28th February

On this day in history, in 1155, Henry 'the Young King' was born to Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Henry was the second eldest of five sons and his father's chosen successor. The eldest son, William, had died in infancy.

Although Henry was crowned King at the age of 15, his father retained his power and is often criticized for not delegating some of the King's duties to his Henry. Henry died in 1183, while campaigning in the Limousin against his father and younger brother Richard. The succession was consequently unstable, and remained so until Richard eventually won out over his brothers Geoffrey and John (though John would succeed Richard).

The troublesome succession is the subject of the film The Lion In Winter.

27th February

On this day in history, in 272 (though the year is uncertain), Flavius Valerius Constantinus was born. His father was a skilled military man who had earned the governorship of Dalmatia from the Emperor Diocletian, and eventually he attained the position of Caesar; one of two, under two 'Augustii', Diocletian in the East and Maximian in the West. This form of government was to become known as the tetrarchy.

With this background, it is perhaps unsurprising that at the time of his father's death, it was expected that Constantinus should succeed him as Caesar. In 305 Diocletian announced his abdication, as did Maximian in an identical ceremony in Milan. There followed a period of civil war, known as the Civil Wars of the Tetrarchy, for full control of the empire. A deciding battle, the Battle of the Milvian Bridge eventually saw Constantius victorious. He united the empire and was to rule until his death in 337 as Constantine I, or Constantine the Great.

{Image: Bust of Constantine at the Capitoline Museum in Rome}

26th February

On this day in history, in 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from Elba.

In 1814, after the Battle of Paris, the allied states of Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, Russia and Prussia negotiated the Treaty of Fontainebleu. The Treaty stipulated that Napoleon was to abdicate as Emperor of France, and was to be exiled to the island of Elba, the largest in the Tuscan archipelago. Though officially its own principality, with Napoleon as its head of state, the island was nevertheless a prison for Napoleon who at that time was regarded as "the sole obstacle to peace in Europe".

25th February

On this day in history in 138, the Roman Emperor Hadrian adopted Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus. Antoninus recieved tribunician power and imperium, and was officially Hadrian's successor. Three years later he would begin his reign in Rome as 'Antoninus Pius', the fourth of the 'Five Good Emperors'. The fifth would be Marcus Aurelius, a member of the Aurelii Fulvii family and nephew of Antoninus Pius.

{Image source: taken by Ricardo André Frantz of the bust of Hadrian in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens}

24th February

On this day in history, Aethelbert, King of Kent, died in 616. His feast day was originally 24th February, but it was subsequently moved to the 25th.

He had ruled from about 580/590 to his death. He is listed by the monk Bede, in hisEcclesiastical History of the English People, as the third king to hold imperium over other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. The first was Aelle of Sussex (488 - c.514). Aside from Kent's rich and fertile lands, Aethelbert also had a powerful continental ally in the Franks - his wife, Bertha was the daughter of Charibert, King of the Franks. It is thought that due to Bertha's influence, papal missionaries were able to put down the roots of Christianity among the Anglo-Saxons. Aethelbert was later canonized for this role in British Christian history, and his code of laws for Kent is the earliest known written law in any Germanic language.

23rd February

On this day in history, in 1739, Richard Palmer is identified as the famous highwayman Dick Turpin.

Whilst incarcerated at York, Turpin (or "Palmer" as he was calling himself) wrote a letter to his brother-in-law, Pompr Rivernall. Rivernall refused to pay the delivery charge on the letter when it arrived at Hempstead post office, saying he had no correspondent in York. The letter was moved to the post office at Saffron Walden where it was seen by James Smith, a former teacher of Turpin's, who recognised the handwriting. Smith eventually travelled to York and identified "Palmer" as Dick Turpin. On March 22nd, after a short trial, Turpin was convicted of horse theft, and he was subsequently executed on the 7th of April.

22nd February

On this day in history, in 1632, Gallileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systemswas published in Florence, Italy. Though initially published under a formal license from the Inquisition, the book was subsequently placed on the 'Index of Forbidden Books', and Gallileo himself was convicted of 'grave suspicion of heresy' in 1633. The book was not removed from the index until 1835.

The Dialogue compares traditional Ptolemaic system (where the Universe orbits the Earth) and the Copernican system (where the planets orbit the Sun). The Ptolemaic system takes its name from Claudius Ptolemaeus, writer of Almagest - a treatise on the complex movements of the planets based on Babylonian and Greek astronomical observations. An edition of theAlmagest was printed in 1515. Copernicus had published his theories in 1543.

Gallileo's Dialogue is presented in a style reminiscent of Plato, where several protagonists have detailed discussions about the merits and faults of the Copernican and Ptolemaic system

21st February

On this day in history, in 1613, Mikhail Fyodorovich Romanov was crowned 'Mikhail I', Tsar of Imperial Russia. Although only 17 on his accession, his rule marked the end of the time of troubles and his dynasty, the Romanovs, were to rule for 300 years until the downfall of the monarchy in the 1917 Russian Revolution.

20th February

On this day in history, in 1547, Prince Edward was crowned Edward VI, King of England at the age of 9. Due to his youth, a Regency Council had been created to aid Edward in ruling until he reached the age of 18. He died only six years after acceding to the throne of an infection of the lungs, thought by some to be tuberculosis.

He was succeeded by his half sister Mary, and England was once again ruled by a Catholic monarch. Edward was the first King of England to be raised as a Protestant and it was during his reign that Anglicanism was established.

19th February

Today, in 197, Severus Septimius finally defeated Clodius Albinus, securing his sole control over the Roman Empire as the Emperor Severus I.

After the assassination of the Emperor Commodus in 193, there followed a period of uncertain succession, referred to as 'The Year of the Five Emperors'. The first competitor, Pertinax, was murdered by the Praetorian guard after having reigned only 86 days. He was followed by Didius Julianus, who himself was condemned to death by the Senate after Severus arrived in Italy and took Rome without opposition. Meanwhile in Syria, the legions had proclaimed Pescennius Niger emperor. Severus moved East and crushed Niger in the Battle of Issus. Eventually matters came to a head when Severus declared Caracalla his heir - a move that antagonized Clodius Albinus, who Severus had previously made Caesar and thus impliedly his heir. Albinus was proclaimed emperor by his troops. He met Severus in the Battle of Lugdunum (modern Lyon, France). Albinus was crushed and killed. Severus gained complete control over the Empire, and founded the Severan dynasty which was to reign for 42 years.

18th February

On this day in 1404, Leone Battista Alberti was born. Alberti has several claims to fame, being something of the all-round Renaissance chap. He was an author and architect, poet and priest, linguist, philosopher, cryptographer and humanist - the quintessential Renaissance polymath.

He studied Classics, trained in Law and wrote several important works. In all his writing he expounded his philosophy that the ultimate goal of art was to imitate nature, and he saw mathematics as the foundation blocks of art, and of science. His most well-known work (in art circles at least) is De Pictura, or Della Pittura (1435). He dedicated the work to Filippo Brunelleschi, a self-taught architect who had previously formulated a set of principles for linear perspective. Alberti picked up Brunelleschi's work and further developed the theory to produce a coherent mathematical structure of perspective relevant to the viewer.

Della Pittura is still considered a seminal work, and is essential reading for all art historians.

6th February

On this day in history, the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840 in New Zealand. The 6th of February is marked as a national holiday in New Zealand to commemorate the event.

European settlers and Maori gathered at James Busby's house at Waitangi in the North Island of New Zealand to sign the Treaty, which was to establish New Zealand as a British colony, and would grant Maori the rights of British subjects. The text was written both in Maori and English, and inconsistencies between versions subsequently lead to many a legal debate over exactly what the Treaty established. Today, though it has a complex legal past, the Treaty is generally acknowledged as an important founding document in the New Zealand's legal history.

And on the first day...

On this day in history, this year, this blog was created. Welcome!