Curia regisCuria regis (ˈkuː.ri.a ˈreː.d͡ʒis) is a Latin term meaning "royal council" or "king's court". It was the name given to councils of advisers and administrators in medieval Europe who served kings, including kings of France, Norman kings of England and Sicily, kings of Poland and the kings and queens of Scotland. After the Norman Conquest of 1066, the central governing body of the Kingdom of England was called the curia regis. Before the Conquest, the Anglo-Saxons called this body the witan, and English writers continued to use this term as well.
Roanoke ColonyThe establishment of the Roanoke Colony (ˈroʊənoʊk ) was an attempt by Sir Walter Raleigh to found the first permanent English settlement in North America. The colony was first founded in 1585, but after only five years, when a ship visited the colony in 1590, the colonists had disappeared under unknown circumstances. The colony has since been known as the Lost Colony, and the fate of the 112 to 121 colonists remains unknown to this day. Roanoke Colony was founded by governor Ralph Lane in 1585 on Roanoke Island in what is now Dare County, North Carolina, United States.
Instrument of GovernmentThe Instrument of Government was a constitution of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland. Drafted by Major-General John Lambert in 1653, it was the first sovereign codified and written constitution in England. The Instrument of Government included elements incorporated from an earlier document, "Heads of Proposals", a set of propositions that had been agreed to by the Army Council in 1647, intended to be a basis for a constitutional settlement after King Charles I was defeated in the First English Civil War.
Catholic Church in England and WalesThe Catholic Church in England and Wales (Ecclesia Catholica in Anglia et Cambria; Yr Eglwys Gatholig yng Nghymru a Lloegr) is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See. Its origins date from the 6th century, when Pope Gregory I through the Roman monk and Benedictine missionary, Augustine, later Augustine of Canterbury, intensified the evangelization of the Kingdom of Kent linking it to the Holy See in 597 AD. This unbroken communion with the Holy See lasted until King Henry VIII ended it in 1534.
Unitary stateA unitary state is a sovereign state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create or abolish administrative divisions (sub-national units). Such units exercise only the powers that the central government chooses to delegate. Although political power may be delegated through devolution to regional or local governments by statute, the central government may abrogate the acts of devolved governments, curtail or expand their powers.
Edict of ExpulsionThe Edict of Expulsion was a royal decree issued by Edward I of England on 18 July 1290 expelling all Jews from the Kingdom of England. Edward told the sheriffs of all counties he wanted all Jews expelled by no later than All Saints' Day (1 November) that year. The expulsion edict remained in force for the rest of the Middle Ages. The edict was not an isolated incident, but the culmination of over 200 years of increasing antisemitism in England.
History of the United KingdomThe history of the United Kingdom began in the early eighteenth century with the Treaty of Union and Acts of Union. The core of the United Kingdom as a unified state came into being in 1707 with the political union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland, into a new unitary state called Great Britain. Of this new state of Great Britain, the historian Simon Schama said: What began as a hostile merger would end in a full partnership in the most powerful going concern in the world...
Interregnum (England)The Interregnum was the period between the execution of Charles I on 30 January 1649 and the arrival of his son Charles II in London on 29 May 1660 which marked the start of the Restoration. During the Interregnum, England was under various forms of republican government (see Commonwealth of England; this article describes other facets of the Interregnum). Commonwealth of England The politics of the period were dominated by the wishes of the Grandees (Senior Officers) of the New Model Army and their civilian supporters.
Viking expansionViking expansion was the historical movement which led Norse explorers, traders and warriors, the latter known in modern scholarship as Vikings, to sail most of the North Atlantic, reaching south as far as North Africa and east as far as Russia, and through the Mediterranean as far as Constantinople and the Middle East, acting as looters, traders, colonists and mercenaries. To the west, Vikings under Leif Erikson, the heir to Erik the Red, reached North America and set up a short-lived settlement in present-day L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland, Canada.
Stuart periodThe Stuart period of British history lasted from 1603 to 1714 during the dynasty of the House of Stuart. The period ended with the death of Queen Anne and the accession of King George I from the German House of Hanover. The period was plagued by internal and religious strife, and a large-scale civil war which resulted in the execution of King Charles I in 1649. The Interregnum, largely under the control of Oliver Cromwell, is included here for continuity, even though the Stuarts were in exile.
