Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Alexander of Lincoln/archive1


 * The following is an archived discussion of a featured article nomination. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the article's talk page or in Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates. No further edits should be made to this page.

The article was promoted by SandyGeorgia 00:27, 27 December 2010.

Alexander of Lincoln

 * Nominator(s): Ealdgyth - Talk 15:28, 20 December 2010 (UTC)

I am nominating this for featured article because... as is usual, it's had a peer review, a huge copy-edit by Malleus and all the research I can handle on him. Alexander is the quiet nephew of Roger of Salisbury and was either Nigel's brother or cousin. He was a member of a very powerful Norman ecclesiastical family, who dominated the administration of King Henry I of England. Alexander's less "flashy" than Nigel or Roger, although he was an important patron of both monastics and authors. A shadowy figure, I've tried to do him justice here. Unlike a lot of these guys, there are no real skeletons lurking in his closets, no wife and kids hiding behind the episcopal throne. Ealdgyth - Talk 15:28, 20 December 2010 (UTC)


 * Note: I don't usually edit other people's nom statements but I just did. Brianboulton (talk) 16:56, 20 December 2010 (UTC)

Sources comment: Sources and citations immaculate as far as I can see. No verifications carried out as these are nearly all print sources from texts I don't have. Brianboulton (talk) 17:49, 20 December 2010 (UTC)

Support: I can see no FA criterion that this article fails to meet. It is always a good sign when an article about a subject of which the reader knows nothing holds the attention throughout. This one did. Well-shaped, beautifully referenced, and a pleasure to read. Tim riley (talk) 15:22, 22 December 2010 (UTC)


 * Support Comments The article looks comprehensive and bar a handful of niggles the prose is in decent shape.
 * "But Alexander nevertheless subsequently appears": I think some of this may be redundant and it could be rephrased to something like "Nevertheless, Alexander subsequently appears".
 * "granted confirmations of grants to the church at Godstow": could repetition of grant be avoided by replacing the first one with "gave"?
 * "Roger and his nephews were plotting to hand their castles to the Empress Matilda, Stephen's rival for the throne": I think the bit after the comma may be redundant as it was explained two paragraphs earlier that Stephen and Matilda were competing for the throne.
 * "Since the work of Henry of Huntingdon, who wrote in the years before 1154 and who regards Stephen's actions as treachery against the clergy that earned him punishment from God": I think this is ok as it stands, but the change of tense mid sentence ("who wrote... and who regards") jars a little.
 * "When Matilda arrived in London, the citizens of London objected to her rule and drove her from the city": I think maybe the repetition of citizen could be avoided. How about something along the lines of "When Matilda arrived in London the inhabitants objected to her rule and drove her from the city" assuming it doesn't change the meaning?
 * "He may have been responsible for the education of an illegitimate son of King Henry's, as two charters of Alexander's are witnessed by a William, who is described as a son of King Henry": many it could be edited to avoid repetition of King Henry? Maybe "He may have been responsible for the education of one of Henry I's illegitimate sons, as two charters of Alexander's are witnessed by a William, who is described as a son of the king"?
 * "He also advanced the careers of his relatives, naming his relative Adelelm as Dean of Lincoln during his episcopate": could the first occurrence of relative be replaced with "family" to avoid repetition?
 * Otherwise, these are fairly minor points in an otherwise fine article. Nev1 (talk) 18:49, 22 December 2010 (UTC)
 * I've dealt with all of these but the citizen one, as there is no repetition of citizen in that paragraph that I can see... Ealdgyth - Talk 16:18, 23 December 2010 (UTC)
 * I made a mistake there, it's London that's repeated rather than citizen. As everything else has been addressed and this is minor in any case I'm happy to support. Nev1 (talk) 16:25, 23 December 2010 (UTC)
 * Now changed to "When Matilda arrived in London, the citizens of the city objected to her rule and drove..." Ealdgyth - Talk 16:30, 23 December 2010 (UTC)


 * Support Interesting article which seems to satisfy all the FA criteria. - Doug (at Wiki) 00:13, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Dab/EL check - no dabs or dead external links. -- Pres N  05:50, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Support with two minor nitpicks:
 * Lincoln cathedral or Cathedral?
 * Be consistent in using "Oxford" or "Oxford, UK", and also in how states are abbreviated. Nikkimaria (talk) 04:28, 25 December 2010 (UTC)
 * Both should be taken care of now. Ealdgyth - Talk 14:54, 25 December 2010 (UTC)


 * Image review? Sandy Georgia (Talk) 23:30, 26 December 2010 (UTC)
 * Preliminary one at User talk:Ealdgyth ... Ealdgyth - Talk 23:35, 26 December 2010 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this page.