Aun

Aun the Old (Aun inn gamli, latinized Auchun, English: "Edwin the Old") mythical Swedish king of the House of Yngling in the Heimskringla. Aun was the son of Jorund, and had ten sons, nine of which he was said to have sacrificed in order to prolong his own life. Based on the internal chronology of the House of Yngling, Aun would have died late in the 5th century. He was succeeded by his son Egil Vendelcrow (Íslendingabók: Egill Vendilkráka) identified with Ongentheow of the Beowulf narrative and placed in the early 6th century.

Ynglingatal

Ruling from his seat in Uppsala, Aun was reputedly a wise king who made sacrifices to the gods. However, he was not of a warlike disposition and preferred to live in peace. He was attacked and defeated by the Danish prince Halfdan. Aun fled to the Geats in Västergötland, where he stayed for 25 years until Halfdan died in his bed in Uppsala.

Upon Halfdan's death Aun returned to Uppsala. Aun was now 60 years old, and in an attempt to live longer he sacrificed his son to Odin, who had promised that this would mean he would live for another 60 years. After 25 years, Aun was attacked by Halfdan's cousin Ale the Strong. Aun lost several battles and had to flee a second time to Västergötland. Ale the Strong ruled in Uppsala for 25 years until he was killed by Starkad the old.

ASEAN University Network

The ASEAN University Network (AUN) is an Asian university association. It was founded in November 1995 by ASEAN member countries including 13 universities. After the enlargement of ASEAN by the ASEAN Charter in 1997 and 1999, the AUN membership has been increasing. As of 13 January 2016, the AUN membership increased to 32 Member Universities.

Structure

The ASEAN University Network (AUN) is an arrangement between 32 universities in the ten ASEAN countries. The AUN is composed of a Board of Trustees (BOT), the participating universities, and the AUN Secretariat. The Board of Trustees consists of one representative from each of the ASEAN Member Countries, the Secretary-General of ASEAN, the Chairman of the ASEAN subcommittee on Education (ASCOE) and the Executive Director of the AUN. The BOT has the task of formulating policies, approving project proposals, the allocation of budgets and co-ordinating implementation activities. The board makes decisions on these activities on the basis of consensus. The participating universities have the task of implementing the AUN programmes and activities. When AUN was founded in 1995, it consisted of thirteen universities from seven countries. Due to the inclusion of Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia in ASEAN, the network grew to 21 members (for a list of the members, see appendix I). Although numerous applications for membership have been received, it was decided to only admit universities from the new member countries. Non members from the region however, are invited as observers on a regular basis. The AUN Secretariat is involved in the planning, organisation, monitoring and evaluation of AUN activities and also in the development of new ideas and the acquisition of funding. The permanent office of the Secretariat was established in 2000 and is located on the campus of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. The operating costs of the secretariat are (at least until 2005) allocated by the Thai Government.

Druid

A druid (Old Irish: druí; Welsh: derwydd) was a member of the educated, professional class among the Celtic peoples of Gaul, Britain, Ireland, and possibly elsewhere during the Iron Age. The druid class included law-speakers, poets and doctors, among other learned professions, although the best known among the druids were the religious leaders.

Very little is known about the ancient druids. They left no written accounts of themselves, and the only evidence are a few descriptions left by Greek, Roman, and various scattered authors and artists, as well as stories created by later medieval Irish writers. While archaeological evidence has been uncovered pertaining to the religious practices of the Iron Age people, "not one single artefact or image has been unearthed that can undoubtedly be connected with the ancient druids." Various recurring themes emerge in a number of the Greco-Roman accounts of the druids, including that they performed animal and even human sacrifice, believed in a form of reincarnation, and held a high position in Gaulish society. Next to nothing is known for certain about their cultic practice, except for the ritual of oak and mistletoe as described by Pliny the Elder.

Shannara

Shannara /ˈʃænərə/ is a series of high fantasy novels written by Terry Brooks, beginning with The Sword of Shannara in 1977 and continuing through The Darkling Child which was released in June 2015; there is also a prequel, First King of Shannara. The series blends magic and primitive technology and is set in the Four Lands, which are identified as Earth long after civilization was destroyed in a chemical and nuclear holocaust called the Great Wars. By the time of the prequel First King of Shannara, the world had reverted to a pre-industrial state and magic had re-emerged to supplement science.

Setting

The Shannara series is set in a post-apocalyptic world called the Four Lands. This world is a futuristic version of our own, and not a secondary world. The Genesis of Shannara trilogy reveals the Four Lands to be located in the modern Pacific Northwest region of the United States and Canada. Much of the landscape has been changed by a future holocaust called The Great Wars, but some landmarks remain. For example, the Columbia River still exists.

Druid (disambiguation)

A druid was priest of the religion of the ancient Celts.

Druid can also refer to: