Good morning all,
beautiful day here. The trees look like they are glowing.
Nancy, I too spend half my life looking for my important things and the other half trying to remember what I'm looking for lol
I definitely need lots of clues. I imagine this started back in the Bible days.
:) Laura

More clues needed here as well.

I saw a few rain drops clump together into a brief snow clump. Just hovering on the edge of the snowflakes line. Garden flowers still look lovely. Good day to read some of the many books I got from the library yesterday.

One of the earliest known references to paperwork that served the role of a passport is found in the Hebrew Bible. In the biblical verse, Nehemiah 2:7-9, attributed to 450 BC, it is believed that Nehemiah, an official serving King Artaxerxes I of Persia, asked leave to travel to Judea; the king granted leave and gave him a letter "to the governors beyond the river" requesting safe passage for him as he traveled through their lands.

In the medieval Islamic Caliphate, a form of passport was in the form of a bara'a, a receipt for taxes paid. Only citizens who paid their zakah (for Muslims) or jizya (for Dhimmis) taxes were permitted to travel to different regions of the Caliphate, thus the bara'a receipt was a "traveler's basic passport."

Notwithstanding the above, it was not until later that what many construe to be a 'true' passport was issued....I wonder if William carried one?

Bobbie, I'm glad we haven't had that amalgamation yet! I have laundry on the line and way too many bulbs left to plant. I was very ambitious at the stores, and the sales did not help!!

Nancy.

Aah, now, the choices are narrowed. My ancestors were part of his group, if i am thinking of the correct William. My friend Jean and I are planning a return visit this summer. Every other year would be perfect-only thing better would be to live there. It makes sense that they would be first, but won't go into that.

Cynthia

No clue here, I'm afraid. It's probably going to take a give-away clue for me to get this one.

I'm in the process of rebuilding my greenhouse. I decided it needed to be bigger (of course) so I took it apart down to the last stick and now I'm getting it back together. The weather is cooperating today, luckily. Coffee break is over here, so back out I go.

TM

Hmmmmm.....he didn't offer his kingdom for a horse....Herman's Hermits didn't sing a song about him, either.

Nancy.

Sounds like an English king though I have no idea which one. Clues eliminate William the Conquer, Richard the Third, and Henry the Eighth.

Which clue eliminated William the Conquerer, Bobbie? I seem to have missed that.

Cynthia

Just asking because my first thought was England, but then the William reference made me think France, so if William was eliminated...well, I am back to merry old England.

Cynthia

I eliminated William because of "I wonder if William carried one?" Doubt Nancy would give us the answer so boldly so early. And the others are English. I think the king before William the Conquerer was also named William.

I was of course referencing the Bard. So sorry about Falstaff.....

Nancy.

Ha, Bobbie! I thought it was pretty obvious, but decided that maybe it was a gift. :). I was totally wrong going to Wm the Conquerer.

Okay, looking for an English king and maybe one William Shakespeare wrote about? Not Richard III or Henry VIII...another Henry? Could be any of them as protection during the Hundred Years War, I suppose. Don't want those French sneaking into England, don't you know!

No idea which one. Need clues.

Cynthia

Somewhere betwixt and between....he magnificently went to war but: A mock trial of him, for the crimes associated with the legality of the invasion and the slaughter of prisoners was held in Washington, D.C. in March 2010, drawing from both historical record and Shakespeare's play. Titled "The Supreme Court of the Amalgamated Kingdom of England and France", participating judges were Justices Samuel Alito and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Oho, what? Is that a give-away?

Nancy.

Ooh, that rings a bell but I don't quite remember who was on trial. Will have to think on it for awhile. I want to say Richard the Lionhearted but not sure.

OK, we ran out of time. Falstaff was the friend of Henry V, in Shakespeare's plays, and he was who we were looking for - other clues would have been Agincourt and Monmouth.
His reign was generally free from serious trouble at home. Henry V promoted the use of the English language in government, and his reign marks the appearance of Chancery Standard English as well as the adoption of English as the language of record within Government. He was the first king to use English in his personal correspondence since the Norman conquest, which had occurred 350 years earlier. A forward thinking guy! He is credited with having invented what some consider the first true passport, notwithstanding the earlier examples cited, as a means of helping his subjects prove who they were in foreign lands.
A passport does not necessarily grant the passport holder entry into another country, nor to consular protection while abroad or any other privileges, such as immunity from arrest or prison sentences rights to consular protection arise from international treaties. It is considered unlikely that the term "passport" is derived from sea ports, but rather from a medieval document that was required to pass through the gate of a city wall (porte) or to pass through a territory. In medieval Europe, such documents were issued to travelers by local authorities, and generally contained a list of towns and cities into which a document holder was permitted to pass. On the whole, documents were not required for travel to sea ports, which were considered open trading points, but documents were required to travel inland from sea ports.

There, more than we ever wanted to know about passports, except that all important question, where is my application, and more importantly, by birth certificate. I am seriously miffed about this, and will now once again tear the house apart. Thanks for playing, and sorry I skunked you.

See you next week, same time, same Bat-station!!

Nancy.

Thanks for the question, Nancy. I don't know enough English history to have gotten Henry V even with your further clues. Interesting history of passports. Hope you find yours soon.

Agincourt would have given it to me. Henry V as played by Kenneth Branagh is one of those movies I never tire of watching. Love the speech rallying the troops-"We few...we band of brothers..." I still have a crush on him!

Thanks for the fun! Excellent question.

Cynthia