OT perhaps: Long Discssn. of Planning for the Magna C(h)arta

Moderator: MOD_nyhetsgrupper

Svar
Rick Eaton

OT perhaps: Long Discssn. of Planning for the Magna C(h)arta

Legg inn av Rick Eaton » 22 feb 2005 09:41:03

As the wag is working into the wee hours (on prescribed sterroid meds that
make one hyper) but serious in advice.... Newbies and old hands are invited
to join me in a review, sermon, and cheat sheet for fun and profit.

Other non-British persons, non-historians and non-authorities, non-roadies,
holders of degrees lower than a PhD, but lovers of learning might better
benefit from the coming (absolutely) protracted discussion of the Magna
Carta, King John, the 25 surety barons who coaxed him into signing the
document, the politics and history and genealogy; and the implications it
had for slavery in, for example, the US and elsewhere by doing a Google
keyword search:

Magna Carta+surety barons.

Our list may well argue the proper spelling. Does it indeed have an "h" or
do we enter the 21st century and drop it as the rest of the world has done?

Do we know what Magna C(h)arts means. Latin One suggests: Great Chart (of
freedom)?

Do we know what King of France became King of Aengland or how the Magna
Charta or carta impaced the U.S. Constitution and its history and genealogy.

Do we know which nobles won or lost (Most of them, but some came back-- like
the FitzAlans)?

The big boys know all this stuff backwards and forwards, or know how to find
it while the thread is still on fire. They have a lot to accomplish in
btheir real jobs, have little time for others who cannot advance that work
and, like Wall Street Wizards in their $60,000 Hummers, they tend to own the
lane and roll over obstacles, or ignore them altogether.

There is time for your small, defensive quest. God knows, the list leaders
seem to have as much time as idlers, golfers and bar denizens I knew or knew
before their divorces.

Serious:

A primary level plain English site is infokey.

Comment:

Not to speak poorly of a good commercial come-on (after all, we allow or
tolerate it here every year or so), I have always found Infokey, well, what
it is, a crassly commercial site that provides some legitimate historical
basis for spending much too much on the heraldic goodies it peddles. It is
thin, but a good place to start for very genera, basic and solid background.
There are plenty of others and perhaps some speakers here will give us
advice about better URLs. They might even provide a glossary so that we can
follow them as expertly as we do meekly. Other search engines, such as
Yahoo et al, Ask jeeves, Coppernic (downloadable, top notch and unknown)
will work well also.

Back to funny business:

The conversation here will be protracted and, at times, get lost in
contgentious relationships that are not always the kindest but that are
educational and revealing. These will result excessive and backbreaking work
on the part of pros, trying not to give each other information, but
substantiating their own expertise with minutiae that only they understand
or have bothered to research or have on file, while we only hope that we can
someday be as effective in our amateur efforts. We are like sea gulls, not
pidgeons, stealthinily swooping down ikn hopes of swiping the crumbs.

For the most part, we don't benefit, because we don't know what they are
talking about and they are ambivalent about that. This is because, if they
give us information that we understand, we won't need to hire them for
research or buy the published material with which they are associated
(Associations'/Societies' and Publishers' for profit materials materials).

Lurkers and wannabes like me, stick around for the opera, heavyweight fights
and opportunity to learn a tiny fact that could just change your life or
that of an ancestor. Could he be a she? Was he, ahem, associated to much
with men and not his dearly beloved wife and, therefore, (What was it called
("light in the loafers?"). Prep a little bit if you need to to better follow
the contests and conflicts, and get clues that can help us in our own hard
work.

I think my college Western Civ text had one chapter, if that, on the Magna
Carta and that was, well, a long time ago. I have a lot of work to do and
google will help as will my secret british search engine (For $10, paid in
advance and your e-mail address, VISA card number, and name of your
investment banker -- 18 months in advance, I will send you this readily
available information now. You can get the edge on all other buyers and be
smarter on this list. The URL is real, but I won't give you a clew to what
is on it or tell you wither you searched names Sir Diana Charlestown can be
found nthere and I will nolt rebate the money-saving $10 bucks if you are
satisfied. Edven this fails at crass commercialism, because I should really
lead you to a web page where I show your phoney coat of arms before I tell
you that it can be found at my secret british, actually, web site. Cash and
money orders only please, unless you have Paypal.

[Lux et Veritas vs. The South's Definitely Gonnal Reyes Agin', Tug and Dig
(Who are not two list members). Shoot me if you hate me but do it quickly
because this, and I hope you will agree, is more fun than getting all the
bottles down with one ball at a country carnival booth that is absolutely
fixed. I am risking my job as a lurker, I know and you may ask me to retire
my badge. Fair enough. I deserve all that comes my way, Pogue and sinister
lurker that I am, along with being the president-0n-leave of a major,
growing, resurrected family association with 75 dues paying members, all of
whom are dedicated to family genealogy, not that that should have any
bearing on my own lack of abilities.]

So, when the pros, the academics and the flamers get into high dudgeon,
others of my ilk may want to join me in knowing that advance, trace
updating of knowledge can make the list a much more enjoyable experience.
You will have your own special purpose: remaining a happy list member by
understanding the exchanges. It's like getting the keys to the Morman's
library, the public records office at Kew in London and Madison Square
Garden (for a heavyweight title fight) all in one sitting. If you know
something about music, genealogy and history and boxing, these venues will
be muchy more worthwhile to you.

These arias, bouts and discourses are free or almost so. What a deal. Better
than cable or dish TV.

I'm still going to lurk through all that I see as coming our way because I
will not have to goods to participate effectively in this subject area. But
I will try to be an informed lurker.

More funny business.

Damn, is there such a thing? I know about pogues now, (Look that up so that
you can protect yourself from blows to the kidney) but I'm not sure about
other miscreants like lurkers? I offer this lecture in blind hope that our
Cato-like fellow member will agrfee that I am not, in fact, a pogue but an
earnest wannabee and one who wants to help others of my ilk as I an
gathering the crumbs of the Brahmans.

Serious business

Seems to me that the only generally agreed upon sin here is not making an
effort to find readily available general information at a time when even the
newest computer user can benefit from Google or Yahoo, or any number of
lesser known search engines. However, the pros can even be a little harsh
about that and/or fail to answer an earnestly, if naively, put question.

I've been here three or four years and stepped in it a few times. Most
members were kind to me. I choose kindness and hope this helps other
armchair, but serious, seekers of information and those who are just
entertained by learning.

I join those in wishing that people would leave other people alone in their
expressed opinions and get on with the subjects of the list. For those who
come innocently to this list seeking help from others, I also wish for them
the gentle kindness they deserve along with as much help as possible. Some
day they may become a client or admit your daughter to Harvard or the
younger school in New Haven.

Best to all. Note below.

Rick

N>B. The abovfe is satire, except where introduced as serious, lecturing and
condescending. It is not based on any particular list and does not intend to
represents the list participation of any business, business person,
Cato-like character or expert in languages... Maybe. Any resemblance to any
person, place or thing is merely accidental, as apparently, is the writer.

Have fun. Spit and kick if you must. This is as much a barrell of monkeys
(fun) as it is a place of great learning and I appreciate the opportunity
for that as much as I hope this helps others who ne3eded it.

Svar

Gå tilbake til «soc.genealogy.medieval»