Banditry

Banditry is the life and practice of bandits. The New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (NED) defined "bandit" in 1885 as "one who is proscribed or outlawed; hence, a lawless desperate marauder, a brigand: usually applied to members of the organized gangs which infest the mountainous districts of Italy, Sicily, Spain, Greece, Iran, and Turkey". In modern usage the word may become a synonym for "thief", hence the term "one-armed bandit" for gambling machines that can leave the gambler with no money.

Origin of the word

The term bandit (introduced to English via Italian around 1590) originates with the early Germanic legal practice of outlawing criminals, termed *bannan (English ban). The legal term in the Holy Roman Empire was Acht or Reichsacht, translated as "Imperial ban".

History

About 5,000 bandits were executed by Pope Sixtus V in the five years before his death in 1590, but there were reputedly 27,000 more at liberty throughout central Italy.

Marauding was one of the most common peasant reactions to oppression and hardship. The growth of warlord armies in China was also accompanied by a dramatic increase in bandit activity in the republican period; by 1930 the total bandit population was estimated to be 20 million.

Bandit (TV series)

Bandit was a Welsh language music television show on S4C, produced by Boomerang. It included live performances, videos and interviews and was presented by Huw Stephens, Elis James, Sarra Elgan Rhydian Bowen Phillips and Huw Evans. The programme aimed to raise the profile of Welsh-language popular music but also included music from Wales with lyrics in other languages (usually English). The last episode of Bandit was broadcast on 28 December 2011, after a decade of being on the air. The special show was presented by Stephens and Evans.

The Bandit team also used to organise several gigs each year and the show was considered to be S4C's flagship music programme. Their multiple nominations for BAFTA Cymru awards each year demonstrated the programme's appeal. One of their BAFTAs was won for "Best Title Sequence/Best Motion Graphics"; the attention to detail had also been carried over to their website.

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Bandit (raccoon)

Bandit (c. 1994 – May 9, 2004) was a raccoon which came to attention after being named "The World's Fattest Raccoon" by The Guinness Book of World Records.

He was born with a thyroid problem which led to his massive weight gain. He was adopted by a dog and raised as one of her puppies, then later taken in by a woman in Palmerton, Pennsylvania. At the time of his death he weighed almost 75 pounds.

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