Knights Templar

Knights Templar Knights Templar â€Å"The Knights Templar was a religious military order that arose during the first and second crusades and their secrets and wealth destroyed the organization† (Campbell 29-33). The Knights Templar started out as a small group of monks and eventually grew to become a powerful religious order. Members had duties and certain lifestyles as a Templar. The order rapidly spread across Europe after it began. The Templar would become one of the most innovative and influential groups during the Crusades period (â€Å"Templars†). The Knights Templar is shrouded in secrecy; this would be their downfall and their biggest calling card. The original name or the full name for the Knights Templar can be quite a mouth full â€Å"[t]he Holy Order of the Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon is the full name of the Order†(Campbell 29-33). Most paraphernalia refer to them as the Knights Templar. Some call the members just Templar, or warrior monks. The Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon is another name used (Campbell 29-33). People back in the time of the crusade would have called them heroes. After the first crusade, two new military orders came about in Jerusalem (Read 17-24). One, the Knights Hospitallers, or Knights of Saint John, whose task was to aid the wounded in Outremer, or the land across the sea (Read 17-24). The second military order to arise was the Knights Templar, whose duty was to defend the pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land (Campbell 29-33). In 1118, before the start of the Order, Hugues de Payan and eight fellow knights went to Jerusalem and offered their se rvices to the king. The king offered housing to the knights at the former mosque al-Aqsa, which was located on the site of King Solomons great temple (Hughes 34). The Order was born here and received its name from the temple it was protecting. The Knights Templar took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. The religious order was created at the Temple of Solomon and swore to protect the Holy Land (Campbell 29-33). Hughes states in his book that â€Å"[t]he Templar fought bravely against the Saracens, not leaving battle unless outnumbered three to one† (34). The order received the blessing of the Pope in 1129, and the Templar soon got recognition as heroes. With the Popes blessing, the Templar could now recruit members and raise money through donations. Donations came to the Templar in large amounts. The warrior monks were given wealth, jewels, and property (Hughes 34). King Alfonso I of Argon gave the Templar one-third of his Spanish Empire on his deathbed (Read 17-24). They owned land in France, Spain, England, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Austria, Hungary, and other places. Men also went to the Templar to support their cause, and some in hopes of getting rich. The Knights Templar did have their critics though (Sterns 84-111). The Templar owned houses all across the map, and they used that to their benefit. The Knights Templar became the first bankers in a way. Travelers would deposit money at one Templar building, and travel, with a statement of deposit, to another city (Knight, and Lomas 121). They would then cash in their statement and receive the same amount of money at another Templar structure at their final destination. This was a very safe method, because the traveler could not be robbed. The Templar began to escort travelers on their fleets of ships, charging a fee for both services. That allowed them to take in a large sum of money (Knight, and Lomas 121). The Order was so beloved by the Christian people that the Pope freed the Templar from loyalty to any ruler. From then on the order only answered to the Pope. The Templar later became involved with politics. They served on royal committees and councils. The duties of a Templar split among the regions (Hughes 17). In the east, they remained fier ce warriors defending Christianity, and in the west, they became farmers and merchants. The order was rapidly gaining wealth and riches (Campbell 29-33). During the second crusade, the Templar fought for the Christian effort. They were among some of the highest skilled fighters during this time. Indrikis Sterns quotes a 13th century author by saying†[t]hey are marked by their trademark white helmets and armor, which bears a red cross† (84-111). During the second crusade, the knights became very powerful and wealthy due to payments for their services from several empires. This excluded King Phillip IV of France. He was greatly in debt with the order, owing them large sums of land and money (Hughes 17). The King was worried about his debts to this powerful and influential order. Phillip IV called upon Pope Clement V to put all the members of the order on trial for heresy and other crimes committed. The Pope found no fault in the Order under the trials of heresy but did find fault in their initiation ceremonies. The Pope had them burned at the steak for unspeakable acts against the church (Sterns 84-111). The Knights Templar were said to spit upon a cross before battle and kiss their leaders to show complete obedience to them. The order was not destroyed, but badly crippled. The Knights Templar was hidden in darkness and secrecy, and they will always remain a mystery. This is believed to have led to their downfall. The Knights Templar was said to possess a great secret (Hughes 17). This secret may have been practical knowledge, which if revealed could undermine Christianity or some people believe that the Templar had some great relic. â€Å"Possibly, a piece of the true cross or the crown of thorns worn by Jesus was in their possession† according to Campbell (29-33). The shroud which Jesus was wrapped in his tomb, a piece of wood from a bath used by Jesus, a bronze bowl used to wash the feet of the disciples at the last supper or the head of John the Baptist are all rumored (Hughes 34). The Holy Grail used in the last supper is the most famous of all the relics thought to be owned by the Templar (Knight, and Lomas 121). It is truly unknown whether the Templar had any of these artifacts. Maybe they had one, or two, possibly all, but nobody can be certain. With the amount of land and money that the Templar had, and the possible possessions of great relics, specifically the Holy Grail, people were bound to envy the order (Knight, and Lomas 121). Some people also say that the Knights Templar and their relics live on under the Freemasons. The Masons are said to use many of the same symbols and rituals of the Knights Templar. Things do not help the cause when the Freemasons are also just a shrouded into secrecy as the Knights Templar (Knight, and Lomas 121). Whether the Order lives on or not is a question to be left answered by the opinions of us all. A person may believe all the tales or that the Freemasons, the makers of our country are members of the Order. One may also believe that the entire story of the Knights Templar and the later Freemasons is a complete hoax. However, what would history be without mystery and intrigue? Works Cited Campbell, G.A.Knights Templar: The Rise and Fall. San Francisco: Kessinger Publishing, 2004. 29-33. Print. Hughes, Charles. â€Å"How The Vatican Destroyed the Knights Templar.†Independent26 October 2007: 34. Print. Knight, Christopher, and Robert Lomas.The Hiram Key. Sacremento: Fair Winds Press, 2003. 121. Print. Read, Pierce.The Templars. 1. New York: MacMillan, 1999. 17. Print. Sterns, Indrikis.Crime and Punishment among the Teutonic Knights. 1. 57. New York: Medieval Academy of America, 1982. 84-111. Print. â€Å"Templars.† Dictionary of the Middle Ages. Supplement. American Council of Learned Societies. Charles Scribners Sons, 2004. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/History/

One Tear That Meant the World :: essays research papers

I have always enjoyed having a best friend that was male. Whether we were swimming, jogging, fishing, or just talking for hours, I never got bored. We balance one another. I will never forget the day I lost that all. The day my best friend left ended up touching me the most.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When I stepped outside, the pavement felt like ice, yet the air had a warm breeze to it. It was a gorgeous August day. Not a single worry mingled in the air. The birds were chirping long, beautiful melodies. Melodies I had heard many mornings that summer. They sang when it was going to be a wondrous day. Nothing seemed wrong to anyone except to me. Today, my birthday, August first, my best friend was leaving for the Navy. He was going to serve our country. For six dreadful years, I’d have to live without him. The only communication would be a few cards and letters and one long distance call. This day reminded me of those long rainy days, the days where the clouds blocked out the suns bright rays of sunlight.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The clock finally struck four and it frightened me because the sweet sound of the clock seemed loud and harsh. It sounded kind of like I was in a horror movie. I dreaded walking across the street to say good bye to my dear friend, but I knew I had to go. As I walked across the street it seemed like a mile. My legs ached and my throat was dry. I could hear the pattering of my feet on the pavement and the thud of my heart racing about ninety miles a minute. I just wanted to run up to him and beg him to stay, but I knew I couldn’t do that. I finally walked up to him and started to cry. I cried as though I had lost someone close to me, but I hadn’t. There was a part of me that was dying. My heart was aching and I couldn’t stop it. I hugged him for five minutes, but it only seemed like seconds. My tears started to disappear. He let me know how much he’d miss me and how he couldn’t believe he was leaving. I could feel the tears starti ng to come again, but I kept them in. I knew there was something I wanted to say, but I couldn’t.

black beauty and the american standards of beauty Essay

Beauty is generally defined as the quality or combination of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit. While this definition supports the commonly-held belief that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, American standards of beauty have not had many variations over the past few decades. Since the beginning of American history, there have been three ideal archetypal symbols of womanhood that have to do with physical beauty: light skin, a slim body, and straight hair.[1] While there has been some dynamicity, it was very slight and has rarely ever encompassed physical characteristics more commonly attributed to women of color, such as a dark complexion, a voluptuous figure, and thick, kinky hair. The prevalence of the Eurocentric American standard of beauty among young African-Americans has led to self-esteem issues and controversy, but despite the detrimental aspects, it has been a unifying force in the African-American co mmunity. The European standard of beauty, which has always been integrated into American culture, was formed long before African-Americans were introduced into the western hemisphere as slaves. It was used in comparison to African-Americans as a method of stripping black women of their femininity and justifying their inferiority. In historical advertisements and visual performances, physical attributes associated with black people—such as bigger lips, darker skin, and, for women, a larger figure—were exaggerated in order to emphasize how different blacks were from white people, and assert control over them in almost every aspect of life, especially how there were perceived by other races and their own self-perception.[2] As slaves, blacks did not have tools for self-adornment and, while black women could wear different hairstyles to express themselves, they often dressed in what was necessary for hard labor, which did not leave much room for femininity. The article, â€Å"Beauty Culture,† by Tiffany M. Gill, tells of the creation of the black beauty culture industry, post-slavery, as a means of defining beauty in their own lives.[3] This industry, however, was wrought with controversy because of the two categories of products available, those which enhanced the natural physical traits of black women and those that seemingly attempted to conform to white beauty standards. The black beauty culture industry was faced with the task of battling stereotypes that suggested that blacks were innately ugly and that their physical attributes were the reason for their low political, social, and economic status. The importance of the black beauty culture industry is proven by the fact that, during the Great Depression, the industry did not face the same economic downturn as many other black businesses, and women were willing to barter food and other necessities in order to get their hair styled.[4] As the public presentation of black wome n increased, so did hair chemicals that allowed them to mimic the hairstyles of white women, and a well-groomed African-American woman became synonymous with straightened hair, which contradicted the political identities of black women. The Black Power Movement boasted the belief that â€Å"Black is beautiful!† which was revolutionary in its appraisal of black culture, politics, and even style. This created a strong sense of racial pride in the African-American community and unity, especially as beauty colleges became key institutions in the black community. Hairdressers and salon owners were some of the most politically active people in black communities, and their places of business were a safe haven from the humiliations of Jim Crow.[5] By accepting the physical differences between blacks and other ethnicities, the African-American community was able to assert more control over their own definition of beauty and improve their personal lives. Black women no longer had to conform to Eurocentric beauty standards and could stand together to show that they were just as attractive and feminine. This huge part of leisure culture also offered women alternatives to jobs as domestic servants or agricultural laborers . Yet, despite the Black Power aesthetic being popularized over sixty years ago, the overall American standards of beauty still do not accommodate women with darker skin and textured hair. The fact that American beauty standards still hold true to the ideal woman being light, thin, and straight-haired, is evidenced by a simple Google image search of â€Å"beautiful women.† Of the top 100 results, only two are African-American women. Black women, despite an increase in black pride and acceptance of natural features in their own community, are still being judged according to and oppressed by Eurocentric beauty standards. According to a survey analysis done by Dia Sekayi, 72.8 percent of black women attending various historically black colleges throughout the United States, expressed discomfort with the way beauty for black women is defined by the media and society’s expectations of them.[6] Forty-six percent wish they had smaller bodies and thirty-two percent are displeased with their natural hair texture.[7] The use of chemicals and weaves to make black hair resemble the hair of white women and skin lightening lotions show that many black women are not ple ased by their appearance. It’s obvious that beauty has intangible elements, such as confidence and likability, but even these things can be affected by one’s physical appearance. When young girls do not feel as if their beauty is being validated, concern for their appearance impacts their quality of life long-term. Scholarly literature supports the notion that that meeting or not meeting the ideal standard of beauty might impact the quality of girls’ experiences at school, both on a social and an academic level.[8] This issue is important because without a less stringent view of American beauty, black women will continue to be judged by a standard of beauty, even if they choose not to embrace it, that is nearly impossible for most to meet. Black women are currently resisting the dominant aesthetic standard and embracing their own cultural ideas of beauty but in many instances are pushed to hide their true selves. Women who have chosen to wear their hair unstraightened or braided have encountered discrimination in their workplace, despite kinky hair and braids being key hairstyles in black communities across the globe.[9] While there may be a growing acceptance of natural hairstyles in many places of business, there are some Americans who don’t understand that multiple standards of physical beauty must coexist, and if they do not, people who don’t conform to the standard will suffer. It is important for young black girls to feel comfortable in their own skin and grow up knowing tha t they can be their own special brand of beautiful and that there are people who look like them in the media, whether they are dark or light, slim or curvaceous. Battling against aesthetic hegemony is not easy for black women living in the United States, and oftentimes dissonance and frustration is felt because of society’s views on beauty and the impracticalness of American beauty in regards to women of all colors, shapes, and sizes. However, a lessening of assimilation into white culture is being seen and African-Americans are taking Eurocentric beauty trends and turning them into something more. Black women use their African roots and their own sense of artistry to create unique styles that reflect a black culture and the beauty and femininity that they were once disparaged of.    Bibliography Sekayi, Die. â€Å"Aesthetic Resistance to Commercial Influences: The Impact of the Eurocentric Beauty Standard on Black College Women.† The Journal of Negro Education 72, no. 4 (Autumn 2003): 467-477. http://www.jstor.org/ stable/3211197. (Accessed November 2, 2015) Gill, Tiffany M. â€Å"Beauty Culture.† Black Women in America, Second Edition, edited by Ed. Darlene Clark Hine. Oxford African American Studies Center, (2008): 1. http://www.oxfordaasc.com.proxy.library.vanderbilt.edu/article/opr/t0003/e0023 (accessed November 3, 2015).    [1] Dia Dekayi. â€Å"Aesthetic Resistance to Commercial Influences: The Impact of the Eurocentric Beauty Standard on Black College Women.† The Journal of Negro Education 72, no. 4 (Autumn 2003): 469. [2] Tiffany M. Gill. â€Å"Beauty Culture.†Ã‚   Black Women in America, Second Edition, edited by Ed. Darlene Clark Hine. Oxford African American Studies Center. (2008): 1 [3] Tiffany M. Gill. â€Å"Beauty Culture.†Ã‚   Black Women in America, Second Edition, edited by Ed. Darlene Clark Hine. Oxford African American Studies Center. (2008): 1 [4] Tiffany M. Gill. â€Å"Beauty Culture.†Ã‚   Black Women in America, Second Edition, edited by Ed. Darlene Clark Hine. Oxford African American Studies Center. (2008): 1 [5] Tiffany M. Gill. â€Å"Beauty Culture.†Ã‚   Black Women in America, Second Edition, edited by Ed. Darlene Clark Hine. Oxford African American Studies Center. (2008): 1 [6] Dia Dekayi. â€Å"Aesthetic Resistance to Commercial Influences: The Impact of the Eurocentric Beauty Standard on Black College Women.† The Journal of Negro Education 72, no. 4 (Autumn 2003): 474. [7] Dia Dekayi. â€Å"Aesthetic Resistance to Commercial Influences: The Impact of the Eurocentric Beauty Standard on Black College Women.† The Journal of Negro Education 72, no. 4 (Autumn 2003): 474. [8] Dia Dekayi. â€Å"Aesthetic Resistance to Commercial Influences: The Impact of the Eurocentric Beauty Standard on Black College Women.† The Journal of Negro Education 72, no. 4 (Autumn 2003): 468. [9] Tiffany M. Gill. â€Å"Beauty Culture.†Ã‚   Black Women in America, Second Edition, edited by Ed. Darlene Clark Hine. Oxford African American Studies Center. (2008): 1

Concussions in Sports Essay Example

Concussions in Sports Essay Example Concussions in Sports Essay Concussions in Sports Essay Concussions in Sports With today’s contact sports, there is always one thing on the mind of its athletes, concussions. There are many discussions today in professional leagues such as the NFL and NHL surrounding this controversial topic, most of them revolving around how to make the game safer and prevent these terrible injuries. There have also been multiple lawsuits against these leagues because of concussions. Football was almost made illegal before the invention of helmets because too many players were getting concussions and other head and neck injuries. These types of injuries are not to be taken lightly, as they can lead to complications in the future. In today’s ever changing health world, concussions are a big deal, especially in sports. People are beginning to take more notice to the alarming increase of this injuries over the past few years. This year in the NFL alone, there have been a total of 102 concussions reported by players. Along with that, five playe rs have reported repeated concussions. There were ten total repeat concussions reported last year alone. Many of these athletes have experienced further complications and even death as a result of concussions. For example, Derek Sheely, a 22-year-old fullback at Frostburg State in Maryland, died on the practice field as a result of a concussion. What happened was he took a hit during practice and was bleeding from his forehead. He told his coaches he did not feel right and that he had a headache, he was evaluated four times by a trainer without a concussion test, so he was told to go back out to practice. He then took another hit to the head and told his coaches again that he felt nauseous and had a headache. He was told by his coaches to â€Å"quit your complaining, quit acting like a wimp and get back out there.† Soon after, he collapsed on the field. He was pronounced dead right there. There are also several lawsuits against the NFL and NHL as a result of players being imp roperly diagnosed and

How to Conjugate the French Verb Détester

How to Conjugate the French Verb Dà ©tester The French verb  dà ©tester  means to hate. Unlike some other verbs, this one is fairly easy to remember because of its similarity to the English word detest. As with the English verb, you would use  dà ©tester  to express an extreme dislike for something, such as food or a particular household chore youre not fond of. Like the majority of verbs in French,  dà ©tester is a regular verb. Conjugating Dà ©tester Verb conjugations can become a headache for French students because there are so many verb forms to remember. Not only does the infinitive ending change with each tense and mood, it also changes with each subject pronoun. For   example, I hate is je dà ©teste and we will hate is nous dà ©testerons. Its easier to memorize all these forms if you practice them in context and simple sentences. Subject Present Future Imperfect je dteste dtesterai dtestais tu dtestes dtesteras dtestais il dteste dtestera dtestait nous dtestons dtesterons dtestions vous dtestez dtesterez dtestiez ils dtestent dtesteront dtestaient Present and Past Participle The  present participle  of  dà ©testant  is formed by adding -ant  to the verb stem of  dà ©test. While its primarily used as a verb, you will find it useful as an adjective, gerund, or noun as well. Beyond the imperfect, another form of the past tense hated is the  passà © composà ©. This one is formed in a different manner and relies on the  past participle  dà ©testà ©. To complete it, you must also conjugate the  auxiliary verb  avoir.   As an example, I hated is jai dà ©testà © and we hated is nous avons dà ©testà ©. More Conjugations There will be times when you will need to imply some degree of uncertainty to the verb  dà ©tester  as well. For this, use the subjunctive verb mood. In a similar fashion, the conditional form is used when the hating is dependent on something else happening. You should not use the passà © simple unless youre reading or writing in French. The same applies to the imperfect subjunctive, though its a good idea to be able to recognize these as forms of  dà ©tester. Subject Subjunctive Conditional Pass Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je dteste dtesterais dtestai dtestasse tu dtestes dtesterais dtestas dtestasses il dteste dtesterait dtesta dtestt nous dtestions dtesterions dtestmes dtestassions vous dtestiez dtesteriez dtesttes dtestassiez ils dtestent dtesteraient dtestrent dtestassent The imperative verb form may be quite useful with  dà ©tester  because its often used in exclamations. When using it, the subject pronoun is not required: use dà ©teste rather than tu dà ©teste. Imperative (tu) dteste (nous) dtestons (vous) dtestez

Exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Exam - Essay Example However, bullying also takes other, more indirect forms, such as gossiping, spreading rumors and other psychological forms of harassment. It is this type of bullying which is common in colleges. It has to be accepted that â€Å"the sad reality is that bullying and harassment affect millions of students on college campuses† (Holt). Bullying now takes many forms on a college campus: intimidation, hazing, and even cyber-bullying. Anti-harassment laws are necessary in colleges because of the new wireless culture, to signal zero tolerance for bullying and to ensure a positive impact on all stakeholders. The spread of wireless technology has changed the culture on college campuses. It is no longer sufficient that â€Å"Virtually every college in the country is required by federal law to have strong rules banning discriminatory harassment† (Lukianoff). These federal laws largely belong to the last century. The very nature of college campuses has changed in the past decade due to wireless technology. It is clear that bullying and harassment no longer deal only â€Å"with stalking, vandalism, telephonic harassment and threats† (Lukianoff).  With the spread of wireless technology and students’ constant interaction on social networks, the problem of bullying and harassment has also taken on more serious dimensions. ... College campuses must reflect larger society in order to function as true environments of learning. Anti-harassment laws must keep pace with the changing times in order to remain effective. It is only when colleges are bound by clear anti-harassment laws that they can firmly signal their zero tolerance for bullying. Institutes of higher learning must be clearly seen to encourage a positive, supportive atmosphere where students know that bullying will not be tolerated, where students know they can go to adults for help, and where there are clear consequences for bullying. When it is made compulsory for colleges â€Å"to distribute their anti-harassment policy to all students, including instruction on what students and administrators should do if an incident of harassment occurs,† bullying will be controlled (Holt). Spelling out the college’s commitment to an anti-harassment position will stop bullying.   This can be done by making colleges â€Å"publicly recognize tha t bullying is a real problem and have a policy to deal with it† (Holt). Only a compulsory anti-bullying policy will move college authorities to being proactive on this issue. Otherwise, there will be a tendency for teachers to tolerate or ignore bullying and even to look down on victims as not being ‘man enough’ to take it in their stride. Authorities need to be active in preventing bullying on campus. An anti-harassment legislation will ensure that teachers and administrators make it a part of their duty to intervene in bullying. When colleges are required to prevent bullying and harassment, all the stakeholders will benefit. The victims of bullying often carry scars for life. This is

Information Security Topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Information Security Topic - Essay Example s serve to secure different aspects of Information .In the following article one such method to secure network called â€Å"Access Control List† would be studied and an attempt would be made to understand what level of security is achieved through its implementation. INTRODUCTION: Access Control list (ACL) at a very basic level set to define and control the various permissions that can be attached to an object .The object can be a software program like yahoo messenger, a network service like FTP, a file, sound card, other programs, the network, a modem, and so on and so forth. Access means what kind of operations can be done on these objects. Examples include reading a file, writing to a file, creating or deleting objects, communicating with another program, etc. Access Control List defines who is allowed to use that software/service and what operation can he perform on that software/service for example ACL would define who are the users who can use Yahoo messenger and whether they can use it to send files or albums through it or simply chat on it. At a very basic level they mean â€Å"An explicit set of permissions for users (or groups of users) detailing who can access specific items.† [2] CAPABILITY/ kind of security achieved : access control lists limit the access to information to the desired or permitted users . It also sets to establish privileges and permissions that a permitted user would have on the objects. An access control list can be visualized as a list containing permissions attached to an object . The list specifies who or what is allowed to access the object and what operations are allowed to be performed on the object. In a typical ACL, each entry in the list specifies a subject and an operation: for example, the entry (Bob, delete) on the ACL for file ABC gives Bob permission to delete file ABC. How ACL Work when a subject requests for an operation, the system first checks for the entry of the subject in the list in order to determine