1216

While d'Albini remained at Corfe, the King marched, on Christmas morning 1216, from Nottingham to Langar near Belvoir Castle, and sent a Summons to Surrender. Upon this, Nicholas d'Albini, one of the Baron's sons and a Clerk in Orders, delivered the keys to the King, asking only that his father should be mercifully treated. The fortress was then committed to the custody of Geoffrey and Oliver de Buteville. William's liberty was gained by paying to the King a fine of 6,000 marks (more than 4,000 pounds) and the sum was raised from his own lands by his wife. After King John's death, though he submitted himself to King Henry III, William d'Albini was forced to give his wife and son Nicholas as hostages for his allegiance, but in 1217 he was one of the King's commanders at the Battle of Lincoln. He died at Offington 1 May 1236, and his body was buried in Newstead, and "his heart under the wall opposite the high altar" at Belvoir Castle.

1432

Bertrandon de La Broquiere, who in 1432 travelled through Eastern Thrace along the old imperial road between Constantinople and Adrianople, speaking of the towns then occupied by the Ottomans reports of some of them that their citadels were destroyed and that they were newly populated, either entirely by Turks, or by Turks and Greeks together, whereas others were inhabited entirely by Greeks. When we consult the old Ottoman chronicles, we find that the towns inhabited by Greeks are always those which had responded to the Summons to Surrender. An early Ottoman chronicler writes: "Murad I marched against the fortress town of Banatoz . The infidels there immediately surrendered the fortress without fighting, and Murad secured them in their former abodes. Then he went against Chorlu; the infidels fought hard, but finally the lord of the town was struck in the eye by an arrow and they were left helpless. The troops swept into the fortress, there was great looting, and they destroyed the fortifications. Then they came to Misini [Mesene]; and its lord came forth with gifts to meet the Sultan." De La Broquiere describes the citadel of Chorlu as being in ruins and the town as being repopulated by Turks and Greeks; Mesene, however, was "une petite place fermee [i.e., walled] et n'y demeurent que Grecz"; on the other hand he says of "Pirgasi", which had been taken by force of arms: "tous les murs abattus et n'y demeure que les Turcz."

1460

The castle was held by Lancastrian forces and endured a siege which is said to have lasted seven years. The constable, Dafydd ap Ieuan, and his garrison held out long after other Lancastrian commanders in England and Wales had surrendered to the Yorkist faction and Alan Reid (in "The Castles of Wales", 1973) tells us the following story.

"Dafydd ... widened his fame by replying to one Summons to Surrender with the boast that he had once held a castle in France so long against siege that all the old women of Wales talked of it; and now he would hold a castle in Wales until all the old women of France talked of it."

Eventually famine forced surrender and Dafydd handed the castle to Lord Herbert and his brother Sir Richard Herbert on honourable terms. King Edward IV at first refused to honour the terms of the settlement but Sir Richard Herbert, out of respect for the bravery of the defenders, offered his own life in exchange for Dafydd's rather than see his promise broken. These defenders were the Men of Harlech commemorated in the song.

1612

3rd September, the son of Edward Tyldesley:

" Whatever the truth of the matter, this muddy brawl had ended hopes of the county remaining aloof from the move towards war and both sides made their preparations accordingly".

Lord Strange:

"having drawn all the Trained Bands in the county up to Wiggon with what assistance Mr Tildesley with all the popish and volonteers the county would then afford (being all exceeding earnest to forward the warr) careing with them some small pieces of artillery march towards Warrington fell doune suddenly upon Manchester about the latter end of September."

After the fight on 15th July, the citizens had hired the services of a German engineer named John Roswurm and under his capable direction the town had been surrounded by earthworks. When Strange and his ramshackle army arrived before it on 25th September his Summons to Surrender was brusquely rejected, leaving him with little alternative but to lay siege to the town with his men, reinforced by some of the Trained Bands of Cheshire and North Wales. Tyldesley's contingent was posted opposite Deansgate and, obviously believing in wasting no time, Tyldesley launched an assault the next day, which succeeded in penetrating the defences before being thrown out again when Roswurm himself led a vigorous counter-attack. Tyldesley then established himself in a house called Alport Lodge, belonging to a Mr Moseley and: "with a Drake played fearslie against the town at that end called Deanes Gate, but did no execution worth memory."

On the 24 of July the city of Bristol was summoned to surrender. On the 26 July, 2 parties, each of 50 musketeers from Rivers, were used to cover the attack on the gate of Priors Fort, which unfortunately was unsuccesful, largely due to the failure of the Petard to breach the gate. In July 1644 Lieutenant General John Middleton, with over 3,000 horse and dragoones summoned the castle to surrender. On 31st July a general assault was launched, but without any artillery support it was driven back with heavy losses. On the 29th September Colonel Jeremy Horton laid siege to the castle. A 12 day bombardment shattered the southern towers of the medieval defences. A summons to surrender was again refused, with a counter offer for Horton to surrender his forces!

By the end of 1645 Parliament was on the verge of victory in the war. Oliver Cromwell and Colonel Dalbier had destroyed the nearby Basing House on 14th November, in a particularly vicious and bloody attack. They now turned their attentions to Donnington. During the winter Dalbier quartered his forces in Newbury and the villages surrounding Donnington. When the spring arrived he commenced a furious bombardment with cannon and mortars. On 1st April 1646 the surrender took place and the garrison was allowed to march out and on to the Royalist garrison at Wallingford, with their colours flying, drums beating, their matches lighted, bullets in their mouths and bandoliers filled with powder. What remained of the castle was then sacked and all the lead stolen, probably causing much discomfort to the puritan owner, John Packer, who had only taken possession in 1640.

1870

On April 8, British General Henry Clinton summons General Benjamin Lincoln to surrender before beginning bombardment of Charleston, South Carolina. Lincoln responds with a declaration to fight to the last. April 13, the British begin bombarding the town, and on April 14, Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton and his Legion and loyalist militia defeat Isaac Huger's troops at the battle of Monck's Corner outside the town. Having sealed the American army in the city, on May 8 Clinton sends another summons to surrender. Lincoln again refuses and the next evening, after further summons by Clinton, the army, according to German mercenary for the British, Captain Johann von Ewald, "shouted 'Hurrah' three times," opened fire, and all the city's church bells rang out in a seeming frenzy of futile resistance. Lieutenant Governor Christopher Gadsden, who had earlier opposed surrender, now requests that Lincoln do so to save the much damaged city from further destruction. Gadsden is supported by two petitions by citizens.

1997

It was Christmas morning , a rumor was circulating that the future had arrived.

"At the time I was closely following Mark Pesche & Scott Fischer's tour of duty. Their VRML was to liberate us from flatscreen flatland. But no, VRML was not the harbinger of the future. The buzz was about today, now! The software had already arrived. Ready to go. Plug and Play. 17:00 PST. It was now 18:25. This future was 85 minutes old, the one I already knew so well, that would keep me up at nights, sweating and dreaming, drooling and intoxicated, where, Johnny Neumonic and Hiro Protagonist slipped, glided, and cowboyed. The future where you could be a punk, jacked in to the bone, your amphetamined brains dazzling , opening secrets and cracks in rolling poly-pixiled voids."

(FRY's Electronics comes in 22 different flavored themes: Egyptian Tomb FRY's, Indonesian Jungle FRY's, Alice in Wonderland FRY's, Medieval Castle FRY's, Alien Invasion movie set FRY's...)

"Rumor had it that the valley's own Aztec Temple FRY's would be the first to carry the beautiful, sweet smelling, shrink-wrapped purple package, the gateway to the world of codebreakers, datacorks, encephalons, skillwares, memory bombs, Orthoskins, Synthacardium enhancements, platelets, avatar cloaks, slipcodes, Tanarus jumpers, shimmersuits, ICE and nibble traps. I aimed my waxed anachronism toward distribution HQ, my air conditioned car, a convenience soon to be obsoleted by the Aztec offering; the purchase of the future witnessed by technology's ruins replicated in paper mache and plastic. I spotted a salesperson as he darted behind a paper mache boulder. "

"You got Ultima Online?" I yelled after him, skidding on some plastic moss.

"America Online. Yes. You can pick up your free CD in aisle 2, 5, 6, 12, 17, 24, 33, 40 or at any of the cashiers as you exit, Sir. It's on sale!"

"No, Ultima Online, the new game. It should have arrived in the store at 5 o'clock today".

"Oh, Ultimus. It just came in. It's in the software section. Keep following this path, you'll pass a monkey and a banana tree on your right; it'll be inside the Choc-Mool. There's a big pile of boxes. What you're looking for."

...shrink wrap...box...jewel case....jewel.

installing...

"Are you with us?"

"...You may not use the Ultima Online service for any activities other than activities that are permitted within the game world...you will not do anything that interferes with the ability of other users to enjoy playing the game in accordance with its rules...your account may be terminated at any given moment without warning and without reimbursement...Sony reserves the right...summons...no warning...terminated...NSA...fine of...to...up to six months...Microsoft...PIII...sole responsibility...possessions liquidated...brain tumors... surrender!...YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU AGREE TO THESE RULES AND WILL ABIDE BY THEM."

"Surely... "

"I Accept". Click.

Connect, Login:

"Welcome to Asheron's Call"

"Create New Account". Click.

Click.

"Your name is : Annereth D'arnereneth".

"Please choose your password. Remember to choose carefully. Choose something you will remember. You could use the name of your pet."

My password is "Stimpy"

"Sorry that password is already taken. May we suggest password "Stimpy#2467341".

"OK". Click.

"Your password is "Stimpy#2467341". Keep your password to yourself. Do not write it down or tell it to anyone you know. Remember that your password is the key to your identity. You should commit it to memory. If you suffer from a memory problem we suggest you think of other simple words that you can associate with your password. This may help you in a time of need. Suggetsed association keys: "wren", "the fat cat from Wren and Stimpy", "The big cat from that show on Nikelodian about the dog and the cat".)

"To play online you will be required to pay a monthly fee of $9.99. You may sign up for several months in advance to simplify your payment process.

3 MO: $29.96.
6 MO: $57.96.
1 YR: $109.96
5 YR: $419.96
50 YR: $3999.96"

"1 YR". Click.

"Thank you for subscribing Mr. Stern, we already have your credit card information in our database."

...my information...hmm...I never should have bought that battery at Radio Shack last year.

"Congratulations! Your registration is complete. Thank you for choosing EverQuest"

"Remember, You're in Our World Now!

"Create New Character":

"CHARACTER OPTIONS:

"Delete Character". Click.

"Thou wishes to delete Sir Annereth D'aranereneth?"

"Yes". Click.

"Art thou Sure?"

"Yes". Click.

"Create New Character". Click.

"Please choose your Character name. Remember, You may not use names of religious, occult, or significant historic origin (e.g. Jesus, Allah, Satan). You may not use non-fantasy names from popular media (e.g. Rambo, Darthvader). You may not use Common words and phrases that would not be found in the place and time setting of the game (e.g. Switchblade, Phaser, Toaster). You may not use Popular and easily recognized names from existing media...Or, just click here to use the automatic name generator."

Character Name: "Eddo". Click.

"Name Approved. Your name is Eddo".

"Please choose your password. Remember to choose password carefully. Choose something you will remember. You could use the name of your pet."

My password is: "Summons_to_Surrender"

"Password Approved. Your password is "Summons_to_Surrender". Keep your password to yourself. Do not write it down or tell it to anyone you know. Remember that your password is the key to your identity. You should commit it to memory. If you suffer from a memory problem we suggest you think of other simple words that you can associate with your password. This may help you in a time of need. Suggested association keys: "x_x_x", "x_to_x" , "Sx_to_Sx".) "