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vievecorcityevents · 2 months ago

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The suspects have been chosen after a tension filled morning. These five suspects are led to the hangman's nooses to hang...

Divya Effendi

Daphne Blackwood

Atlas Westwood

Max Rogers

Joanna Vörös

As their bodies thrash in the air, the one who struggles the longest is the only ONE of them starts to transform into that familiar monstrous Creature.

It is... Atlas Westwood.

The townspeople gasp in shock, but they are also glad to have caught one more killer and they hope Atlas was the last one...

Unbeknownst to them, there is still ONE MORE in their midst. One more who has gone by undetected for so long. And now that the town's population has dwindled down by such a significant degree, he can complete his task of ridding Phantom Creak of the living before moving on.

As the night descends and the sun rises the next morning, the final killer has done the job of killing every last individual in town. He looks down as his blood soaked claws transform back into human-shaped ones and a smile spreads across his lips as his eyes shift to the dying face looking up at him.

The last killer left standing is Leon Blachedone.

FINAL VERDICT: The town of Phantom Creak is no more and THE VICTORY GOES TO THE MURDERERS!

OOC Info:

The suspects have been listed in order of who received the most votes in this round. This concludes the murder mystery portion of our Spirit Event! Thank you to everyone for playing such an amazing game~ This event will officially end at September 8th, 11.59pm EST. We've moved the timing a little later to give us all more time to start more event-related threads if needed! :)

EVENT INFO:

Players will find more information behind the different plot elements in this section under the cut. While not everything was revealed, we all did a great job at piecing together so much information!

THE NPCS:

Gideon Caldwell - Gideon Caldwell is the 20 year old son of Sarah Caldwell. He was sickly as a child and his mother spent a lot of her efforts making sure he got well. After turning into a monstrous Creature by accidentally drinking one of Sarah's concoctions a few months ago, Gideon became out of control and only managed to regain his sense of self with further help from Sarah's continual experiments. The Cure-All was the thing keeping the monster at bay. His venture down into the hidden temple allowed him to gaze upon the glowing bowl within and the Creature inside gained more control and gave him a mission -- to kill others as sacrifice and to spread the creature's curse far beyond Phantom Creak. He turned Leon Blachedone, Artus Westwood and Atlas Westwood into fellow monsters at random and entrusted them to further the temple's agenda by killing more people... Gideon was eventually hung by the townspeople of Phantom Creak and died before his (or the Creature's) vision could be realised.

Sarah Caldwell - Sarah Caldwell is the 50 year old apothecary in Phantom Creak. She lived all her life in this town and has been experimenting on townsfolk with her various remedies and medications, a majority of which were not life-threatening. That is until she decided to experiment with some plants she found in a hidden temple deep within Phantom Creak's mines. She tried her best to keep Gideon under control while finding a cure for him and she was so close. It was just that the creature inside Gideon was stronger... Her research at the hands of Vivian Ambrose was instrumental in figuring out what happened after she was also put to death by Phantom Creak's townsfolk...

Maanika Sarkar - Maanika Sarkar is 26 years old and came to Phantom Creak about 3 months ago. She fell pregnant with a lover's child and to escape the scrutiny of society, she decided that a small mining town was the place to go. She approached Sarah Caldwell early on wanting to get rid of the child, but was persuaded not to and had been taking remedies from Sarah to help with her pregnancy ever since. She comes from the city of Oseford which is about a 1 week ride from Phantom Creak by horse carriage. She befriended Gideon Caldwell and she was one of the few people he would willing tell his problems to. She tried to contact her lover in the city to help sponsor Gideon's move out of Phantom Creak, but she never heard back from him. Maanika refuses to believe that her lover would abandon her and still hopes to see him in Phantom Creak one day...

Ezekiel Voss - Ezekiel Voss is a 60 year old miner who has been in Phantom Creak for all of his life. He is old friends with Sarah Caldwell since they were both original residents of the town and treats her and Gideon as family as he has none of his own. He uncovered a hidden temple beneath the mine a few months ago and was fascinated by it. He initially kept it a secret from everyone, but eventually took Sarah down there to show it to her. He was the one Sarah called for help when Gideon was accidentally turned into the Creature and he has tried to help the Caldwells as much as possible. When the authorities came knocking on his door, he was unable to lie in good conscience and brought Sheriff Fleischer and Deputy Blachedone down to the temple. This was an especially integral decision as he was already suspecting that Gideon had something to do with the first murders. Ezekiel was eventually hung by the townspeople of Phantom Creak...

THE TEMPLE:

The Underground Temple that Ezekiel Voss found deep beneath Phantom Creak belongs to an ancient religious order that was buried under the earth for millennia and was eventually forgotten by the world. It worshipped a long-forgotten deity and its followers used the altar inside the temple to keep a monstrous aquatic Creature from wreaking havoc on earth.

THE GLOWING BOWL:

The glowing bowl in the temple room was filled with the Creature's essence and the slimey plants that grew around its rim that had thousands of years to evolve into what made its essence digestible and contagious in Sarah Caldwell's concoction... The leafey plants that grew around the glowing bowl and outside in the rest of the temple were the last vestiges of protection that the ancient deity left behind to protect the temple and its surroundings from the Creature. It would have stayed trapped in this bowl forever had Ezekiel not found the temple and brought Sarah down to investigate...

THE CREATURE:

The Creature is an aquatic monster from ancient times and said to be the temple deity's arch nemesis. It was sealed in the temple by the deity and their followers many millennia ago.

What Gideon Caldwell turned into was a weakened and smaller version of the Creature's original form. This is why it took some time for the Creature to take over Gideon's body. The take-over process was also being hindered by Sarah's attempts to cure her son with the Cure-All which was working to a significant degree. The mixing on these two essences in Gideon's body is what allowed Gideon to transform into a monster at will, but only at night.

It was only after Gideon visited the temple with Ezekiel that the Creature was able to get into his mind even more sway his thoughts. It was after this that Gideon received a new mission in life -- to kill others as sacrifice and to spread the creature's curse far beyond Phantom Creak. Every kill the monsters committed, even when they did not know it, would allow them to become stronger and stronger.

Gideon was able to infect others by dripping his own blood into a human's open wound, but this is only possible in his transformed state. This blood is what allowed these individuals to also transform at will at night and their minds This was how he infected Leon Blachedone, Artus Westwood and Atlas Westwood and these individuals were chosen by him at random to carry on the work... He came about this information after he visited the temple and the Creature was able to speak with him more clearly.

The message the randomly chosen murderers received on the night they were attacked...

You have been selected to be a MURDERER! As you walk home alone after the sun has set, you are ambushed by a large Creature with slimy skin. You attempt to fight it off and it overpowers you easily, but not before you manage to cause it to bleed in the scuffle. The creature retreats and you get up, bruised and battered and you find that some of its blood has entered your open wound which is somehow miraculously healing! What happens next is some of the most excruciating pain you have ever experienced in your life. Your body starts to bend and stretch and your skin starts to peel to reveal that same sliminess you felt on the creature before! You are turning into one of them! When the pain is finally over and the transformation is complete, you uncurl your monstrous form and look up, only to see that same Creature that attacked you staring back at you. They knew exactly what they were doing when they attacked you and now you are one of them... The Creature turns and leaves you behind to wander in your new form. It is only when the first faint light of the sun starts to show that your body goes through that same excruciating pain to return you to your human form. As you lay there on the ground after the transformation, trying to come to terms with what happened, you come to the consensus that you need to keep this a secret from the townsfolk lest they find out and kill you in cold blood...

#vievecorcityevent #vcspiritevent2024 #august 2024

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vievecorcityrp · 5 months ago

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ARTUS WESTWOOD

GENDER: Male/Genderqueer

SPECIES: Elf

AGE: 650

SEXUALITY: Pansexual

OCCUPATION: Producer at Westwood theatre | Acting leader of the Westwood Clan | Elf Elder

DISTRICT: Garond

BACKGROUND:

The first son to his parents, an heir to the Westwood name, Artus has always carried the expectations put on him with ease. He always had his sister, Atlas, to lean on, the siblings supporting each other. His parents were always far too affectionate to each other, often times embarrassing their children when they were young, but they were also very loving and supportive. Because of this support, he has done everything he's ever been interested in doing. His list of careers over the years includes bartender, musician, private investigator, clothing designer, makeup artist, business advisor, banker, stock market broker, research assistant, and screenplay writer, to name a few. He would always chase after things, and people, that interested him, taking after his father's younger days. Throughout these years, he enjoyed acting in plays, taking every degree of role. As film became more popular, he spent a period working in films, playing a fair deal of romantic leads. This could only last for so long, unfortunately, before he retired and faded out of the spotlight.

Since those days, Artus has taken up working in finance, working with companies and banks, and especially in his father's businesses. That doesn't stop him from enjoying his time acting in plays, once again becoming a well-known figure, though more specifically in the Vievecor City area. It gives him more than enough time to enjoy the nightlife the city has to offer, well-known this way as well. Despite his independence, and living his own life, he is still very close with his family, working alongside his father and still getting grossed out by his parents' constant need to be dramatically sappy and in love. When coming of age, as his father has called it, Adaire began to show Artus more of what he does, teaching him as if preparing to pass a legacy on to him, while also attempting to set him up with a female elf. He had joined the elder council as part of this, and took the role very seriously.

Unfortunately, when his father took an extended leave of absence from the city during some of the worst months, Artus felt the strain of protecting the clan while also protecting the interests of the elves in the city. On top of that, the revelation that elves were struggling to conceive children weighed heavily on him as he attempted to find some kind of answer. Taking a short leave of his own, Artus has returned renewed on his motivation. He was going to protect the elves however he deemed necessary.

PERSONALITY: Restless, creative, deceptive, resourceful, gregarious

CHARACTER TYPE: Original

BLOG: @artuswestwood

#character #original #artus westwood #kit harington

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drops-of-moonlights · 4 years ago

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WINX REDUX AU SUMMARIZED: INTERLUDE 6 (Season 6.5)

Or, in which I give the basics of what I’ve changed about the story for the AU. It was originally way more descriptive but if I kept it in that style I would have finished in 2039 and I ain’t got time for that. Let’s cover the small crisis that happens between S6 and S7! It took as long as it did because Life interfered.

WINX AU INTERLUDE 6 - Distant Legends, Sudden Troubles

A week later, after receiving the call from the Order of Mana, the Winx and Roxy (alongside Daphne and Faragonda) arrive at the Council of Mana’s headquarters in Roccaluce.

Once inside, they’re brought to a larger room seemingly made of crystal, and see that all 9 keys are on top of a small pillar of the same crystal. A lot of magi are around.

They spot Eldora along them all, looking annoyed, and when they talk she tells them that the Order wants to make a new transformation out of Pleiadix.

She cynically elaborates that they didn’t like that there was a form they weren’t in charge of, but a Paladin corrects her that it’s to ensure the Legendarium can never be open, even on accident, again, and that she herself agreed to this plan.

Eldora mutters under her breath that she wasn’t given much of a choice, but then formally adresses the Winx’s presence - as they are the last users of Pleiadix, they are the ones that should run the ritual to ensure there’s no issues with it.

A few minutes of preparation later, and everyone arranges themselves in a weird formation, the Winx at the center, a magic circle appearing under them.

Chanting begins, and the Winx plus Roxy focus on their keys, Eldora focusing on the remaining two. The Keys slowly seem to lose their magic, alongside their color, and an incredible surge of magical essence starts to form around everyone.

With a final chant, the essence seems to light up and explode, and a magical shockwave is felt all over the universe.

The Order of Mana then announces this is the birth of a new form - Mythix, and requests the Winx and Roxy to discover how to earn the form.

Everyone is incredibly confused at all this, but Bloom agrees to it, saying that it might be interesting as something to do over the summer. Everyone can pick up that she’d like to occupy her mind on other stuff as she’s still hurting over Selina, and so they agree.

The magic shockwave seems to stir something up in the wind, and stray magic seems to be coalescing, acquiring a vague humanoid shape.

The next day, on Red Fountain, everyone attends to see the graduation ceremony, excited that their friends are now free from Red Fountain. Team 3Q is given extra honors thanks to their help during the last crises the System has fought over, and they are offered positions as teachers in Red Fountain whenever they please for their actions.

Everyone cheers, and after a couple more speeches, a big party is thrown, the Winx and friends reuniting. They all celebrate and chat, and they ask the guys what are they going to do now.

Brandon answers that they’ve been thinking about that for a while now, and they decided to stick together living in Magix for a couple more months before deciding on joining a Guild of warriors as a group or not.

They keep chatting (with Sky helping Stella and Diaspro in trying to cheer Bloom up, but it's not fully successful). Everyone says their goodbyes and decide to rest in their homes for a week before starting the whole Mythix deal.

It’s two days later, on Melody, that the Soniata takes place on Caden, honoring the Hexer Sonia of lore. Musa has a fun time with her dad and brother, and ends up surprised at Galatea also being there, having managed to escape the palace and enjoy some time with local stories on the other side of the country. Musa then tells her the full legend, but as she does that, dark shadowy beasts start to attack.

Musa and Galatea transform, while Jian dons armor and Huan tries to help him evacuate the premises.

The two fairies manage to make quick work of the beings, but end up slightly overwhelmed. At the sight of a couple more families about to be attacked, they both come up with a plan.

Both of them join their magic, Musa starts to play a lullaby on her sword, mimicking the legend, while Galatea begins chanting a long spell, acting as an “amplifier” to Musa’s music. This manages to slowly make all the remaining shadow beasts fall asleep, and with the chance, both fairies unleash a convergence, destroying them all.

A rush of magic envelops them both, and suddenly, they got new forms - Galatea’s perfect control over the voiced ritual earnt her Glissandix, while Musa unlocked Mythix due to her parallelisms with Sonia’s tale, even her sword undergoing a transformation, looking far more detailed. A shadow seems to grumble, before vanishing again.

That night, Musa contacts the rest, telling them of her findings and how she believes it’s tied to stories of their realms or that they know, and that the shadow things she fought felt familiar.

Bloom compares them to the creatures Campana and Venomya used, but Musa says they felt different, much more recent.

Two days later, Flora is on a date with Helia, who came to visit for a couple days, when they hear about the urban legend of a ghost haunting a nearby abandoned hall. Flora, with what Musa said in the back of her mind, tells Helia to go with her to said place after their date is over for help.

After a few hours, they reach the hall, finding Krystal as well, who came to check the place out as a Princess - the Hall was part of the ancient Privamerian royal state, and the rumors concerned her.

They all explore the place for an hour or so, before a sudden apparition shocks them all in the large stage, a shadow of a man seemingly dancing near a large dead tree.

Everyone transforms and goes up to it, other shadows rising and starting to attack them, but Helia and Krystal fend them off while Flora approaches the main shadow, fans at the ready.

The shadow doesn’t seem to move, and looks around, seemingly sad at the dead tree. It then extends a hand to Flora, confused.

Helia keeps fighting the creatures, but Krystal recalls the full story and tells Flora to take the shadow’s hand and to dance, as she rises up and starts to cast a spell on the tree.

Flora is even more confused at this, but trusts Krystal and starts to dance with the shadow, being guided and using her fans as support.

Krystal focuses all her energy on the tree, slowly revitalizing it and making it grow again, as Flora and the shadow dance around it, twirling.

The dance comes to an end as the tree comes back to life fully, lush and gorgeous, and the shadow seems to smile, as it dissipates into yellow specks of light, all traces of darkness gone. Both Flora and Krystal flashed but for a second - Flora earning Mythix, her outfit now vaguely dance-ready, and Krystal getting Arborix from her effort in revitalizing the tree, covered in hydrangea-looking petals.

Krystal then tells her the full story - during the war, a tree was discovered growing in the hall, and a man had been taking care of it keeping it healthy amongst the ruin. However, a faction of the soon-to-be-called Dolona snuck in and destroyed the place, killing him and the tree. The man was apparently still trying to care for the dead tree, and the shadow manifested his repressed anger in the creatures that attacked them.

Late that night, Flora relaid the info to the rest, confirming Musa’s suppositions, and is surprised to learn that Bloom and Roxy have also obtained Mythix.

Bloom obtained it after a royal meeting, having heard rumors that the city was suddenly assaulted by a dragon made of shadows, and after some research with Daphne they confronted it - Daphne recalled a similar tale of a priestess of the Great Fire Dragon having to fight a rival god in the Fire Dragon’s place, having used just a pair of swords - and after the shadow dragon broke Bloom’s bow, she used the two halves augmented with the small Light magic she knew to slay it, her bow also transforming with Mythix and forming a pair of twin swords that can join to become a bow again.

Roxy meanwhile got it via saving Artu from a group of shadows that suddenly kidnapped it, having to be stealthy and facing off a shadow that disturbingly looked way too much like her mother for her to be comfortable, as well as a small knife she had just in case turning into a detailed dagger.

A shadow seems to get even angrier, and a small burst of energy seeps into Astrael, Solaria’s capital, as well as the capitals of Zenith and Andros.

The next day, while out with Nova and Riven, Stella catches wind of the reappearance of The Twilight Maiden. Nova is confused, and Stella elaborates that it was a ghost story that arose shortly after she moved away - the ghost of a woman killed by her lover, who during twilight supposedly whisks away a girl so they don’t suffer her fate.

They go around their day until sunset arrives, but they realize the whole street went quiet all of a sudden, and after inspecting an alleyway following a weird sound, Nova suddenly vanishes.

Both of them panic for a bit and start looking for her, and after a while both transform into their respective forms to look for her in the sky, Riven finding a dark shadow figure up above, as well as some sort of dome over them.

Both rise to meet with it and find a woman-like form, with an angry expression and see Nova, unconscious, in her arms.

Stella tries to get closer but the shadow throws a blast at her, and Riven gets the same treatment, though harsher. Both Riven and Stella assume the shadow is the Twilight Maiden, and so end up using Riven as a decoy while Stella tries to rescue Nova.

Riven then proceeds to taunt the shadow, driving its anger further and further until it drops Nova and starts to chase after the warrior, Stella catching her with a spell.

After leaving the still unresponsive Nova on a nearby roof, Stella takes the distraction and starts casting both a light spell and a healing spell, trying to “exorcise” the spirit controlling the shadow after what Flora told her of her Mythix earning.

The Maiden almost catches up to Riven and does damage one of his wings, but by the time she feels a strange warmth around her it’s too late - Stella fired the spell and completely engulfed her, a short scream followed by a sigh as her shadows faded completely.

Stella then slowly flies down, exhausted, earning her Mythix and her staff evolving once more. She then notices Riven’s armor malfunctioning and tries to catch him as well.

Nova wakes up moments later and everyone then finds a couple other girls near the same place, probably caught by the Maiden, trying to help them as well as they can.

After all this, she relays the info to the rest, and finds out Aisha also got her Mythix, having to fight The Deep One - a massive jellyfish of Mareian mythos that once destroyed Andros in antiquity, her meteor hammers evolving as well following the pattern of everyone else’s weapons.

This means Tecna is the only one without Mythix yet, and at the same time everyone realizes she isn’t in the call, wondering what could have happened to her.

On Zenith, Tecna is currently locked in a random room, after a sudden burst of energy drove most of the equipment in the Grand Palace, the main presidential office of the country, completely out of control.

She had sent a couple of her assistants to check on the Magic Animals helping on the place and then started to investigate, before some of the machinery started to actively attack her, taking refuge on a random room.

There, however, she found three shadows that matched the description of the other Winx’s experiences, and instinctively transformed, aiming her gun to them. One of the shadows seemed to get annoyed, but another calmed them down and the last one made a gesture, as if they wanted her to follow them.

Not having more options, Tecna did, and after a bit she found a massive hall, covered head to toe in computers, at the center a massive control panel. The shadows seem to focus on the panel, and seem to try to communicate with Tecna. Tecna glances at one of the monitors and sees several dungeon-like structures, the people in them languishing. She finds a file in the computer, detailing many attempts at revolution, the people attempting them thrown into these dungeons, the main computer running them all.

Tecna, while shocked, isn’t really surprised - she knew she couldn’t have been the first person to try to rise against Datacorp, but it is still disheartening and terrible to see these people still suffering. She tries to turn off the machine, but it seems to lash out.

The shadows alongside her recoil in what she assumes is fear, and as the machine seems to start commanding different objects in the room to fling themselves at Tecna, something similar must have happened before, and assumes this is a failsafe mechanism installed by the Council.

Tecna keeps dodging and starts charging a spell with her gun, and asks the shadows to help her if they’re able, assuming they also want to destroy the thing. They start disrupting the commands thanks to them being non-corporeal, and after a few minutes, Tecna manages to fire off the spell, destroying the machine and somehow earning Mythix, her gun getting retouches.

The shadows start to flicker, and through broken speech manage to tell Tecna they were the leaders of the last attempt at a Zenithian revolution, perishing in prison without no one ever knowing about their existence. They tell her that she managed to do something that was considered impossible, a myth, and thank her before completely disappearing.

After recovering her energy and making sure everything else is working properly, she contacts the Winx again, and after thanking them for worrying about her, tells them she also got Mythix, and so if everyone has it, they should go back to the Order and tell them their findings.

The apparition gets even angrier, and it seems to be starting to manifest a stronger spell.

A few days later, everyone goes back to Lake Roccaluce, ready to inform the Order of their findings, before suddenly being attacked by the shadows again.

With Mythix, the shadows seem to go down even faster, and Roxy and Bloom seem to register its magic signature as that of Acheron’s. Everyone else questions how can that be given he’s dead, but Musa points out that Darkar was similar in that regard.

Acheron then reveals himself fully, a literal shadow of his former self, seemingly in an eternal Energix and his face twisted into anger and hatred. He keeps up the assault, and after a bit, the Winx and Roxy start to feel tired of fighting.

They start to brainstorm ways to defeat Acheron once more, and they come to the conclusion to try and disrupt his form, similar to what they did with Darkar once he went insane, and set up the plan.

Roxy and Bloom rush in to distract him, angering the shadow enough to focus solely on them, while Musa takes down any straggler creatures and Flora, Stella and Tecna start to form a convergence. This seems to work for a while before a couple shadows tackle Tecna, but they’re quickly dealt with when Eldora and a couple of the Order of Mana magi arrive, wondering what was taking the Winx so long.

They take over the distraction job, and with no further setbacks, the other 4 join the 3 Winx and combine the convergence, erasing Acheron once more, all the shadows disappearing.

A bit later, now in HQ, the Nymph spearheading the Mythix project both congratulates the girls on discovering the ways to earn Mythix while also apologizing for causing Acheron’s comeback, confusing everyone else.

They elaborate - when doing the ritual to create Mythix, it seems the magic shockwave was powerful and familiar enough for Acheron’s still lingering soul to also be affected, turning him into a ghost, and while reduced to basic instinct and emotion, he still wanted revenge on the Winx for killing him in the first place.

However, unlike Darkar, who was the fusion of two consciences and Auras, Acheron was still just one person, so he had to rely on pulling energy from elsewhere to try and attack, leading to the events that earnt everyone Mythix.

They still admit that Acheron’s temporary revival helped further their goal so it wasn’t something completely bad, but immediately retract when they catch Eldora and the Winx’s expressions, and dismiss them all to be free to continue their break.

As they’re leaving, however, they are surprised by Faragonda, who wants to talk to Roxy in private for a special project she wants her help with, and that can also act as her thesis if she so desires, but it must be a secret until the new school year starts.

Roxy agrees, curious as for why she would be needed, and bids goodbye to the rest, who start to go back to their realms to have an actual, proper vacation for once, their last breaks being incredibly hectic.

In a cave system in Magix, meanwhile, a Fairy seems to have heard about Faragonda’s plans already, and starts to make interesting preparations...

#Winx Club #Winx Redux AU #Winx Redux AU: Summarized #IT IS FINALLY DONE #Now for what is simultaneously the easiest AND hardest season to rewrite.#SEASON 7 HERE WE GOOOOOOO

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lavampira · 4 years ago

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I started thinking about my own kotfet era canon after reading sierra’s post and I figured I could talk about how things go with my canon 8 and majority of their crews too

kai meets with marr on the flagship and gets captured. his death is staged by arcann on live broadcast, making it seem like he’s executed for assassinating valkorion, but then he’s shoved into the carbonite nap. kira and daiya are insistent that he’s still alive, even if neither of them can sense him in the force - they start their own investigation. wylan lashes out at their ‘denial’ of his master’s death and leaves the jedi order to fight back against the eternal fleet, ending up in jorani’s pirate fleet with his own crew.

jorani is still predominantly a pirate, but she does take on a fair amount of privateering gigs to aid the republic - mostly those involve running blockades and escorting shipments around the eternal fleet. isaia helps risha with dubrillion, which does not get decimated by the eternal fleet for no clear reason, and becomes one of the alliance’s contacts.

ana maite replaces lemon banana as the person who builds the foundation of the alliance and searches for the outlander - after working together with kai on ziost, she feels that he’s vital to defeating vitiate/valkorion and his kids, and knows that nobody will trust her without his role in things, but she also wants to atone for how long she spent enforcing vitiate’s power. she’s still in contact with vette after she goes her own way, but jaesa becomes the force enclave specialist while cadrien decides to join the alliance as a sith lord in his own right by that point. when the alliance merges into the republic, she fully defects from the empire.

thaston infiltrates zakuul with their wife and kaliyo and discovers the location of arcann’s freezer. they’re reluctantly recruited by theron to join the alliance - after working together for theron’s ziost operation - and they lead the early investigations of the star fortresses. thalia helps lokin retire on alderaan before returning to ascendancy space with raina, but later joins the alliance as one of the temporary CEDF liaisons and research specialist.

edelie fully involves herself with the mandalorians, setting aside bounty hunting to follow mandalore’s call, but is still raising her and torian’s son, too. she and torian also adopt a daughter at some point. she’s present at the battle where artus is killed and takes it hard despite her extremely mixed feelings about him and continues to follow shae once she’s named the new mandalore. deimos also goes to war with the rest of the mandalorians, too. mako continues bounty hunting with akaavi after they meet, but she’s still in touch with edelie because they’re family.

vin takes a step back from being the havoc squad CO to an advising role to supreme commander malcom, although he still probably gets hands-on with some of the early battles, and becomes the liaison between the republic and the alliance. elara forms and leads a rapid response SAR unit. revkari remains part of havoc alongside jorgan, but whether or not havoc actually goes rogue on zakuul is up in the air.

sarajah tries to defend tython in the early days of the war, but ends up retreating with nadia and any other jedi or settlers who she can save to a meeting point with master gnost-dural, helping to start the ossus colony initiative, and felix goes with her, training a defensive militia to aid and protect the colony. she contributes to task force nova in seeking out the scattered jedi and reinstates her seat on the high council.

zoyah takes advantage of the situation when korriban falls to fake her own death, sticking with andronikos to go pirating and find more artifacts to bring back to her (mostly) secret yavin iv powerbase. she returns to the empire after acina’s death to take back her seat on the dark council and plot her own move against vowrawn on the throne.

#dani plays swtor #star wars #game: the old republic #oc: kaizen amhi #oc: jorani rha #oc: ana maite vicari #oc: thaston #oc: edelie cadera #oc: vin kharu #oc: sarajah rizas #oc: zoyah kallig #long post

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dottyboxx · 5 years ago

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Publications - Chaire de droit pénal et criminologie - Université de Friborg

In order to offer the students an alternative to a "spiritually empty upbringing", the religious universities have a strict code of honor. In some cases, students have to sign creeds. In Ave Maria, daily worship is part of the "healthy moral lifestyle". The living areas for students are separated from each other. somehow I have the feeling that the given equation - at least sometimes - is fulfilled. Of course, criticism of Israel is often used by neo-Nazis as anti-Semitism.

Well, the EU totally surprised us

Disney's "The Lion King", directed by Jon Favreau, goes to the African savannah, where a future king is born. Simba idolizes his father King Mufasa and fully accepts his own royal fate. Not everyone in the kingdom celebrates the arrival of the new boy. Scar - Mufasa's brother and former heir to the throne - has his own plans. Treachery, tragedy and drama pervade the battle for the Royal Rock and ultimately lead to Simba's exile. To get at least an overview of the subjective perspectives of the Wikipedia writer, here is a small survey in the cafe. Anyone who wants can assign any country from -1 ("not belonging to the West") to +1 ("Western state"). But I have to be careful and keep away from harmful influences. I have iphone 11 bazooka phone case anyway little strength and resilience, then I should save them to get my life under control, which has also gotten out of hand recently. I'm just too sensitive to work with others, and frankly the tone is too rough on Wikipedia.

Which area would be more suitable for a company outing for Commissioner Dupin and his team? But a murdered Artus researcher thwarts the commissioner. However, SYRIZA does nothing to stop the flight of capital, nor does it collect the € billion in tax revenue that would alone result in taxation of the Swiss flight billions. I did not have this experience in Rhineland-Palatinate. It's really tough about performance, there are certain values that have to be met (e.g. 500 meters in a certain time or long distance jumps). Unless someone accidentally knows something about it, they are welcome to express themselves. Or even more exciting if a second account has been blocked infinitely because the user has not yet had his own lobby on the blocking check, etc. Section 115.

#contrôle des armes à feu schwarzenegger

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researchkraft19 · 4 years ago

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Diamond Abrasives Market 2020 Analysis, Size, Share and Players to 2027

The Global Diamond Abrasives Market has enlisted a noteworthy CAGR during the most recent decade. It is relied upon to arrive at higher yearly development in the imminent years. Strength, hearty monetary framework, crude material opulence, taking off worldwide Diamond Abrasives request are boosting market advancement. So also, mechanical headways, advancements, expanding industrialization, and urbanization in the creating and created areas are probably going to maintain the Diamond Abrasives market income during forecast 2020-2027

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Market Research Explore distributed a broad investigation of the worldwide Diamond Abrasives market thinking about different significant components of the market. The exploration study includes precise and credible evaluations of the past just as the future pace of the market. The report contains indispensable assessments dependent on creation, deals volume, income, and yearly development rates. The report likewise expounds on current market contention, industry condition, fragments, and driving rivals in the worldwide Diamond Abrasives market. It helps key players, partners, industry specialists, analysts, and friends authorities in increasing profound understanding of the market.

The worldwide Diamond Abrasives advertise has been separated into a few essential sections, for example, item types, applications, areas, and end-clients. Moreover, it investigates locales including North America, Europe, South America, the Middle East, Asia, and the remainder of the world while performing provincial examination. The division investigation helps key players correctly focusing on the real market size and choosing suitable sections for their Diamond Abrasives organizations.

The most significant players coated in global Diamond Abrasives market report:

STRAUSS&CO., ARTU, SOMTA, Huanghe Whirlwind, Sinocrystal, Zhongnan Diamond, SFDiamond, Jingri, CRGEMS

Types is divided into:

Sintering

Plating

Brazing

Others

Applications is divided into:

Machining

Construction

Others

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North America (U.S., Canada, Mexico) Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Italy, Russia, Spain, etc.) Asia-Pacific (China, India, Japan, Southeast Asia, etc.) South America (Brazil, Argentina, etc.) Middle East & Africa (South Africa, Saudi Arabia, etc.)

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architectnews · 4 years ago

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Heaven on Earth Masterplan, Hangzhou

Heaven on Earth Masterplan, Hangzhou Wangjiang New Town, Chinese Building Project, Architecture Images

Heaven on Earth in Hangzhou

23 Sep 2020

Hangzhou Wangjiang New Town

Design: Adrian Cheng, Shigeru Ban and Ole Scheeren

Location: Hangzhou, China

Adrian Cheng (centre) collaborates with Shigeru Ban (left) and Ole Scheeren (right) to create a new art and cultural destination in Hangzhou

New World Development Company Limited (“New World Group” or the “Group”, Hong Kong stock code: 17) announces the appointment of Pritzker Prize-winning (2014) architect Shigeru Ban and RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) silver medallist Ole Scheeren, to masterplan Hangzhou Wangjiang New Town project (New World China Hangzhou-Hong Kong High-end Service Industry Demonstration Zone Comprehensive Development Project), establishing a new art and cultural destination in this historical city with deep cultural heritage.

Spearheaded by Adrian Cheng, CEO, New World Development and Founder of K11 Group, the team applies the concept of design thinking to build a landmark that meets the needs of the new generation. To continue the legacy of ‘100 Creative Powers’ that shaped K11 MUSEA in Hong Kong, a global cultural-retail destination, the Group gathers a new troupe of top talents to inject endless creativity and ingenuity into a city coined as ‘Heaven on Earth’. Hangzhou is underpinned by innovation, heritage and culture – the Group will strive to create shared value and enhance the city’s local community.

Hangzhou Wangjiang New Town project

Bringing together top talents to forge new concepts in architecture, telling stories with design New World Group’s collaboration with Ole Scheeren and Shigeru Ban in the Hangzhou Wangjiang New Town project will create a rich juxtaposition for the site, capitalising on their unique styles and design aspirations. Shigeru Ban’s fondness to nature, traditional values and innovation has led to numerous successful projects that focus on multicultural preservation and humanitarian philosophy, echoing Adrian Cheng’s vision of “Creating Shared Value”. Shigeru Ban is known for his innovative structures in timber, and the use of paper in architecture. Ban has a reputation of minimising waste and building with humble materials that pushes the boundaries of its possibility, with skilful application and playful imagination. Over the past 25 years, Ban has been involved in disaster relief projects throughout the world; from construction of emergency shelters, temporary housing, schools to churches. His dedication to social humanitarian work has led to his achievement of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2014.

Ole Scheeren’s concept of “form follows fiction” strongly resonates with Adrian Cheng’s beliefs in breaking the boundaries and blending tradition with modernity. To Scheeren, buildings and design are not mere accumulations of material and functions, but serve as an organic container for stories which can truly reflect people’s lives and interactions. Scheeren led the designs of the China Central Television (CCTV) headquarters; created Bangkok’s Mahanakhon tower; The Interlace in Singapore; the floating Archipelago Cinema and many other works that tell beautiful stories about people.

A benchmark for innovative urban life, a new wave of life for the new generation Hangzhou is also known as a “shining pearl” of Chinese culture and the “paradise on earth”, while Wangjiang New Town, where the project is located, is a magnificent place of rich cultural heritage and strewn with historical buildings such as Haichao Temple and Yan Tai Lou. According to the Hangzhou Government’s plan, Wangjiang New Town will be developed into three industrial areas – with the southern part driven by cultural industries, central part by commercial, international and innovative enterprises and the northern part by financial institutions. The project draws inspiration from the Group’s vision of “Creating Shared Value”, bringing together an ensemble of creative disciplines and advocates to create a meaningful destination on this pivotal site in the heart of Hangzhou city.

The project is poised to be Hangzhou’s brand-new art and cultural landmark

With the total GFA of 460,000 square metres, the Hangzhou Wangjiang New Town project will firstly introduce its cultural-retail destination K11 Art Mall; a network of office buildings for the next-generation workforce K11 ATELIER; luxury residences K11 ARTUS; Rosewood Hotel and a cultural space for everyone. As the Group’s debut project in Hangzhou, the project will seek to enhance the business atmosphere of the city and help uplift Hangzhou’s service industry to meet international standards. Its offerings will bolster this new first-tier city in China and cement its reputation as a flagship city for Asia’s financial centres, as well as setting a benchmark for innovative urban life and an exemplar project for sustainable development.

Creating shared value and a win-win situation for the society Adrian Cheng, CEO of New World Development and Founder of K11 Group, said: “I am thrilled to join hands with Shigeru Ban and Ole Scheeren – the two world-renowned architects with humanitarian and innovative spirit, to inject deep humanistic connotations into the Hangzhou Wangjiang New Town project. We will continue to uphold the concept of ‘Creating Shared Value’, strive to leverage on the brand’s competitive advantages, work with various sectors and all walks of life to enhance the values of the city and local communities, as well as enrich people’s life experience with art and culture. At New World Group, it is of equal importance to develop our business and address the long-term social needs. We believe that we can create a win-win situation for the society by maintaining a positive social interaction in an innovative way.”

Heaven on Earth Masterplan, Hangzhou images / information received 230920

Location: Hangzhou, China

Architecture in China

Chinese Architectural Designs – chronological list

Chinese Architects Offices – Design Practice Listings

Shanghai Architecture Tours by e-architect

Keppel Cove Marina & Clubhouse, Zhongshan, Guangdong Design: UNStudio, Architects photography : Tom Roe Marina at Keppel Cove in Zhongshan

Shuyang Art Gallery, Suqian City, Jiangsu Province Design: The Architectural Design & Research Institute Of ZheJiang University Co,Ltd photograph : Qiang Zhao Shuyang Art Gallery Building

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The Summit for Tishman Speyer

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Comments / photos for the Heaven on Earth Masterplan, Hangzhou page welcome

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deniscollins · 5 years ago

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France Tries Limiting Joblessness to Confront Coronavirus Recession

France is rapidly emerging as a test case of whether a country can hasten the recovery from a recession by protecting businesses from going under in the first place, and avoiding mass joblessness. France and some western European nations have passed legislation funding paid furloughs rather than the U.S. approach of providing some economic relief to employees after they have been dismissed or furloughed without pay. In France, the government is spending 45 billion euros ($50 billion) to pay businesses not to lay off workers. Over 337,000 businesses have already put 3.6 million employees on paid furlough to be reimbursed by the state. Should the U.S. adopt the French model and fund paid furloughs: (1) yes, (2) no? Why? What are the ethics underlying your decision?

When France started shutting down a few weeks ago as the coronavirus marched relentlessly into the country, Dominique Paul feared disaster. His family’s white-glove catering company, Groupe Butard, halted operations, putting 190 jobs at risk.

Edward Arkwright, the director general of Aéroports de Paris, the Paris airport operator, weighed how to preserve over 140,000 jobs when a freeze on most global airline traffic caused activity to nose-dive 90 percent in a few head-spinning days.

The future of both businesses, and hundreds of thousands more around France, spiraled into uncertainty. Instead of sinking, though, they are being thrown lifelines as the French government deploys a targeted plan aimed at sheltering companies and keeping every worker possible employed.

“We’re using the government’s whole toolbox to get through this crisis,” Mr. Paul said, eyeing the company’s empty Armenonville Pavillon on the edge of Paris, where just weeks ago chefs and waiters served delicacies like scallop carpaccio for glittering events. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to keep up.”

As the coronavirus wallops the world’s economies, France is rapidly emerging as a test case of whether a country can hasten the recovery from a recession by protecting businesses from going under in the first place, and avoiding mass joblessness.

In the United States, the coronavirus has already provoked millions of layoffs. While the $2 trillion rescue package signed by President Trump sends extensive relief to American workers and businesses, France and other European Union countries are deploying a more encompassing state-led approach in the event that the epidemic takes months, rather than weeks, to contain.

“There’s a very different strategy in Europe than in the United States about how to manage this recession,” said Patrick Artus, chief economist of Paris-based Natixis Bank. “The idea is to have no layoffs or company closures, so that when the coronavirus is finally under control the economy can start right back up.”

France is hoping to learn a lesson from the 2008 financial crisis, when it didn’t take aggressive steps to support workers and businesses. Unemployment soon jumped to around 10 percent and stayed high for half a decade. By contrast, the rise in joblessness in Germany — which kept companies from collapsing by subsidizing furloughs in a system known as Kurzarbeitergeld, or short-time work — lasted less than a year before falling steadily.

“France has decided it’s not going to make the same mistake with the coronavirus,” said Simon Tilford, director of the Forum New Economy, a research institution in Berlin. “That approach is going to be much less devastating.”

Austria, Denmark and other northern countries have similar policies, and Britain announced last week that it would do the same. And on Wednesday, the European Commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, said governments would join to support short-time work so that “more people will keep their job” during the current crisis.

In France, the government is spending 45 billion euros ($50 billion) to pay businesses not to lay off workers. Deadlines for taxes and loan payments are delayed. Another €300 billion in state-guaranteed loans are being extended to any struggling company that needs them.

Over 337,000 businesses have already put 3.6 million employees on paid furlough to be reimbursed by the state, the Labor Ministry said Wednesday. Officials expect the numbers to more than double as it receives “several thousand requests per minute.”

The plan isn’t without risks. European leaders are wary of relaunching the economy before the epidemic is proved to be under control. The tsunami of fiscal support by France and its neighbors — over €2 trillion in spending and loan guarantees combined — can be sustained only a few months, economists say.

The risk extends to the businesses as well, which must continue to pay one-fifth of the salaries of employees who aren’t working. If the economy doesn’t rebound by autumn, companies say, they may yet be forced to revert to layoffs.

Mr. Paul of Groupe Butard is betting things won’t get that bad, despite fearing the worst when orders were canceled en masse in early March. Events organized by corporate giants like Schneider Electric and the French Federation of Rugby were called off, shrinking his expected monthly revenue of €4 million to €500,000 and leaving Dominique Julo, the company’s events director, with little to plan for.

Since then, Mr. Paul has used all the financial backstops made available by the French government, even delays of payments for electricity bills and rent on Groupe Butard’s offices and its hulking food preparation facilities outside Paris.

The state will pay him 80 percent of his employees’ salaries to keep them on payroll. Although Mr. Paul is still waiting for the money, because of a backlog in the 10-day reimbursement period promised by the government, the combined financial relief means the company “will be ready to rebound once the crisis is over,” he said.

Use of Germany’s paid furlough program is also soaring. Nearly 500,000 firms filed for support in March, the government said Tuesday, up from fewer than 2,000 in February. Among them are Daimler, Volkswagen, Lufthansa and the company that manages Frankfurt Airport, where air traffic has plunged 90 percent.

A similar collapse in activity forced Mr. Arkwright, the director general of Aéroports de Paris, to put 80 percent of the 6,000 administrative employees and 135,000 baggage handlers, security agents and other workers on paid furlough after Orly Airport and all but two terminals at Charles de Gaulle Airport, the second-busiest in Europe, closed.

He faced extraordinary circumstances as losses ballooned to an estimated €1.3 billion. Adding to the chaos, the chief executive of Aéroports de Paris, Augustin de Romanet, tested positive for the virus, leaving Mr. Arkwright to manage on an emergency basis as two-thirds of the airport company’s board also self-quarantined. All the executives emerged in good health.

Aéroports de Paris, which is half owned by the state and is slated for privatization this year, is saving €25 million a month from government subsidies for paid furloughs, Mr. Arkwright said. The state has asked the company not to pay out an annual dividend.

“The advantage of this approach is that we can start up again literally from one day to the next,” Mr. Arkwright said. “I can call you and say, ‘Come in tomorrow.’ But if you go into unemployment, it’s not sure you’d be called in for a job. And we would lose people with valuable skills.”

Allowing unemployment to balloon would also cost European governments huge sums, because of the generous benefits offered to fired workers. In Germany, for instance, someone who is let go after 12 months can still receive 60 percent of his or her salary for the next nine; in France, unemployment benefits last up to two years.

“Laying people off actually costs more,” Mr. Arkwright said.

And people who can keep their jobs “are less unhappy and shocked than people who have been fired,” said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank in London. “They are less likely to dramatically cut their consumption. That limits the overall economic damage.”

In that sense, Mr. Schmieding added, governments paying companies to keep people furloughed “achieve a bigger impact for less money than supporting people who have lost their jobs.” The United States, which will now extend jobless benefits and make one-time cash payments to support workers, is effectively “paying the price for its inadequate welfare net,” he said.

Mr. Paul of Groupe Butard said the French government’s protectionist playbook could sometimes be stifling for business. But safeguarding the economy and helping companies avoid throwing workers into unemployment would leave French society better off than others once the coronavirus epidemic was contained, he said.

“The French system can be cumbersome,” he said. “But it is incredibly effective in times like these.”

#France #Coronavirus

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onlysewenteen · 5 years ago

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marchand de glaces Schwarzenegger

title> In a hectic battle against time to stop a new serial killer, the FBI decides to break its protocol and transfer the case to Mackenzie. It's her chance for Mackenzie to impress the FBI, but expectations have never been so high. Not everyone wants her to lead the case, and everything she does seems to go wrong. When the pressure is on and the killer hits again, Mackenzie finds himself alone in an army of experienced agents, and soon realizes that she is already too deeply involved in the whole thing. Our website uses session cookies to improve the navigation of the website, to improve the online experience, to offer customized content and to receive statistics on the number of browser visits. Don't waste any more time looking for a parking space. With Onepark, you're just a few clicks away. He is supported by a bard named Delphinium and shows him the pleasant things in life. "The last wish" is classic fantasy with many allusions to fairy tales, legends and legends. Your parking space is reserved for you. Follow the directions to the parking lot and park your car. You don't need to worry, your car is in good hands. The purchase of this item is a transaction with Google Payments. Against his will, Dupin is quickly appointed a special investigator in a brutal case that will soon claim further victims. Mysterious, refined and exciting - Commissioner Dupin iphone 11 bazooka phone case determined in the heart of Brittany. Disney's "The Lion King", directed by Jon Favreau, goes to the African savannah, where a future king is born. Also that of King Arthur and his round table. Which area would be more suitable for a company outing for Commissioner Dupin and his team? But a murdered Artus researcher thwarts the commissioner. It seems like a great idea until they realize that their very private video has gone public. In panic, they start a wild and adventurous night, in which they follow tracks, join friends and outsmart Annie's boss - only to get their video, their reputation, their peace and above all their marriage back. Olaf teams up with Sven and embarks on an enjoyable mission at Walt Disney Animation Studio's "Frozen - Olaf Thaws". Your entire future at the FBI is at stake. As tough and determined as Mackenzie is, as brilliant as she can hunt down murderers, this new case turns out to be an unsolvable mystery, something she is not up to. She may not even have enough time to decipher it because her own life is collapsing over her head.

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prepinthebay-blog · 5 years ago

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marchand de glaces Schwarzenegger (4)

title> As a dark psychological thriller with an almost unbearable tension, BEFORE SEEING is the second part of a captivating new crime series - with a new, iphone 11 bazooka phone case endearing character - that will captivate you until late at night. Book # 3 of the Mackenzie White crime series will be available soon.

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You agree to the Google Payments terms of use and privacy notice. The five-part drama series tells the shocking story of the Chernobyl reactor disaster starring Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård and Emily Watson. Also that of King Arthur and his round table. Which area would be more suitable for a company outing for Commissioner Dupin and his team? But a murdered Artus researcher thwarts the commissioner.

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When two murders are committed in New York in the exact manner Castle describes in his novels, the police call him in as an advisor. After the case is resolved, Castle lets his relationships play so that he can continue to work with the police in the future. Detective Kate Beckett involuntarily provides Frauenheld Castle with the template for his new novel character "Nikki Heat". Enmeshed in criminal intrigue and the pull of dark passions, Ana has to fight for her love again. Geralt von Rivien is a sorcerer and earns his living by fighting against man-eating monsters of all kinds - vampires, kikimors, mutants, jinns. Olaf sets off and searches the kingdom for the most beautiful Christmas traditions in order to save his friends the festival. The Brocéliande forest with its picturesque lakes is the last remaining fairy kingdom - one believes the Breton. Countless legends are located here. In a hectic battle against time to stop a new serial killer, the FBI decides to break its protocol and transfer the case to Mackenzie. It's her chance for Mackenzie to impress the FBI, but expectations have never been so high. Not everyone wants her to lead the case, and everything she does seems to go wrong. When the pressure is on and the killer hits again, Mackenzie finds himself alone in an army of experienced agents, and soon realizes that she is already too deeply involved in the whole thing. It is the first Christmas since the gates opened, and Anna and Elsa organize a celebration for all of Arendelle. However, when the residents leave the festival very early to celebrate their own Christmas customs, the sisters realize that they themselves have no family tradition.

#marchand de glaces Schwarzenegger

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biofunmy · 5 years ago

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In an Industrial Corner of France, 18,000 Jobs Are On Offer. Why Aren’t People Taking Them?

OYONNAX, France — Along a vast alpine plain, hundreds of factories are cranking out plastic perfume bottles, automobile parts and industrial tools. Trucks chug through mountains ferrying thousands of ready-made wares for export. On billboards and warehouses, “We’re hiring!” signs flutter in the breeze.

Jobs are plentiful in Ain, a sprawling manufacturing region in eastern France known as “Plastics Valley.” But companies in this forested frontier across from Switzerland have slowed production because they cannot find enough workers for a production line that increasingly requires computer and digital know-how.

“It’s a brake on competitiveness,” said Georges Pernoud, the president of Groupe Pernoud, whose company makes injection molding for plastic parts for BMW and other automakers. He said he has turned away contracts worth nearly a million euros in the past two years because he couldn’t find skilled people here or anywhere in France who wanted a factory job.

“We need more tech-savvy employees,” Mr. Pernoud said, pointing to a glass-encased robotic machine on his factory floor programmed by a worker to produce a precision steel mold. “But not enough people are willing to take these jobs.”

France, like many countries in Europe, has a labor problem. But in a nation where thousands of people took to the streets in the Yellow Vest movement to protest income inequality and a lack of economic opportunity, there is a peculiar twist.

Despite an unemployment rate of over 8 percent — the highest in Europe after Italy, Spain and Greece — over a quarter of a million jobs are unfilled. Businesses can’t find people to work as plumbers, engineers, waiters, cooks. The list goes on.

Nowhere is the challenge as stark as in manufacturing, where nearly 40 percent of companies cite a dearth of manpower. In Ain, which specializes in making plastic goods and machinery parts, at least 18,000 jobs are on offer.

France needs a solution quickly. After recovering from a double-dip recession during the financial crisis, the economy is slowing again, this time from a 1.7 percent expansion as Europe’s recovery cools. Manufacturing isn’t contributing as much to growth as it could because of the labor problem, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, France’s economy minister, has warned.

She recently began a campaign to enhance the industry’s appeal, featuring a 20-foot inflatable plastic rooster, a symbol of French pride. The rolling caravan, called the “French Fab” tour, showcases factories as hubs for high tech.

Employers say manufacturing has an image problem after decades of cheap competition from Asia and Eastern Europe shuttering factories across France. The industry has shrunk to 10 percent of the economy today from 25 percent in the 1960s. Recent factory closures at Ford, Alstom and Whirlpool have added to an image of woe.

Labor unions say the issue is not a shortage of workers, but that companies pay low wages and then complain about a lack of labor. If companies increased pay, unions argue, they would find employees.

Others say France’s predicament is more complicated.

“The real problem is that French industry is still not as modernized as elsewhere in Europe,” said Patrick Artus, the chief economist of Natixis Bank, based in Paris. “That has led to low productivity, which prevents companies from raising salaries,” he said. Manufacturers need to ramp up investments, he added.

President Emmanuel Macron is trying to clear roadblocks, in part by modernizing the national vocational system. Only around a third of French students pursue vocational training or apprenticeships, which are seen as leading to unprestigious work in a country that prizes academics and white-collar careers.

By contrast, in Germany, Europe’s manufacturing powerhouse, the industry is seen in a positive light. Around half its 16- to 24-year-olds enter apprenticeships that include hands-on work at Siemens, Daimler and other name brands. In France, manufacturers say, the training is less intensive and no longer produces enough people with skills for the current crop of jobs

Mr. Macron’s reform lifts the age limit for apprenticeships to 30 from 25 and makes it easier for people to qualify for and keep them. The government also plans to reimburse companies for apprentice work contracts. One million low-skilled job seekers and one million young people from disadvantaged backgrounds will be offered training in digital technologies. France’s generous jobless benefits are being tightened to return people to the work force more quickly.

But in Ain, and elsewhere, the efforts aren’t producing results fast enough.

This area became a hub for plastics-making in the 1920s when companies made fashionable combs and hair accessories. Activity expanded after World War II as demand for plastics, tools and machinery drove a surge in manufacturing.

Oyonnax, one of Ain’s biggest cities, grew wealthy as the factories expanded. In the early 1980s, locals recall, the largest concentration of Ferraris in France was found here.

But French industry proved no match for globalization and did not adjust to competition from countries with lower labor costs and tax rates. Europe’s financial crisis forced companies to modernize quickly. French factories are now scrambling for programmers and coders to run increasingly automated machinery. “We’re struggling to convince people that the work isn’t the same as decades ago,” said Damien Petitjean, the director of the Lycée Arbez Carme, the main high school in Oyonnax.

The plastics industry in particular faces a hard sell, said Mr. Petitjean, as concerns mount over the environmental impact of a throwaway culture.

The Oyonnax school once specialized in training for industrial jobs. In the 1970s, it shifted to a general curriculum, mirroring the decline of manufacturing. Today it has swung back to offering technical diplomas, working in partnership with companies and research institutes.

Yet only half its 1,100 students pursue such degrees, Mr. Petitjean said. And last year, only 40 entered the plastics industry.

Pay is one big reason.

Industrial salaries have risen gradually for the last 20 years and increased about 2 percent last year. Still, entry-level workers earn just a couple hundred euros more than France’s monthly minimum wage of 1,521 euros a month. Small and medium-sized businesses, the backbone of French industry, say they can’t offer more because they must make a hefty contribution toward France’s social safety net, which provides health care, education and unemployment.

“In France, employer taxes amount to 40 percent of a worker’s salary,” said Stéphane Vandenabeele, the managing director of UNT, which makes precision tools for eyewear and watches. He recently lost a skilled employee to a competitor in Switzerland that offered nearly twice the 2,800 euro after-tax salary he paid. With Swiss employer taxes of just 12 percent, he said, he couldn’t match the price.

Employers in Plastics Valley try, increasingly, to poach workers from other companies or devise creative workarounds.

Mr. Pernoud, the producer of plastics injection molds, hired a technician from Portugal to fill one of a dozen openings at his 110-person operation. Although he pays up to 3,000 euros a month for engineers, there are few takers. But that’s good money in Portugal, where the average monthly wage is around 1,900 euros, Mr. Pernoud said. He hopes to hire four more — quickly.

“I have no choice but to look abroad,” he said. “I can’t develop my business otherwise.”

Ten minutes away, PRP Creation, which makes plastic cosmetics containers for luxury groups including Dior, Chanel and Estee Lauder, has found a partial solution by placing job ads on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

The chief executive, Joël Viry, said many of the 175 jobs on his floor are on a classic production line. He attracted workers by establishing good managerial relations. The son of a boilermaker, he regularly walks the floor to converse with employees, who include older workers and over 30 nationalities. At any given time, at least 40 young people on interim contracts work in the factory to gain experience.

Other companies, worried that government reforms will take time, are pooling resources to create their own training programs.

At LMT Belin, a producer of tools for the plastics, auto and aerospace industries, the chief executive, Bertrand Lefevre, teamed up with five companies to provide hands-on work experience for the unemployed. On a recent afternoon, eight young men trained on how to program robotic equipment, hovering over a machine churning out high-performance drill bits.

Mohamed El Hmidi, 23, had worked mostly in construction and at odd jobs. He landed in Oyonnax’s unemployment office a few months ago and heard about training at LMT Belin. He jumped at the opportunity.

“This is our future,” said Mr. El Hmidi, nodding at the factory floor, where workers were monitoring computer-powered machines. He had already rotated through the other four factories that had combined forces with LMT Belin. “Here, we’re getting exposure to new technologies,” he said.

For Mr. Lefevre, it was a small victory in a larger battle for economic survival.

“We can’t just keep complaining there’s no one to hire,” he said. “We have to make it happen ourselves.”

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cryptobitmonkey · 7 years ago

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Bitcoin: The cure is worse than the disease - Natixis

Patrick Artus, Research Analyst at Natixis, explains that Central banks in OECD countries have for 20 years managed their monetary policies in an extremely questionable manner: considerable increase in liquidity, bursting of asset price bubbles, excessive debt, highly expansionary monetary policies currently being maintained, even at full employment.

“Central banks are therefore criticised for their destabilising behaviour, their manipulation of financial markets and the distortions their monetary policies give rise to.”

“This has led to the desire for a form of currency that is not under the control of governments and central banks and which escapes their destabilising behaviour: the Bitcoin is clearly a result of this desire, with a Bitcoin creation process (money supply) that is algorithmic and exogenous and cannot be controlled by governments and central banks.”

“But the cure is worse than the disease. Since the supply of Bitcoins is exogenous, the increase in demand for Bitcoins has driven up its price considerably, creating a bubble that is also extremely destabilising. The price of a financial asset whose supply is not adjusted according to demand can go to any level: the money supply must be managed so as to correspond to the economy’s need for money; this is unavoidable.”

“The right solution is therefore not the Bitcoin, but "reasonable central banks" that can manage the money supply process in a way that is not destabilising.”

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tennissurfacingspecifications · 7 years ago

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Case study: SWAP: delivering primary care vocational advice

Summary

Patients consulting their GP or nurse practitioner with an episode of pain who were either struggling at work or absent from work for less than 6 months, were referred to a vocational advisor, delivering a stepped care, case managed intervention to address obstacles to working, tailored to each patients’ needs.

Background

Musculoskeletal (MSK) pain is one of the most common causes of work absence. There is a growing evidence base that suggests that absence from work is detrimental to health and delivering appropriate advice and support early can reduce absence from the workplace and the negative consequences of that.

Occupational health provision differs across Europe. Within the UK there is very limited access, making it difficult for people to receive vocational advice and support about managing their MSK pain in the context of work.

GPs are responsible for authorising absence in the UK through the fit note system and alongside this fit note the GP is expected to provide advice on managing at work. However, GPs report difficulties in providing this advice and most have little training in occupational health provision.

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funded a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to address the difficulties associated with accessing occupational health for patients consulting their GP or nurse practitioner with an episode of pain who were either struggling at work or absent from work for less than 6 months.

What was involved

The study of work and pain (SWAP) RCT compared 2 arms:

Intervention arm: delivery of a vocational advice service within the primary care setting, allowing the referral of patients to a vocational advisor (VA) who delivered a stepped care, case managed intervention to address obstacles to working, tailored to each patients’ needs.

Control arm: delivery of best care.

Participants in the intervention arm reported fewer days off work over 4 months (mean 9.3) compared to participants in the control arm (mean 14.4). The impact of the VA service was demonstrated at 4 months with participants reporting improvements in their confidence to return to work, improved performance whilst at work and a reduction in presenteeism (working while sick).

Health economic analysis demonstrated that there was a net societal benefit of £733 for the intervention, compared to best care with the corresponding return on investment which was £49 for every £1 invested.

What works well

The VA service was acceptable to patients with 76% of those eligible to access the service agreeing to a referral.

What could be better

Interviews with participants, GPs and VAs found that for some patients the service was offered too early. Subgroup analysis found that the intervention was significantly more successful in those who had at least 10 days of absence when they accessed the VA service.

Next steps

Future work needs to focus on targeting the intervention to ensure that it is directed towards those who will benefit most, and also to testing this model of delivering vocational advice with a broader population including those reporting common mental health conditions.

Further information

Sanders T, Wynne-Jones G, Artus M, Ong B.N, Foster N. Acceptability of a vocational advice service for patients consulting in primary care with musculoskeletal pain: A qualitative exploration of the experiences of general practitioners, vocational advisors and patients, Scandinavian Journal of Public Health; 2017; doi: 10.1177/1403494817723194. [Epub ahead of print]

Wynne-Jones G, Artus M, Bishop A, Lawton S.A, Lewis M, Jowett S, Kigozi J, Main C, Sowden G, Wathall S, Burtons A.K, van der Windt D, Hay E.M, Foster N.E and the SWAP study team. Effectiveness and costs of a vocational advice service to improve work outcomes in patients with musculoskeletal pain in primary care: A cluster randomised trial (SWAP trial ISRCTN 52269669), Pain; 2017; doi: 10.1097/j.pain. 0000000000001075. [Epub ahead of print]

For further information please contact Dr Gwenllian Wynne-Jones [email protected].

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cult-of-death-blog · 8 years ago

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Geiler von Kaiserberg and the Furious Army by Claude Lecouteux

Und es war die Zeit des Vollmonds In der Nacht vor Sankt Johannis Wo der Spuk der Wilden Jagd Umzieht durch den Geisterhohlweg [And it was the time of the full moon, In the night before Saint John’s, When the apparition of the Wild Hunt Moved through the haunted hollow.] —Heinrich Heine, Atta Troll, XVIII

For more than two thousand years, legends have been circulating that tell of the passage of a troop of the dead, either by land or through the air, on certain dates of the year.(1) Depending on the form of the narratives, the country, or region, this phenomenon has been referred to as the Wütendes Heer [Furious Army], the Mesnie Hellequin [Retinue of Hellequin], or the Chasse Artus [Arthur’s Hunt], among others. For more than a century, scholars and researchers—following the lead of Jacob Grimm and Elard Hugo Meyer—have asserted that Wotan/Odin was the leader of this dead host, but Lutz Röhrich, bringing clarity to the matter, quite rightly notes that “In no instance is the equivalence of Wode [the Low German name of the wild huntsman]—and Wotan certain.”(2 )Leander Petzoldt correctly distinguishes between the Wild Hunt and the Cursed Huntsman in his Dictionary of Demons and Elementary Spirits.(3 )The confusion between the two legends is based on a body of beliefs maintaining that the dead can come back, which has then been coupled with a Christian interpretation of the facts: these dead are sinners who are going through purgatory as members of this host, or they are, quite simply, the damned. These beliefs took the form of legends that cross-contaminated one another to form, at the turn of the fifteenth to sixteenth century, a complex web whose various threads can be delineated as follows:

1. The belief in nocturnal hosts led by Diana, Hecate, or Herodias, and the belief in revenants. 2. The belief that the spiritus, or psyche, remained near the body for thirty days immediately following death. 3. The belief that death only entailed an exile to the grave or to another world, during which time the deceased person retained all faculties, kept watch over the activities of friends and family, and intervened in human affairs, either in corpore or in spiritu (as is the case with dreams).(4 )

This type of belief concerning death, which went hand in hand with ancestor worship and specific funerary rites, was too deeply anchored in people’s minds to disappear when they were converted to Christianity. The Church had to make do with it and divert these beliefs for its own benefit. As a result, a compound legend arose that concerned the damned who wander the earth on certain dates,(5) and the notion of impiety punished (which is the source of numerous legends, including those of the Cursed Huntsman and of the Man in the Moon).

The two variants of pagan folklore that had been Christianized continued to influence each other and, because they provided an open narrative structure, receptively incorporated motifs from other legends relating to death and to the beyond (for example, the legends of Mount Venus and of “Loyal Eckhart”). The Christian texts are starkly didactic and deliver a clear message: there is no prayer of posthumous salvation for those who have not respected the commandments of God and his Church. They fall into the category of “pedagogy through fear,” similarly to the literature of revelations (incidentally, the last example of the latter genre, and a humorous one at that, is Alphonse Daudet’s Le Curé de Curcugnan).

In order to rediscover the primary meaning of the Furious Army (I will use this name here to avoid any confusion), a distinction must be drawn between the original content of the legend and the later accretions. For example, we must avoid blending— as was so often the case until now(6) —this theme with that of the Cursed Huntsman who succumbed to his passion for hunting on a day sacred to the Lord, or who unwittingly swore an oath committing him to this activity for eternity. If I must venture a simple definition of the Furious Army, I would say that it was originally a group of revenants which had the right to leave the Other World for a limited time, as was the case with the ancient Greek festival of Anthesteria (February 11–13). The last day of this festival (chytroi) was dedicated to propitiating the dead and their leader, Hermes Chthonios. In ancient Rome, the festival of Lemuria on May 9, 11, and 13 was an occasion for the dead to burst into homes.

We can refine this definition in accordance with its historical evolution. While in the Greek festival all the dead were involved, in Rome the revenants were recruited exclusively from the ranks of those who had died prematurely—including suicides and the victims of violent death—and those who had not received a ritual burial.(7) In the Middle Ages, the members of the Furious Army were sinners first and foremost. In contrast with the “normal” dead who appeared during Anthesteria or Lemuria, medieval revenants could surge out on any date, but this occurred individually and not as a group. I believe that a shift between the regular dead and revenants took place here, with the latter collected together to form a troop, perhaps under the influence of other beliefs, traces of which can be found in the Germano-Scandinavian world. Here, the dead who are unhappy with their fate and are moved by feelings of vengeance gather together under the leadership of the first to die. This can mainly be seen with occurrences relating to epidemics, as we find in the Eyrbyggja Saga.

In short, whether in Greece, Rome, or the Germanic countries, we encounter the essential elements of something that can be condensed into a narrative of purportedly true events. The first detectable amalgam is that of the immaturi (aori, biothanati) with the common dead leaving the Other World in February or May. Here, the Church first adopted characteristic elements from this narrative—it retained the notion of the troop, essentially a nocturnal host—but made the members of this troop into the damned or the inhabitants of Purgatory.(8) If they made an appearance, it was to reveal their torment and beseech the living for suffrages so that they might find redemption and be freed. In his Liber visionum,(9) written between 1060 and 1067, Otloh of Saint- Emmeram reported what he called a memorable exemplum: two brothers spied a large host in the sky; evoking protection with the sign of the cross, they requested that these people tell who they were. One of them, their father, informed them of the sin for which he was being punished.(10) He had stolen the property of a monastery and would only be redeemed when that property had been returned. In Orderic Vitalis’s work (11) (circa 1092), a certain Robert, son of Ralph the Fair-Haired, told the priest Gauchelin (or Walchelin): “In addition, I have been allowed to appear to you and show you how wretched I am” (Mihi quoque permissum est tibi apparere, meumque miserum esse tibi manifestare). He owed his torment “to his sins” (pro pecatis) but had “hopes for deliverance” (anno relaxationem ab hoc onere fiducialiter exspecto). Another one of the dead had a similar desire—“Exactly a year after Palm Sunday I hope I will be saved” (a Pascha florum usque ad unum annum spero salvari)—and added that Gauchelin should also seek atonement: “You should truly worry about yourself, and correct your life wisely” (Tu vero sollicitus esto de te, vitamque tuam prudenter corrige). Ekkehard, the Abbot of Aura, reported that a member of the Furious Army who appeared near Worms in 1123 said: “We are not ghosts (phantasmata) . . . but the souls of recently slain knights (animae militun non longe antehac interfectorum).”(12) The arms they bore were responsible for making them sin (instrumenta peccandi) and are therefore a torture for them (material tormenti). The chronicler adds that Count Emicho (died 1117) was said to have appeared with such a troop and declared that he would be delivered from his torments by prayers and alms (ab hac pena orationibus et elemosinus se posse redimi docuisse).

Starting at the onset of the eleventh century, several types of tales coexisted with the sort attested by Orderic Vitalis and Ekkehard. These include: the legend of King Herla; legends of demoniacal hunters (whose appearance is confirmed by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 1127 (13) and by The Chronicle of Hugh Candidus for the same date (14); legends of friends who have sworn a mutual oath that if one dies, he will return and tell the surviving friend about the fate he has experienced after his death (this is the theme of the Reuner Relation (15) written between 1185 and 1200, as well as of a passage by Hélinand de Froidmont [1150–1221/29]); and legends of armies that continue waging their battles after death.(16)

An important motif emerges from the Christian legends: one of the members of the Furious Army speaks up to explain his fate. In the Reuner Relation, the dead individual appears on a mountain where his still-living friend had arranged their meeting. The friend “heard the mingled voices of a throng like a host hastening to some siege. Shortly he saw a large multitude which appeared to be riding and they were all armed” (audit cuiusdam multitudinis voces confuses quasi exercitus ad aliquam obsidionem festinantes. Videt post modicum quasi equitum grandem multitudinem et hii omnes armigeri). Two hosts emerge, followed by a third made up of the principes et rectores tenebrarum (princes and leaders of darkness). But the motif of the “revealer” broke away from the theme of the Furious Army. In the work by Pierre le Chantre (died 1197), master Silo (Siger of Brabant) beseeches one of his students to come visit him after his death to relate the situation in which he found himself; soon afterward, the other appeared and shared news of his torment.(17) Hélinand de Froidmont provides a good glimpse of how the legendary traditions spread their influence. In the eleventh chapter of De cognitione sui, transmitted by Vincent de Beauvais in the Speculum historiale XXIX, 118, he records the story that Henri of Orleans, Bishop of Beauvais, heard from the mouth of the canon, Jean. The first part of this chapter is similar to the Relation de Reun and can most likely be traced back to the same source: the two friends swear that the first to die will come visit the other within thirty days, if he is able (intra XXX dies, si posset, ad socium suum rediret). In his conversation with the deceased Natalis (Noel), the living friend, Burchard, asks, “But I beseech that you would tell me if you are deputies in that army called the Hellequins?” Natalis responds “No,” because the phenomenon stopped once his period of penitence was over. This indicates that the militia Hellequini is a wandering Purgatory.(18)

This long preamble is necessary if we truly wish to grasp what Geiler von Kaiserberg (1445–1510) recorded at the beginning of the sixteenth century. Born in Schaffhausen, Geiler left behind a significant body of work: speeches, translations of Jean Gerson’s sermons, and most importantly Das buoch von der Omeissen (known as the Emeis), a collection of sermons published in 1515 by the Strasbourg printer Johann Grüniger and republished in 1517. In 1856, August Ströber, well known for his interest in Alsatian legend, extracted everything from these sermons relating to folk belief that was condemned as superstitions, believing this comprised a good description of persistent mental attitudes that were closer to paganism than Christianity.(19 )The very long full title of the Emeis further points in this direction: Gibt vnderweisung von den Vnholden oder Hexen vnd von gespenst der geist vnd von dem Wütenden heer wunderbarlich vnd nützlich ze wissen was man davon glauben vnd halten soll. . . (Provides education about the Demons or Witches and about spirit ghosts and the Furious Army, wondrously and usefully for knowing what is believed of them and how one should deal with them. . .).

We will examine here what Geiler said of the Furious Army, which will allow us to raise the question of the transmission of so-called folk beliefs, with the understanding that a belief is never set in stone, but rather evolves over time.

In 1508, Geiler gave a sermon on the Thursday following Reminiscere (the second Sunday of Lent), in which he stated: “You ask, ‘What shall you tell us about the Wild Army?’ But I cannot tell you very much, as you know much more of it than I.” Such a formula is a standard classic in preaching and can often be found coming out of the mouth of Bertold of Regensburg: (20) the preacher sets himself apart from his audience, emphasizing the gap that separates him from the unfounded beliefs that smack of paganism. In a nutshell, he announces that what he is about to say is merely an echo of widespread rumors, but we shall see what kind of credence we can give him. Geiler immediately adds, “This is what the common man says: Those who die before the time God has fixed for them, those who leave on a journey and are stabbed, hung, or drowned, must wander after death until the date that God has set for them arrives. Then God will do for them what is in accordance with His divine will.” This belief is extremely old and can be seen in ancient Rome where premature deaths produced revenants. It made its way into the Medieval West by way of Tertullian (De anima 56): “Those souls which are taken away by a premature death wander about hither and thither until they have completed the residue of the years which they would have lived through, had it not been for their untimely fate” (Aiunt et immature morte praeventas eo usque vagori istic donec reliquatio compleatur aetatum quacum pervixissent, si non intempestive obissent).

It would take too long to follow its meandering course through the ages, so we satisfy ourselves with the testimony of William of Auvergne, whose De universo was written between 1231 and 1236. William knew of the existence of the Mesnie Hellequin (De Universo III, 12), which had been brought out of the shadows by Orderic Vitalis at the end of the eleventh century and enjoyed a much larger impact than what is claimed by Jean- Claude Schmitt, who, ignoring many accounts, has a tendency to restrict the legend to Normandy. William says (III, 14):

On the point that these [knights] appear in the shape of men, I say: of dead men, and those most often slain by iron, we can undoubtedly, based on the advice of Plato, consider that the souls of men thus slain continue to be active the number of days or the entire time it was given them to living in their bodies, if they had not been expelled by force. (De hoc autem, quod in similitudine hominum apparent, hominum dico mortuorum et maximo gladio interfectorum, videatur forsitan alicui iuxta sententiam Platonis, quod agere viderentur numeros dierum vel temporum debitorum animae mortuorum huiusmodi, temporum dico, quibus in corporibus victurae erant, eas nisi mortis huiusmodi violentia expulisset.) (21)

There is nothing “folkloric” about this notion because the men of this time had other explanations, a glimpse of which is provided above. Geiler goes on to say that the Furious Army made its appearance during the Ember Days and especially at Christmas, which is entirely in keeping with the beliefs of the time. Christmas, and more specifically the Twelve Days (Rauhnächte), is a period when the Other World is open, which is to say that a free passageway has been established between the realm of the dead and that of the living. Geiler next states: “And each proceeds in the dress of their status: a peasant in peasant garb, a knight as a knight, and they race therefore bound to the same rope. One is holding a cross in front of him, the other a head in his hand.” Here our preacher follows Hélinand de Froidmont or Vincent de Beauvais, in any case a written source from clerical literature. In Vincent de Beauvais’s book (Speculum historiale, XXIX, 118), which borrows a passage from Hélinand’s De cognitione sui, we read:

But this false opinion … that souls of the deceased, lamenting punishments of their sins, are in the habit of appearing to the masses in the style of dress in which they had formerly lived: that is to say, country folk in rustic clothing, soldiers in military dress, just as the masses are wont to claim about the family of Hellequin. (Haec autem falsitas opinio . . . quod animae defunctorum suorum peccatorum poenas lugentes multis apparere solent in eo habitu, in quo prius vixerant: id est rustici in rusticano, milites in militari, sicut vulgus asserere solet de familia Hellequini. . .)

Here again, the blending of popular and scholarly assumptions is clearly apparent. Ancient Scandinavian literature, which is our best witness of things relating to revenants, indicates on numerous occasions that the dead return in the same appearance as they had at the time of their death. (22) In Germany, the testimonies are much rarer (which in no way means that this vision did not exist), but fraught with significance. In a charm from the fourteenth or fifteenth century, the speaker requests God’s protection from:

Wutanes her und alle sine man, Dy di reder und dy wit tragen, Geradebrech und irhangin. . .(23 ) [the Furious Host and all its men, who carry wheels and fetters, broken apart and hung]

The members of the Furious Army appear here bearing the instruments of their torment. The Zimmern Chronicle describes one of the members of this procession in this fashion: “His head had been split in two down to the neck” (Dem ist das haupt in zwai thail biß an hals gespalten gewesen).”(24 )

The only motif yet to be explained by scholars is the rope mentioned by Geiler. This could be a recollection from Lucian of Samosata (Discourses, Hercules 1–7), who depicts the god Ogmios, an infernal psychopomp, pulling along “a large number of men attached by the ears with bonds of tiny gold and amber chains that resembled beautiful necklaces.” It so happens that in Albrecht Durer’s Kunstbuch of 1514, he depicted the allegory of eloquence as the god Hermes pulled humans by chains that connected his tongue to the ears of his captives.25 I offer the hypothesis for what it’s worth, but these parallels merit pointing out.

"One came before the rest,” added Geiler, shouting: “‘Get out of the road so that God may spare your life!’ This is what the common man says.” This new motif of the figure sounding the alarm comes directly from Orderic Vitalis’s narrative in which the priest Gauchelin saw the Mesnie Hellequin. Here, a giant man holding a club broke from the host and approached him saying: “Stay where you are. Do not move!” (Sta, nec progrediarius ultra). The figure delivering a warning quickly became quite popular; Jacob Trausch (died 1610), the author of the Strasbourg Chronicle, borrowed this figure and had him shout: “Get back, back, so that nothing happens to anyone!”26 In this instance, however, the legend is re-contextualized into the polemic between Catholics and reformers: such deceptions and superstitions have ceased ever since Dr. Martin Luther attacked Papism. The motif can also be found in the work of Johannes Agricola, this time with the addition of a novel element: the warning figure is named the Loyal Eckhard (der treüwe Eckart).(27) This latter example attests to the contamination of the Furious Army by the Venusberg legend (Tannhäuser).(28)

To illustrate his point, Geiler did as all good preachers do: he repeated a story—an exemplum or historiola. In this case, he borrowed it from Hélinand de Froidmont, undoubtedly by way of the Speculum historiale by Vincent de Beauvais. His text follows the source so closely it could be called a literal translation, as the end of the story shall prove.

[Geiler:] Bist du auch in dem wütischen her gelaufen, von dem man sagt? Er sprach: Nein, Karolus Quintus hat sein penitens erfült, un hat daz wütisch heer vff gehört. (“Are you also proceeding in the Furious Army that men talk about?” He spoke: “No, Karolus Quintus has fulfilled his penitence and has ended the Furious Army.”) [Hélinand:] sed obsecro ut dicatis mihi, si vos estis deputati in illa militia quam dicunt Hellequini. Et ille: Non, domine. Illa militia jam non vadit, sed nuper ire desiit, quia poenitentiam suam peregit. (“But I beg that you would tell me if you are deputies in that army they call the Hellequins?” “No, sir. That army does not advance now, but recently ceased marching because it fulfilled its penitence.”)

The sole modification—Karolus Quintus for militia Hellequinus— stems from the fact that Geiler was using a gloss by Vincent or Hélinand, which stated: “Corruptly, however, ‘Hellequinus’ is said by the common people instead of ‘Karlequintus’” (“Corrupte autem dictus est a vulgo Hellequinus pro Karlequintus”).

In light of the preceding information, it is easy to see how clerics worked and, more importantly, the omnipresence of the scholarly and bookish tradition. Thus, when a belief or legend is encountered in the religious texts of the late Middle Ages, it is necessary to be very prudent before asserting that the author was faithfully echoing reality. The sole reality is that men believed the dead returned on certain dates. Recontextualized by the Church, the belief was incorporated into the great cycle of the punishment of sin.

What is the case with the other folk traditions recorded by Geiler? Comparative analysis allows us to see that the preacher always worked in the same way: he took a “superstition,” then reduced and destroyed it with the help of the clerical literature. But did the object of his efforts correspond to a local reality? In the case of the werewolf,29 this is subject to doubt. In the case of witchcraft, the answer can be in the affirmative if we recognize that the Church contributed greatly to forging the belief—but we can only confirm the latter and not take the descriptions at face value. Researchers have indeed provided evidence that the catalogs of beliefs were accumulated bit by bit over time and that they were recapitulations of everything lurking in the writs of councils and synods, in the penitentials, and in the treatises on the Decalogue.(30) This was how the various Mirrors of Sin were born, such as the one by Martin von Amberg,(31) as well as the great fifteenth-century collections of “superstitions.” Narrative literature followed this same evolution, as is evident from the works of Michel Behaim (32) and Hans Vintler.(33) On the other hand, all these texts document the enduring nature of beliefs and practices—an enduring nature encouraged by the preachers who never stopped talking about them and therefore giving credence to those things they took to be errors, sins, and idolatry. The exempla with which they embellished their sermons then came into the public domain and gave birth to new narrative traditions. When Geiler speaks of a haunted house in the Mainz bishopric, in his sermon “Am mitwoch nach Occuli,” his inspiration is The Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine,34 and when he mentions “the wax that runs from the manes of horses,” he is following a passage from William of Auvergne’s De Universo. In order to establish the difference between local traditions and scholarly traditions, it is necessary to work diachronically, which is the only means for avoiding errors.

(Translated by Jon Graham)

This article originally appeared in French in the journal Études Germaniques 50 (1995): 367–76. The translation here is published by kind permission of the author.

1. Hans Plischke, Die Sage vom Wilden Heer im deutschen Volk, Dissertation, Leipzig, 1914; Alfred Endter, Die Sage vom Wilden Jäger und von der Wilden Jagd, Dissertation, Frankfurt, 1933; Michael John Petry, Herne the Hunter, a Berkshire Legend (Reading: William Smith, 1972).

2. “Nicht einmal gesichert ist die Gleichung Wode–Wotan.” Lütz Röhrich, Sage, 2nd ed. (Stuttgart: Metzler, 1971), 24.

3. Leander Petzoldt, Kleines Lexikon der Dämonen und Elementargeister (Munich: Beck 1990), 186–90.

4. Cf. Claude Lecouteux, Geschichte der Gespenster und Wiedergänger im Mittelalter (Cologne and Vienna: Böhlau, 1987); Claude Lecouteux and Phillipe Marcq, Les Esprits et les Morts, Croyances médiévales (Paris: Honore Champion, 1990).

5. During the Ember Days, Christmas, the three final Thursdays of Advent, Saint Sylvester’s Day, Saint John’s Day, Saint Martin’s Day, Saint Walpurgis’s Day, Saint Peter’s Day, Pentecost, etc.

6. Cf., for example, Gustav Neckel, Sagen aus dem germanischen Altertum (Leipzig: Philip Reclam, 1935), 21–56. 4 Claude Lecouteux

7. Cf. Claude Lecouteux, Fantômes et Revenants au Moyen Âge (Paris: Imago 1986), translated into English as The Return of the Dead (Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 2009); and Lecouteux, “Fantômes et Revenants,” in Denis Menjot and Benoît Cursente, eds., Démons et Merveilles au Moyen Âge (Nice: Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis, 1990), 267–82.

8. Jacques Le Goff, La naissance du purgatoire, Paris, Gallimard, 1981.

9. Paul Gerhard Schmidt, ed., Liber visionum, MGH: Quellen zur Geschichte des Mittelalters 13 (Weimar: Böhlau, 1989), 67ff. Geiler von Kaiserberg and the Furious Army

10. Jean-Claude Schmitt, Les Revenants, les Vivants et les Morts dans la Société médiévales (Paris: Gallimard, 1994), makes a mistake and reverses the meaning in the text (p. 63) when he says a “knight came out of the this troop and asked them on the part of their father…” The text says: Ego pater vester rogo. . . .

11. Orderic Vitalis, Historia ecclesiastica, ed. Auguste Le Prévost, (Paris: J. Renouard, 1838–1855), vol. III, 367–77.

12. Franz Josef Schmale and Irene Schmale-Ott, eds., Frutolfs und Ekkehards Chroniken und die anonyme Kaiesrchronik (Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1972), 362. 6 Claude Lecouteux

13. Charles Plummer, ed., Two of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles Parallel (Oxford: Clarendon, 1892), vol. I, 258.

14. W. T. Mellows, ed., The Chronicle of Hugh Candidus (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1949), 76ff.

15. Hans Gröchenig, Die Vorauer Novelle und die Reuner Relation (Göppingen: Kümmerle, 1981), 29ff.

16. Vincent de Beauvais, Speculum historiale, XXX, 200, (Douai, 1624), 1225ff. 17. Jacobus de Voragine, Légende dorée [The Golden Legend], trans. J. B. M. Roze, (Paris: Garnier- Flammarion, 1967), vol. II, 326.Geiler von Kaiserberg and the Furious Army

18. Phillipe Walter, Mythologie chrétienne (Paris: Imago 1992), cf. index 285. Translated into English as Christianity: The Origins of a Pagan Religion (Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 2006).

19. Cf. August Stöber, Die Sagen des Elsasses (St. Gallen: Scheitlin and Zellikofer, 1852) and August Stöber, Zur Geschichte des Volksaberglaubens im Anfange des XVI. Jahrhunderts. Aus Dr. Joh. Geilers von Kaisersberg Emeis (Basel: Schweighauser, 1856). The text can also be found in Karl Meisen, Die Sagen vom Wütenden Heer und Wilden Jäger (Münster i.W.: Aschendorf, 1935), 96ff.8 Claude Lecouteux

20. Cf. Claude Lecouteux and Phillippe Marcq, Berthold de Ratisbonne, Péchés et Vertus. Scènes de la Vie au XIIIe siècle (Paris: Desjonquères, 1991). Geiler von Kaiserberg and the Furious Army

21. William of Auvergne, Opera Omnia (Paris, 1674), vol. I, 1074. 10 Claude Lecouteux

22. Claude Lecouteux, “Fantômes et Revenants germaniques, Essai de Présentation,” Études Germaniques 39 (1984): 227–50; 40 (1985): 141–60; and Lecouteux, “Altgermanische Gespenster und Wiedergänger: Bemerkungen zu einem vernachlässigten Forschungsfeld der Altgermanistik,” Euphorion 80 (1986): 219–31.

23. Johannes Franck, “Geschichte des Wortes Hexe,” in Joseph Hansen, Quellen und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte des Hexenwahns (Hildesheim: Olms, 1963), 614–70, here at 639ff.Geiler von Kaiserberg and the Furious Army 11

24. Karl August Barack, ed., Das Zimmersche Chronik, 2nd. ed. (Freiburg and Tübingen: Mohr, 1881–1882), vol. IV, 122–27.

25. Cf. Friedrich Winkler, Die Zeichnungen Albrechts Dürers, vol. III, 79. This matter is discussed, with a bibliography, in Françoise Le Roux, “Le Dieu celtique aux Liens,” Ogam XII (1960): 212–18.

26. The reader may also refer to Johannes Geffken, Der Bildercatechismus des fünfzehnten Jahrhunderts und die catechetischen Hauptstücke in dieser Zeit bis auf Luther. I: Die Zehn Gebote (Leipzig: T. O. Weigel, 1855), 37ff.12 Claude Lecouteux

27. Text in Karl Meisen, Die Sagen vom Wütenden Heer, 98ff. It will be noted that this individual has become a figure of legend; cf. Lütz Röhrich, Das große Lexikon der sprichwörtlichen Redensarten (Freiburg im Bresgau, Basel, and Vienna: Herder, 1991–1992), vol. I, 350ff.

28. Cf. J. M. Clifton-Everest, The Tragedy of Knighthood: The Origin of the Tannhäuser-Legend (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979). Geiler von Kaiserberg and the Furious Army 13

29. Cf. August Stöber: Zur Geschichte des Volksaberglaubens, 31 (“werewolf”); 11ff.; 12; 17ff., 33ff. (“witch”). Regarding the werewolf, however, Geiler was inspired by Vincent de Beauvais, Valère Maxime, and William of Auvergne.

30. Cf. the fine studies in Marianne Rumpf, Perchten: Populäre Glaubensgestalten zwischen Mythos und Katechese (Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann, 1991) and Karin Baumann, Aberglaube für Laien. Zur Programmatik und Überlieferung mittelalterlicher Superstitionenkritik (Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann, 1989).

31. Stanley N. Werbow, ed., Martin von Amberg. Der Gewissensspiegel (Berlin: Schmidt, 1958). 14 Claude Lecouteux

32. Cf. Ernst-Dietrich Güting, “Michel Behaims Gedicht gegen den Aberglauben und seine lateinische Vorlage. Zur Tradierung des Volksglaubens im Spätmittelalters,” in Dietz-Rüdiger Moser, ed., Glaube im Abseits (Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgellschaft, 1992), 310–67.

33. Cf. Max Bartels and Oskar Ebermann: “Zur Aberglaubensliste in Vintlers Pluemen der tugent,” Zeitschrift des Vereins für Volkskunde 23 (1913): 1–18; 113–36. Cf. also the article by Anton E. Schönbach, “Zeugnisse zur deutschen Volkskunde des Mittelalters,” Zeitschrift des Vereins für Volkskunde 12 (1902): 1–16. On the list of superstitions in the work of Thomas de Haselbach, see Franz-Josef Schweitzer, Tugend und Laster in illustrierten didaktischen Dichtungen des Spätmittelalters (Hildesheim: Olms, 1993), 180–84.

34. Who drew his material from the Chronicle of Sigebert de Gembloux for the year 858, cf. J. C. Migne, ed., Patrologia Latina 160, col. 163. This information can also be found in Vincent de Beauvais (Speculum historiale XXIV, 37) and in the works of many other authors.

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