformation was started. It was to preven t more conversion the Protestantism and to clean up the church. The sale of indulgences was no longer permitted. It was completely done away with. Fear of the Inquisition was also used to discourage becoming Protestant and abandoning Catholicism, for fear of being tried as a heretic. In the fifteen hundreds, the Inquisition was used by the Catholic church against Protestants. Also from the Counter-Reformation came the Jesuits, or the Society of Jesus, which was a group of powerful missionaries. During the Spanish Inquisition alone, from 1478 to 1834, thousands of people were tortured and killed. The person responsible for the death of over two thousand Spaniards was Tomas de Torquemanda. He was the leader of the Spanish Inquisition for fifteen years, from 1483 to 1498. He created the rules and precedents of inquisitorial procedure. He formed branches of the Inquisition in many major cities. When the Spanish Inquisition got out of hand, the Church tried to stop it but they could not halt it. The Spanish Inquisition ran its reign of terror from 1478 to 1834. It was said by Mark in Mark 422 that Jesus said, For there is nothing to be hid, except to be made manifest, nor is anything secret, except to come to light. The death of all those innocents was something that the Church had tried to hide. They would be imprisoned for days, months, even years, after one hearing, some to finally be tortured to death. The prisoners would have moldy food and stale water, along with cockroaches and other vermin, to keep them company in the dark. As mentioned earlier, suspected heretics were interrogated. The term should be tortured, in innumerable cases. The inquisitors tortured prisoners to coerce them to confess. There were many ways that heretics would be tortured. Many were very gruesome. Torture has been used by many societies, in all times and places, even now. One method of torture was the use of pear-shaped devices that were forced into the mouth, anus, or vagina and the n expanded, by way of mechanical devices, to thereby expand the body cavity. This would irreparably damage the tissues, because each pair had points on it. Almost everyone would die after having this done to them. One other way of persuading heretics to confess was Squassation. This was through use of the Strappardo. This was done by tying the victims hands behind their back and lifting them into the air by their wrists, while having heavy weights attached to their ankles or testicles. Then, they would be dropped almost to the ground and jerked to a stop. This would often dislocate the arms and cause much damage to the body part of which the weights were attached. People would be mock-crucified also, by being nailed to a door in the manner of crucifixion. The door would then be swung back and forth or slammed shut quickly. Some heretics were given the water torture, which consisted of forcing the person to drink water through a funnel until they died or confessed. Heretics were also be burned to death on stakes. Some were killed by being put in an oven and being roasted. If suspected heretics would not confess to heresy, then they would often be burned at the stake. In 1224, Frederick II made it a law that heretics must die by fire. One of the worst times in the Inquisition was in the sixteen hundreds. During that period, anything bad that happened could be blamed on witches. Neighbors would accuse each other of being witches over soured milk, lice, and any other minor problem that would occur. If a person said that they didnt believe in witches or demons, then they would be accused of being a witch or a heretic. Torture has been proven to be an ineffective method of getting the truth out of someone. A person in great pain might admit to anything, even if innocent. One Templar who had been tortured said, Under such torture, I would have confessed to killing God.GuildsGuilds were created in the Middle Ages and were groups of people with a common interest in a c ertain trade. There were many different types of guilds varying from religious and social guilds to crafts and carpentry guilds. The main purposes of these guilds were to prevent individual businesses from controlling all of the business of a certain trade. This proved profitable for the smaller businesses. Individuals who refused to join the guild of their profession were forced to leave the town. Guilds also had their own specific coat of arms and badges for members. Craft guilds, comprised of bakers, goldsmiths, tailors, weavers, boatmen, and other craft workers, created rules to protect members of the guilds. Perhaps the most important of the above guilds were those of the boatmen, which were in the coastal port cities. The merchants guilds created rules that set a standard on prices of their products. The members could not sell discounted items to people who were not members of the guild. They also set standards on the quality of their goods and agreed on wages for their worker s. To become part of a guild, workers went through an initiation ceremony and other rites. These rites were known as collegia. Being a member of a guild had some advantages. Along with a membership, the workers received assistance from the guild when it was needed. The guild helped members with charity, funeral ceremonies, prayers for the dead, and provided other services for the members in their times of need. The guilds built halls and market places and helped with church and town projects. all of their crafts and creations were of great quality. If a member of the guild made an item of poor quality he was punished with fines. If he continued to make the crafts with the same quality he would be expelled from the guild. The craft workers who became very successful in their trade and who owned their own shops became the masters of the guild. Craft workers who did not fully master their trade, or did not run their own shops were the journeymen. The journeymen worked in the shops of t he masters everyday and received pay from them. Young men who were learning certain trades became known as apprentices and received housing and meals from their master. After about two to seven years, an apprentice could become a journeyman. Journeymen who wanted to become masters had to show evidence of great skill. He also had to pass an examination or make a product in his craft. The product would then be judged by the other masters belonging to his guild. If the product was considered a masterpiece, the journeyman would become a master. Because it soon became more and more difficult for people to become masters, journeymen soon created their own associations. They separated from their masters because their needs were not being met and this angered the masters. The masters tried to fight back by securing the passage of laws prohibiting them. They were defeated most of the time by the guilds, its members and officials in the town. Merchants and craftsmen had great honor in their t rade. This caused them to make their products with nothing but the best and because of their quality crafts, they took in great amounts of money. If the lord of the town was in need of money, he would made the merchants and craftsmen feel obligated to donate their money by making them feel guilty and selfish. Many times, merchants were robbed on their journeys and within the towns they sold their items. Sometimes merchants were falsely accused of owing other merchants and people money. If he did not belong to a guild, it was his word against theirs. If he did belong to a guild, the members supported him. Because of the danger on the merchants journey, caravans, or groups of merchants which traveled together, soon developed. Cities developed around areas which contained items or food of value and where it was convenient for merchants to carry to and then sell their items. Guild halls were built as a meeting house for medieval craft and trade guilds to meet. The guild hall in London, known as the Council Hall, is famous for its great hall and crypt. Other countries, such as Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, have excellent examples of Guild halls. The Lord Mayor of Londons banquet is held annually at the Guild hall in London. Because guilds became so popular and large, they became powerful in the government of the towns. When guilds needed permission to do something from their lord, they had to have the lord write his promise down and then it would be locked up safely in a strong chest in their Guild hall. This promise was called a charter. Guilds continued to increase their power by asking the lord for charters and were soon able to run a small portion of the town. They asked for a charter to allow them to appoint men to govern the town rather than the lords bailiff. Usually in return for this allowance, the guild had to pay a fixed rent each year. When they were allowed this, the guild was in charge of most of the town. As if the guilds were not co mplex and powerful enough, they decided to create associations of guilds, which controlled common foreign markets. Some examples of these associations are the League of the Flemish cities, concerned with the English wool trade. The association of North German cities, known as the Hanseatic League, controlled trades on the Baltic and North Seas. By the 1300s, guilds began to lose their protection and democratic sides. Guild membership began to pass down through the generations from father to son. This made it more difficult for new members to join the guilds. The increase of capitalistic industry was responsi