Edward the Martyr (c. 962 – 18 March 978) wasKing of the English from 8 July 975 until he was killed in 978. His father,King Edgar, had been a strong and overbearing monarch who had forced the nobility to surrender land to the monasteries. Edward's reign is remembered as a time of lawlessness, because of the efforts of the nobles to get their land back, sometimes by force, and because of disputes between the leading magnates, although these never led to warfare. His short reign ended in his murder in unclear circumstances. Medieval kings were believed to be sacrosanct, and Edward's violent death deeply troubled contemporaries. He soon came to be regarded as a saint, and his feast of 18 March is still listed by theChurch of England. Edward was known in his own time for his violent temper, and the historian Tom Watson comments: "For an obnoxious teenager who showed no evidence of sanctity or kingly attributes and who should have been barely a footnote, his cult has endured mightily well." (Full article...)
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March 18:Feast day ofSaint Cyril of Jerusalem (Christianity)
_Caldas.jpg) | Thesword-billed hummingbird (Ensifera ensifera), also known as the swordbill, is aneotropical species ofhummingbird from theAndean regions of South America. Among the largest species of hummingbird, it is characterized by its unusually longbeak, being the only bird to have a beak longer than the rest of its body, excluding the tail. It uses its bill to drinknectar from flowers with longcorollas, and hascoevolved with the speciesPassiflora mixta. While most hummingbirdspreen using their bills, the sword-billed hummingbird uses its feet to scratch and preen due to its beak being so long. This sword-billed hummingbird was photographed perching on a branch at Hacienda El Bosque inManizales, Colombia. Photograph credit:Charles J. Sharp Recently featured: |
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