On This Day
917 – Liu Yan declares himself emperor, establishing the Southern Han state in southern China, at his capital of Panyu.
Southern Han (Chinese: 南漢; pinyin: Nán Hàn; 917–971), officially Han (Chinese: 漢), originally Yue (Chinese: 越), was one of the ten kingdoms that existed during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It was located on China’s southern coast, controlling modern Guangdong and Guangxi. The kingdom greatly expanded its capital Xingwang Fu (Chinese: 興王府; pinyin: Xìngwáng Fǔ, present-day Guangzhou). It attempted but failed to annex the independent polity of Jinghai which was controlled by the Vietnamese.
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Born On This Day
1201 – Alix of Thouars, duchess of Brittany (d. 1221)
Alix of Thouars[a] (1200 – 21 October 1221) (in Breton Alis) ruled as Duchess of Brittany from 1203 until her death. She was also Countess of Richmond in the peerage of England.[b][1][2]
Life
Alix was born in 1200. She was the daughter of Constance, Duchess of Brittany and Guy of Thouars.[3] According to several French historians, Constance died after giving birth to Alix’s sisters Catherine and Margaret.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Alix’s older half-brother was Arthur I, Duke of Brittany and her half-sisters were Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany and Matilda of Brittany, the children of Constance and Geoffrey Plantagenet. Upon the death of Richard I of England, a power struggle commenced between her half-brother Arthur and John, King of England. At the Battle of Mirebeau in 1202, Arthur and Eleanor were captured. Arthur was imprisoned at the Château de Falaise and in 1203 disappeared. Eleanor was imprisoned at Corfe Castle.
The Breton barons recognized Alix as Duchess of Brittany after the presumed death of Arthur, instead of Eleanor. This was due to fears that John might claim to rule Brittany as regent for the imprisoned Eleanor. Alix’s father Guy became regent for Alix until 1206, when Philip II of France made himself the regent of the duchy in Alix’s name. King Philip II broke off the betrothal of Alix and the Breton prince Henry of Penthièvre, [c] and turned to his French cousin Peter of Dreux, as Alix’s husband.[11][12] In 1208, John permitted Eleanor to style herself Duchess of Brittany and Countess of Richmond. Pierre married Alix on 27 January 1213, and paid homage to the French king for Brittany. In 1214 John recognized Alix as Duchess of Brittany, renouncing the claim of Eleanor.
In 1218 Pierre and Alix were recognized by William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke regent of England as Earl and Countess of Richmond in place of Eleanor, who would never be released from imprisonment.
Alix died on 21 October 1221, without having exercised much control over her own inheritance. She was succeeded in the duchy by her son John I, but Peter remained the de facto ruler of Brittany as John I’s regent until 1237.
Children
John I, Duke of Brittany (c. 1217–1286),[13] married Blanche of Navarre, daughter of the king of Navarre, Theobald I of Navarre.
Yolande of Brittany, (1218–1272), married Hugh XI of Lusignan, Count of Angoulême and Count of Marche
Arthur of Brittany (1220–1224), betrothed to Jeanne de Craon, daughter of Amaury I de Craon and Jeanne des Roches
Portrayals in literature
Alix of Thouars is the heroine of the novel Le Poids d’une couronne (légende bretonne) (1867-1868) by Gabrielle d’Étampes and is mentioned in the novel Dans l’Ombre du Passé (2020) by Léa Chaillou, where it is revealed that the heroine is named after her.
FYI
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Excellent!
Black Rifle Coffee Podcast: Ep 223 Donald Trump Jr.
Ideas
By zdedesigns: Card Stock Trainer Airplane [STEM Plane]
Recipes
Edible Alaska Eat Your Words: #36: What’s your favorite fungi?
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Krista Far From Normal: 90 Cheap Meal Ideas
Just the Recipe: Paste the URL to any recipe, click submit, and it’ll return literally JUST the recipe- no ads, no life story of the writer, no nothing EXCEPT the recipe.
DamnDelicious
RecipeTinEats
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wikimedia
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for June 11 June 11, 2026Picture of the day Panorama of Hong Kong's harbour and skyline, as seen from Victoria Peak on a rainy night of June 11, 2019.
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for June 10 June 10, 2026Picture of the day Hills of České Středohoří (Central Bohemian Highlands): Malý Křižák, Křižák, Brník, Srdov, Milá
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Stump the Bookseller is a service offered by Loganberry Books to reconnect people to the books they love but can’t quite remember. In brief (for more detailed information see our About page), people can post their memories here, and the hivemind goes to work. After all, the collective mind of bibliophiles, readers, parents and librarians around the world is much better than just a few of us thinking. Together with these wonderful Stumper Magicians, we have a nearly 50% success rate in finding these long lost but treasured books. The more concrete the book description, the better the success rate, of course. It is a labor of love to keep it going, and there is a modest fee. Please see the How To page to find price information and details on how to submit your Book Stumper and payment.
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