157-509: Powis Castle ( Welsh : Castell Powys ) is a medieval castle , fortress and grand country house near Welshpool , in Powys , Wales. The seat of the Herbert family, earls of Powis , the castle is known for its formal gardens and for its interiors, the former having been described as "the most important", and the latter "the most magnificent", in the country. The castle and gardens are under
314-553: A 5th-century BC Chinese military treatise mentions tactics of Assassination and its merits. In the Old Testament , King Joash of Judah was assassinated by his own servants; Joab assassinated Absalom , King David 's son; King Sennacherib of Assyria was assassinated by his own sons; and Jael assassinated Sisera . Chanakya ( c. 350 –283 BC) wrote about assassinations in detail in his political treatise Arthashastra . His student Chandragupta Maurya ,
471-441: A Welsh Language Scheme, which indicates its commitment to the equality of treatment principle. This is sent out in draft form for public consultation for a three-month period, whereupon comments on it may be incorporated into a final version. It requires the final approval of the now defunct Welsh Language Board ( Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg ). Thereafter, the public body is charged with implementing and fulfilling its obligations under
628-594: A Welsh-language edge inscription was used on pound coins dated 1985, 1990 and 1995, which circulated in all parts of the UK prior to their 2017 withdrawal. The wording is Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad (Welsh for 'True am I to my country'), and derives from the national anthem of Wales, " Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau ". UK banknotes are in English only. Some shops employ bilingual signage. Welsh sometimes appears on product packaging or instructions. The UK government has ratified
785-545: A ballroom above. The base of this block formed the outer bailey wall of the original castle. The first floor of this range also contains the Clive Museum, which features artefacts brought from India by the Clives in the 18th century. The outer courtyard contains the lead statue of Fame , attributed to the workshop of John van Nost (d. 1729). Originally located in the water gardens, the piece seems to have been struck from
942-663: A census glossary of terms to support the release of results from the census, including their definition of "main language" as referring to "first or preferred language" (though that wording was not in the census questionnaire itself). The wards in England with the most people giving Welsh as their main language were the Liverpool wards of Central and Greenbank ; and Oswestry South in Shropshire . The wards of Oswestry South (1.15%), Oswestry East (0.86%) and St Oswald (0.71%) had
1099-454: A diarist and traveller who chronicled his journeys into Wales in the 1780s and 1790s, described the castle in 1784, "In the gardens not even the fruit is attended to; the balustrades and terraces are falling down, and the horses graze on the parterres!!!" The castle itself was in no better condition, a visitor in 1774 describing it as "in Neglect and Ruin". Nonetheless, the potential of the site
1256-628: A dissident from Bulgaria , was assassinated by ricin poisoning. A tiny pellet containing the poison was injected into his leg through a specially designed umbrella . Widespread allegations involving the Bulgarian government and the KGB have not led to any legal results. However, after the fall of the Soviet Union, it was learned that the KGB had developed an umbrella that could inject ricin pellets into
1413-450: A history of serious depression, and 39% had a history of substance abuse. With the advent of effective ranged weaponry and later firearms , the position of an assassination target was more precarious. Bodyguards were no longer enough to deter determined killers, who no longer needed to engage directly or even to subvert the guard to kill the leader in question. Moreover, the engagement of targets at greater distances dramatically increased
1570-569: A larger touch. Explosives, especially the car bomb , become far more common in modern history, with grenades and remote-triggered land mines also used, especially in the Middle East and the Balkans; the initial attempt on Archduke Franz Ferdinand 's life was with a grenade. With heavy weapons, the rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) has become a useful tool given the popularity of armored cars (discussed below), and Israeli forces have pioneered
1727-462: A match which replenished the much-depleted Herbert family fortune. In the early 20th century, the 4th Earl of Powis redeveloped the castle with the assistance of the architect George Frederick Bodley . Herbert’s wife, Violet , undertook work of equal importance in the garden, seeking to turn it into "one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful, in England and Wales". On the 4th earl's death in 1952, his wife and his sons having predeceased him,
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#17327879069001884-413: A more or less competent successor, whether the assassination provokes ire in the state in question, whether the assassination leads to souring domestic public opinion, and whether the assassination provokes condemnation from third-parties. One study found that perceptual biases held by leaders often negatively affect decision making in that area, and decisions to go forward with assassinations often reflect
2041-507: A relative, Henry Herbert ( c. 1703–1772 ), of Oakly Park in Shropshire, who was made 1st Earl of Powis (of the second creation) by George II . Herbert married Barbara , the fifteen-year-old granddaughter of the 2nd Marquess, in 1751. Their eldest son, George Herbert (1755–1801), died unmarried and the earldom of the second creation became extinct. Powis was much neglected during his tenure. John Byng, 5th Viscount Torrington ,
2198-479: A single discourse (known in linguistics as code-switching ). Welsh speakers are largely concentrated in the north and west of Wales, principally Gwynedd , Conwy County Borough , Denbighshire , Anglesey , Carmarthenshire , north Pembrokeshire , Ceredigion , parts of Glamorgan , and north-west and extreme south-west Powys . However, first-language and other fluent speakers can be found throughout Wales. Welsh-speaking communities persisted well into
2355-434: A threat. An army and even a nation might be based upon and around a particularly strong, canny, or charismatic leader , whose loss could paralyze the ability of both to make war. For similar and additional reasons, assassination has also sometimes been used in the conduct of foreign policy . The costs and benefits of such actions are difficult to compute. It may not be clear whether the assassinated leader gets replaced with
2512-546: A victim, and two former KGB agents who defected stated that the agency assisted in the murder. The CIA made several attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro ; many of the schemes involving poisoning his cigars. In the late 1950s, the KGB assassin Bohdan Stashynsky killed Ukrainian nationalist leaders Lev Rebet and Stepan Bandera with a spray gun that fired a jet of poison gas from a crushed cyanide ampule, making their deaths look like heart attacks. A 2006 case in
2669-482: A view of the greenhouses which appalled the countess. "I am greeted every day by the repulsive sight of the detestable little [hot]houses which stare in their naked horror up at the beautiful terraces and the grand old castle towering above." Welsh language Welsh ( Cymraeg [kəmˈraːiɡ] or y Gymraeg [ə ɡəmˈraːiɡ] ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that
2826-679: Is available throughout Europe on satellite and online throughout the UK. Since the digital switchover was completed in South Wales on 31 March 2010, S4C Digidol became the main broadcasting channel and fully in Welsh. The main evening television news provided by the BBC in Welsh is available for download. There is also a Welsh-language radio station, BBC Radio Cymru , which was launched in 1977. Assassinated Note: Varies by jurisdiction Note: Varies by jurisdiction Assassination
2983-601: Is called an assassin . Assassin comes from the Italian and French Assissini, believed to derive from the word hashshashin ( Arabic : حشّاشين , romanized : ḥaššāšīyīn ), and shares its etymological roots with hashish ( / h æ ˈ ʃ iː ʃ / or / ˈ h æ ʃ iː ʃ / ; from حشيش ḥašīš ). It referred to a group of Nizari Ismailis known as the Order of Assassins who worked against various political targets. Founded by Hassan-i Sabbah ,
3140-688: Is considered to have lasted from then until the 14th century, when the Modern Welsh period began, which in turn is divided into Early and Late Modern Welsh. The word Welsh is a descendant, via Old English wealh, wielisc , of the Proto-Germanic word * Walhaz , which was derived from the name of the Celtic people known to the Romans as Volcae and which came to refer to speakers of Celtic languages, and then indiscriminately to
3297-877: Is native to the Welsh people . Welsh is spoken natively in Wales , by some in England , and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province , Argentina ). It is spoken by smaller numbers of people in Canada and the United States descended from Welsh immigrants, within their households (especially in Nova Scotia ). Historically, it has also been known in English as "British", "Cambrian", "Cambric" and "Cymric". The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 gave
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#17327879069003454-507: Is one of the oldest tools of power politics . It dates back at least as far as recorded history. The Egyptian pharaoh Teti , of the Old Kingdom Sixth Dynasty (23rd century BCE), is thought to be the earliest known victim of assassination, though written records are scant and thus evidence is circumstantial. Two further ancient Egyptian monarchs are more explicitly recorded to have been assassinated; Amenemhat I of
3611-669: Is the Apple Bank. Helena Attlee, in her The Gardens of Wales , notes the varied planting styles, sub-tropical on the Top Terrace, Mediterranean on the Aviary Terrace, and British double-herbaceous borders on the Orangery Terrace. William Emes, apart from the destruction of the water garden, did make improvements to the estate. A road that cut through the park just below the castle was diverted, and much planting
3768-520: Is the Orangery Terrace, which houses an orangery . When built this was heated and was open to the elements, but in the early 20th century the arcade was enclosed with windows and a door case moved from the main entrance to the keep in the Outer Courtyard. A lead statue of a peacock on this terrace came originally from Claremont , Robert Clive's country house in Surrey . The last remaining terrace
3925-511: Is the label attached to the Welsh of the 12th to 14th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This is the language of nearly all surviving early manuscripts of the Mabinogion , although the tales themselves are certainly much older. It is also the language of the existing Welsh law manuscripts. Middle Welsh is reasonably intelligible to a modern-day Welsh speaker. The Bible translations into Welsh helped maintain
4082-432: Is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a person—especially if prominent or important . It may be prompted by grievances , notoriety , financial, military, political or other motives . Assassinations are ordered by both individuals and organizations, and are carried out by their accomplices. Acts of assassination have been performed since ancient times . A person who carries out an assassination
4239-640: Is uncertain; they may be from the time of the first Marquess in the late 17th century, or from the time of the 2nd Marquess in the early 18th century. Both entrances lead into the small Inner Courtyard. Originally with an open arcade, this was enclosed by Smirke in the 1820s. The keep contains the main living apartments of the Herberts, while the continuance of the North Range houses the kitchen and servants' quarters. Scourfield and Haslam, in their Powys volume of Pevsner's The Buildings of Wales , describe
4396-401: Is unclear which of these sites is being referred to. The earliest reference dates from 1111, when Cadwgan ap Bleddyn is mentioned as having planned to construct a castle at Trallwng Llywelyn, the oldest record of a native Welsh castle. Domen Castell, a motte-and-bailey near the modern railway station , is considered the most likely site of Cadwgan's castle, although it is uncertain whether it
4553-732: The Cynfeirdd or "Early Poets" – is generally considered to date to the Primitive Welsh period. However, much of this poetry was supposedly composed in the Hen Ogledd , raising further questions about the dating of the material and language in which it was originally composed. This discretion stems from the fact that Cumbric was widely believed to have been the language used in Hen Ogledd. An 8th-century inscription in Tywyn shows
4710-500: The 2016 Australian census , 1,688 people noted that they spoke Welsh. In the 2011 Canadian census , 3,885 people reported Welsh as their first language . According to the 2021 Canadian census , 1,130 people noted that Welsh was their mother tongue. The 2018 New Zealand census noted that 1,083 people in New Zealand spoke Welsh. The American Community Survey 2009–2013 noted that 2,235 people aged five years and over in
4867-466: The 2021 census , 7,349 people in England recorded Welsh to be their "main language". In the 2011 census, 1,189 people aged three and over in Scotland noted that Welsh was a language (other than English) that they used at home. It is believed that there are as many as 5,000 speakers of Patagonian Welsh . In response to the question 'Does the person speak a language other than English at home?' in
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5024-650: The Battle of Plassey . Several of Clive's acquisitions are on display in the Clive Museum at Powis Castle, along with items acquired subsequently by Edward and Henrietta, during Edward's time working firstly for the East India Company and then as the Governor of Madras . These include Tipu Sultan's magnificent state tent, made of painted chintz ; gold and bejewelled tiger's head finials from Tipu's throne; two cannons that are today positioned on either side of
5181-520: The Battle of the Somme in 1916, and Mervyn in a plane crash in 1943. On his own death in 1952, he bequeathed the castle and gardens to the National Trust . The fourth earl was succeeded by his cousin, Edward Herbert (1889–1974), the fifth Earl. Edward's heir was Christian Victor Charles Herbert (1904–1988), the sixth Earl. He was succeeded by his cousin, George William Herbert (1925–1993), who
5338-520: The English Civil War cost him his castle and his estates. On 22 October 1644 Powis Castle was captured by Parliamentary troops and was not returned to the family until the restoration of Charles II in 1660. On the restoration, the Herberts returned to Powis, and in 1674 William Herbert ( c. 1626–1696 ) was created Earl of Powis (of the first creation). The state bedroom was installed in about 1665 and further improvements, including
5495-538: The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of Welsh. The language has greatly increased its prominence since the creation of the television channel S4C in November 1982, which until digital switchover in 2010 broadcast 70 per cent of Channel 4's programming along with a majority of Welsh language shows during peak viewing hours. The all-Welsh-language digital station S4C Digidol
5652-513: The Fame and the Hercules were relocated to different sites on the estate. Four of the terraces remain, the last two having reverted to banks of earth covered with shrubs. Each is 150m in length. The Top Terrace is planted with a range of yew trees, a distinctive feature at Powis. Originally tightly clipped in the form of obelisks, they have grown into an array of amorphous shapes. The 14 "tumps" on
5809-762: The Middle Ages , regicide was rare in Western Europe, but it was a recurring theme in the Eastern Roman Empire . Strangling in the bathtub was the most commonly used method. With the Renaissance , tyrannicide —or assassination for personal or political reasons—became more common again in Western Europe. During the 16th and 17th centuries, international lawyers began to voice condemnation of assassinations of leaders. Balthazar Ayala has been described as "the first prominent jurist to condemn
5966-620: The Middle Kingdom Twelfth Dynasty (20th century BCE) is recorded to have been assassinated in his bed by his palace guards for reasons unknown (as related in the Instructions of Amenemhat ); meanwhile contemporary judicial records relate the assassination of New Kingdom Twentieth Dynasty monarch Ramesses III in 1155 BCE as part of a failed coup attempt . Between 550 BC and 330 BC, seven Persian kings of Achaemenid Dynasty were murdered. The Art of War ,
6123-756: The Polish name for Italians) have a similar etymology. The Welsh term for the language, Cymraeg , descends from the Brythonic word combrogi , meaning 'compatriots' or 'fellow countrymen'. Welsh evolved from Common Brittonic , the Celtic language spoken by the ancient Celtic Britons . Classified as Insular Celtic , the British language probably arrived in Britain during the Bronze Age or Iron Age and
6280-521: The Stuart kings was to shape its destiny for over a century. Sir Edward began the transformation of Powis from a border fortress into an Elizabethan country house. The major remaining element of his work is the Long Gallery . Herbert's descendent William Herbert, 1st Baron Powis ( c. 1573–1655 ), was a supporter of Charles I , and was granted the barony of Powis in 1629. His loyalty during
6437-640: The United States spoke Welsh at home. The highest number of those (255) lived in Florida . Sources: Calls for the Welsh language to be granted official status grew with the establishment of the nationalist political party Plaid Cymru in 1925, the establishment of the Welsh Language Society in 1962 and the rise of Welsh nationalism in the later 20th century. Of the six living Celtic languages (including two revived), Welsh has
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6594-669: The assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira during the Rwandan Civil War sparked the Rwandan genocide . In Israel, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated on November 4, 1995, by Yigal Amir , who opposed the Oslo Accords . In Lebanon , the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on February 14, 2005, prompted an investigation by the United Nations. The suggestion in
6751-594: The "hugely important role", adding, "I look forward to working with the Welsh Government and organisations in Wales in developing the new system of standards. I will look to build on the good work that has been done by the Welsh Language Board and others to strengthen the Welsh language and ensure that it continues to thrive." First Minister Carwyn Jones said that Huws would act as a champion for
6908-596: The 1880s identified a small part of Shropshire as still then speaking Welsh, with the "Celtic Border" passing from Llanymynech through Oswestry to Chirk . The number of Welsh-speaking people in the rest of Britain has not yet been counted for statistical purposes. In 1993, the Welsh-language television channel S4C published the results of a survey into the numbers of people who spoke or understood Welsh, which estimated that there were around 133,000 Welsh-speaking people living in England, about 50,000 of them in
7065-423: The 18th-century reaction against the formality of earlier garden design, and are one of the few remaining Baroque gardens in the UK. Although their exact dating is uncertain, the terraces were hewn from the rock at some point between the 1670s and 1705 under the direction of William Winde and later Adrian Duvall, a French gardener from Rouen . The concept of formal terraces was introduced into northern Europe from
7222-536: The 1993 Act nor secondary legislation made under it covers the private sector, although some organisations, notably banks and some railway companies, provide some of their information in Welsh. On 7 December 2010, the Welsh Assembly unanimously approved a set of measures to develop the use of the Welsh language within Wales. On 9 February 2011 this measure, the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 ,
7379-453: The 74 principal incidents evaluated in a major study about assassination attempts in the US in the second half of the 20th century, 51% were undertaken by a handgun, 30% with a rifle or shotgun, 15% used knives, and 8% explosives (the use of multiple weapons/methods was reported in 16% of all cases). In the case of state-sponsored assassination, poisoning can be more easily denied. Georgi Markov ,
7536-761: The Assassins were active in the Near East from the 11th to the 13th centuries. The group killed members of the Abbasid , Seljuk , Fatimid , and Christian Crusader elite for political and religious reasons. Although it is commonly believed that members of the Order of Assassins were under the influence of hashish during their killings or during their indoctrination, there is debate as to whether these claims have merit, with many Eastern writers and an increasing number of Western academics coming to believe that drug-taking
7693-486: The Assembly which confirms the official status of the Welsh language; which creates a strong advocate for Welsh speakers and will improve the quality and quantity of services available through the medium of Welsh. I believe that everyone who wants to access services in the Welsh language should be able to do so, and that is what this government has worked towards. This legislation is an important and historic step forward for
7850-620: The Conservative Party Conference in a Brighton hotel. Loyalist paramilitaries retaliated by killing Catholics at random and assassinating Irish nationalist politicians. Basque separatists ETA in Spain assassinated many security and political figures since the late 1960s, notably the president of the Francoist government of Spain, Luis Carrero Blanco , 1st Duke of Carrero-Blanco Grandee of Spain, in 1973. In
8007-679: The Czechoslovak government in exile in Operation Anthropoid , and knowledge from decoded transmissions allowed the United States to carry out a targeted attack , killing Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto while he was travelling by plane. During the 1930s and 1940s, Joseph Stalin 's NKVD carried out numerous assassinations outside of the Soviet Union, such as the killings of Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists leader Yevhen Konovalets , Ignace Poretsky , Fourth International secretary Rudolf Klement, Leon Trotsky , and
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#17327879069008164-434: The Greater London area. The Welsh Language Board , on the basis of an analysis of the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study, estimated there were 110,000 Welsh-speaking people in England, and another thousand in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In the 2011 census , 8,248 people in England gave Welsh in answer to the question "What is your main language?" The Office for National Statistics subsequently published
8321-410: The Herberts' absence, the water garden was completed. John Bridgeman, a guest in that year, wrote "the waterworks and fountains are much beyond anything I ever saw, the cascade has two falls of water which concludes in a noble Bason (sic)." The Powis water garden lasted just over 100 years, and was dismantled by 1809, on the advice of William Emes . Emes, who trained under Capability Brown , swept away
8478-422: The House of Commons being "cautious and pertinent, although marred by dull delivery". He died in 1848, following a shooting accident at Powis in which he was fatally injured by his second son. No further major changes were made to the Powis estate during his time, or in the long tenure of his eldest son Edward (1818–1891), the third earl, although the castle was well maintained. In honour of his great-grandfather,
8635-443: The Israeli policy of targeted killing is not the same as assassination." Syracuse Law William Banks and GW Law Peter Raven-Hansen wrote, "Targeted killing of terrorists is... not unlawful and would not constitute assassination." Rory Miller writes: "Targeted killing... is not 'assassination. ' " Eric Patterson and Teresa Casale wrote, "Perhaps most important is the legal distinction between targeted killing and assassination." On
8792-421: The Long Gallery by the Trust, because of concerns that they would lead the floor to collapse, but a full reconstruction of the floor has enabled them to be returned. When Robert Clive returned to England, his fortune of some £234,000 (£23 million today), made him the richest self-made man in Europe. According to William Dalrymple , much of the wealth amassed by Clive was loot that was illicitly collected after
8949-491: The Obama administration maintained a "kill list" containing terrorism suspects. The list is sometimes referred to as a "disposition matrix," and President Obama made a final decision on whether anyone listed would be killed, without court oversight and without trial. In September 2011, American citizens Anwar Al-Awlaki and Samir Khan were assassinated in Yemen by the United States government via drone strikes. Two weeks later, Awlaki's 16-year-old son, also an American citizen,
9106-444: The South Asian collection and in 2020 commissioned a research project in association with the Ashmolean Museum to investigate its history, contents and provenance. In Wales Cadw is the statutory body with responsibility for the listing of buildings. Cadw uses the same rating system as Historic England , classifying listed buildings into three categories; Grade I, the highest grade, for buildings of "exceptional interest", Grade II*,
9263-508: The Tokugawa shogunate, during the Boshin War . Most of the assassinations in Japan were committed with bladed weaponry, a trait that was carried on into modern history. A video-record exists of the assassination of Inejiro Asanuma , using a sword. In 1895, a group of Japanese assassins killed the Korean queen (and posthumously empress) Myeongseong. In the United States, within 100 years, four presidents— Abraham Lincoln , James A. Garfield , William McKinley and John F. Kennedy —died at
9420-428: The Top Terrace, and the hedge at its eastern end, were planted by the 2nd Marquess in the 1720s. The darker Irish yews elsewhere in the garden date from the following century. Below is the Aviary Terrace, the site of a bird house, which is decorated with four statues of shepherds and shepherdesses by van Nost. They were once painted in colours, but are now treated with a uniform grey weather-resistant paint. The third level
9577-484: The UK concerned the assassination of Alexander Litvinenko who was given a lethal dose of radioactive polonium -210, possibly passed to him in aerosol form sprayed directly onto his food. Targeted killing is the intentional killing by a government or its agents of a civilian or " unlawful combatant " who is not in the government's custody. The target is a person asserted to be taking part in an armed conflict or terrorism, by bearing arms or otherwise, who has thereby lost
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#17327879069009734-432: The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, all new signs have Welsh displayed first. There have been incidents of one of the languages being vandalised, which may be considered a hate crime . Since 2000, the teaching of Welsh has been compulsory in all schools in Wales up to age 16; this has had an effect in stabilising and reversing the decline in the language. Text on UK coins tends to be in English and Latin. However,
9891-436: The Welsh Language Scheme. The list of other public bodies which have to prepare Schemes could be added to by initially the Secretary of State for Wales, from 1993 to 1997, by way of statutory instrument . Subsequent to the forming of the National Assembly for Wales in 1997, the Government Minister responsible for the Welsh language can and has passed statutory instruments naming public bodies who have to prepare Schemes. Neither
10048-421: The Welsh language official status in Wales. Welsh and English are de jure official languages of the Welsh Parliament, the Senedd , with Welsh being the only de jure official language in any part of the United Kingdom, with English being merely de facto official. According to the 2021 census , the Welsh-speaking population of Wales aged three or older was 538,300 (17.8%) and nearly three quarters of
10205-445: The Welsh language, though some had concerns over her appointment: Plaid Cymru spokeswoman Bethan Jenkins said, "I have concerns about the transition from Meri Huws's role from the Welsh Language Board to the language commissioner, and I will be asking the Welsh government how this will be successfully managed. We must be sure that there is no conflict of interest, and that the Welsh Language Commissioner can demonstrate how she will offer
10362-426: The Welsh of the 16th century, but they are similar enough for a fluent Welsh speaker to have little trouble understanding it. During the Modern Welsh period, there has been a decline in the popularity of the Welsh language: the number of Welsh speakers declined to the point at which there was concern that the language would become extinct. During industrialisation in the late 19th century, immigrants from England led to
10519-429: The Welsh-speaking heartlands, with the number dropping to under 50 per cent in Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire for the first time. However, according to the Welsh Language Use Survey in 2019–20, 22 per cent of people aged three and over were able to speak Welsh. The Annual Population Survey (APS) by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that as of March 2024, approximately 862,700, or 28.0 per cent of
10676-468: The Workers' Party of Marxist Unification ( POUM ) leadership in Catalonia . India's "Father of the Nation", Mahatma Gandhi , was shot to death on January 30, 1948, by Nathuram Godse . The African-American civil rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr. , was assassinated on April 4, 1968, at the Lorraine Motel (now the National Civil Rights Museum ) in Memphis, Tennessee . Three years prior, another African-American civil rights activist, Malcolm X ,
10833-455: The actual attackers were found to be delusional , a figure that rose to 60% with "near-lethal approachers" (people apprehended before reaching their targets). That shows that while mental instability plays a role in many modern assassinations, the more delusional attackers are less likely to succeed in their attempts. The report also found that around two-thirds of attackers had previously been arrested, not necessarily for related offenses; 44% had
10990-447: The attempts to kill the Athenian Alcibiades during the Peloponnesian War . A number of additional examples from World War II show how assassination was used as a tool: Use of assassination has continued in more recent conflicts: Insurgent groups have often employed assassination as a tool to further their causes. Assassinations provide several functions for such groups: the removal of specific enemies and as propaganda tools to focus
11147-407: The attention of media and politics on their cause. The Irish Republican Army guerrillas in 1919 to 1921 killed many Royal Irish Constabulary Police intelligence officers during the Irish War of Independence . Michael Collins set up a special unit, the Squad , for that purpose, which had the effect of intimidating many policemen into resigning from the force. The Squad's activities peaked with
11304-440: The capital of Powys Wenwynwyn, of which Owain had been heir. On the death of Owain, the castle passed to his daughter Hawys , who married Sir John Charlton . The Charltons continued to live at Powis until the fifteenth century when two daughters, Joyce Tiptoft and Joan Grey inherited the castle and estates. Both were equally divided, each daughter and her husband living in a portion of the castle. In 1578 an illegitimate son of
11461-541: The care of the National Trust . Powis Castle is a Grade I listed building , while its gardens have their own Grade I listing on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales . The present castle was built in the 13th century. Unusually for a castle on the Marches , it was constructed by a Welsh prince, Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn , rather than by a Norman baron. Gruffydd
11618-481: The castle and even to live there on an irregular basis, the Baroque water garden below the castle being completed at this time. Their fortunes were also materially improved by the discovery of a lucrative lead mine on their Welsh estates. The second Marquess, also William , was reinstated in 1722. On the death of his son, the third Marquess in 1748, the marquessate became extinct, while the castle and estates passed to
11775-528: The castle entrance, and textiles, armour, weapons, bronzes, silver pieces, and collections of jade and ivory . The Clive Museum, opened in 1987 next to the ballroom in the North Range, has been the focus of controversy in the 21st century, because of the raised awareness of the links between country house collections and colonialism, as a result of the Black Lives Matter movement. The National Trust has committed to supporting reinterpretation of
11932-564: The castle interiors as "the most magnificent in Wales". They contain murals and ceiling paintings by Antonio Verrio and Gerard Lanscroon ; a collection of Elizabethan and Jacobean family portraits mainly of members of the Herberts of Chirbury , who inherited the castle in the early 18th century; Carolean furnishings of notable richness and quality; and items from the picture and Indian collections of Robert Clive. The early 20th-century redevelopment and redecoration undertaken by George Bodley
12089-452: The castle is made through an outer gatehouse, with the stables to the right and a coach house to the left. The medieval building history is complex; John R. Kenyon, in his study The Medieval Castles of Wales , notes that "the accretion of later buildings and much modification, have made it notoriously difficult to interpret the early phasing." Continuing the run of buildings on the left is the North Range, with former domestic offices below and
12246-561: The castle passed into the care of the National Trust. Unlike the castles at Conwy , Caernarfon , Harlech and nearby Montgomery , which were built by the English to subdue the Welsh, the castles at Welshpool were built by the Welsh princes of Powys Wenwynwyn as their dynastic seat. In addition to the current site, two motte-and-bailey castles and a set of earthworks are located nearby. The names Trallwg/Tallwm and Pola are used interchangeably in early primary sources, and it
12403-456: The cause of damage to the wall and ceiling paintings. The report's authors concluded that there was not a direct link, but emphasised the challenge of balancing the needs of visitors with the requirement to maintain historic fabrics. The dining room was created by Bodley by the re-amalgamation of two smaller rooms. The fourth earl took a very close interest in Bodley's work, and influenced much of
12560-460: The census. In terms of usage, ONS also reported that 14.4 per cent (443,800) of people aged three or older in Wales reported that they spoke Welsh daily in March 2024, with 5.4 per cent (165,500) speaking it weekly and 6.5 per cent (201,200) less often. Approximately 1.7 per cent (51,700) reported that they never spoke Welsh despite being able to speak the language, with the remaining 72.0 per cent of
12717-585: The chances for assassins to survive since they could quickly flee the scene. The first heads of government to be assassinated with a firearm were James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray , the regent of Scotland, in 1570, and William the Silent , the Prince of Orange of the Netherlands, in 1584. Gunpowder and other explosives also allowed the use of bombs or even greater concentrations of explosives for deeds requiring
12874-541: The construction of the Great Staircase followed in the 1670s. These developments were most probably carried out under the direction of William Winde , who may also have designed the terraced gardens. His employer, although restored to his estates, and raised in the peerage, was barred by his Catholic faith from high office under Charles II . On the accession of the King's brother, James in 1685, Herbert became one of
13031-414: The course of the 20th century this monolingual population all but disappeared, but a small percentage remained at the time of the 1981 census. Most Welsh-speaking people in Wales also speak English. However, many Welsh-speaking people are more comfortable expressing themselves in Welsh than in English. A speaker's choice of language can vary according to the subject domain and the social context, even within
13188-401: The court of Louis XIV at Versailles . The room is attributed to William Winde , at the time of his work on the gardens. When improvements to the castle were being considered in 1772, the architect Thomas Farnolls Pritchard recommended that the bedroom be preserved. The bed itself dates from this period of reconstruction. The room was designed to receive Charles II, and is much decorated with
13345-489: The creation of Old Welsh, Davies suggests it may be more appropriate to refer to this derivative language as Lingua Britannica rather than characterising it as a new language altogether. The argued dates for the period of "Primitive Welsh" are widely debated, with some historians' suggestions differing by hundreds of years. The next main period is Old Welsh ( Hen Gymraeg , 9th to 11th centuries); poetry from both Wales and Scotland has been preserved in this form of
13502-468: The death of his only son, he was succeeded by his daughter, Hawys Gadarn , "the Lady of Powis". Hawys married Sir John Charlton in 1309. In the late 16th century the castle was purchased by Edward Herbert, a younger son of the earl of Pembroke , beginning a connection between the family and the castle that continues today. The Herberts remained Roman Catholic until the 18th century and, although rising in
13659-479: The decline in Welsh speakers particularly in the South Wales Valleys. Welsh government processes and legislation have worked to increase the proliferation of the Welsh language, for example through education. Welsh has been spoken continuously in Wales throughout history; however, by 1911, it had become a minority language, spoken by 43.5 per cent of the population. While this decline continued over
13816-626: The decoration. The chimneypieces in the room were copied from examples in the Victoria and Albert Museum , and the ceiling from the Reindeer Inn, a public house in Banbury , both at the earl's suggestion. The room contains a portrait of Henrietta Clive, Countess of Powis (1758–1830), painted in 1777 by Sir Joshua Reynolds . The countess was daughter of Henry Herbert, 1st Earl of Powis and wife of Edward Clive, 1st Earl of Powis . The hat and
13973-411: The earl was offered the viceroyalty of India by Disraeli but declined, writing "Not worth considering. Powis" on the envelope containing the invitation. The final alterations to Powis Castle were undertaken at the beginning of the 20th century by George Frederick Bodley for George Charles Herbert, 4th Earl of Powis (1862–1952). The rooms designed by Bodley remain his only extant decorative scheme;
14130-663: The early 1990s, it also began to target academics, journalists and local politicians who publicly disagreed with it. The Red Brigades in Italy carried out assassinations of political figures and, to a lesser extent, so did the Red Army Faction in Germany in the 1970s and the 1980s. In the Vietnam War , communist insurgents routinely assassinated government officials and individual civilians deemed to offend or rival
14287-694: The federal government to fall outside the assassination prohibition. Author and former U.S. Army Captain Matthew J. Morgan argued that "there is a major difference between assassination and targeted killing... targeted killing [is] not synonymous with assassination. Assassination... constitutes an illegal killing." Similarly, Amos Guiora , a professor of law at the University of Utah , wrote, "Targeted killing is... not an assassination." Steve David , professor of international relations at Johns Hopkins University , wrote, "There are strong reasons to believe that
14444-733: The finest remaining Baroque gardens in Britain. Duvall may have had training in hydraulics , being responsible for the original water gardens, which were laid out in a Dutch style. Their design was almost certainly influenced by the gardens of the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye , outside Paris. The chateau was home to James II after his flight from England and was thus well known to the Marquess of Powis and his son. Its grounds were landscaped in an Italianate style comprising gravelled walks between parterres, with fountains and basins. By 1705, despite
14601-579: The first creation) in 1674. The painting's inspiration is the Apotheosis of Venice in the Doge's Palace , by Paolo Veronese . The staircase has been closed to visitors to the castle for many years, because of structural instability. In 2017 the Trust began fundraising efforts for restoration. A structural survey, undertaken in 2020, investigated whether the staircase vibrations, caused by visitor footfall, were
14758-491: The following decades, the language did not die out. The smallest number of speakers was recorded in 1981 with 503,000 although the lowest percentage was recorded in the most recent census in 2021 at 17.8 per cent. By the start of the 21st century, numbers began to increase once more, at least partly as a result of the increase in Welsh-medium education . The 2004 Welsh Language Use Survey showed that 21.7 per cent of
14915-481: The formal parterres and proposed the demolition of the terraces by explosives. The earl rejected his advice regarding the terraces, although the lowest two were reduced to earthen banks, but permitted the replacement of the water garden with the Great Lawn. The water garden had comprised a series of pools and fountains, interspersed with flower beds and decorated with an array of statuary, a number of which, such as
15072-722: The founder of the Maurya Empire , later made use of assassinations against some of his enemies. Some famous assassination victims are Philip II of Macedon (336 BC), the father of Alexander the Great , and Roman dictator Julius Caesar (44 BC). Emperors of Rome often met their end in this way, as did many of the Muslim Shia Imams hundreds of years later. Three successive Rashidun caliphs ( Umar , Uthman Ibn Affan , and Ali ibn Abi Talib ) were assassinated in early civil conflicts between Muslims. The practice
15229-562: The gallery is a marble group of a cat and snake. It is probably Roman , dating between the 1st century BC and 2nd century AD, although it could be an 18th-century fake. Representations of cats are rare in Roman art. The marble, quarried on Thasos was probably purchased by Clive of India for his wife on his visit to Italy in 1774. The gallery also contains a set of busts of the Roman Caesars. Their great weight led to their being moved from
15386-525: The gardens of 16th-century Italy. The gardens originally comprised six terraces, descending from the castle, and culminating in a water garden . Winde had earlier worked on a similar terraced layout at Cliveden in Buckinghamshire , a design of which his patron was almost certainly aware. The castle gardens are listed Grade I on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales , their listing record describing them as
15543-485: The hands of assassins. There have been at least 20 known attempts on U.S. presidents' lives. In Austria, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg was carried out in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914, by Gavrilo Princip , a Serbian nationalist. He is blamed for igniting World War I . Reinhard Heydrich died after an attack by British-trained Czechoslovak soldiers on behalf of
15700-573: The head of Iranian intelligence. Evidence indicates that Fallahian's personal involvement and individual responsibility for the murders were far more pervasive than his current indictment record represents. In India, Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi (neither of whom was related to Mahatma Gandhi , who had himself been assassinated in 1948), were assassinated in 1984 and 1991 in what were linked to separatist movements in Punjab and northern Sri Lanka , respectively. In 1994,
15857-469: The highest number of native speakers who use the language on a daily basis, and it is the Celtic language which is considered the least endangered by UNESCO . The Welsh Language Act 1993 and the Government of Wales Act 1998 provide that the Welsh and English languages be treated equally in the public sector, as far as is reasonable and practicable. Each public body is required to prepare for approval
16014-476: The highest percentage of residents giving Welsh as their main language. The census also revealed that 3,528 wards in England, or 46% of the total number, contained at least one resident whose main language is Welsh. In terms of the regions of England , North West England (1,945), London (1,310) and the West Midlands (1,265) had the highest number of people noting Welsh as their main language. According to
16171-456: The history of Welsh, with rather indistinct boundaries: Primitive Welsh, Old Welsh, Middle Welsh, and Modern Welsh. The period immediately following the language's emergence is sometimes referred to as Primitive Welsh, followed by the Old Welsh period – which is generally considered to stretch from the beginning of the 9th century to sometime during the 12th century. The Middle Welsh period
16328-595: The immunity from being targeted that he would otherwise have under the Third Geneva Convention . It is a different term and concept from that of "targeted violence", as used by specialists who study violence. On the other hand, Gary D. Solis , a professor at Georgetown University Law Center , in his 2010 book The Law of Armed Conflict: International Humanitarian Law in War , wrote, "Assassinations and targeted killings are very different acts." The use of
16485-479: The initials CR . The window latches in the shape of the Prince of Wales's feathers commemorate the visit of the future King Edward VII . His son and daughter-in-law (later King George V and Queen Mary ), visited in 1909. The Long Gallery was built by Sir Edward Herbert, following his purchase of the castle in 1587. It is constructed to a T -plan, an unusual design for an Elizabethan long gallery . Displayed in
16642-648: The killing of 14 British agents in Dublin on Bloody Sunday in 1920. The tactic was used again by the Provisional IRA during the Troubles in Northern Ireland (1969–1998). Assassination of unionist politicians and activists was one of a number of methods used in the Provisional IRA campaign 1969–1997 . The IRA also attempted to assassinate British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher by bombing
16799-541: The lace scarf which she wears in the portrait are not shown in an engraving of the same subject dating to 1778 and appear to have been added later. A remarkable survival of the 1660s, the State Bedroom is the only remaining one in Britain where a balustrade separates the bed alcove from the rest of the room. The design demonstrates the desire of the Anglo-Welsh aristocracy to emulate the etiquette that regulated
16956-595: The language already dropping inflections in the declension of nouns. Janet Davies proposed that the origins of the Welsh language were much less definite; in The Welsh Language: A History , she proposes that Welsh may have been around even earlier than 600 AD. This is evidenced by the dropping of final syllables from Brittonic: * bardos 'poet' became bardd , and * abona 'river' became afon . Though both Davies and Jackson cite minor changes in syllable structure and sounds as evidence for
17113-506: The language, its speakers and for the nation." The measure was not welcomed warmly by all supporters: Bethan Williams, chairman of the Welsh Language Society, gave a mixed response to the move, saying, "Through this measure we have won official status for the language and that has been warmly welcomed. But there was a core principle missing in the law passed by the Assembly before Christmas. It doesn't give language rights to
17270-555: The language. As Germanic and Gaelic colonisation of Britain proceeded, the Brittonic speakers in Wales were split off from those in northern England, speaking Cumbric, and those in the southwest, speaking what would become Cornish , so the languages diverged. Both the works of Aneirin ( Canu Aneirin , c. 600 ) and the Book of Taliesin ( Canu Taliesin ) were written during this era. Middle Welsh ( Cymraeg Canol )
17427-406: The last Baron Grey of Powis , began leasing the lordship and castle to a distant relative – Sir Edward Herbert (d. 1595), second son of Sir William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke . Edward eventually bought the castle outright in 1587, beginning the connection between the Herberts and Powis Castle which continues today. Sir Edward's wife was a Roman Catholic and the family's allegiance to Rome and to
17584-407: The later structure, putatively the remains of an early stone shell keep . At the end of Edward I's conquest of Wales in 1282–83, the king permitted Gruffydd to rebuild his castle at Welshpool as a reward for his loyalty. In 1286, four years after the conquest of Wales, Gruffydd's son, Owain ap Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn became the last hereditary prince of Powys when he renounced his royal title, and
17741-516: The longevity of the 4th Earl, the deaths of his heirs, and his bequest of the castle to the National Trust saw the early 20th-century remodelling remain largely unaltered. The 4th earl's wife, Violet (nee Lane-Fox) , undertook the final transformation of the gardens of Powis Castle, which she felt had the potential to be "the most beautiful in England and Wales". The countess died following a car accident in 1929, and Lord Powis outlived both his sons, who died on active service, Percy from wounds received at
17898-552: The merits of the action. Assassination is widely defined as murder, and is for that reason prohibited in the United States ;... U.S. officials may not kill people merely because their policies are seen as detrimental to our interests... But killings in self-defense are no more "assassinations" in international affairs than they are murders when undertaken by our police forces against domestic killers. Targeted killings in self-defense have been authoritatively determined by
18055-622: The modern period across the border in England. Archenfield was still Welsh enough in the time of Elizabeth I for the Bishop of Hereford to be made responsible, together with the four Welsh bishops, for the translation of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer into Welsh. Welsh was still commonly spoken there in the first half of the 19th century, and churchwardens' notices were put up in both Welsh and English until about 1860. Alexander John Ellis in
18212-545: The new Islamic government of Iran began an international campaign of assassination that lasted into the 1990s. At least 162 killings in 19 countries have been linked to the senior leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran . The campaign came to an end after the Mykonos restaurant assassinations because a German court publicly implicated senior members of the government and issued arrest warrants for Ali Fallahian ,
18369-543: The new king's chief ministers, and was again advanced in the peerage becoming Marquess of Powis in 1687, but fell at the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and followed James into exile in France. William III granted the castle to his nephew, William Nassau de Zuylestein, 1st Earl of Rochford . Herbert died, still in exile, in 1696. Despite their 30-year exile, the Herberts were able to continue with developments at
18526-655: The next grade, for buildings of "more than special interest", and Grade II, the lowest grade, for buildings of "special interest". Powis Castle is a Grade I listed building . The Outer Gatehouse, the Marquess Gate, the Ballroom Range to the north of the Outer Courtyard and the retaining wall to the south, as well as the Top, Aviary, and Orangery Terraces all have separate Grade I listings. The statues of Fame , and of Hercules are listed Grade II*. The raised terrace to
18683-448: The number of Welsh-language speakers to one million by 2050. Since 1980, the number of children attending Welsh-medium schools has increased, while the number going to Welsh bilingual and dual-medium schools has decreased. Welsh is considered the least endangered Celtic language by UNESCO . The language of the Welsh developed from the language of Britons . The emergence of Welsh was not instantaneous and clearly identifiable. Instead,
18840-592: The other hand, the American Civil Liberties Union also states on its website, "A program of targeted killing far from any battlefield, without charge or trial, violates the constitutional guarantee of due process . It also violates international law , under which lethal force may be used outside armed conflict zones only as a last resort to prevent imminent threats, when non-lethal means are not available. Targeting people who are suspected of terrorism for execution, far from any war zone, turns
18997-440: The peerage to earls, marquesses and Jacobite dukes of Powis, suffered periods of imprisonment and exile. Despite these setbacks, they were able in the late 17th and early 18th centuries to transform Powis from a border fortress into an aristocratic country house, and surround it with one of the very few extant examples of a British Baroque garden. In 1784 Henrietta Herbert married Edward Clive , eldest son of Clive of India ,
19154-473: The people of Wales in every aspect of their lives. Despite that, an amendment to that effect was supported by 18 Assembly Members from three different parties, and that was a significant step forward." On 5 October 2011, Meri Huws , Chair of the Welsh Language Board , was appointed the new Welsh Language Commissioner. She released a statement that she was "delighted" to have been appointed to
19311-551: The people of the Western Roman Empire . In Old English the term went through semantic narrowing , coming to refer to either Britons in particular or, in some contexts, slaves. The plural form Wēalas evolved into the name for their territory, Wales. The modern names for various Romance-speaking people in Continental Europe (e.g. Walloons , Valaisans , Vlachs / Wallachians , and Włosi ,
19468-436: The population in Wales said they had no Welsh language skills. Other estimates suggest that 862,700 people (28.0%) aged three or older in Wales could speak Welsh in March 2024. Almost half of all Welsh speakers consider themselves fluent, while 20 per cent are able to speak a fair amount. 56 per cent of Welsh speakers speak the language daily, and 19 per cent speak the language weekly. The Welsh Government plans to increase
19625-471: The population not being able to speak it. The National Survey for Wales, conducted by Welsh Government, has also tended to report a higher percentage of Welsh speakers than the census, with the most recent results for 2022–2023 suggesting that 18 per cent of the population aged 3 and over were able to speak Welsh, with an additional 16 per cent noting that they had some Welsh-speaking ability. Historically, large numbers of Welsh people spoke only Welsh. Over
19782-502: The population of Wales aged 3 and over, were able to speak the language. Children and young people aged three to 15 years old were more likely to report that they could speak Welsh than any other age group (48.4 per cent, 241,300). Around 1,001,500 people, or 32.5 per cent, reported that they could understand spoken Welsh. 24.7 per cent (759,200) could read and 22.2 per cent (684,500) could write in Welsh. The APS estimates of Welsh language ability are historically higher than those produced by
19939-407: The population of Wales spoke Welsh, compared with 20.8 per cent in the 2001 census , and 18.5 per cent in the 1991 census . Since 2001, however, the number of Welsh speakers has declined in both the 2011 and 2021 censuses to about 538,300 or 17.8 per cent in 2021, lower than 1991, although it is still higher in absolute terms. The 2011 census also showed a "big drop" in the number of speakers in
20096-467: The relocation of the entire kitchen garden, including its glasshouses, to a new position behind the Wilderness ridge and the laying out of the formal garden at the base of the terraces, and a fountain garden and a croquet lawn in the far south-eastern corner. The kitchen garden had previously been concealed from the castle by a bank of elm trees, but these were brought down in a storm in 1912, exposing
20253-542: The required fresh approach to this new role." Huws started her role as the Welsh Language Commissioner on 1 April 2012. Local councils and the Senedd use Welsh, issuing Welsh versions of their literature, to varying degrees. Road signs in Wales are in Welsh and English. Prior to 2016, the choice of which language to display first was the responsibility of the local council. Since then, as part of
20410-494: The resulting Mehlis report that there was involvement by Syria prompted the Cedar Revolution , which drove Syrian troops out of Lebanon. On 2 September 2022, a 35 year old Brazilian national attempted to assassinate the then current vice-president of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner . However, the attempt was unsuccessful because the assassin's gun jammed. In 2012, The New York Times revealed that
20567-543: The revolutionary movement. Such attacks, along with widespread military activity by insurgent bands, almost brought the Ngo Dinh Diem regime to collapse before the US intervened. A major study about assassination attempts in the US in the second half of the 20th century came to the conclusion that most prospective assassins spend copious amounts of time planning and preparing for their attempts. Assassinations are thus rarely "impulsive" actions. However, about 25% of
20724-468: The same mould as the Pegasus and Fame supplied by van Nost between 1705 and 1716 to Sir Nicholas Shireburn at Stonyhurst , Lancashire . A grand staircase leads to the doorway to the main keep, sandwiched between two drum towers. The keep is entered at the other end through the Marquess Gate, a sequence of iron gates, followed by a flight of steps leading up to a Baroque doorcase. Their date of construction
20881-599: The shift occurred over a long period, with some historians claiming that it had happened by as late as the 9th century , with a watershed moment being that proposed by linguist Kenneth H. Jackson , the Battle of Dyrham , a military battle between the West Saxons and the Britons in 577 AD, which split the South Western British from direct overland contact with the Welsh. Four periods are identified in
21038-640: The south-east, the stone vase on the site of the water garden cascade, and the Peacock statue have Grade II designations as do a number of domestic offices, including the Ice House , the Bothy , the Garden House, four cottages, and a range of garden features. Elisabeth Whittle , the garden historian, considers the gardens at Powis to be "the most important and magnificent [.] in Wales". They mainly survived
21195-457: The target at long range, and the ability to score a first-round lethal hit at long range, which is usually measured in hundreds of meters. A dedicated sniper rifle is also expensive, often costing thousands of dollars because of the high level of precision machining and handfinishing required to achieve extreme accuracy. Despite their comparative disadvantages, handguns are more easily concealable and so are much more commonly used than rifles. Of
21352-569: The term "assassination" is opposed, as it denotes murder (unlawful killing), but the terrorists are targeted in self-defense, which is thus viewed as a killing but not a crime ( justifiable homicide ). Abraham D. Sofaer , former federal judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of New York , wrote on the subject: When people call a targeted killing an "assassination", they are attempting to preclude debate on
21509-461: The title lapsed; in 1804, her husband was created first Earl of Powis (of the third creation). The Clive fortune paid for long overdue repairs to the castle, which were carried out by Sir Robert Smirke . Their son, Edward (1785–1848), inherited his late uncle's Powis estates on his 21st birthday, taking the surname Herbert in compliance with his uncle's will. Edward Herbert served in a range of administrations as an Anti-Catholic Tory, his speeches in
21666-526: The use of Welsh in daily life, and standardised spelling. The New Testament was translated by William Salesbury in 1567, and the complete Bible by William Morgan in 1588. Modern Welsh is subdivided into Early Modern Welsh and Late Modern Welsh. Early Modern Welsh ran from the 15th century through to the end of the 16th century, and the Late Modern Welsh period roughly dates from the 16th century onwards. Contemporary Welsh differs greatly from
21823-401: The use of aircraft-mounted missiles, as well as the innovative use of explosive devices. A sniper with a precision rifle is often used in fictional assassinations; however, certain pragmatic difficulties attend long-range shooting, including finding a hidden shooting position with a clear line of sight, detailed advance knowledge of the intended victim's travel plans, the ability to identify
21980-467: The use of assassination in foreign policy". Alberico Gentili condemned assassinations in a 1598 publication where he appealed to the self-interest of leaders: (i) assassinations had adverse short-term consequences by arousing the ire of the assassinated leader's successor, and (ii) assassinations had the adverse long-term consequences of causing disorder and chaos. Hugo Grotius 's works on the law of war strictly forbade assassinations, arguing that killing
22137-437: The vague hope that any successor might be better. In both military and foreign policy assassinations, there is the risk that the target could be replaced by an even more competent leader, or that such a killing (or a failed attempt) will prompt the masses to contemn the killers and support the leader's cause more strongly. Faced with particularly brilliant leaders, that possibility has in various instances been risked, such as in
22294-523: The work of Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn ( r. 1241–1287 ) – although historians are uncertain when this took place. In 1274, Gruffydd's "first castle" at Welshpool was destroyed by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd as punishment for his involvement in a scheme to assassinate Llywelyn. The castle was documented again in 1286, when it was listed amongst Gruffydd's possessions as "la Pole Castr". A detailed examination of Powis Castle's extant masonry carried out between 1987 and 1989 revealed early stonework incorporated into
22451-566: Was also well known in ancient China, as in Jing Ke 's failed assassination of Qin king Ying Zheng in 227 BC. Whilst many assassinations were performed by individuals or small groups, there were also specialized units who used a collective group of people to perform more than one assassination. The earliest were the sicarii in 6 AD, who predated the Middle Eastern Assassins and Japanese shinobis by centuries. In
22608-557: Was assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom on February 21, 1965. Most major powers repudiated Cold War assassination tactics, but many allege that was merely a smokescreen for political benefit and that covert and illegal training of assassins continues today, with Russia, Israel, the U.S., Argentina , Paraguay, Chile, and other nations accused of engaging in such operations. After the Iranian Revolution of 1979,
22765-622: Was complete by around AD 550, and labelled the period between then and about AD 800 "Primitive Welsh". This Primitive Welsh may have been spoken in both Wales and the Hen Ogledd ('Old North') – the Brittonic-speaking areas of what are now northern England and southern Scotland – and therefore may have been the ancestor of Cumbric as well as Welsh. Jackson, however, believed that the two varieties were already distinct by that time. The earliest Welsh poetry – that attributed to
22922-534: Was completed as he was assassinated the same year. The first documentary account of an extant castle at Welshpool is a description of the successful 1196 siege by an English army, although the castle was retaken by the Welsh within the year. The earliest castle at the current site may have been a timber building constructed by Owain Cyfeiliog or his son, Gwenwynwyn ( r. 1197–1216 ). The present masonry structure contains 13th-century fabric, most likely
23079-565: Was granted the barony of de la Pole, (i.e. "of the Pool", a reference to Welshpool, formerly called just "Pool"). The ancient Kingdom of Powys had once included the counties of Montgomeryshire , much of Denbighshire , parts of Radnorshire and large areas of Shropshire , but by the 13th century had been reduced to two independent principalities – Powys Wenwynwyn and Powys Fadog – roughly equivalent to Montgomeryshire and South Denbighshire (plus Maelor Saesneg ), respectively; Welshpool had become
23236-508: Was in turn succeeded by his son, John , the 8th and current Earl. The Herbert family continue to live in part of the castle, under an arrangement with the National Trust. The Trust has undertaken a number of major works of restoration during its ownership, including the Marquess Gate, the Grand Staircase, and the sculpture of Fame in the Outer Courtyard. The castle and its gardens receive around 200,000 visitors annually. Entrance to
23393-509: Was killed in a strike targeting Ibrahim al-Banna , a senior operative in Al-Qaeda . Al-Banna was not killed in the strike. Assassination for military purposes has long been espoused: Sun Tzu , writing around 500 BC, argued in favor of using assassination in his book The Art of War . Over 2000 years later, in his book The Prince , Machiavelli also advises rulers to assassinate enemies whenever possible to prevent them from posing
23550-579: Was not the key feature behind the name. The term "assassinare" (assassin) was used in Medieval Latin from the mid 13th century. The earliest known use of the verb "to assassinate" in printed English was by Matthew Sutcliffe in A Briefe Replie to a Certaine Odious and Slanderous Libel, Lately Published by a Seditious Jesuite , a pamphlet printed in 1600, five years before it was used in Macbeth by William Shakespeare (1605). Assassination
23707-542: Was only permissible on the battlefield. In the modern world, the killing of important people began to become more than a tool in power struggles between rulers themselves and was also used for political symbolism, such as in the propaganda of the deed . In Japan, a group of assassins called the Four Hitokiri of the Bakumatsu killed a number of people, including Ii Naosuke who was the head of administration for
23864-518: Was passed and received Royal Assent, thus making the Welsh language an officially recognised language within Wales. The measure: The measure required public bodies and some private companies to provide services in Welsh. The Welsh government's Minister for Heritage at the time, Alun Ffred Jones , said, "The Welsh language is a source of great pride for the people of Wales, whether they speak it or not, and I am delighted that this measure has now become law. I am very proud to have steered legislation through
24021-437: Was prince of the ancient Kingdom of Powys and maintained an alliance with the English king Edward I during the struggles of the later 13th century. He was able to secure the position of his son, Owain, although the kingdom itself was abolished by the Parliament of Shrewsbury in 1283. After his father's death, Owain was raised to the peerage as Owen de la Pole , 1st Lord of Powis. Following his own death c. 1293 , and
24178-399: Was probably spoken throughout the island south of the Firth of Forth . During the Early Middle Ages the British language began to fragment due to increased dialect differentiation, thus evolving into Welsh and the other Brittonic languages. It is not clear when Welsh became distinct. Linguist Kenneth H. Jackson has suggested that the evolution in syllabic structure and sound pattern
24335-438: Was recognised. George Lyttelton , the politician, poet and essayist, recorded his impressions in 1756, "About £3,000 laid out upon Powis Castle would make it the most august place in the Kingdom." In 1784, Henry Herbert's daughter, Henrietta , married Edward Clive (1754–1839), the eldest son of Clive of India . Clive had followed his father to India, and served as Governor of Madras. Henrietta's brother died in 1801, whereupon
24492-541: Was sensitively handled, Scourfield and Haslam consider it "appropriate and finely executed", and it is the only remaining, unaltered, example of his decorative approach. The work took from 1902 until Bodley's death in 1907 and cost around £30,000. The great staircase was built c. 1673-85 , probably under the direction of William Winde. The ceiling painting is by Verrio, and likely depicts Catherine of Braganza , wife of Charles II . Charles restored William Herbert to his Welsh estates and made him 1st Earl of Powis (of
24649-399: Was undertaken on the Wilderness Ridge, the line of hills opposite the castle, on the other side of the Great Lawn. The last major transformation of the gardens was undertaken in the early 20th century by Violet , wife of the fourth earl. Her ambition was "to turn a poor and meagre garden into one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful, in England and Wales". Violet's work included
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