Spain

2006-03-06T06:14:27Z

Shandra: Added Spanish names for notable persons.

'''Spain''' is a large country in [[Europe]] to the south of [[France]], and the home of [[Don Quixote]]. Southern Spain was a mix of cultures due to the "occupation" in the [[7th century|7th]] - [[15th century|15th centuries]] of the [[Moor]]s from [[Africa]] who did not uproot the local population, and the intermittent influx of [[Jew|Jews]] coming to escape persecution elsewhere in [[Europe]].

Famous for having a not half bad [[navy|armada]] that the [[England|English]] later destroyed in 1588.

Famous Spainards:
* [[El Cid]]
* [[Philip II]] (Felipe II in Spanish)

=== History ===
After the fall of the [[Roman Empire]], the Spanish peninsula underwent a period of isolated calm, as the various nomadic invaders from the East either passed through or settled.

In 711 the [[Moorish Invasion]] occurred, when the [[army|armies]] of [[Islam]], having conquered their way along the [[Mediterranean]] coast of [[Africa]], crossed at the Pillars of Hercules and invaded what would become '''Spain'''. By 714, just three years later, all of the penisula was is Islamic hands, except for a tiny enclave in the extreme north-west, in Galicia, held by a mixture of [[Christianity|Christianised]] [[Visigoths]] and Romanised Spaniards.

In 732, however, at the [[battle]] of [[Poitiers]] in [[France]] '''Charles Martel''' defeated the Islamic armies and the Moorish advance was halted. Under the [[Moor]]s, with their capital at Cordoba, Spain enjoyed culture, prosperity, and relative peace. [[Agriculture]] was enhanced by techniques of irrigation, and by the introduction of new crops, such as the [[orange]]. The peninsula was brought into the Arabic trading circle and scholars and artists came there to serve the Moorish courts. A [[library]] of 400,000 volumes was established at Cordoba.

The [[Christianity|Christians]] still wished to expel the [[Muslim]]s, however. Galicia became a kingdom, '''Asturias''', then parts of it became the kingdoms of [[Leon]] and [[Castile]]. A second enclave, [[Navarre]], was established, on the Pyreneean slopes, centred on Pamplona. Then, in the early [[9th century|ninth century]] the son of [[Charlemagne]], Louis, captured [[Barcelona]], on the east coast, and established the County of Catalonia. From these footholds the ''[[Reconquista|Reconquest]]'' was begun.

In 1085 Toledo was recaptured, and in 1093 Valencia (although it was to be retaken by the [[Moor]]s. After an hiatus brought about by the diversion of Christian muscle and [[chivalry]] to the [[First Crusade]], in 1118 Saragosa fell, to the [[king]] of [[Aragon]]. Orders of Christian [[knighthood]] sprang up, committed to expelling [[Islam]], and by the end of the [[13th century|thirteenth century]] all that was left was the Moorish kingdom of [[Granada]], in the south-east, which had made "arrangements" with Castile.

In 1340 an Arab army from North Africa attacked through Gibraltar but the navy supporting it was thoroughly defeated, and the enterprise to reverse the ReConquest failed. Granada was suffered to exist, more or less completely cut off from the Arabic world, for a further 150 years until, in 1492, the by-then unified Spain (unified by the [[marriage]] of the [[heir]]s to the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, Isabella and Ferdinand (Isabel and Fernando in Spanish)) swept it from existence.

==The SCA in Spain==
All [[SCA]] [[groups]] in Spain are within the [[Kingdom of Drachenwald]].

''This article is just a stub. Feel free to edit or expand on the historical content.''
[[Category:countries]]

[[category:Kingdoms (medieval)]]

Lard

2006-03-06T06:10:16Z

Shandra:

The rendered fat of (usually) a [[pig]]. It is white and solid, or semi-solid. It has many uses, mostly in cooking (can be used as [[shortening]], to [[fry]] food, in gravy etc). In addition, it is one of the main ingredients for soap (along with ashes for the lye content).

One documentary on the creation of [[Stone Henge]] suggests that lard may have been used to lubricate tracks upon which the large boulders could have been pulled up the hill upon which they stand.

''See also: '''[[Ghee]]''' ''