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Alfieri

Alfieri

Count Vittorio Alfieri (January 16, 1749-October 8, 1803), Italian dramatist, was born at Asti in Piedmont. He lost his father in early infancy; but he continued to reside with his mother, who married a second time, till his tenth year, when he was placed at the academy of Turin. After he had passed a year at the academy, he went on a short visit to a relative who dwelt at Coni. During his stay there he made his first poetical attempt in a sonnet chiefly borrowed from lines in Ariosto and Metastasio, the only poets he had at that time read. When thirteen years of age, Alfieri was induced to begin the study of civil and canonical law, but the attempt only served to disgust him with every species of application and to increase his relish for the perusal of French romances. By the death of his uncle, who had hitherto taken some charge of his education and conduct, he was left, at the age of fourteen, to enjoy without control his vast paternal inheritance, augmented by the recent accession of his uncle's fortune. He began to attend the riding-school, where he acquired that rage for horses and equestrian exercise which continued to be one of his strongest passions till the close of his existence. After some time spent in alternate fits of extravagant dissipation and ill-directed study, Alfieri was seized with a desire of travelling. Having obtained permission from the king, he departed in 1766, under the care of an English preceptor. Restless and unquiet, he posted with the utmost rapidity through the towns of Italy, and his improvement was such as was to be expected from his mode of travelling and his previous habits. Hoping to find in foreign countries some relief from the tedium and ennui with which he was oppressed, and being anxious to become acquainted with the French theatre, he proceeded to Paris. But he appears to have been completely dissatisfied with everything he witnessed in France and contracted a dislike of its people, which his intercourse in future years rather contributed to augment than diminish. In Holland he became deeply enamoured of a married lady, who returned his attachment, but who was soon obliged to accompany her husband to Switzerland. Alfieri, whose feelings were of the most impetuous description, was in despair at this separation and returned to his own country in the utmost anguish and despondency of mind. While under this depression of spirits, he was induced to seek alleviation from works of literature; and the perusal of Plutarch's Lives, which he read with profound emotion, inspired him with an enthusiastic passion for freedom and independence. Under the influence of this rage for liberty he recommenced his travels; and his only gratification, in the absence of freedom among the continental states, appears to have been derived from contemplating the wild and sterile regions of the north of Sweden, where gloomy forests, lakes and precipices conspired to excite those sublime and melancholy ideas which were congenial to his disposition. Everywhere his soul felt as if confined by the bonds of society. He panted for something more free in government, more elevated in sentiment, more devoted in love and more perfect in friendship. In search of this ideal world, Alfieri posted through various countries more with the rapidity of a courier than of one who travels for amusement or instruction. During a journey to London he engaged in an intrigue with a married lady of high rank. Having been detected, the publicity of a rencounter with the injured husband, and of a divorce which followed, rendered it expedient and desirable for him to quit England. He then visited Spain and Portugal, where he became acquainted with the Abbe Caluso, who remained through life the most attached and estimable friend he ever possessed. In 1772, Alfieri returned to Turin. This time he became enamoured of the Marchesa Turinetti di Prie, whom he loved with his usual ardour, and who seems to have been as undeserving of a sincere attachment as those he had hitherto adored. In the course of a long attendance on his mistress, during a malady with which she was afflicted, he one day wrote a dialogue or scene of a drama, which he left at her house. On a difference taking place between them the piece was returned to him, and being retouched and extended to five acts, it was performed at Turin in 1775, under the title of Cleopatra. From this moment Alfieri was seized with an insatiable thirst for theatrical fame, and the remainder of his life was devoted to its attainment. His first two tragedies, Filippo and Polinice, were originally written in French prose. When he came to versify them in Italian, he found that, from his Lombard origin and long intercourse with foreigners, he expressed himself with feebleness and inaccuracy. Accordingly, with the view of improving his Italian style, he went to Tuscany and, during an alternate residence at Florence and Siena, he completed his Filippo and Polinice, and conceived the plan of various other dramas. While thus employed, he became acquainted with the countess of Albany, who then resided with her husband at Florence. For her he formed an attachment which, if less violent than his former loves, appears to have been more permanent. With this motive to remain at Florence, he could not endure the chains by which his vast possessions bound him to Piedmont. He therefore resigned his whole property to his sister, the countess Cumiana, reserving an annuity which scarcely amounted to a half of his original revenues. At this period the countess of Albany, urged by the ill-treatment she received from her husband, sought refuge in Rome, where she at length received permission from the Pope to live apart from her tormentor. Alfieri followed the countess to that capital, where he completed fourteen tragedies, four of which were now for the first time printed at Sienna. At length, however, it was thought proper that, by leaving Rome, he should remove the aspersions which had been thrown on the object of his affections. During the year 1783 he therefore travelled through different states of Italy, and published six additional tragedies. The interests of his love and literary glory had not diminished his rage for horses, which seems to have been at least the third passion of his soul. He came to England solely for the purpose of purchasing a number of these animals, which he carried with him to Italy. On his return he learned that the countess of Albany had gone to Colmar in Alsace, where he joined her, and resided with her under the same roof during the rest of his life. They chiefly passed their time between Alsace and Paris, but at length took up their abode entirely in that metropolis. While here, Alfieri made arrangements with Didot for an edition of his tragedies, but was soon after forced to quit Paris by the storms of the French Revolution. He recrossed the Alps with the countess, and finally settled at Florence. The last ten years of his life, which he spent in that city, seem to have been the happiest of his existence. During that long period, his tranquillity was only interrupted by the entrance of the Revolutionary armies into Florence in 1799. Though an enemy of kings, the aristocratic feeling of Alfieri rendered him also a decided foe to the principles and leaders of the French Revolution. He rejected with the utmost contempt those advances which were made with a view to bring him over to their cause. The concluding years of his life were laudably employed in the study of the Greek literature and in perfecting a series of comedie. His assiduous labor on this subject, which he pursued with his characteristic impetuosity, exhausted his strength, and brought on a malady for which he would not adopt the prescriptions of his physicians, but obstinately persisted in employing remedies of his own. His disorder rapidly increased, and he died on the 8th of October 1803. The character of Alfieri may be best appreciated from the portrait which he has drawn of himself in his own Memoirs of his Life. He was evidently of an irritable, impetuous, and almost ungovernable temper. Pride, which seems to have been a ruling sentiment, may account for many apparent inconsistencies of his character. But his less amiable qualities were greatly softened by the cultivation of literature. His application to study gradually tranquillized his temper and softened his manners, leaving him at the same time in perfect possession of those good qualities which he had inherited from nature: a warm and disinterested attachment to his family and friends, united to a generosity, vigour and elevation of character, which rendered him not unworthy to embody in his dramas the actions and sentiments of Grecian heroes. It is to his dramas that Alfieri is chiefly indebted for the high reputation he has attained. Before his time the Italian language, so harmonious in the Sonnets of Petrarch and so energetic in the Commedia of Dante, had been invariably languid and prosaic in dramatic dialogue. The pedantic and inanimate tragedies of the 16th Century were followed, during the iron age of Italian literature, by dramas of which extravagance in the sentiments and improbability in the action were the chief characteristics. The prodigious success of the Merope of Maffei, which appeared in the commencement of the 18th Century, may be attributed more to a comparison with such productions than to intrinsic merit. In this degradation of tragic taste the appearance of the tragedies of Alfieri was perhaps the most important literary event that had occurred in Italy during the 18th century. On these tragedies it is difficult to pronounce a judgment, as the taste and system of the author underwent considerable change and modification during the intervals which elapsed between the three periods of their publication. An excessive harshness of style, an asperity of sentiment and total want of poetical ornament are the characteristics of his first four tragedies, Filippo, Polinice, Antigone, and Virginia. These faults were in some measure corrected in the six tragedies which he gave to the world some years after, and in those which he published along with Saul, the drama which enjoyed the greatest success of all his productionsa popularity which may be partly attributed to the severe and unadorned manner of Alfieri being well adapted to the patriarchal simplicity of the age in which the scene of the tragedy is placed. But though there be a considerable difference in his dramas, there are certain observations applicable to them all. None of the plots are of his own invention. They are founded either on mythological fable or history; most of them had been previously treated by the Greek dramatists or by Seneca. Rosmunda, the only one which could be supposed of his own contrivance, and which is certainly the least happy effusion of his genius, is partly founded on the eighteenth novel of the third part of Bandello and partly on Prevost's Memoires d'un homme de qualite. But whatever subject he chooses, his dramas are always formed on the Grecian model and breathe a freedom and independence worthy of an Athenian poet. Indeed, his Agide and Bruto may rather be considered oratorical declamations and dialogues on liberty than tragedies. The unities of time and place are not so scrupulously observed in his as in the ancient dramas, but he has rigidly adhered to a unity of action and interest. He occupies his scene with one great action and one ruling passion, and removes from it every accessory — event or feeling. In this excessive zeal for the observance of unity he seems to have forgotten that its charm consists in producing a common relation between multiplied feelings, and not in the bare exhibition of one, divested of those various accompaniments which give harmony to the whole. Consistently with that austere and simple manner which he considered the chief excellence of dramatic composition, he excluded from his scene all coups de theatre, all philosophical reflexions, and that highly ornamented versification which had been so assiduously cultivated by his predecessors. In his anxiety, however, to avoid all superfluous ornament, he has stripped his dramas of the embellishments of imagination; and for the harmony and flow of poetical language he has substituted, even in his best performances, a style which, though correct and pure, is generally harsh, elaborate and abrupt; often strained into unnatural energy or condensed into factitious conciseness. The chief excellence of Alfieri consists in powerful delineation of dramatic character. In his Filippo he has represented, almost with the masterly touches of Tacitus, the sombre character, the dark mysterious counsels, the suspensa semper et obscura verba, of the modern Tiberius. In Polinice, the characters of the rival brothers are beautifully contrasted; in Maria Stuarda, that unfortunate queen is represented unsuspicious, impatient of contradiction and violent in her attachments. In Mirra, the character of Ciniro is perfect as a father and king, and Cecri is a model of a wife and mother. In the representation of that species of mental alienation where the judgment has perished but traces of character still remain, he is peculiarly happy. The insanity of Saul is skilfully managed; and the horrid joy of Orestes in killing Aegisthus rises finely and naturally to madness in finding that, at the same time, he had inadvertently slain his mother. Whatever may be the merits or defects of Alfieri, he may be considered as the founder of a new school in the Italian drama. His country hailed him as her sole tragic poet; and his successors in the same path of literature have regarded his bold, austere and rapid manner as the genuine model of tragic composition. Besides his tragedies, Alfieri published during his life many sonnets, five odes on American independence and the poem of Etruria, founded on the assassination of Alexander, duke of Florence. Of his prose works the most distinguished for animation and eloquence is the Panegyric on Trajan, composed in a transport of indignation at the supposed feebleness of Pliny's eulogium. The two books entitled La Tirannide and the Essays on Literature and Government are remarkable for elegance and vigour of style, but are too evidently imitations of the manner of Machiavel. His Antigallican, which was written at the same time with his Defence of Louis XVI, comprehends an historical and satirical view of the French Revolution. The posthumous works of Alfieri consist of satires, six political comedies and the Memoirs of his Life work which will always be read with interest, in spite of the cold and languid gravity with which he delineates the most interesting adventures and the strongest passions of his agitated life. See Mem. di Vit. Alfieri; Sismondi, De la lit. du midi de I'Europe; Walker's Memoir on Italian Tragedy; Giorn. de Pisa, tom. Iviii.;

References

- Alfieri, Vittorio Alfieri, Vittorio Alfieri, Vittorio Alfieri, Vittorio ja:ヴィットーリオ・アルフィエーリ

January 16

January 16 is the 16th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 349 days remaining (350 in leap years).

Events

- 27 BC - Octavian Caesar given the title Augustus by the Roman Senate.
- 929 - Emir Abd-ar-rahman III of Cordoba declares himself caliph, thereby establishing the Caliphate of Cordoba.
- 1362 - A great storm tide in the North Sea destroys the German island of Strand and the city of Rungholt.
- 1412 - The Medici family are made official bankers of the Papacy.
- 1456 - Painter Filippo Lippi elopes with Lucrezia Buti, a young nun from the convent of Saint Margherita.
- 1492 - The first grammar of a modern language, in Spanish, is presented to Queen Isabella.
- 1547 - Ivan the Terrible becomes Tsar of Russia.
- 1556 - Philip II becomes King of Spain.
- 1572 - The Duke of Norfolk is tried for treason for his part in the Ridolfi plot to restore Catholicism in England.
- 1581 - English Parliament outlaws Roman Catholicism.
- 1605 - The first edition of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (Book One of Don Quixote) by Miguel de Cervantes was published in Madrid.
- 1761 - British capture Pondicherry, India from the French.
- 1777 - Vermont declares its independence from New York.
- 1780 - American Revolution: Battle of Cape St. Vincent.
- 1795 - French occupy Utrecht, Netherlands.
- 1809 - Peninsular War: The British defeat the French at the Battle of La Coruña.
- 1847 - John C. Fremont is appointed Governor of the new California Territory.
- 1883 - The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, establishing the United States Civil service, is passed.
- 1900 - The United States Senate accepts the Anglo-German treaty of 1899 in which the United Kingdom renounced its claims to the Samoan islands.
- 1909 - Ernest Shackleton's expedition finds the magnetic South Pole.
- 1917 - German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann sends the Zimmermann Telegram to Mexico, proposing a German-Mexican alliance against the United States
- 1919 - Temperance movement: The 18th Amendment, authorizing Prohibition, was passed by the Congress of the United States. It went into effect one year later, on January 16th, 1920.
- 1938 - Benny Goodman plays Carnegie Hall.
- 1945 - Adolf Hitler moves into his underground bunker, the so-called Führerbunker.
- 1956 - President Gamal Abdal Nasser of Egypt vows to reconquer Palestine.
- 1957 - The Cavern Club opens in Liverpool.
- 1961 - Mickey Mantle becomes the highest paid baseball player by signing a $75,000 contract.
- 1964 - The first musical version of Hello, Dolly! opens at New York City's St. James Theatre.
- 1966 - The Metropolitan Opera House opens at Lincoln Center in New York City.
- 1969 - Czech student Jan Palach commits suicide by self-immolation in Prague, in protest against the Soviets' crushing of the Prague Spring the year before. The Metroliner train begins service between New York and Washington with one round trip per day.
- 1970 - Buckminster Fuller receives the Gold Medal award from the American Institute of Architects.
- 1970 - Curt Flood files suit, stating that major league baseball had violated the American anti-trust laws.
- 1977 - The Marx Brothers are inducted into the Motion Picture Hall of Fame.
- 1979 - The Shah of Iran flees Iran with his family and relocates to Egypt.
- 1988 - CBS fires sports commentator Jimmy 'the Greek' Snyder, a day after publicly stating that African Americans had been bred to produce stronger offspring during slavery.
- 1991 - US serial killer Aileen Wuornos confesses to the murders of six men.
- 1992 - El Salvador officials and rebel leaders sign the Chapultepec Peace Accords in Mexico City that ends a 12-year civil war that claimed at least 75,000.
- 1997 - Ennis Cosby, the only son of actor Bill Cosby, is killed by a gunman while changing a flat tire in Los Angeles, California.
- 1997 - Australian Anthony Stuart becomes the only player to take a hat-trick in his final game of one-day international cricket
- 1998 - NASA announces that John Glenn will return to space when Space Shuttle Discovery blasts off in October 1998.
- 2000 - In Sacramento, California a commercial truck carrying evaporated milk is driven into the state capitol building, killing the driver.
- 2001 - Congolese President Laurent-Désiré Kabila is assassinated by one of his own bodyguards.
- 2002 - A student shoots 6 people at the Appalachian School of Law. Three of those shot die.
- 2002 - John Ashcroft announces that "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh would be tried in the United States.
- 2002 - The UN Security Council unanimously establishes an arms embargo and the freezing of assets of Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaida, and the remaining members of the Taliban.
- 2003 - Space Shuttle Columbia takes off for mission STS-107 which will be its final one. Columbia disintegrates 16 days later on re-entry.
- 2004 - Goatse.cx is shut down by the Christmas Island Registry
- 2005 - Adriana Iliescu gives birth at age 66 and becomes the oldest woman in the world to do so.

Births

- 1245 - Edmund Crouchback, son of Henry III of England (d. 1296)
- 1409 - King René I of Naples (d. 1480)
- 1477 - Johannes Schöner, German astronomer and cartographer (d. 1547)
- 1501 - Anthony Denny, confidant of King Henry VIII of England (d. 1559)
- 1616 - François de Vendôme, duc de Beaufort, French soldier (d. 1669)
- 1626 - Lucas Achtschellinck, Flemish painter (d. 1699)
- 1634 - Dorthe Engelbrechtsdatter, Norwegian poet (d. 1716)
- 1675 - Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, French writer (d. 1755)
- 1728 - Niccola Piccinni, Italian composer (d. 1800)
- 1821 - John C. Breckenridge, U.S. Senator from Kentucky and Confederate general (d. 1875)
- 1838 - Franz Brentano, German philosopher and psychologist (d. 1917)
- 1874 - Robert W. Service, American poet (d. 1958)
- 1886 - John Hamilton, American actor (d. 1958)
- 1888 - Osip Brik, Russian writer (d. 1945)
- 1897 - Carlos Pellicer, Mexican poet (d. 1977)
- 1898 - Margaret Booth, American film editor (d. 2002)
- 1901 - Fulgencio Batista, Cuban leader (d. 1973)
- 1901 - Frank Zamboni, American inventor (d. 1988)
- 1902 - Eric Liddell, Scottish runner (d. 1945)
- 1907 - Paul Nitze, American government official (d. 2004)
- 1908 - Ethel Merman, American actress, singer (d. 1984)
- 1910 - Dizzy Dean, baseball player (d. 1974)
- 1918 - Nel Benschop, Dutch poetess (d. 2005)
- 1918 - Stirling Silliphant, American writer and producer (d. 1996)
- 1921 - Francesco Scavullo, photographer (d. 2004)
- 1922 - Ernesto Bonino, Italian singer
- 1923 - Anthony Hecht, American poet (d. 2004)
- 1924 - Katy Jurado, Mexican actress (d. 2002)
- 1928 - William Kennedy, American author
- 1931 - Johannes Rau, President of Germany
- 1932 - Dian Fossey, American zoologist (d. 1985)
- 1934 - Marilyn Horne, American mezzo-soprano
- 1935 - A.J. Foyt, American race car driver
- 1943 - Brian Ferneyhough, British composer
- 1946 - Kabir Bedi, Indian actor
- 1946 - Katia Ricciarelli, Italian soprano
- 1947 - Laura Schlessinger, American psychiatrist and radio talk show host
- 1948 - John Carpenter, American film director
- 1948 - Dalvanius, New Zealand entertainer (d. 2002)
- 1948 - Cliff Thorburn, Canadian snooker player
- 1950 - Debbie Allen, American actress, dancer, and choreographer
- 1956 - Martin Jol, Dutch football manager
- 1958 - Anatoli Boukreev, Russian climber (d. 1997)
- 1959 - Sade, Nigerian-born singer
- 1969 - Roy Jones Jr., American boxer
- 1974 - Kate Moss, English model
- 1977 - Jeff Foster, American basketball player
- 1979 - Aaliyah, American singer (d. 2001)
- 1980 - Albert Pujols, baseball player
- 1980 - Michelle Wild, Hungarian model
- 1981 - Nick Valensi, American guitarist (The Strokes)

Deaths

- 1400 - John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter, English politician (executed)
- 1545 - George Spalatin, German reformer (b. 1484)
- 1547 - Johannes Schöner, German astonomer and cartographer (b. 1477)
- 1554 - Christiern Pedersen, Danish humanist
- 1585 - Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln, English admiral (b. 1512)
- 1659 - Charles Annibal Fabrot, French lawyer (b. 1580)
- 1710 - Emperor Higashiyama of Japan (b. 1675)
- 1747 - Barthold Heinrich Brockes, German poet (b. 1680)
- 1748 - Arnold Drakenborch, Dutch classical scholar (b. 1684)
- 1750 - Ivan Trubetskoy, Russian field marshall (b. 1667)
- 1752 - Francis Blomefield, English topographer (b. 1705)
- 1794 - Edward Gibbon, English historian (b. 1737)
- 1806 - William Pitt the Younger, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1759)
- 1809 - John Moore, British general (killed in battle) (b. 1761)
- 1815 - Emma, Lady Hamilton, English mistress of Horatio Nelson (b. 1765)
- 1817 - Alexander J. Dallas, American statesman and financier (b. 1759)
- 1856 - Thaddeus William Harris, American naturalist (b. 1795)
- 1891 - Léo Delibes, French composer (b. 1836)
- 1917 - George Dewey, U.S. admiral (b. 1837)
- 1919 - Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves, President of Brazil (b. 1848)
- 1936 - Albert Fish, American serial killer (executed) (b. 1870)
- 1942 - Carole Lombard, American actress (b. 1908)
- 1957 - Arturo Toscanini, Italian conductor (b. 1867)
- 1962 - Ivan Meštrović, Croatian sculptor (b. 1883)
- 1972 - Ross Bagdasarian, American actor and songwriter (b. 1919)
- 1979 - Ted Cassidy, American actor (b. 1932)
- 1981 - Bernard Lee, English actor (b. 1908)
- 1982 - Red Smith, American sports columnist (b. 1905)
- 1986 - Herbert W. Armstrong, American evangelist, author, and publisher (b. 1892)
- 1988 - Ballard Berkeley, English actor (b. 1904)
- 1995 - Eric Mottram, English poet, teacher, critic, and editor (b. 1924)
- 2002 - Michael Bilandic, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1923)
- 2002 - Eddie Meduza, Swedish composer (b. 1948)
- 2002 - Bobo Olson, American boxer (b. 1928)
- 2002 - Ron Taylor, American actor (b. 1952)
- 2004 - Kalevi Sorsa, Prime Minister of Finland (b. 1930)
- 2005 - Marjorie Williams, American journalist (b. 1958)

Holidays and observances

External links

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/16 BBC: On This Day] ---- January 15 - January 17 - December 16 - February 16 — listing of all days ko:1월 16일 ja:1月16日 simple:January 16 th:16 มกราคม

1749

Events

- While in debtor's prison, John Cleland writes Fanny Hill (Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure). Released from prison, the book was published in London. Immediately, the Church of England asked the British Secretary of State to "stop the progress of this vile Book, which is an open insult upon Religion and good manners." As a result, Cleland was arrested and charged with "corrupting the King's subjects."
- April 27 - The first official performance of George Frideric Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks finished early due to the outbreak of fire.
- May 19 - King George II of Great Britain grants the Ohio Company a charter of land around the forks of the Ohio River.
- July 9 - Naval settlement of Halifax, Nova Scotia founded as British answer to Louisbourg.
- September 15 - According to mathematical calculations, Pluto moved outside Neptune's orbit to remain the outermost planet until 1979.

Births

- January 13 - Friedrich Müller, painter, narrator, lyricist and dramatist (d. 1825)
- January 17 - Vittorio Alfieri, Italian dramatist (d. 1803)
- January 24 - Charles James Fox, English politician (d. 1806)
- January 29 - King Christian VII of Denmark (d. 1808)
- March 9 - Honore Mirabeau, French politician (d. 1791)
- March 10 - Lorenzo da Ponte, Italian librettist (d. 1838)
- March 23 - Pierre Simon de Laplace, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1827)
- May 17 - Edward Jenner, English physician (d. 1823)
- April 11 - Adelaide Labille-Guiard, French portrait painter (d. 1803)
- June 15 - Georg Joseph Vogler, German composer (d. 1814)
- August 28 - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer (d. 1832)
- 30 September - Comte Siméon Joseph Jérôme, French jurist and politician
- November 23 - Edward Rutledge, American statesman (d. 1800)
- December 17 - Domenico Cimarosa, Italian composer (d. 1801)
- Abraham Gottlob Werner, German geologist (d. 1817)

Deaths

- February 8 - Jan van Huysum, Dutch painter (b. 1682)
- May 24 - Graf Valentin Potocki, Polish nobleman
- June 19 - Ambrose Philips, English poet (b. 1675)
- July 3 - William Jones, Welsh mathematician (b. 1675)
- July 12 - Charles de la Boische, Marquis de Beauharnois, Governor of New France
- August 13 - Johann Elias Schlegel, German critic and poet (b. 1719)
- September 10 - Emilie du Chatelet, French mathematician and physicist (b. 1706)
- September 14 - Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham, English soldier and politician (b. 1675)
- October 4 - Franz Freiherr von der Trenck, Austrian soldier (b. 1711)
- December 5 - Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de la Vérendrye, French-Canadian explorer and trader (b. 1685)
- December 19 - Francesco Antonio Bonporti, Italian priest and composer (b. 1672) Category:1749 ko:1749년 simple:1749

1803

1803 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar).

Events

- January 4 - William Symington demostrates his Charlotte Dundas, the "first practical steamboat".
- January 30 - Monroe and Livingston sail for Paris to discuss, and possibly buy, New Orleans. They end completing the Louisiana Purchase.
- February 21 - Edward Despard and six others are hanged, drawn and quartered for plotting to assassinate king George III and to destroy the Bank of England
- February 24 - The Supreme Court of the United States, in Marbury v. Madison, establishes the principle of judicial review.
- March 1 - Ohio is admitted as the 17th U.S. state, retroactive from August 7, 1953.
- April 30 - Louisiana Purchase made by the United States from France.
- March 12 - Port Gibson, MS is chartered
- May 18 - The United Kingdom redeclares war on France after France refused to withdraw from Dutch territory.
- July 4 - The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the American people.
- July 5 - The convention of Artlenburg leads to the French occupation of Hanover (which had been ruled by the British king).
- July 23 - Robert Emmet's uprising in Ireland begins
- July 26 - The wagonway between Wandsworth and Croydon is opened, being the first public railway line of the world.
- August 3 – British begin Second Anglo-Maratha War against Sindhia of Gwalior
- September 20 - Irish rebel Robert Emmet is executed
- September 23 - The Battle of Assaye in India – British-lead troops defeat Maratha forces
- October 20 - Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase Treaty, doubling the size of the United States.
- November 30 - At the Cabildo building in New Orleans, Spanish representatives Governor Manuel de Salcedo and the Marqués de Casa Calvo, officially transfer Louisiana Territory to French representative Prefect Pierre Clément de Laussat (just 20 days later, France had transferred the same land to the United States as the Louisiana Purchase).
- Aargau, Graubünden, St. Gallen, Thurgau, the Ticino, Vaud become Swiss cantons.
- France - the Livre Tournois (Tours Pound) is replaced by the Franc.
- William Osgoode, Chief Justice of Lower Canada, rules that slavery is inconsistent with British Law.

Ongoing events

- Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815)

Births

- February 2 - Albert Sidney Johnston, American Confederate general (d. 1862)
- February 15 - John Sutter, American pioneer (d. 1880)
- April 7 - Flora Tristan, French feminist (d. 1844)
- May 12 - Justus von Liebig, German chemist (d. 1873)
- May 24 - Charles Lucien Bonaparte, French naturalist and ornithologist (d. 1857)
- May 25 - Ralph Waldo Emerson, American writer (d. 1882)
- May 25 - Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, English novelist and playwright (d. 1873)
- June 24 - George James Webb, English-born composer (d. 1887)
- July 24 - Adolphe Charles Adam, French composer (d. 1856)
- July 31 - John Ericsson, Swedish inventor and engineer (d. 1889)
- September 4 - Sarah Childress Polk, First Lady of the United States (d. 1891)
- September 27 - Samuel Francis du Pont, American admiral (d. 1865)
- September 28 - Prosper Mérimée, French writer (d. 1870)
- November 14 - Jacob Abbott, American writer (d. 1879)
- November 29 - Christian Doppler, Austrian mathematician (d. 1853)
- December 11 - Hector Berlioz, French composer (d. 1869)

Deaths

- January 23 - Arthur Guinness, Irish brewer (b. 1725)
- February 9 - Jean François de Saint-Lambert, French poet (b. 1716)
- February 18 - Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim, German poet (b. 1719)
- February 20 - Marie Dumesnil, French actress (b. 1713)
- March 14 - Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, German poet (b. 1724)
- April 2 - Sir James Montgomery, 1st Baronet, Scottish politician and judge (b. 1721)
- April 7 - Toussaint L'Ouverture, Haitian revolutionary (b. 1743)
- June 24 - Matthew Thornton, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1714)
- September 5 - Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, French general and author (b. 1741)
- September 15 - Gian Francesco Albani, Italian Catholic cardinal (b. 1719)
- October 2 - Samuel Adams, American revolutionary leader (b. 1722)
- October 26 - Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford, English politician (b. 1721)
- November 23 - Roger Newdigate, English politician (b. 1719)
- December 18 - Johann Gottfried Herder, German philosopher and writer (b. 1744)
- December 30 - Francis Lewis, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1713)
- Jacques-Donatien Le Ray, French "Father of the American Revolution" (b. 1726) Category:1803 ko:1803년 ms:1803

Asti

Asti is a town and comune in the Piemonte or Piedmont region, in north-western Italy, , in the plain of the Tanaro river at 123 m (404 ft) above sea-level. Its population according to the 2003 census was 71,500. It is the capital of the Asti province. In ancient times, the town was known as Hasta.

History and Monuments

Asti was founded by the Romans. Some sections of the ancient city walls remain on the North side of the city and in the late 20th century building work uncovered a section of Roman wall in the center of the city. Asti was a very affluent town and trade centre in the middle ages. The area to the NW of the city, between the centre and the Cathedral, is very rich in medival palaces and merchants houses, many with monumental towers.

Events

One of the most famous events held in Asti is the Palio, in which every quarter, called "Rioni", and nearby town compete in a horse race. This event recalls a victory in battle versus the rival city Alba, during the middle ages after the victorios battle a race was held around Alba's walls, from then every year in Asti is held the "Palio".

Wine

Within the territory of the province called "Monferrato" are located some of the most important productions of Italian wine. One of the most exported wines was formerly known as Asti Spumante, but is now called Asti to avoid confusion with wines from elsewhere, many of dubious quality labelled as "spumante". Asti is typically sweet, sparkling, and low in alcohol (often below 8%). The muscat grape is a common component, and Asti made only of Muscat may be called Moscato d'Asti.

Food

Asti is famous for its Festival Delle Sagre, held in September. During the festival most of the towns in Asti's province meet in a great square called "Piazza del Palio", here they offer typical food and wine for which they are known. One peculiar thing is that before the opening of the festival all the towns involved make a ceremony in costume along Asti's roads to reach "Piazza del palio" square. Category:Italian wine regions Category:Towns in Piedmont ja:アスティ

Piedmont (Italy)

Piedmont (Italian: Piemonte) is a region of northwestern Italy. It has an area of 25,400 km² and a population of est. 4.2 million. Its capital is Turin. Piedmont is surrounded on three sides by the Alps mountain range, including the Monviso, where the Po River rises, and Monte Rosa. It borders with France, Switzerland, and the Italian regions of Lombardy, Liguria, Emilia Romagna and Valle d'Aosta. Lowland Piedmont is a fertile agricultural region, producing wheat, rice, maize and grapes. The region also contains major industrial centres, notably Turin, home to the FIAT automobile works. In 1046, the counts of the House of Savoy added Piedmont to their main territory of Savoy, with a capital at Chambéry (now in France). The House of Savoy was elevated to a duchy in 1416, and Duke Emanuele Filiberto moved the seat to Turin in 1563. (The dukes were also kings of Sardinia starting in 1720.) Piedmont was the springboard for Italy's unification in 1859-1861, following earlier unsuccessful wars against Austria in 1820-1821 and 1848-1849. A "piedmont" is a foothill, and "piedmont" has become a generic designation for foothill regions in geography. Piedmont is one of the great winegrowing regions in Italy. More than half of its 700 km² (170,000 acres) of vineyards are registered with DOC designations. It produces wines of renowned depth such as the famed Barbera, Barolo and Barbaresco, as well as the more approachable Dolcetto. The main cities of the Piedmont region are the provincial capitals (Alessandria, Asti, Biella, Cuneo, Novara, Vercelli, Verbania, Torino, Moncalieri and Rivoli).

External links

Government agencies

- [http://www.regione.piemonte.it/ Piemonte Region: Official Site]
- [http://www.consiglioregionale.piemonte.it/ Consiglio Regionale]
- [http://www.arpa.piemonte.it/ ARPA Piemonte] (environmental protection agency)
- [http://www.piemonte.istruzione.it/ Ufficio Scolastico Regionale] (school district)

Specialty sites

- [http://www.ilgiornaledelpiemonte.com/ Giornale del Piemonte] (daily newspaper)
- [http://www.piemonte-online.com/ Piemonte Magazine]
- [http://www.federpiemonte.org/ Confindustria] (manufacturers association)
- [http://cucina.piemonte.net/ Cucina Piemonte.Net] (Piemontese cuisine)
- [http://www.tempoitalia.it/meteoregione/previsione.php?reg=piemonte TempoItalia] (weather forecasts)

Tourism portals

- [http://www.italy-weather-and-maps.com/maps/italy/piedmont.gif Map of Piedmont]
- [http://www.globalgeografia.com/italia/piemonte.htm Global Geografia]
- [http://www.piemondo.it/ Piemondo]
- [http://www.piemonte-emozioni.it/ Piemonte Emozioni]
- [http://www.piemonteonline.it/ Piemonte Online]
- [http://www.piemonteweb.it/pw/Home.asp Piemonte Web]
- [http://www.itinerari-piemonte.it/ Itinerari Piemonte]] Category:NUTS 2 Statistical Regions of Europe ja:ピエモンテ州 simple:Piedmont

Coni

Cuneo (pop. ca. 50,000) is the capital of the Province of Cuneo, Piedmont, Italy. It is located at the foot of the Maritime Alps, on the Stura di Demonte river where it emerges from the Valle Stura.

External link

- [http://www.comune.cuneo.it/ Cuneo homepage (in Italian)]
- [http://www.italianvisits.com/piemonte/cuneo/ ItalianVisits.com]
Category:Towns in Piedmont ja:クーネオ

Ariosto

Ludovico Ariosto (September 8, 1474 – July 6, 1533) was an Italian poet, author of the epic poem Orlando furioso (1516), "Orlando Enraged". He was born at Reggio, in Emilia. His father was Niccolo Ariosto, commander of the citadel of Reggio. He followed a strong inclination to poetry from his earliest years, but was obliged by his father to study the law--a pursuit in which he lost five of the best years of his life. Allowed at last to read classics under Gregorio da Spoleto. But after a short time, studying which he read the best Latin authors, he was deprived of his teacher by Gregorio's removal to France as tutor of Francesco Sforza. Ariosto thus lost the opportunity of learning Greek, as he intended. Francesco Sforza] His father dying soon after, he was compelled forego his literary occupations to undertake the management of the family, whose affairs were in disarray, and to provide for his nine brothers and sisters, one of whom was a cripple. He wrote, however, about this time some comedies in prose and lyrical pieces. Some of these attracted the notice of the cardinal Ippolito d'Este, who took the young poet under his patronage and appointed him one of the gentlemen of his household. This prince made a mockery of the character of a patron of literature. The only reward he gave the poet for Orlando Furioso, a piece dedicated to him, was the question, "Where did you find so many stories, Master Ludovic?" The poet himself tells us that the cardinal was ungrateful, that he deplored the time which he spent under his yoke, and adds, that if he received some niggardly pension, it was not to reward him for his poetry, which the prelate despised, but to make some just compensation for the poet's running like a messenger, with the work of his life yet to accomplish, at his eminence's pleasure. Nor was even this miserable pittance regularly paid during the period that the poet enjoyed it. The cardinal went to Hungary in 1518, and wished Aniosto to accompany him. The poet excused himself, pleading ill health, his love of study, the care of his private affairs and the age of his mother, whom it would have been disgraceful to leave. His excuses were not well received, and even an interview was denied him. Ariosto then boldly said, that had his eminence thought to have bought a slave by assigning him the scanty pension of 75 crowns a year, he was mistaken and might withdraw his boon--which it seems the cardinal did. The cardinal's brother, Alphonso, duke of Ferrara, now took the poet under his patronage. This was but an act of simple justice, Ariosto having already distinguished himself as a diplomat, chiefly on the occasion of two visits to Rome as ambassador to Pope Julius II. The fatigue of one of these hurried journeys brought on a complaint from which he never recovered, and on his second mission he was nearly killed by order of the pope, who happened at the time to be much incensed against the duke of Ferrara. On account of the war, his salary of only 84 crowns a year was suspended, and it was withdrawn together after the peace. Because of this, Ariosto asked the duke either to provide for him, or to allow him to seek employment elsewhere. He was appointed to the province of Garfagnana, then without a governor, situated on the wildest heights of the Apennines, an appointment he held for three years. The place was no sinecure. The province was distracted by factions and banditti, the governor had not the requisite means to enforce his authority and the duke did little to support his minister. Yet it is said that Ariosto's government satisfied both the sovereign and the people given over to his care; indeed, there is a story about a time when he was walking alone and fell into the company of a group of banditti, the chief of which, on discovering that his captive was the author of Orlando Furioso, humbly apologized for not having immediately shown him the respect which was due to his rank. In 1508 his play Cassaria appeared, and the next year I Suppositi. In 1516, the first version of the Orlando Furioso in thirty cantos, was published at Padua. The third and final version of the Orlando Furioso, in forty-six cantos, appeared on September 8, 1532.

External link

- Ariosto, Ludovico Ariosto, Ludovico Ariosto, Ludovico Ariosto, Ludovico Ariosto, Ludovico ja:ルドヴィーコ・アリオスト

Metastasio

Pietro Trapassi (January 13, 1698 – April 12, 1782), Italian poet, is better known by his pseudonym of Metastasio. He was born in Rome, where his father, Felice Trapassi, a native of Assisi, had taken service in the Corsican regiment of the papal forces. Felice married a Bolognese woman, Francesca Galasti, and established himself in business as a grocer in the Via dei Cappellari. Two sons and two daughters were the fruit of this marriage. The eldest son, Leopoldo, played an important part in the poet's life. Pietro, while still a child, is said to have attracted crowds by reciting impromptu verses on a given subject. On one such occasion 1709, two men of distinction stopped to listen: Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, famous for legal and literary erudition as well as his dictatorship of the Arcadian Academy, and Lorenzini, a critic of some note. Gravina was attracted by the boy's poetic talent and personal charm, and made Pietro his protégé; in the course of a few weeks he adopted him. Felice Trapassi was glad enough to give his son the chance of a good education and introduction into society. Gravina hellenized the boy's name Trapassi into Metastasio, and intended his adopted son to be a jurist like himself. He therefore made the boy learn Latin and begin the study of law. At the same time he cultivated his literary gifts, and displayed the youthful prodigy both at his own house and in the Roman coteries. Metastasio soon found himself competing with the most celebrated improvvisatori of his time in Italy. Days spent in severe studies and evenings devoted to the task of improvising eighty stanzas at a single session were fast ruining Pietro's health and straining his poetic faculty. At this juncture Gravina had to journey into Calabria on business. He took Metastasio with him, exhibited him in the literary circles of Naples, and then placed him under the care of his kinsman Gregorio Caroprese at Scaléa. In country air and the quiet of the southern seashore Metastasio's health revived. Gravina decided that he should never improvise again, but should be reserved for nobler efforts, when, having completed his education, he might enter into competition with the greatest poets. Metastasio responded to his patron's wishes. At the age of twelve he translated the Iliad into octave stanzas; and two years later he composed a tragedy in the manner of Seneca on a subject from Trissino's Italia liberata - Gravina's favourite epic. It was called Giustino. Gravina had it printed in 1713; but the play is lifeless; and forty-two years later Metastasio told his publisher, Calsabigi, that he would willingly suppress it. Caroprese died in 1714, leaving Gravina his heir; and in 1718 Gravina also died. Metastasio inherited a fortune of 15,000 scudi. At a meeting of the Arcadian Academy, he recited an elegy on his patron, and then settled down to enjoy his wealth. Metastasio was now twenty. During the last four years he had worn the costume of abbé, having taken the minor orders without which it was then useless to expect advancement in Rome. His romantic history, personal beauty, charming manners and distinguished talents made him fashionable. Within two years he had spent his money and increased his reputation. He now decided to apply himself seriously to the work of his profession. In Naples, he entered the office of an eminent lawyer named Castagnola, who exercised severe control over his time and energies. While slaving at the law, Metastasio in 1721 composed an epithalamium, and probably also his first musical serenade, Endimione, on the occasion of the marriage of his patroness the Princess Pinelli di Sangro to the Marchese Belmonte Pignatelli. In 1722, the birthday of the empress had to be celebrated with more than ordinary honours, and the viceroy applied to Metastasio to compose a serenata for the occasion. He accepted this invitation, but it was arranged that his authorship should be kept secret. Under these conditions Metastasio produced Gli orti esperidi. Set to music by Nicola Porpora, and sung by Porpora's pupil, the castrato Farinelli, making a spectacular debut, it won the most extraordinary applause. The great Roman prima donna, Marianna Bulgarelli, called 'La Romanina' from her birthplace, who had played Venus in this drama, spared no pains until she had discovered its author. La Romanina persuaded the poet to give up the law, and promised to secure for him fame and independence if he would devote his talents to the musical drama. In La Romanina's house Metastasio became acquainted with the greatest composers of the day - including Porpora, from whom he took lessons in music; with Hasse, Pergolese, Alessandro Scarlatti, Vinci, Leo, Durante, and Marcello, all of whom were destined in the future to set his plays to melody. Here too he studied the art of singing, and learned to appreciate the style of such men as Farinelli. Gifted with extraordinary facility in composition, and with a true poetic feeling, he found no difficulty in producing plays which, while beautiful in themselves, judged merely as works of literary art, became masterpieces as soon as their words were set to music, and rendered by the singers of the greatest school of vocal art the world has ever seen. Reading Metastasio in the study, it is impossible to do him justice. But the conventionality of all his plots, the absurdities of many of his situations, the violence he does to history in the persons of some leading characters, his "damnable iteration" of the theme of love in all its phases, are explained and justified by music. Metastasio lived with La Romanina and her husband in Rome. Moved by an affection half maternal half romantic, and by a true artist's admiration for so rare a talent, she adopted him more passionately even than Gravina had done. She took the whole Trapassi family - father, mother, brother, sisters - into her own house. She fostered the poet's genius and pampered his caprices. Under her influence he wrote in rapid succession the Didone abbandonata, Catone in Utica, Ezio, Alessandro nell' Indie, Semiramide riconosciuta, Siroe and Artaserse. These dramas were set to music by the chief composers of the day, and performed in the chief towns of Italy. But meanwhile La Romanina was growing older; she had ceased to sing in public; and the poet felt himself more and more dependent in an irksome sense upon her kindness. He gained 300 scudi for each opera; this pay, though good, was precarious, and he longed for some fixed engagement. In September 1729 he received the offer of the post of court poet to the theatre at Vienna, with a stipend of 3000 florins. This he at once accepted. La Romanina unselfishly sped him on his way to glory. She took the charge of his family in Rome, and he set off for Austria. In the early summer of 1730 Metastasio settled at Vienna in the house of a Spanish Neapolitan, Niccolo Martinez, where he resided until his death. This date marks a new period in his artistic activity. Between the years 1730 and 1740 his finest dramas, Adriano, Demetrio, Issipile, Demofoonte, Olimpiade, Clemenza di Tito, Achille in Sciro, Temistocle and Attilio Regolo, were produced for the imperial theatre. Some of them had to be composed for special occasions, with almost incredible rapidity - the Achille in eighteen days, the Ipermestra in nine. Poet, composer, musical copyist and singer did their work together in frantic haste. Metastasio understood the technique of his peculiar art in its minutest details. The experience gained at Naples and Rome, quickened by the excitement of his new career at Vienna, enabled him almost instinctively, and as it were by inspiration, to hit the exact mark aimed at in the opera. At Vienna Metastasio met with no marked social success. His plebeian birth excluded him from aristocratic circles. To make up in some measure for this comparative failure, he enjoyed the intimacy of the Countess Althann, sister-in-law of his old patroness the Princess Belmonte Pignatelli. She had lost her husband, and had some while occupied the post of chief favourite to the emperor. Metastasio's liaison with her became so close that it was believed they had been privately married. La Romanina had tired of his absence, and asked Metastasio to get her an engagement at the court theatre. He was ashamed of her and tired of her, and wrote dissuading her from the projected visit. The tone of his letters alarmed and irritated her. She seems to have set out from Rome, but died suddenly upon the road. All we know is that she left him her fortune after her husband's life interest in it had expired, and that Metastasio, overwhelmed with grief and remorse, immediately renounced the legacy. This disinterested act plunged the Bulgarelli-Metastasio household at Rome into confusion. La Romanina's widower married again. Leopoldo Trapassi, and his father and sister, were thrown upon their own resources. As time advanced, the life which Metastasio led at Vienna, together with the climate, told on his health and spirits. From about the year 1745 onward he wrote little, though the cantatas which belong to this period, and the canzonetta Ecco quel fiero istante, which he sent to his friend Farinelli, rank among the most popular of his productions. It was clear, as Vernon Lee has phrased it, that "what ailed him was mental and moral ennui". In 1755 the Countess Althann died, and Metastasio was reduced to the society which gathered round him in the bourgeois house of the Martinez. He sank rapidly into the habits of old age; and, though he lived till the year 1782, he was very inactive. He bequeathed his whole fortune of some 130,000 florins to the five children of his friend Martinez. He had survived all his Italian relatives. During the forty years in which Metastasio overlived his originality and creative powers his fame went on increasing. In his library he counted as many as forty editions of his own works. They had been translated into French, English, German, Spanish, even into modern Greek. They had been set to music over and over again by every composer of distinction, each opera receiving this honour in turn from several of the most illustrious men of Europe. They had been sung by the best virtuosi in every capital, and there was not a literary academy of note which had not conferred on him the honour of membership. Strangers of distinction passing through Vienna made a point of paying their respects to the old poet at his lodgings in the Kohlmarkt Gasse. But his poetry was intended for a certain style of music - for the music of omnipotent vocalists, of thaumaturgical soprani. With the changes effected in the musical drama by Gluck and Mozart, with the development of orchestration and the rapid growth of the German manner, a new type of libretto came into demand. Metastasio's plays fell into undeserved neglect, together with the music to which he had linked them. Farinelli, whom he styled "twin-brother", was the true exponent of his poetry; and, with the abolition of the class of singers to which Farinelli belonged, Metastasio's music suffered eclipse. It was indeed a just symbolic instinct which made the poet dub this unique soprano his twin brother. The musical drama for which Metastasio composed, and in working for which his genius found its proper sphere, has so wholly passed away that it is now difficult to assign his true place as a poet in Italian literary history. His inspiration was essentially emotional and lyrical. The chief dramatic situations are expressed by lyrics for two or three voices, embodying the several contending passions of the agents brought into conflict by the circumstances of the plot. The total result is not pure literature, but literature supremely fit for musical effect. Language in Metastasio's hands is exquisitely pure and limpid. Of the Italian poets, he professed a special admiration for Tasso and for Giambattista Marini. But he avoided the conceits of the latter, and was no master over the refined richness of the former's diction. His own style reveals the improviser's facility. Of the Latin poets he studied Ovid with the greatest pleasure, and from this predilection some of his own literary qualities may be derived. For sweetness of versification, for limpidity of diction, for delicacy of sentiment, for romantic situations exquisitely rendered in the simplest style, and for a certain delicate beauty of imagery sometimes soaring to ideal sublimity, he deserves to be appreciated so long as the Italian language lasts. There are numerous editions of Metastasio's works. That by Calsabigi (Paris, 1755, 5 vols. 8vo) published under his own superintendence, was the poet's favourite. The posthumous works were printed at Vienna, 1795. Metastasio's life was written by Aluigi (Assisi, 1783) by Charles Burney (London, 1796), and by others.

References

External link

- [http://www.progettometastasio.it/ Pietro Metastasio: Drammi per musica] (in Italian)
- [http://publish.uwo.ca/~metastas/ Handbook for Metastasio Research]
- [http://www.pietrometastasio.com/ Pietro Metastasio: Poeta dell'Unità culturale europea] (in Italian)
- Metastasio Metastasio Metastasio Metastasio Metastasio

Law

:This article is about law in society. For other possible meanings, see law (disambiguation). Law (a loanword from Old Norse lag), in politics and jurisprudence, is a set of rules or norms of conduct which mandate, proscribe or permit specified relationships among people and organizations, provide methods for ensuring the impartial treatment of such people, and provide punishments of/for those who do not follow the established rules of conduct. Law is typically administered through a system of courts, in which judges hear disputes between parties and apply a set of rules in order to provide an outcome that is just and fair. The manner in which law is administered is known as a legal system, which typically has developed through tradition in each country. Legal practitioners, most often, must be professionally trained in the law before they are permitted to advocate for a party in a court of law, draft legal documents, or give legal advice.

Legal traditions

There are generally four broad legal traditions that are practiced in the world today.

Civil law

The Civilian system of law is a codified law that sets out a comprehensive system of rules that are applied and interpreted by judges. It is by and large the most commonly practiced system of law in the world, with almost 60 % of the world's population living in a country ruled on the civilian system. The most important difference to common law is that normally, only legislative enactments are considered to be legally binding, but not precedent cases. However, as a practical matter, courts normally follow their previous decisions. Furthermore, in some civil law systems (e.g. in Germany), the writings of legal scholars have considerable influence on the courts. In most jurisdictions the core areas of private law are codified in the form of a civil code, but in some, like Scotland it remains uncodified. The civil law system has its origins in Roman law, which was adopted by scholars and courts from the late middle ages onwards. Most modern systems go back to the 19th century codification movement. The civil codes of many, particularly Latin countries and former French and Spanish colonies closely trail the Code de Napoléon in some fashion. However, this is not true for most Central and Eastern European, Scandinavian and East Asian countries. Notably, the German BGB was developed from Roman law with reference to German legal tradition. The importance of the Code Napoléon should also not be overemphasized as it covers only the core areas of private law, while other codes and statutes govern fields such as corporate law, administrative law, tax law and constitutional law.

Common law

The Common law is an Anglo-Saxon legal tradition, based on unwritten laws developed through judicial decisions that create binding precedent. The common law system is currently in practice in Australia, Canada (excluding Quebec), United Kingdom, and the United States (excluding Louisiana). In addition to these countries several others have adapted the common law system into a mixed system. For example, India and Nigera operate largely on a common law system but incorporate a good deal of customary law and religious law.

Customary law

Customary law are systems of law that has evolved largely on their own within a given country and have been adapted to meet the needs of the particular culture. Note that customary law may also be relevant within jurisdictions following another legal tradition in fields or subfields of law where no legislative enactment exists. For example, in Austria, scholars of private law often claim that customary law continues to exist, whereas public law scholars dispute this claim. (In any case, it is hard to find any practically relevant examples.)

Religious law

Many countries base their system of law on religious tenants. The most dominant system of this form of law is Muslim law (or "Sharia") which is a codified law that is found within the Koran. These laws deal primarily with the personal rights and dispute resolution between individuals. It is used in some Middle Eastern nations; such as in the Iran and Saudi Arabia. On a smaller level there are still regions of the world that practice canon law, which is followed by Catholics and Anglicans, and a similar legal system is used by the Eastern Orthodox Church. The same can be said for Jewish law (halakha or halacha), which is followed by Orthodox and Conservative Jews, in substantially different forms.

Bodies of law

In the broadest sense, bodies of law can be subdivided on the basis of who the parties to an action are. It is frequent that practiced fields of law overlap into several of these bodies of law.

Private law

The area of private law in a legal system concerns law that oversees disputes between private individuals. This area is, to a large extent, the most comprehensive area of law, dealing with all non-criminal harm one person does to another.

Public law

The area of public law, in a general sense, is the law in a given legal system that concerns disputes between the government and private individuals residing within the country. The state can bring actions against people for criminal acts, as well as breach of regulatory laws. Equally, individuals can bring actions against the government for harm it has done. This includes grounds on the basis of a breach of regulations, legislate on matters beyond their competence, or violation of an individuals rights. These last two points are often protected under a countries’ constitution.

Procedural law

Procedural law concerns the areas of law that regulate how all actions are dealt with. This includes who can have access to the court system, how complaints are submitted, and what are the rights of the parties involved. Procedural law is often known as "adjective" law as it is the law that concern how other laws are to be applied. Typically, this is broadly covered by a government’s civil and criminal procedure rules. But equally this includes the law of evidence which determines what means are used to prove facts, as well as, the law regarding remedies.

International law

International law governs the relations between states, or between citizens of different states, or international organizations. Its two primary sources are customary law and treaties.

Philosophy of law

Philosophy of law is a branch of philosophy and jurisprudence which studies basic questions about law and legal systems, such as "what is the law?", "what are the criteria for legal validity?", "what is the relationship between law and morality?", and many other similar questions. In the western tradition there are several schools of thought on the philosophical basis of law. First, there is natural law, which attempts to describe law as an inherent quality in humans that is derived from natures. Second, there is the positivism which believes that law is a purely human-made construct that society uses to maintain social order. Third, there is legal realism which believes that law is an arbitrary set of rules that are largely established through the tastes and preferences of judges.

Anthropology of law

:See main discussion at Honour Law has an anthropological dimension. It has been recognized from Montesquieu to the present that law is shaped by the kind of society in which it is practised. One continuum into which various societies can be placed contrasts the "culture of law" with the "culture of honour". In order to have a culture of law, people must dwell in a society where a government exists whose authority is hard to evade and generally recognised as legitimate. People take their grievances before the government and its agents, who arbitrate disputes and enforce penalties. This behaviour is contrasted with the culture of honour, where respect for persons and groups stems from fear of the revenge they may exact if their person, property, or prerogatives are not respected. Cultures of law must be maintained. They can be eroded by declining respect for the law, achieved either by weak government unable to wield its authority, or by burdensome restrictions that attempt to forbid behaviour prevalent in the culture or in some subculture of the society. When a culture of law declines, there is a possibility that an culture of honor will arise in its place.
History

Practice of law
Practice of law is typically overseen by either a government organization or independent regulating body such as a bar association or barrister society. To practice law – i.e. appear in front of a judge on behalf of someone, draft legal documents, etc. – the practitioner must be certified by the regulating body. This usually entails a two or three year program at a university’s faculty of law or a law school, followed by an entrance examination (eg. bar admissions). Once accredited, a legal practitioners will often work in law firm, as well as in government, a private corporation, or even work as sole practitioner. A significant component to the practice of law in the common law tradition involves legal research in order to determine the current state of the law. This usually entails exploring case reporters, legal periodicals, and legislation.
See also

- Law topics overview
- List of areas of law
- List of legal topics
- List of legal terms
- List of jurists
- List of legal abbreviations
- List of case law lists
- List of law firms
Further reading

- Cheyenne Way: Conflict & Case Law in Primitive Jurisprudence, Karl N. Llewellyn and E. Adamson Hoebel, University of Oklahoma Press, 1983, trade paperback, 374 pages, ISBN 0806118555
- The Bilingual LSP Dictionary. Principles and Practice for Legal language, Sandro Nielsen, Gunter Narr Verlag 1994.
- [http://browse.addall.com/Browse/Author/2088479-1 Other books by Karl N. Llewellyn]
- David, René, and John E. C. Brierley. Major Legal Systems in the World Today: An Introduction to the Comparative Study of Law. 3d ed. London: Stevens, 1985 (ISBN 0420473408).
External links

- [http://www.legalmatch.com LegalMatch] Legal Resource
- [http://ausicl.com The Australian Institute of Comparative Legal Systems]
- [http://www.lpig.org Law and Policy Institutions]
- [http://www.llbee.com/news.php?p=news Laws External Education- Legal News By Subject]
- [http://www.4lawschool.com 4LawSchool- Legal Reference]
- [http://ww3.definitions-legal.com:8567/ Law, Legal Definitions & Reference]
- [http://www.ericdigests.org/1996-3/law.htm Essentials of Law-Related Education. ERIC Digest.]
- [http://www.law.cornell.edu LII - Topical overviews, US Supreme Court decisions, US Code (Acts of Congress)]
- [http://www.worldlii.org WorldLII - The World Legal Information Institute]
- [http://www.lawmoose.com LawMoose Legal Reference Library]
- [http://legallinks.jenkinslaw.org Legal Research Links]
- [http://www.findlaw.com FindLaw]
- [http://ausicl.com The Australian Institute of Comparative Legal Systems]
- [http://www.nolo.com/glossary.cfm Everybody's Legal Glossary] - From Nolo
- [http://www.alllaw.com/ AllLaw]
- [http://legal.wikicities.com/ WikiCities Legal Site]
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:
- [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/law-ideology/ Law and Ideology]
- [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/law-language/ Law and Language]
- [http://en.jurispedia.org/ The shared law] in Jurispedia
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- [http://forumprawne.org Prawo i porady prawne] - web discussion board about Polish law Category:Core issues in ethics ja:法 (法学) simple:Law th:กฎหมาย

1766

1766 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar).

Events

- January 1 - Bonnie Prince Charlie becomes the new Stuart claimant to the throne of Great Britain as King Charles III and figurehead for Jacobitism.
- March 5 - Antonio de Ulloa, the first Spanish governor of Louisiana, arrives in New Orleans.
- March 18 - American Revolution: The British Parliament repeals the Stamp Act which was very unpopular in the British colonies. The persuasion of Benjamin Franklin is considered partly responsible. The Declaratory Act asserts the right of Britain to bind the colonies in all other respects.
- November 10 - The last Colonial governor of New Jersey, William Franklin, signs the charter of Queen's College (later renamed Rutgers University).
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart returns to Salzburg after touring Paris and London with his father
- Christian VII becomes King of Denmark
- Lorraine becomes French again on the death of Stanislaus I Leszczyński, King of Poland
- The Burmese begin to invade the Thai kingdom of Ayutthaya.
- What is now England's oldest surviving Georgian