ALAN, Allen, or Allyn, William (1532-94), cardinal, was born at Rossall in Lancashire. He studied at Oriel College, Oxford, and was appointed principal of St Mary’s Hall in 1556. Two years later he was made a canon of York; but being opposed to the Reformation, was forced to flee to Louvain on the accession of Elizabeth. He returned to England after a time, and for some years resided chiefly at Oxford; but his proselytising zeal being discovered, necessitated a second flight. At Douay he received a doctor’s degree from the recently-founded university, and he himself established a college there for English Catholics. In 1587 he was made cardinal of St Martin de Montibus, and in 1589 archbishop of Mechlin. The great aim of his life seems to have been to restore the papal supremacy in England. For this purpose he founded the college at Douay, and sent over the Jesuit priests trained there to his native land. He was, of course, a bitter enemy of Elizabeth, who expelled his emissaries, and even caused some of them to be put to death. One of his pamphlets, prepared for circulation among the English people, contained charges against the queen so foul and scurrilous that they can scarcely be repeated. It was only natural that he should be one of the chief intriguers in the Spanish plot which led to the fitting out of the Armada, especially as the pope had promised him the archbishopric of Canterbury in the event of the expedition being successful. His letters to Philip were full of encouragement, and the failure of the enterprise must have been a severe blow to him. When the fact became known, he lost favour at the papal court, and was refused permission to return to his diocese.

ALAND ISLANDS, an archipelago at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia, about 25 miles from the coast of Sweden, and 15 from that of Finland. The group consists of nearly 300 islands, of which about 80 are inhabited, the remainder being desolate rocks. These islands form a continuation of a dangerous granite reef extending along the south coast of Finland. They formerly belonged to Sweden; and in the neighbourhood the first victory of the Russian fleet over the Swedes was gained by Peter the Great in 1714. They finally passed into the possession of Russia in 1809. The inhabitants, amounting to about 16,000, are mostly of Swedish descent, and are hardy seamen and fishermen. The surface of the islands is generally sandy, the soil is thin, and the climate is keen; yet Scotch fir, spruce, and birch are grown; and rye, barley, flax, and vegetables are produced in sufficient quantity for the wants of the people. Great numbers of cattle are reared; and cheese, butter, and hides, as well as salted meat and fish, are exported. The largest island, which gives its name to the group, is 18 miles long by 14 broad, and contains about two-thirds of the total population. There are several excellent harbours (notably that of Ytternaes), which are of great importance to Russia from the fact that they are frozen up for a much briefer period than those on the coast of Finland. The fortress of Bomarsund, in one of these islands, was attacked and destroyed by an Anglo-French force in 1854.

ALANI, a number of nomadic tribes of eastern origin, who spread themselves over Europe during the decline of the Roman empire. The name was probably at first confined to one tribe of Tatar race, whose original seat was on the northern shores of the Caspian Sea, and was afterwards, as the power of that race extended, applied to other tribes. It is supposed that their first encounter with the Romans was during the Mithridatic war, when Pompey led an expedition into the Caucasus. Isolated statements in contemporary writers show that the Alani were frequently in conflict with the Roman power. In March 276 a.d. they received a decisive check in an attempt to make their way eastward into Persia, being defeated by the emperor Tacitus, who forced them to recross the Phasis. The most complete account of the Alani is to be found in the pages of Ammianus Marcellinus (lib. xxxi.), who describes their manners and customs at considerable length. From him, too, we learn of the advance of the Huns, who signally defeated the Alani in a battle fought on the banks of the Tanais in 375. The race thereupon divided, some retiring to the east, while the great majority joined their conquerors in an invasion of the kingdom of the Goths. Associated with the Vandals and Suevi, they left the settlements they had in Pannonia and entered Gaul in 406, whence three years later they crossed the Pyrenees into Spain, and founded a settlement in Lusitania and Baetica, where they remained in peace for some years. In 418, however, they were attacked and defeated by Wallia, king of the Visigoths, with whom they had quarrelled. Their king, Ataces, was slain in the battle, and they became subject to Gunderic, king of the Vandals, their national independence being lost. Those of the Alani who had remained in ...