h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi everyone anything to add

Anyone any more to say

Hi is there anything more to add to this, when this is finished I will put the last 2 in the series into review.

'The early history and formation of the southern midland counties was dominated by many things, but the most influential was the conflict between the Kingdom of Wessex and the Danes and the Danelaw. It is interesting that in this part of the country more use was made of the Roman road network than the north, and that the towns, have market charters that pre date the Norman Conquest. Watling Street was used as the boundary between the Danes and Wssex. This area escaped the harrying of the north, the destruction that lasted for almost a year.'

Just noticed three things in this para, Bob:

1) Can you footnote danelaw to explain it?
2) Ditto for the harrying of the north
3) Second line up from the bottom, there is an 'e' missing from Wessex.

Hi Ben

All done please comment

Entry: English Chartered Markets: 3 The South Midlands East Anglia And Wales - A22909917
Author: Bob Stafford (Keeper of The Treacle Shadow) - U3151547

They're good Bob, but I think they betray your one real weakness which is brevity. If, like me, you hold your mouse over the footnote to have it pop up on the screen, you haven't got long to read it before it disappears again. Can you trim them a bit? I will try and find some time to look over the rest of the entry, but I will probably have to do it in stages.

Hi benjaminpmoore
Thank you for your comments
I will have a look but it will be tough

If you need any suggestions feel free to come back to me.

Ok I am open for ideas please

Bob,

Here are my thoughts on your footnotes:

After many defeats by the Danes, in the year 878 AD Alfred of Wessex was ready to fight back; he led his forces in a succession of battles starting in 879 AD, and ending at the Battle of Edington. This led the treaty of Wedmore, establishing the Danelew (Danish Lands) north of Watling Street. And Wessex and its supporters occupying the lands to the south.

Could be just:

Treaty with Alfred the great granting Danes the lands north of Watling Street.


3 The north fell victim to the events in 1069 known as the Harrying of the North, an almost total destruction of the economic infrastructure of the ares, together with the slaughter of large numbers of the inhabitants. This was the personal revenge of King William I for the slaughter of his army of 700 men in Durham. The cultural and economic structure of the North was also destroyed, evidenced by the lack of chartered markets in the area (though not unchartered ones). The area did not have a chartered market established until 1086, when the first charter was granted to Penwortham, probably established as a market to serve an area around a local seaport.

Could simply be:

Act of mass slaugther, looting, pillage and destruction instigated by William the conquerer as revenge for the Northern settlements supporting a Viking invasion of Britain.

You can be in danger of giving people too much information.

Well Ben I like the simpler version and I have adopted it. Thanks verymuch fot the ideas.

Pleasure. I will try to find time to work through the rest of the entry Bob, but my experience of your (many) contributions is that your tendency to use ten words where one will do is your only major failing.

May be it was time that omeone mentioned it

Maybe when I've done as many entries as you I can be critical eh?

I think your opinion is valid, good sence always is.

I guess you're right, none of us are entitled to think we know it all are we?

No and I have always made it a policy on H2G2 to listen and adopt any good ideas. You can be to close to the work to see the some of the errors.

That's certainly true, it's embarassing how basic some of your spelling errors can seem when pointed out isn't it?

You can say that again

Okay Bob, I'm going to be thoroughly ruthless now, but I do so with the greatest respect to your considerable (and vastly superior) record in the eg:

'The first English people settled in the county were an East Anglian people called the Grywas. The Danes took over the area in 740 and the area around Huntingdon became a important military base. The area was recaptured by Edward the Elder recaptured and strengthened Huntingdon in 915, and was included in the Earldom of Anglia. The area was overrun by the Danes again in 1011 and Huntingdon and the county was part of the Danelaw until 1016 Canute drove out the Danes. The county was part of the Mercian Earldom of Thored until 1050 when it became part of Harold’s Earldom, the county was then granted to Siward as part of the grant of the Earl of Northumberland. After the Conquest the county was part of the land grant to one of William's favourites, Count Eustace of Boulogne, Eustace appointed a Shire Reeve (Sheriff) who was a tyrant and there are many recorded petitions against his rule in the county.'

This is a lot of information and I'm not entirely sure that any of it is really necessary. Great if you're writing a book, and kudos on the research, but I think it's paraphraphs like this, with no direct relevance to your subject matter, that unnecessarily pad out the entry.