Misplaced Pages

#129870

114-640: Oberdiessbach is first mentioned in 1218 as Tiecebac . Until 1870 it was known as Diessbach . Oberdiessbach, at that time known as Diessbach, was the center of the late medieval Herrschaft of Diessbach. In 1218 it first appears in a record when Hartmann IV of Kyburg inherited the court of Diessbach from the Zähringens . The village, the Herrschaft and the Castle Diessenberg on the Falkenfluh remained with

228-763: A tributary state of the Ottoman Empire , centered on the city of Constantinople and a few enclaves in Greece . With the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Byzantine Empire was permanently extinguished. The Bulgarian Empire was in decline by the 14th century, and the ascendancy of Serbia was marked by the Serbian victory over the Bulgarians in the Battle of Velbazhd in 1330. By 1346,

342-643: A Bar Gules in the Chief a demi-Eagle Sable displayed addextré of the Sun-in-splendour and senestré of a Crescent Argent in the Base seven Towers three and four Gules (for Transylvania ); enté en point Gules a double-headed Eagle proper on a Peninsula Vert holding a Vase pouring Water into the Sea Argent beneath a Crown proper with bands Azure (for Fiume ); over all an escutcheon Barry of eight Gules and Argent impaling Gules on

456-668: A Mount Vert a Crown Or issuant therefrom a double-Cross Argent (for Hungary ) . The field of a shield in heraldry can be divided into more than one tincture , as can the various heraldic charges . Many coats of arms consist simply of a division of the field into two contrasting tinctures. These are considered divisions of a shield, so the rule of tincture can be ignored. For example, a shield divided azure and gules would be perfectly acceptable. A line of partition may be straight or it may be varied. The variations of partition lines can be wavy, indented, embattled, engrailed, nebuly , or made into myriad other forms; see Line (heraldry) . In

570-500: A chief undé and a saltire undé . Full descriptions of shields range in complexity, from a single word to a convoluted series describing compound shields: Quarterly I. Azure three Lions' Heads affronté Crowned Or (for Dalmatia ); II. chequy Argent and Gules (for Croatia ); III. Azure a River in Fess Gules bordered Argent thereon a Marten proper beneath a six-pointed star Or (for Slavonia ); IV. per Fess Azure and Or over all

684-418: A description. The visual depiction of a coat of arms or flag has traditionally had considerable latitude in design, but a verbal blazon specifies the essentially distinctive elements. A coat of arms or flag is therefore primarily defined not by a picture but rather by the wording of its blazon (though in modern usage flags are often additionally and more precisely defined using geometrical specifications). Blazon

798-557: A golden age during the 14th century. In particular the reigns of the Angevin kings Charles Robert (1308–42) and his son Louis the Great (1342–82) were marked by success. The country grew wealthy as the main European supplier of gold and silver. Louis the Great led successful campaigns from Lithuania to Southern Italy, and from Poland to Northern Greece. He had the greatest military potential of

912-510: A great victory against the Golden Horde at the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380. The victory did not end Tartar rule in the region, however, and its immediate beneficiary was the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , which extended its influence eastwards. Under the reign of Ivan the Great (1462–1505), Moscow became a major regional power, and the annexation of the vast Republic of Novgorod in 1478 laid

1026-672: A military leader changed the course of war in favour of the French, and the initiative was carried further by King Louis XI . Meanwhile, Charles the Bold , Duke of Burgundy , met resistance in his attempts to consolidate his possessions, particularly from the Swiss Confederation formed in 1291. When Charles was killed in the Burgundian Wars at the Battle of Nancy in 1477, the Duchy of Burgundy

1140-478: A pattern of vertical (palewise) stripes is called paly . A pattern of diagonal stripes may be called bendy or bendy sinister , depending on the direction of the stripes. Other variations include chevrony , gyronny and chequy . Wave shaped stripes are termed undy . For further variations, these are sometimes combined to produce patterns of barry-bendy , paly-bendy , lozengy and fusilly . Semés, or patterns of repeated charges, are also considered variations of

1254-527: A silk spinning factory and a glass factory during the 18th century, though these were not successful. The town began to industrialize after 1899, when the Burgdorf - Thun Railway built a station in the town. The population slowly increased and in the 1970s several new housing developments were built. By 2005, over half of all employees in Oberdiessbach worked in the manufacturing sector. Bleiken bei Oberdiessbach

SECTION 10

#1732858679130

1368-485: A so-called "depression of the Renaissance". In spite of convincing arguments for the case, the statistical evidence is simply too incomplete for a definite conclusion to be made. Blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology , a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms , flag or similar emblem , from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb to blazon means to create such

1482-419: A total of 1,046 apartments (92.9% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 43 apartments (3.8%) were seasonally occupied and 37 apartments (3.3%) were empty. As of 2010, the construction rate of new housing units was 1.6 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, in 2011, was 1.44%. The historical population is given in the following chart: The Chapel of the von Wattenwyl family,

1596-431: A total of 1,364 full-time equivalent jobs. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 55, of which 51 were in agriculture and 4 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 791 of which 684 or (86.5%) were in manufacturing and 108 (13.7%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 518. In the tertiary sector; 158 or 30.5% were in wholesale or retail sales or

1710-630: A verbal description) are not to be confused with the noun emblazonment , or the verb to emblazon , both of which relate to the graphic representation of a coat of arms or heraldic device. The word blazon is derived from French blason , ' shield ' . It is found in English by the end of the 14th century. Formerly, heraldic authorities believed that the word was related to the German verb blasen ' to blow (a horn) ' . Present-day lexicographers reject this theory as conjectural and disproved. Blazon

1824-487: Is a net importer of workers, with about 1.1 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. Of the working population, 18.1% used public transportation to get to work, and 47.6% used a private car. From the 2000 census, 2,215 or 76.0% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church , while 176 or 6.0% were Roman Catholic . Of the rest of the population, there were 30 members of an Orthodox church (or about 1.03% of

1938-505: Is also the specialized language in which a blazon is written, and, as a verb, the act of writing such a description. Blazonry is the art, craft or practice of creating a blazon. The language employed in blazonry has its own vocabulary , grammar and syntax , which becomes essential for comprehension when blazoning a complex coat of arms. Other armorial objects and devices – such as badges , banners , and seals – may also be described in blazon. The noun and verb blazon (referring to

2052-470: Is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 16.9% is used for growing crops and 27.5% is pastures, while 1.9% is used for orchards or vine crops and 4.7% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. The municipality is located in the Kiesental (Kiesen Valley) between Kurzenberg, Falkenfluh and Hube. It includes the village of Oberdiessbach and

2166-402: Is drawn with straight lines, but each may be indented, embattled, wavy, engrailed, or otherwise have their lines varied. A charge is any object or figure placed on a heraldic shield or on any other object of an armorial composition. Any object found in nature or technology may appear as a heraldic charge in armory. Charges can be animals, objects, or geometric shapes. Apart from the ordinaries,

2280-466: Is first mentioned in 1337 as Bleikon . In 1473 it was mentioned simply as villages ( Dörfer ). The village was settled rather later than many of the nearby villages. In 1880 a medical spa resort was built in the village. The spa eventually closed and the building is now an apartment complex. Even after the spa was built, the village remained isolated. In 1908 a Postauto route was established which connected Bleiken with Oberdiessbach. Today, over half of

2394-411: Is followed by three years of obligatory lower Secondary school where the students are separated according to ability and aptitude. Following the lower Secondary students may attend additional schooling or they may enter an apprenticeship . During the 2010-11 school year, there were a total of 469 students attending classes in Oberdiessbach. There were 2 kindergarten classes with a total of 34 students in

SECTION 20

#1732858679130

2508-401: Is four, but the principle has been extended to very large numbers of "quarters". The third common mode of marshalling is with an inescutcheon , a small shield placed in front of the main shield. The field of a shield, or less often a charge or crest, is sometimes made up of a pattern of colours, or variation . A pattern of horizontal (barwise) stripes, for example, is called barry , while

2622-412: Is generally designed to eliminate ambiguity of interpretation, to be as concise as possible, and to avoid repetition and extraneous punctuation. English antiquarian Charles Boutell stated in 1864: Heraldic language is most concise, and it is always minutely exact, definite, and explicit; all unnecessary words are omitted, and all repetitions are carefully avoided; and, at the same time, every detail

2736-584: Is home to the Mediothek Oberdiessbach library. The library has (as of 2008) 9,553 books or other media, and loaned out 25,251 items in the same year. It was open a total of 175 days with average of 8 hours per week during that year. The municipality has a railway station, Brenzikofen , on the Burgdorf–Thun line . It has regular service to Thun , Konolfingen , and Solothurn . Late Middle Ages The late Middle Ages or late medieval period

2850-509: Is often avoided entirely within Italian historiography. The term "Renaissance" is still considered useful for describing certain intellectual, cultural, or artistic developments but not as the defining feature of an entire European historical epoch. The period from the early 14th century up until – and sometimes including – the 16th century is rather seen as characterized by other trends: demographic and economic decline followed by recovery,

2964-399: Is settled (buildings or roads), 0.01 km (2.5 acres) or 0.1% is either rivers or lakes and 0.02 km (4.9 acres) or 0.2% is unproductive land. During the same year, industrial buildings made up 1.2% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 4.6% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.2%. Out of the forested land, 38.0% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.3%

3078-550: Is specified with absolute precision. The nomenclature is equally significant, and its aim is to combine definitive exactness with a brevity that is indeed laconic . However, John Brooke-Little , Norroy and Ulster King of Arms , wrote in 1985: "Although there are certain conventions as to how arms shall be blazoned ... many of the supposedly hard and fast rules laid down in heraldic manuals [including those by heralds] are often ignored." A given coat of arms may be drawn in many different ways, all considered equivalent and faithful to

3192-425: Is to adhere to the feminine singular form, for example: a chief undée and a saltire undée , even though the French nouns chef and sautoir are in fact masculine. Efforts have been made to ignore grammatical correctness, for example by J. E. Cussans , who suggested that all French adjectives should be expressed in the masculine singular, without regard to the gender and number of the nouns they qualify, thus

3306-685: The Atlantic Ocean to America . As Genoese and Venetian merchants opened up direct sea routes with Flanders , the Champagne fairs lost much of their importance. At the same time, English wool export shifted from raw wool to processed cloth, resulting in losses for the cloth manufacturers of the Low Countries. In the Baltic and North Sea , the Hanseatic League reached the peak of their power in

3420-542: The Balkans fell under the dominance of the Ottoman Empire . Meanwhile, the remaining nations of the continent were locked in almost constant international or internal conflict. The situation gradually led to the consolidation of central authority and the emergence of the nation state . The financial demands of war necessitated higher levels of taxation, resulting in the emergence of representative bodies – most notably

3534-628: The Black Death . Meanwhile, the Norse colony in Greenland died out, probably under extreme weather conditions in the 15th century. These conditions might have been the effect of the Little Ice Age . The death of Alexander III of Scotland in 1286 threw the country into a succession crisis , and the English king, Edward I , was brought in to arbitrate. Edward claimed overlordship over Scotland, leading to

Oberdiessbach - Misplaced Pages Continue

3648-621: The Czechs , but both the Catholic Church and the German element within the country were weakened. Martin Luther , a German monk, started the German Reformation by posting 95 theses on the castle church of Wittenberg on October 31, 1517. The immediate provocation spurring this act was Pope Leo X 's renewal of the indulgence for the building of the new St. Peter's Basilica in 1514. Luther

3762-660: The English aristocracy, such as John of Gaunt , the movement was not allowed to survive. Though Wycliffe himself was left unmolested, his supporters, the Lollards , were eventually suppressed in England. The marriage of Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia established contacts between the two nations and brought Lollard ideas to her homeland. The teachings of the Czech priest Jan Hus were based on those of John Wycliffe, yet his followers,

3876-639: The English Parliament . The growth of secular authority was further aided by the decline of the papacy with the Western Schism and the coming of the Protestant Reformation . After the failed union of Sweden and Norway of 1319–1365, the pan-Scandinavian Kalmar Union was instituted in 1397. The Swedes were reluctant members of the Danish -dominated union from the start. In an attempt to subdue

3990-672: The Hiberno-Norman lords in Ireland were becoming gradually more assimilated into Irish society, and the island was allowed to develop virtual independence under English overlordship. The French House of Valois , which followed the House of Capet in 1328, was at its outset marginalized in its own country, first by the English invading forces of the Hundred Years' War and later by the powerful Duchy of Burgundy . The emergence of Joan of Arc as

4104-604: The House of Habsburg in 1438, where it remained until its dissolution in 1806. Yet in spite of the extensive territories held by the Habsburgs , the Empire itself remained fragmented, and much real power and influence lay with the individual principalities. In addition, financial institutions, such as the Hanseatic League and the Fugger family, held great power, on both economic and political levels. The Kingdom of Hungary experienced

4218-679: The Hussites , were to have a much greater political impact than the Lollards. Hus gained a great following in Bohemia , and in 1414, he was requested to appear at the Council of Constance to defend his cause. When he was burned as a heretic in 1415, it caused a popular uprising in the Czech lands. The subsequent Hussite Wars fell apart due to internal quarrels and did not result in religious or national independence for

4332-602: The Jews , who were often blamed for the calamities. Anti-Jewish pogroms were carried out all over Europe; in February 1349, 2,000 Jews were murdered in Strasbourg . States were also guilty of discrimination against the Jews. Monarchs gave in to the demands of the people, and the Jews were expelled from England in 1290, from France in 1306, from Spain in 1492, and from Portugal in 1497. While

4446-609: The Renaissance of the 12th century through contact with Arabs during the Crusades , but the availability of important Greek texts accelerated with the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks , when many Byzantine scholars had to seek refuge in the West, particularly Italy. Combined with this influx of classical ideas was the invention of printing, which facilitated the dissemination of

4560-592: The Social Democratic Party (SP) (14%), the Conservative Democratic Party (BDP) (12.4%) and the FDP.The Liberals (11.3%). In the federal election, a total of 1,253 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 53.8%. As of  2011, Oberdiessbach had an unemployment rate of 0.98%. As of 2008, there were a total of 1,738 people employed in the municipality. Of these, there were 151 people employed in

4674-628: The Wars of Scottish Independence . The English were eventually defeated, and the Scots were able to develop a stronger state under the Stewarts . From 1337, England's attention was largely directed towards France in the Hundred Years' War . Henry V's victory at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 briefly paved the way for a unification of the two kingdoms, but his son Henry VI soon squandered all previous gains. The loss of France led to discontent at home. Soon after

Oberdiessbach - Misplaced Pages Continue

4788-639: The ancient age (via classical antiquity ) and the modern age . Some historians, particularly in Italy, prefer not to speak of the late Middle Ages at all but rather see the high period of the Middle Ages transitioning to the Renaissance and the modern era. The term "late Middle Ages" refers to one of the three periods of the Middle Ages , along with the early Middle Ages and the High Middle Ages. Leonardo Bruni

4902-403: The bill of exchange and other forms of credit that circumvented the canonical laws for gentiles against usury and eliminated the dangers of carrying bullion ; and new forms of accounting , in particular double-entry bookkeeping , which allowed for better oversight and accuracy. With the financial expansion, trading rights became more jealously guarded by the commercial elite. Towns saw

5016-564: The condottieri of the Italian city-states. All over Europe, Swiss mercenaries were in particularly high demand. At the same time, the period also saw the emergence of the first permanent armies. It was in Valois France, under the heavy demands of the Hundred Years' War, that the armed forces gradually assumed a permanent nature. Parallel to the military developments emerged also a constantly more elaborate chivalric code of conduct for

5130-434: The inescutcheon , the orle , the tressure, the double tressure, the bordure , the chief , the canton , the label , and flaunches . Ordinaries may appear in parallel series, in which case blazons in English give them different names such as pallets, bars, bendlets, and chevronels. French blazon makes no such distinction between these diminutives and the ordinaries when borne singly. Unless otherwise specified an ordinary

5244-452: The parish opened in Diessbach in the 17th century. This was followed by a secondary school in 1856 and then by a trade school in 1895. A hospital opened in 1880 which eventually grew into the district hospital. By the 18th century there were seven mills, three horseshoe forges, seven nail forges, a sawmill, a tannery, a saddlery and a grocer in the town. The rulers of the town attempted to open

5358-414: The primary economic sector and about 48 businesses involved in this sector. 848 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 45 businesses in this sector. 739 people were employed in the tertiary sector , with 101 businesses in this sector. There were 1,493 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 41.2% of the workforce. In 2008 there were

5472-491: The 14th and 15th centuries, the central theme was the Renaissance , with its rediscovery of ancient learning and the emergence of an individual spirit. The heart of this rediscovery lies in Italy, where, in the words of Jacob Burckhardt , "Man became a spiritual individual and recognized himself as such." This proposition was later challenged, and it was argued that the 12th century was a period of greater cultural achievement. As economic and demographic methods were applied to

5586-476: The 14th century but started going into decline in the fifteenth. In the late 13th and early 14th centuries, a process took place – primarily in Italy but partly also in the Empire ;– that historians have termed a "commercial revolution". Among the innovations of the period were new forms of partnership and the issuing of insurance , both of which contributed to reducing the risk of commercial ventures;

5700-583: The 14th century with his enormous armies (often over 100,000 men). Meanwhile, Poland 's attention was turned eastwards, as the Commonwealth with Lithuania created an enormous entity in the region. The union, and the conversion of Lithuania, also marked the end of paganism in Europe. Louis did not leave a son as heir after his death in 1382. Instead, he named as his heir the young prince Sigismund of Luxemburg . The Hungarian nobility did not accept his claim, and

5814-407: The English became acquainted with, and adopted, the highly efficient longbow . Once properly managed, this weapon gave them a great advantage over the French in the Hundred Years' War. The introduction of gunpowder affected the conduct of war significantly. Though employed by the English as early as the Battle of Crécy in 1346, firearms initially had little effect in the field of battle. It

SECTION 50

#1732858679130

5928-435: The European population to regain similar levels of 1300. As the European population was severely reduced, land became more plentiful for the survivors, and labour was consequently more expensive. Attempts by landowners to forcibly reduce wages, such as the English 1351 Statute of Laborers , were doomed to fail. These efforts resulted in nothing more than fostering resentment among the peasantry, leading to rebellions such as

6042-628: The French Jacquerie in 1358 and the English Peasants' Revolt in 1381. The long-term effect was the virtual end of serfdom in Western Europe. In Eastern Europe, on the other hand, landowners were able to exploit the situation to force the peasantry into even more repressive bondage. The upheavals caused by the Black Death left certain minority groups particularly vulnerable, especially

6156-482: The French form is used, a problem may arise as to the appropriate adjectival ending, determined in normal French usage by gender and number. "To describe two hands as appaumées , because the word main is feminine in French, savours somewhat of pedantry. A person may be a good armorist, and a tolerable French scholar, and still be uncertain whether an escallop-shell covered with bezants should be blazoned as bezanté or bezantée". The usual convention in English heraldry

6270-568: The Great Schism had done irreparable damage. The internal struggles within the Church had impaired her claim to universal rule and promoted anti-clericalism among the people and their rulers, paving the way for reform movements. Though many of the events were outside the traditional time period of the Middle Ages, the end of the unity of the Western Church (the Protestant Reformation ) was one of

6384-414: The Iberian peninsula, but there were also some in France, the Empire, and the Low Countries, as well as London in England. Through battles such as Courtrai (1302), Bannockburn (1314), and Morgarten (1315), it became clear to the great territorial princes of Europe that the military advantage of the feudal cavalry was lost and that a well equipped infantry was preferable. Through the Welsh Wars ,

6498-683: The Jews were suffering persecution, one group that probably experienced increased empowerment in the late Middle Ages was women. The great social changes of the period opened up new possibilities for women in the fields of commerce, learning, and religion. Yet at the same time, women were also vulnerable to incrimination and persecution, as belief in witchcraft increased. The accumulation of social, environmental, and health-related problems also led to an increase in interpersonal violence in most parts of Europe. Population increase, religious intolerance, famine, and disease led to an increase in violent acts in vast parts of medieval society. One exception to this

6612-462: The Kyburg family until they were given as a fief to the Ministerialis (unfree knights in the service of a feudal overlord) family of Senn von Münsingen. In 1331 the city of Bern attacked and destroyed the castle while expanding their power into the region. The Senn family remained in power over the valley for over forty years after the destruction of the castle. Beginning in 1378 the Herrschaft passed through several wealthy families until 1647 when

6726-448: The Landsitz (country estate) Diessenhof, Oberdiessbach Castle and since the 2014 merger, the Statthalterhof in Bleiken, are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance . The entire urbanized village of Oberdiessbach is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites . In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the Swiss People's Party (SVP) which received 33% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were

6840-417: The Middle Ages (1919). To Huizinga, whose research focused on France and the Low Countries rather than Italy, despair and decline were the main themes, not rebirth. Modern historiography on the period has reached a consensus between the two extremes of innovation and crisis. It is now generally acknowledged that conditions were vastly different north and south of the Alps, and the term "late Middle Ages"

6954-535: The Serbian king Stefan Dušan had been proclaimed emperor. Yet Serbian dominance was short-lived; the Serbian army led by the Lazar Hrebeljanovic was defeated by the Ottoman Army at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, where most of the Serbian nobility was killed and the south of the country came under Ottoman occupation , as much of southern Bulgaria had become Ottoman territory in the Battle of Maritsa 1371. Northern remnants of Bulgaria were finally conquered by 1396, Serbia fell in 1459, Bosnia in 1463, and Albania

SECTION 60

#1732858679130

7068-406: The Sicilian Vespers had by the early 14th century divided southern Italy into an Aragon Kingdom of Sicily and an Anjou Kingdom of Naples . In 1442, the two kingdoms were effectively united under Aragonese control. The 1469 marriage of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon and the 1479 death of John II of Aragon led to the creation of modern-day Spain . In 1492, Granada

7182-430: The Spanish kingdoms supported the Avignon Papacy, France's enemy England stood behind the pope in Rome, together with Portugal, Scandinavia, and most of the German princes. At the Council of Constance (1414–1418), the Papacy was once more united in Rome. Even though the unity of the Western Church was to last for another hundred years, and though the Papacy was to experience greater material prosperity than ever before,

7296-439: The Swedes, King Christian II of Denmark had large numbers of the Swedish aristocracy killed in the Stockholm Bloodbath of 1520. Yet this measure only led to further hostilities, and Sweden broke away for good in 1523. Norway, on the other hand, became an inferior party of the union and remained united with Denmark until 1814. Iceland benefited from its relative isolation and was the last Scandinavian country to be struck by

7410-490: The blazon, just as the letter "A" may be printed in many different fonts while still being the same letter. For example, the shape of the escutcheon is almost always immaterial, with very limited exceptions (e.g., the coat of arms of Nunavut , for which a round shield is specified). The main conventions of blazon are as follows: Because heraldry developed at a time when English clerks wrote in Anglo-Norman French , many terms in English heraldry are of French origin. Some of

7524-407: The communities of Glasholz and Hauben. Since January 2010 it has included Aeschlen and since 2014, Bleiken bei Oberdiessbach. The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Sable a Bendlet dancety Or between two Lions passant of the same langued and viriled Gules. Oberdiessbach has a population (as of December 2020) of 3,552. As of 2010, 5.7% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over

7638-434: The death rate caused by this epidemic range from one third to as much as sixty percent. By around 1420, the accumulated effect of recurring plagues and famines had reduced the population of Europe to perhaps no more than a third of what it was a century earlier. The effects of natural disasters were exacerbated by armed conflicts; this was particularly the case in France during the Hundred Years' War . It took 150 years for

7752-399: The details of the syntax of blazon also follow French practice: thus, adjectives are normally placed after nouns rather than before. A number of heraldic adjectives may be given in either a French or an anglicised form: for example, a cross pattée or a cross patty ; a cross fitchée or a cross fitchy . In modern English blazons, the anglicised form tends to be preferred. Where

7866-414: The discovery of the Americas in 1492. Around 1300–1350, the Medieval Warm Period gave way to the Little Ice Age . The colder climate resulted in agricultural crises, the first of which is known as the Great Famine of 1315–1317 . The demographic consequences of this famine , however, were not as severe as the plagues that occurred later in the century, particularly the Black Death . Estimates of

7980-496: The distinguishing characteristics of the medieval period. The Catholic Church had long fought against heretic movements, but during the late Middle Ages, it started to experience demands for reform from within. The first of these came from Oxford professor John Wycliffe in England. Wycliffe held that the Bible should be the only authority in religious questions, and he spoke out against transubstantiation , celibacy , and indulgences . In spite of influential supporters among

8094-405: The early 16th century, when the King Louis II of Hungary was killed in the Battle of Mohács in 1526 against the Ottoman Empire . Hungary then fell into a serious crisis and was invaded, ending its significance in central Europe during the medieval era. The state of Kievan Rus' fell during the 13th century in the Mongol invasion . The Grand Duchy of Moscow rose in power thereafter, winning

8208-470: The early days of heraldry, very simple bold rectilinear shapes were painted on shields. These could be easily recognized at a long distance and could be easily remembered. They therefore served the main purpose of heraldry: identification. As more complicated shields came into use, these bold shapes were set apart in a separate class as the "honorable ordinaries". They act as charges and are always written first in blazon. Unless otherwise specified they extend to

8322-412: The economy and power of European nations. The changes brought about by these developments have led many scholars to view this period as the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of modern history and of early modern Europe . However, the division is somewhat artificial, since ancient learning was never entirely absent from European society. As a result, there was developmental continuity between

8436-422: The edges of the field. Though ordinaries are not easily defined, they are generally described as including the cross , the fess , the pale , the bend , the chevron , the saltire , and the pall . There is a separate class of charges called sub-ordinaries which are of a geometrical shape subordinate to the ordinary. According to Friar, they are distinguished by their order in blazon. The sub-ordinaries include

8550-579: The end of Western religious unity and the subsequent emergence of the nation-state , and the expansion of European influence onto the rest of the world. The limits of Christian Europe were still being defined in the 14th and 15th centuries. While the Grand Duchy of Moscow was beginning to repel the Mongols , and the Iberian kingdoms completed the Reconquista of the peninsula and turned their attention outwards,

8664-502: The end of the war in 1453, the dynastic struggles of the Wars of the Roses (c. 1455–1485) began, involving the rival dynasties of the House of Lancaster and House of York . The war ended in the accession of Henry VII of the House of Tudor , who continued the work started by the Yorkist kings of building a strong, centralized monarchy. While England's attention was thus directed elsewhere,

8778-414: The field per pale and putting one whole coat in each half. Impalement replaced the earlier dimidiation  – combining the dexter half of one coat with the sinister half of another – because dimidiation can create ambiguity. A more versatile method is quartering , division of the field by both vertical and horizontal lines. As the name implies, the usual number of divisions

8892-405: The field. The Rule of tincture applies to all semés and variations of the field. Cadency is any systematic way to distinguish arms displayed by descendants of the holder of a coat of arms when those family members have not been granted arms in their own right. Cadency is necessary in heraldic systems in which a given design may be owned by only one person at any time, generally the head of

9006-612: The foundations for a Russian national state. After the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Russian princes started to see themselves as the heirs of the Byzantine Empire . They eventually took on the imperial title of Tzar , and Moscow was described as the Third Rome . The Byzantine Empire had for a long time dominated the eastern Mediterranean in politics and culture. By the 14th century, however, it had almost entirely collapsed into

9120-648: The growing power of guilds , while on a national level, special companies would be granted monopolies on particular trades, like the English wool Staple . The beneficiaries of these developments would accumulate immense wealth. Families like the Fuggers in Germany, the Medicis in Italy, and the de la Poles in England and individuals like Jacques Cœur in France would help finance the wars of kings, achieving great political influence in

9234-413: The last 10 years (2001-2011) the population has changed at a rate of -0.4%. Migration accounted for -1.8%, while births and deaths accounted for 0.1%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (2,777 or 95.2%) as their first language, Serbo-Croatian is the second most common (29 or 1.0%) and French is the third (26 or 0.9%). There are 16 people who speak Italian . As of 2008, the population

9348-409: The left hind foot). Another frequent position is passant , or walking, like the lions of the coat of arms of England . Eagles are almost always shown with their wings spread, or displayed. A pair of wings conjoined is called a vol . In English heraldry the crescent , mullet , martlet , annulet , fleur-de-lis , and rose may be added to a shield to distinguish cadet branches of a family from

9462-420: The most frequent charges are the cross – with its hundreds of variations – and the lion and eagle . Other common animals are stags , wild boars , martlets , and fish . Dragons , bats , unicorns , griffins , and more exotic monsters appear as charges and as supporters . Animals are found in various stereotyped positions or attitudes . Quadrupeds can often be found rampant (standing on

9576-426: The municipality. Of the kindergarten students, 8.8% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 32.4% have a different mother language than the classroom language. The municipality had 12 primary classes and 232 students. Of the primary students, 3.0% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 5.6% have a different mother language than the classroom language. During

9690-566: The population to around half of what it had been before the calamities. Along with depopulation came social unrest and endemic warfare . France and England experienced serious peasant uprisings, such as the Jacquerie and the Peasants' Revolt , as well as over a century of intermittent conflict, the Hundred Years' War . To add to the many problems of the period, the unity of the Catholic Church

9804-657: The population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist , and 105 individuals (or about 3.60% of the population) did not answer the question. In Oberdiessbach about 1,138 or (39.0%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education , and 352 or (12.1%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule ). Of the 352 who completed tertiary schooling, 70.5% were Swiss men, 23.6% were Swiss women, 4.0% were non-Swiss men and 2.0% were non-Swiss women. The Canton of Bern school system provides one year of non-obligatory Kindergarten , followed by six years of Primary school. This

9918-470: The population), there was 1 individual who belongs to the Christian Catholic Church , and there were 287 individuals (or about 9.84% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There was 1 individual who was Jewish , and 57 (or about 1.95% of the population) who were Islamic . There were 4 individuals who were Buddhist and 22 individuals who were Hindu . 160 (or about 5.49% of

10032-424: The population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 59.8% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 16.3%. As of 2000, there were 1,219 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 1,394 married individuals, 181 widows or widowers and 122 individuals who are divorced. As of 2000, there were 271 households that consist of only one person and 94 households with five or more people. In 2000,

10146-713: The printed word and democratized learning. Those two things would later lead to the Reformation . Toward the end of the period, the Age of Discovery began. The expansion of the Ottoman Empire cut off trading possibilities with the East. Europeans were forced to seek new trading routes, leading to the Spanish expedition under Christopher Columbus to the Americas in 1492 and Vasco da Gama 's voyage to Africa and India in 1498. Their discoveries strengthened

10260-441: The process. Though there is no doubt that the demographic crisis of the 14th century caused a dramatic fall in production and commerce in absolute terms, there has been a vigorous historical debate over whether the decline was greater than the fall in population. While the older orthodoxy held that the artistic output of the Renaissance was a result of greater opulence, more recent studies have suggested that there might have been

10374-737: The reforming movements with what has been called the Catholic Reformation, or Counter-Reformation . Europe became split into northern Protestant and southern Catholic parts, resulting in the Religious Wars of the 16th and 17th centuries. The increasingly dominant position of the Ottoman Empire in the eastern Mediterranean presented an impediment to trade for the Christian nations of the west, who in turn started looking for alternatives. Portuguese and Spanish explorers found new trade routes – south of Africa to India , as well as across

10488-421: The repair of motor vehicles, 19 or 3.7% were in the movement and storage of goods, 20 or 3.9% were in a hotel or restaurant, 12 or 2.3% were the insurance or financial industry, 25 or 4.8% were technical professionals or scientists, 49 or 9.5% were in education and 182 or 35.1% were in health care. In 2000, there were 989 workers who commuted into the municipality and 897 workers who commuted away. The municipality

10602-531: The result was an internal war. Sigismund eventually achieved total control of Hungary and established his court in Buda and Visegrád. Both palaces were rebuilt and improved, and were considered the richest of the time in Europe. Inheriting the throne of Bohemia and the Holy Roman Empire, Sigismund continued conducting his politics from Hungary, but he was kept busy fighting the Hussites and the Ottoman Empire , which

10716-623: The return of the Pope to Rome in 1378, the Papal State developed into a major secular power, culminating in the morally corrupt papacy of Alexander VI . Florence grew to prominence amongst the Italian city-states through financial business, and the dominant Medici family became important promoters of the Renaissance through their patronage of the arts. Other city-states in northern Italy also expanded their territories and consolidated their power, primarily Milan , Venice , and Genoa . The War of

10830-410: The same year, there were 10 lower secondary classes with a total of 203 students. There were 2.0% who were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 4.4% have a different mother language than the classroom language. As of 2000, there were 188 students in Oberdiessbach who came from another municipality, while 85 residents attended schools outside the municipality. Oberdiessbach

10944-500: The senior line of a particular family. As an armiger 's arms may be used "by courtesy", either by children or spouses, while they are still living, some form of differencing may be required so as not to confuse them with the original undifferenced or "plain coat" arms. Historically, arms were only heritable by males and therefore cadency marks had no relevance to daughters; in the modern era, Canadian and Irish heraldry include daughters in cadency. These differences are formed by adding to

11058-417: The senior line. These cadency marks are usually shown smaller than normal charges, but it still does not follow that a shield containing such a charge belongs to a cadet branch. All of these charges occur frequently in basic undifferenced coats of arms. To marshal two or more coats of arms is to combine them in one shield. This can be done in a number of ways, of which the simplest is impalement : dividing

11172-427: The study of history, the trend was increasingly to see the late Middle Ages as a period of recession and crisis. Belgian historian Henri Pirenne continued the subdivision of Early , High , and late Middle Ages in the years around World War I . Yet it was his Dutch colleague, Johan Huizinga , who was primarily responsible for popularising the pessimistic view of the late Middle Ages, with his book The Autumn of

11286-415: The town over the following centuries. Around 1728 the country estate Diessenhof was built for a cadet branch of the family. The town church was first mentioned in 1266. The current building dates from 1498. In the late 17th century the von Wattenwyl family built a private chapel in the church. As the center of a Herrschaft, the village developed early into a town and a regional center. The first school in

11400-476: The von Wattenwyl family acquired Diessbach. The high court in the Herrschaft was fully independent until 1471, when Bern forced it to acknowledge Bern's supremacy. A castle was built in valley in 1560 to rule over the Herrschaft. This castle was replaced in 1668 by a new castle (known as the Neues Schloss or Oberdiessbach Castle ) under the direction of Albrecht von Wattenwyl. The von Wattenwyl family remained in

11514-456: The warrior class. This newfound ethos can be seen as a response to the diminishing military role of the aristocracy, and it gradually became almost entirely detached from its military origin. The spirit of chivalry was given expression through the new ( secular ) type of chivalric orders ; the first of these was the Order of St. George , founded by Charles I of Hungary in 1325, while the best known

11628-452: The working population commutes to jobs in Oberdiessbach and nearly three-quarters of the jobs in the village are in agriculture or small business. Oberdiessbach has an area of 16.47 km (6.36 sq mi). As of 2012, a total of 6.66 km (2.57 sq mi) or 51.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 5.12 km (1.98 sq mi) or 39.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.29 km (0.50 sq mi) or 9.9%

11742-604: Was 50.0% male and 50.0% female. The population was made up of 1,460 Swiss men (46.9% of the population) and 96 (3.1%) non-Swiss men. There were 1,477 Swiss women (47.4%) and 82 (2.6%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality, 796 or about 27.3% were born in Oberdiessbach and lived there in 2000. There were 1,424 or 48.8% who were born in the same canton, while 332 or 11.4% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 245 or 8.4% were born outside of Switzerland. As of 2011, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 24% of

11856-600: Was North-Eastern Europe, whose population managed to maintain low levels of violence due to a more organized society resulting from extensive and successful trade. Up until the mid-14th century, Europe had experienced steadily increasing urbanization . Cities were also decimated by the Black Death, but the role of urban areas as centres of learning, commerce, and government ensured continued growth. By 1500, Venice, Milan, Naples, Paris, and Constantinople each probably had more than 100,000 inhabitants. Twenty-two other cities were larger than 40,000; most of these were in Italy and

11970-501: Was becoming a menace to Europe in the beginning of the 15th century. King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary led the largest army of mercenaries of the time, the Black Army of Hungary , which he used to conquer Moravia and Austria and to fight the Ottoman Empire . After Italy, Hungary was the first European country where the Renaissance appeared. However, the glory of the Kingdom ended in

12084-572: Was captured from the Moors , thereby completing the Reconquista . Portugal had during the 15th century – particularly under Henry the Navigator  – gradually explored the coast of Africa , and in 1498, Vasco da Gama found the sea route to India . The Spanish monarchs met the Portuguese challenge by financing the expedition of Christopher Columbus to find a western sea route to India, leading to

12198-616: Was challenged to recant his heresy at the Diet of Worms in 1521. When he refused, he was placed under the ban of the Empire by Charles V . Receiving the protection of Frederick the Wise , he was then able to translate the Bible into German . To many secular rulers, the Protestant Reformation was a welcome opportunity to expand their wealth and influence. The Catholic Church met the challenges of

12312-457: Was finally subordinated in 1479 only a few years after the death of Skanderbeg . Belgrade , a Hungarian domain at the time, was the last large Balkan city to fall under Ottoman rule, in the siege of Belgrade of 1521. By the end of the medieval period, the entire Balkan peninsula was annexed by, or became vassal to, the Ottomans. Avignon was the seat of the papacy from 1309 to 1376. With

12426-705: Was probably the English Order of the Garter , founded by Edward III in 1348. The French crown's increasing dominance over the Papacy culminated in the transference of the Holy See to Avignon in 1309. When the Pope returned to Rome in 1377, this led to the election of different popes in Avignon and Rome, resulting in the Western Schism (1378–1417). The Schism divided Europe along political lines; while France, her ally Scotland, and

12540-652: Was reclaimed by France. At the same time, the County of Burgundy and the wealthy Burgundian Netherlands came into the Holy Roman Empire under Habsburg control, setting up conflict for centuries to come. Bohemia prospered in the 14th century, and the Golden Bull of 1356 made the king of Bohemia first among the imperial electors , but the Hussite revolution threw the country into crisis. The Holy Roman Empire passed to

12654-592: Was temporarily shattered by the Western Schism . Collectively, those events are sometimes called the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages . Despite the crises, the 14th century was also a time of great progress in the arts and sciences. Following a renewed interest in ancient Greek and Roman texts that took root in the High Middle Ages, the Italian Renaissance began. The absorption of Latin texts had started before

12768-516: Was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Renaissance ). Around 1350, centuries of prosperity and growth in Europe came to a halt. A series of famines and plagues , including the Great Famine of 1315–1317 and the Black Death , reduced

12882-664: Was the first historian to use tripartite periodization in his History of the Florentine People (1442). Flavio Biondo used a similar framework in Decades of History from the Deterioration of the Roman Empire (1439–1453). Tripartite periodization became standard after the German historian Christoph Cellarius published Universal History Divided into an Ancient, Medieval, and New Period (1683). For 18th-century historians studying

12996-446: Was through the use of cannons as siege weapons that major change was brought about; the new methods would eventually change the architectural structure of fortifications . Changes also took place within the recruitment and composition of armies. The use of the national or feudal levy was gradually replaced by paid troops of domestic retinues or foreign mercenaries . The practice was associated with Edward III of England and

#129870