Constantine II of Scotland was an early King of Scotland, known then by
the Gaelic name Alba. His reign, like those of his predecessors, was
dominated by the actions of Viking rulers in Britain and Ireland,
particularly the Uí Ímair. During Constantine's reign, the rulers of
the southern kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia, later the kingdom of
England, extended their authority northwards into the disputed kingdoms
of Northumbria. At first allied with the southern rulers against the
Vikings, Constantine in time came into conflict with them. King
Æthelstan secured Constantine's submission in 927 and 934, but the two
again fought when Constantine, allied with the Strathclyde Britons and
the Viking king of Dublin, invaded Æthelstan's kingdom in 937, only to
be defeated at the great battle of Brunanburh. In 943 Constantine
abdicated the throne and retired to the Céli Dé monastery of St Andrews
where he died in 952. His reign of 43 years, exceeded in Scotland only
by that of King William the Lion before the Union of the Crowns in
1603, is believed to have played a defining part in the gaelicisation
of Pictland in which his patronage of the Irish Céli Dé monastic
reformers was a significant factor. During his reign the words "Scots"
and "Scotland" (Old English: Scottas, Scotland) were first used to mean
part of what is now Scotland.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_II_of_Scotland>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1612:
The "Samlesbury witches", three women from the Lancashire village of
Samlesbury, England, were put on trial, accused for practising
witchcraft, one of the most famous witch trials in English history.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samlesbury_witches>
1782:
American Revolutionary War: Ten months after the British surrender at
the Siege of Yorktown, a combined force of British rangers and American
Indians routed Kentucky militiamen at the Battle of Blue Licks.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Blue_Licks>
1942:
World War II: Allied forces suffered over 3,000 casualties when they
unsuccessfully raided the German-occupied port of Dieppe, France.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieppe_Raid>
1991:
During a Soviet coup attempt led by Gennady Yanayev and other top level
government officials, it was announced to the public that Mikhail
Gorbachev had been relieved of his duties as President "due to
illness".
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Soviet_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat_attempt>
2003:
A car bomb destroyed the United Nations headquarters at Baghdad's Canal
Hotel, killing Brazilian diplomat Sérgio Vieira de Mello and 21 others.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canal_Hotel_bombing>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
unblouse (v):
(military) To untuck (leggings from footwear); to make (pants or
trousers) unrestricted or untightened at the ankle
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/unblouse>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Let those find fault whose wit's so very small,
They've need to show that they can think at all;
Errors, like
straws, upon the surface flow;
He who would search for pearls, must dive below.
--John Dryden
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Dryden>
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