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Queen Victoria
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Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days, which was longer than those of any of her predecessors, constituted the Victorian era. It was a period of industrial, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. In 1876, the British parliament voted to grant her the additional title of Empress of India.
Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (the fourth son of King George III), and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. After the deaths of her father and grandfather in 1820, she was raised under close supervision by her mother and her comptroller, John Conroy. She inherited the throne aged 18 after her father's three elder brothers died without surviving legitimate issue. Victoria, a constitutional monarch, attempted privately to influence government policy and ministerial appointments; publicly, she became a national icon who was identified with strict standards of personal morality.
Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. Their nine children married into royal and noble families across the continent, earning Victoria the sobriquet "grandmother of Europe". After Albert's death in 1861, Victoria plunged into deep mourning and avoided public appearances. As a result of her seclusion, British republicanism temporarily gained strength, but in the latter half of her reign, her popularity recovered. Her Golden and Diamond jubilees were times of public celebration. Victoria died at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, at the age of 81. The last British monarch of the House of Hanover, she was succeeded by her son Edward VII of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Early life
Birth and ancestry
Victoria's father was Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, the fourth son of King George III and Queen Charlotte. Until 1817, King George's only legitimate grandchild was Edward's niece Princess Charlotte of Wales, the daughter of George, Prince Regent (who would become George IV). Princess Charlotte's death in 1817 precipitated a succession crisis that brought pressure on Prince Edward and his unmarried brothers to marry and have children. In 1818, the Duke of Kent married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, a widowed German princess with two children—Carl (1804–1856) and Feodora (1807–1872)—by her first marriage to Emich Carl, 2nd Prince of Leiningen. Her brother Leopold was Princess Charlotte's widower and later the first king of Belgium. The Duke and Duchess of Kent's only child, Victoria was born at 4:15 a.m. on Monday, 24 May 1819 at Kensington Palace in London.Hibbert, pp. 3–12; Strachey, pp. 1–17; Woodham-Smith, pp. 15–29
Victoria was christened privately by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Manners-Sutton, on 24 June 1819 in the Cupola Room at Kensington Palace. She was baptised Alexandrina after one of her godparents, Tsar Alexander I of Russia, and Victoria, after her mother. Additional names proposed by her parents—Georgina (or Georgiana), Charlotte, and Augusta—were dropped on the instructions of the Prince Regent.Hibbert, pp. 12–13; Longford, p. 23; Woodham-Smith, pp. 34–35
At birth, Victoria was fifth in the line of succession after the four eldest sons of George III: George, Prince Regent (later George IV); Frederick, Duke of York; William, Duke of Clarence (later William IV); and Victoria's father, Edward, Duke of Kent.Longford, p. 24 Prince George had no surviving children, and Prince Frederick had no children; further, both were estranged from their wives, who were both past child-bearing age, so the two eldest brothers were unlikely to have any further legitimate children. William married in 1818, in a joint ceremony with his brother Edward, but both of William's legitimate daughters died as infants. The first of these was Princess Charlotte, who was born and died on 27 March 1819, two months before Victoria was born. Victoria's father died in January 1820, when Victoria was less than a year old. A week later her grandfather died and was succeeded by his eldest son as George IV. Victoria was then third in line to the throne after Frederick and William. She was fourth in line while William's second daughter, Princess Elizabeth, lived, from 10 December 1820 to 4 March 1821.Worsley, p. 41.
Heir presumptive
Prince Frederick died in 1827, followed by George IV in 1830; their next surviving brother succeeded to the throne as William IV, and Victoria became heir presumptive. The Regency Act 1830 made special provision for Victoria's mother to act as regent in case William died while Victoria was still a minor.Hibbert, p. 31; St Aubyn, p. 26; Woodham-Smith, p. 81 King William distrusted the Duchess's capacity to be regent, and in 1836 he declared in her presence that he wanted to live until Victoria's 18th birthday, so that a regency could be avoided.Hibbert, p. 46; Longford, p. 54; St Aubyn, p. 50; Waller, p. 344; Woodham-Smith, p. 126
thumb|Portrait with her spaniel Dash by George Hayter, 1833
Victoria later described her childhood as "rather melancholy".Hibbert, p. 19; Marshall, p. 25 Her mother was extremely protective, and Victoria was raised largely isolated from other children under the so-called "Kensington System", an elaborate set of rules and protocols devised by the Duchess and her ambitious and domineering comptroller, Sir John Conroy, who was rumoured to be the Duchess's lover.Hibbert, p. 27; Longford, pp. 35–38, 118–119; St Aubyn, pp. 21–22; Woodham-Smith, pp. 70–72. The rumours were false in the opinion of these biographers. The system prevented the princess from meeting people whom her mother and Conroy deemed undesirable (including most of her father's family), and was designed to render her weak and dependent upon them.Hibbert, pp. 27–28; Waller, pp. 341–342; Woodham-Smith, pp. 63–65 The Duchess avoided the court because she was scandalised by the presence of King William's illegitimate children.Hibbert, pp. 32–33; Longford, pp. 38–39, 55; Marshall, p. 19 Victoria shared a bedroom with her mother every night, studied with private tutors to a regular timetable, and spent her play-hours with her dolls and her King Charles Spaniel, Dash.Waller, pp. 338–341; Woodham-Smith, pp. 68–69, 91 Her lessons included French, German, Italian, and Latin,Hibbert, p. 18; Longford, p. 31; Woodham-Smith, pp. 74–75 but she spoke only English at home.Longford, p. 31; Woodham-Smith, p. 75 At age ten, she wrote and illustrated a children's story, The Adventures of Alice Laselles, which was eventually published in 2015.
In 1830, the Duchess and Conroy took Victoria across the centre of England to visit the Malvern Hills, stopping at towns and great country houses along the way.Hibbert, pp. 34–35 Similar journeys to other parts of England and Wales were taken in 1832, 1833, 1834 and 1835. To the King's annoyance, Victoria was enthusiastically welcomed in each of the stops.Hibbert, pp. 35–39; Woodham-Smith, pp. 88–89, 102 William compared the journeys to royal progresses and was concerned that they portrayed Victoria as his rival rather than his heir presumptive.Hibbert, p. 36; Woodham-Smith, pp. 89–90 Victoria disliked the trips; the constant round of public appearances made her tired and ill, and there was little time for her to rest.Hibbert, pp. 35–40; Woodham-Smith, pp. 92, 102 She objected on the grounds of the King's disapproval, but her mother dismissed his complaints as motivated by jealousy and forced Victoria to continue the tours.Hibbert, pp. 38–39; Longford, p. 47; Woodham-Smith, pp. 101–102 At Ramsgate in October 1835, Victoria contracted a severe fever, which Conroy initially dismissed as a childish pretence.Hibbert, p. 42; Woodham-Smith, p. 105 While Victoria was ill, Conroy and the Duchess unsuccessfully badgered her to make Conroy her private secretary.Hibbert, p. 42; Longford, pp. 47–48; Marshall, p. 21 As a teenager, Victoria resisted persistent attempts by her mother and Conroy to appoint him to her staff.Hibbert, pp. 42, 50; Woodham-Smith, p. 135 Once queen, she banned him from her presence, but he remained in her mother's household.Marshall, p. 46; St Aubyn, p. 67; Waller, p. 353thumb|left|upright|alt=Victoria's sketch of herself|Self-portrait, 1835
By 1836, Victoria's maternal uncle Leopold, who had been King of the Belgians since 1831, hoped to marry her to Prince Albert,Longford, pp. 29, 51; Waller, p. 363; Weintraub, pp. 43–49 the son of his brother Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Leopold arranged for Victoria's mother to invite her Coburg relatives to visit her in May 1836, with the purpose of introducing Victoria to Albert.Longford, p. 51; Weintraub, pp. 43–49 William IV, however, disapproved of any match with the Coburgs, and instead favoured the suit of Prince Alexander of the Netherlands, second son of the Prince of Orange.Longford, pp. 51–52; St Aubyn, p. 43; Weintraub, pp. 43–49; Woodham-Smith, p. 117 Victoria was aware of the various matrimonial plans and critically appraised a parade of eligible princes.Weintraub, pp. 43–49 According to her diary, she enjoyed Albert's company from the beginning. After the visit she wrote, "[Albert] is extremely handsome; his hair is about the same colour as mine; his eyes are large and blue, and he has a beautiful nose and a very sweet mouth with fine teeth; but the charm of his countenance is his expression, which is most delightful."Victoria quoted in Marshall, p. 27 and Weintraub, p. 49 Alexander, on the other hand, she described as "very plain".Victoria quoted in Hibbert, p. 99; St Aubyn, p. 43; Weintraub, p. 49 and Woodham-Smith, p. 119
Victoria wrote to King Leopold, whom she considered her "best and kindest adviser",Victoria's journal, October 1835, quoted in St Aubyn, p. 36 and Woodham-Smith, p. 104 to thank him "for the prospect of great happiness you have contributed to give me, in the person of dear Albert ... He possesses every quality that could be desired to render me perfectly happy. He is so sensible, so kind, and so good, and so amiable too. He has besides the most pleasing and delightful exterior and appearance you can possibly see."Hibbert, p. 102; Marshall, p. 60; Waller, p. 363; Weintraub, p. 51; Woodham-Smith, p. 122 However at 17, Victoria, though interested in Albert, was not yet ready to marry. The parties did not undertake a formal engagement, but assumed that the match would take place in due time.Waller, pp. 363–364; Weintraub, pp. 53, 58, 64, and 65
Accession and early reign
alt=Drawing of Conyngham and Howley on their knees in front of Victoria|thumb|left|Victoria receives the news of her accession from Lord Conyngham (bowing) and the Archbishop Howley (right). Painting by Henry Tanworth Wells, 1887.
Victoria turned 18 on 24 May 1837, and a regency was avoided. Less than a month later, on 20 June 1837, William IV died at the age of 71, and Victoria became Queen of the United Kingdom. In her diary she wrote, "I was awoke at 6 o'clock by Mamma, who told me the Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Conyngham were here and wished to see me. I got out of bed and went into my sitting-room (only in my dressing gown) and alone, and saw them. Lord Conyngham then acquainted me that my poor Uncle, the King, was no more, and had expired at 12 minutes past 2 this morning, and consequently that I am Queen."St Aubyn, pp. 55–57; Woodham-Smith, p. 138 Official documents prepared on the first day of her reign described her as Alexandrina Victoria, but the first name was withdrawn at her own wish and not used again.Woodham-Smith, p. 140
Since 1714, Britain had shared a monarch with Hanover in Germany, but under Salic law, women were excluded from the Hanoverian succession. While Victoria inherited the British throne, her father's unpopular younger brother, Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, became King of Hanover. He was Victoria's heir presumptive until she had a child.Packard, pp. 14–15
thumb|right|alt=Victoria wears her crown and holds a sceptre.|Coronation portrait by George Hayter
At the time of Victoria's accession, the government was led by the Whig prime minister Lord Melbourne. He at once became a powerful influence on the politically inexperienced monarch, who relied on him for advice.Hibbert, pp. 66–69; St Aubyn, p. 76; Woodham-Smith, pp. 143–147 Charles Greville supposed that the widowed and childless Melbourne was "passionately fond of her as he might be of his daughter if he had one", and Victoria probably saw him as a father figure.Greville quoted in Hibbert, p. 67; Longford, p. 70 and Woodham-Smith, pp. 143–144 Her coronation took place on 28 June 1838 at Westminster Abbey. Over 400,000 visitors came to London for the celebrations. She became the first sovereign to take up residence at Buckingham PalaceSt Aubyn, p. 69; Waller, p. 353 and inherited the revenues of the duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall as well as being granted a civil list allowance of £385,000 per year. Financially prudent, she paid off her father's debts.Hibbert, p. 58; Longford, pp. 73–74; Woodham-Smith, p. 152
At the start of her reign Victoria was popular,Marshall, p. 42; St Aubyn, pp. 63, 96 but her reputation suffered in an 1839 court intrigue when one of her mother's ladies-in-waiting, Lady Flora Hastings, developed an abdominal growth that was widely rumoured to be an out-of-wedlock pregnancy by Sir John Conroy.Marshall, p. 47; Waller, p. 356; Woodham-Smith, pp. 164–166 Victoria believed the rumours.Hibbert, pp. 77–78; Longford, p. 97; St Aubyn, p. 97; Waller, p. 357; Woodham-Smith, p. 164 She hated Conroy, and despised "that odious Lady Flora",Victoria's journal, 25 April 1838, quoted in Woodham-Smith, p. 162 because she had conspired with Conroy and the Duchess in the Kensington System.St Aubyn, p. 96; Woodham-Smith, pp. 162, 165 At first, Lady Flora refused to submit to an intimate medical examination, until in mid-February she eventually acquiesced, and was found to be a virgin.Hibbert, p. 79; Longford, p. 98; St Aubyn, p. 99; Woodham-Smith, p. 167 Conroy, the Hastings family, and the opposition Tories organised a press campaign implicating the Queen in the spreading of false rumours about Lady Flora.Hibbert, pp. 80–81; Longford, pp. 102–103; St Aubyn, pp. 101–102 When Lady Flora died in July, the post-mortem revealed a large tumour on her liver that had distended her abdomen.Longford, p. 122; Marshall, p. 57; St Aubyn, p. 104; Woodham-Smith, p. 180 At public appearances, Victoria was hissed and jeered at as "Mrs. Melbourne".Hibbert, p. 83; Longford, pp. 120–121; Marshall, p. 57; St Aubyn, p. 105; Waller, p. 358
In 1839, Melbourne resigned after Radicals and Tories (both of whom Victoria detested) voted against a bill to suspend the constitution of Jamaica. The bill removed political power from plantation owners who were resisting measures associated with the abolition of slavery.St Aubyn, p. 107; Woodham-Smith, p. 169 The Queen commissioned a Tory, Robert Peel, to form a new ministry. At the time, it was customary for the prime minister to appoint members of the Royal Household, who were usually his political allies and their spouses. Many of the Queen's ladies of the bedchamber were wives of Whigs, and Peel expected to replace them with wives of Tories. In what became known as the "bedchamber crisis", Victoria, advised by Melbourne, objected to their removal. Peel refused to govern under the restrictions imposed by the Queen, and consequently resigned his commission, allowing Melbourne to return to office.Hibbert, pp. 94–96; Marshall, pp. 53–57; St Aubyn, pp. 109–112; Waller, pp. 359–361; Woodham-Smith, pp. 170–174
Marriage and public life
upright=1.4|alt=Painting of a lavish wedding attended by richly dressed people in a magnificent room|thumb|Marriage of Victoria and Albert, painted by George Hayter
Although Victoria was now queen, as an unmarried young woman she was required by social convention to live with her mother, despite their differences over the Kensington System and her mother's continued reliance on Conroy.Longford, p. 84; Marshall, p. 52 The duchess was consigned to a remote apartment in Buckingham Palace, and Victoria often refused to see her.Longford, p. 72; Waller, p. 353 When Victoria complained to Melbourne that her mother's proximity promised "torment for many years", Melbourne sympathised but said it could be avoided by marriage, which Victoria called a "schocking alternative".Woodham-Smith, p. 175 Victoria showed interest in Albert's education for the future role he would have to play as her husband, but she resisted attempts to rush her into wedlock.Hibbert, pp. 103–104; Marshall, pp. 60–66; Weintraub, p. 62
Victoria continued to praise Albert following his second visit in October 1839. They felt mutual affection and the queen proposed to him on 15 October 1839, just five days after he had arrived at Windsor.Hibbert, pp. 107–110; St Aubyn, pp. 129–132; Weintraub, pp. 77–81; Woodham-Smith, pp. 182–184, 187 They were married on 10 February 1840, in the Chapel Royal of St James's Palace, London. Victoria was love-struck. She spent the evening after their wedding lying down with a headache, but wrote ecstatically in her diary:
Albert became an important political adviser as well as the queen's companion, replacing Melbourne as the dominant influential figure in the first half of her life.St Aubyn, p. 151 Victoria's mother was evicted from the palace, to Ingestre House in Belgrave Square. After the death of Victoria's aunt Princess Augusta in 1840, the duchess was given both Clarence House and Frogmore House.Hibbert, p. 265, Woodham-Smith, p. 256 Through Albert's mediation, relations between mother and daughter slowly improved.Marshall, p. 152; St Aubyn, pp. 174–175; Woodham-Smith, p. 412
upright=1.4|thumb|Contemporary lithograph of Edward Oxford's attempt to assassinate Victoria, 1840
During Victoria's first pregnancy in 1840, in the first few months of the marriage, 18-year-old Edward Oxford attempted to assassinate her while she was riding in a carriage with Prince Albert on her way to visit her mother. Oxford fired twice, but either both bullets missed or, as he later claimed, the guns had no shot.Charles, p. 23 He was tried for high treason, found not guilty by reason of insanity, committed to an insane asylum indefinitely, and later sent to live in Australia.Hibbert, pp. 421–422; St Aubyn, pp. 160–161 In the immediate aftermath of the attack, Victoria's popularity soared, mitigating residual discontent over the Hastings affair and the bedchamber crisis.Woodham-Smith, p. 213 Her daughter, also named Victoria, was born on 21 November 1840. The queen hated being pregnant,Hibbert, p. 130; Longford, p. 154; Marshall, p. 122; St Aubyn, p. 159; Woodham-Smith, p. 220 viewed breast-feeding with disgust,Hibbert, p. 149; St Aubyn, p. 169 and thought newborn babies were ugly.Hibbert, p. 149; Longford, p. 154; Marshall, p. 123; Waller, p. 377 Nevertheless, over the following seventeen years, she and Albert had a further eight children: Albert Edward, Alice, Alfred, Helena, Louise, Arthur, Leopold and Beatrice.
The household was largely run by Victoria's childhood governess, Baroness Louise Lehzen from Hanover. Lehzen had been a formative influence on VictoriaWoodham-Smith, p. 100 and had supported her against the Kensington System.Longford, p. 56; St Aubyn, p. 29 Albert, however, thought that Lehzen was incompetent and that her mismanagement threatened his daughter Victoria's health. After a furious row between Victoria and Albert over the issue, Lehzen was pensioned off in 1842, and Victoria's close relationship with her ended.Hibbert, pp. 150–156; Marshall, p. 87; St Aubyn, pp. 171–173; Woodham-Smith, pp. 230–232
thumb|left|upright|Portrait by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1843
On 29 May 1842, Victoria was riding in a carriage along The Mall, London, when John Francis aimed a pistol at her, but the gun did not fire. The assailant escaped; the following day, Victoria drove the same route, though faster and with a greater escort, in a deliberate attempt to bait Francis into taking a second aim and catch him in the act. As expected, Francis shot at her, but he was seized by plainclothes policemen, and convicted of high treason. On 3 July, two days after Francis's death sentence was commuted to transportation for life, John William Bean also tried to fire a pistol at the queen, but it was loaded only with paper and tobacco and had too little charge.Charles, p. 51; Hibbert, pp. 422–423; St Aubyn, pp. 162–163 Edward Oxford felt that the attempts were encouraged by his acquittal in 1840.Hibbert, p. 423; St Aubyn, p. 163 Bean was sentenced to 18 months in jail. In a similar attack in 1849, unemployed Irishman William Hamilton fired a powder-filled pistol at Victoria's carriage as it passed along Constitution Hill, London.Longford, p. 192 In 1850, the queen did sustain injury when she was assaulted by a possibly insane ex-army officer, Robert Pate. As Victoria was riding in a carriage, Pate struck her with his cane, crushing her bonnet and bruising her forehead. Both Hamilton and Pate were sentenced to seven years' transportation.St Aubyn, p. 164
Melbourne's support in the House of Commons weakened through the early years of Victoria's reign, and in the 1841 general election the Whigs were defeated. Peel became prime minister, and the ladies of the bedchamber most associated with the Whigs were replaced.Marshall, pp. 95–101; St Aubyn, pp. 153–155; Woodham-Smith, pp. 221–222
alt=Victoria cuddling her daughter next to her|thumb|upright|Earliest known photograph of the Queen, here with her eldest daughter, Princess Victoria,
In 1845, Ireland was hit by a potato blight.Woodham-Smith, p. 281 In the next four years, over a million Irish people died and another million emigrated in what became known as the Great Famine.Longford, p. 359 In Ireland, Victoria was labelled "The Famine Queen".The title of Maud Gonne's 1900 article upon Queen Victoria's visit to Ireland In January 1847 she personally donated £2,000 (equivalent to between £230,000 and £8.5million in 2022) to the British Relief Association, more than any other individual famine relief donor, and supported the Maynooth Grant to a Roman Catholic seminary in Ireland, despite Protestant opposition.Longford, p. 181 The story that she donated only £5 in aid to the Irish, and on the same day gave the same amount to Battersea Dogs Home, was a myth generated towards the end of the 19th century.
By 1846, Peel's ministry faced a crisis involving the repeal of the Corn Laws. Many Tories—by then known also as Conservatives—were opposed to the repeal, but Peel, some Tories (the free-trade oriented liberal conservative "Peelites"), most Whigs and Victoria supported it. Peel resigned in 1846, after the repeal narrowly passed, and was replaced by Lord John Russell.St Aubyn, p. 215
Year Prime Minister (party)1835Viscount Melbourne (Whig)1841Sir Robert Peel (Conservative)1846Lord John Russell (Whig)1852 (February)Earl of Derby (Conservative)1852 (December)Earl of Aberdeen (Peelite)1855Viscount Palmerston (Liberal)1858Earl of Derby (Conservative)1859Viscount Palmerston (Liberal)1865Earl Russell, Lord John Russell (Liberal)1866Earl of Derby (Conservative)1868 (February)Benjamin Disraeli (Conservative)1868 (December)William Gladstone (Liberal)1874Benjamin Disraeli, Lord Beaconsfield (Conservative)1880William Gladstone (Liberal)1885Marquess of Salisbury (Conservative)1886 (February)William Gladstone (Liberal)1886 (July)Marquess of Salisbury (Conservative)1892William Gladstone (Liberal)1894Earl of Rosebery (Liberal)1895Marquess of Salisbury (Conservative)
Internationally, Victoria took a keen interest in the improvement of relations between France and Britain.St Aubyn, p. 238 She made and hosted several visits between the British royal family and the House of Orleans, who were related by marriage through the Coburgs. In 1843 and 1845, she and Albert stayed with King Louis Philippe I at Château d'Eu in Normandy; she was the first British or English monarch to visit a French monarch since the meeting of Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France on the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520.Longford, pp. 175, 187; St Aubyn, pp. 238, 241; Woodham-Smith, pp. 242, 250 When Louis Philippe made a reciprocal trip in 1844, he became the first French king to visit a British sovereign.Woodham-Smith, p. 248 Louis Philippe was deposed in the revolutions of 1848, and fled to exile in England.Hibbert, p. 198; Longford, p. 194; St Aubyn, p. 243; Woodham-Smith, pp. 282–284 At the height of a revolutionary scare in the United Kingdom in April 1848, Victoria and her family left London for the greater safety of Osborne House,Hibbert, pp. 201–202; Marshall, p. 139; St Aubyn, pp. 222–223; Woodham-Smith, pp. 287–290 a private estate on the Isle of Wight that they had purchased in 1845 and redeveloped.Hibbert, pp. 161–164; Marshall, p. 129; St Aubyn, pp. 186–190; Woodham-Smith, pp. 274–276 Demonstrations by Chartists and Irish nationalists failed to attract widespread support, and the scare died down without any major disturbances.Longford, pp. 196–197; St Aubyn, p. 223; Woodham-Smith, pp. 287–290 Victoria's first visit to Ireland in 1849 was a public relations success, but it had no lasting impact or effect on the growth of Irish nationalism.Longford, p. 191; Woodham-Smith, p. 297
Russell's ministry, though Whig, was not favoured by the queen.St Aubyn, p. 216 She found particularly offensive the Foreign Secretary, Lord Palmerston, who often acted without consulting the cabinet, the prime minister, or the queen.Hibbert, pp. 196–198; St Aubyn, p. 244; Woodham-Smith, pp. 298–307 Victoria complained to Russell that Palmerston sent official dispatches to foreign leaders without her knowledge, but Palmerston was retained in office and continued to act on his own initiative, despite her repeated remonstrances. It was only in 1851 that Palmerston was removed after he announced the British government's approval of President Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte's coup in France without consulting the prime minister.Hibbert, pp. 204–209; Marshall, pp. 108–109; St Aubyn, pp. 244–254; Woodham-Smith, pp. 298–307 The following year, President Bonaparte was declared Emperor Napoleon III, by which time Russell's administration had been replaced by a short-lived minority government led by Lord Derby.St Aubyn, pp. 255, 298
alt=Victoria, dressed in black, is seated and holding her infant daughter. Prince Albert and their other children stand around her.|thumb|upright=1.8|Albert, Victoria and their nine children, 1857. Left to right: Alice, Arthur, Prince Albert, Albert Edward, Leopold, Louise, Queen Victoria with Beatrice, Alfred, Victoria, and Helena
In 1853, Victoria gave birth to her eighth child, Leopold, with the aid of the new anaesthetic, chloroform. She was so impressed by the relief it gave from the pain of childbirth that she used it again in 1857 at the birth of her ninth and final child, Beatrice, despite opposition from members of the clergy, who considered it against biblical teaching, and members of the medical profession, who thought it dangerous.Hibbert, pp. 216–217; St Aubyn, pp. 257–258 Victoria may have had postnatal depression after many of her pregnancies. Letters from Albert to Victoria intermittently complain of her loss of self-control. For example, about a month after Leopold's birth Albert complained in a letter to Victoria about her "continuance of hysterics" over a "miserable trifle".Hibbert, pp. 217–220; Woodham-Smith, pp. 328–331
In early 1855, the government of Lord Aberdeen, who had replaced Derby, fell amidst recriminations over the poor management of British troops in the Crimean War. Victoria approached both Derby and Russell to form a ministry, but neither had sufficient support, and Victoria was forced to appoint Palmerston as prime minister.Hibbert, pp. 227–228; Longford, pp. 245–246; St Aubyn, p. 297; Woodham-Smith, pp. 354–355
Napoleon III, Britain's closest ally as a result of the Crimean War, visited London in April 1855, and from 17 to 28 August the same year Victoria and Albert returned the visit.Woodham-Smith, pp. 357–360 Napoleon III met the couple at Boulogne and accompanied them to Paris. They visited the (a successor to Albert's 1851 brainchild the Great Exhibition) and Napoleon I's tomb at Les Invalides (to which his remains had only been returned in 1840), and were guests of honour at a 1,200-guest ball at the Palace of Versailles. This marked the first time that a reigning British monarch had been to Paris in over 400 years.
thumb|upright|Portrait by Winterhalter, 1859
On 14 January 1858, an Italian refugee from Britain called Felice Orsini attempted to assassinate Napoleon III with a bomb made in England.Hibbert, pp. 241–242; Longford, pp. 280–281; St Aubyn, p. 304; Woodham-Smith, p. 391 The ensuing diplomatic crisis destabilised the government, and Palmerston resigned. Derby was reinstated as prime minister.Hibbert, p. 242; Longford, p. 281; Marshall, p. 117 Victoria and Albert attended the opening of a new basin at the French military port of Cherbourg on 5 August 1858, in an attempt by Napoleon III to reassure Britain that his military preparations were directed elsewhere. On her return Victoria wrote to Derby reprimanding him for the poor state of the Royal Navy in comparison to the French Navy. Derby's ministry did not last long, and in June 1859 Victoria recalled Palmerston to office.Hibbert, p. 255; Marshall, p. 117
Eleven days after Orsini's assassination attempt in France, Victoria's eldest daughter married Prince Frederick William of Prussia in London. They had been betrothed since September 1855, when Princess Victoria was 14 years old; the marriage was delayed by the queen and her husband Albert until the bride was 17.Longford, pp. 259–260; Weintraub, pp. 326 ff. The queen and Albert hoped that their daughter and son-in-law would be a liberalising influence in the enlarging Prussian state.Longford, p. 263; Weintraub, pp. 326, 330 The queen felt "sick at heart" to see her daughter leave England for Germany; "It really makes me shudder", she wrote to Princess Victoria in one of her frequent letters, "when I look round to all your sweet, happy, unconscious sisters, and think I must give them up too – one by one."Hibbert, p. 244 Almost exactly a year later, the Princess gave birth to the queen's first grandchild, Wilhelm, who would become the last German emperor.
Widowhood and isolation
thumb|left|upright|Photograph by J. J. E. Mayall, 1860
In March 1861, Victoria's mother died, with Victoria at her side. Through reading her mother's papers, Victoria discovered that her mother had loved her deeply;Hibbert, p. 267; Longford, pp. 118, 290; St Aubyn, p. 319; Woodham-Smith, p. 412 she was heart-broken, and blamed Conroy and Lehzen for "wickedly" estranging her from her mother.Hibbert, p. 267; Marshall, p. 152; Woodham-Smith, p. 412 To relieve his wife during her intense and deep grief,Hibbert, pp. 265–267; St Aubyn, p. 318; Woodham-Smith, pp. 412–413 Albert took on most of her duties, despite being ill himself with chronic stomach trouble.Waller, p. 393; Weintraub, p. 401 In August, Victoria and Albert visited their son, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, who was attending army manoeuvres near Dublin, and spent a few days holidaying in Killarney. In November, Albert was made aware of gossip that his son had slept with an actress in Ireland.Hibbert, p. 274; Longford, p. 293; St Aubyn, p. 324; Woodham-Smith, p. 417 Appalled, he travelled to Cambridge, where his son was studying, to confront him.Longford, p. 293; Marshall, p. 153; Strachey, p. 214
By the beginning of December, Albert was very unwell.Hibbert, pp. 276–279; St Aubyn, p. 325; Woodham-Smith, pp. 422–423 He was diagnosed with typhoid fever by William Jenner, and died on 14 December 1861. Victoria was devastated.Hibbert, pp. 280–292; Marshall, p. 154 She blamed her husband's death on worry over the Prince of Wales's philandering. He had been "killed by that dreadful business", she said.Hibbert, p. 299; St Aubyn, p. 346 She entered a state of mourning and wore black for the remainder of her life. She avoided public appearances and rarely set foot in London in the following years.St Aubyn, p. 343 Her seclusion earned her the nickname "widow of Windsor".e.g. Strachey, p. 306 Her weight increased through comfort eating, which reinforced her aversion to public appearances.
Victoria's self-imposed isolation from the public diminished the popularity of the monarchy, and encouraged the growth of the republican movement.Marshall, pp. 170–172; St Aubyn, p. 385 She did undertake her official government duties, yet chose to remain secluded in her royal residences—Windsor Castle, Osborne House, and the private estate in Scotland that she and Albert had acquired in 1847, Balmoral Castle. In March 1864, a protester stuck a notice on the railings of Buckingham Palace that announced "these commanding premises to be let or sold in consequence of the late occupant's declining business".Hibbert, p. 310; Longford, p. 321; St Aubyn, pp. 343–344; Waller, p. 404 Her uncle Leopold wrote to her advising her to appear in public. She agreed to visit the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society at Kensington and take a drive through London in an open carriage.Hibbert, p. 310; Longford, p. 322
thumb|upright|alt=Victoria on a horse|With John Brown at Balmoral, 1863. Photograph by G. W. Wilson
Through the 1860s, Victoria relied increasingly on a manservant from Scotland, John Brown.Hibbert, pp. 323–324; Marshall, pp. 168–169; St Aubyn, pp. 356–362 Rumours of a romantic connection and even a secret marriage appeared in print, and some referred to the Queen as "Mrs. Brown".Hibbert, pp. 321–322; Longford, pp. 327–328; Marshall, p. 170 The story of their relationship was the subject of the 1997 movie Mrs. Brown. A painting by Sir Edwin Henry Landseer depicting the Queen with Brown was exhibited at the Royal Academy, and Victoria published a book, Leaves from the Journal of Our Life in the Highlands, which featured Brown prominently and in which the Queen praised him highly.Hibbert, p. 329; St Aubyn, pp. 361–362
Palmerston died in 1865, and after a brief ministry led by Russell, Derby returned to power. In 1866, Victoria attended the State Opening of Parliament for the first time since Albert's death.Hibbert, pp. 311–312; Longford, p. 347; St Aubyn, p. 369 The following year she supported the passing of the Reform Act 1867 which doubled the electorate by extending the franchise to many urban working men,St Aubyn, pp. 374–375 though she was not in favour of votes for women.Marshall, p. 199; Strachey, p. 299 Derby resigned in 1868, to be replaced by Benjamin Disraeli, who charmed Victoria. "Everyone likes flattery," he said, "and when you come to royalty you should lay it on with a trowel."Hibbert, p. 318; Longford, p. 401; St Aubyn, p. 427; Strachey, p. 254 With the phrase "we authors, Ma'am", he complimented her.Buckle, George Earle; Monypenny, W. F. (1910–1920) The Life of Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield, vol. 5, p. 49, quoted in Strachey, p. 243 Disraeli's ministry only lasted a matter of months, and at the end of the year his Liberal rival, William Ewart Gladstone, was appointed prime minister. Victoria found Gladstone's demeanour far less appealing; he spoke to her, she is thought to have complained, as though she were "a public meeting rather than a woman".Hibbert, p. 320; Strachey, pp. 246–247
In 1870 republican sentiment in Britain, fed by the Queen's seclusion, was boosted after the establishment of the Third French Republic.Longford, p. 381; St Aubyn, pp. 385–386; Strachey, p. 248 A republican rally in Trafalgar Square demanded Victoria's removal, and Radical MPs spoke against her.St Aubyn, pp. 385–386; Strachey, pp. 248–250 In August and September 1871, she was seriously ill with an abscess in her arm, which Joseph Lister successfully lanced and treated with his new antiseptic carbolic acid spray.Longford, p. 385 In late November 1871, at the height of the republican movement, the Prince of Wales contracted typhoid fever, the disease that was believed to have killed his father, and Victoria was fearful her son would die.Hibbert, p. 343 As the tenth anniversary of her husband's death approached, her son's condition grew no better, and Victoria's distress continued.Hibbert, pp. 343–344; Longford, p. 389; Marshall, p. 173 To general rejoicing, he recovered.Hibbert, pp. 344–345 Mother and son attended a public parade through London and a grand service of thanksgiving in St Paul's Cathedral on 27 February 1872, and republican feeling subsided.Hibbert, p. 345; Longford, pp. 390–391; Marshall, p. 176; St Aubyn, p. 388
On the last day of February 1872, two days after the thanksgiving service, 17-year-old Arthur O'Connor, a great-nephew of Irish MP Feargus O'Connor, waved an unloaded pistol at Victoria's open carriage just after she had arrived at Buckingham Palace. Brown, who was attending the Queen, grabbed him and O'Connor was later sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment,Charles, p. 103; Hibbert, pp. 426–427; St Aubyn, pp. 388–389 and a birching. As a result of the incident, Victoria's popularity recovered further.Hibbert, p. 427; Marshall, p. 176; St Aubyn, p. 389
Empress of India
After the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the British East India Company, which had ruled much of India, was dissolved, and Britain's possessions and protectorates on the Indian subcontinent were formally incorporated into the British Empire. The Queen had a relatively balanced view of the conflict, and condemned atrocities on both sides.Hibbert, pp. 249–250; Woodham-Smith, pp. 384–385 She wrote of "her feelings of horror and regret at the result of this bloody civil war",Woodham-Smith, p. 386 and insisted, urged on by Albert, that an official proclamation announcing the transfer of power from the company to the state "should breathe feelings of generosity, benevolence and religious toleration".Hibbert, p. 251; Woodham-Smith, p. 386 At her behest, a reference threatening the "undermining of native religions and customs" was replaced by a passage guaranteeing religious freedom.
thumb|upright=0.85|Victoria admired Heinrich von Angeli's 1875 portrait of her for its "honesty, total want of flattery, and appreciation of character".St Aubyn, p. 335
In the 1874 general election, Disraeli was returned to power. He passed the Public Worship Regulation Act 1874, which removed Catholic rituals from the Anglican liturgy and which Victoria strongly supported.Hibbert, p. 361; Longford, p. 402; Marshall, pp. 180–184; Waller, p. 423 She preferred short, simple services, and personally considered herself more aligned with the presbyterian Church of Scotland than the episcopal Church of England.Hibbert, pp. 295–296; Waller, p. 423 Disraeli also pushed the Royal Titles Act 1876 through Parliament, so that Victoria took the title "Empress of India" from 1 May 1876.Hibbert, p. 361; Longford, pp. 405–406; Marshall, p. 184; St Aubyn, p. 434; Waller, p. 426 The new title was proclaimed at the Delhi Durbar of 1 January 1877.Waller, p. 427
On 14 December 1878, the anniversary of Albert's death, Victoria's second daughter Alice, who had married Louis of Hesse, died of diphtheria in Darmstadt. Victoria noted the coincidence of the dates as "almost incredible and most mysterious".Victoria's diary and letters quoted in Longford, p. 425 In May 1879, she became a great-grandmother (on the birth of Princess Feodora of Saxe-Meiningen) and passed her "poor old 60th birthday". She felt "aged" by "the loss of my beloved child".Victoria quoted in Longford, p. 426
Between April 1877 and February 1878, she threatened five times to abdicate while pressuring Disraeli to act against Russia during the Russo-Turkish War, but her threats had no impact on the events or their conclusion with the Congress of Berlin.Longford, pp. 412–413 Disraeli's expansionist foreign policy, which Victoria endorsed, led to conflicts such as the Anglo-Zulu War and the Second Anglo-Afghan War. "If we are to maintain our position as a first-rate Power", she wrote, "we must ... be Prepared for attacks and wars, somewhere or other, CONTINUALLY."Longford, p. 426 Victoria saw the expansion of the British Empire as civilising and benign, protecting native peoples from more aggressive powers or cruel rulers: "It is not in our custom to annexe countries", she said, "unless we are obliged & forced to do so."Longford, p. 411 To Victoria's dismay, Disraeli lost the 1880 general election, and Gladstone returned as prime minister.Hibbert, pp. 367–368; Longford, p. 429; Marshall, p. 186; St Aubyn, pp. 442–444; Waller, pp. 428–429 When Disraeli died the following year, she was blinded by "fast falling tears",Letter from Victoria to Montagu Corry, 1st Baron Rowton, quoted in Hibbert, p. 369 and erected a memorial tablet "placed by his grateful Sovereign and Friend, Victoria R.I."Longford, p. 437
thumb|upright|Victorian farthing, 1884
On 2 March 1882, Roderick Maclean, a disgruntled poet apparently offended by Victoria's refusal to accept one of his poems,Hibbert, p. 420; St Aubyn, p. 422 shot at the Queen as her carriage left Windsor railway station. Gordon Chesney Wilson and another schoolboy from Eton College struck him with their umbrellas, until he was hustled away by a policeman.Hibbert, p. 420; St Aubyn, p. 421 Victoria was outraged when he was found not guilty by reason of insanity,Hibbert, pp. 420–421; St Aubyn, p. 422; Strachey, p. 278 but was so pleased by the many expressions of loyalty after the attack that she said it was "worth being shot at—to see how much one is loved".Hibbert, p. 427; Longford, p. 446; St Aubyn, p. 421
On 17 March 1883, Victoria fell down some stairs at Windsor, which left her lame until July; she never fully recovered and was plagued with rheumatism thereafter.Longford, pp. 451–452 John Brown died 10 days after her accident, and to the consternation of her private secretary, Sir Henry Ponsonby, Victoria began work on a eulogistic biography of Brown.Longford, p. 454; St Aubyn, p. 425; Hibbert, p. 443 Ponsonby and Randall Davidson, Dean of Windsor, who had both seen early drafts, advised Victoria against publication, on the grounds that it would stoke the rumours of a love affair.Hibbert, pp. 443–444; St Aubyn, pp. 425–426 The manuscript was destroyed.Hibbert, pp. 443–444; Longford, p. 455 In early 1884, Victoria did publish More Leaves from a Journal of a Life in the Highlands, a sequel to her earlier book, which she dedicated to her "devoted personal attendant and faithful friend John Brown".Hibbert, p. 444; St Aubyn, p. 424; Waller, p. 413 On the day after the first anniversary of Brown's death, Victoria was informed by telegram that her youngest son, Leopold, had died in Cannes. He was "the dearest of my dear sons", she lamented.Longford, p. 461 The following month, Victoria's youngest child, Beatrice, met and fell in love with Prince Henry of Battenberg at the wedding of Victoria's granddaughter Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine to Henry's brother Prince Louis of Battenberg. Beatrice and Henry planned to marry, but Victoria opposed the match at first, wishing to keep Beatrice at home to act as her companion. After a year, she was won around to the marriage by their promise to remain living with and attending her.Longford, pp. 477–478
thumb|upright=1.3|Extent of the British Empire in 1898
Victoria was pleased when Gladstone resigned in 1885 after his budget was defeated.Hibbert, p. 373; St Aubyn, p. 458 She thought his government was "the worst I have ever had", and blamed him for the death of General Gordon during the Siege of Khartoum.Waller, p. 433; see also Hibbert, pp. 370–371 and Marshall, pp. 191–193 Gladstone was replaced by Lord Salisbury. Salisbury's government only lasted a few months, however, and Victoria was forced to recall Gladstone, whom she referred to as a "half crazy & really in many ways ridiculous old man".Hibbert, p. 373; Longford, p. 484 Gladstone attempted to pass a bill granting Ireland home rule, but to Victoria's glee it was defeated.Hibbert, p. 374; Longford, p. 491; Marshall, p. 196; St Aubyn, pp. 460–461 In the ensuing election, Gladstone's party lost to Salisbury's and the government switched hands again.St Aubyn, pp. 460–461
Golden and Diamond Jubilees
thumb|left|upright|alt=The Munshi stands over Victoria as she works at a desk.|With the Munshi Abdul Karim
In 1887, the British Empire celebrated Victoria's Golden Jubilee. She marked the fiftieth anniversary of her accession on 20 June with a banquet to which 50 kings and princes were invited. The following day, she participated in a procession and attended a thanksgiving service in Westminster Abbey. By this time, Victoria was once again extremely popular.Marshall, pp. 210–211; St Aubyn, pp. 491–493 Two days later on 23 June,Longford, p. 502 she engaged two Indian Muslims as waiters, one of whom was Abdul Karim. He was soon promoted to "Munshi": teaching her Urdu and acting as a clerk.Hibbert, pp. 447–448; Longford, p. 508; St Aubyn, p. 502; Waller, p. 441 Her family and retainers were appalled, and accused Abdul Karim of spying for the Muslim Patriotic League, and biasing the Queen against the Hindus.Hibbert, pp. 448–449 Equerry Frederick Ponsonby (the son of Sir Henry) discovered that the Munshi had lied about his parentage, and reported to Lord Elgin, Viceroy of India, "the Munshi occupies very much the same position as John Brown used to do."Hibbert, pp. 449–451 Victoria dismissed their complaints as racial prejudice.Hibbert, p. 447; Longford, p. 539; St Aubyn, p. 503; Waller, p. 442 Abdul Karim remained in her service until he returned to India with a pension, on her death.Hibbert, p. 454
Victoria's eldest daughter became empress consort of Germany in 1888, but she was widowed a little over three months later, and Victoria's eldest grandchild became German Emperor as Wilhelm II. Victoria and Albert's hopes of a liberal Germany would go unfulfilled, as Wilhelm was a firm believer in autocracy. Victoria thought he had "little heart or Zartgefühl [tact] – and ... his conscience & intelligence have been completely ".Hibbert, p. 382
Gladstone returned to power after the 1892 general election; he was 82 years old. Victoria objected when Gladstone proposed appointing the Radical MP Henry Labouchère to the Cabinet, so Gladstone agreed not to appoint him.Hibbert, p. 375; Longford, p. 519 In 1894, Gladstone retired and, without consulting the outgoing prime minister, Victoria appointed Lord Rosebery as prime minister.Hibbert, p. 376; Longford, p. 530; St Aubyn, p. 515 His government was weak, and the following year Lord Salisbury replaced him. Salisbury remained prime minister for the remainder of Victoria's reign.Hibbert, p. 377thumb|upright|alt=Seated Victoria in embroidered and lace dress|Official Diamond Jubilee photograph by W. & D. Downey
On 23 September 1896, Victoria surpassed her grandfather George III as the longest-reigning monarch in British history. The Queen requested that any special celebrations be delayed until 1897, to coincide with her Diamond Jubilee,Hibbert, p. 456 which was made a festival of the British Empire at the suggestion of the Colonial Secretary, Joseph Chamberlain.Longford, p. 546; St Aubyn, pp. 545–546 The prime ministers of all the self-governing Dominions were invited to London for the festivities.Marshall, pp. 206–207, 211; St Aubyn, pp. 546–548 One reason for including the prime ministers of the Dominions and excluding foreign heads of state was to avoid having to invite Victoria's grandson Wilhelm II, who, it was feared, might cause trouble at the event.
The Queen's Diamond Jubilee procession on 22 June 1897 followed a route six miles long through London and included troops from all over the empire. The procession paused for an open-air service of thanksgiving held outside St Paul's Cathedral, throughout which Victoria sat in her open carriage, to avoid her having to climb the steps to enter the building. The celebration was marked by vast crowds of spectators and great outpourings of affection for the 78-year-old Queen.Hibbert, pp. 457–458; Marshall, pp. 206–207, 211; St Aubyn, pp. 546–548
Declining health and death
thumb|upright|Queen Victoria in Dublin, 1900
Victoria regularly holidayed in mainland Europe. In 1889, during a stay in Biarritz, she became the first reigning monarch from Britain to visit Spain by briefly crossing the border.Hibbert, p. 436; St Aubyn, p. 508 By April 1900, the Boer War was so unpopular in mainland Europe that her annual trip to France seemed inadvisable. Instead, the Queen went to Ireland for the first time since 1861, in part to acknowledge the contribution of Irish regiments to the South African war.Hibbert, pp. 437–438; Longford, pp. 554–555; St Aubyn, p. 555
thumb|left|upright|Portrait by Heinrich von Angeli, 1899
In July 1900, Victoria's second son, Alfred ("Affie"), died. "Oh, God! My poor darling Affie gone too", she wrote in her journal. "It is a horrible year, nothing but sadness & horrors of one kind & another."Longford, p. 558
Following a custom she maintained throughout her widowhood, Victoria spent the Christmas of 1900 at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. Rheumatism in her legs had rendered her disabled, and her eyesight was clouded by cataracts.Hibbert, pp. 464–466, 488–489; Strachey, p. 308; Waller, p. 442 Through early January, she felt "weak and unwell",Victoria's journal, 1 January 1901, quoted in Hibbert, p. 492; Longford, p. 559 and St Aubyn, p. 592 and by mid-January she was "drowsy[...] dazed, [and] confused".Her personal physician Sir James Reid, 1st Baronet, quoted in Hibbert, p. 492 Her favourite pet Pomeranian, Turi, was laid on her bed as a last request. She died aged 81 on 22 January 1901, at half past six in the evening, in the presence of her eldest son, Albert Edward, and grandson Wilhelm II. Albert Edward immediately succeeded as Edward VII.Longford, pp. 561–562; St Aubyn, p. 598
thumb|upright|Poster proclaiming a day of mourning in Toronto on the day of Victoria's funeral
In 1897, Victoria had written instructions for her funeral, which was to be military as befitting a soldier's daughter and the head of the army, and white instead of black.Hibbert, p. 497; Longford, p. 563 On 25 January, Edward VII and Wilhelm II, together with Prince Arthur, helped lift her body into the coffin.St Aubyn, p. 598 She was dressed in a white dress and her wedding veil.Longford, p. 563 An array of mementos commemorating her extended family, friends and servants were laid in the coffin with her, at her request, by her physician and dressers. One of Albert's dressing gowns was placed by her side, with a plaster cast of his hand, while a lock of John Brown's hair, along with a picture of him, was placed in her left hand concealed from the view of the family by a carefully positioned bunch of flowers.Hibbert, p. 498 Items of jewellery placed on Victoria included the wedding ring of Brown's mother, which Brown gave Victoria in 1883. Her funeral was held on Saturday 2 February, in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, and after two days of lying-in-state, she was interred beside Prince Albert in the Royal Mausoleum, Frogmore, at Windsor Great Park.Longford, p. 565; St Aubyn, p. 600
With a reign of 63 years, seven months, and two days, Victoria was the longest-reigning British monarch and the longest-reigning queen regnant in world history, until her great-great-granddaughter Elizabeth II surpassed her on 9 September 2015. She was the last monarch of Britain from the House of Hanover; her son Edward VII belonged to her husband's House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Legacy
Reputation
thumb|left|alt=Victoria smiling|Victoria amused. The remark "We are not amused" is attributed to her but there is no direct evidence that she ever said it,Fulford, Roger (1967) "Victoria", Collier's Encyclopedia, United States: Crowell, Collier and Macmillan Inc., vol. 23, p. 127 and she denied doing so.Ashley, Mike (1998) British Monarchs, London: Robinson, , p. 690 Her staff and family recorded that Victoria "was immensely amused and roared with laughter" on many occasions.Example from a letter written by lady-in-waiting Marie Mallet née Adeane, quoted in Hibbert, p. 471
According to one of her biographers, Giles St Aubyn, Victoria wrote an average of 2,500 words a day during her adult life.Hibbert, p. xv; St Aubyn, p. 340 From July 1832 until just before her death, she kept a detailed journal, which eventually encompassed 122 volumes.St Aubyn, p. 30; Woodham-Smith, p. 87 After Victoria's death, her youngest daughter, Princess Beatrice, was appointed her literary executor. Beatrice transcribed and edited the diaries covering Victoria's accession onwards, and burned the originals in the process.Hibbert, pp. 503–504; St Aubyn, p. 30; Woodham-Smith, pp. 88, 436–437 Despite this destruction, much of the diaries still exist. In addition to Beatrice's edited copy, Lord Esher transcribed the volumes from 1832 to 1861 before Beatrice destroyed them.Hibbert, p. 503 Part of Victoria's extensive correspondence has been published in volumes edited by A. C. Benson, Hector Bolitho, George Earle Buckle, Lord Esher, Roger Fulford, and Richard Hough among others.Hibbert, pp. 503–504; St Aubyn, p. 624
In her later years, Victoria was stout, dowdy, and about tall, but she projected a grand image.Hibbert, pp. 61–62; Longford, pp. 89, 253; St Aubyn, pp. 48, 63–64 She was unpopular during the first years of her widowhood, but was well liked during the 1880s and 1890s, when she embodied the empire as a benevolent matriarchal figure.Marshall, p. 210; Waller, pp. 419, 434–435, 443 Only after the release of her diary and letters did the extent of her political influence become known to the wider public.Waller, p. 439 Biographies of Victoria written before much of the primary material became available, such as Lytton Strachey's Queen Victoria of 1921, are now considered out of date.St Aubyn, p. 624 The biographies written by Elizabeth Longford and Cecil Woodham-Smith, in 1964 and 1972 respectively, are still widely admired.Hibbert, p. 504; St Aubyn, p. 623 They, and others, conclude that as a person Victoria was emotional, obstinate, honest, and straight-talking.e.g. Hibbert, p. 352; Strachey, p. 304; Woodham-Smith, p. 431
alt=Bronze statue of winged victory mounted on a marble four-sided base with a marble figure on each side|upright|thumb|The Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace was erected a decade after her death.
Through Victoria's reign, the gradual establishment of a modern constitutional monarchy in Britain continued. Reforms of the voting system increased the power of the House of Commons at the expense of the House of Lords and the monarch.Waller, p. 429 In 1867, Walter Bagehot wrote that the monarch only retained "the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, and the right to warn". As Victoria's monarchy became more symbolic than political, it placed a strong emphasis on morality and family values, in contrast to the sexual, financial and personal scandals that had been associated with previous members of the House of Hanover and which had discredited the monarchy. The concept of the "family monarchy", with which the burgeoning middle classes could identify, was solidified.St Aubyn, pp. 602–603; Strachey, pp. 303–304; Waller, pp. 366, 372, 434
Descendants and haemophilia
Victoria's links with Europe's royal families earned her the nickname "the grandmother of Europe".Erickson, Carolly (1997) Her Little Majesty: The Life of Queen Victoria, New York: Simon & Schuster, Of the grandchildren of Victoria and Albert, 34 survived to adulthood.
thumb|upright=1.3|The Victoria Memorial in Kolkata, India
Victoria's youngest son, Leopold, was affected by the blood-clotting disease haemophilia B and at least two of her five daughters, Alice and Beatrice, were carriers. Royal haemophiliacs descended from Victoria included her great-grandsons, Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia; Alfonso, Prince of Asturias; and Infante Gonzalo of Spain. The presence of the disease in Victoria's descendants, but not in her ancestors, led to modern speculation that her true father was not the Duke of Kent, but a haemophiliac.Potts and Potts, pp. 55–65, quoted in Hibbert p. 217; Packard, pp. 42–43 There is no documentary evidence of a haemophiliac in connection with Victoria's mother, and as male carriers always had the disease, even if such a man had existed he would have been seriously ill.Jones, Steve (1996) In the Blood, BBC documentary It is more likely that the mutation arose spontaneously because Victoria's father was over 50 at the time of her conception and haemophilia arises more frequently in the children of older fathers.; ; ; Spontaneous mutations account for about a third of cases.
Titles, styles, honours, and arms
Titles and styles
At the end of her reign, the Queen's full style was: "Her Majesty Victoria, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Queen, Defender of the Faith, Empress of India".
Honours
British honours
Royal Family Order of George IV, 1826
Founder of the Victoria Cross 5 February 1856
Founder and Sovereign of the Order of the Star of India, 25 June 1861
Founder and Sovereign of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert, 10 February 1862
Founder and Sovereign of the Order of the Crown of India, 1 January 1878
Founder and Sovereign of the Order of the Indian Empire, 1 January 1878
Founder and Sovereign of the Royal Red Cross, 27 April 1883"The Royal Red Cross ". QARANC – Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
Founder and Sovereign of the Distinguished Service Order, 6 November 1886
Albert Medal of the Royal Society of Arts, 1887
Founder and Sovereign of the Royal Victorian Order, 23 April 1896
Foreign honours
Arms
As Sovereign, Victoria used the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom. As she could not succeed to the throne of Hanover, her arms did not carry the Hanoverian symbols that were used by her immediate predecessors. Her arms have been borne by all of her successors on the throne.
Family
thumb|center|400px|Victoria's family in 1846 by Franz Xaver WinterhalterLeft to right: Prince Alfred and the Prince of Wales; the Queen and Prince Albert; Princesses Alice, Helena and Victoria
Issue
NameBirthDeath Spouse and childrenWhitaker's Almanack (1900) Facsimile Reprint 1998, London: Stationery Office, , p. 86Whitaker's Almanack (1993) Concise Edition, London: J. Whitaker and Sons, , pp. 134–136 Victoria, Princess Royal 1840 21 Nov 1901 5 August Married 1858, Frederick, later German Emperor and King of Prussia (1831–1888);4 sons (including Wilhelm II, German Emperor), 4 daughters (including Queen Sophia of Greece) Edward VII 18419 Nov 19106 May Married 1863, Princess Alexandra of Denmark (1844–1925);3 sons (including King George V of the United Kingdom), 3 daughters (including Queen Maud of Norway) Princess Alice 1843 25 April 1878 14 Dec Married 1862, Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine (1837–1892);2 sons, 5 daughters (including Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia) Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburgand Gotha 18446 August 190031 July Married 1874, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (1853–1920);2 sons (1 stillborn), 4 daughters (including Queen Marie of Romania) Princess Helena 184625 May 19239 June Married 1866, Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (1831–1917);4 sons (1 stillborn), 2 daughters Princess Louise 184818 March 19393 Dec Married 1871, John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne, later 9th Duke of Argyll (1845–1914);no issue Prince Arthur,Duke of Connaught and Strathearn 18501 May 1942 16 Jan Married 1879, Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia (1860–1917);1 son, 2 daughters (including Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden) Prince Leopold,Duke of Albany 18537 April 188428 March Married 1882, Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1861–1922);1 son, 1 daughter Princess Beatrice 185714 April 194426 Oct Married 1885, Prince Henry of Battenberg (1858–1896);3 sons, 1 daughter (Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain)
Ancestry
Family tree
Red borders indicate British monarchs
Bold borders indicate children of British monarchs
Notes
References
Citations
Bibliography
Primary sources
Further reading
External links
Queen Victoria at the official website of the British monarchy
Queen Victoria at the official website of the Royal Collection Trust
Queen Victoria at BBC Teach
Queen Victoria's Journals, online from the Royal Archive and Bodleian Library
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Grape
|
thumb|upright|Grapes
thumb| "Black" (dark blue) and "white" (light green) table grapes
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus Vitis. Grapes are a non-climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,000 years ago, and the fruit has been used as human food throughout its history. Eaten fresh or in dried form (as raisins, currants and sultanas), grapes also hold cultural significance in many parts of the world, particularly for their role in winemaking. Other grape-derived products include various types of jam, juice, vinegar and oil.
History
thumb|Grape producing countries in 2020
The Middle East is generally described as the homeland of grapes and the cultivation of this plant began there 6,000–8,000 years ago. Yeast, one of the earliest domesticated microorganisms, occurs naturally on the skins of grapes, leading to the discovery of alcoholic drinks such as wine. The earliest archeological evidence for a dominant position of wine-making in human culture dates from 8,000 years ago in Georgia.Keys, David (2003-12-28) Now that's what you call a real vintage: professor unearths 8,000-year-old wine . archaeology.ws.
The oldest known winery, the Areni-1 winery, was found in Armenia and dated back to around 4000 BC. By the 9th century AD, the city of Shiraz was known to produce some of the finest wines in the Middle East. Thus it has been proposed that Syrah red wine is named after Shiraz, a city in Persia where the grape was used to make Shirazi wine.Hugh Johnson, "The Story of Wine", New Illustrated Edition, pp. 58, 131, Mitchell Beazley 2004, .
Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics record the cultivation of purple grapes, and history attests to the ancient Greeks, Cypriots, Phoenicians, and Romans growing purple grapes both for eating and wine production. The growing of grapes would later spread to other regions in Europe, as well as North Africa, and eventually in North America.
In 2005, a team of archaeologists concluded that Chalcolithic wine jars discovered in Cyprus in the 1930s dated back to 3500 BC, making them the oldest of their kind in the world. Commandaria, a sweet dessert wine from Cyprus, is the oldest manufactured wine in the world with origins as far back as 2000 BC.
In North America, native grapes belonging to various species of the genus Vitis proliferate in the wild across the continent and were a part of the diet of many Native Americans, but they were considered by early European colonists to be unsuitable for wine. In the 19th century, Ephraim Bull of Concord, Massachusetts, cultivated seeds from wild Vitis labrusca vines to create the Concord grape, which would become an important agricultural crop in the United States.Jancis Robinson, Vines, Grapes & Wines (Mitchell Beazley, 1986, ), pp. 8, 18, 228.
Description
Grapes are a type of fruit that grow in clusters of 15 to 300 and can be crimson, black, dark blue, yellow, green, orange, and pink. "White" grapes are actually green in color and are evolutionarily derived from the purple grape. Mutations in two regulatory genes of white grapes turn off production of anthocyanins, which are responsible for the color of purple grapes. Anthocyanins and other pigment chemicals of the larger family of polyphenols in purple grapes are responsible for the varying shades of purple in red wines. Grapes are typically an ellipsoid shape resembling a prolate spheroid.
Nutrition
Raw grapes are 81% water, 18% carbohydrates, 1% protein, and have negligible fat (table). A reference amount of raw grapes supplies of food energy and a moderate amount of vitamin K (12% of the Daily Value), with no other micronutrients in significant amounts (table).
Grapevines
thumb|upright|Concord is a variety of North American labrusca grape
Most domesticated grapes come from cultivars of Vitis vinifera, a grapevine native to the Mediterranean and Central Asia. Minor amounts of fruit and wine come from American and Asian species such as:
Vitis amurensis, the most important Asian species
Vitis labrusca, the North American table and grape juice grapevines (including the Concord cultivar), sometimes used for wine, are native to the Eastern United States and Canada.
Vitis mustangensis (the mustang grape), found in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma
Vitis riparia, a wild vine of North America, is sometimes used for winemaking and for jam. It is native to the entire Eastern United States and north to Quebec.
Vitis rotundifolia (the muscadine), used for jams and wine, is native to the Southeastern United States from Delaware to the Gulf of Mexico.
+ Grape production 13.5 6.7 6.2 5.4 4.8 3.4 2.3World 72.5
Distribution of agriculture
In 2023, the world total of land dedicated to grape growing (in hectares, ha) was . By country dedicating farmland for grape growing in 2023, Spain had , France , Italy , and China . Approximately 71% of world grape production is used for wine, 27% as fresh fruit, and 2% as dried fruit.
There are no reliable statistics that break down grape production by variety. It is believed that the most widely planted variety is Sultana, also known as Thompson Seedless, with at least 3,600 km2 (880,000 acres) dedicated to it. The second most common variety is Airén. Other popular varieties include Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon blanc, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Grenache, Tempranillo, Riesling, and Chardonnay.
Production
In 2023, world production of grapes was 72.5 million tonnes, led by China with 19% of the total, with Italy and France as major secondary producers (table).
+ Grape exports 647,967 529,470 483,373 386,672 346,128 318,126
Exports
In 2023, the leading exporters of grapes were Peru and Chile, each with more than half a million tonnes (table).
Table and wine grapes
Commercially cultivated grapes can usually be classified as either table or wine grapes, based on their intended method of consumption: eaten raw (table grapes) or used to make wine (wine grapes). The sweetness of grapes depends on when they are harvested, as they do not continue to ripen once picked.Grapes, Sour or Sweet, Are Ripe for Dessert While almost all of them belong to the same species, Vitis vinifera, table and wine grapes have significant differences, brought about through selective breeding. Table grape cultivars tend to have large, seedless fruit (see below) with relatively thin skin. Wine grapes are smaller, usually seeded, and have relatively thick skins (a desirable characteristic in winemaking, since much of the aroma in wine comes from the skin). Wine grapes also tend to be very sweet: they are harvested at the time when their juice is approximately 24% sugar by weight. By comparison, commercially produced "100% grape juice", made from table grapes, is usually around 15% sugar by weight.
thumb|right|upright|Wine grapes on the vine
Seedless grapes
Seedless cultivars now make up the overwhelming majority of table grape plantings. Because grapevines are vegetatively propagated by cuttings, the lack of seeds does not present a problem for reproduction. It is an issue for breeders, who must either use a seeded variety as the female parent or rescue embryos early in development using tissue culture techniques.
There are several sources of the seedlessness trait, and essentially all commercial cultivators get it from one of three sources: Thompson Seedless, Russian Seedless, and Black Monukka, all being cultivars of Vitis vinifera. There are currently more than a dozen varieties of seedless grapes. Several, such as Einset Seedless, Benjamin Gunnels's Prime seedless grapes, Reliance, and Venus, have been specifically cultivated for hardiness and quality in the relatively cold climates of northeastern United States and southern Ontario.Reisch BI, Peterson DV, Martens M-H. "Seedless Grapes" , in "Table Grape Varieties for Cool Climates", Information Bulletin 234, Cornell University, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, retrieved December 30, 2008.
An offset to the improved eating quality of seedlessness is the loss of potential health benefits provided by the enriched phytochemical content of grape seeds (see Health claims, below).
Uses
upright=0.9|thumb|Grape leaves in cuisine (dolma)
Culinary
Grapes are eaten raw, dried (as raisins, currants and sultanas), or cooked. Also, depending on grape cultivar, grapes are used in winemaking. Grapes can be processed into a multitude of products such as jams, juices, vinegars and oils.
Commercially cultivated grapes are classified as either table or wine grapes. These categories are based on their intended method of consumption: grapes that are eaten raw (table grapes), or grapes that are used to make wine (wine grapes).
Table grape cultivars normally have large, seedless fruit and thin skins. Wine grapes are smaller (in comparison to table grapes), usually contains seeds, and have thicker skins (a desirable characteristic in making wine). Most of the aroma in wine is from the skin. Wine grapes tend to have a high sugar content. They are harvested at peak sugar levels (approximately 24% sugar by weight.) In comparison, commercially produced "100% grape juice" made from table grapes are normally around 15% sugar by weight.
Raisins, currants and sultanas
thumb|right|Raisins
In most of Europe and North America, dried grapes are referred to as "raisins" or the local equivalent. In the UK, three different varieties are recognized, forcing the EU to use the term "dried vine fruit" in official documents.
A raisin is any dried grape. While raisin is a French loanword, the word in French refers to the fresh fruit; grappe (from which the English grape is derived) refers to the bunch (as in une grappe de raisins). A raisin in French is called raisin sec ("dry grape").
A currant is a dried Zante Black Corinth grape, the name being a corruption of the French raisin de Corinthe (Corinth grape). The names of the black and red currant, now more usually blackcurrant and redcurrant, two berries unrelated to grapes, are derived from this use. Some other fruits of similar appearance are also so named, for example, Australian currant, native currant, Indian currant.
A sultana was originally a raisin made from Sultana grapes of Turkish origin (known as Thompson Seedless in the United States), but the word is now applied to raisins made from either white grapes or red grapes that are bleached to resemble the traditional sultana.
Juice
thumb|upright|Grape juice
Grape juice is obtained from crushing and blending grapes into a liquid. The juice is often sold in stores or fermented and made into wine, brandy, or vinegar. Grape juice that has been pasteurized, removing any naturally occurring yeast, will not ferment if kept sterile, and thus contains no alcohol. In the wine industry, grape juice that contains 7–23% of pulp, skins, stems and seeds is often referred to as "must".
In North America, the most common grape juice is purple and made from Concord grapes, while white grape juice is commonly made from Niagara grapes, both of which are varieties of grapes, a different species from European wine grapes. In California, Sultana (known there as Thompson Seedless) grapes are sometimes diverted from the raisin or table market to produce white juice.
Vinegars
Husrum, also known as verjuice, is a type of vinegar made from sour grapes in the Middle East. It is produced by crushing unripened grapes, collecting and salting the juice, simmering it to remove foam, and then storing it with a layer of olive oil to prevent contamination and oxidation. It is then used as an acidic ingredient in salads and stuffed vegetables.Cosme, F., Pinto, T., & Vilela, A. (2018). Phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity in grape juices: A chemical and sensory view. Beverages, 4(1), 22, p. 9 Unripened husrum grapes sent from Ashkelon to Egypt are mentioned in a 12th-century document found in the Cairo Geniza. In Iran, a sour grape vinegar is used for making Shirazi salad.
Pomace and phytochemicals
Winemaking from red and white grape flesh and skins produces substantial quantities of organic residues, collectively called pomace (also "marc"), which includes crushed skins, seeds, stems, and leaves generally used as compost. Grape pomace – some 10–30% of the total mass of grapes crushed – contains various phytochemicals, such as unfermented sugars, alcohol, polyphenols, tannins, anthocyanins, and numerous other compounds, some of which are harvested and extracted for commercial applications (a process sometimes called "valorization" of the pomace).
Skin
right|thumb|Grape cross-section|upright=1.35|alt=Anatomical-style diagram of three grapes on their stalks. Two of the grapes are shown in cross-section with all their internal parts labeled.
Anthocyanins tend to be the main polyphenolics in purple grapes, whereas flavan-3-ols (i.e. catechins) are the more abundant class of polyphenols in white varieties. Total phenolic content is higher in purple varieties due almost entirely to anthocyanin density in purple grape skin compared to absence of anthocyanins in white grape skin. Phenolic content of grape skin varies with cultivar, soil composition, climate, geographic origin, and cultivation practices or exposure to diseases, such as fungal infections.
Muscadine grapes contain a relatively high phenolic content among dark grapes. In muscadine skins, ellagic acid, myricetin, quercetin, kaempferol, and trans-resveratrol are major phenolics.
The flavonols syringetin, syringetin 3-O-galactoside, laricitrin and laricitrin 3-O-galactoside are also found in purple grape but absent in white grape.
Seeds
Muscadine grape seeds contain about twice the total polyphenol content of skins. Grape seed oil from crushed seeds is used in cosmeceuticals and skincare products. Grape seed oil, including tocopherols (vitamin E) and high contents of phytosterols and polyunsaturated fatty acids such as linoleic acid, oleic acid, and alpha-linolenic acid.
Resveratrol
Resveratrol, a stilbene compound, is found in widely varying amounts among grape varieties, primarily in their skins and seeds. Muscadine grapes have about one hundred times higher concentration of stilbenes than pulp. Fresh grape skin contains about 50 to 100 micrograms of resveratrol per gram.
Grape and raisin toxicity in dogs
The consumption of grapes and raisins presents a potential health threat to dogs. Their toxicity to dogs can cause the animal to develop acute kidney failure (the sudden development of kidney failure) with anuria (a lack of urine production) and may be fatal.Raisins/Grapes . The Merck Veterinary Manual.
Gallery
See also
Annual growth cycle of grapevines
Drakshasava, a traditional Ayurvedic tonic made from grapes
Grape syrup
List of grape dishes
List of grape varieties
Menispermum canadense, a poisonous species resembling wild grapes
Propagation of grapevines
The Fox and the Grapes
References
Further reading
Creasy, G. L. and L. L. Creasy (2009). Grapes (Crop Production Science in Horticulture). CABI. .
External links
Category:Berries
Category:Crops originating from Europe
Category:Edible fruits
Category:Plants in the Bible
Category:Flora of Palestine (region)
Category:Flora of Israel
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Athanasius of Alexandria
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Athanasius I of Alexandria ( – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, Athanasius the Confessor, or, among Coptic Christians, Athanasius the Apostolic, was a Christian theologian and the 20th patriarch of Alexandria (as Athanasius I). His intermittent episcopacy spanned 45 years ( – 2 May 373), of which over 17 encompassed five exiles, when he was replaced on the order of four different Roman emperors. Athanasius was a Church Father, the chief proponent of Trinitarianism against Arianism, and a noted Egyptian Christian leader of the fourth century.
Conflict with Arius and Arianism, as well as with successive Roman emperors, shaped Athanasius' career. In 325, at age 27, Athanasius began his leading role against the Arians as a deacon and assistant to Bishop Alexander of Alexandria during the First Council of Nicaea. Roman Emperor Constantine the Great had convened the council in May–August 325 to address the Arian position that the Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth, is of a distinct substance from the Father. Three years after that council, Athanasius succeeded his mentor as Patriarch of Alexandria. In addition to the conflict with the Arians (including powerful and influential Arian churchmen led by Eusebius of Nicomedia), he struggled against the Emperors Constantine, Constantius II, Julian the Apostate and Valens. He was known as Athanasius Contra Mundum (Latin for 'Athanasius Against the World').
Nonetheless, within a few years of his death, Gregory of Nazianzus called him the "Pillar of the Church". His writings were well regarded by subsequent Church fathers in the West and the East, who noted their devotion to the Word-become-man, pastoral concern and interest in monasticism. Athanasius is considered one of the four great Eastern Doctors of the Church in the Catholic Church. Some argue that, in his Easter letter of 367, Athanasius was the first person to list the 27 books of the New Testament canon that are in use today. Others argue that Origen of Alexandria was the first to list the twenty-seven books of the New Testament in his Homilies on Joshua (only there is a textual variant as to whether or not he included Revelation).Gallagher, Edmon L. "Origen via Rufinus on the New Testament Canon." New Testament Studies 62.3 (2016): 461-476. Athanasius is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, and Lutheranism.
Biography
thumb|upright|A statue of Athanasius in Catania, Sicily|alt=
Athanasius was born to a Christian family in Alexandria, or possibly the nearby Nile Delta town of Damanhur, sometime between 293 and 298. The earlier date is sometimes assigned because of the maturity revealed in his two earliest treatises Contra Gentes (Against the Heathens) and De Incarnatione (On the Incarnation), which were likely written circa 318 before Arianism had begun to make itself felt, as those writings do not show an awareness of Arianism.
However, Cornelius Clifford places his birth no earlier than 296 and no later than 298, based on the fact that Athanasius indicates no first-hand recollection of the Maximian persecution of 303, which he suggests Athanasius would have remembered if he had been ten years old at the time. Secondly, the Festal Epistles state that the Arians had accused Athanasius, among other charges, of not having yet attained the canonical age (35) and thus could not have been properly ordained as patriarch of Alexandria in 328. The accusation must have seemed plausible. The Orthodox Church places his year of birth around 297.
Education
His parents were wealthy enough to give him a fine secular education. He was, nevertheless, clearly not a member of the Egyptian aristocracy. Some Western scholars consider his command of Greek, in which he wrote most (if not all) of his surviving works, evidence that he may have been a Greek born in Alexandria. Historical evidence, however, indicates that he was fluent in Coptic as well, given the regions of Egypt where he preached. Some surviving copies of his writings are in fact in Coptic, though scholars differ as to whether he wrote them in Coptic originally (which would make him the first patriarch to do so) or whether these were translations of writings originally in Greek.
Rufinus relates a story that as Bishop Alexander stood by a window, he watched boys playing on the seashore below, imitating the ritual of Christian baptism. He sent for the children and discovered that one of the boys (Athanasius) had acted as bishop. After questioning Athanasius, Bishop Alexander informed him that the baptisms were genuine, as both the form and matter of the sacrament had been performed through the recitation of the correct words and the administration of water, and that he must not continue to do this as those baptized had not been properly catechized. He invited Athanasius and his playfellows to prepare for clerical careers.
Alexandria was the most important trade centre in the empire during Athanasius's boyhood. Intellectually, morally, and politically—it epitomized the ethnically diverse Graeco-Roman world, even more than Rome or Constantinople, Antioch or Marseilles.Clifford, Cornelius, Catholic Encyclopedia 1930, Volume 2, pp. 35–40 "Athanasius". Its famous catechetical school, while sacrificing none of its famous passion for orthodoxy since the days of Pantaenus, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Dionysius and Theognostus, had begun to take on an almost secular character in the comprehensiveness of its interests and had counted influential pagans among its serious auditors.Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., VI, xix
Peter of Alexandria, the 17th archbishop of Alexandria, was martyred in 311 in the closing days of the Great Persecution and may have been one of Athanasius's teachers. His successor as bishop of Alexandria was Alexander of Alexandria. According to Sozomen; "the Bishop Alexander 'invited Athanasius to be his commensal and secretary. He had been well educated, and was versed in grammar and rhetoric, and had already, while still a young man, and before reaching the episcopate, given proof to those who dwelt with him of his wisdom and acumen' ".(Soz., II, xvii)
Athanasius' earliest work, Against the Heathen – On the Incarnation (written before 319), bears traces of Origenist Alexandrian thought but in an orthodox way. Athanasius was also familiar with the theories of various philosophical schools and in particular with the developments of neoplatonism. Ultimately, Athanasius would modify the philosophical thought of the School of Alexandria away from the Origenist principles such as the "entirely allegorical interpretation of the text". Still, in later works, Athanasius quotes Homer more than once (Hist. Ar. 68, Orat. iv. 29).
thumb|upright|St. Athanasius (1883–84), by Carl Rohl-Smith, Frederik's Church, Copenhagen, Denmark|alt=
Athanasius knew Greek and admitted not knowing Hebrew [see, e.g., the 39th Festal Letter of St. Athan]. The Old Testament passages he quotes frequently come from the Septuagint Greek translation. Only rarely did he use other Greek versions (to Aquila once in the Ecthesis, to other versions once or twice on the Psalms), and his knowledge of the Old Testament was limited to the Septuagint.Ἀλεξανδρεὺς τῷ γένει, ἀνὴρ λόγιος, δυνατὸς ὢν ἐν ταῖς γραφαῖς
Bishop (or Patriarch, the highest ecclesial rank in the Centre of the Church, in Alexandria) Alexander ordained Athanasius a deacon in 319.Encyclopedia Americana, vol. 2 Danbury, Connecticut: Grolier Incorporated, 1997. . In 325, Athanasius served as Alexander's secretary at the First Council of Nicaea. Already a recognized theologian and ascetic, he was the obvious choice to replace his ageing mentor Alexander as the Pope of Alexandria, despite the opposition of the followers of Arius and Meletius of Lycopolis.
At length, in the Council of Nicaea, the term "consubstantial" (homoousion) was adopted, and a formulary of faith embodying it was drawn up by Hosius of Córdoba. From this time to the end of the Arian controversies, the word "consubstantial" continued to be the test of orthodoxy. The formulary of faith drawn up by Hosius is known as the Nicene Creed. However, "he was not the originator of the famous 'homoousion' (ACC of homoousios). The term had been proposed in a non-obvious and illegitimate sense by Paul of Samosata to the Fathers at Antioch, and had been rejected by them as savouring of materialistic conceptions of the Godhead."
While still a deacon under Alexander's care (or early in his patriarchate as discussed below) Athanasius may have also become acquainted with some of the solitaries of the Egyptian desert, and in particular Anthony the Great, whose life he is said to have written.
Opposition to Arianism
In about 319, when Athanasius was a deacon, a presbyter named Arius came into a direct conflict with Alexander of Alexandria. It appears that Arius reproached Alexander for what he felt were misguided or heretical teachings being taught by the bishop.Kannengiesser, Charles, "Alexander and Arius of Alexandria: The last Ante-Nicene theologians", Miscelanea En Homenaje Al P. Antonio Orbe Compostellanum Vol. XXXV, no. 1–2. (Santiago de Compostela, 1990), 398 Arius embraced a subordinationist Christology which taught that Christ was the divine Son (Logos) of God, made, not begotten. Arius had support from a powerful bishop named Eusebius of Nicomedia (not to be confused with Eusebius of Caesarea),Alexander of Alexandria's Catholic Epistle illustrating how Arius's subordinationist Christology was shared by other Christians in the empire. Arius was subsequently excommunicated by Alexander, and Arius began to elicit the support of many bishops who agreed with his position.
Patriarch
Frances A. M. Forbes writes that when Patriarch Alexander was on his death-bed he called Athanasius, who fled fearing he would be constrained to be made bishop. "When the Bishops of the Church assembled to elect their new Patriarch, the whole Catholic population surrounded the church, holding up their hands to Heaven and crying; "Give us Athanasius!" The Bishops had nothing better. Athanasius was thus elected, as Gregory tells us..." (Pope Gregory I had full access to the Vatican Archives). Alban Butler writes on the subject: "Five months after this great Council, Nicae, St Alexander lying on his deathbed, recommended to his clergy and people the choice of Athanasius for his successor, thrice repeating his name. In consequence of his recommendation, the bishops of all Egypt assembled at Alexandria, and finding the people and clergy unanimous in their choice of Athanasius for patriarch, they confirmed the election about the middle of year 326. He seems, then, to have been about thirty years of age."
T. Gilmartin (Professor of History, Maynooth, 1890) writes: "On the death of Alexander, five months after the termination of the Council of Nicaea, Athanasius was unanimously elected to fill the vacant see. He was most unwilling to accept the dignity, for he clearly foresaw the difficulties in which it would involve him. The clergy and people were determined to have him as their bishop, Patriarch of Alexandria, and refused to accept any excuses. He at length consented to accept a responsibility that he sought in vain to escape, and was consecrated in 326, when he was about thirty years of age."T. Gilmartin, Manual of Church History, Vol. 1. Ch XVII, 1890.
Athanasius' episcopate began on 9 May 328 as the Alexandrian Council elected Athanasius to succeed after the death of Alexander. Patriarch Athanasius spent over 17 years in five exiles ordered by four different Roman Emperors, not counting approximately six more incidents in which Athanasius fled Alexandria to escape people seeking to take his life. During his first years as bishop, Athanasius visited the churches of his territory, which at that time included all of Egypt and Libya. He established contacts with the hermits and monks of the desert, including Pachomius, which proved very valuable to him over the years.
"During the forty-eight years of his episcopate, his history is told in the history of the controversies in which he was constantly engaged with the Arians, and of the sufferings he had to endure in defence of the Nicene faith.
We have seen that when Arius was allowed to return from exile in 328, Athanasius refused to remove the sentence of excommunication."
First exile
Athanasius' first problem lay with Meletius of Lycopolis and his followers, who had failed to abide by the First Council of Nicaea. That council also anathematized Arius. Accused of mistreating Arians and Meletians, Athanasius answered those charges at a gathering of bishops at the First Synod of Tyre in 335. There, Eusebius of Nicomedia and other supporters of Arius deposed Athanasius. On 6 November, both sides of the dispute met with Emperor Constantine I in Constantinople.Barnes, Timothy D., Athanasius and Constantius: Theology and Politics in the Constantinian Empire (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1993), 23 At that meeting, the Arians claimed Athanasius would try to cut off essential Egyptian grain supplies to Constantinople. He was found guilty and sent into exile to Augusta Treverorum in Gaul (now Trier in Germany).Christianity, Daily Telegraph 1999
When Athanasius reached his destination in exile in 336, Maximin of Trier received him, but not as a disgraced person. Athanasius stayed with him for two years. Constantine died in 337 and was succeeded by his three sons, Constantine II, Constantius, and Constans. Paul I of Constantinople had cautioned Emperor Constans against the Arians, revealing their plots, and he also had been banished and found shelter with Maximin.
Second exile
thumb|upright|Fresco at Hosios Loukas, Greece (11th century)|alt=
thumb|upright|Statue of the saint in St Athanasius's Catholic Church in Evanston, Illinois|alt=
When Emperor Constantine I died, Athanasius was allowed to return to his See of Alexandria. Shortly thereafter, however, Constantius II renewed the order for Athanasius's banishment in 338. "Within a few weeks he set out for Rome to lay his case before the Church at large. He had made his appeal to Pope Julius, who took up his cause with whole-heartedness that never wavered down to the day of that holy pontiff's death. The pope summoned a synod of bishops to meet in Rome. After a careful and detailed examination of the entire case, the primate's innocence was proclaimed to the Christian world." During this time, Gregory of Cappadocia, an Arian bishop, was installed as the patriarch of Alexandria, usurping the absent Athanasius. Athanasius did, however, remain in contact with his people through his annual Festal Letters, in which he also announced on which date Easter would be celebrated that year.
In 339 or 340, nearly one hundred bishops met at Alexandria, declared in favour of Athanasius, and vigorously rejected the criticisms of the Eusebian faction at Tyre. Plus, Pope Julius wrote to the supporters of Arius strongly urging Athanasius's reinstatement, but that effort proved in vain. Julius called a synod in Rome in 340 to address the matter, which proclaimed Athanasius the rightful bishop of Alexandria.
Early in 343 Athanasius met with Hosius of Córdoba, and together they set out for Serdica. A full council of the Church was summoned there in deference to the Roman pontiff's wishes. At this great gathering of prelates, leaders of the Church, the case of Athanasius was taken up once more, that is, Athanasius was formally questioned over misdemeanours and even murder, (a bishop in Egypt named Arsenius had turned up missing, and they blamed his death on Athanasius, even supposedly producing Arsenius' severed hand.)
The council was convoked for the purpose of inquiring into the charges against Athanasius and other bishops, on account of which they were deposed from their sees by the semi-Arian Synod of Antioch in 341 and went into exile. Eusebian bishops objected to the admission of Athanasius and other deposed bishops to the council, except as accused persons to answer the charges brought against them. Their objections were overridden by the orthodox bishops. The Eusebians, seeing they had no chance of having their views carried, retired to Philippopolis in Thrace where they held an opposition council under the presidency of the Patriarch of Antioch and confirmed the decrees of the Synod of Antioch.
Athanasius' innocence was reaffirmed at the Council of Serdica. Two conciliar letters were prepared, one to the clergy and faithful of Alexandria, the other to the bishops of Egypt and Libya, in which the will of the council was made known. Meanwhile, the Eusebians issued an anathema against Athanasius and his supporters. The persecution against the orthodox party broke out with renewed vigour, and Constantius was induced to prepare drastic measures against Athanasius and the priests who were devoted to him. Orders were given that if Athanasius attempted to re-enter his see, he should be put to death. Athanasius, accordingly, withdrew from Serdica to Naissus in Mysia, where he celebrated the Easter festival of the year 344. Hosius presided over the Council of Serdica, as he did for the First Council of Nicaea, which like the 341 synod found Athanasius innocent. He celebrated his last Easter in exile in Aquileia in April 345, received by Bishop Fortunatianus.Barnes, Timothy David, Athanasius and Constantius, Harvard 2001, p. 66
The Council of Serdica sent an emissary to report their finding to Constantius. Constantius reconsidered his decision, owing to a threatening letter from his brother Constans and the uncertain conditions of affairs on the Persian border, and he accordingly made up his mind to yield. But three separate letters were needed to overcome the natural hesitation of Athanasius. When he finally acquiesced to meet with Constantius, he was accorded a gracious interview by the emperor and sent back to his see in triumph and began ten years of peace.
Pope Julius died in April 352 and was succeeded by Liberius. For two years Liberius had been favourable to the cause of Athanasius; but driven at last into exile, he was induced to sign an ambiguous formula, from which the great Nicene text, the "homoousion", had been studiously omitted. In 355 a council was held at Milan, where in spite of the vigorous opposition of a handful of loyal prelates among the Western bishops, a fourth condemnation of Athanasius was announced to the world. With his friends scattered, Hosius in exile, and Pope Liberius denounced as acquiescing in Arian formularies, Athanasius could hardly hope to escape. On the night of 8 February 356, while engaged in services in the Church of St. Thomas, a band of armed men burst in to secure his arrest. It was the beginning of his third exile.
Gilmartin writes: "By Constantius' order, the sole ruler of The Roman Empire at the death of his brother Constans, the Council of Arles in 353, was held, which was presided over by Vincent, Bishop of Capua, in the name of Pope Liberius. The fathers terrified of the threats of the Emperor, an avowed Arian, they consented to the condemnation of Athanasius. The Pope refused to accept their decision, and requested the Emperor to hold another Council, in which the charges against Athanasius could be freely investigated. To this Constantius consented, for he felt able to control the Council in Milan."
In 355, three hundred bishops assembled in Milan, most from the West and only a few from the East. They met in the Church of Milan. Shortly, the emperor ordered them to a hall in the Imperial Palace, thus ending any free debate. He presented an Arian formula of faith for their acceptance. He threatened any who refused with exile and death. All, with the exception of Dionysius (bishop of Milan), and the two Papal Legates, viz., Eusebius of Vercelli and Lucifer of Cagliari, consented to the Arian Creed and the condemnation of Athanasius. Those who refused were sent into exile. The decrees were forwarded to the pope for approval but were rejected because of the violence to which the bishops were subjected.
Third exile
thumb|Athanasius at the Council of Nicea, William of Tyre manuscripts|alt=
Through the influence of the Eusebian faction at Constantinople, an Arian bishop, George of Cappadocia, was appointed to rule the see of Alexandria in 356. Athanasius, after remaining some days in the neighbourhood of the city, finally withdrew into the desert of Upper Egypt where he remained for a period of six years, living the life of the monks and devoting himself to the composition of a group of writings, such as his Letter to the Monks and Four Orations against the Arians. He also defended his own recent conduct in the Apology to Constantius and Apology for His Flight. Constantius' persistence in his opposition to Athanasius, combined with reports Athanasius received about the persecution of non-Arians by the Arian bishop George of Laodicea, prompted Athanasius to write his more emotional History of the Arians, in which he described Constantius as a precursor of the Antichrist.
Constantius died on 4 November 361 and was succeeded by Julian. The proclamation of the new prince's accession was the signal for a pagan outbreak against the still dominant Arian faction in Alexandria. George, the usurping bishop, was imprisoned and murdered. An obscure presbyter named Pistus was chosen by the Arians to succeed him, when news arrived that filled the orthodox party with hope. An edict had been put forth by Julian permitting the exiled bishops of the "Galileans" to return to their "towns and provinces". Athanasius accordingly returned to Alexandria on 22 February 362.
In 362 Athanasius convened a council at Alexandria and presided over it with Eusebius of Vercelli. Athanasius appealed for unity among all those who had faith in Christianity, even if they differed on matters of terminology. This prepared the groundwork for his definition of the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity. However, the council also was directed against those who denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit, the human soul of Christ, and Christ's divinity. Mild measures were agreed on for those heretic bishops who repented, but severe penance was decreed for the chief leaders of the major heresies.
With characteristic energy he set to work to re-establish the somewhat shattered fortunes of the orthodox party and to purge the theological atmosphere of uncertainty. To clear up the misunderstandings that had arisen in the course of the previous years, an attempt was made to determine still further the significance of the Nicene formularies. In the meanwhile, Julian, who seems to have become suddenly jealous of the influence that Athanasius was exercising at Alexandria, addressed an order to Ecdicius, the Prefect of Egypt, peremptorily commanding the expulsion of the restored primate on the ground that he had not been included in the imperial act of clemency. The edict was communicated to the bishop by Pythicodorus Trico, who, though described in the "Chronicon Athanasianum" (XXXV) as a "philosopher", seems to have behaved with brutal insolence. On 23 October the people gathered about the proscribed bishop to protest against the emperor's decree; but Athanasius urged them to submit, consoling them with the promise that his absence would be of short duration.
Fourth exile
In 362 Julian, noted for his opposition to Christianity, ordered Athanasius to leave Alexandria once again. Athanasius left for Upper Egypt, remaining there with the Desert Fathers until Julian's death on 26 June 363. Athanasius returned in secret to Alexandria, where he received a document from the new emperor, Jovian, reinstating him once more in his episcopal functions.
His first act was to convene a council which reaffirmed the terms of the Nicene Creed. Early in September 363 he set out for Antioch on the Orontes, bearing a synodal letter, in which the pronouncements of this council had been embodied. At Antioch he had an interview with Jovian, who received him graciously and even asked him to prepare an exposition of the orthodox faith. In February 364 Jovian died.
Fifth exile
The accession of Emperor Valens gave a fresh lease of life to the Arian party. He issued a decree banishing the bishops who had been deposed by Constantius but who had been permitted by Jovian to return to their sees. The news created the greatest consternation in Alexandria, and the prefect, in order to prevent a serious outbreak, gave public assurance that the very special case of Athanasius would be laid before the emperor. But Athanasius seems to have divined what was preparing in secret against him. He quietly withdrew from Alexandria in October 364 and took up his abode in a country house outside the city. Valens, who seems to have sincerely dreaded the possible consequences of another popular outbreak, within a few weeks issued orders allowing Athanasius to return to his episcopal see. Some early reports state that Athanasius spent this period of exile at his family's ancestral tomb in a Christian cemetery.
Final years and death
After returning to Alexandria, Athanasius spent his final years repairing all the damage done during the earlier years of violence, dissent, and exile. He resumed writing and preaching undisturbed, and characteristically re-emphasized the view of the Incarnation which had been defined at Nicaea. On 2 May 373, having consecrated Peter II, one of his presbyters as his successor, Athanasius died peacefully in his own bed, surrounded by his clergy and faithful supporters.
Works
Polemical and theological works
Athanasius was not a speculative theologian. As he states in his First Letters to Serapion, he held on to "the tradition, teaching, and faith proclaimed by the apostles and guarded by the fathers." He held that both the Son of God and the Holy Spirit are consubstantial with the Father, which had a great deal of influence in the development of later doctrines regarding the Trinity. Athanasius' "Letter Concerning the Decrees of the Council of Nicaea" (De Decretis), is an important historical as well as theological account of the proceedings of that council.
Examples of Athanasius' polemical writings against his theological opponents include Orations Against the Arians, his defence of the divinity of the Holy Spirit (Letters to Serapion in the 360s, and On the Holy Spirit), against Macedonianism and On the Incarnation. Athanasius also authored a two-part work, Against the Heathen and The Incarnation of the Word of God. Completed probably early in his life, before the Arian controversy,Justo L. Gonzalez in A History of Christian Thought notes (p. 292) that E. Schwartz places this work later, around 335, but "his arguments have not been generally accepted". The introduction to the CSMV translation of On the Incarnation places the work in 318, around the time Athanasius was ordained to the diaconate (St Athanasius On the Incarnation, Mowbray, England 1953) they constitute the first classic work of developed Orthodox theology. In the first part, Athanasius attacks several pagan practices and beliefs. The second part presents teachings on the redemption. Also in these books, Athanasius put forward the belief, referencing , that the Son of God, the eternal Word (Logos) through whom God created the world, entered that world in human form to lead men back into the harmony from which they had earlier fallen away.
His other important works include his Letters to Serapion, which defends the divinity of the Holy Spirit. In a letter to Epictetus of Corinth, Athanasius anticipates future controversies in his defence of the humanity of Christ. In a letter addressed to the monk Dracontius, Athanasius urges him to leave the desert for the more active duties of a bishop. Athanasius also wrote several works of Biblical exegesis, primarily on Old Testament materials. The most important of these is his Epistle to Marcellinus (PG 27:12–45) on how to incorporate psalm-saying into one's spiritual practice.
Perhaps his most notable letter was his Festal Letter, written to his Church in Alexandria when he was in exile, as he could not be in their presence. This letter clearly shows his stand that accepting Jesus as the Divine Son of God is not optional but necessary:
Athanasius was the first patriarch of Alexandria to use Coptic and Greek for didactic homilies.
Biographical and ascetic works
His biography of Anthony the Great entitled Life of Antony(Βίος καὶ Πολιτεία Πατρὸς Ἀντωνίου, Vita Antonii) became his most widely read work. Translated into several languages, it became something of a best seller in its day and played an important role in the spreading of the ascetic ideal in Eastern and Western Christianity. It depicts Anthony as an illiterate yet holy man who continuously engages in spiritual exercises in the Egyptian desert and struggles against demonic powers. It later served as an inspiration to Christian monastics in both the East and the West. Athanasius' works on asceticism also include a Discourse on Virginity, a short work on Love and Self-Control, and a treatise On Sickness and Health (of which only fragments remain).
Misattributed works
There are several other works ascribed to him, although not necessarily generally accepted as being his own. These include the so-called Athanasian Creed (which is today generally seen as being of 5th-century Galician origin), and a complete Expositions on the Psalms.
Eschatology
Based on his understanding of the prophecies of Daniel and the Book of Revelation, Athanasius described Jesus’ Second Coming in the clouds of heaven and pleads with his readers to be ready for that day, at which time Jesus would judge the earth, raise the dead, cast out the wicked, and establish his kingdom. Athanasius also argued that the date of Jesus’ earthly sojourn was divinely foretold beyond refutation by the seventy weeks prophecy of Daniel 9.
Veneration
Athanasius was originally buried in Alexandria, but his remains were later transferred to the Chiesa di San Zaccaria in Venice, Italy. During Pope Shenouda III's visit to Rome (4–10 May 1973), Pope Paul VI gave the Coptic Patriarch a relic of Athanasius, which he brought back to Egypt on 15 May. The relic is currently preserved under the new Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo. However, the majority of Athanasius's corpse remains in the Venetian church.
All major Christian denominations which officially recognize saints venerate Athanasius. Western Christians observe his feast day on 2 May, the anniversary of his death. The Catholic Church considers Athanasius a Doctor of the Church. For Coptic Christians, his feast day is Pashons 7 (now circa 15 May). Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendars remember Athanasius on 18 January.January 18/January 31. Orthodox Calendar (Pravoslavie.ru). Athanasius is honored on the liturgical calendars of the Church of England and the Episcopal Church on 2 May. Gregory of Nazianzus (330–390, also a Doctor of the Church), said: "When I praise Athanasius, virtue itself is my theme: for I name every virtue as often as I mention him who was possessed of all virtues. He was the true pillar of the Church. His life and conduct were the rule of bishops, and his doctrine the rule of the orthodox faith."
Legacy
thumb|Coptic icon of St. Athanasius the Apostolic
Historian Cornelius Clifford says in his account: "Athanasius was the greatest champion of Catholic belief on the subject of the Incarnation that the Church has ever known and in his lifetime earned the characteristic title of 'Father of Orthodoxy', by which he has been distinguished ever since." Clifford also says: "His career almost personifies a crisis in the history of Christianity; and he may be said rather to have shaped the events in which he took part than to have been shaped by them." St. John Henry Newman describes him as a "principal instrument, after the Apostles, by which the sacred truths of Christianity have been conveyed and secured to the world".
The greater majority of Church leaders and the emperors fell into support for Arianism, so much so that Jerome (340–420) wrote of the period: "The whole world groaned and was amazed to find itself Arian". He, Athanasius, even suffered an unjust excommunication from Pope Liberius who was exiled and leant towards compromise, until he was allowed back to the See of Rome. Athanasius stood virtually alone against the world.
Athanasius' biography of Anthony is foundational to Christian monasticism.
Historical significance and controversies
New Testament canon
It was the custom of the bishops of Alexandria to circulate a letter after Epiphany each year confirming the date of Easter and therefore other moveable feasts. They also took the occasion to discuss other matters. Athanasius wrote forty-five festal letters. Athanasius' 39th Festal Letter, written in 367, is widely regarded as a milestone in the evolution of the canon of New Testament books. Some claim that Athanasius is the first person to identify the same 27 books of the New Testament that are in use today. Up until then, various similar lists of works to be read in churches were in use. Others argue that Origen of Alexandria was the first to list the twenty-seven books of the New Testament in his Homilies on Joshua (only there is a textual variant as to whether or not he included Revelation). Athanasius includes the Book of Baruch and the Letter of Jeremiah and places the Book of Esther among the "7 books not in the canon but to be read" along with the Wisdom of Solomon, Book of Sirach, Book of Judith, Book of Tobit, the Didache, and The Shepherd of Hermas.
Athanasius' list is similar to the Codex Vaticanus in the Vatican Library. The establishment of the canon was not a unilateral decision by a bishop in Alexandria but the result of a process of careful investigation and deliberation, as documented in a codex of the Greek Bible and, twenty-seven years later, in his festal letter. Pope Damasus I, the bishop of Rome in 382, promulgated a list of books which contained a New Testament canon identical to that of Athanasius. A synod in Hippo in 393 repeated Athanasius' and Damasus' New Testament list, and the Council of Carthage (397) repeated Athanasius' and Damasus' complete New Testament list.Von Dehsen, Christian. "St. Athanasius", Philosophers and Religious Leaders, Routledge, 2013
Scholars debate whether Athanasius' list in 367 formed the basis for later lists. Because Athanasius' canon is the closest canon of any of the Church Fathers to the one used by Protestant churches today, many Protestants point to Athanasius as the Father of the Canon.
Supporters
left|thumb|Athanasius (left) and his supporter Cyril of Alexandria. 17th-century depiction.
Christian denominations worldwide revere Athanasius as a saint and teacher. They cite his defence of the Christology described in the first chapter of the Gospel of St. John and his significant theological works (C. S. Lewis calls On the Incarnation of the Word of God a "masterpiece")Introduction to St. Athanasius on the Incarnation. Translated and edited by Sister Penelope Lawson, published by Mowbray 1944. p. 9 as evidence of his righteousness. They also emphasize his close relationship with Anthony the Great, the ancient monk who was one of the founders of the Christian monastic movement.
The Gospel of St. John, and particularly the first chapter, demonstrates the Divinity of Jesus. This Gospel is the greatest support of Athanasius' stand. The Gospel of St. John's first chapter began to be said at the end of Mass, we believe as a result of Athanasius and his life's stand. The beginning of John's Gospel was much used as an object of special devotion throughout the Middle Ages; the practice of saying it at the altar grew, and eventually Pope Pius V made this practice universal for the Roman Rite in his 1570 edition of the Missal.Fortescue, Adrian, Catholic Encyclopedia 1907, Volume 6, pp. 662–663 "Gospel" It became a firm custom with exceptions in using another Gospel in use from 1920.Pope Benedict XV, Missale Romanum, IX Additions & Variations of the Rubrics of The MissalSee also: Jungmann, El Sacrificio de la Misa, No. 659, 660 Cyril of Alexandria (370–444) in the first letter says: "Athanasius is one who can be trusted: he would not say anything that is not in accord with sacred scripture." (Ep 1).
Critics
Throughout most of his career, Athanasius had many detractors. Classics scholar Timothy Barnes recounts ancient allegations against Athanasius: from defiling an altar, to selling Church grain that had been meant to feed the poor for his own personal gain, and even violence and murder to suppress dissent.Barnes, Timothy D., Athanasius and Constantius: Theology and Politics in the Constantinian Empire (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1993), 37 According to Sir Isaac Newton, Athanasius lied about the death of Arius, feigned other men's letters and denied his own, murdered the bishop Arsenius, broke a communion cup, overthrew an altar, was made bishop by violence and sedition against the canons of his own church, and was seditious and immoral. Athanasius used "Arian" to describe both followers of Arius and as a derogatory polemical term for Christians who disagreed with his formulation of the Trinity.Barnes, Timothy D., Athanasius and Constantius: Theology and Politics in the Constantinian Empire (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1993), 14, 128 Athanasius called many of his opponents "Arian", except for Meletius.Barnes "Athanasius and Constantius", 135
Scholars now believe that the Arian party was not monolithicHaas, Christopher, "The Arians of Alexandria", Vigiliae Christianae Vol. 47, no. 3 (1993), 239 but held drastically different theological views that spanned the early Christian theological spectrum.Chadwick, Henry, "Faith and Order at the Council of Nicaea", Harvard Theological Review LIII (Cambridge Mass: 1960), 173Williams, 63Kannengiesser "Alexander and Arius", 403 They supported the tenets of Origenist thought and subordinationist theologyKannengiesser, "Athanasius of Alexandria vs. Arius: The Alexandrian Crisis", in The Roots of Egyptian Christianity (Studies in Antiquity and Christianity), ed. Birger A. Pearson and James E. Goehring (1986), 208 but had little else in common. Moreover, many labelled "Arian" did not consider themselves followers of Arius.Williams, 82 In addition, non-homoousian bishops disagreed with being labeled as followers of Arius, since Arius was merely a presbyter, while they were fully ordained bishops.Rubinstein, Richard, When Jesus Became God, The Struggle to Define Christianity during the Last Days of Rome, 1999
The old allegations continue to be made against Athanasius, however, many centuries later. For example, Richard E. Rubenstein suggests that Athanasius ascended to the rank of bishop in Alexandria under questionable circumstances because some questioned whether he had reached the minimum age of 30 years, and further that Athanasius employed force when it suited his cause or personal interests. Thus, he argues that a small number of bishops who supported Athanasius held a private consecration to make him bishop.Rubenstein, Richard E., When Jesus Became God: The Epic Fight over Christ's Divinity in the Last Days of Rome (New York: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1999), 105–106
Selected works
Athanasius. Contra Gentes – De Incarnatione (translated by Thompson, Robert W.), text and ET (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971).
at
Letters to Serapion (on the Holy Spirit) at archive.org
See also
Arabic Homily of Pseudo-Theophilus of Alexandria
Orthodox Christianity
Eastern Catholic Church
Eugenius of Carthage
Homoousian
Pontifical Greek College of Saint Athanasius
Saint Athanasius of Alexandria, patron saint archive
Explanatory notes
Citations
General and cited sources
Alexander of Alexandria, "Catholic Epistle", The Ecole Initiative,
Anatolios, Khaled, Athanasius: The Coherence of His Thought (New York: Routledge, 1998).
Arnold, Duane W.-H., The Early Episcopal Career of Athanasius of Alexandria (Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame, 1991).
Arius, "Arius's letter to Eusebius of Nicomedia", Ecclesiastical History, ed. Theodoret. Ser. 2, Vol. 3, 41, The Ecole Initiative,
Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John. The Penguin Dictionary of Saints. 3rd edition. (New York: Penguin, 1993). .
Barnes, Timothy D., Athanasius and Constantius: Theology and Politics in the Constantinian Empire (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1993).
Barnes, Timothy D., Constantine and Eusebius (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1981)
Brakke, David. Athanasius and the Politics of Asceticism (1995)
Clifford, Cornelius, "Athanasius", Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 2 (1907), 35–40
Chadwick, Henry, "Faith and Order at the Council of Nicaea", Harvard Theological Review LIII (Cambridge Mass: Harvard University Press, 1960), 171–195.
Ernest, James D., The Bible in Athanasius of Alexandria (Leiden: Brill, 2004).
Freeman, Charles, The Closing of the Western Mind: The Rise of Faith and the Fall of Reason (Alfred A. Knopf, 2003).
Haas, Christopher. "The Arians of Alexandria", Vigiliae Christianae Vol. 47, no. 3 (1993), 234–245.
Hanson, R.P.C., The Search for the Christian Doctrine of God: The Arian Controversy, 318–381 (T.&T. Clark, 1988).
Kannengiesser, Charles, "Alexander and Arius of Alexandria: The last Ante-Nicene theologians", Miscelanea En Homenaje Al P. Antonio Orbe Compostellanum Vol. XXXV, no. 1–2. (Santiago de Compostela, 1990), 391–403.
Kannengiesser, Charles "Athanasius of Alexandria vs. Arius: The Alexandrian Crisis", in The Roots of Egyptian Christianity (Studies in Antiquity and Christianity), ed. Birger A. Pearson and James E. Goehring (1986), 204–215.
Ng, Nathan K. K., The Spirituality of Athanasius (1991).
Rubenstein, Richard E., When Jesus Became God: The Epic Fight over Christ's Divinity in the Last Days of Rome (New York: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1999).
Williams, Rowan, Arius: Heresy and Tradition (London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1987).
Further reading
Anatolios, Khaled. Athanasius (London: Routledge, 2004). [Contains selections from the Orations against the Arians (pp. 87–175) and Letters to Serapion on the Holy Spirit (pp. 212–233), together with the full texts of On the Council of Nicaea (pp. 176–211) and Letter 40: To Adelphius (pp. 234–242)]
Gregg, Robert C. Athanasius: The Life of Antony and the Letter to Marcellinus, Classics of Western Spirituality (New York: Paulist Press, 1980).
External links
Official web site of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa
Archibald Robinson, Athanasius: Select Letters and Works (Edinburgh 1885)
(not written by Athanasius, see Athanasian Creed above)
Athanasius Select Resources, Bilingual Anthology (in Greek original and English)
, Dr N Needham
Christian Cyclopedia: Athanasius
Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Graeca with analytical indexes
St Athanasius the Great the Archbishop of Alexandria, Orthodox icon and synaxarion
audio resource by Dr. Michael Reeves. Two lectures on
Letter of Saint Athanasius to His Flock at the Our Lady of the Rosary Library
St. Athanasius Patriarch of Alexandria at the Christian Classics Ethereal Library
Colonnade Statue in St Peter's Square
Category:290s births
Category:373 deaths
Category:4th-century Byzantine writers
Category:4th-century Christian saints
Category:4th-century Christian theologians
Category:4th-century philosophers
Category:Anglican saints
Category:Catholic philosophers
Category:Christologists
Category:Church Fathers
Category:Doctors of the Church
Category:Egyptian theologians
Category:Opponents of Arianism
Category:Saints from Roman Egypt
Category:Nature of Jesus Christ
Category:Philosophers in ancient Alexandria
Category:Participants in the First Council of Nicaea
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Lighting
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thumb|Acropolis of Athens illuminated at night
thumb|Illuminated cherry blossoms, light from the shop windows, and Japanese lantern at night in Ise, Mie, Japan
Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight. Daylighting (using windows, skylights, or light shelves) is sometimes used as the main source of light during daytime in buildings. This can save energy in place of using artificial lighting, which represents a major component of energy consumption in buildings. Proper lighting can enhance task performance, improve the appearance of an area, or have positive psychological effects on occupants.
Indoor lighting is usually accomplished using light fixtures, and is a key part of interior design. Lighting can also be an intrinsic component of landscape projects.
History
With the discovery of fire, the earliest form of artificial lighting used to illuminate an area were campfires or torches. As early as 400,000 years ago, fire was kindled in the caves of Peking Man. Prehistoric people used primitive oil lamps to illuminate surroundings. These lamps were made from naturally occurring materials such as rocks, shells, horns and stones, were filled with grease, and had a fiber wick. Lamps typically used animal or vegetable fats as fuel. Hundreds of these lamps (hollow worked stones) have been found in the Lascaux caves in modern-day France, dating to about 15,000 years ago. Oily animals (birds and fish) were also used as lamps after being threaded with a wick. Fireflies have been used as lighting sources. Candles and glass and pottery lamps were also invented. Chandeliers were an early form of "light fixture".
A major reduction in the cost of lighting occurred with the discovery of whale oil. The use of whale oil declined after Abraham Gesner, a Canadian geologist, first refined kerosene in the 1840s, allowing brighter light to be produced at substantially lower cost. In the 1850s, the price of whale oil dramatically increased (more than doubling from 1848 to 1856) due to shortages of available whales, hastening whale oil's decline. By 1860, there were 33 kerosene plants in the United States, and Americans spent more on gas and kerosene than on whale oil. The final death knell for whale oil was in 1859, when crude oil was discovered and the petroleum industry arose.
thumb|Dim night lighting for the old warehouses along the river in the old town of Porvoo, Finland
Gas lighting was economical enough to power street lights in major cities starting in the early 1800s, and was also used in some commercial buildings and in the homes of wealthy people. The gas mantle boosted the luminosity of utility lighting and of kerosene lanterns. The next major drop in price came about in the 1880s with the introduction of electric lighting in the form of arc lights for large space and street lighting, followed by incandescent light bulb-based utilities for indoor and outdoor lighting.The First Form of Electric Light History of the Carbon Arc Lamp (1800 - 1980s)'.Edison Tech Center, edisontechcenter.org
Over time, electric lighting became ubiquitous in developed countries. Segmented sleep patterns disappeared, improved nighttime lighting made more activities possible at night, and more street lights reduced urban crime.
Fixtures
Lighting fixtures come in a wide variety of styles for various functions. The most important functions are as a holder for the light source, to provide directed light and to avoid visual glare. Some are very plain and functional, while some are pieces of art in themselves. Nearly any material can be used, so long as it can tolerate the excess heat and is in keeping with safety codes.
An important property of light fixtures is the luminous efficacy or wall-plug efficiency, meaning the amount of usable light emanating from the fixture per used energy, usually measured in lumen per watt. A fixture using replaceable light sources can also have its efficiency quoted as the percentage of light passed from the "bulb" to the surroundings. The more transparent the lighting fixtures are, the higher efficacy. Shading the light will normally decrease efficacy but increase the directionality and the visual comfort probability.
Color temperature for white light sources also affects their use for certain applications. The color temperature of a white light source is the temperature in kelvins of a theoretical black body emitter that most closely matches the spectral characteristics (spectral power distribution) of the lamp. An incandescent bulb has a color temperature around 2800 to 3000 kelvins; daylight is around 6400 kelvins. Lower color temperature lamps have relatively more energy in the yellow and red part of the visible spectrum, while high color temperatures correspond to lamps with more of a blue-white appearance. For critical inspection or color matching tasks, or for retail displays of food and clothing, the color temperature of the lamps will be selected for the best overall lighting effect.
Types
thumb|A demonstration of the effects of different kinds of lighting
Lighting is classified by intended use as general, accent, or task lighting, depending largely on the distribution of the light produced by the fixture.
Task lighting is mainly functional and is usually the most concentrated, for purposes such as reading or inspection of materials. For example, reading poor-quality reproductions may require task lighting levels up to 1500 lux (140 footcandles), and some inspection tasks or surgical procedures require even higher levels.
Accent lighting is mainly decorative, intended to highlight pictures, plants, or other elements of interior design or landscaping.
thumb|A ceiling light fixtureGeneral lighting (sometimes referred to as ambient light) fills in between the two and is intended for general illumination of an area. Indoors, this would be a basic lamp on a table or floor, or a fixture on the ceiling. Outdoors, general lighting for a parking lot may be as low as 10-20 lux (1-2 footcandles) since pedestrians and motorists already used to the dark will need little light for crossing the area.
Methods
Downlighting is most common, with fixtures on or recessed in the ceiling casting light downward. This tends to be the most used method, used in both offices and homes. Although it is easy to design, it has dramatic problems with glare and excess energy consumption due to large number of fittings. The introduction of LED lighting has greatly improved this by approx. 90% when compared to a halogen downlight or spotlight. LED lamps or bulbs are now available to retro fit in place of high energy consumption lamps.
Uplighting is less common, often used to bounce indirect light off the ceiling and back down. It is commonly used in lighting applications that require minimal glare and uniform general illuminance levels. Uplighting (indirect) uses a diffuse surface to reflect light in a space and can minimize disabling glare on computer displays and other dark glossy surfaces. It gives a more uniform presentation of the light output in operation. However indirect lighting is completely reliant upon the reflectance value of the surface. While indirect lighting can create a diffused and shadow free light effect it can be regarded as an uneconomical lighting principle.
Front lighting is also quite common, but tends to make the subject look flat as its casts almost no visible shadows. Lighting from the side is the less common, as it tends to produce glare near eye level.
Backlighting either around or through an object is mainly for accent. Backlighting is used to illuminate a background or backdrop. This adds depth to an image or scene. Others use it to achieve a more dramatic effect.
Forms of lighting
Indoor lighting
thumb|Wall-mounted light with shadows
Forms of lighting include alcove lighting, which like most other uplighting is indirect. This is often done with fluorescent lighting (first available at the 1939 World's Fair) or rope light, occasionally with neon lighting, and recently with LED strip lighting. It is a form of backlighting.
Soffit or close to wall lighting can be general or a decorative wall-wash, sometimes used to bring out texture (like stucco or plaster) on a wall, though this may also show its defects as well. The effect depends heavily on the exact type of lighting source used.
Recessed lighting (often called "pot lights" in Canada, "can lights" or 'high hats" in the US) is popular, with fixtures mounted into the ceiling structure so as to appear flush with it. These downlights can use narrow beam spotlights, or wider-angle floodlights, both of which are bulbs having their own reflectors. There are also downlights with internal reflectors designed to accept common 'A' lamps (light bulbs) which are generally less costly than reflector lamps. Downlights can be incandescent, fluorescent, HID (high intensity discharge) or LED.
Track lighting, invented by Lightolier, was popular at one period of time because it was much easier to install than recessed lighting, and individual fixtures are decorative and can be easily aimed at a wall. It has regained some popularity recently in low-voltage tracks, which often look nothing like their predecessors because they do not have the safety issues that line-voltage systems have, and are therefore less bulky and more ornamental in themselves. A master transformer feeds all of the fixtures on the track or rod with 12 or 24 volts, instead of each light fixture having its own line-to-low voltage transformer. There are traditional spots and floods, as well as other small hanging fixtures. A modified version of this is cable lighting, where lights are hung from or clipped to bare metal cables under tension.
A sconce is a wall-mounted fixture, particularly one that shines up and sometimes down as well. A torchère is an uplight intended for ambient lighting. It is typically a floor lamp but may be wall-mounted like a sconce. Further interior light fixtures include chandeliers, pendant lights, ceiling fans with lights, close-to-ceiling or flush lights, and various types of lamps
The portable or table lamp is probably the most common fixture, found in many homes and offices. The standard lamp and shade that sits on a table is general lighting, while the desk lamp is considered task lighting. Magnifier lamps are also task lighting.
thumb|Animated fountain in Moscow's Square of Europe, lit at night
The illuminated ceiling was once popular in the 1960s and 1970s but fell out of favor after the 1980s. This uses diffuser panels hung like a suspended ceiling below fluorescent lights, and is considered general lighting. Other forms include neon, which is not usually intended to illuminate anything else, but to actually be an artwork in itself. This would probably fall under accent lighting, though in a dark nightclub it could be considered general lighting.
In a movie theater, steps in the aisles are usually marked with a row of small lights for convenience and safety, when the film has started and the other lights are off. Traditionally made up of small low wattage, low-voltage lamps in a track or translucent tube, these are rapidly being replaced with LED based versions.
Outdoor lighting
left|thumb|High mast lighting along Highway 401 in Ontario, Canada
Street Lights are used to light roadways and walkways at night. Some manufacturers are designing LED and photovoltaic luminaires to provide an energy-efficient alternative to traditional street light fixtures.
thumb|Floodlights are used to illuminate outdoor playing fields or work zones during nighttime.
Floodlights can be used to illuminate work zones or outdoor playing fields during nighttime hours. The most common type of floodlights are metal halide and high pressure sodium lights.
Beacon lights are positioned at the intersection of two roads to aid in navigation.
Sometimes security lighting can be used along roadways in urban areas, or behind homes or commercial facilities. These are extremely bright lights used to deter crime. Security lights may include floodlights and be activated with PIR switches that detect moving heat sources in darkness.
Entry lights can be used outside to illuminate and signal the entrance to a property.DELTA Snapshot: Outdoor Entry Lighting. Issue 11. Lighting Research Center. Found online at: http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/delta/pdf/OutdoorEntry.pdf [last accessed 13 April 2010] These lights are installed for safety, security, and for decoration.
thumb|The decks and gangway of tugboat Samuel de Champlain illuminated at night while docked at a shipyard for the purposes of safety and security
Underwater accent lighting is also used for koi ponds, fountains, swimming pools and the like.
Neon signs are most often used to attract attention rather than to illuminate.
Vehicle use
Vehicles typically include headlamps and tail lights. Headlamps are white or selective yellow lights placed in the front of the vehicle, designed to illuminate the upcoming road and to make the vehicle more visible. Many manufactures are turning to LED headlights as an energy-efficient alternative to traditional headlamps.Van Derlofske, J, JD Bullough, J Watkinson. 2005. Spectral Effects of LED Forward Lighting. TLA 2005-02. Lighting Research Center. Found online at: http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/transportation/TLA/pdf/TLA-2005-02.pdf [last accessed 13 April 2010] Tail and brake lights are red and emit light to the rear so as to reveal the vehicle's direction of travel to following drivers. White rear-facing reversing lamps indicate that the vehicle's transmission has been placed in the reverse gear, warning anyone behind the vehicle that it is moving backwards, or about to do so. Flashing turn signals on the front, side, and rear of the vehicle indicate an intended change of position or direction. In the late 1950s, some automakers began to use electroluminescent technology to backlight their cars' speedometers and other gauges or to draw attention to logos or other decorative elements.
Lamps
Commonly called 'light bulbs', lamps are the removable and replaceable part of a light fixture, which converts electrical energy into electromagnetic radiation. While lamps have traditionally been rated and marketed primarily in terms of their power consumption, expressed in watts, proliferation of lighting technology beyond the incandescent light bulb has eliminated the correspondence of wattage to the amount of light produced. For example, a 60 W incandescent light bulb produces about the same amount of light as a 13 W compact fluorescent lamp. Each of these technologies has a different efficacy in converting electrical energy to visible light. Visible light output is typically measured in lumens. This unit only quantifies the visible radiation, and excludes invisible infrared and ultraviolet light. A wax candle produces on the close order of 13 lumens, a 60 watt incandescent lamp makes around 700 lumens, and a 15-watt compact fluorescent lamp produces about 800 lumens, but actual output varies by specific design.Roger Fouquet, Heat, power and light: revolutions in energy services, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2008 , page 411 Rating and marketing emphasis is shifting away from wattage and towards lumen output, to give the purchaser a directly applicable basis upon which to select a lamp.
Lamp types include:
Ballast: A ballast is an auxiliary piece of equipment designed to start and properly control the flow of power to discharge light sources such as fluorescent and high intensity discharge (HID) lamps. Some lamps require the ballast to have thermal protection.
fluorescent light: A tube coated with phosphor containing low pressure mercury vapor that produces white light.
Halogen: Incandescent lamps containing halogen gases such as iodine or bromine, increasing the efficacy of the lamp versus a plain incandescent lamp.
Neon: A low pressure gas contained within a glass tube; the color emitted depends on the gas.
Light-emitting diodes: Light-emitting diodes (LED) are solid state devices that emit light by dint of the movement of electrons in a semiconductor material.
Compact fluorescent lamps: CFLs are designed to replace incandescent lamps in existing and new installations.Khan N, Abas N. Comparative study of energy saving light sources. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews [serial online].
Design and architecture
Architectural lighting design
thumb|upright|Lighting without windows: The Pantheon in the 18th century, painted by Giovanni Paolo Panini.Another view of the interior by Panini (1735), Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna
Lighting design as it applies to the built environment is known as 'architectural lighting design'. Lighting of structures considers aesthetic elements as well as practical considerations of quantity of light required, occupants of the structure, energy efficiency, and cost. Artificial lighting takes into account the amount of daylight received in a space by using daylight factor calculations. For simple installations, hand calculations based on tabular data are used to provide an acceptable lighting design. More critical or complex designs now routinely use computer software such as Radiance for mathematical modeling, which can allow an architect to quickly and accurately evaluate the benefit of a proposed design.
In some instances, the materials used on walls and furniture play a key role in the lighting effect. For example, dark paint tends to absorb light, making the room appear smaller and more dim than it is, whereas light paint does the opposite. Other reflective surfaces also have an effect on lighting design.
On stage and set
thumb|Lighting and shadows
thumb|Moving heads in a photo studio set
thumb|Illuminating a subject from beneath can create a heightened dramatic effect.
Lighting illuminates the performers and artists in a live theatre, dance, or musical performance, and is selected and arranged to create dramatic effects. Stage lighting uses general illumination technology in devices configured for easy adjustment of their output characteristics. The setup of stage lighting is tailored for each scene of each production. Dimmers, colored filters, reflectors, lenses, motorized or manually aimed lamps, and different kinds of flood and spot lights are among the tools used by a stage lighting designer to produce the desired effects. A set of lighting cues are prepared so that the lighting operator can control the lights in step with the performance; complex theatre lighting systems use computer control of lighting instruments.
Motion picture and television production use many of the same tools and methods of stage lighting. Especially in the early days of these industries, very high light levels were required and heat produced by lighting equipment presented substantial challenges. Modern cameras require less light, and modern light sources emit less heat.
Measurement
Measurement of light or photometry is generally concerned with the amount of useful light falling on a surface and the amount of light emerging from a lamp or other source, along with the colors that can be rendered by this light. The human eye responds differently to light from different parts of the visible spectrum, therefore photometric measurements must take the luminosity function into account when measuring the amount of useful light. The basic SI unit of measurement is the candela (cd), which describes the luminous intensity, all other photometric units are derived from the candela. Luminance for instance is a measure of the density of luminous intensity in a given direction. It describes the amount of light that passes through or is emitted from a particular area, and falls within a given solid angle. The SI unit for luminance is candela per square metre (cd/m2). The CGS unit of luminance is the stilb, which is equal to one candela per square centimetre or 10 kcd/m2. The amount of useful light emitted from a source or the luminous flux is measured in lumen (lm).
The SI unit of illuminance and luminous emittance, being the luminous power per area, is measured in Lux. It is used in photometry as a measure of the intensity, as perceived by the human eye, of light that hits or passes through a surface. It is analogous to the radiometric unit watts per square metre, but with the power at each wavelength weighted according to the luminosity function, a standardized model of human visual brightness perception. In English, "lux" is used in both singular and plural.NIST Guide to SI Units - 9 Rules and Style Conventions for Spelling Unit Names, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Visual comfort often entails the measurement of subjective evaluations. Several measurement methods have been developed to control glare resulting from indoor lighting design. The Unified Glare Rating (UGR), the Visual Comfort Probability, and the Daylight Glare Index are some of the most well-known methods of measurement. In addition to these new methods, four main factors influence the degree of discomfort glare; the luminance of the glare source, the solid angle of the glare source, the background luminance, and the position of the glare source in the field of view must all be taken into account.W. Kim and Y. Koga, "Effect of local background luminance on discomfort glare, Building Environ 2004; 38, pp.
Color properties
thumb|upright|The Leppävaaran Torni building in Leppävaara, Espoo, Finland, illuminated with colorful lights in 2017
To define light source color properties, the lighting industry predominantly relies on two metrics, correlated color temperature (CCT), commonly used as an indication of the apparent "warmth" or "coolness" of the light emitted by a source, and color rendering index (CRI), an indication of the light source's ability to make objects appear natural.
However, these two metrics, developed in the last century, are facing increased challenges and criticisms as new types of light sources, particularly light-emitting diodes (LEDs), become more prevalent in the market.
For example, in order to meet the expectations for good color rendering in retail applications, researchASSIST recommends: Guide to Light and Color in Retail Merchandising. 2010. Volume 8, Issue 1. Available online at: suggests using the well-established CRI along with another metric called gamut area index (GAI). GAI represents the relative separation of object colors illuminated by a light source; the greater the GAI, the greater the apparent saturation or vividness of the object colors. As a result, light sources which balance both CRI and GAI are generally preferred over ones that have only high CRI or only high GAI.ASSIST recommends: Recommendations for Specifying Color Properties of Light Sources for Retail Merchandising. 2010. Volume 8, Issue 2. Available online at:
Light exposure
Typical measurements of light have used a Dosimeter. Dosimeters measure an individual's or an object's exposure to something in the environment, such as light dosimeters and ultraviolet dosimeters.
In order to specifically measure the amount of light entering the eye, personal circadian light meter called the Daysimeter has been developed. This is the first device created to accurately measure and characterize light (intensity, spectrum, timing, and duration) entering the eye that affects the human body's clock.
The small, head-mounted device measures an individual's daily rest and activity patterns, as well as exposure to short-wavelength light that stimulates the circadian system. The device measures activity and light together at regular time intervals and electronically stores and logs its operating temperature. The Daysimeter can gather data for up to 30 days for analysis.Lighting Research Center Website: New approach sheds light on ways circadian disruption affects human health. Found online at: [last accessed 13 April 2010]
Energy consumption
Several strategies are available to minimize energy requirements for lighting a building:
Specification of illumination requirements for each given use area
Analysis of lighting quality to ensure that adverse components of lighting (for example, glare or incorrect color spectrum) are not biasing the design
Integration of space planning and interior architecture (including choice of interior surfaces and room geometries) to lighting design
Design of time of day use that does not expend unnecessary energy
Selection of fixtures and lamps that reflect best available technology for energy conservation
Training of building occupants to use lighting equipment in most efficient manner
Maintenance of lighting systems to minimize energy wastage
Use of natural light
Some big box stores were being built from 2006 on with numerous plastic bubble skylights, in many cases completely obviating the need for interior artificial lighting for many hours of the day.
In countries where indoor lighting of simple dwellings is a significant cost, "Moser lamps", plastic water-filled transparent drink bottles fitted through the roof, provide the equivalent of a 40- to 60-watt incandescent bulb each during daylight.The Guardian newspaper: Alfredo Moser: Bottle light inventor proud to be poor, 13 August 2013
Load shedding can help reduce the power requested by individuals to the main power supply. Load shedding can be done on an individual level, at a building level, or even at a regional level.
Specification of illumination requirements is the basic concept of deciding how much illumination is required for a given task. Clearly, much less light is required to illuminate a hallway compared to that needed for a word processing work station. Generally speaking, the energy expended is proportional to the design illumination level. For example, a lighting level of 400 lux might be chosen for a work environment involving meeting rooms and conferences, whereas a level of 80 lux could be selected for building hallways.European law UNI EN 12464 If the hallway standard simply emulates the conference room needs, then much more energy will be consumed than is needed.
Lighting control systems
Lighting control systems reduce energy usage and cost by helping to provide light only when and where it is needed. Lighting control systems typically incorporate the use of time schedules, occupancy control, and photocell control (i.e. daylight harvesting). Some systems also support demand response and will automatically dim or turn off lights to take advantage of utility incentives. Lighting control systems are sometimes incorporated into larger building automation systems.
Many newer control systems are using wireless mesh open standards (such as Zigbee), which provides benefits including easier installation (no need to run control wires) and interoperability with other standards-based building control systems (e.g. security).
In response to daylighting technology, daylight harvesting systems have been developed to further reduce energy consumption. These technologies are helpful, but they do have their downfalls. Many times, rapid and frequent switching of the lights on and off can occur, particularly during unstable weather conditions or when daylight levels are changing around the switching illuminance. Not only does this disturb occupants, it can also reduce lamp life. A variation of this technology is the 'differential switching or dead-band' photoelectric control which has multiple illuminances it switches from so as not to disturb occupants as much.
Occupancy sensors to allow operation for whenever someone is within the area being scanned can control lighting. When motion can no longer be detected, the lights shut off. Passive infrared sensors react to changes in heat, such as the pattern created by a moving person. The control must have an unobstructed view of the building area being scanned. Doors, partitions, stairways, etc. will block motion detection and reduce its effectiveness. The best applications for passive infrared occupancy sensors are open spaces with a clear view of the area being scanned. Ultrasonic sensors transmit sound above the range of human hearing and monitor the time it takes for the sound waves to return. A break in the pattern caused by any motion in the area triggers the control. Ultrasonic sensors can see around obstructions and are best for areas with cabinets and shelving, restrooms, and open areas requiring 360-degree coverage. Some occupancy sensors utilize both passive infrared and ultrasonic technology, but are usually more expensive. They can be used to control one lamp, one fixture or many fixtures.Hanselaer P, Lootens C, Ryckaert W, Deconinck G, Rombauts P. Power density targets for efficient lighting of interior task areas. Lighting Research & Technology [serial online]. June 2007;39(2):171-182. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA.Ryckaert W, Lootens C, Geldof J, Hanselaer P. Criteria for energy efficient lighting in buildings. Energy & Buildings [serial online]. March 2010;42(3):341-347. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA.
Daylighting
thumb|Daylight used at the train station Gare de l'Est Paris
Daylighting is the oldest method of interior lighting. Daylighting is simply designing a space to use as much natural light as possible. This decreases energy consumption and costs, and requires less heating and cooling from the building. Daylighting has also been proven to have positive effects on patients in hospitals as well as work and school performance. Due to a lack of information that indicate the likely energy savings, daylighting schemes are not yet popular among most buildings.Ulrich R S. View through a Windows May Influence Recovery from Surgery. Science (Washington D C) [serial online]. 1984;224(4647):420-421. Unlike electric lighting, the distribution of daylight varies considerably throughout the entire year inside a building.
Solid-state lighting
In recent years light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are becoming increasingly efficient leading to an extraordinary increase in the use of solid state lighting. In many situations, controlling the light emission of LEDs may be done most effectively by using the principles of nonimaging optics.
Health effects
It is valuable to provide the correct light intensity and color spectrum for each task or environment. Otherwise, energy not only could be wasted but over-illumination can lead to adverse health and psychological effects.
Beyond the energy factors being considered, it is important not to over-design illumination, lest adverse health effects such as headache frequency, stress, and increased blood pressure be induced by the higher lighting levels. In addition, glare or excess light can decrease worker efficiency.
Analysis of lighting quality particularly emphasizes use of natural lighting, but also considers spectral content if artificial light is to be used. Not only will greater reliance on natural light reduce energy consumption, but will favorably impact human health and performance. New studies have shown that the performance of students is influenced by the time and duration of daylight in their regular schedules. Designing school facilities to incorporate the right types of light at the right time of day for the right duration may improve student performance and well-being. Similarly, designing lighting systems that maximize the right amount of light at the appropriate time of day for the elderly may help relieve symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. The human circadian system is entrained to a 24-hour light-dark pattern that mimics the earth's natural light/dark pattern. When those patterns are disrupted, they disrupt the natural circadian cycle. Circadian disruption may lead to numerous health problems including breast cancer, seasonal affective disorder, delayed sleep phase syndrome, and other ailments.
A study conducted in 1972 and 1981, documented by Robert Ulrich, surveyed 23 surgical patients assigned to rooms looking out on a natural scene. The study concluded that patients assigned to rooms with windows allowing much natural light had shorter postoperative hospital stays, received fewer negative evaluative comments in nurses' notes, and took fewer potent analgesics than 23 matched patients in similar rooms with windows facing a brick wall. This study suggests that due to the nature of the scenery and daylight exposure was indeed healthier for patients as opposed to those exposed to little light from the brick wall. In addition to increased work performance, proper usage of windows and daylighting crosses the boundaries between pure aesthetics and overall health.Newsham G, Brand J, Donnelly C, Veitch J, Aries M, Charles K. Linking indoor environment conditions to job satisfaction: a field study. Building Research & Information [serial online]. March 2009;37(2):129-147.
Alison Jing Xu, assistant professor of management at the University of Toronto Scarborough and Aparna Labroo of Northwestern University conducted a series of studies analyzing the correlation between lighting and human emotion. The researchers asked participants to rate a number of things such as: the spiciness of chicken-wing sauce, the aggressiveness of a fictional character, how attractive someone was, their feelings about specific words, and the taste of two juices–all under different lighting conditions. In their study, they found that both positive and negative human emotions are felt more intensely in bright light. Professor Xu stated, "we found that on sunny days depression-prone people actually become more depressed." They also found that dim light makes people make more rational decisions and settle negotiations easier. In the dark, emotions are slightly suppressed. However, emotions are intensified in the bright light.
Environmental issues
Compact fluorescent lamps
Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) use less power than an incandescent lamp to supply the same amount of light, however they contain mercury which is a disposal hazard. Due to the ability to reduce electricity consumption, many organizations encouraged the adoption of CFLs. Some electric utilities and local governments subsidized CFLs or provided them free to customers as a means of reducing electricity demand. For a given light output, CFLs use between one fifth and one quarter the power of an equivalent incandescent lamp. Unlike incandescent lamps CFLs need a little time to warm up and reach full brightness. Not all CFLs are suitable for dimming. CFL's have largely been replaced with LED technologies.
LED lamps
LED lamps provide significant energy savings over incandescent and fluorescent lamps. According to the Energy Saving Trust, LED lamps use only 10% power compared to a standard incandescent bulb, where compact fluorescent lamps use 20% and energy saving halogen lamps 70%. The lifetime is also much longer — up to 50,000 hours. The downside when they were first popularized was the initial cost. By 2018, production costs dropped, performance increased, and energy consumption was reduced. While the initially cost of LEDs is still higher than incandescent lamps, the savings are so dramatic that there are very few instances that LEDs are not the most economical choice.
Scattered light from outdoor illumination may have effects on the environment and human health. For instance, one study conducted by the American Medical Association warned on the use of high blue content white LEDs in street lighting, due to their higher impact on human health and environment, compared to low blue content light sources (e.g. High Pressure Sodium, phosphor-coated or PC amber LEDs, and low CCT LEDs).
Light pollution
Light pollution is a growing problem in reaction to excess light being given off by numerous signs, houses, and buildings. Polluting light is often wasted light involving unnecessary energy costs and carbon dioxide emissions. Light pollution is described as artificial light that is excessive or intrudes where it is not wanted. Well-designed lighting sends light only where it is needed without scattering it elsewhere. Poorly designed lighting can also compromise safety. For example, glare creates safety issues around buildings by causing very sharp shadows, temporarily blinding passersby making them vulnerable to would-be assailants.Claudio L. Switch On the Night. Environmental Health Perspectives [serial online]. January 2009;117(1):A28-A31. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA.Lynn A. See the Light. Parks & Recreation [serial online]. October 2010;45(10):81-82. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. The negative ecological effects of artificial light have been increasingly well documented. The World Health Organization in 2007 issued a report that noted the effects of bright light on flora and fauna, sea turtle hatchlings, frogs during mating season and the migratory patterns of birds. The American Medical Association in 2012 issued a warning that extended exposure to light at night increases the risk of some cancers. Two studies in Israel from 2008 have yielded some additional findings about a possible correlation between artificial light at night and certain cancers.
Effects on animals
thumb|Moths circling an electric lightbulb
Artificial light at night refers to any light source other than a natural light source. Sources of artificial light include LEDS and fluorescents. This particular light source has effect on the reproduction, immune function, metabolism, thermoregulation and body temperature of organisms that need light for their daily activity.
Firstly, most organisms metabolism largely depends on light. In some instances the presence of intense light starts up or increases enzyme activity inside the body of an animal. For diurnal organisms, high rate of metabolism takes place during the day and reduces or comes to a stop during the night thus, artificial light at night has a negative impact of the metabolism of diurnal organisms.
Moreover, the body temperature of diurnal animals fall during the night but the presence of artificial light at night, then causes an increase in body temperature which affects the melatonin levels of the animal.
Furthermore, for organisms such as birds, their sex organs are activated in relation to light intensity in certain periods during the summer at day time to aid reproduction. These sex organs are deactivated during the night but the presence of artificial light during the night sometimes disrupts their reproduction process.
Professional organizations
International
The International Commission on Illumination (CIE) is an international authority and standard defining organization on color and lighting. Publishing widely used standard metrics such as various CIE color spaces and the color rendering index.
The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), in conjunction with organizations like ANSI and ASHRAE, publishes guidelines, standards, and handbooks that allow categorization of the illumination needs of different built environments. Manufacturers of lighting equipment publish photometric data for their products, which defines the distribution of light released by a specific luminaire. This data is typically expressed in standardized form defined by the IESNA.
The International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) is an organization which focuses on the advancement of lighting design education and the recognition of independent professional lighting designers. Those fully independent designers who meet the requirements for professional membership in the association typically append the abbreviation IALD to their name.
The Professional Lighting Designers Association (PLDA), formerly known as ELDA is an organisation focusing on the promotion of the profession of Architectural Lighting Design. They publish a monthly newsletter and organise different events throughout the world.
The National Council on Qualifications for the Lighting Professions (NCQLP) offers the Lighting Certification Examination which tests rudimentary lighting design principles. Individuals who pass this exam become "Lighting Certified" and may append the abbreviation LC to their name. This certification process is one of three national (U.S.) examinations (the others are CLEP and CLMC) in the lighting industry and is open not only to designers, but to lighting equipment manufacturers, electric utility employees, etc.
The Professional Lighting And Sound Association (PLASA) is a UK-based trade organisation representing the 500+ individual and corporate members drawn from the technical services sector. Its members include manufacturers and distributors of stage and entertainment lighting, sound, rigging and similar products and services, and affiliated professionals in the area. They lobby for and represent the interests of the industry at various levels, interacting with government and regulating bodies and presenting the case for the entertainment industry. Example subjects of this representation include the ongoing review of radio frequencies (which may or may not affect the radio bands in which wireless microphones and other devices use) and engaging with the issues surrounding the introduction of the RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive) regulations.
National
Association de Concepteurs Eclairage (ACE) in France
American Lighting Association (ALA) in the United States
Associazione Professionisti dell'Illuminazione (APIL) in Italy
Hellenic Illumination Committee (HIC) in Greece
Indian Society of Lighting Engineers (ISLE)
Institution of Lighting Engineers (ILE) in the United Kingdom
Schweizerische Licht Gesellschaft (SLG) in Switzerland
Society of Light and Lighting (SLL), part of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers in the United Kingdom.
United Scenic Artists Local 829 (USA829), membership for lighting designers as a category, with scenic designers, projection designers, costume designers, and sound designers, in the United States
See also
3D computer graphics
Anglepoise lamp, successful and innovative desk lamp design
Automotive lighting
Banning of incandescent light bulbs
Bug zapper
Candlepower
Computer graphics lighting
Fishing light attractor, underwater lights to attract fish
Home automation
Light fixture
Light in school buildings
Light pollution
Lighting control systems, for a buildings or residences
Lighting for the elderly
List of Lighting Design Software
Luminous efficacy
Neon lighting (for signage)
Over-illumination
Seasonal affective disorder
Sustainable lighting
Three-point lighting, technique used in both still photography and in film
Inventors
Joseph Swan, carbonized-thread filament incandescent lamp
Alexander Nikolayevich Lodygin, carbon-rod filament incandescent lamp
Thomas Edison, long-lasting incandescent lamp with high-resistance filament
John Richardson Wigham, lighthouse engineer
Lists
List of environmental health hazards
List of light sources
Timeline of lighting technology
References
External links
Illuminating Engineering Society of North America – official website
Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Lighting Research at the University of Sheffield
Lighting Research and Technology; an international peered reviewed journal
Category:Architectural elements
Category:Garden features
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BBC Television
| "thumb|250px|The \"Television Symbol\", known informally as the \"Bats Wings\", was the first BBC Te(...TRUNCATED) | 352,308 |
2025-04
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Federal Bureau of Investigation
| "The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the (...TRUNCATED) | 11,127 |
2025-04
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Punjab, Pakistan
| "Punjab (; , ) is a province of Pakistan. With a population of over 127 million, it is the most popu(...TRUNCATED) | 24,751 |
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Capacitor
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History of India
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