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Monday, April 21, 2008
Monday, June 18, 2007
Words - the history of an idea _ from the OED
("gA;dI@n) Forms: a. 5 gardyene, 5–6 gardeyn, 5–8 -ein, (6 -aine, -ayne, -en, guarden, 7 gardeine). b. 5–7 gardian, (6 -iane, -ien), 6– guardian. [a. AF. gardein (1275), OF. g(u)arden, earlier -enc, nom. sing. and acc. pl. guardens, -ains (12th c.), f. garde guard n. or perh. a. Teut. *warding-, f. wardâ ward n. + -ing: see -ing3. The assimilation of the ending to the suffix -ien, which has given the mod.F. gardien, dates from the 14th c., while the appearance of the corresponding -ian in the Eng. word is evidenced from the 15th c. Cf. Pr. gardian, Sp. guardian, It. guardiano, and see warden.]
1. One who guards, protects, or preserves; a keeper, defender; ‘one to whom the care and preservation of any thing is committed’ (J.); sometimes = guardian angel. Applied also occas. to impersonal objects.
c1477 Caxton Jason 87b, She retorned into her chamber wher was but one auncient lady her gardyene or maystresse. 1494 Fabyan Chron. vi. clxxx. 177 Foure knyghtes, whiche were called gardeyns of her corps, were slayne fast by her. Ibid. vii. 365 From that yere+were al custodyes & gardeyns, and no mayres: & who tho that was than constable of the Toure of London, was also custos of the cytie. a1547 Surrey Æneid ii. (1557) Dij, In the void porches Phenix, Ulisses eke, Sterne guardens stood watching of the spoile. 1598 W. Phillips Linschoten's Disc. Voy. i. iii. 4 The Guardian, that is the quarter master hath 1400 reyes the month. 1605 Shakes. Macb. ii iv. 35 The Sacred Store~house of his Predecessors, And Guardian of their Bones. 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. ii. Ded. to King §9 (1872) 79 Readers in sciences are indeed the guardians of the stores and provisions of sciences. 1667 Milton P.L. iii. 512 The Stairs were such as whereon Jacob saw Angels ascending and descending, bands Of Guardians bright. a1711 Ken E. Hymn Wks. (1838) 438 O may my Guardian while I sleep, Close to my bed his vigils keep. 1767 Junius Lett. xiv. 59 The attorney-general is ex officio the Guardian of liberty. 1856 Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. iii. 189 The clergy were the guardians of morality. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 10 Plato+explains the manner in which guardians of the law+are to be appointed. 1883 C. J. Wills Mod. Persia 277 The dervish who usually acts as guardian to the tomb.
1667 1883
1494 1598 1605 1767 1875
c1477 a1547 1605 a1711 1856
b. †Guardian of the Peace: an earlier name for a ‘Justice of the Peace’. Guardian of the Spiritualities, G. of the Temporalities: see those words. Guardian of the Poor (often simply Guardian): one of a board elected to administer the poor laws in a particular parish or district.
[1330 Act 4 Edw. III, c. 5 Et eient les Justices, assignez a la deliverance des gaoles poair a deliverer les gaoles de ceux qi serront enditez devant les gardeins de la pees.] 1417 Ld. Furnival in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. ii. I. 61 The Gardeins of the spirituallities of Ardmaghe. 1581 Lambarde Eiren. i. ii. (1588) 9 The Gardeins of the Peace (who afterward obtained the name of Iustices of the Peace). 1764 Burn Poor Laws 183 Twelve persons residing in each district, of a certain estate in land, to be guardians of the district. 1782 Act 22 Geo. III, c. 83 §2 The Visitor, Guardian, and Governor of such Poor House. Ibid. §7 It shall and may be lawful for two Justices of the Peace+to appoint one of the Persons so recommended to be Guardian of the Poor for each of such Parishes. 1783–94 Blake Songs Innoc., Holy Thursday 11 Beneath them sit the aged men, wise guardians of the poor. 1834 Act 4 & 5 Will. IV, c. 76 §38 A Board of Guardians of the Poor for such Union shall be constituted and chosen, and the Workhouse or Workhouses of such Union shall be governed, and the Relief of the Poor in such Union shall be administered, by such Board of Guardians. 1857 Toulmin Smith Parish 166 ‘Guardians’ may exist either for single parishes, or for groups of parishes joined in ‘Unions’. 1876 Fawcett Pol. Econ. iv. v. (ed. 5) 598 The Manchester guardians have lately made able-bodied paupers grind corn by hand. 1876 Freeman Norm. Conq. V. xxv. 549 A reform of a generation back entrusted the care of the poor+to Boards of Guardians.
1876
1783–94 1876
1782 1857
[1330] 1417 1581 1764 1834
c. (See quot.)
1727–41 Chambers Cycl. s.v., In the order of the garter, the officer who in other military orders is called grand~master, is called the sovereign guardian of the order.
1727–41
d. In an Oddfellows' lodge, Inner and Outer Guardian. (Cf. guard n. 7c.)
1879 Man. Oddfellowship 141 The lodge is properly arranged, and the inner door opened wide; the Grand Marshal, with white baton trimmed with scarlet, approaches the Inner Guardian from without.
1879
2. spec. in Law. One who has or is by law entitled to the custody of the person or property (or both) of an infant, an idiot, or other person legally incapable of managing his own affairs; a tutor. (The correlative of ward.)
1513 More Rich. III, Wks. 50/2 Syth he hath nothing by discent holden by knightes seruice, the law maketh his mother his gardaine. 1561 T. Norton Calvin's Inst. (1634) Table Contents, The old Church is compared to an heire under age, which is governed by Gardians. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado ii. iii. 174, I am sorry for her, as I haue iust cause, being her Vncle, and her Guardian. 1611 Bible Transl. Pref. 2 A wastefull Prince, that had neede of a Guardian, or ouerseer. 1628 Coke On Litt. i. 135b, When an Ideot doth sue or defend, he shall not appeare by Gardeine or Procheine Amy. 1700 Prideaux Lett. (Camden) 195 Mr Walpole, who was guardian to ye Lord Townshend. 1758 Johnson Idler No. 6 310 She only ran away from her guardians. 1765 Blackstone Comm. I. xvii. 379 The guardian with us performs the office of both the tutor and curator. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) III. 429 The possession of the mother as guardian, gave actual possession to the son. 1859 W. Collins Q. of Hearts (1875) 5, I knew perfectly well that I should hear myself appointed guardian, and executor with his brother, of this young lady.
1599 1765
1561 1628 1758 1859
1513 1611 1700 1818
b. guardian in chivalry: the guardian of a minor holding by knight service. (†Rarely g. in knight service.) guardian in socage: the guardian of a tenant in socage. guardian by nature: the father, with respect to his tutelage of the heir apparent or heiress presumptive. guardian for nurture: the father, and, after his death the mother, until the minor has reached the age of 14. (These four were classed together as guardians by the common law.) guardian by custom or customary guardian: an officer, corporation, etc. having by local custom a legal right to exercise guardianship. guardian by election: a guardian chosen by an infant who would otherwise have none. (See also quot. 1823.) guardian ad litem (see quot. 1838).
1565 Cooper Thesaurus, Curatores dicuntur qui pupillis loco tutorum dantur. Gardians in socage, or they that haue the charge and custodie of wardes or other under yeres of discretion. 1574 tr. Littleton's Tenures 10b, The childes mother entrethe in the remnant, and it occupieth as garden or warden in socage. 1628 Coke On Litt. i. 85 There is Gardeine in right in Chiualrie, and Gardeine in Deede in Chiualrie. Ibid. 88b, There are three manner of Gardeinships, viz. by the Common Law, by the Statute Law, and Custome. By the Common Law there are foure manner of Gardians, viz. Gardein in Chiualrie+Gardein by nature+Gardein in Socage+Gardein per cause de nurture. 1642 tr. Perkins' Prof. Bk. i. §60. 28 Gardien in Knight Service of the bodie and land may grant the wardship of the land without deed. 1654 Sheppard's Crt.-Keepers Guide 112 A Gardeine in Chivalry that hath a Manor of the Wards may make Copyhold Estates. 1660 R. Coke Power & Subj. 83 Guardian in Chivalry may give or sell to another the Guardianship of his Ward; but Guardian in Socage cannot, for his is delegata potestas. 1660 Act 12 Car. II, c. 24 §8 Every person or persons claiming the custody or tuition of such childe or children as Guardian in soccage or otherwise. 1765 Blackstone Comm. I. 449 Of the several species of guardians, the first are guardians by nature: viz. the father and (in some cases) the mother of the child+There are also guardians for nurture which are of course the father, or+mother, till the infant attains the age of fourteen years. Ibid. 462 These guardians in socage, like those for nurture, continue only till the minor is fourteen years of age. 1820 Gifford Compl. Eng. Lawyer iii. xii. (ed. 5) 387 Guardians are of six kinds:—1. Guardians by nature; 2. Guardians by nurture; 3. Guardians in socage; 4. Guardians by testament; 5. Guardians by custom of particular places; 6. Guardians by election of the infant. 1823 Crabb Technol. Dict. s.v., Guardian by statute, or testamentary guardian, one appointed according to the statute of 12 Car. 2, c. 24.+ Guardian by appointment, is either of the Lord Chancellor or the Ecclesiastical Court. 1838 Penny Cycl. XI. 465/1 All courts+have power to appoint a guardian ad litem, that is, to defend a prosecution or suit instituted by or against an infant.
1660
1660
1654 1838
1574 1642 1823
1565 1628 1765 1820
†3. In various official titles in which the form warden is now prevalent. Obs.
1495 Act 11 Hen. VII, c. 35 Preamble, His Lyeutenaunte of Ireland and Gardeyn of the+Marches. 1529 Rastell Pastyme (1811) 195 Ryse Meridocke rebellyd agaynst the kynge's Gardeyn of his Castels in Wales. 1571 Act 13 Eliz. c. 10 §2 Master or Gardian of anye Hospitall. 1581 Lambarde Eiren. iii. ii. (1588) 337 The writ de homine Replegiando to be directed to the garden of a Forest. 1632 Star Chamb. Cases (Camden) 109 Lord Gardein of the Cinque Portes. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Guardian of the Cinque Ports, otherwise lord-warden.
1581
1571
1495 1529 1632 1867
4. The superior of a Franciscan convent. [L. custos.]
1466 Paston Lett. No. 549 II. 266 Item, to xxiii. susters of Normandys, with the gardian, eche of them iiiid., and the gardian viiid. 1727–41 Chambers Cycl. s.v., In the convents of Franciscans, the officer is called guardian, who in the rest is called superior. 1883 Catholic Dict. (1885) 356/2 Fr. John Perez de Marchena, guardian of a convent near Seville+a learned cosmographer.
1466 1727–41 1883
5. pl. = guard n. 12. ? Obs.
1555 Eden Decades 38 The guardens of the north pole were owte of syght. 1879 Proctor New Star Atlas 16 The course of the pair of stars (called ‘the Guardians of the Pole’) belonging to the Little Bear is also shown by arrows.
1555 1879
6. attrib. and Comb., as guardian election; guardian-cell = guard-cell.
1880 Gray Struct. Bot. iii. §4. 89 The stomata+consist usually of a pair of cells (called *guardian-cells), with an opening between them. 1885 G. L. Goodale Physiol. Bot. (1892) 377 The cellulose film is produced almost simultaneously throughout the whole extent of the mother-cell, which is cut into two guardian-cells, forming a stoma.
1898 Daily News 23 Feb 6/5 The question of a Saturday poll at the forthcoming *guardian elections.
b. attrib. passing into adj. with sense ‘protecting, tutelary.’ guardian-angel, an angel conceived as watching over or protecting a particular person or place; also transf.
1610 Healey St. Aug. Citie of God 125 Your great guardian-gods bore all this unmoved. a1631 Donne Relique 26 Difference of sex no more wee knew, Then our Guardian Angells doe. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 670 Mother Earth, Goddess unmov'd! whose Guardian Arms extend O'er Thuscan Tiber's Course, and Roman Tow'rs defend. a1711 Ken Hymns Festiv. Poet. Wks. 1721 I. 384 Bless'd Angels,+Your Guardian cares bestow. 1711 Shaftesbury Charac. (1737) I. 168 We have each of us a dæmon, genius, angel, or guardian-spirit. 1725 Pope Odyss. iii. 481 Distinguish'd care of guardian Deities! 1760 Foote Minor i. Wks. 1799 I. 239 Then will I step in, like his guardian-angel, and snatch him from perdition. 1764 Goldsm. Trav. 12 Round his dwelling guardian saints attend. 1780 Cowper 2nd Poem Burn. Ld. Mansfield's Libr., They+blessed the guardian care that kept His sacred head from harm. 1810 Scott Lady of L. i. xvii, The Guardian Naiad of the strand. 1834 J. H. Newman Par. Serm. (1837) I. xx. 311 His guardian friends now long departed. 1847 L. Hunt Jar Honey xii. (1848) 161 The goddess Proserpina, when she was the guardian angel of Sicily. 1864 Pusey Lect. Daniel v. 257 Then followed the Guardian-promise to the house of Jehu. Ibid. viii. 523 Each Christian at least is, from childhood, assigned to the care of his own guardian angel.
1780
1764
1760 1864
1697 1725 1847
a1631 1711 1834
1610 a1711 1810
1. One who guards, protects, or preserves; a keeper, defender; ‘one to whom the care and preservation of any thing is committed’ (J.); sometimes = guardian angel. Applied also occas. to impersonal objects.
c1477 Caxton Jason 87b, She retorned into her chamber wher was but one auncient lady her gardyene or maystresse. 1494 Fabyan Chron. vi. clxxx. 177 Foure knyghtes, whiche were called gardeyns of her corps, were slayne fast by her. Ibid. vii. 365 From that yere+were al custodyes & gardeyns, and no mayres: & who tho that was than constable of the Toure of London, was also custos of the cytie. a1547 Surrey Æneid ii. (1557) Dij, In the void porches Phenix, Ulisses eke, Sterne guardens stood watching of the spoile. 1598 W. Phillips Linschoten's Disc. Voy. i. iii. 4 The Guardian, that is the quarter master hath 1400 reyes the month. 1605 Shakes. Macb. ii iv. 35 The Sacred Store~house of his Predecessors, And Guardian of their Bones. 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. ii. Ded. to King §9 (1872) 79 Readers in sciences are indeed the guardians of the stores and provisions of sciences. 1667 Milton P.L. iii. 512 The Stairs were such as whereon Jacob saw Angels ascending and descending, bands Of Guardians bright. a1711 Ken E. Hymn Wks. (1838) 438 O may my Guardian while I sleep, Close to my bed his vigils keep. 1767 Junius Lett. xiv. 59 The attorney-general is ex officio the Guardian of liberty. 1856 Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. iii. 189 The clergy were the guardians of morality. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 10 Plato+explains the manner in which guardians of the law+are to be appointed. 1883 C. J. Wills Mod. Persia 277 The dervish who usually acts as guardian to the tomb.
1667 1883
1494 1598 1605 1767 1875
c1477 a1547 1605 a1711 1856
b. †Guardian of the Peace: an earlier name for a ‘Justice of the Peace’. Guardian of the Spiritualities, G. of the Temporalities: see those words. Guardian of the Poor (often simply Guardian): one of a board elected to administer the poor laws in a particular parish or district.
[1330 Act 4 Edw. III, c. 5 Et eient les Justices, assignez a la deliverance des gaoles poair a deliverer les gaoles de ceux qi serront enditez devant les gardeins de la pees.] 1417 Ld. Furnival in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. ii. I. 61 The Gardeins of the spirituallities of Ardmaghe. 1581 Lambarde Eiren. i. ii. (1588) 9 The Gardeins of the Peace (who afterward obtained the name of Iustices of the Peace). 1764 Burn Poor Laws 183 Twelve persons residing in each district, of a certain estate in land, to be guardians of the district. 1782 Act 22 Geo. III, c. 83 §2 The Visitor, Guardian, and Governor of such Poor House. Ibid. §7 It shall and may be lawful for two Justices of the Peace+to appoint one of the Persons so recommended to be Guardian of the Poor for each of such Parishes. 1783–94 Blake Songs Innoc., Holy Thursday 11 Beneath them sit the aged men, wise guardians of the poor. 1834 Act 4 & 5 Will. IV, c. 76 §38 A Board of Guardians of the Poor for such Union shall be constituted and chosen, and the Workhouse or Workhouses of such Union shall be governed, and the Relief of the Poor in such Union shall be administered, by such Board of Guardians. 1857 Toulmin Smith Parish 166 ‘Guardians’ may exist either for single parishes, or for groups of parishes joined in ‘Unions’. 1876 Fawcett Pol. Econ. iv. v. (ed. 5) 598 The Manchester guardians have lately made able-bodied paupers grind corn by hand. 1876 Freeman Norm. Conq. V. xxv. 549 A reform of a generation back entrusted the care of the poor+to Boards of Guardians.
1876
1783–94 1876
1782 1857
[1330] 1417 1581 1764 1834
c. (See quot.)
1727–41 Chambers Cycl. s.v., In the order of the garter, the officer who in other military orders is called grand~master, is called the sovereign guardian of the order.
1727–41
d. In an Oddfellows' lodge, Inner and Outer Guardian. (Cf. guard n. 7c.)
1879 Man. Oddfellowship 141 The lodge is properly arranged, and the inner door opened wide; the Grand Marshal, with white baton trimmed with scarlet, approaches the Inner Guardian from without.
1879
2. spec. in Law. One who has or is by law entitled to the custody of the person or property (or both) of an infant, an idiot, or other person legally incapable of managing his own affairs; a tutor. (The correlative of ward.)
1513 More Rich. III, Wks. 50/2 Syth he hath nothing by discent holden by knightes seruice, the law maketh his mother his gardaine. 1561 T. Norton Calvin's Inst. (1634) Table Contents, The old Church is compared to an heire under age, which is governed by Gardians. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado ii. iii. 174, I am sorry for her, as I haue iust cause, being her Vncle, and her Guardian. 1611 Bible Transl. Pref. 2 A wastefull Prince, that had neede of a Guardian, or ouerseer. 1628 Coke On Litt. i. 135b, When an Ideot doth sue or defend, he shall not appeare by Gardeine or Procheine Amy. 1700 Prideaux Lett. (Camden) 195 Mr Walpole, who was guardian to ye Lord Townshend. 1758 Johnson Idler No. 6 310 She only ran away from her guardians. 1765 Blackstone Comm. I. xvii. 379 The guardian with us performs the office of both the tutor and curator. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) III. 429 The possession of the mother as guardian, gave actual possession to the son. 1859 W. Collins Q. of Hearts (1875) 5, I knew perfectly well that I should hear myself appointed guardian, and executor with his brother, of this young lady.
1599 1765
1561 1628 1758 1859
1513 1611 1700 1818
b. guardian in chivalry: the guardian of a minor holding by knight service. (†Rarely g. in knight service.) guardian in socage: the guardian of a tenant in socage. guardian by nature: the father, with respect to his tutelage of the heir apparent or heiress presumptive. guardian for nurture: the father, and, after his death the mother, until the minor has reached the age of 14. (These four were classed together as guardians by the common law.) guardian by custom or customary guardian: an officer, corporation, etc. having by local custom a legal right to exercise guardianship. guardian by election: a guardian chosen by an infant who would otherwise have none. (See also quot. 1823.) guardian ad litem (see quot. 1838).
1565 Cooper Thesaurus, Curatores dicuntur qui pupillis loco tutorum dantur. Gardians in socage, or they that haue the charge and custodie of wardes or other under yeres of discretion. 1574 tr. Littleton's Tenures 10b, The childes mother entrethe in the remnant, and it occupieth as garden or warden in socage. 1628 Coke On Litt. i. 85 There is Gardeine in right in Chiualrie, and Gardeine in Deede in Chiualrie. Ibid. 88b, There are three manner of Gardeinships, viz. by the Common Law, by the Statute Law, and Custome. By the Common Law there are foure manner of Gardians, viz. Gardein in Chiualrie+Gardein by nature+Gardein in Socage+Gardein per cause de nurture. 1642 tr. Perkins' Prof. Bk. i. §60. 28 Gardien in Knight Service of the bodie and land may grant the wardship of the land without deed. 1654 Sheppard's Crt.-Keepers Guide 112 A Gardeine in Chivalry that hath a Manor of the Wards may make Copyhold Estates. 1660 R. Coke Power & Subj. 83 Guardian in Chivalry may give or sell to another the Guardianship of his Ward; but Guardian in Socage cannot, for his is delegata potestas. 1660 Act 12 Car. II, c. 24 §8 Every person or persons claiming the custody or tuition of such childe or children as Guardian in soccage or otherwise. 1765 Blackstone Comm. I. 449 Of the several species of guardians, the first are guardians by nature: viz. the father and (in some cases) the mother of the child+There are also guardians for nurture which are of course the father, or+mother, till the infant attains the age of fourteen years. Ibid. 462 These guardians in socage, like those for nurture, continue only till the minor is fourteen years of age. 1820 Gifford Compl. Eng. Lawyer iii. xii. (ed. 5) 387 Guardians are of six kinds:—1. Guardians by nature; 2. Guardians by nurture; 3. Guardians in socage; 4. Guardians by testament; 5. Guardians by custom of particular places; 6. Guardians by election of the infant. 1823 Crabb Technol. Dict. s.v., Guardian by statute, or testamentary guardian, one appointed according to the statute of 12 Car. 2, c. 24.+ Guardian by appointment, is either of the Lord Chancellor or the Ecclesiastical Court. 1838 Penny Cycl. XI. 465/1 All courts+have power to appoint a guardian ad litem, that is, to defend a prosecution or suit instituted by or against an infant.
1660
1660
1654 1838
1574 1642 1823
1565 1628 1765 1820
†3. In various official titles in which the form warden is now prevalent. Obs.
1495 Act 11 Hen. VII, c. 35 Preamble, His Lyeutenaunte of Ireland and Gardeyn of the+Marches. 1529 Rastell Pastyme (1811) 195 Ryse Meridocke rebellyd agaynst the kynge's Gardeyn of his Castels in Wales. 1571 Act 13 Eliz. c. 10 §2 Master or Gardian of anye Hospitall. 1581 Lambarde Eiren. iii. ii. (1588) 337 The writ de homine Replegiando to be directed to the garden of a Forest. 1632 Star Chamb. Cases (Camden) 109 Lord Gardein of the Cinque Portes. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Guardian of the Cinque Ports, otherwise lord-warden.
1581
1571
1495 1529 1632 1867
4. The superior of a Franciscan convent. [L. custos.]
1466 Paston Lett. No. 549 II. 266 Item, to xxiii. susters of Normandys, with the gardian, eche of them iiiid., and the gardian viiid. 1727–41 Chambers Cycl. s.v., In the convents of Franciscans, the officer is called guardian, who in the rest is called superior. 1883 Catholic Dict. (1885) 356/2 Fr. John Perez de Marchena, guardian of a convent near Seville+a learned cosmographer.
1466 1727–41 1883
5. pl. = guard n. 12. ? Obs.
1555 Eden Decades 38 The guardens of the north pole were owte of syght. 1879 Proctor New Star Atlas 16 The course of the pair of stars (called ‘the Guardians of the Pole’) belonging to the Little Bear is also shown by arrows.
1555 1879
6. attrib. and Comb., as guardian election; guardian-cell = guard-cell.
1880 Gray Struct. Bot. iii. §4. 89 The stomata+consist usually of a pair of cells (called *guardian-cells), with an opening between them. 1885 G. L. Goodale Physiol. Bot. (1892) 377 The cellulose film is produced almost simultaneously throughout the whole extent of the mother-cell, which is cut into two guardian-cells, forming a stoma.
1898 Daily News 23 Feb 6/5 The question of a Saturday poll at the forthcoming *guardian elections.
b. attrib. passing into adj. with sense ‘protecting, tutelary.’ guardian-angel, an angel conceived as watching over or protecting a particular person or place; also transf.
1610 Healey St. Aug. Citie of God 125 Your great guardian-gods bore all this unmoved. a1631 Donne Relique 26 Difference of sex no more wee knew, Then our Guardian Angells doe. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 670 Mother Earth, Goddess unmov'd! whose Guardian Arms extend O'er Thuscan Tiber's Course, and Roman Tow'rs defend. a1711 Ken Hymns Festiv. Poet. Wks. 1721 I. 384 Bless'd Angels,+Your Guardian cares bestow. 1711 Shaftesbury Charac. (1737) I. 168 We have each of us a dæmon, genius, angel, or guardian-spirit. 1725 Pope Odyss. iii. 481 Distinguish'd care of guardian Deities! 1760 Foote Minor i. Wks. 1799 I. 239 Then will I step in, like his guardian-angel, and snatch him from perdition. 1764 Goldsm. Trav. 12 Round his dwelling guardian saints attend. 1780 Cowper 2nd Poem Burn. Ld. Mansfield's Libr., They+blessed the guardian care that kept His sacred head from harm. 1810 Scott Lady of L. i. xvii, The Guardian Naiad of the strand. 1834 J. H. Newman Par. Serm. (1837) I. xx. 311 His guardian friends now long departed. 1847 L. Hunt Jar Honey xii. (1848) 161 The goddess Proserpina, when she was the guardian angel of Sicily. 1864 Pusey Lect. Daniel v. 257 Then followed the Guardian-promise to the house of Jehu. Ibid. viii. 523 Each Christian at least is, from childhood, assigned to the care of his own guardian angel.
1780
1764
1760 1864
1697 1725 1847
a1631 1711 1834
1610 a1711 1810
Sunday, March 26, 2006
from our original website
Guardians of Peace
...is an idea becoming more real with each movement.
"Peace is conflict done well"
... is being carefully practiced, learned, and modeled in our training. Rather than some fantasy of safety we guard the literal and metaphorical places where this idea lives and thrives.
Through martial non-violence (sm) we work to thaw the cold-hearted and fearful machinations that clutch for Security. Fears about attack, victimization, failure, and dying or often quite reasonable but locating them in any particular "enemy" or "evil" most often results in being less rather than more prepared to respond thoroughly with alacrity and specificity.
There is a fantasy for sale today, possibly more so than ever before, that human beings can have relationships free of conflict by crushing literal enemies, suppressing terror and dissent, and avoiding the frightening friction that fires our fears. The inherent dilemma that then arises is the parallel closure of the door conflict otherwise reliably opens on the specific and necessary creative friction that carries the energy designed to power hope, dreams for the future, and the adaptation necessary for survival.
We will be a training partnership of individuals committed to working well with conflict no matter its root or character.
Working well with conflict can and will lead to mysterious difficulties Often we will lack the expertise to create a useful response. Awareness of this certainty makes us more rather than less able to function. It can and will also lead to:
- building community on purpose,
- learning to tell (speak) the difference (what makes human beings work toward both complimentary and opposed needs and desires and so bump into each other on the road to wherever),
- readiness to make a difference (needed departures from business as usual) to improve the felt quality of life,
- a growing awareness that best practices in all dealings need movement in the directions of sustainability that is relational no less than ecological,
- and much more as the popular imagination takes up the ideas involved...
for additional information please call Toll Free: (866) 236-0346, sign in to view our "Tribe" (Tribe.net) or email: brandon at guardiansofpeace dot org
Friday, December 30, 2005
Once and possibly future logos
These are here as an opportunity to reflect on images and identity.
Please comment on your associations with the various images.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
The Future
One of two models is likely to shape the next phase of the Guardians of Peace.
A) Nick and Brandon take time together to clarify a vision and directions to immediately enter the world with offerings - at the same time as we begin training regularly together as a larger group.
B) There are two fundamental groups orbiting the Guardians idea (peace is conflict done well). One that is immediately active, works in the world, and engages in strenuous physical training. Another that includes those not able to engage in physical training and focussing primarily on the ideas and words associated with engaging layers of intangible friction between people and cultural systems. These groups would then engage each other in challenging dialogue to develop the movement of the whole.
Please suggest your preferences and ideas.
And to clarify...
No one has to practice Aikido to be included. There is a clear desire for professional Guardians to be able to deal directly with physical conflict in such a way that no one ends up permanently hurt or deceased. Though Aikido was designed from the beginning with that in mind there are other ways to approach this goal and we honor each path. Finding our methods and context-real levels of functioning under conflict circumstances will be a regular part of our work together.
Brandon
A) Nick and Brandon take time together to clarify a vision and directions to immediately enter the world with offerings - at the same time as we begin training regularly together as a larger group.
B) There are two fundamental groups orbiting the Guardians idea (peace is conflict done well). One that is immediately active, works in the world, and engages in strenuous physical training. Another that includes those not able to engage in physical training and focussing primarily on the ideas and words associated with engaging layers of intangible friction between people and cultural systems. These groups would then engage each other in challenging dialogue to develop the movement of the whole.
Please suggest your preferences and ideas.
And to clarify...
No one has to practice Aikido to be included. There is a clear desire for professional Guardians to be able to deal directly with physical conflict in such a way that no one ends up permanently hurt or deceased. Though Aikido was designed from the beginning with that in mind there are other ways to approach this goal and we honor each path. Finding our methods and context-real levels of functioning under conflict circumstances will be a regular part of our work together.
Brandon
Sunday, August 07, 2005
Reading and Listening List in progress
By Guardians of Peace:
Groping in the Face of Danger by Brandon D. WilliamsCraig
An Aikido Manifesto by Nick Walker
Ai Nidan Essay by Brandon D. WilliamsCraig (Aikido of Berekeley)
By Area of Approach:
more Aikido:
NVC : "Non-violent Communication" references
- At Bookshelved.org - radio (KPFA) segments showing NVC in action
Negotiation/Mediation: Getting To Yes - Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In Please suggest more...
Friday, August 05, 2005
How Jedi?
Profoundly missing the point.
Or are they? What do peace and kicking ass have in common?
Seems the point should be less about being able to kick ass and more about being able to shift into a spot wherein whatever ass kicking was about to happen becomes inexplicably more sustainable for everybody involved.
how jedi are you? :: by lawrie malen
At the cinema level, the Lucas films certainly became almost entirely about arses and the kicking thereof. What about the ongoing life of the image, however? How many living people are working the consequences of the idea into real life in a provacative way?
Opinions? Reflections?
Or are they? What do peace and kicking ass have in common?
Seems the point should be less about being able to kick ass and more about being able to shift into a spot wherein whatever ass kicking was about to happen becomes inexplicably more sustainable for everybody involved.
how jedi are you? :: by lawrie malen
At the cinema level, the Lucas films certainly became almost entirely about arses and the kicking thereof. What about the ongoing life of the image, however? How many living people are working the consequences of the idea into real life in a provacative way?
Opinions? Reflections?
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Guardians of Peace 20050312 P.R.
Saturday, March 12, 2005
Who do you know who…
Is strangely drawn to or energized by conflict, and seems able to engage friction creatively?
Has begun a path towards both compassionate action and humility and is determined to be of service to other human beings?
Wants to learn or is now facilitating conflictual interactions at a professional level?
and would like to learn more about Guardians of Peace?
Days after the attacks on the
1) train together and build community on purpose to create a container for shared understanding of profound conflict
2) nurture that relationship through diverse Councils, sustained internationally and across generations
3) make the fruits of this practice available to those in need of compassionate intervention, facilitation, and cultivated investment in shared dilemmas
4) work in the public sector toward playfully capturing a part of the contemporary imagination, such that the Process Arts™ (practices which cultivate complex relational understanding) become an expectation as universal as the use of technology.
The seeds were planted in a non-profit incubator called Association Building Community and are now flowering into a first training fellowship.
Nick Walker of Aikido Shusekai, and
Kayla Feder and 
Brandon WilliamsCraig of Aikido of Berkeley are inviting those interested to speak and be heard in the co-creation of this move nearer the active making of Peace.
Our first gathering will be March 12th, at Aikido of Berkeley reflecting Feder Sensei’s desire to see the dojo become central in peacemaking. Please go to www.aikidoofberkeley.com for directions and reply to this email for additional information. If these options are not convenient, please call ABC’s toll free number (866.236.0346) and leave a voice mail with good times for a phone appointment.
The gathering will follow a Friendship Seminar. This Aikido seminar will run for 3 hours, from 10:30 am until 1:30 pm (Kayla Sensei will teach from 10:30 to 11:55; Nick Sensei will teach from 12:05 to 1:30). Please arrive by 10:00 am, so that everyone can get registered, changed, introduced, and warmed up before the first class starts. The cost for the Seminar is $20. If a sliding scale is needed, please respond to this email with that request. Anyone not inclined to practice Aikido is more than welcome to come and observe a powerful physical metaphor for blending with conflict in action!
Those interested in co-creating the Guardians of Peace fellowship will gather at a local restaurant from
2-3:30pm to meet and discuss the ideas involved, then at
4-5:30 return for our own training at Aikido of Berkeley.
At 5:30 we will begin a potluck nosh (please bring something to share) and deepen into sharing stories.
At 6:30 we will move into a space facilitated by Leon Regelson - from silent meditation into communication and investigate co-creative possibilities in which leadership is shared by every member of our group, ending with a final process time and a check-out.
Please consider coming even if you are uncertain of your response at this time. If you know someone who might want to find out more or join in, please let them know and invite them to come. If you do not wish to train but would like to participate in the discussion you are more than welcome to do so. Martial arts experience is not a pre-requisite – only the conviction that conflict can and must be done well and the desire to participate in discovery.
Wednesday, September 12, 2001
Early placeholder hosted by onlinepolicygroup - for reference
An Open Letter from the Guardians of Peace
Hopeful greetings,
Put simply, the Guardians of Peace are persons called to engage conflict and seek the most loving responses imaginable. To this end we have made ready and will continue to prepare ourselves in community to receive even the most unclear or distressing needs in such a way that global quality of Life is truthfully described using words like inclusive, dynamic, and sustainable peace. By peace we do not mean the absence of conflict and fear. We work to live in a world in which the universal, bottom-line expectation is that every life is sacred and every voice will be heard deeply in any sphere of influence. Our model is one in which even violence is received not with a "thou shall not" but with an immediate, personal, and specific desire for everyone to live fully and free from harm. In the midst of actual violence this calls for some extremely difficult, multi-layered decisions often fraught with uncertainty and mystery.
We prepare. Together and in solitude we continue training in arts directly applicable to having difficult conversations and making difficult decisions. We understand each practice as a Process Art, developed to include every possible influence with compassion and imagination. We are martial artists, mediators, facilitators, and have individually cultivated our spiritual traditions to seek a deeper connection with the Mystery therein - without insisting that others do the same.
We act and are visited by both success and failure. Practicing what we preach, we receive both as guests and listen while trying to truly understand, releasing the desire to pass judgment. After listening as fully as we are able, we allow ourselves to be influenced, changed by both and holding fast to our specific and individual desire to be loving in a dynamic and truthful way. With almost every transition we discover sparkling possibility where we thought there was only grief, and in every success elements of failure and evidence that no matter our hours of training there will always be a limit to our reach.
We will continue. Experience has shown that though we find both elation and disappointment in this work we will continue to live it. Our perspectives on a given situation are as varied as the number of ways imagination can discover, yet we find our way to consensus and action. We also find our way back to silence and stillness. Above all we are discovering a desire for more: more community, more depth of understanding, and more gifts to share among ourselves and with the world at large. It is our hope that you will hear a Call to participate in this work in some way and that you will follow wherever you are led by the Voice that calls you.
We are Guardians of Peace
Te rogamus audi nos
Please CONTINUE to our invitation and more information (in this case reproduced below)
Space for the work of the Guardians Of Peace
is co-created within and supported by the
Beamish Process Arts community
Toll Free (866)236-0346
images and content all Copyright 2001-2004 © Guardians Of Peace and Beamish Process Arts
RESOURCES:
---------------------------------------------
An Invitation
This message began in the United States as an invitation to lawyers, law enforcement professionals, therapists, military personnel, mediators, teachers, martial artists...all people who regularly deal directly with conflict and with whom I have made some kind of contact. Many have expressed interest in working toward a disciplined and loving alternative to punitive business as usual.
This is about the co-creation of a vision to make peace together and love each other firmly rather than joining the cycle of violence by insisting on winning by creating victims.
Imagine being a part of an active, national (and someday international) peacemaking fellowship as a Guardian of Peace™ . This newborn idea, awaits gifted and Called peacemakers to continue giving it shape.
Te rogamus audi nos
Seeking the loving path and outcome where everyone's voice and interests are honored and represented when conflict arises, beginning with the disempowered or under represented.Co-creating a process oriented Community, a Council Circle, wherein we can address issues of privilege, rank, and experience but are ungoverned by hierarchy, i.e. various artists of various styles and ranks (see qualifications for Guardian status) but no ranks per se in circle. Everyone leaves their official rank at the door but brings in the entirety of their expertise with humility, humor, and inspiration. Together we train physically, emotionally, spiritually to receive conflict creatively, especially on the street and in our homes.
Guardian status is conferred by acceptance to the council under the following conditions:- public and private individual commitment to firmly and lovingly insist that the individual and cultural process shift until everyone in the applicable sphere of influence gets what is needed,
- demonstrated facility and personal commitment to lifelong, consistent, flexible training to receive physical, verbal, and internal struggles so that they become a co-creative and loving experience,
- discernment and public declaration of a personal vocation to express the desire for peace by acting as a member of the Guardians of Peace as they are at the time of entrance. This includes a commitment to work within the Council Circle to make our process a loving reality with growing determination and skill.
- An agreement to share, teach, and model peacemaking, and to be authentically transparent in so far as such is a good gift to the people you touch.
- To capture the popular imagination and cultivate a public mission to grow the fellowship in service to all life without accepting the loss of individual or shared worth and dignity.
- Ask and work to share power, leadership, and responsibility everywhere so that our shared story becomes one of dynamic, shared leadership worldwide, access for everyone to food, water, and shelter, and the hope of being heard when there is a need to cry out - and well before.
Click here to return to our Open Letter (in this case above)
and other resources
Please forward all administrative needs to our partner: Beamish Process Arts
Toll Free (866)236-0346
images and content all Copyright 2002 © Guardians Of Peace/Beamish Process Arts
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