Quote:
Originally Posted by Snowcake  |
Yes, thank you very much, now we know about definite articles. :)
Also we know about nouns followed by definitions like 'the leader of our team' and 'the light which was flowing through the stained-glass windows'.
(In this connection my only doubt is: did Genghis have only one will? 'by will of somebody' usualy means not the person's 'strong will' or 'free wiil' - but a one-time act of verbalizing his or her desire.)
So the explanation 'because it refers to the will of a definite person / group' I wouldn't say is relevant. (like 'a hand of my watch' - never mind my watch is definite, but it's got more than one hand, hasn't it? So the watch is definite, but the arrow without special indications is rather indefinite).
However the question was not about trivial usage of definite articles. It was about 'by' and why the rules of using it can be omitted. (Or is it just a mistake?)
'By Order of the King' ( A Romance of English History)' (Hugo's novel)
Summer 1668:
By order of the King and council Margaret Fell was released from Lancaster prison.