Twitching & Birdwatching1 min ago
MM Links April 2012 Week 3
47 Answers
Hello again. Here is Week 3's Challenge from Regal Roslyn
I shall be brief this week ( “Hooray”, I hear you all shout!!) as daughter is quite ill and I am required to go round to her house and look after her & do some housework for her.
We are now well into April, the fourth month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars and also well known for its "showers". But where does the month's name originate from? The derivation of the name (Latin Aprilis ) is uncertain. The traditional etymology is from the Latin aperire, "to open", in allusion to its being the season when trees and flowers begin to "open". This would seem to be supported by comparison with the modern Greek use of anoixos (opening) for Spring. However since some of the Roman months were named in honour of divinities , and as April was sacred to the goddess Venus, it has been suggested that Aprilis was originally her month that is..... Aphrilis, from her equivalent Greek goddess name Aphrodite (Aphros).
Apart from All Fools Day on April 1st, the month contains another notable date.... St. George's Day, which falls on 23rd (also the birthday & date of death of Shakespeare). But the English do not have a monopoly on St. George. Celebrations for St. George's Day also occur in regions of Bulgaria, Canada, Catalonia, Croatia, Portugal, Cyprus, Greece, Georgia, Serbia, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Macedonia. The cities of Moscow, Genoa, Ljubljana, Beirut, Qormi, and Victoria in Malta also hold celebrations on the day. St. George seems to be in popular demand, but who was he?
The earliest mention of St George in England comes from the Venerable Bede c. 673 - 735). He is also said to be mentioned in the will of Alfred the Great and a stone over the door of a church in Dorset records the miraculous appearance of St George to lead crusaders into battle. In 1222 the Synod of Oxford declared St George's Day a feast day in the kingdom of England. George is also the patron saint of scouting. On the Sunday nearest to 23rd scouts and guides throughout England parade through the streets and attend a special St George's Day service at their local church. The well known image of St George on horseback slaying the dragon was used as the badge of the Order of the Garter (founded by Edward III in the 1300's).
I shall be brief this week ( “Hooray”, I hear you all shout!!) as daughter is quite ill and I am required to go round to her house and look after her & do some housework for her.
We are now well into April, the fourth month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars and also well known for its "showers". But where does the month's name originate from? The derivation of the name (Latin Aprilis ) is uncertain. The traditional etymology is from the Latin aperire, "to open", in allusion to its being the season when trees and flowers begin to "open". This would seem to be supported by comparison with the modern Greek use of anoixos (opening) for Spring. However since some of the Roman months were named in honour of divinities , and as April was sacred to the goddess Venus, it has been suggested that Aprilis was originally her month that is..... Aphrilis, from her equivalent Greek goddess name Aphrodite (Aphros).
Apart from All Fools Day on April 1st, the month contains another notable date.... St. George's Day, which falls on 23rd (also the birthday & date of death of Shakespeare). But the English do not have a monopoly on St. George. Celebrations for St. George's Day also occur in regions of Bulgaria, Canada, Catalonia, Croatia, Portugal, Cyprus, Greece, Georgia, Serbia, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Macedonia. The cities of Moscow, Genoa, Ljubljana, Beirut, Qormi, and Victoria in Malta also hold celebrations on the day. St. George seems to be in popular demand, but who was he?
The earliest mention of St George in England comes from the Venerable Bede c. 673 - 735). He is also said to be mentioned in the will of Alfred the Great and a stone over the door of a church in Dorset records the miraculous appearance of St George to lead crusaders into battle. In 1222 the Synod of Oxford declared St George's Day a feast day in the kingdom of England. George is also the patron saint of scouting. On the Sunday nearest to 23rd scouts and guides throughout England parade through the streets and attend a special St George's Day service at their local church. The well known image of St George on horseback slaying the dragon was used as the badge of the Order of the Garter (founded by Edward III in the 1300's).
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The legend goes like this ....St. George travelled for many months by land and sea until he came to Libya. Here he met a poor hermit who told him that everyone in that land was in great distress, for a dragon had long ravaged the country. 'Every day,' said the old man, 'he demands the sacrifice of a beautiful maiden and now all the young girls have been killed. Only the king's daughter remains, and unless we can find a knight who can slay the dragon she will be sacrificed tomorrow. The king of Egypt will give his daughter in marriage to the champion who overcomes this terrible monster.' When St. George heard this story, he was determined to try and save the princess, so he rested that night in the hermit's hut, and at daybreak set out to the valley where the dragon lived. When he drew near he saw a little procession of women, headed by a beautiful girl dressed in pure Arabian silk. The princess Sabra was being led by her attendants to the place of death. The knight spurred his horse and overtook the ladies. He comforted them with brave words and persuaded the princess to return to the palace. Then he entered the valley. As soon as the dragon saw him it rushed from its cave. But St. George was not afraid. He struck the monster with his spear, hoping he would wound it. The dragon's scales were so hard that the spear broke into a thousand pieces. and St. George fell from his horse. Fortunately he rolled under a magic orange tree so the dragon was unable to hurt him. Within a few minutes he had recovered his strength and was able to fight again. He stabbed the beast with his sword, but the dragon poured poison on him and his armour split in two. Once more he refreshed himself from the orange tree and then, with his sword in his hand, he rushed at the dragon and pierced it under the wing where there were no scales, so that it fell dead at his feet. Traditionally, the sword with which St. George slew the dragon was called Ascalon, a name recalling the city of Ashkelon, Israel. From this tradition, the name Ascalon was used by Churchill for his personal aircraft during World War II (records at Bletchley Park), since St. George is the Patron Saint of England.
But enough of the history lesson! Fly the cross of St George on Monday and canvass your local MP for another public holiday to celebrate our National Day. Who are we to argue with no lesser than Shakespeare who famously invokes the Saint prior to the Battle of Agincourt (play Henry VII) with the words "Follow your spirit, and upon this charge cry " God for Harry, England and St George!"
But enough of the history lesson! Fly the cross of St George on Monday and canvass your local MP for another public holiday to celebrate our National Day. Who are we to argue with no lesser than Shakespeare who famously invokes the Saint prior to the Battle of Agincourt (play Henry VII) with the words "Follow your spirit, and upon this charge cry " God for Harry, England and St George!"
According to normal practice, for the everyday running of MM, I shall follow this rule on word length, in that each of my pre-selected link words contains at least four letters and at most eight letters. Stray outside this range and you will be wasting one of your attempts!
Each of the selected link words may go in front of, or behind my challenge word.
The competition will officially close on Sunday Evening at 7.00pm, when gen2 will declare my pre-selected words and then apply the same rules for awarding points that have been applied during all MM Link Games in the past. My set of four words to have their links predicted should appear below at 9.00am.
Each of the selected link words may go in front of, or behind my challenge word.
The competition will officially close on Sunday Evening at 7.00pm, when gen2 will declare my pre-selected words and then apply the same rules for awarding points that have been applied during all MM Link Games in the past. My set of four words to have their links predicted should appear below at 9.00am.
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