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Tag: knight

  • Kristin Scott Thomas Named Dame by Queen Elizabeth

    Kristin Scott Thomas can add something besides actor to her already impressive resume. On Tuesday, December 30th, Queen Elizabeth named her a dame. The honor is to women what being knighted is to men.

    Kristin Scott Thomas, who is due to play the British monarch in stage play The Audience in 2015, said at first she didn’t believe the news.

    “I am thrilled, astonished and worried that I might suddenly wake up,” she said.

    Scott Thomas received an Academy Award nomination back in 1997 for her role in The English Patient.

    She wasn’t the only one on Tuesday to receive such exciting news, however. Actress Joan Collins, fashion designer Mary Quant (known for designing the mini-skirt back in the 1960s), and actress Emily Watson were all named as dames. Actor John Hurt, chemist Simon Campbell (one of the inventors of the erectile dysfunction medication Viagra), and comic actor James Corden (he will soon take over on The Late Late Show for Craig Ferguson) were all named as knights.

    All of the aforementioned honors are bestowed by the monarch, however they were chosen by committees of civil servants. Nominations came from both the public and the government.

    Knights are hereby addressed as ‘Sir,’ and then the person’s name–for example, Sir Simon Campbell. Dames are addressed as ‘Dame,’ and then their name–for example, Dame Kristin Scott Thomas.

    Congratulations to Dame Kristin Scott Thomas, Dame Joan Collins, Dame Mary Quant, and Dame Emily Watson, as well as to Sir John Hurt, Sir Simon Campbell, and Sir James Corden. May they live up to the expectations of Queen Elizabeth.

  • Medieval Knight Found Underneath Car Park

    Knights today are romanticized in pop culture as noble warriors and defenders of chivalry, but the real thing has been found this week in Scotland.

    A medieval knight has been found buried underneath a car park in Edinburgh this week. The car park was reportedly being demolished when a decorated sandstone slab covered in the Calvary Cross and a sword was found. The knight’s skeleton is that of an adult and the markings on the slab indicate the remains could be that of a noble.

    The knight’s skeleton will now be taken for study, which should be able to determine significant facts about the person’s life, including the time period in which he lived.

    “We hope to find out more about the person buried in the tomb once we remove the headstone and get to the remains underneath but our archaeologists have already dated the gravestone to the thirteenth century,” said Richard Lewis, culture convener for the Edinburgh City Council.
    “This find has the potential to be one of the most significant and exciting archaeological discoveries in the city for many years, providing us with yet more clues as to what life was like in Medieval Edinburgh.”

    The site of the burial was reportedly also the site of several historical buildings, such as the 13th century Blackfriars Monastery. The car park was being demolished to build a rainwater-harvesting tank for the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation (ECCI).