Ned Lud or NedLudd is the person that forms the basis for the character of "King (also known as Captain or General) Ludd" who was supposedly the leader and founder of the Luddites.
No proof to his existence has been found, but he is often thought to have come from the village of Anstey, just outside Leicester, where he broke two stocking frames in a rage.
The character of NedLudd was commemorated in the folk ballad "General Ludd's Triumph".
The Luddites were a social movement of English workers in the early 1800s who protested — often by destroying textile machines — against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution that they felt threatened their jobs.
The movement, which began in 1811, was named after a probably mythical leader, NedLudd.
The original Luddites claimed to be led by one NedLudd (also known as "King Ludd", "General Ludd" or "Captain Ludd") who is believed to have destroyed two large stocking frames that produced inexpensive stockings undercutting those produced by skilled knitters, and whose signature appears on a "workers' manifesto" of the time.
Finally in 1995 the new NedLudd project started, with six other people; and after a demo of 4 songs produced in 1996 their debut CD was recorded this summer.
NedLudd's songs are all in Italian and written by Gianluca; the texts seem to be often very political (as the Non-Italian can find out in the English translations of the songs in the booklet).
But one can surely say that it was this NedLudd who "led" the angry and afraid workers to destroy the machines and fight for their beliefs.
He often went by the nickname ‘Ned’ and it was he who led that short-lived but potent movement of the nineteenth century known as Luddism – you know, those people who went around smashing machines and burning factories to protest against progress and technology and the Industrial Revolution.
A real champion of the working man he was, a man whose paper I read almost every week of my life, a journalist type, and I just thought you must have the same name.
And that, sir, is the crime that most people in your country are able somehow to sleepwalk through their lives numbed by shallow entertainments and ridiculous sporting events and other plentiful opiates, oblivious to it all.
The brilliant material and intellectual revolution that troubled the destructive followers of the real or fictitious NedLudd had its double beginnings half a century earlier in the University of Glasgow.
It was dark nights that freed NedLudd's mates to let the world know that something should be done to civilise their new productivity.
I think Ned and Fred would share some fundamental values, recognize each other as practical men for their times, and sympathise with each other's local difficulties, much as Adam Smith would too.
In April 1812 two men in womens’ clothes, claiming to be General Ludd’s wives, led a Luddite crowd in an attack on a Stockport factory owner’s house and his machines.
There was widespread public sympathy for the Luddites, and there were frequent Luddite outbreaks in the years following.
NedLudd, their mythical leader, survived thanks to widespread public sympathy and the ability of the Luddites to melt into the landscape.
In the year 1811, a man named NedLudd sent intimidating letters to various textile employers in Nottingham, Great Britain.
The uprising, led by "king" NedLudd, gathered a following over the next five years and the angered workers came to be known as "Luddites." Eventually they were lionized as the counter-revolutionaries of the Industrial Age, and their moniker applied to anyone who resists technology’s advance.
The band may not be Luddites in the 19th Century sense of the word, but they could be unwitting prophets sounding a wake-up call to a culture in peril.
There it was, sandwiched between "Lucullan" and "ludicrous." "Luddite: one of a group of early 19th century English workmen destroying laborsaving machinery as a protest; one who is opposed to technological change." The Luddites were named for NedLudd, a textile worker who correctly perceived a weaving machine to be a threat to his livelihood.
So in 1811 he took sledgehammer in hand and beat the machine to pieces.
My mailman, Charlie, says he's holding on to his job by a thread, a modern-day NedLudd.
That amount of power in the hands of a commercial concern over the voting process, and therefore the democratic process, ought to be a worry for everyone.
And, asks the NedLudd in me: Why is this even an issue?
IMS: Index, The Ballad of Ned Ludd(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-03)
The Ballad of NedLudd January 13, 1812, Johnson arrives in Nottingham, and seeks refreshment in a local pub.
All selections comprising The Ballad of NedLudd Techno-Folk Opera Copyright (c) 1994 and 1995 by Becknell and Lucas.
Marty Lucas on vocals, keyboards, skillet lid, mop handle, steel trunk, and the Digidesign Session 8.
town.hall.org /radio/LuddLand (135 words)
Ned Ludd, A Zero Ore(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-03)
Their website describes them as "combat folk rock" and that's a pretty accurate assessment of Italian band NedLudd.
Understanding the language might, I concede, make a difference, but since I don't speak Italian, his voice becomes an instrument which doesn't mesh well with the others.
I'm sure I'm not the only reviewer to compare NedLudd to the Pogues; the intensity and energy are similar.
www.rambles.net /nedludd_0ore.html (299 words)
bigEastern.com : The Ballad of Ned Ludd, Ludd's Links(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-03)
Debuting on town.hall.org in 1994, The Ballad of NedLudd was probably the first Internet site about Luddism.
By all accounts the original NedLudd was notably camera shy--and for good reason.
Here Come the Neo-Luddites by David Silver, Dept. of American Studies at the University of Maryland, gives a quick comparison of the Neo-Luddite books of 1995.
www.bigeastern.com /ludd/nl_links.htm (536 words)
Hugh Latimer and Ned Ludd(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-03)
Perhaps less august is the story of NEDLUDD, an unfortunate orphan and a simpleton who lived in Anstey in the 18
A recent new street in Anstey has been named NedLudd Close.
We acknowledge the work of various local historians, and the Hodder and Stoughton Book of Famous Christians ISBN 0-340-42626-8.
IMS: General Ludd's Victory, Ballad of Ned Ludd(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-03)
IMS: General Ludd's Victory, Ballad of NedLudd
Engage your tools of oppression for some useful purpose and transfer the audio file for our great leader's anthem, being commonly known to all good people as "General Ludd's Victory"
Likewise in the print media with regular newspapers such as Squall, the weekly freebie SchNews and your own NedLudd.
Or better still get involved with NedLudd, send us your art, your articles, or come to the editorial workshops.
Friends of the Earth scored another campaign victory today, with news that the Ministry of Agriculture (MAFF) has decided to put a stop on the biotech industry's plan to grow the first genetically engineered crop in the UK.
As not much space is available just a small number of UK prisoner contact details are listed below, they are all for prisoners who’ve been locked up since the last issue of NedLudd’s News.
If anyone can photocopy more copies of this issue to distribute it’d be much appreciated.
A mailing list is set up for those of you who want to receive NedLudd’s News via e-mail, just send a quick message to the address above to subscribe.
www.veggies.org.uk /neds/ned0208.htm (3319 words)
tao(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-03)
This is a translation supplied by 'NedLudd' of alt.zen fame...
The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.
The sage does not hoard: The more that is given, the more gets received.
