Characteristics and behaviors.

The infantilist community is described by one practitioner as made up of two main types - adult babies (adults who role play infants) and sissy babies (who tend to wear typically feminine clothing, and use female pronouns). There are also individuals who wear diapers but do not act as infants, either diaper lovers who eroticize diaper wearing, or sadomasochists who use diapers as a way of enforcing dominance and submission. Though the categories are discrete, in practice the behaviors found in each group often overlap. Adult babies roleplaying as a baby or small child for erotic stimulation is considered the signature expression of paraphilic infantilism. This may involve the use of adult-sized diapers and baby clothes or toys and furniture such as a crib to lend reality to the infantilist fantasy, crawling on the floor, and some individuals may urinate or defecate in their diapers. If a partner is willing, adult babies may engage in parent-baby roleplay including being bathed, powdered and changed into diapers by one's partner, before being put to bed with a baby bottle. Some may also simulate lactation with a willing partner. Thereafter the adult baby may be comforted by their partner in the role of the parent and their diapers might be changed if wet or dirty. For some infantilists, the ritual might instead involve being scolded, spanked or chastised for having wet or dirtied their diapers. In this latter instance the mode of arousal is masochistic. Others may desire only gentle or nurturing treatment, based on the desire to be cared for or to "surrender the responsibilities of adult life". Some infantilists may involve masturbation and ejaculation while others may choose not to engage in sex since it is not babylike. The erotic pleasure derived from either of these forms of infantilism may replace the need for sexual intercourse in reaching orgasm.  In one study of AB/DL website participants, 93% of the sample was male (excluding transgender individuals). 58% of the men and 34% of the women were heterosexual. Males first became interested in AB/DL at age 11, and started practicing it at 13, compared to 12 and 16 for females, respectively. The most frequent activities were wearing diapers, wetting, and using other baby items. 87% of the men and 91% of the women reported that their AB/DL had not caused any significant problems or distress.

Prevalence.

Meaningful information on the incidence or prevalence of any of the paraphilias are lacking due to the often clandestine nature of such practices. Similarly, it has been observed that infantilism is a closeted activity and it is not well documented in the medical literature. One study reported that 9% of Yahoo groups devoted to "fetishes" dealt with paraphilic infantilism, which was high in relation to other fetishes. If exceptional behaviors do not cause functional impairment, personal distress or distress to others, or have legal implications they can escape the purview of psychiatric awareness and knowledge. Additionally, infantilists may not consider themselves as suffering from a medical condition and may not want to change their behavior, a common occurrence among individuals with paraphilias. Individuals with paraphilic infantilism may seek therapy only for other issues, or be encouraged or coerced to seek treatment if discovered by others. Given these issues the potential of anonymous internet surveys for data collection on infantilist communities has been noted.  One study members of the ABDL online community, however, noted that males became interested in paraphilic infantilism earlier than females, at age 11 rather than 12, and also began to act on their interests earlier, at 13 rather than 16. The same study found that while most males interested in paraphilic infantilism were primarily straight (58%), most females were primarily bisexual (43%). 34% of women were primarily straight. Although both men and women varied in terms of education, only 66% of men and 39% of women earned more than $25,000 a year.

Relation to other conditions.

Infantilism is a diffuse phenomenon and different authorities have taken varied approaches to the question of its medical and sexological classification.

Definitions.

The conventional definition of infantilism means the persistence of childlike traits in adults and medically the failure to attain sexual maturity, and "sexual infantilism" is also used medically as a synonym for delayed puberty. The term "psychosexual infantilism" was used in Sigmund Freud's theory of psychosexual development to refer to individuals who had not matured through its hypothetical stages into heterosexuality. Psychologist Wilhelm Stekel used "psychosexual infantilism" as a category similar to paraphilia, including paraphilic infantilism and other paraphilias and sexual orientations.

Masochism.

The "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" ("DSM") states that along with other behaviors, sexual masochists "...may have a desire to be treated as a helpless infant and clothed in diapers ('infantilism')" and this association is repeated by others. Masochism appears to be particularly important for female infantilists.  Psychologists D. Richard Laws and William O'Donohue state that "Although infantilism is classified as a sexual masochism in the "DSM-IV" and "DSM-IV-TR", it is questionable whether the criteria for sexual masochism are always met. For example, if the infantile role playing does not involve feelings of humiliation and suffering, then the diagnosis of sexual masochism would not be appropriate and a diagnosis of infantilism as a paraphilia [not otherwise specified] is warranted." Sexologist John Money, in his book "Lovemaps" describes paraphilic infantilism as a possible "...adjunctive to masochistic discipline and humiliation." Sexologist William B. Arndt considers paraphilic infantilism to combine forms of fetishism, transvestism and masochism. Wilhelm Stekel considered sado-masochistic practices to be variant behavior arising from psychosexual infantilism.  A potential connection between paraphilic infantilism and sadomasochism has been noted in the Polish publication, Przegląd Seksuologiczny. Research results within the publication indicated that 28% of those paraphilic infantilists surveyed reported an interest in BDSM.

Pedophilia.

Confusing infantilism with pedophilia is a common misunderstanding but infantilism involves role-playing exclusively with other adults; infantilism is not related to pedophilia, or any form of child sexual abuse. Sexologist Gloria Brame states that "...infantilists who recognize and accept their sexuality - and its possible roots in infantile trauma - tend to be acutely protective of real children."  John Money used the term "nepiophilia" to describe attraction to diaper-wearing babies. He described infantilism as "autonepiophilia," in which the individual desires to be and to impersonate a baby and does not desire an infant as a sexual partner.  In 1993, sexologists Ray Blanchard and Kurt Freund published and discussed a series of case studies involving infantilists and noted a distinction between them and pedophiles. While pedophiles were attracted to children (and objects related to childhood) due to the desire for a child sexual partner, infantilists imagined themselves as children and adopted the objects of childhood or infancy to increase the power difference between themselves and their preferred sexual partners of adult women, with whom they acted out masochistic fantasies.

Other conditions.

In the limited number of extant medical case reports some clinicians have attempted to explain the behaviors associated with infantilism in terms of obsessive compulsive disorder, as "a concurrent cluster of symptoms found in a variety of psychiatric disorders." Psychiatrist Jay Feierman considers infantilism a form of chronophilia in which the infantilist desires a sexual partner of the same biological age, but their own "sexuoerotic age" does not match his or her own biological age (i.e. the adult infantilist wishes an adult sexual partner who treats them as a baby). A 2011 letter to the editor in the "Archives of Sexual Behavior" reviewed several case studies and noted a common history of sexual abuse.

Diaper fetishism.

Individuals with diaper fetishism typically do not imagine themselves as babies. Rather, they more often see themselves as adults who are drawn to wearing diapers.  John Money distinguishes between infantilism or autonepiophilia and paraphilic diaper-wearing, stating that the latter is a paraphilic fetish that manifests as an erotic attraction to an article of clothing while the former is a non-fetishistic paraphilia directed at a change of status in terms of age identity.

Cross-dressing.

Infantilists, usually male, may also engage in cross-dressing and wear clothes stereotypically associated with young girls. This type of behavior is referred to as being a "sissy baby". Masochistic infantilists may wish to be forcibly cross-dressed.

Causes.

To date no broad-based scientific studies have been made on the cause, incidence and general impact of paraphilic infantilism on society at large. This may be due to both the relative rarity of the condition and because few paraphilic infantilists appear to seek professional mental health counseling, and that even fewer appear to require any type of pro-active mental health intervention. A 2002 case report by psychiatrists Jennifer Pate and Glen Goddard found little research on the topic, and they suggested the "DSM" lacked a category that captured their patient's disorder. Research on the etiology of paraphilias in general is minimal and as of 2008 had essentially come to a standstill; it is not clear whether the development of infantilism shares a common cause with other paraphilias. Criminologists Stephen and Ronald Holmes believe that while there is no simple answer to the origins of infantilism, the practices may involve an element of stress reduction similar to that of transvestism.

Lovemap theory.

John Money developed the theory of a lovemap, "a developmental representation or template in the mind and in the brain depicting the idealized lover and the idealized program of sexual and erotic activity projected in imagery or actually engaged in". Many thought that the lovemap was normally fully developed by the age of 8, serving as a kind of sexual template through to the end of one's adult life. Money believed all paraphilias were caused by the formation of abnormal lovemaps during the preadolescent years and that such abnormal lovemaps can be formed by any number of contributing factors or stressors during this developmental period. Money also coined the term "autonepiophilia" meaning a "diaperism" or diaper fetishism in 1984 to describe the condition. "Nepon" is Greek for infant.

Imprinting.

It has been hypothesized that, among other possible causes, sexual templates are established by a process akin to imprinting where lack of availability of female genitals during a critical period of development causes the imprinting mechanism to instead associate with the nearest visual or olfactory approximation. In the case of infantilism, the discipline of the mother or wearing diapers may create associations between pain, humiliation and sexuality.

Erotic location target error.

An additional theory is that infantilism is an erotic identity disorder where the erotic fantasy is centered on the self rather than on a sexual partner and results from an erotic targeting location error where the erotic target was children yet becomes inverted. According to this model, proposed by Ray Blanchard and Kurt Freund in 1993, infantilism is a sexual attraction to the idea of the self being a child.

History.

The first public event for adult babies was "Baby Week", occurring in San Francisco in the early 1990s. Subsequently the internet became a major forum, with numerous websites offering books, magazines, audio and video tapes and related paraphernalia, as well as a 24-hour hotline. Paraphilic infantilism has appeared as an alternative lifestyle in numerous Western countries including the United States, England, Germany and Australia.  The organization "Diaper Pail Friends" was established in San Francisco, growing to approximately 3,000 members in 1995 through magazine articles, books, talk shows and the Internet. The organization was studied in 1995 by a group of sexologists, though the results were not published. In 2001, the New York organization "Still in Diapers" was founded for diaper fetishists. In 2008, the Diaper Pail Friends had expanded to a national organization and claimed a membership of 15,000.  Tykables opened the first wholly dedicated paraphilic infantilism physical retail store, in Mount Prospect, Illinois in the Chicagoland area, in 2016 with controversy from the local community. The store owner believes it helps to break the stigma about the community.

Paraphilic infantilism, also known as autonepiophilia, psychosexual infantilism and adult baby syndrome, is a sexual fetish that involves role-playing a regression to an infant-like state. Behaviors may include drinking from a bottle or wearing diapers (diaper fetishism). Individuals may engage in gentle and nurturing experiences (an adult who engages only in infantile play is known as an adult baby) or be attracted to masochistic, coercive, punishing or humiliating experiences. Diaper fetishism involves "diaper lovers" wearing diapers for sexual or erotic reasons but may not involve infant-like behavior. Individuals who experience both of these things are referred to as adult baby/diaper lovers (AB/DL). When wearing diapers, infantilists may urinate and/or defecate in them.

Parafilní infantilismus, také autonepiofilie nebo adult baby syndrome představuje parafilii – sexuální fetišismus u osob, které touží hrát roli dítěte, a to ve všech jejích atributech. Dochází tak k navození regresivního stavu do kojeneckého (ev. batolecího) věku.


History.

The Global Mobile Commerce Forum, which came to include over 100 organisations, had its fully minuted launch in London on 10 November 1997. Kevin Duffey was elected as the Executive Chairman at the first meeting in November 1997. The meeting was opened by Dr. Mike Short, former chairman of the GSM Association, with the very first forecasts for mobile commerce from Kevin Duffey (Group Telecoms Director of Logica) and Tom Alexander (later CEO of Virgin Mobile and then of Orange). Over 100 companies joined the Forum within a year, many forming mobile commerce teams of their own, e.g. MasterCard and Motorola. Of these one hundred companies, the first two were Logica and Cellnet (which later became O2). Member organisations such as Nokia, Apple, Alcatel, and Vodafone began a series of trials and collaborations.  Mobile commerce services were first delivered in 1997, when the first two mobile-phone enabled Coca-Cola vending machines were installed in the Helsinki area in Finland. The machines accepted payment via SMS text messages. This work evolved to several new mobile applications such as the first mobile phone-based banking service was launched in 1997 by Merita Bank of Finland, also using SMS. Finnair mobile check-in was also a major milestone, first introduced in 2001.  The m-Commerce(tm) server developed in late 1997 by Kevin Duffey and Andrew Tobin at Logica won the 1998 Financial Times award for "most innovative mobile product," in a solution implemented with De La Rue, Motorola and Logica. The Financial Times commended the solution for "turning mobile commerce into a reality." The trademark for m-Commerce was filed on 7 April 2008.  In 1998, the first sales of digital content as downloads to mobile phones were made possible when the first commercial downloadable ringtones were launched in Finland by Radiolinja (now part of Elisa Oyj).  Two major national commercial platforms for mobile commerce were launched in 1999: Smart Money in the Philippines, and NTT DoCoMo's i-Mode Internet service in Japan. i-Mode offered a revenue-sharing plan where NTT DoCoMo kept 9 percent of the fee users paid for content, and returned 91 percent to the content owner.  Mobile-commerce-related services spread rapidly in early 2000. Norway launched mobile parking payments. Austria offered train ticketing via mobile device. Japan offered mobile purchases of airline tickets.  In April 2002, building on the work of the Global Mobile Commerce Forum (GMCF), the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) appointed Joachim Hoffmann of Motorola to develop official standards for mobile commerce. In appointing Mr Hoffman, ETSI quoted industry analysts as predicting "that m-commerce is poised for such an exponential growth over the next few years that could reach US$200 billion by 2004".  As of 2008, UCL Computer Science and Peter J. Bentley demonstrated the potential for medical applications on mobile devices.  PDAs and cellular phones have become so popular that many businesses are beginning to use mobile commerce as a more efficient way to communicate with their customers.  In order to exploit the potential mobile commerce market, mobile phone manufacturers such as Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola, and Qualcomm are working with carriers such as AT&T Wireless and Sprint to develop WAP-enabled smartphones. Smartphones offer fax, e-mail, and phone capabilities.  "Profitability for device vendors and carriers hinges on high-end mobile devices and the accompanying killer applications," said Burchett. Perennial early adopters, such as the youth market, which are the least price sensitive, as well as more open to premium mobile content and applications, must also be a key target for device vendors.  Since the launch of the iPhone in 2007, mobile commerce has moved away from SMS systems and into actual applications. SMS has significant security vulnerabilities and congestion problems, even though it is widely available and accessible. In addition, improvements in the capabilities of modern mobile devices make it prudent to place more of the resource burden on the mobile device.  More recently, brick and mortar business owners, and big-box retailers in particular, have made an effort to take advantage of mobile commerce by utilizing a number of mobile capabilities such as location-based services, barcode scanning, and push notifications to improve the customer experience of shopping in physical stores. By creating what is referred to as a 'bricks & clicks' environment, physical retailers can allow customers to access the common benefits of shopping online (such as product reviews, information, and coupons) while still shopping in the physical store. This is seen as a bridge between the gap created by e-commerce and in-store shopping, and is being utilized by physical retailers as a way to compete with the lower prices typically seen through online retailers. By mid summer 2013, "omnichannel" retailers (those with significant e-commerce and in-store sales) were seeing between 25% and 30% of traffic to their online properties originating from mobile devices. Some other pure play/online-only retail sites (especially those in the travel category) as well as flash sales sites and deal sites were seeing between 40% and 50% of traffic (and sometimes significantly more) originate from mobile devices.  The Google Wallet Mobile App launched in September 2011 and the m-Commerce joint venture formed in June 2011 between Vodafone, O2, Orange and T-Mobile are recent developments of note. Reflecting the importance of m-Commerce, in April 2012 the Competition Commissioner of the European Commission ordered an in-depth investigation of the m-Commerce joint venture between Vodafone, O2, Orange and T-Mobile. A recent survey states that 2012, 41% of smartphone customers have purchased retail products with their mobile devices.

Products and services available.

Mobile money transfer.

In Kenya money transfer is mainly done through the use of mobile phones. This was an initiative of a multimillion shillings company in Kenya named Safaricom. Currently, the companies involved are Safaricom and Airtel. Mobile money transfer services in Kenya are now provided by the two companies under the names M-PESA and Airtel Money respectively.  A similar system called MobilePay has been operated by Danske Bank in Denmark since 2013. It has gained considerable popularity with about 1.6 million users by mid-2015. Another similar system called Vipps was introduced in Norway in 2015.  Mobile automated teller machine (ATM) is a special type of ATM. Most ATMs are meant to be stationary, and they're often found attached to the side of financial institutions, in stores, and in malls. A mobile ATM machine, on the other hand, is meant to be moved from location to location. This type of ATM is often found at special events for which ATM service is only needed temporarily. For example, they may be found at carnivals, fairs, and parades. They may also be used at seminars and workshops when there is no regular ATM nearby.  Mobile ATMs are usually self-contained units that don't need a building or enclosure. Usually, a mobile ATM can be placed in just about any location and can transmit transaction information wirelessly, so there's no need to have a phone line handy. Mobile ATMs may, however, require access to an electrical source, though there are some capable of running on alternative sources of power. Often, these units are constructed of weather-resistant materials, so they can be used in practically any type of weather conditions. Additionally, these machines typically have internal heating and air conditioning units that help keep them functional despite the temperature of the environment.ion of mobile money services for the unbanked, operators are now looking for efficient ways to roll out and manage distribution networks that can support cash-in and cash-out. Unlike traditional ATM, sicap Mobile ATM have been specially engineered to connect to mobile money platforms and provide bank grade ATM quality. In Hungary, Vodafone allows cash or bank card payments of monthly phone bills. The Hungarian market is one where direct debits are not standard practice, so the facility eases the burden of queuing for the postpaid half of Vodafone's subscriber base in Hungary.

Mobile ticketing.

Tickets can be sent to mobile phones using a variety of technologies. Users are then able to use their tickets immediately, by presenting their mobile phone at the ticket check as a digital boarding pass. Most numbers of users are now moving towards this technology. Best example would be IRCTC where ticket comes as SMS to users. New technology such as RFID can now be used to directly provide a single association digital ticket via the mobile device hardware associated with relevant software.

Mobile vouchers, coupons and loyalty cards.

Mobile ticketing technology can also be used for the distribution of vouchers, coupons, and loyalty cards. These items are represented by a virtual token that is sent to the mobile phone. A customer presenting a mobile phone with one of these tokens at the point of sale receives the same benefits as if they had the traditional token. Stores may send coupons to customers using location-based services to determine when the customer is nearby. Using a connected device and the networking effect can also allow for gamification within the shopping experience.

Content purchase and delivery.

Currently, mobile content purchase and delivery mainly consist of the sale of ring-tones, wallpapers, apps, and games for mobile phones. The convergence of mobile phones, portable audio players, and video players into a single device is increasing the purchase and delivery of full-length music tracks and video. The download speeds available with 4G networks make it possible to buy a movie on a mobile device in a couple of seconds.

Location-based services.

The location of the mobile phone user is an important piece of information used during mobile commerce or m-commerce transactions. Knowing the location of the user allows for location-based services such as:

Information services.

A wide variety of information services can be delivered to mobile phone users in much the same way as it is delivered to PCs. These services include:  Customized traffic information, based on a user's actual travel patterns, can be sent to a mobile device. This customized data is more useful than a generic traffic-report broadcast, but was impractical before the invention of modern mobile devices due to the bandwidth requirements.

Mobile banking.

Banks and other financial institutions use mobile commerce to allow their customers to access account information and make transactions, such as purchasing stocks, remitting money. This service is often referred to as "mobile banking", or m-banking.

Mobile brokerage.

Stock market services offered via mobile devices have also become more popular and are known as Mobile Brokerage. They allow the subscriber to react to market developments in a timely fashion and irrespective of their physical location.

Auctions.

Over the past three years mobile reverse auction solutions have grown in popularity. Unlike traditional auctions, the reverse auction (or low-bid auction) bills the consumer's phone each time they place a bid. Many mobile SMS commerce solutions rely on a one-time purchase or one-time subscription; however, reverse auctions offer a high return for the mobile vendor as they require the consumer to make multiple transactions over a long period of time.

Mobile browsing.

Using a mobile browser—a World Wide Web browser on a mobile device—customers can shop online without having to be at their personal computer. Many mobile marketing apps with geo-location capability are now delivering user-specific marketing messages to the right person at the right time.

Mobile purchase.

Catalog merchants can accept orders from customers electronically, via the customer's mobile device. In some cases, the merchant may even deliver the catalog electronically, rather than mailing a paper catalog to the customer. Consumers making mobile purchases can also receive value-add upselling services and offers. Some merchants provide mobile web sites that are customized for the smaller screen and limited user interface of a mobile device.

In-application mobile phone payments.

Payments can be made directly inside of an application running on a popular smartphone operating system, such as Google Android. Analyst firm Gartner expects in-application purchases to drive 41 percent of app store (also referred to as mobile software distribution platforms) revenue in 2016. In-app purchases can be used to buy virtual goods, new and other mobile content and is ultimately billed by mobile carriers rather than the app stores themselves. Ericsson's IPX mobile commerce system is used by 120 mobile carriers to offer payment options such as try-before-you-buy, rentals and subscriptions.

Mobile marketing and advertising.

In the context of mobile commerce, mobile marketing refers to marketing sent to mobile devices. Companies have reported that they see better response from mobile marketing campaigns than from traditional campaigns. The primary reason for this is the instant nature of customer decision-making that mobile apps and websites enable. The consumer can receive a marketing message or discount coupon and, within a few seconds, make a decision to buy and go on to complete the sale - without disrupting their current real-world activity.  For example, a busy mom tending to her household chores with a baby in her arm could receive a marketing message on her mobile about baby products from a local store. She can and within a few clicks, place an order for her supplies without having to plan ahead for it. No more need to reach for her purse and hunt for credit cards, no need to log into her laptop and try to recall the web address of the store she visited last week, and surely no need to find a babysitter to cover for her while she runs to the local store.  Research demonstrates that consumers of mobile and wireline markets represent two distinct groups who are driven by different values and behaviors, and who exhibit dissimilar psychographic and demographic profiles. What aspects truly distinguish between a traditional online shopper from home and a mobile on-the-go shopper? Research shows that how individuals relate to four situational dimensions- place, time, social context and control determine to what extent they are ubiquitous or situated as consumers. These factors are important in triggering m-commerce from e-commerce. As a result, successful mobile commerce requires the development of marketing campaigns targeted to these particular dimensions and according to user segments.

Influence on youth markets.

Mobile media is a rapidly changing field. New technologies, such as WiMax, act to accelerate innovation in mobile commerce. Early pioneers in mobile advertising include Vodafone, Orange, and SK Telecom. An empirical study shows that over 70% of the mobile commerce users are under age of 25, as of 2019.  Mobile devices are heavily used in South Korea to conduct mobile commerce. Mobile companies in South Korea believed that mobile technology would become synonymous with youth lifestyle, based on their experience with previous generations of South Koreans. "Profitability for device vendors and carriers hinges on high-end mobile devices and the accompanying killer applications," said Daniel Longfield.

Payment methods.

Consumers can use many forms of payment in mobile commerce, including:

App design.

Interaction design and UX design has been at the core of the m-commerce experience from its conception, producing apps and mobile web pages that create highly usable interactions for users. However, much debate has occurred as to the focus that should be given to the apps. In recent research, Parker and Wang demonstrated that within fashion m-Commerce apps, the degree that the app helps the user shop (increasing convenience) was the most prominent function. Such use examples may be through design cues which help the user find their products with minimal search. Additionally, shopping for others was a motivator for engaging in m-commerce apps with great preference for close integration with social media.

App commerce.

The popularity of apps has given rise to the latest iteration of mobile commerce: app commerce. This refers to retail transactions that take place on a native mobile app. App commerce is said to perform better than both desktop and mobile web when it comes to browsing duration and interactions. Average order value is reportedly greater with retail apps than traditional ecommerce, and conversion rates on apps are twice that of mobile websites.

Mobile Device Shopping Trends.

Mobile applications serve as a means to ensure positive user experience, seamless interaction, and increased revenues for e-commerce. According to DesignRush report, mobile applications are expected to generate $189 billion by 2020. Moreover, a study by Forrester shows that mobile devices will be leveraged to facilitate over $1 trillion in sales in 2018.

The term mobile commerce was originally coined in 1997 by Kevin Duffey at the launch of the Global Mobile Commerce Forum, to mean "the delivery of electronic commerce capabilities directly into the consumer’s hand, anywhere, via wireless technology." Many choose to think of Mobile Commerce as meaning "a retail outlet in your customer’s pocket."

Pojem mobilní komerce použil v roce 1997 Kevin Duffey na zahájení Global Mobile Commerce Fora. Rozumí tím „doručování elektronických možností obchodování přímo ke spotřebiteli kamkoliv skrze bezdrátovou technologii.“ Někteří mobilní komerci definují jako maloobchodní prodejnu v kapse zákazníka.


Early history.

The history of Wawel is deeply intertwined with the history of the Polish lands and Polish royal dynasties already in the Middle Ages. The political and dynastic tensions that led to the ascendance of Kraków as the royal seat are sophisticated, but for most of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance Wawel was the seat of the national government and the Diet (assembly). As the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth formed and grew, Wawel became the seat of one of Europe's largest and most important states. This status was only lost when the capital was moved to Warsaw in 1596 (designated officially in 1793).  From the late 18th century, when Poland lost its independence during the period of foreign partitions, Wawel became a symbol of endurance and was the setting for demonstrations and gatherings of Cracovians protesting against the continuing foreign occupation by the Austrian, Prussian, and the Russian Empires. Thus, the significance of the Wawel Hill comes in part from its combination of political and religious significance. The Cathedral holds the relics of St. Stanislaus and stands directly adjacent to the Royal Castle. The Hill has a long history of religious functions; some of the oldest extant architectural remains are those of the Rotunda of the Virgin Mary.  The hill which takes the form of a horst originated in the Miocene epoch (23–25 million years ago) and consists of Jurassic limestone dating back to the Oxfordian age (155–161 million years ago). This limestone is strongly karsted and abounds in caves (e.g. the Dragon's Den—Smocza Jama). This possibly explains why the hill was originally called "wąwel", meaning ravine in Polish. This ravine once divided the hill. An alternative theory is that the word means 'protrusion from the marshes' which surrounded the hill. However, the most recent theory is that "Wawel" is a regular continuation of the name Babel in the Greek language (the consonant [B] followed by [V]/[W]).  The Wawel Hill has archaeological remains indicating settlement from the 4th century. Archeological studies suggest that the earliest settlement dates back to the Middle Paleolithic era, c. 100,000 years BC and owed its rapid development to its location being the crossing of a number of key trading routes. Wawel is believed to be one of the strongholds of the Vistulan tribe which formed a nation at the turn of the 8th and 9th century AD. Its legendary rulers Krakus and Princess Wanda, who are said to have lived in the 7th and 8th centuries, are mentioned by the 13th-century chronicler Wincenty Kadłubek. In the 10th century, the Vistulans’ lands and Kraków became part of the emerging state of Poland.  In the year 1000, the Kraków diocese was established followed by the construction of a Cathedral – the seat of the bishop. However, as a result of an ongoing conflict with the Holy Roman Empire, construction did not begin until the signing of the Peace of Bautzen, in 1018. Only minor fragments remain of the original cathedral (which is sometimes called ‘Chrobrowska’ after Bolesław I the Brave) and despite extensive archaeological research, it has proved impossible to reconstruct its exterior. Until the 1980s, relicts of St Gereon's Church were identified with the first cathedral but this theory, advanced by Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz, has been disproved by more recent research. There are also inconsistencies in the dating of the destruction of the original cathedral. Some sources place this at the time of the invasion of Bretislaus I of Bohemia in the 1040s, while others date the destruction to a fire in the 1080s.  In addition to the cathedral, the hill was also the site of other building work. The earliest evidence is of wooden structures dating from the 9th century, with the earliest stone buildings dating to the 10th and 11th centuries; the remains of the following buildings date from this era: the Rotunda of the Blessed Virgin Mary – probably from the turn of the 10th and 11th century; Church B (the earliest parts originate from the 10th century); Church of St Gereon (probably the palace chapel); the Church of St. George; the Church of St Michael; the Twenty-Four Pillar Room (possibly part of the Ducal Mansion); the Keep and the Residential Tower.

Wawel dragon.

From this early period of the Wawel's history originates the popular and enduring Polish myth of the Wawel Dragon. Today, it is commemorated on the lower slopes of the Wawel Hill where by the river, is a modern fire-breathing metal statue of the dragon. The statue is sited in front of Smocza Jama (Dragon's Den), one of the limestone caves scattered over the hill. The dragon, Smok Wawelski, was a mystical beast which supposedly terrorised the local community, eating their sheep and local virgins, before (according to one version) being heroically slain by Krakus, a legendary Polish prince, who supposedly founded the city of Kraków and built his palace above the slain dragon's lair. The oldest known literary reference to the Wawel dragon comes from the 12th century, in the work by Wincenty Kadłubek.

Medieval Period.

Romanesque (11th–12th centuries).

Between 1038 and 1039 Duke Casimir I the Restorer returned to Poland and it's believed that Kraków first became a royal residence and the capital of Poland at this time.  At the end of the 11th century, construction work began on a replacement cathedral, today called "Hermanowska" as it's likely that Władysław I Herman was its patron. The new cathedral was consecrated in 1142. Quite a lot is known about the building because an image of it is engraved on a 13th-century chapterhouse seal, and some of its remains and foundations are well preserved; besides the lower of the Silver Bell Tower, the trinavel St. Leonard's Crypt, the rotunda by the Bastion of Ladislaus IV of Hungary (once a baptistery and the rotunda by the Sandomierska Tower all date from this era, as does a church near the Dragon's Cave.  In 1118 Bishop Maurus was buried in the crypt. The paten and the chalice, buried with the bishop, were later exhumed from his tomb during its accidental discovery in 1938.

Silver Bell Tower.

The Silver Bell Tower (originally known as the Wikaryjska or Priest Tower) dates from the early 12th century and is the oldest of the Wawel's many towers. However the tower has many later additions and only the 12-metre-high rectangular base can be dated as belonging to the 11th-century Hermanowska Cathedral. The belfry was constructed in the final quarter of the 14th century and the spire in 1769. The tower contains three bells; the largest was made in 1423, the next largest around 1271 and the smallest in 1669. In the foundations of the tower is a burial vault containing the remains of notable Poles from all periods of history. Other notables are also buried at the nearby Skałka Church.

Gothic (13th–14th centuries).

Wawel Cathedral.

Around 1305 to 1306, the Hermanowska Cathedral was partially destroyed by a fire; however, the coronation of King Władysław I the Elbow-high, in 1320, was still able to take place within its precincts. In the same year construction of a third cathedral, consecrated in 1364, began at the King's behest, the key elements of this cathedral are preserved today.  The cathedral is trinavel in construction and surrounded by side-chapels, added in later centuries. The earliest of these chapels were built off the chancel; St Margarita's chapel was consecrated (today it acts as a sacristy) in 1322 and few years the chapel, later to be known as the Báthory Chapel, was completed. The cathedral's west entrance is flanked by two chapels; one dedicated to Queen Sophia (last wife of Władysław II Jagiełło) and the second to the Holy Cross; these were built during the reign of Casimir IV Jagiellon (1440–1492); the former is notable for its polychrome vaulted ceiling. From the close of the 15th century, a further nineteen side-chapels were built or rebuilt.  Władysław I the Elbow-high was the first king to be buried in the cathedral in 1333. His sandstone sarcophagus was set up by his son and successor, Casimir III the Great, the last King of Poland from the Piast dynasty. The cathedral also contains the tombs of Casimir III the Great and Jogaila but the most precious is that of Casimir IV Jagiellon, carved by Veit Stoss in 1492. The late Gothic tombstone of John I Albert was carved at the beginning of the 16th century and is attributed to Jorg Huber. The cathedral also contains memorials to Stephen Báthory and bishop Fillip Padniewski – both designed by Santi Gucci and also the tombstone of bishop Andrzej Zebrzydowski designed by Jan Michalowicz from Urzedow. During the 20th century, the cathedral became the site of Karol Wojtyla's priesthood ordination in 1946 and bishop ordination in 1958 as Kraków's auxiliary bishop.

Secular buildings.

Little is known of the first royal residences at the Wawel until Casimir III the Great, who reigned from 1333 until 1370, had a Gothic castle erected next to the cathedral; this consisted of multiple structures situated around a central courtyard. In the 14th century it was rebuilt by King Władysław II Jagiełło (also known as Jogaila) and Queen Jadwiga of Poland. The Hen's Foot Tower, built upon three projecting buttresses resembling a chicken foot, and the Danish Tower date from their reigns, as do the Jadwiga and Jogaila Chamber, in which the Polish coronation sword (Szczerbiec) is exhibited.  During this period, the Wawel began to take its present appearance and size as further buildings were developed on the hill to serve as quarters for the numerous clergy, royal clerks, troops, servants and craftsmen; this work included defensive walls, ramparts and the ‘Jordanka,’ ‘Lubranka,’ ‘Sandomierska,’ ‘Tęczyńska,’ ‘Szlachecka,’ ‘Złodziejska’ and ‘Panieńska’ towers.

Renaissance period (15th to 17th centuries).

The reign of the last member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, Sigismund I the Old, was a high point in Wawel fortunes. Following another fire in 1499, from 1507 to 1536, Sigismund rebuilt the royal residence. King Sigismund had spent part of his youth at the court of his brother, King Vladislaus of Hungary and Bohemia in Buda; this court has a small band of Italian artisans pioneering the Renaissance movement, at that time little known outside of Florence. Thus inspired Sigismund took the decision to rebuild in the Renaissance style within the walls of the old castle. A great influence on the king was his second wife, Italian-born Bona Sforza. She brought in the best native and foreign artists including Italian architects, sculptors, and German decorators, to refurbish the castle into a splendid Renaissance palace.  Work on the new "avant-garde" palace was initially supervised by two artisans from Italy: Francisco from Florence and Bartolommeo Berrecci, and after their deaths by Benedykt from Sandomierz. A feature of the rebuilding were the large, light rooms which open from tiered arcades lining a courtyard. The new rooms and halls included the ornate Deputy Hall with its coffered ceiling, exemplifying the skills of both Italian and Polish craftsmen. To decorate the palace's rooms, Sigismund (and later his son) purchased over 350 tapestries, collectively known as the Jagiellonian tapestries; they were woven in the Netherlands and Flanders; many based on designs by Michiel Coxie.  While the arcaded courtyard is considered a fine example of Renaissance art, it has subtle eccentricities—hints of Polish Gothic within its form, a steeply hipped and projecting roof (necessary in a northern climate) counterbalancing the soaring affect created by the uppermost arcade being higher than those below (a feature unknown in Italy) to give the courtyard a uniquely Polish renaissance look. The extra height of the uppermost arcade is truly unusual as it indicates and places the piano nobile on the third floor, whereas the rules of Italian Renaissance architecture place it on the second floor; again this indicates that while the design was inspired by Italians, the Polish artistic and cultural tradition was not extinguished in the execution.  After a fire in 1595 when the north-east part of the castle burned down, King Sigismund III Vasa decided to have it rebuilt with the work carried out under the direction of the Italian architect Giovanni Trevano. The Senator Stairs and the fireplace in the Bird Room date from this period. However, the castle still retains many of the earlier interiors designed by Berrecci. While many have been altered through neglect, war damage and, after World War II, through overenthusiastic restoration, the spirit of Berrecci's Renaissance ideals mingled with the Gothic motifs of local craftsmen still remains. The Ambassadors' Hall still retains much of its timber carving, most notable its coffered ceiling with thirty Gothic style carved heads by Sebastian Tauerbach.  In the 17th century, Wawel became an important defensive point and was modernised and heavily fortified. Later, the transfer of power to Warsaw did not change the symbolic role and importance of the Wawel Cathedral, which was still the place of royal coronations.  During this period, many changes were introduced in the Cathedral – the high altar was remodelled, the cloister was elevated and the Shrine of St Stanislaus (a marble altar and a silver coffin) and the Vasa Chapel were constructed. Baroque memorials were also erected, among others were tombs to bishops Marcin Szyszkowski, Piotr Gembicki, Jan Małachowski, Kazimierz Lubieński and kings Michael I and John III Sobieski.

Sigismund's Chapel.

In 1517, the 16-year-long construction of another chapel adjoining the cathedral began. Sigismund's Chapel ("Kaplica Zygmuntowska") was to serve as the mausoleum of the last members of the Jagiellonian dynasty. Later, at the turn of the 16th century, a memorial tablet to John I Albert was placed in a niche sculptured by Francesco Fiorentino; this is considered to be the first Renaissance work of art in Poland. Other memorials from this period include those of Cardinal Frederic Jagiellon and of bishops Piotr Gamrat, Piotr Tomicki, Jan Konarski, Jan Chojeński and Samuel Maciejowski.  The chapel is considered one of the most notable examples of architecture in Kraków, it has been hailed by many art historians as "the most beautiful example of Tuscan renaissance north of the Alps". Financed by King Sigismund, the chapel was designed by Bartolomeo Berrecci. It is square-based with a golden dome and houses the tombs of its founder as well as King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland and Queen Anna. The design of the internal sculptures, stuccoes and paintings was carried out by some of the most renowned artists of the era, including Santi Gucci, Hermann Vischer, and the architect himself, Georg Pencz.

Sigismund Bell.

In 1520 the Royal Sigismund Bell was cast, by Hans Behem, in bronze; it is the largest of the five bells hanging in the Sigismund Tower and was named to honour King Sigismund I the Old. It weighs almost 13 tonnes (28 thousand pounds) and requires 12 bell-ringers to toll it. It's rung only on special occasions, mostly religious and national holidays, and is regarded as one of the country's national symbols. The hanging of the bell is the subject of a painting by Jan Matejko.

18th and 19th centuries.

The 18th and 19th centuries were to be a period of decline and misfortune for Wawel. The decline had begun as early as 1609, when King Sigismund III moved permanently to Warsaw. Despite the concerns of successive governors, both the castle and its precincts began to fall into ruin, which was in part due to occupying Swedes between 1655–1657 and again in 1702.  The decline worsened drastically when the hill was occupied by the Prussian army in 1794; at this time, the royal insignia were looted (apart from the Polish coronation sword) and taken to Berlin, where they were melted down for their gold, precious gemstones and pearls, which were handed to the Directorate of Maritime Trade in Berlin.  After the Third Partition of Poland (1795), Wawel fell under Austrian rule. Austrian soldiers converted the hill into barracks and as a consequence, much destruction and alteration took place: the Renaissance arcades of the courtyard were walled up, the interior of the castle was changed and parts of the buildings were demolished; amongst the buildings destroyed were the churches of St. Michael and St. George.  Following the unsuccessful Kraków Uprising and the fall of the Republic of Kraków, three large buildings housing a military hospital were built on the hill. During the latter half of the 19th century the Austrians rebuilt the defence walls, making them a part of the expanded Kraków fortification system (two new caponiers were made). At the same time, the Poles tried to retake the hill.  In 1815, the funeral of Prince Józef Poniatowski took place at Wawel Cathedral. Since that event, national heroes have been entombed within the cathedral; prior to this date, only bodies of monarchs were interred there. In 1818, the body of national hero Tadeusz Kościuszko was buried in St. Leonard's Crypt. During the reconstruction of Potocki Chapel in a classical style, the statue of Prince Arthur Potocki by the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen was placed within the chapel. A second work by Thorvaldsen was placed in Queen Sophia's Chapel.  In 1869, due to the accidental opening of the coffin of King Casimir III, a second funeral was performed. Consequently, an initiative was taken to renovate other monarchs’ tombs in the cathedral. The underground crypts were connected with tunnels, sarcophagi were cleaned and refurbished and new ones were funded. Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria paid for a sarcophagus for King Michael, whose wife was from the House of Habsburg.

20th and 21st century.

In 1905, Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, in his capacity as King of Galicia and Lodomeria, ordered his troops to leave Wawel. The Austrian withdrawal permitted the commencement of restoration work managed by Zygmunt Hendel and Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz. During the renovation, the Rotunda of Virgin Mary was discovered as well as other notable relics of the past. The renovation of the Wawel Hill was funded by public subscription. The names of the donors were inscribed on the bricks used to build the wall near the castle's northern gateway. The Coat of Arms Gate was built at this time and the statue of Tadeusz Kościuszko was placed nearby.  Between 1902 and 1904, Włodzimierz Tetmajer decorated the walls of Queen Sophia's Chapel with paintings depicting Polish saints and national heroes.  Józef Mehoffer painted murals in the vault of the cathedral and created stained-glass windows in the St. Cross Chapel as well as paintings in the Szafrańcy Chapel. Mehoffer is also responsible for the stained-glass windows in the transept which depict the Sufferings of Christ and the Virgin Mary.  During Poland's twenty years of independence after World War I, Polish authorities decided that the Wawel Castle was to be a representative building of the Polish Republic and would be used an official residence by the State Governor; this position was further re-enforced when, in 1921, the Polish Parliament passed a resolution which gave Wawel official status as the residence of the President of Poland. No legal acts have been issued by the independent Polish authorities redacting this resolution (apart from the decision of the Stalinist State National Council (KRN) to change the Wawel Castle into a museum).  In 1921 a statue of Tadeusz Kościuszko sculpted by Leandro Marconi and Antoni Popiel was placed on the ramparts of king Władysław IV Vasa on the northside.  In 1925, a column fragment of Wawel Castle was incorporated into Chicago's landmark Tribune Tower. Located in its own niche over the upper-left corner of the main entrance; it is a visual tribute to Chicago's large Polish populace, the largest such presence outside of the Republic of Poland.  The tradition of burying notable Polish national in the cathedral has continued into the 21st century: in 1927, the ashes of the romantic poet Juliusz Słowacki were brought to the cathedral, ten years later the statesman and former Leader of Second Polish Republic, Marshal Józef Piłsudski, was interred in a vault beneath the Silver Tower and in 1993 the remains of the World War II military leader Władysław Sikorski were finally returned to Poland for burial in the crypt. More recently, the bodies of President Lech Kaczyński and his wife were entombed in a sarcophagus, in the antechamber of the vault beneath the Silver Bell Tower.  During World War II, when Poland was occupied by Nazi Germany, the Wawel Castle was the residence of governor general Hans Frank, later to be executed as a German Nazi war criminal; during his despotic regime Raphael's "Portrait of a Young Man" (1513–14), part of the Czartoryski collection, was removed from Wawel and to this day has yet to be returned to Poland. Many of the tapestries have disappeared too, their whereabouts unknown; however, 150 of the tapestries which along with many of the Wawel's other treasures had spent the war years, for safety, in Canada have been returned to the castle and are, today, part of the Wawel Royal Castle National Art Collection on public display along with countless art treasures and items of historical Polish significance.

John Paul II Wawel Cathedral Museum.

The 14th-century former Cathedral house, in the shadow of the Silver Bell Tower, between the Vasa Gate and the former Clerical Seminary, now houses the John Paul II Wawel Cathedral Museum. It was opened in 1978 by Karol Cardinal Wojtyła, Archbishop of Kraków (later Pope John Paul II), and displays many historic Polish artefacts both spiritual and temporal which were formerly kept in the cathedral's treasury.

Treasury and armoury.

The Crown Treasury situated in the historic Gothic rooms which were used from the 15th century on for storing the Polish coronation insignia and Crown Jewels, feature on display priceless objects from the former Treasury that survived plunder, among them the memorabilia of Polish monarchs including members of their families and eminent personages, like the hat and sword given to John III Sobieski by the pope after the Battle of Vienna, as well as the coronation sword Szczerbiec.

The Wawel Castle (; "Zamek Królewski na Wawelu") is a castle residency located in central Kraków, Poland, and the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in the world. Built at the behest of King Casimir III the Great, it consists of a number of structures from different periods situated around the Italian-styled main courtyard. The castle, being one of the largest in Poland, represents nearly all European architectural styles of medieval, renaissance and baroque periods. The Wawel Royal Castle and the Wawel Hill constitute the most historically and culturally significant site in the country.

Královský hrad na Wawelu v Krakově ("Zamek Królewski na Wawelu") stojí na návrší na levém břehu Visly, v první městské části "Staré Město". Je to rozsáhlá opevněná stavba, založená patrně v 11. století a později několikrát přestavovaná. Hrad tvoří čtyři křídla, která obklopují vnitřní dvůr. V komplexu hradu je také katedrála svatého Stanislava a svatého Václava, korunovační kostel a pohřebiště polských králů i dalších osobností. V první polovině 20. století sloužil hrad jako sídlo polských presidentů, dnes je v něm muzeum.


Territorial dispute.

In the 2000s, the geological structure of the ridge attracted international attention due to a 20 December 2001 official submission by the Russian Federation to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (article 76, paragraph 8). The document proposed establishing new outer limits for the Russian continental shelf, beyond the previous zone, but within the Russian Arctic sector. The territory claimed by Russia in the submission is a large portion of the Arctic reaching the North Pole. One of the arguments was a statement that the underwater Lomonosov Ridge and Mendeleev Ridge are extensions of the Eurasian continent. In 2002 the UN Commission neither rejected nor accepted the Russian proposal, recommending additional research.  Danish scientists hope to prove that the ridge is an extension of Greenland, and Denmark became another claimant to the area in 2014. Canada, also a claimant, asserts that the ridge is an extension of its continental shelf. In April 2007, Canadian and Russian scientists were sent to map the ridge as a possible precedent for determining sovereignty over the area. In late June 2007, Russian scientists claimed that the ridge is an extension of Russia's territory, and in 2011 a Russian scientist said that Russia and Denmark claim different parts of the ridge and the claims are not conflicting. Other sources indicate that some areas are disputed.  Canada is expected to make further claims. Denmark and Russia have agreed to follow certain procedures when making claims. If the Danish claims are accepted by the Commission in summer 2015, the distribution of areas may still be a matter of negotiation between claiming countries - a process which can take several years. The rhetoric used in making claims is also subject to discussion.  A 21-member UN arbitration panel is considering the competing claims, with the focus on the Lomonosov Ridge.

Arktika 2007 Expedition.

In late July 2007, a Russian expedition sent an icebreaker and two mini-submarines, Mir-I and Mir-II, to explore the region. Russian scientists dived down below the surface and on 2 August planted a rust-proof titanium metal Russian flag on the seabed. In April 2007, Canada and Denmark, which both claimed part of the ridge, were also mapping it under the polar ice, Canada's CBC reported.  As a follow-up in mid-September 2007, Russia's Natural Resources Ministry issued a statement: Preliminary results of an analysis of the earth crust model examined by the Arctic-2007 expedition, obtained on 20 September, have confirmed that the crust structure of the Lomonosov Ridge corresponds to the world analogues of the continental crust, and it is therefore part of the Russian Federation's adjacent continental shelf.

2014 Danish claim.

In 2014 Denmark filed a claim with the UN Commission for a area around the Lomonosov Ridge, using paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 of Article 76. The connection between Greenland and Lomonosov is stated as going through the Lincoln shelf ( below the Lincoln Sea, between the Wandel Sea in the east and Cape Columbia, Canada in the west), which was pushed up when Greenland moved northwards during the late Paleozoic, Paleocene and Eocene time frames. Some rocks from the ridge are similar to those found in Ellesmere, Greenland, Scandinavia and United Kingdom. Connectivity between land and the ridge may be defined from the Foot of the Slope. From the ridge foot claims are made out to ("Hedberg formula"), or where the sedimentary layer is more than deep ("Gardiner formula", 1% of the distance).

The Lomonosov Ridge (, ) is an unusual underwater ridge of continental crust in the Arctic Ocean. It spans between the New Siberian Islands over the central part of the ocean to Ellesmere Island of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The ridge divides the Arctic Basin into the Eurasian Basin and the Amerasian Basin. The width of the Lomonosov Ridge varies from. It rises above the deep seabed. The minimum depth of the ocean above the ridge is less than. Slopes of the ridge are relatively steep, broken up by canyons, and covered with layers of silt.

Lomonosovův hřbet je podvodní oceánský hřbet kontinentální kůry v Severním ledovém oceánu. Táhne se 1800 km od Novosibiřských ostrovů přes centrální část oceánu směrem k Ellesmerovu ostrovu. Objeven byl sovětskou expedicí v roce 1948 a pojmenován podle Michaila Lomonosova. Na hřbet a přilehlé okolí si kvůli bohatému nerostnému bohatství, které je díky globálnímu oteplování stále dostupnější, dělají nároky Rusko, Kanada, Dánsko, Norsko a Spojené státy americké.


Early life.

Rabbi Shimon Sofer was born 13 Tevet 5581 (December 18, (1820) in the city of Pressburg, Kingdom of Hungary (now Bratislava, Slovakia), where his father, Rabbi Moses Schreiber (1762-1839), was serving as chief rabbi. His mother, Sarah-Sorele Schreiber (1790–1832), was the daughter of Rabbi Akiva Eger, the rabbi of Poznań, and the sister of Rabbi Abraham Moses Kalischer (1788–1812), the rabbi of Piła. She had ten other children beside him, and he lost her when he was eleven years old. He was named Shimon after his ancestor, the author of "Yalkut Shimoni".  Shimon was recognized as a child prodigy at a very early age. His father would seat him on his lap whilst delivering his weekly "Chumash shiur" at the Pressburg Yeshiva, where he expounded on Rashi and Ramban commentaries.  At the age of 9, he was fluent in the works of the Shlah HaKadosh and the Baal HaAkeida. He displayed great interest in Jewish Poetry, a talent which is noticeable in his later Torah works. His favorite "piyyut" was Ya Ribon of Rabbi Israel ben Moses Najara, a Shabbat song which his father would not sing.  His father would affectionately call him "Shimon Chassida" (the pious), and at the age of 13, at his Bar Mitzva, ordained him with the Ashkenazi title “Chaver”.  Shimon matured quickly and at the age of 17 he married Miriam Sternberg, a daughter of philanthropist Rabbi Dov Ber Sternberg (Reb Ber Sighet) of Carei (also known as Nagykároly).  After his marriage, he moved back to Pressburg, and upon instruction from his father, started learning Kaballa with Pressburg Dayan Rabbi Natan Binyamin Lieber (1805–1880) (Yiddish: נטע וואלף סג"ל) author of "Sheeris Natan Binyamin".  Shimon was a mere 19 years old when his father died. His brother Avraham Shmuel Binyamin, 6 years his elder, was appointed as Chief Rabbi of Pressburg.  Avraham Shmuel Binyamin and Shimon continued to edit and publish their father's Torah commentary and Halakhic rulings, a project placed upon them by their father during his lifetime. During this time they completed the first volume of "Chassam Sofer" Responsa on "Yoreh De'ah" (שו"ת חת"ס חיו"ד).

Rabbinical Positions.

Circa 1841 (5602), he moved to Nagykaroly, to be with his father-in-law.  Circa 1843 (5603) he became rabbi of Mattersdorf, a position his father filled some 40 years earlier. There he founded a yeshiva and became involved in communal and national matters. He remained steadfast in his father's way of refusing to accept any reform or change to traditional orthodox Judaism.  Circa 1849 (5610) he was offered a Chief Rabbinical position in Yarmat, which for an unknown reason, he turned down.  Circa 1851 (5612), the Jewish community in Nikolsberg invited Sofer to accept the Chief Rabbinical position of their city. Rabbi Shimon again turned down this offer reasoning that he could not possibly stand in the position of previous "Torah giants" (such as the Mahara”l, Tosfos Yom Tov, Rabbi Shmuel Shmelke Horowitz and Rabbi Mordechai Benet who had served there as Chief Rabbi).  Circa 1855 (5616), the Jewish Community of Pápa offered him to serve as Chief Rabbi of their city, an offer he refused. He reasoned that this community had removed their "bima" from the center of their Synagogue and moved the Chazzan's position to the face the congregation from a high stage. This, in his opinion was an unacceptable change to tradition and against halakha. Although the community promised to relocate the "bima" and "amud" in accordance to tradition, Rabbi Shimon still refused. In a letter written to his brother-in-law and sister Rabbi Shlomo & Gitel Spitzer, he explained that he and his wife planned on moving to Jerusalem in the Land of Israel and a five-year contract with this community would restrict him on this plan.  Circa 1857 (5618), the Jewish Community of Krakow offered Sofer the position of Chief Rabbi, an offer that Sofer took seriously but deliberated for some time.  Circa 1859 (5620) Rabbi Sofer accepted this position and moved to Krakow. Amongst those who convinced him to accept this post was Rabbi Chaim Halberstam, Rebbe of Sanz. His position of Chief Rabbi of Mattersdorf was filled by his nephew Rabbi Shmuel Ehrenfeld (1835–1883) author of "Chassan Sofer".

In Krakow.

Krakow was the home to a thriving Orthodox Jewish Community. Jewish presence there has been recorded as early as the 12th century. Since the 16th century many "Torah giants" served there as Chief Rabbi, such as the Rem”a, Ba”ch, Tosfos Yom Tov and the Maginei Shlomo.  During Rabbi Sofer's rabbinate, Jews in Krakow numbered between 15,000-20,000 adults over the age of 15. In one of his letters written in 1879, Sofer states that there were over 80 "minyanim" in Krakow alone.  At this time, the Haskalah movement had made an impression on the general Jewish Population of the Austria-Hungarian empire with many Jews assimilating or rejecting the traditional orthodox approach to Judaism.  The Jews enjoyed freedom and rights under the rule of the Emperor Franz Joseph I who sympathized with them. Franz Joseph had even made a visit to Jerusalem in 1869 where he was welcomed warmly by the Orthodox Jewish community and leaders. He had donated the dome on the Tiferes Yisrael Synagogue in Jerusalem.  The Hasidim and the Austrian-Hungarian rabbis of the Sofer Dynasty made a joint effort to strengthen traditional Orthodox Judaism and opposed the Reform both socially and politically.  A major challenge for the traditional Orthodox Jews was opposing the "Shomer Israel Society", a strong and influential reform group. Shomer Israel supported assimilation of Jews with the general population and sought legislation forcing Yeshiva’s to study philosophy and secular studies, something which the Orthodox staunchly opposed. In 1880, Rabbi Shimon Sofer founded a Hebrew-Yiddish weekly newspaper named מחזיקי הדת ("Machzikei Hadas" or "Maḥaziḳe ha-Dat"; "Zeitung fur das Wahre Orthodoxische Judentum"), published in Lemberg, to counter the Izraelit tabloid issued by Shomer Israel.  In 1878 (5638), Rabbi Sofer and the Rebbe of Belz, Rabbi Yehoshua Rokeach, founded a political party naming it Machzikei Hadas. This party was supported by all the traditional orthodox communities of Galicia. Galician Jewry numbered some 800,000 persons at this time. The organization received recognition from the Austrian Kultusministerium (Ministry of Culture). It could be considered the first attempt of the Orthodox Jews in Europe to unite for political action in order to foster its beliefs in the sphere of Jewish social life.  In 1878, Machzikei Hadas aligned itself with the Polish Club Polenklub and presented Rabbi Sofer as its candidate for the electorate of the Galician districts of Kolomyia, Sniatyn and Buchach which had large Jewish electorates. In 1879, Sofer was elected and earned a seat at the "Reichsrat" (Austrian Parliament). Though Sofer was a talented orator and pretty fluent in the German language, the official language at the "Reichsrat" was Polish. It has been recorded that probably due to this Sofer did not speak at any assembly rather used his political influence off stage.  Joseph Margoshes (1866–1955), a writer for the New York Yiddish daily "Morgen Journal", describes Sofer in his memoir "A World Apart":  Although presiding over the Machzikei Hadas brought Sofer and the Orthodox Community honor and satisfaction, he endured much disrespect and personal insults from the Shomer Israel Society and newspapers such as the "Izraelit" and "HaIvri" whose editorials carried personal insults to him and his colleagues.

Rabbi Sofer and Franz Joseph I.

In 1880 (כ"ה אלול תר"ם), The Emperor of the Austria-Hungarian Empire Franz Joseph I made a 3-day visit to Krakow. Amongst the general population who greeted the Emperor at the train station, was the Orthodox Jewish community headed by Rabbi Shimon Sofer and his son-in-law, Rabbi Akiva Kornitzer.  In a letter written the next morning (יום ה' ה' דסליחות תר"ם) to his son and daughter-in-law, Rabbi Shlomo and Hinda Sofer, he writes with great awe of his encounter with the emperor:  The Jewish delegation awaited the emperor in a line under "chuppa" canopies with the leaders holding Torah scrolls adored with gold and silver accessories. His Excellency Franz Joseph sat in a carriage together with Prince Albrecht. Upon passing the Jewish delegation, he acknowledged the Torah scrolls by rising and bowing down at their sight. The Emperor continued to his lodging prepared by Potocki (probably; Alfred Józef Potocki). Rabbi Sofer and twelve delegates of the Jewish community formally welcomed the Emperor at the lodging. Rabbi Sofer requested the emperor's permission to don his hat in order to bless the Emperor, which was granted cordially. Rabbi Sofer made the traditional blessing (שנתן מכבודו) to which the Emperor answered "Amen". Sofer described the welcoming as "splendid", writing that he was invited to the "ball" that evening but was not planning on attending.  The "Machzikei HaDas" newspaper of 19 September 1880 carried a front page report heralding the Emperor's visit to Krakow and Lvov, comparing him to an “Angel sent by God”. Articles bestowed Franz Joseph with titles such as “our father, our king, the almighty, righteous and merciful”. The report describes the joy and happiness of the Jewish community and the respect they and Rabbi Sofer received from the Emperor, an unprecedented event in Diaspora Jewish history.  On 10 May 1881, Rabbi Sofer sent a parchment scroll to the Emperor Franz Joseph on the occasion of the wedding of his son Rudolf. The scroll, containing blessings and good wishes, was decorated with pure gold. It was written on behalf of the Orthodox Jewish community in Galicia and signed by Rabbi Sofer (signed; Simon Schreiber). It was received with gratitude.  One line of the Lamentation Eulogy which was authored after Rabbi Shimon's death by his son Rabbi Yisrael David Simcha (Bunim) Sofer and printed in "Machzikei Hadas" newspaper reads: שמח מלכו עמו ובאות נתכבד (Happy was the King with him, and with an award was dignified). In a footnote he explains this passage:

Death of his brother Avraham Shmuel Binyamin.

Rabbi Shimon was not informed of the death of his brother Avraham Shmuel Binyamin on December 31, 1871 and did not take part in his burial. Rabbi Azriel Hildesheimer, who took part and recorded a memoir of the burial, mentions that the Krakow community withheld three telegrams sent by the Pressburg community and family from reaching him. Hildersheimer writes that the Krakow community feared that the Pressburg community would appoint him as their Chief Rabbi.  In a condolence letter written to his brother's family two weeks after the passing, Rabbi Shimon apologizes for not responding to the telegrams sent. He wrote that his family and community withheld the news from him and that the death of his brother came to his knowledge by chance. He discovered the news upon seeing his son-in-law reading the laws of "Avelut".

Death of Rabbi Shimon.

On Purim 1883 (5643), Rabbi Sofer celebrated with his congregation as usual, festivities continued into the late hours of the night.  On the eve of 17 Adar II, 1883 (5643), he started to feel unwell. The next morning doctors examined him and prescribed medicine. He prayed with Tallit and Tefillin until 10:00am. Therefater he sent for his son-in-law, Rabbi Akiva Kornitzer, and said to him, These were his last words before he died.  His son-in-law, Rabbi Akiva Kornitzer succeeded him as Chief Rabbi of Krakow.

Shimon Sofer (1820–1883) () was a prominent Austrian Orthodox Jewish rabbi in the 19th century. He was Chief Rabbi of Kraków, Poland after serving as Chief Rabbi of Mattersdorf. He was the second son of Rabbi Moshe Sofer (Chassam Sofer) of Pressburg.

Simon Schreiber, polsky Szymon Schreiber, hebrejsky a jidiš, Šim'on Sofer (18. prosince 1820 Prešpurk – 26. března 1883 Krakov) byl rakouský rabín a politik z Haliče, v 2. polovině 19. století poslanec Říšské rady; jeden z hlavních představitelů ortodoxního judaismu v Haliči.


Early life.

Leonidas was born in London, the daughter of a Greek Cypriot father and an English mother. She also has Welsh ancestry through her mother. She has an older brother Dimitri and older sister Stephanie, both of whom are also actors.

Career.

Leonidas's first role was in 1999, when she played Little Cosette in "Les Misérables" on stage in London. She was then cast as Molly in "The Basil Brush Show" in 2002, appearing in every episode of series 1–4, then at different times from series 5 onwards.  After the Basil Brush show ended, she guest starred in the BBC TV series "Holby City" as Ali Jarvis in the episode "Stargazer" in early 2007, before being cast for the film "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", as Katie Bell, Harry's fellow Gryffindor Quidditch player, on 19 December 2007, as well as voicing Katie in the associated video game. She then starred in the leading role of Maya in the short film "Baghdad Express" in 2008, and during 2009, she appeared alongside fellow Harry Potter star Isabella Laughland in the short film "Driftwood", in "New Tricks" on 30 July 2009, as Kiraz Yilmaz in the episode "Fresh Starts", then as the Matron's Daughter in the film "Nine", and as Andra in a BBC Switch adaptation of the Greek Myth "The Fall Of Icarus".  Leonidas reprised her role of Katie Bell in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2" in 2010 and 2011, before appearing in the stage play "The Real Thing" and the film "Papadopoulos & Sons" in a small role during 2012. She has also appeared in several videos filmed by fellow Harry Potter star Jessie Cave for her website www.pindippy.com. During 2013, she played the lead role of Simone in the short film "Untouchable", appeared as Gemma Raven in the CBBC series Wizards vs Aliens episodes 'The Curse Of Crowe' parts 1 and 2, and performed as Izzy in the Polly Stenham play That Face at London's Landor Theatre during November and December 2013. During 2014, she appeared as Lucía Amory in the Agatha Christie play Black Coffee, and then as Belle in Beauty and the Beast at the Theatre Royal in Windsor during December 2014, During 2016, she appeared as Millie in the play "Small Hours".

Georgina Leonidas (born 28 February 1990) is a British actress best known for playing Molly in "The Basil Brush Show", and Katie Bell in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2".

Georgina Leonidas (* 28. února 1990, Londýn, Spojené království) je anglická herečka, známá především jako Molly v The Basil Brush Show a jako Katie Bellová v sáze Harry Potter.


Famous fossils.

Taung Child.

Raymond Dart, then the head of the department of anatomy at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, became interested in fossils found at a limestone quarry at Taung near Kimberley, South Africa in 1924. The most promising of these was a skull of an odd ape-like creature presenting human traits at the eye orbits, teeth, and, most importantly, the hole at the base of the skull over the spinal column (the foramen magnum); its placement indicated a human-like upright posture and implied a high probability that this hominid-to-hominin primate had achieved bipedal, as opposed to quadrupedal locomotion. Dart assigned the specimen the name "Australopithecus africanus" ("southern ape of Africa"); it was also dubbed "the Taung child".  This was the first time the word "ape" ("-pithecus") was formally assigned to any hominin, which, in effect, formally declared humans as descended from apes. Dart theorized the Taung child skull must represent an intermediate species between apes and humans. But his claim was rejected by the scientific community, generally in deference to the broadly-held idea ("idée fixe") that the early development of the line to humans required that a large cranium ("big brain") would precede bipedal locomotion; ("see" below, Mrs. Ples: cranial capacity). And the rejection was buttressed by the widespread belief then, especially in British academia, that the Piltdown Man recently found in England was the likely progenitor of the human lineage. (Piltdown man was later exposed as a forgery.)  Sir Arthur Keith was an anatomist and anthropologist fellow in 1924, and a scientist whose personal prejudice looked to Europe—not to Asia or Africa—as the place where the early hominins would be shown to have emerged. He dismissed Dart's claim, suggesting instead that the Taung child skull belonged to a young ape, most likely an infant gorilla or chimpanzee. Keith's persistence in denouncing the possibility of "Australopithecus" while justifying the plausibility of Piltdown man was instrumental in binding the two issues inextricably together for over a generation.  Keith immersed himself in defending the Piltdown man and his reputation suffered greatly after the hoax was exposed in 1953. Phillip Tobias, in a lengthy essay published in "Current Anthropology" in 1992, detailed the history of the investigation of the hoax. He presented argument that implicated the motive of Keith's adamant and continual opposition to "Australopithecus", to wit: if "Australopithecus" was a hominin ancestor, then Piltdown man could not have been and its bona fides would have been suspect and called out for formal investigation. As part of the essay Tobias debated the inconsistencies in Keith's statements and actions with contemporary members of the science community.  Keith's persistent animus towards the Taung child discovery caused serious consequences; from Dart's announcement in 1924, it took nearly 30 years before the methods of science revealed the Piltdown man hoax and supported the validity of the claims (of hominin status) for "Australopithecus".

Mrs. Ples.

Dart's theory—that the skull known as the Taung child was a human ancestor—was supported by Robert Broom, a paleontologist with the Transvaal Museum of natural history in Pretoria. In 1936, the Sterkfontein caves yielded the first adult australopithecine, substantially strengthening Dart's claim for Broom. Later, Broom classified an adult endocranial cast having a brain capacity of 485 cc (found by G. W. Barlow) as "Plesianthropus transvaalensis" (near-man from Transvaal). In April 1947, while blasting at Sterkfontein, he and John T. Robinson discovered a skull belonging to a middle-aged female (catalogue number STS 5) which he also classified as "Plesianthropus transvaalensis" (it was dubbed "Mrs. Ples" by Broom's young coworkers although the skull is now thought to have belonged to a young male). Both fossils were later classified as "Australopithecus africanus".  Mrs. Ples, whose cranial capacity is only about 485 cubic centimetres (cc), was one of the first fossils to reveal that upright walking (bipedal locomotion) had evolved well before any significant growth in brain size. And, in comparison to modern apes, Dart noted as with the Taung child the lack of facial (prognathous) projection, a characteristic shared with advanced hominines.

Little Foot.

In 1997, paleoanthropologist Ronald J. Clarke began extracting the remains of a near-complete skeleton of "Australopithecus" named Little Foot (StW 573), which was previously discovered in the cave system at Sterkfontein; extraction or preparation and analysis of the specimen has been nearing completion in 2018. Little Foot is currently classified as (lumped into) "Australopithecus africanus"; Clarke suggests that Little Foot doesn't belong to either species "afarensis" or "africanus," but to a unique "Australopithecus" species found at Makapansgat and Sterkfontein (and named "Australopithecus prometheus" by Raymond Dart). Analysis made in 2015 by a new radioisotopic technique dated the Little Foot specimen to about 3.7 mya.

Morphology and interpretations.

"A. africanus" was similar in many traits to "A. afarensis", a bipedal hominin with arms slightly longer than the legs (a physical trait also found in chimpanzees). It has slightly human-like, advanced cranial features (seen in the crania of Mrs. Ples and STS 71), but also presents primitive features including ape-like, curved fingers adapted to tree climbing.  Instead of it being a direct ancestor of later hominins and thereby of humans, some researchers believe that "A. africanus" evolved into "Paranthropus", and specifically that "P. robustus" descended from "A. africanus". Both "P. robustus" and "A. africanus" crania seem very alike despite the more heavily built (robust) features of "P. robustus", which, like those of the modern gorilla, are adaptations for heavy chewing. "A. africanus", on the other hand, had a cranium which quite closely resembled that of a modern chimpanzee; yet both brains measure about 400 cc to 500 cc and probably presented an ape-like intelligence. "A. africanus" had a pelvis that would enable more efficient bipedalism than that of "A. afarensis". A 2015 study of hand bones in "A. africanus" indicated the species had a "human-like trabecular bone pattern in the metacarpals consistent with forceful opposition of the thumb and fingers typically adopted during tool use". Such a morphology would support an earlier time for making and using tools than previously had been thought likely.

Sexual dimorphism.

Evidence of human-like sexual dimorphism in the lumbar spine has recently been described in the (bipedal) primate "A. africanus". This character of morphology has been seen as an evolutionary adaptation by female bipeds in order to more efficiently bear load on the lumbar column during pregnancy, an adaptation that non-bipedal primates do not need.  A 2011 study using ratios of strontium isotopes in teeth suggested that both "A. africanus" and "P. robustus" groups in southern Africa were patrilocal: that is, females tended to settle farther from their region of birth than did males.

Geochronology.

Recent analysis of the Little Foot specimen dated it to about 3.7 million years old, which gives support to the claim by Ronald Clarke that it is of the previously unknown species with characters similar to "Paranthropus robustus" and named "Australopithecus prometheus". Instead, the specimen has usually been lumped into "A. africanus" by most scholars. Earlier dating had placed it between 3.0 and 2.0 mya based on combined analyses of palaeomagnetism, electron spin resonance, and faunal dating.  The "Makapansgat" fossils have been dated to between 3.0 and 2.6 mya. Those at Sterkfontein currently are dated to between 2.6 and 2.0 mya with the Mrs Ples fossil dating to around 2.0 million years. And Gladysvale fossils were dated between about 2.4 and 2.0 mya. The age of the Taung child remains more difficult to determine and is the focus of a current dating project.

Australopithecus africanus is an extinct species of australopithecine, the first species to be described. In common with the older "Australopithecus afarensis", "A. africanus" was of slender build, or gracile, and was thought to have been a direct ancestor of modern humans. Fossil remains indicate that "A. africanus" was significantly more like modern humans than "A. afarensis", with a more human-like cranium permitting a larger brain and more humanoid facial features. "A. africanus" has been found only in South Africa at four sites: Taung (1924), Sterkfontein (1935), Makapansgat (1948) and Gladysvale (1992).

Australopithecus africanus (česky též "Australopiték africký") je druh vyhynulého hominida, žijící na přelomu pliocénu a pleistocénu, před 3 - 2 miliony let v jižní Africe, na území dnešní Jihoafrické republiky. Ačkoliv není geologicky nejstarším australopitékem, byl rozeznán jako první a je tudíž typovým druhem celého rodu. Zároveň se jedná o jednoho z nejznámějších a nejlépe poznaných zástupců svého rodu. Je také jedním z kandidátů na předka rodu Homo.


Playing career.

Club.

Vampeta started his career in Salvador, with team Vitória, and later went to Europe with Dutch team PSV Eindhoven, who signed him alongside Ronaldo in the summer of 1994. After a difficult first season, PSV released him on loan to Fluminense, before he returned to the Netherlands as regular of the team that won the first Dutch title in 5 years in 1997.  His good performance in Eindhoven led him back to Brazil were at Corinthians he grew out to become a member of the Brazilian national team. Vampeta then joined Internazionale in summer 2000, being reunited with Ronaldo. He scored in the 2000 Supercoppa Italiana but failed to hold down a first-team place however, he stated that he wanted to leave and went to Rio de Janeiro in December for a vacation. In January 2001, Vampeta went to PSG for €12.2 million as part exchange for Stéphane Dalmat, which Inter retained 50% registration rights on Vampeta.  He was involved in the Adriano (€13.2 million to Inter) and Reinaldo (to PSG) transfer in August 2001, who both played in Flamengo, in exchange for Vampeta who was joint-owned by Inter and PSG. Another half of Vampeta was sold for €9.8 million,  In 2007, he returned to Corinthians, signed a contract until the end of season.  After being released by Corinthians, he signed a contract until mid-2008 with CA Juventus for 2008 Campeonato Paulista.

International.

Vampeta made his international debut for Brazil in a friendly match against FR Yugoslavia on 23 September 1998. He then became a regular player for Brazil, being called up for the 1999 Copa América, 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup and 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup. He was also on Brazil's World Cup winning team in 2002, although he only made one substitute appearance during the competition. In total he made 39 appearances for Brazil between 1998 and 2002, scoring 2 goals.

Coaching career.

In February 2010, Vampeta was named as the new head coach of Nacional Atlético Clube.

Marcos André Batista dos Santos, best known as Vampeta (; born 13 March 1974) is a former Brazilian professional Association football player and current coach of Grêmio Osasco. A former midfielder, he represented Brazil National football team from 1998 until 2002, winning the 1999 Copa América and the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

V brazilské reprezentaci působil v letech 1998-2002 a odehrál za ni 39 utkání, v nichž dal 2 góly. Stal se s ní mistrem světa roku 2002. Zlato má též z Copa América 1999.


History.

The Portuguese nobility can be traced back to the reign of Alfonso VI of Leon, whose reign saw the sons of Leonese nobility established as gentry in the north of Portugal, between the Minho River and the Douro River. This was the region of the sun and the most powerful men of the kingdom. They united nobility of birth to the authority and prestige of public office.  They were followed in the hierarchy, in descending order, by "infancies", "cavaleiros" (knights) and "escudeiros" (squires). A title of Spanish origin, "filho de alguém", applied to senior functionaries and gave rise to the word "fidalgo", who, in the 14th century, became widespread and went on to name all of noble lineage, thereby designating the highest class of the nobility, without distinction of rank.

Renaissance.

By the time of the reign of Manuel I of Portugal (1495–1521), during the Portuguese Renaissance, for example, when they were appointed captains of the fleet of Pedro Álvares Cabral, who arrived in Brazil on April 22, 1500, the Portuguese nobility already had registers dating back to the 12th century. The noble members of Cabral's fleet followed this feature, since most descended from families of Castile and León, who had settled in Portugal, who had already rendered several generations of service. The few exceptions – such as Bartolomeu Dias, who received his rank and arms which he transmitted to his descendants – show the importance attributed at this period to the discoveries made.  It was also the reign of King Manuel I that rules were established that define the use of the degrees of nobility (hereditary titles), and the use of heraldic arms, preventing abuses in the adoption of both and establishing the rights of the nobility. The nobles were subject to the king and were arranged in two orders, each with three degrees: All nobles were considered vassals of the King of Portugal. To rise in status, a noble was expected to demonstrate loyalty and service to the king.  The battle of Alcácer Quibir in 1578 was an unmitigated disaster for Portugal. King Sebastian of Portugal died on the battlefield along with most of the Portuguese nobility, leading to the end of the Aviz dynasty.  Though the 15th and 16th centuries were rich in acts of bravery and heroic deeds, the deeds related to the Age of Discoveries were not represented symbolically for new arms in Portuguese blazon. Few were granted, and not all heraldic grants were recorded. This did not occur with those involved in combat, especially during the occupation of northern Africa, which feature many coats of arms with their own attributes, such as "Moorish head." The heraldry of the Discoveries is restricted to inherited symbols from the family, or canting arms, such as Nuno Leitao da Cunha, with nine wedges "(cunhas)", or the goats of Cabral, without suggesting or representing the challenges found in the sea and its conquest. The arms of Nicolau Coelho, which contain a base undy silver and blue, which can symbolize the conquered sea, is a rare exception.

Modern era.

In the first half of the 18th century, the Royal Equestrian Academy (today known as the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art) was founded by King João V of Portugal as a riding school exclusively accessible to the Portuguese Royal Family and the nobility. Good horsemanship was and still is considered a hallmark of the Portuguese nobility, equestrianism continuing to this day to be the traditional sport of the class.  Following the Proclamation of the Portuguese Republic in 1910, the nobility was officially disbanded and ennoblement was prohibited under the Portuguese Constitution. Notwithstanding, although the status of nobility has not been recognised in law since 1910, legitimate titles of nobility (those granted by a reigning monarch before the 5th October 1910) have been given legal recognition and protection, including under article 26 of the Portuguese Constitution, in conjunction with articles 70 and 72 of the Civil Code, as established by decision of Portugal's Supreme Court of Justice in 2014.  Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza, created the Portuguese Council of Nobility during the Republic to study the former monarchy's laws and grants of nobility, and to update the genealogies of ennobled families, maintaining records on the transmission of hereditary titles in accordance therewith. The predominant activity of the Council was the identification of living heirs to historical titles and coats of arms.  After Dom Duarte Nuno's death, his son Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza, declared the Council of Nobility disbanded, following criticism in relation to a handful of questionable decisions. Subsequently, the "Instituto da Nobreza Portuguesa" was established by representatives of Portugal's titled nobility, with the acquiescence and support of the Duke fo Braganza – its honorary president – as a self-regulating private body which continues the work and maintains the records of the original Council of Nobility.

Hierarchy of the Nobility.

The ranks of the titled nobility, although similar to those in other European countries, have their idiosyncrasies in Portugal. They are as follows:  The holders of all titles of Count, Marquis and Duke were automatically imbued with "Grandeza" of the kingdom of Portugal. The rank of "Grandeza" was automatic also for Bishops, Archbishops, Cardinals and the Patriarch of Lisbon, as well as for Peers of the Realm during the constitutional monarchy when the House of Peers was established in the Portuguese "Cortes". In addition, in rare circumstances, viscountcies were given the attribute of "Honras de Grandeza", placing them on a rank equivalent to countships. This is the case with the viscountcies of Asseca and Balsemão, for example.  In extraordinary circumstances, certain titleholders were granted the hereditary title of "Parente d'El Rei". As well as denoting a historic blood relationship with the Crown, it was a sign of exceptional merit and raised the titleholder's status above that of all other titled nobility, with the exception of royal dukes. Examples include the dukes of Cadaval, marquesses of Lavradio and Valença, and counts of Óbidos.  All nobles titles were effectively hereditary but most required new concessions for their respective heirs. In rare occasions, these were given to members of the same family that were not the immediate heir. Titles were granted:  In Portugal and Brazil, the honorific "Dom" () is often used for men who belong to the House of Braganza. Otherwise, in Portugal, it is used by members of families of some of its titled nobility. Unless ennobling letters patent specifically authorised its use, "Dom" was not attributed to members of Portugal's untitled nobility: Since hereditary titles in Portugal descended according to primogeniture, the right to the style of "Dom" was the only apparent distinction between cadets of titled families and members of untitled noble families.  Fidalgos constituted the lowest rank of nobility of blood.

Royally-held noble titles.

In addition to their royal titles, members of Portugal's royal family have held a number of noble titles, either through acquisition prior to the family's accession to the throne or by grant of the monarch. Following the proclamation of the republic in 1910, these titles have been used by various members of the royal family, notably by the Duke of Braganza's younger brothers and by his three children. The following are titles that have been held at various times by Portuguese royalty:

The Portuguese nobility was a social class enshrined in the laws of the Kingdom of Portugal with specific privileges, prerogatives, obligations and regulations. The nobility ranked immediately after royalty and was itself subdivided into a number of subcategories which included the titled nobility and nobility of blood at the top and civic nobility at the bottom, encompassing a small, but not insignificant proportion of Portugal's citizenry.

Portugalská šlechta je někdejší společenská třída celkově tvořená osobami s právními výsadami a nárokem na titul, a jako takoví byli uznáni v Portugalském království (1139-1910).