#guillaume saladin

[the-paintrist]

Eugenie Servieres - Maleck-Adhel attendant Mathilde au tombeau de Josselin de Montmorency - 1820

oil on canvas,

Brest’s Museum of Fine Arts, France

Maleck-Adhel waiting for Mathilde at the tomb of Josselin de Montmorency'. The scene is inspired by Sophie Cottin's novel, Mathilde or Memoirs from the History of the Crusades (1805). Mathilde of England asked her brother, King Richard the Lionheart, for the key to the mausoleum of Josselin de Montmorency to meet her lover, Maleck-Adhel, brother of Saladin. Here we see Maleck-Adhel, dressed in oriental fashion, waiting for Mathilde in the dark mausoleum, leaning on the tomb.

Eugénie Honorée Marguerite Servières, née Charen (1786 – 20 March 1855) was a French painter in the Troubadour style. She specialized in genre period paintings.

Portrait of Eugénie Servières by Jean-Baptiste Wicar 1810

In 1807 she married the playwright Joseph Servières. She trained with her stepfather, Guillaume Guillon-Lethière, Director of the French Academy in Rome.

Beginning in 1808, she exhibited her paintings, on a wide variety of subjects, in several venues. In 1808 and 1817, The Paris Salon awarded her medals. In 1825, she displayed two works at the Salon in Lille.

Her paintings include Hagar in the Desert, Lancelot and Genevieve, Louis XIII and Mlle. de Lafayette, Alain Chartier and Marguerite d'Écosse, Valentine de Milan, Desdemona Singing the Romance of the Willow, and Blanche de Castille Delivering the Prisoners of Châtenay.

Her Mathilde converts Malek-Adhel to Christianity (1812, from a novel about the Crusades by Sophie Cottin) was purchased by the Empress Marie Louise for her personal collection, while the evocative Inez de Castro and her Children at the feet of the King of Portugal is preserved at the Trianon Palace at Versailles, near Paris.

Most of her works were personally commissioned, and very few are in museums. She had several students.

[ltalaynareor]

Guillaume de Tyr rend un dernier hommage à Baudouin IV de Jérusalem .

Le soleil ardent de Tyr illuminait les ruelles étroites de la ville portuaire, mais pour Guillaume de Tyr, l'ancien précepteur de Baudouin IV, ce n'était qu'une pâle imitation de la lumière qui avait brillé dans les yeux de son jeune roi. Alors qu'il se tenait devant l'autel de sa chapelle privée, le cœur lourd de chagrin, Guillaume se remémorait les jours passés aux côtés de Baudouin, devenu un véritable héros aux yeux de son peuple et de la chrétienté, malgré la cruelle maladie qui le rongeait.

"Mon roi bien-aimé, mon cher ami", murmura Guillaume, "Tu étais un héros aux yeux de ton peuple, un symbole de courage et de résilience. Tu nous as montré que la force ne se mesure pas à la taille, mais à l'âme."

Guillaume sentit les larmes lui monter aux yeux en repensant à la bataille de Montgisard, où Baudouin avait mené son armée contre les forces de Saladin et avait triomphé malgré tous les obstacles. Le lendemain en arrivant à Jérusalem, les cheveux blonds au vent et les yeux bleus étincelants de joie, il avait sauté de sa monture et s'était approché de lui. Qu'avait-il dit alors ? " Aujourd'hui, Guillaume, j'ai l'impression de pouvoir vivre 100 années de plus!" Il ne s'approcha même pas de la trentaine. La lèpre eut raison de lui, le rongeant lentement jusqu'à son trépas, à seulement 24 ans..

« Au revoir, mon cher Baudouin, » murmura Guillaume, ses yeux remplis de larmes. « Que ton âme repose en paix dans cette terre que tu as tant aimée et défendue. Tu étais plus qu'un roi à mes yeux, tu étais mon ami, mon élève, mon fils. »

Peut-être ne pouvait-il pas se recueillir sur la tombe de Baudouin à Jérusalem, car la ville était maintenant celle de Saladin, mais Guillaume pouvait, pour un instant, priait pour le repos éternel de son jeune roi bien-aimé. Puis, il fit demi-tour, portant dans ses mains une petite statuette représentant Baudouin en armure.

[theressomethinghappeninginparis]

Here's some Templars whose research distracted me very well from the happenings in Paris and the fact I'm ordering food via phone to go out as little as possible. Okay. Here's what I found:

Transcript of the first and second page:

André de Montbard was born on November 5th 1097. All we know is that he had richt even noble parents and that he was the fifth Grand Master and founder of the Templars.

Bertrand de Blanchefort was the sixth Grand Master and was born sometime in 1109. He fostered the Templars as guardians of travelling Christians rather than brutes despite their weaponry. For three years he was a prisoner of was and went on one single expedition, declining a second.

Philip of Nablus, also: of Milly actually a Jerusalem-born man in 1120. Wasn't too fond of being Grand Master yet submitted to Almaric pressuring him. He became seventh Grand Master and resigned in 1171.

Ode de St. Amand was the eigth Grand Master born in 1110. He was captured by Saladin in the battle of Morj Ayyun, to the dismay of his fellows since he was described as a headstrong guy, leading in both praise and resentment and being a valuable member.

Arnold of Torroja born in wherever and whenever, he was the ninth Grand Master at the ripe age of 70. He worked on Hispaniola in the Reconquista. His capability in negotiating even with Saladin made him an important GM, so important that his tomb was only discovered in 2018, very well hidden from others.

Gerard de Rideford hid his birth year but died in 1189. Used to be the 10th Grand Master of the Templars. He used king Henry II's money to bring more troops to Jerusalme. Apparently he was pretty beloved, as Saladin offered his life for a peaceful surrender, which succeeded and he was released to Tortosa.

Transcript of the third and fourth page:

Robert de Sablé was born a lord of Sablé in 1150. Not only was he the eleventh Grand Master but also member of the Valiant Order. Helped Henry Hunior revolt against his daddy Henry II and also convinced Islamic troops to retreat in the third crusade.

Gilbert Erail (or Horal) born whenever, died in 1200. He was the twelfth Grand Master and aspired to wage peace, not war, in between Christians and Muslims.

Philippe de Plessis castle-forn or rather fortress-born in France in 1165. Was the thirteenth Grand Master of the Templars and had semi-good relationships to the Hospitallers (kinda like the Templars but evangelican Maltesers). Suggested a peace treaty with Malek Adhel.

Pedro de Montagut (or Montaigu) died in 1232 while still being a Grand Master and ways a friend of Guillaume de Chartes, whoever that was. Made a deal with the Muslims: they gave up Jerusalem while the Templars stopped the siege of Damietta. Most importantly he got a piece of the True cross, I wonder if that's still somewhere?

Armand de Lavaie he was born in 1178 in Calabria and elected Grand Master. Death is really unclear, some say he died in battle, others say he survived capture. In 1239 he arrived in Acre for a treaty with a sultan.

Richard de Bures is somewhat of a ghost since all we know is he died in May 1247 and was the seventeenth Grand Master.

Transcript of the fifth and sixth page:

Guillaume de Sonnac a noble-born Frenchman whose birth date is unclear. Took part in the successful 7th crusade. He worked as a chronicler for the Templars, lots of information we know on them cites him as source. He replaces Périgord while this guy was captured, and his death was the end of the 17th crusade.

Renaud de Vichiers was the 19th Grand Master of the Templars and the preceptor of Saint Jean-d'Acre. He was having issues with Hugues de Joug and had to throw him out of the order to stop their fight. Lois IX of France was a supporter and financer of Renaud, but he again fought with him and parted int he end over a diplomatic mission. He retired in a monastery, and if not alone, he argues to this day.

Thomas Bérard wrote letters of misery to king Lois despite being twentieth Grand Master and somewhat respectable. He initiated a cooperation with the Hospitaliers Teutons and yielded the last island's fortification in June. Asking the Pope for help he waged the 8th crusade which became the last since Lois died. His most significant win: a 10-year-truce for Muslims and Christians.

Thibaud Gaudin another man with rich parents boen in 1229 was the 22nd Grand Master of the Knights Templars. Demanding people from Cyprus for a siege in Sidon wasn't successful since the reinforcements never came, so he left the Holy Land in ashes.

That's Jaques de Molay, the 23rd and last of the Knights Templar's Grand Masters. I found a painting depicting him and it showed me how Templars looked like, from an ancient point of view, not one in Hollywood. Templars were called Knights Templars and would own and wear a normal knight's armour during the day. Above that, they had a white cloak with a black Christian cross on it, and a leather belt in which they could carry their swords in.

Molay lead the order from the 20th April of 1292 until Pope Clement V was having none of it and dissolved the order in 1312. After the fall of Acre the Catholics retreated to Cyprus, the headquater of Jerusalem. He wanted to obviously keep the order and tried to rebuild the Templars, raiding several cities in the 1300s at the coast of Egypt and Syria (not very Christian huh?). They lost in Ruad and had to retreat to the shore, always feeling the pressure to collaborate with other Christian forces. Molay was sent to France to meet up with the Pope and arrived in 1306 or 1307. He even asked the Pope to wipe the name of the Knights templars clear and adress the rumours and accousations.

What I gathered from all of this? There is no mention of the Lux Veritatis and the order was dissolved and never officially continued. Now, theory: what if someone started over and renamed the club into the LV? Could that be possible? I mean, there's plenty of ties to France...

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 9.7 (before 1930)

70 – A Roman army under Titus occupies and plunders Jerusalem. 878 – Louis the Stammerer is crowned as king of West Francia by Pope John VIII. 1159 – Pope Alexander III is chosen. 1191 – Third Crusade: Battle of Arsuf: Richard I of England defeats Saladin at Arsuf. 1228 – Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II lands in Acre, Israel, and starts the Sixth Crusade, which results in a peaceful restoration of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. 1303 – Guillaume de Nogaret takes Pope Boniface VIII prisoner on behalf of Philip IV of France. 1571 – Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, is arrested for his role in the Ridolfi plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots. 1620 – The town of Kokkola (Swedish: Karleby) is founded by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. 1630 – The city of Boston, Massachusetts, is founded in North America. 1652 – Around 15,000 Han farmers and militia rebel against Dutch rule on Taiwan. 1695 – Henry Every perpetrates one of the most profitable pirate raids in history with the capture of the Grand Mughal ship Ganj-i-Sawai. In response, Emperor Aurangzeb threatens to end all English trading in India. 1706 – War of the Spanish Succession: Siege of Turin ends, leading to the withdrawal of French forces from North Italy. 1764 – Election of Stanisław August Poniatowski as the last ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. 1776 – According to American colonial reports, Ezra Lee makes the world's first submarine attack in the Turtle, attempting to attach a time bomb to the hull of HMS Eagle in New York Harbor (no British records of this attack exist). 1812 – French invasion of Russia: The Battle of Borodino, the bloodiest battle of the Napoleonic Wars, is fought near Moscow and results in a French victory. 1818 – Carl III of Sweden–Norway is crowned king of Norway, in Trondheim. 1822 – Dom Pedro I declares Brazil independent from Portugal on the shores of the Ipiranga Brook in São Paulo. 1856 – The Saimaa Canal is inaugurated. 1857 – Mountain Meadows massacre: Mormon settlers slaughter most members of peaceful, emigrant wagon train. 1860 – Unification of Italy: Giuseppe Garibaldi enters Naples. 1863 – American Civil War: Union troops under Quincy A. Gillmore capture Fort Wagner in Morris Island after a seven-week siege. 1864 – American Civil War: Atlanta is evacuated on orders of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman. 1901 – The Boxer Rebellion in Qing dynasty (modern-day China) officially ends with the signing of the Boxer Protocol. 1903 – The Ottoman Empire launches a counter-offensive against the Strandzha Commune, which dissolves. 1906 – Alberto Santos-Dumont flies his 14-bis aircraft at Bagatelle, France successfully for the first time. 1907 – Cunard Line's RMS Lusitania sets sail on her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England, to New York City. 1909 – Eugène Lefebvre crashes a new French-built Wright biplane during a test flight at Juvisy, south of Paris, becoming the first aviator in the world to lose his life piloting a powered heavier-than-air craft. 1911 – French poet Guillaume Apollinaire is arrested and put in jail on suspicion of stealing the Mona Lisa from the Louvre museum. 1916 – US federal employees win the right to Workers' compensation by Federal Employers Liability Act (39 Stat. 742; 5 U.S.C. 751) 1920 – Two newly purchased Savoia flying boats crash in the Swiss Alps en route to Finland where they were to serve with the Finnish Air Force, killing both crews. 1921 – In Atlantic City, New Jersey, the first Miss America Pageant, a two-day event, is held. 1921 – The Legion of Mary, the largest apostolic organization of lay people in the Catholic Church, is founded in Dublin, Ireland. 1923 – The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) is formed. 1927 – The first fully electronic television system is achieved by Philo Farnsworth. 1929 – Steamer Kuru capsizes and sinks on Lake Näsijärvi near Tampere in Finland. One hundred thirty-six lives are lost.

[ulkaralakbarova]

Five years after their summer together in Barcelona, Xavier, William, Wendy, Martine and Isabelle reunite. Credits: TheMovieDb. Film Cast: Xavier Rousseau: Romain Duris Wendy: Kelly Reilly Martine: Audrey Tautou Isabelle: Cécile de France William: Kevin Bishop Gérard: Olivier Saladin M. Boubaker: Zinedine Soualem Natacha: Evguenya Obraztsova Neus: Irene Montalà Grand-père: Pierre Gérald Barbara: Frédérique Bel L’homme qui veut aller aux toilettes dans le train (uncredited): Cédric Klapisch Kassia: Aïssa Maïga Edward: Gary Love Celia Shelburn: Lucy Gordon Mère Xavier: Martine Demaret Platane: Pierre Cassignard Madame Vanpeteguem: Hélène Médigue Productrice TV: Carole Franck Auteur Série: Robert Plagnol Directeur Série: Nicolas Briançon Michel Hermann – Editeur: Bernard Haller Soledad: Cristina Brondo Alessandro: Federico D’Anna Tobias: Barnaby Metschurat Lars: Christian Pagh Snowboarder: Lannick Gautry Jean-Édouard: Julien Guéris Odile: Laura Weissbecker Caroline – Copine Isa 1: Sophie Barbe Juliette – Copine Isa 2: Julie Durand Copine ‘Cogneuse’: Catherine Lebegue Copine Fête Isabelle: Florence d’Azémar Nounou Grand-père: Fatiha Cheriguene Concierge Xavier: Marie-Renée George Père Natacha: Igor Gusev Mère Natacha: Yelena Solovyova Frère Natacha: Aleksandr Karpukhov Père William: Nicholas Day Mère William: Amanda Boxer Copain Celia Moscou: Julien Hans di Capua Miguel: Jake Canuso Traductrice Russe: Senia Devine Chorégraphe Russe: Katrina Vasilieva Mac Master: Julien Pabion Journaliste ‘Prune’: Agathe Robilliard Journaliste Cosmo: Annette Faure Copine Xavier 1: Anne Steffens Copine Xavier 2: Stéphanie Ricco Copine Xavier 3: Isabelle Joly Lucas: Amin Djakliou Danceuse de ballet (uncredited): Amanda Jane Manning Danceuse de ballet (uncredited): Stéphanie Montreux Livreur (uncredited): Philippe Soucy La Fille de la Gare (uncredited): Eléonore Stern Film Crew: Screenplay: Cédric Klapisch Producer: Bruno Levy Producer: Matthew Justice Executive Producer: Elena Yatsura Music: Loïc Dury Editor: Francine Sandberg Orchestrator: Laurent Levesque Musician: Christophe Minck Key Makeup Artist: Judith Gayo Unit Production Manager: Anne Férignac First Assistant Director: Kira Sinelshikova Assistant Costume Designer: Julia Patkos Digital Colorist: Christine Szymkowiak Musician: Simon Andrieux Script Supervisor: Barbara Constantine Catering: Georges Gautier Production Accountant: David Kerney Extras Casting: Jeanne Millet Makeup Artist: Véronique Nguyen Set Dresser: Stephanie Guitard Key Grip: Colin Strachan Location Manager: Frédéric Vialle Location Manager: Martin Wady Assistant Unit Manager: Benjamin Dewaele Assistant Director Trainee: Samantha Mialet Second Unit Director: Bertrand Normand First Assistant Art Direction: Florian Sanson Art Direction: Tim Stevenson Assistant Camera: Mounia Lamrani Musician: Guillaume Dutrieux Administration: Géraldine Toitot Second Assistant Art Director: Chloe Leguay Key Grip: Michel Dechaud Assistant Camera: Kathy Sebbah Location Manager: Tony Hood Musician: Felix Niel Music: Bruno Epron Mahmoudi Production Manager: Caroline Levy Second Assistant Director: Ophélie Gelber Assistant Director Trainee: Gabriel Levy Assistant Sound Editor: Sophie Durand Sound Assistant: Sergey Ekinow First Assistant Camera: Julian Bucknall Lighting Technician: Philippe Wegiel Set Decoration: Shirley Robinson Compositing Supervisor: Sylvian Fabre Still Photographer: Jérôme Plon First Assistant Camera: Galatae Politis Director of Photography: Dominique Colin Assistant Unit Manager: Laurent Blu Unit Production Manager: Antoine Théron Third Assistant Director: Paul Bennett Sound: Xavier Prêtre Digital Intermediate Producer: Sophie Denize Production Secretary: Séverine Guignard Costume Design: Anne Schotte Props: Daniel Ainslie Sound Recordist: Vincent Laurence Boom Operator: Jean-François Schenegg Digital Compositor: Sebastien Dupuis Casting Assistant: Hermine Poitou Executive Music Producer: Monte Christo Painter: Thierry Poulet Sound Re-Recording Mixer: ...

[super-caribe-suomi1012]

Les Angevins rois de Jérusalem.

Baudouin devient roi de Jérusalem sous le nom de Baudouin IV alias le Lépreux le 11 juillet 1174.

Baudouin IV est le septième Roi Franc de Jérusalem depuis la prise de la ville en 1099.

Il appartient à la dynastie des Gatinais-Anjou.

Il ceint la couronne de Jérusalem à 13 ans, le 11 juillet 1174, à la mort de son père Amaury Ier.

En raison de la minorité de Baudouin, le royaume de Jérusalem est alors gouverné par un conseil de Régence.

Baudouin est élevé à la cour de Jérusalem. Son éducation est confiée au célèbre Guillaume de Tyr, futur archevêque de la ville et chancelier du Royaume de Jérusalem.

C’est Guillaume de Tyr lui-même qui diagnostique la maladie de Baudouin. Ce dernier développe en effet la lèpre dès son enfance.

Baudouin monte sur le trône dans le contexte de l’affaiblissement de la maison égyptienne des Fatimides et de la montée en puissance des Kurdes de la dynastie des Ayyoubides.

Le plus célèbre d’entre eux, Saladin, a pris le pouvoir en Égypte en 1170 et débute l’unification des émirats du Levant (notamment en Syrie) contre les Francs.

Baudouin met un terme au conseil de régence à ses quinze ans en 1176, conformément aux lois du royaume.

Malgré sa maladie, il mène une politique très ambitieuse de consolidation de ses états en lançant des offensives aux environs de Damas et en projetant des attaques également en Égypte.

Le règne de Baudouin durera dix ans.

Très apprécié des historiens occidentaux, il laisse une trace beaucoup plus critique vis à vis des chroniqueurs arabes qui le surnomment Al-Khinzir (« le porc ») en raison de sa maladie.

Assuré de ne pas avoir d’héritier du fait de sa lèpre, Baudouin désigne son neveu comme successeur : le fils de sa sœur Sybille, futur Baudouin V.

Né en 1177, l'enfant est couronné « co-roi de Jérusalem » le 20 novembre 1183.

Baudouin le Lépreux meurt à Jérusalem le 16 mars 1185 après avoir libéré Kérak (actuelle Jordanie). Il avait vingt-quatre ans.

Conformément aux usages, son neveu lui succède sous le titre de Baudouin V à huit ans. Son oncle Raymond de Tripoli assure la régence.

Illustration : Kingdom of heaven de Ridley Scott, Baudouin est joué par Edward Norton.

Pour aller plus loin : Pierre Aubé, « Baudouin IV de Jérusalem, le Roi lépreux », éditions Hachette, 1996.

849 ans de date à date, 11 juillet 1174.

[vksehfk23]

판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvN

판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvN 링크<<

판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvN

판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvN

판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvN

판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvN

판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvN

Barisan, the first head of Ibelin, married Helvis, the heiress of Ramla, obtained Ramla by wedlock, Hugues, Baudouin, Balian, and Ermangar. Stéphanie from Ermengarde has 판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvNthree sons and two daughters. As time passes, the eldest son inherits Ibelin and the second son inherits Ramla, but the eldest son, Wig, becomes a soldier on the pilgrimage to Santiago. His second son, Baudouin, inherits Ibelin, but gives Ibelin to his youngest son, Balian, who has no estates with Ramla, which he rules. The third son, B판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvNalian, later married Maria Komnini, a princess of the Byzantine Empire and the widow of Amory I, and obtained Nablus, which had been under the direct control of the queen since Melisande. Moving on to the island of Cyprus, he ceded Ramla to get Ibelin, Ramla, Nablus, and Beersheba.

Balian's descendants were the most influential nobles in the kingdoms of Jerusalem and Cyprus. Balian's eldest son, John, ruled the county of Beirut in the kingdom of Jerusalem and was in the position of regent in the kingdom of Cyprus판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvN at the same time. When he tried to put Cyprus under him, he rebelled against the emperor's authority as an opposition leader. In 1241, the Ibelin family regained Jerusalem according to the emperor's end-of-war treaty, and in the aftermath, they returned the Ibelin territories that had been occupied by Saladin.

Together with Melisande of Arsuf, Balian III, ruler of Beirut, Baldwin, archdeacon of the kingdom of Cyprus, John, lord of Arsuf and consul of the kingdom of Jerusalem, and Guy, consul of Cyprus had many children, such as Balian III married Eschiva of Montbéliard and gave birth to John II of Beirut, who married the daughter of Guy I de la Roche, Duke of Athens. John of Arsuf was the father of Balian of Arsuf, who married Plaisance of Antioch.판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvN Guy was the father of Isabella, King Hugh I of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and wife of Hugh III of the Kingdom of Cyprus.

In this way, the Ibelin family came into contact with almost all crusader countries, including the satellite countries of the Latin Empire, and in particular, the Kingdom o판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvNf Cyprus was a queen family for generations. The Toulouse family is the family of Raymond, one of the main leaders of the 1st Crusade. Raymond was the younger brother of Guillaume IV, Count of Toulouse, but when Guillaume IV designated his daughter Philippa as his successor and died, he immediately usurped and became Count of Toulouse. For this reason, Guillaume IX, Duke of Aquitaine, married to Philippa, 판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvNattacked Toulouse several times claiming the title of count, but defended it well.

He was a devout Catholic and wanted to die in the Holy Land, so he was doing the Reconquista movement when he was invited to participate in the First Crusade by the papa판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvNl envoy, and he was the first of the princes to pledge to participate. As he was the oldest in age, he became the leader of the princes of southern France. In Constantinople, he made a new oath to the Eastern Roman Emperor Alexius I. After conquering Antioch, he had soldiers stationed in the city, but since he was driven out by Bohemond I, he declared that he wanted possession of Tripoli, south of Antioch, as his territory to hinder Bohemond's territorial expansion, but before o판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvNccupation. did However, as his soldiers hoped to advance on Jerusalem, they stopped once and attacked Jerusalem together with Godefroy of Bouillon.

At first he was made king of Jerusalem, but he refused because he did not want to be called king in the land where Christ died. Because of this, Godfrey was elected kin판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvNg, but Godfrey also did not want to be called king, so he used the title of guardian of the holy tomb. After that, he participated in the battle of Ascalon, but he could not capture this place because he had a quarrel with Godefrua over the occupation of Ascalon. Because of this, he broke with the Crusades and stayed in Constantinople. Here he joined the Crusaders in 1101, but was defeated in Anatolia. He returned to C판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvNonstantinople and set the goal of conquering Tripoli with the aid of Emperor Alexius Comnenus, but was killed during the expedition.

His nephew Guillaume Jourdain continued the siege, but Bertrand then replaced him and captured Tripoli in 1109, establishing the county of Tripoli. His subordinate, Raymondus de Aguilers, wrote the account of the First Crusade from Raymon판도라 조작된 낙원 11회 다시 보기 11화 E11 tvNd's point of view. Although he never saw the establishment of the county of Tripoli, he was recognized as the 1st Count of Tripoli because he nominally declared Tripoli his domain. Since then, he is active in the front line defending the north of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

[thewidowstanton]

Archive feature: Guillaume Saladin and Artcirq

2018 seems to be a year of important circus anniversaries: 250 years since Philip Astley created the first circus ring in the UK, 40 years that Laszlo Simet has been performing on the high wire and Semaphore, 25 years of Cirque Eloize, and 20 years of Artcirq, the circus set up in Igloolik in the Arctic Circle to try to combat the high suicide rate among young people there.

To mark Artcirq’s anniversary, we have chosen this feature – by The Widow’s Liz Arratoon – from 2005. We first met the inspirational Guillaume Saladin at the after-party for Cirque Eloize’s show Nomade at the Barbican in London in 2003 and instantly became friends. Struck by his passion and commitment, I interviewed him – during a trip to Paris to see Nomade at the Folies Bergère – to learn about his plans, before he headed off to the frozen north. It was in the days of dictaphones, and just after we’d finished chatting for about an hour we noticed the tape had snapped! Drama! But Gui calmly said: “We’ll do it again.”

There cannot be many circus artists who would willingly give up the bright lights of showbusiness to spend a year living on an island in the Arctic Circle. But after touring with Cirque Eloize for the past three years and performing in its show, Nomade, almost 500 times, that is exactly what Guillaume Saladin is going to do. Seven years ago he set up a circus project in the tiny Inuit village of Igloolik. Saladin says: “It’s called Artcirq. I started it in June 1998, just before I started circus school, after two of my old friends committed suicide, to try to prevent further young people in Igloolik from doing the same. It had been like that for many years, a lot of suicides.” Since then the 32-year-old French Canadian has been back every year for up to three months at a time to teach his students more and to help them put on shows.

Now Saladin has been asked by the village to return to Igloolik to spend a year running the community centre, where the students train, and to provide workshops. He says: “In July, after my last Nomade show in Christchurch, New Zealand, I’ll move to Igloolik to a little hut lent to me by the missionary. I will schedule next year’s activity for ten artists that will end with the shooting of a movie I devised with the film-maker Marie-Helene Cousineau. With these ten we’ll create a solid base, but each week we’ll provide open workshops for the community and the kids will help me teach them. So we’re already giving back knowledge from local people to local people. For the Inuit people, by the Inuit people.”

It is Saladin’s unique upbringing that has led him to this point. Both his parents are anthropologists and his father spent almost 50 years working in the Arctic with the Inuit community as an expert in Inuit Shamanism. Although Saladin was born in Quebec City, he spent much of his childhood in Igloolik. He was baptised by its queen and given the Inuit name of Ittuksardjuat. That name relates him to a family with whom he stays whenever he goes back, so he feels very strongly that he is part of the community.

“I was raised in Igloolik and spent all my summers there until I was 15. Then I didn’t go again until I was 24. My father continued to go there to conduct his research. I started out training to be a sociologist and I decided to finish my Sociology degree there with Isuma Productions who were shooting the film, Atanarjuat, The Fast Runner. I realised then that there was a dark side to the reality to life there that I never saw when I was a kid. Kids are lost in the generational gap. There is a loss of meaning in their lives. The elders still have the old knowledge but the kids are disconnected. There are so many images coming at them from the TV, but it has no meaning for them. There are no local role models. That’s why Isuma are trying to create Inuit stars with their movies. Artcirq is trying to do the same thing at ground level. We’re not that big.”

As well as circus skills, such as juggling, acrobatics, Inuit straps, unicycling and trapeze, the kids also have a chance to learn such things as lighting, set building, costume, dance, theatre, acting, writing and video-making. It is intended to give them career opportunities and a purpose in life. Their job prospects otherwise are limited to becoming cashiers or sewage truck drivers. Saladin has a network of about 15 potential trainers and is looking forward to working with an old friend from circus school.

“Janju Bonzon will be helping me. He’s a teeter board and BMX specialist and has been working with Circus Zip Zap in South Africa. As soon as he’s finished there he’ll join me in the Arctic. He’ll be in the movie as well. I’m also going to bring other circus people to provide speciality workshops. I’ll be there the whole time, the other artists will come to bring specific training. The end of the movie will be the beginning of the show that we want to present to other local communities. It will be a full-length movie about a year in the life of two young kids from a remote community close to Igloolik, who do stupid things, and one is caught by the police. He has to do social work at the community hall and gets in touch with the circus group.”

Early on, Saladin’s project began to address the problem of a rising number of suicides in Igloolik that local residents had debated for years. Before Artcirq there were an average of four or five suicides every year but, dramatically, 12 months after it started, they were able to celebrate a suicide-free year. But it remains a bleak place for kids. The island has only 1,200 inhabitants and is surrounded by ice for eight months of the year with temperatures falling to –60 degrees C in January, when there is no sun.

“It can be brutal. It’s never banal, never flat; life is either very high, beautiful, powerful, very strong, then suddenly, very dark, deep, violent, with a loss of meaning. Kids there need to find themselves as teenagers, find out who they are. Traditionally there, men were hunters, women were mothers. That’s still the same in Igloolik, but not many people are hunters anymore. Lots are just like teenagers anywhere. They have lots of energy, they listen to hip-hop, rap, rock ’n’ roll, they always ask: “Yo, what’s up?” And the answer is always: “Not much.” And it’s that ‘not much’ that causes the problems. They are stuck on an island, stuck in a village, everywhere is a dead end, every street, and it’s flat, flat, flat. Just gravel and tundra. For eight months a year, it’s all white and for four, it’s summertime. Then there is an explosion of life. Everyone breathes again. In winter people stay inside. The kids have school until they are 16 and then are free to do whatever they want. Everyone is an artist inside and trying to express themselves, sometimes this will be by drugs, alcohol or sports. We’re trying to bring back another way of expression. Another possibility.”

At present, Saladin explains, the young people have three ways to escape. “Igloolik has two little hills; one way is the airport, then the village and the other is the cemetery. They can look out and see two exits. One way out is when you die and another is if you leave the island and don’t come back. Education is free, so it’s possible to leave the country. They go and study in the white world. It’s not connected to them, but it’s a possibility. Another possibility is if you commit a crime and kill someone, you will go to jail down south, so it’s a way to leave. Another way to leave is if you shoot yourself. Or you stay home in your own environment and do things that make sense of your life, and try to mix where you come from with where you want to go and find a meaningful job. We’re trying to provide meaningful expression that could be transformed into meaningful careers.”

Sadly, even though the suicide rate in Igloolik has been reduced by 80 per cent, there are still deaths among the young people. Last year the elder sister of one of Saladin’s 12-year-old students hanged herself despite being clever at school and apparently having a bright future. “She was 14. We don’t know exactly why she did it. I arrived three or four days afterwards and we worked with her sister for a month. We did a 45-minute show last summer that we presented ten times to the community. And for the last show she juggled with us. She’d come a long way. Inside she was always sad, but she stayed with us because it brought her joy and happiness. But at the same time she was not full of life. She had to work, work, work. It was meaningful for her to show her father how she could juggle. She did that, her family was there and they were all crying.”

Saladin first became involved in circus while he was studying for his Masters degree in sociology. A friend suggested he join her at a circus class and he loved it so much that he decided to give up his studies and enrol at Montreal’s National Circus School, where he met Karine Delzors. They became performing partners and specialised in hand-to-hand balancing. Delzors is also involved In Artcirq, as are others from the Nomade cast. Bartek Soroczyński, one of the clowns, is another of the artists who has visited Igloolik on several occasions to run workshops for the kids and help with the shows. Acrobatics, juggling, unicycling, hand-to-hand have all featured in the productions, which always have a local theme and feel. The shows are filmed by the students, some of the activity taking place in igloos or out on the ice pack.

He and Delzors have now been performing together for seven years. ”We were taught by Alexandre Arnoutov, who comes from a famous Russian circus family. He’s in his sixties now and is still doing hand-to-hand with his wife. The other two men who have influenced Karine and me a lot, and therefore Artcirq as well, are Daniele Finzi Pasca, our artistic director in Nomade, and Krzysztof Soroczyński, Bartek’s father, our head trainer at Cirque Eloize. He has a lot of knowledge about different techniques. So, those three men have been very important to us.”

In Nomade, Saladin displays his own wide-ranging talents. Due to his stature and strength he forms the base of a four-man column, he sings, plays the trombone, juggles and performs acrobatics. But it is his stunning hand-to-hand display, performed with Delzors under a fine mist of water, that provides the show’s finale. Despite losing one of the key members of its troupe, Cirque Eloize is committed to supporting Artcirq. It has sold red clown noses at all performances of Nomade to raise funds for the project, which has always been run on a shoestring. “They are also providing training space in Montreal, their own circus equipment that they no longer need and they are buying specific things for us, like juggling clubs. They are a great partner. They are sensitive. Krzysztof can also come to Igoolik to lead a workshop if we need him.”

Saladin has many hopes and dreams for the future of his project. “One is working with the Inuit trying to bridge the cultures, and the other is to create a show with Cirque Eloize one day. Karine is part of Artcirq and she’s staying with Eloize, so I’m sure they’ll propose her for it. Daniele will also be involved. If the timing is right, everyone is in place.”

His altruism puts most people to shame but he sees Artcirq as a lifelong project and appears to carry his responsibilities lightly. “It’s a promise I made myself when I was a kid and I’m just following that. My Inuit name means ‘the little old man who will grow’. This man, Ittuksardjuat, was a powerful Inuit leader in the 1930s, a great chief. Inuits say that through the names they’re passing the knowledge also, so the one called Ittuksardjuat will be a little like him. If my name was not Ittuksardjuat I’m sure my life would have been different. I feel connected to him. I feel I’m going back for me also. To save my life, to make sense of it because when I was a kid I used to live there. I was baptised with an Inuit name which joins me to their culture. I can’t say I’m not part of it. I’m just trying to mix everything that I am inside and use it to communicate and to share. If you don’t realise someday that sharing is the best way to live a happy life and that you can’t just live for yourself, you’ll feel sad at the end and alone. That’s my motivation; to be happy.”

Saladin already has an invitation from a festival in Salzburg for the Inuit troupe to perform there if they ever go to Europe. The Inuit Cultural Centre in Paris is also open to help them in any way. “There are many places we can go. This is one dream, to set up a tour, then to perform somewhere else. My mother is also involved with aboriginals in Amazonian Peru and when I was there I was surprised to see similarities between the two cultures. That would be a nice exchange. What one has lost can be relearnt from the other. But those are my dreams and I don’t want to impose them. It’s their own destiny. It’s for them to express and direct.”

Saladin is passionate about Artcirq and determined to preserve its heritage. He stresses: “It’s important to combine the circus skills with traditional dance and music. Last summer we recreated an old legend in a month. It made me realise how willing the kids were and how good they are. We’re trying to find the roots of circus in Inuit culture. Through that we’re trying to bring back meaning and not lose everything from the past. If you want to run forwards you need to know where you’re coming from. Our goal is continuity. Artcirq is not a little fire that will burn for a month and then go out.”

Artcirq’s website. To make a donation to the company contact Guillaume Saladin at info@artcirq.org

Twitter: @isumaTV

Follow @TheWidowStanton on Twitter

We’ll be catching up again with Gui in the next few weeks and posting an interview to further mark Artcirq’s 20th anniversary.

This feature first appeared in Spectacle magazine. A shorter version also appeared in The Stage.

[wellhalesbells]

✨✨ TOP FIVES FOR 2020 ✨✨

2020 was, i think we can all agree, a massively chaotic year but i have never consumed as much media before in my life, so i thought others might benefit from my slothery uh, connoisseur.... ship?  yes, that.  below are the books, comics, shows, and movies that got me through!

B O O K S .

the starless sea, by erin morgenstern - i loooove this book because it loves me back.  it says: ‘oh, you’re a reader, well i have just the thing for you.’  it luxuriates in language and story and riddles and fairy tales and it feels like an entire library in a single tome.

they never learn, by layne fargo - oh fuuuuuck, this was satisfying.  i thought it might feel a little exploitative as it is very aware of the zeitgeist and likely would not exist without the #metoo movement but it never ever did.  this was a fucking ROMP, period.  reading about a woman getting away with murdering skeezy guy after rapey guy after shitty human just made me happier and happier.

moonflower murders, by anthony horowitz - this is the second in the susan ryeland series (and the first was hardcore good fun too) and really feels very classic mystery with the artful twist of catering to the literary community.  mainly because: susan isn’t a detective, she’s an editor and she gets drafted in this time because the clue to what happened to a missing woman is in a book she edited, if she can find it.  both of the books in this series have such an excellent coming together moment that is rare af to find.

the invisible life of addie larue, by v.e. schwab - the writing in this is just so good.  it has that feel to me where i just want to drop the book and open up my own page and let my fingers fly.  it’s that inspiring kind of writing that reminds you of all the things language can do.

crown of feathers/heart of flames, by nicki pau preto - aaahhh, this series is SO FREAKING GOOD!  why is there not more of a fandom for it, why???? it is so many of my favorite tropes all resting perfectly together to the point where you almost forget they’re tropes because they just so naturally evolved there.  ugh, it’s just.... it’s so heart-bursty good.

.... number 5, part 2?  raybearer, by jordan ifueko - this was just so original and i was invested af.  like, what a brilliant idea though and an even better execution??  i loved every character and am so looking forward to the next in the series so i can get to know them even better!!

honorable mentions (sh*t i still liked a whole heckuva lot): you/hidden bodies, by caroline kepnes // writers & lovers, by lily king // i’ll be gone in the dark, by michelle mcnamara // the faceless old woman who secretly lives in your home, by joseph fink & jeffrey cranor // girl, serpent, thorn, by melissa bashardoust // a little life, by hanya yanagihara // the guinevere deception, by kiersten white // obsidio (and the entire illuminae series), by amie kaufman & jay kristoff // the bone houses, by emily lloyd-jones // house of salt and sorrows, by erin a. craig // we hunt the flame, by hafsah faizal // savage legion, by matt wallace // blacktop wasteland, by s.a. cosby // crier’s war, by nina varela // the empress of salt and fortune/when the tiger came down the mountain, by nghi vo // upright women wanted, by sarah gailey // the monster of elendhaven, by jennifer giesbrecht // a deadly education, by naomi novik // you let me in, by camilla bruce // when you ask me where i’m going, by jasmin kaur // the lights go out in lychford/last stand in lychford (and the entire lychford series), by paul cornell // the devil and the dark water, by stuart turton // serpent & dove, by shelby mahurin // one by one, by ruth ware // ruthless gods (this was SUCH an upshot from the first book - it’s worth sticking with if you’re on the fence), by emily a. duncan // cemetery boys, by aiden thomas // the inheritance games, by jennifer lynn barnes // the fortunate ones (2021 release), by ed tarkington

C O M I C S .

cosmoknights, by hannah templer - the art was gorgeous, the gayness was glorious, and just.... hot HOOOOOOOOT lady knights in space?!  a princess winning her own hand?  find something not to love in there, i dare you.

don’t go without me, by rosemary valero-o’connell - wow. wow wow wow wow wow.  the writing was stunning, so lyrical and atmospheric and deep, and rosemary has to be one of my favorite artists but even that managed to come as a beautiful surprise because it was just so freaking bold.

through the woods, by emily carroll - i loooove emily carroll, the convergence of spine-tingling horror and art that feeds into it, that is both visually and aesthetically pleasing, is hard to beat!  p.s. i also read beneath the dead oak tree from her this year and it was also a BANGER.

the impending blindness of billie scott, by zoe thorogood - zoe is someone that i just want to follow.  she’s just starting and i want to be there for every single step.  i love her art style and her ability to tell a story with it.

above the clouds, by melissa pagluica - this was so unique, and such a baller concept, as nearly half the entire book is conveyed only through the art and yet you’re never once lost, never once confused as to what any character is thinking or feeling.  it’s a story within a story and only one of those gets words though they both are chock full of emotion!

um.... number 5, part 2? crowded, by christopher sebela - everything about this series is fun af.  crowd-funded assassination and a hirable bodyguard who’s rated like an uber driver???  and the chemistry between the two mains is so great and gay!!

honorable mentions: monster and the beast, by renji // long exposure, by kam ‘mars’ heyward // fence, by c.s. pacat // invisible kingdom, by g. willow wilson // ms. marvel, by g. willow wilson // heathen, by natasha alterici // not drunk enough, by tess stone // giant days, by john allison // die, by kieron gillen // be prepared, by vera brosgol // ascender (sequel to descender, which is also great), by jeff lemire // the unbeatable squirrel girl, by ryan north // bang! bang! boom!, by melanie schoen // gideon falls, by jeff lemire // life of melody, by mari costa // cry wolf girl, by ariel slamet ries // the tea dragon society, by katie o’neill // ptsd, by guillaume singelin // heartstopper, by alice oseman // solutions and other problems, by allie brosh // finding home, by hari conner // the magic fish, by trung le nguyen // something is killing the children, by james tynion iv // the weight of them, by noelle stevenson // spill zone, by scott westerfeld // skyward, by joe henderson // miles morales, by saladin ahmed

F I L M S.

parasite, dir. bong joon ho - oh it was satisfying, oh it was suspenseful, oh i had to watch some of it through my fingers but i loooooooved it.  such a good story and so well made.

knives out, dir. rian johnson - okay, everything about this movie was amazing.  every single character was fun as hell and i could’ve watched an entire movie about each of them.  what a great fucking mystery!

blindspotting, dir. carlos lopez estrada -  this made my heart hurt so damn much.  what glorious writing, acting, and story!

portrait of a lady on fire, dir. celine sciamma - gooooorgeous cinematography, amazing chemistry, and such a soft, atmospheric film.

the farewell, dir. lulu wang - i cried and my heart felt so full and i love it so so much.

um.... number 5, part 2? someone great, dir. jennifer kaytin robinson - no part of me expected to love a netflix movie this much but it’s a love story that doesn’t get told that often??  the end of a relationship and the true love of friendship and i love these girls and i love jenny and nate’s broken relationship.

honorable mentions: eighth grade, dir. bo burnham // booksmart, dir. olivia wilde // midsommar, dir. ari aster // the curse of la llorona, dir. michael chaves // the secret life of pets 2, dirs. chris renaud & jonathan del val // jojo rabbit, dir. taika waititi // the invisible man, dir. leigh whannell // the favourite, dir. yorgos lanthimos // can you ever forgive me?, dir. marielle heller // troop zero, dirs. bert & bertie // ready or not, dirs. matt bettinelli-olpin & tyler gillett // brave, dirs. mark andrews & brenda chapman & steve purcell // the half of it, dir. alice wu // palm springs, dir. max barbakow // doctor sleep, dir. mike flanaghan // uncut gems, dirs. benny sadfie & josh sadfie // birds of prey, dir. cathy van // bloodshot, dir. dave wilson // the old guard, dir. gina prince-bythewood // enola holmes, dir. harry bradbeer // hocus pocus, dir. kenny ortega // always be my maybe, dir. nahnatchka khan // finding dory, dirs. andrew stanton & angus maclane // die hard, dir. john mctiernan

S H O W S .

black sails (2014) - this show, this shooooooooow.  i cannot, it just makes me want to cry with how good it is.  the characters, the EMOTIONS, the story, the plaaaaaan.  like, the creators clearly had a plan for every single step of this show and it was a gOOD, GOOD PLAN.

the untamed (2019) - truly, cheesy good fun with one of the best gay romances ever.  i love these characters and their relationships to each other and the way it glories in its own ridiculousness.

the righteous gemstones (2019) - one of the things that bothered me about my next choice (the ratio of female to male nudity) was so much more realistic in this one (i mean, we’ve all gotten five thousand dick pics and i know like three people?  so the fact that there is so rarely male nudity in shows when there are tits everywhere..... no, how does that even make a tiny bit of sense?).  this show was such great, wonderful, awful fun.  they’re not great people and the show is under no delusion about that and it’s GLORIOUS!

the witcher (2019) - this was just hella fun, i loved the characters and the fantasy elements.  i’m excited for the next season, it’s just entertaining swashbuckling through and through!

fargo (2014) - all of this was really very enjoyable with the through line being somebody fucks shit up and gets involved in something they really shouldn’t be involved in that’s going to swallow them whole.  season one and season three were my stand-out favorites but they were all so violent, clever, and vicious!

um.... number 5, part 2? central park (2020) - um..... so many of the hamilton actors in a muscial cartoon drawn and written by the bob’s burgers team? WHAT ABOUT THAT DOESN’T SOUND AMAZING?!  it was such a joy to hear daveed diggs and leslie odom jr.’s voices again!!

honorable mentions: schitt’s creek // the mandalorian // mr. robot // broadchurch // mindhunter // jack ryan // the good place // the end of the f***ing world // big little lies // elite // kidding // servant // letterkenny // curb your enthusiasm // i am not okay with this // ozark // buzzfeed unsolved: true crime/supernatural // you // runaways // dear white people // dickinson // brooklyn nine-nine // will & grace // 9-1-1 // dead to me // solar opposites // never have i ever // killing eve // what we do in the shadows // grace and frankie // avenue 5 // roswell, new mexico // the bold type // evil // tuca & bertie // impulse // the umbrella academy // watchmen // infinity train // corporate // search party // on becoming a god in central florida // a.p. bio // criminal: uk // the morning show // mythic quest // last week tonight // prodigal son // the great

[reginanobilis]

Royal Lives: The Devil’s Brood (6/7)-Joan of England, Queen of Sicily, Countess of Toulouse

“An illustrious lady....Like her mother, she was energetic, and farsighted”-Guillaume de Puylaurens

The third daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II, Joan was born in Anjou in 1165, spending her childhood with her mother and was possibly educated at Fontevraud Abbey. When she was 12, Joan was married to William II of Sicily and was crowed in Palmero. She seems to have enjoyed a harmonious marriage, however the union produced no surviving offspring. When William II died in 1189, his cousin, Tancred seized the throne and Joan’s dower possessions, leaving her with little resources. The next year, her brother, Richard landed in Sicily en route to the Holy Land and forced Tancred to cede Joan’s rightful possessions. Joan would accompany the Third Crusade east, with her eventual sister-in-law, Berengaria of Navarre, as her companion. Joan’s experiences on crusade saw her briefly captured in Cyprus and later, possibly offered in marriage by Richard to the brother of the Muslim leader, Saladin, and Philip II of France. Upon her return to Europe, Joan was married to Raymond VI of Toulouse in 1196, a union aimed at healing the hostile relations between the Angevin kings and the counts of Toulouse that had persisted for some time. It was not a happy marriage, whether due to relations between the spouses or conditions in Toulouse at the time. Facing the hostility of her husband’s vassals, in 1199, Joan, while heavily pregnant, fled to Richard’s lands, only to find he had died. With her mother’s support, Joan entered Fontevraud, asking to be veiled as a nun shortly before dying in childbirth at the age of 33. Joan had at least three known children, Raymond, Joan, and Richard, who died shortly after his mother.

[knittastically]

A Lioness Amongst the Wolves  Part 3

Part 1  Part 2

Thanks for reading, I hope the TAG list works. All comments appreciated and would love it if you would re blog

By the  time Raymond makes his way into the sweltering kitchen where his men are enjoying their ale and kicking their heels waiting for him, his mind is whirling, he cannot fathom Isabé. She is even more feisty and waspish than he’d been led to believe by her cousin Guillaume, on the other hand she is quick, clever and he has to admit, she is brave. Isabé Pelletier may be wary of him but she is most certainly not afraid.

He strides out of the Manor, swings up into the saddle and begins to ride away before his men are even mounted. He can’t recall ever having met a woman like her. Oh certainly there have been those who have tried to stand up to him, change him, fetter him but none have ever succeeded. The Ladies and Noblewomen who offer themselves to him do not last long, More often than not they are grasping, mean-spirited and have worse morals and manners than the whores he’s bedded. Either that or they are romantic dreamers, compliant and even a little pathetic. But they all in their own way try to mould him into the man they wish him to be. 

But Isabé. He shakes his head quickly as if to rid his mind of her, Isabé is a different prospect, though loathe to admit it there is something about her he can’t help but admire. Raymond has the uncomfortable feeling that if he should allow it, she will become an itch he cannot scratch. Therefore he will not allow it. In spite of himself he rides around to the front of the Manor and looks up, she is there gazing out of the window and she catches sight of him. For a few seconds they hold each other’s look, then Raymond gives a curt nod turns, and rides away with his men now gathered behind him.

The rain is hammering down now. I should be preparing for my departure tomorrow, but I have no heart for it so I idle my time away and lean out of the window breathing in the scent of damp earth. The wind has freshened and blows drops of water in through the window and the land on my face cooling my skin. I close my eyes and when I open them again, Raymond is there looking up at me. I cannot pull my gaze away from him and for a moment or two we simply stare at each other, then with a nod he reins his horse around and rides away. Suddenly I remember how it felt to have him stand close to me, to have his lips on mine, the ghost of his breath on my skin and I shiver. 

No, I reprimanded myself No he feels nothing for you, just remember that. “Isabé stop daydreaming there is much to be done.” I spin around as the door opens and Aunt Blanche sails into the room clapping her hands at me. “Aunt I have little to pack  and I have resigned myself to being the most unfashionably dressed women ever to grace the Chateau, though I doubt Sieur Raymond will notice, much less care.”

“Oh he will notice, Isabé make no mistake and you will not pass through that door dressed like some farm girl in hand me downs, you will be wearing a gown finer than anything the other ladies may possess. I hear huffing, several loud thumps, a few sharp words and an occasional oath from outside the room then Jehanne enters. “Everything is here Madame.” And she stands aside allowing Julot and Géraud to haul not one but four very large chests into the room, they pause to take breath then leave still mumbling dissent.

“For you Isabé. Our clever Jehanne has been working hard with Mathilde and some of the needlewomen from the Chateau, these are your gowns my dear.  Raymond gave precise instructions that you were to have only the best and that no expense should be spared they are part of your wedding gift” I am speechless as I open the chests one by one. The first contains nothing but shoes, boots and belts, the second shifts, hose, head coverings and garters. In the last two, the largest of the four are the gowns and mantles, I have never seen anything so splendid. I have always tried to dress well as far as it goes, but these gowns are so fine, so beautiful they would surely be fit for a queen. “Close your mouth dear” Aunt Blanche laughs at me. “You must choose one to wear tomorrow it would please Raymond and he would know you appreciate his gift. 

I pull Jehanne into a hug, “Thank you, my dear wonderful friend, thank you” “How could I not Isabé, when Sieur Raymond approached me of course I said yes and have been happy to do it, think of it as my wedding gift to you, thank goodness I don’t have to keep the secret any longer for I should burst” But my at the back of my mind is the feeling that Raymond de Merville has bought me for the cost of a few yards of expensive cloth.

“Can this wedding not be stopped?”

“Don’t be a fool girl it cannot, you can see by his gift that this has been in his mind for months and now he has decided that you will make him a good wife.” I snort a laugh, “Then he must lacking in wits if he thinks that”

“Isabé, there are things you should know about the Bouvier’s and the de Mervilles” Aunt Blanche takes my hand and we sit on the edge of the bed. Blanche flicks a quick glance at Jehanne, who catches the meaning and immediately slips quietly from the room.

Raymond and your Uncle Henri are better friends than you imagine, they have known each other since childhood. Under the old King the boys spent time in England with the Baron, then for almost three years they fought together against Saladin at Acre and Jaffa even Jerusalem. They were young men, great friends, your Uncle was as handsome and strong as ever Raymond was but more than that, Raymond owes his life to him.”

“To Uncle Henri?”

“Oh yes, had it not been for Henri, Raymond de Merville would not be walking this earth”

“Better for some of us if he did not” I spat out 

The force of her slap makes my ears ring and sends me sprawling backwards on to the bed. My poor face may not survive the day if I do not keep my tongue in check.

“Grow up Isabé, a Holy war such as they fought, changes men in ways you could never understand, it breaks them, crushes them and remakes them into creatures we hardly recognise.”

Her lips tremble but she continues. “It broke your Uncle and Raymond knew it, he knew that Henri would never fight again, that he woke screaming in the night and sometimes spent his days locked away and weeping for the horror of it all. In gratitude for his life, Raymond petitioned his father to let Henri retire and also to gift him this Manor and its estate. The Baron for once showed some compassion and was happy to do so, because but for Henri, Raymond would have been left to die and rot on the battlefield of some heathen land. That was almost eighteen years ago and thanks to Raymond we want for nothing, your Uncle has regained some of his self-respect and Raymond neither spares nor begrudges anything for his friend, and the Manor will pass to Guillaume when he is of age.”

That made me smile, I thought it unlikely that Guillaume would ever return here and certainly not with a wife.

This was a side to Raymond I had never thought could exist and yet it was not hard to imagine that his loyalty to his friends could run so deep and strong. 

“And how did the horrors of war remake Raymond Aunt?”

Aunt Blanche twists her fingers together and she looks as if she is about to cry, certainly there is a catch in her voice when she speaks. “Isabé you must think on this, Raymond was never such a hard man as he is now.  But when his beloved mother died, it wounded him so deeply all the joy seemed to flow out of him, he grew worse when the love of his life walked away from him the Bitch” “Aunt Blanche” I am astonished for though my own language could be unladylike, I had never heard her say such thing before.

“Yes and she had the gall to marry a man he had considered a friend.  Now he was broken and wild, all the women he loved had left him, the things he saw as a soldier preyed on his mind, kindness and compassion was gone leaving a bitter and sometimes cruel man” Blanche clears her throat again, and I place my hand over both of hers to still her fingers. “In spite of how he is, you have a great regard for Raymond Aunt Blanche don’t you, you see good in him” “Because I know what he once was” “And so you think he can become that again, but he won’t” My words spit out harsher than I’d meant them to and she bristles, her voice is strident as her usually calm blue eyes flash fire at me.

“I’m not a fool Isabé, so don’t ever take me for one but I knew Raymond before he turned into the brutish man he is now. It seems he feeds off his own misery and grows strong on it. But yes I feel there still is some good in him.” I don’t answer, because I would tell her what I think and it would hurt her. I could almost feel some pity for the man, almost, but I wondered if taking me as his wife simply another act of gratitude and charity towards his old friend Henri. “So he devotes himself to war and the service of the King, does the King think highly of him?” 

“I believe so, he is often in Paris and it is rumoured that the King engages him for particular work”

“Envoy, spy, assassin, Sieur Raymond would be well suited to any or all of those” I laugh This time Aunt Blanche does not answer me, but I read the expression on her face and it says that I am right. As I begin to fold and pack the few clothes I already own, Blanche frowns at me “You will have no need of those” She pulls them out of the chest, I take them from her and place them there again. 

“Nevertheless Aunt, I shall take them.”

“As you wish”, she sighs and having long since resigned herself to what she calls my singular ways, she leaves me. I choose the gown that I will wear tomorrow, I don’t know why but it is strangely important to me that it meets with Raymond’s approval. The colour will suit my complexion and my pale hair will shine against the murrey coloured wool. The next few days will be the last when I shall be able to wear my hair loose in public.

It is unusually late when I wake, and Jehanne is already up and about, laying out my clothes and making sure the water in the tub is not too hot. “Good morning Isabé, I know you slept well you barely stirred, except for........”

“Except for what?” I hitch myself up in bed and see that Jehanne is fighting a grin.

“Tell me you miserable baggage, except for what?” 

“Calling me names won’t help Isabé and for that I shan’t tell you”

I lean out of bed, snatch up a shoe and fling it at her, though I have no intention of hitting my mark. “Tell me” I yell at her.

She rolls her eyes flutters her lashes and clasping her hands against her breast moans “Raaaaaymond aaaaaah Raaaaymond”

I feel my face flushing “I did not you liar” and I bite at my lower lip

“Oh but you did, that and more”

“Oh for God’s sake don’t tell me I don’t want to know and I still think you’re making it up” But her look told me she wasn’t.

“Come on Isabé “she tries to haul me out of my bed. “It’s time for you to bathe and get ready” 

In a few hours all that is familiar will be left behind and I can’t bear the thought of it. A wave of panic suddenly sweeps through me and I begin to shake. Jehanne sits beside me on the bed and hugs me.

“This is not like you, you are stronger than this, now into the tub and I will wash your hair for you.” “When I am done with you Sieur Raymond will be dazzled.” I manage a faint smile, my one consolation is that she will be with me at the Chateau and I am grateful for that.

My dress is truly beautiful, it fits like a glove, Jehanne has worked her magic and tells me it is the latest style. My skin is soft and has the faint scent of roses, my hair shines like silver against the rich berry coloured wooI. The shoes I am wearing are the same colour as my gown and made of the softest leather. Around my waist I have fastened a narrow leather girdle with a gold buckle and as is the fashion the over long, gold tipped strap hangs down below my knees.

“Are you packed and ready to leave Jehanne?”

“Yes everything is ready and waiting down in the hall, but I will leave you now for a little while” Bless Jehanne, she understands that I need time to say good bye to my past life. I know that Aunt Blanche wants me to be down in the hall when Raymond arrives but he can wait.  I stand by my window, the sky is a bright, rain-washed blue, it’s a beautiful fresh day after the storm and this is the last time I will look at this view and I will never again sleep in this narrow bed. The riders come into view as they turn the bend in the road, there are more than I expected. Raymond is at the head, to the right of him rides his Captain and Guillaume is to his left leading a black mare. Behind them the escort, I count 20 men all dressed in the de Merville colours with the coat of arms on their cloaks and pennants, lastly a covered cart rumbles behind them. I hardly hear the sound of knocking on my door and Jehanne pokes her head around. “Isabé, your Aunt insists that you are in the Hall to greet Sieur Raymond” “Come in Jehanne, Raymond has only just arrived, there is time.” So we stand, arms around each other’s waists and watch from the window as Raymond dismounts and strides inside. “Isabé, we must go down” “A few moments more” “No” Jehanne tugs at my arm and hauls me towards the door. A deep breath, one last look around the small whitewashed room and we make our way down the stairs. I pause at the door, take another breath, fix a little smile on my face and walk into the main hall. All the house servants are gathered there to say goodbye there are whispers and admiring glances as I walk past.

“Isabé, at last” Aunt Blanche chides me gently. Raymond breaks from his conversation with my Uncle and turns to face me, he looks as grim as ever but dear God if he smiles at me I’m sure my very bones will melt. As I draw closer I drop a small curtsey and I am taken by surprise when Raymond holds out his hand to me and draws me up towards him.

“Thank you Sieur Raymond for your most generous gift I..”

I am cut short “Is that one of the gowns? If so, then it suits you well Isabé, very well indeed” He smiles, catches my chin between his fingers and thumb and stoops to brush the softest kiss to my lips. “As my wife it is only fitting that you should have the very best” 

My body does not quite listen to my head and when I look up at him my breath hitches. His smile widens but it does not reach his eyes they remain cold and guarded.

Wine is handed around and we stand side by side the mismatched pair that we are, the members of the household drink to our health and happiness. Raymond turns to my Aunt and Uncle, “Henri, Blanche it is time to take our leave my Father is waiting to welcome Isabé so we must say our goodbyes.” Every member of the house escorts us outside and as I kiss my Aunt and Uncle Adieu, Guillaume rides forward leading the pretty black mare. She prances about, sleek, fine and on her mettle, her tack is of black leather with silver decorations on the bridle and the saddle sits on a cloth of black and silver. “For you Isabé, I think you will be well matched for she has plenty of spirit she goes by the name of Estelle for the star on her forehead ”

“Raymond, she is beautiful” I stroke my fingers along the black silk of her neck. When I turn to look at him there is a slight smile playing on his lips and a warmth in his eyes. He helps me up into the saddle and Jehanne arranges my gown. As I mouth “Thank you” to him his smile widens briefly and he lets his hand rest on my thigh, it is for no more than a moment but the feel of it lingers long after he has mounted up onto his own great Dark grey horse. 

All the chests are secured on the cart, Jehanne is hoisted up to sit behind Raymond’s Captain and I have the oddest feeling they are not strangers. The journey to the Chateau is no more than half an hour and Raymond does not say one word, though our silence is not strained and once or twice I catch him glancing at me.

@armitageadoration  @fullvoidmoon @deepestfirefun 

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@abiwim  @evyiione @sherala007 @jassy2101  @elven-wine-lover 

@felorinbailenshield2 @kimanne723 @nellindreams @ritamaltese3

@vaneaustation @beautyagegoodnesssize @jesgisborne @catthefearless @nowiloveandwilllove

[burpenterprisejournal]

SISTEMI AUDIOFOBICI BURP IN THE SONIC PROTEST MEGAMIX

2020/05/5-11 Sonic Protest Radio SISTEMI AUDIOFOBICI BURP stream

SISTEMI AUDIOFOBICI BURP are proud to be part of the longest mixtape in the world broadcasted by Sonic Protest Radio www.sonicprotest.com/radio SAB will put their hands on the mix saturday 9 from 15:31 to 16:29 SISTEMI AUDIOFOBICI BURP consisting of DJ WJM, DJ JD Zazie, DJ Jimmy G, DJ Mat Pogo and DJ Baba Giovanni Bauli will perform SALAMANDER CHAIN MIX. Expect collages, punca, abstract and techno beat in the mega mixtape: (alexskater4), #IslasResonantes,: Such, #dadabase, Adolph Marx, Akab Ondage, Alan Courtis, Alexandre St-Giroud & Olivier Di Placido, Alyosha K, Annalee-Rose & Will Guthrie, Antoine Capet, Aymeric de Tapol , Ben Lx, NEED DREAD, gonorrhea die wurstbrucke, Carl. Y, CasseGueule, Automatic Chapel, Chebgero, Cinna Peyghamy, Coax, d ' cut, Damien Cabries, David Bausseron, DAVIDE TIDONI, Denis Rollet, Didier LASSERRE & Vincent RIOUX, LIVE OUT, DJ - JBG, Dj biscuit, Dj Charonne, DJ Dunkirk x DJ GRAVEL, DJ googlesheet, djvincent / la / very, Dmngrng, Double G, Dr Potato, set 0 (for radio), set 0 (for radio), set Nist Nah on decks, Espace Multimadia Gantner (Burgundy), Ex-IP, Ben, scrap metal, FLF, Frédéric blondy, Guilhem ALL, guillaume guillaume, guillaume-van roberge, H-oudini, Hugo Esquinca, IGOR 16382, James Stilton & Le Petit Ménestrel, Jean-Luc Guionnet, Jean-Marc Foussat, Jean-Marc Foussat, Jean - Philippe Gross, young girl orrible and leandro barzabal, Jf Pichard, Jo Bur, Johan, Johana Beaussart & Anaïs Ponty, Julia Hanadi Al Abed, Julien Clauss, Julien Desailly, Julien Desprez, Junko & Michel Henritzi, kergalive, L ' investigation trample, THE MIGHTY MOUSE TEAM, THE LITTLE pair of peoples, LeGospel, the underground lab, twin songs, Lico, MadameMacario, Mario [aspect _ ASpirale], Mathias Pontevia & Ian Saboya & Elsa Gribinski , Matthieu Saladin, Mattin, Maxime Lemoing, Méryll Ampe, MNNN, musichien: Just ears, Nicolas Montgermont, O engineeri Modo, Oculus raucous, OdBongo, Ogrob, PAPITO BOOM BOOM, Pat Hébert, Patrick sandy, pfff, phonotopy, Radio Mouse, Radio Sonic Protest, run!, Raymond Pettibon & Oliver Augst, Robin Michel and Thibault Walter, Samon Takahashi VS Masami Akita. (Merzbow), Sb & the p-node streams, SEC _, Shit & Shine, Sidonie Absolon, SISTEMI AUDIOFOBICI BURP, Sophie & Maxime, Swallowing Helmets, MAGIC SYSTEM, Terrine, TTnode, unglee izi, Vincent Epplay , Wilfried Wendling, Yann saboya, YLY, Yvan Etienne, Yves Prohl & Paul Gommenn, Z.B. AIDS a.k.a. Valerie Smith

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 9.7 (before 1900)

70 – A Roman army under Titus occupies and plunders Jerusalem. 878 – Louis the Stammerer is crowned as king of West Francia by Pope John VIII. 1159 – Pope Alexander III is chosen. 1191 – Third Crusade: Battle of Arsuf: Richard I of England defeats Saladin at Arsuf. 1228 – Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II lands in Acre, Israel, and starts the Sixth Crusade, which results in a peaceful restoration of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. 1303 – Guillaume de Nogaret takes Pope Boniface VIII prisoner on behalf of Philip IV of France. 1571 – Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, is arrested for his role in the Ridolfi plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots. 1620 – The town of Kokkola (Swedish: Karleby) is founded by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. 1630 – The city of Boston, Massachusetts, is founded in North America. 1652 – Around 15,000 Han farmers and militia rebel against Dutch rule on Taiwan. 1695 – Henry Every perpetrates one of the most profitable pirate raids in history with the capture of the Grand Mughal ship Ganj-i-Sawai. In response, Emperor Aurangzeb threatens to end all English trading in India. 1706 – War of the Spanish Succession: Siege of Turin ends, leading to the withdrawal of French forces from North Italy. 1764 – Election of Stanisław August Poniatowski as the last ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. 1776 – According to American colonial reports, Ezra Lee makes the world's first submarine attack in the Turtle, attempting to attach a time bomb to the hull of HMS Eagle in New York Harbor (no British records of this attack exist). 1778 – American Revolutionary War: France invades Dominica in the British West Indies, before Britain is even aware of France's involvement in the war. 1812 – French invasion of Russia: The Battle of Borodino, the bloodiest battle of the Napoleonic Wars, is fought near Moscow and results in a French victory. 1818 – Carl III of Sweden–Norway is crowned king of Norway, in Trondheim. 1822 – Dom Pedro I declares Brazil independent from Portugal on the shores of the Ipiranga Brook in São Paulo. 1856 – The Saimaa Canal is inaugurated. 1857 – Mountain Meadows massacre: Mormon settlers slaughter most members of peaceful, emigrant wagon train. 1860 – Unification of Italy: Giuseppe Garibaldi enters Naples. 1863 – American Civil War: Union troops under Quincy A. Gillmore capture Fort Wagner in Morris Island after a seven-week siege. 1864 – American Civil War: Atlanta is evacuated on orders of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman. 1876 – In Northfield, Minnesota, Jesse James and the James–Younger Gang attempt to rob the town's bank but are driven off by armed citizens.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 9.7

70 – A Roman army under Titus occupies and plunders Jerusalem. 878 – Louis the Stammerer is crowned as king of West Francia by Pope John VIII. 1159 – Pope Alexander III is chosen. 1191 – Third Crusade: Battle of Arsuf: Richard I of England defeats Saladin at Arsuf. 1228 – Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II lands in Acre, Israel, and starts the Sixth Crusade, which results in a peaceful restoration of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. 1303 – Guillaume de Nogaret takes Pope Boniface VIII prisoner on behalf of Philip IV of France. 1571 – Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, is arrested for his role in the Ridolfi plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots. 1620 – The town of Kokkola (Swedish: Karleby) is founded by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. 1630 – The city of Boston, Massachusetts is founded. 1652 – Around 15,000 Han farmers and militia rebel against Dutch rule on Taiwan. 1695 – Henry Every perpetrates one of the most profitable pirate raids in history with the capture of the Grand Mughal ship Ganj-i-Sawai. In response, Emperor Aurangzeb threatens to end all English trading in India. 1706 – War of the Spanish Succession: Siege of Turin ends, leading to the withdrawal of French forces from North Italy. 1764 – Election of Stanisław August Poniatowski as the last ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. 1776 – According to American colonial reports, Ezra Lee makes the world's first submarine attack in the Turtle, attempting to attach a time bomb to the hull of HMS Eagle in New York Harbor (no British records of this attack exist). 1778 – American Revolutionary War: France invades Dominica in the British West Indies, before Britain is even aware of France's involvement in the war. 1812 – French invasion of Russia: The Battle of Borodino, the bloodiest battle of the Napoleonic Wars, is fought near Moscow and results in a French victory. 1818 – Carl III of Sweden–Norway is crowned king of Norway, in Trondheim. 1822 – Dom Pedro I declares Brazil independent from Portugal on the shores of the Ipiranga Brook in São Paulo. 1856 – The Saimaa Canal is inaugurated. 1857 – Mountain Meadows massacre: Mormon settlers slaughter most members of peaceful, emigrant wagon train. 1860 – Unification of Italy: Giuseppe Garibaldi enters Naples. 1863 – American Civil War: Union troops under Quincy A. Gillmore capture Fort Wagner in Morris Island after a seven-week siege. 1864 – American Civil War: Atlanta is evacuated on orders of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman. 1876 – In Northfield, Minnesota, Jesse James and the James–Younger Gang attempt to rob the town's bank but are driven off by armed citizens. 1901 – The Boxer Rebellion in Qing dynasty (modern-day China) officially ends with the signing of the Boxer Protocol. 1906 – Alberto Santos-Dumont flies his 14-bis aircraft at Bagatelle, France successfully for the first time. 1907 – Cunard Line's RMS Lusitania sets sail on her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England, to New York City. 1909 – Eugène Lefebvre crashes a new French-built Wright biplane during a test flight at Juvisy, south of Paris, becoming the first aviator in the world to lose his life in a powered heavier-than-air craft. 1911 – French poet Guillaume Apollinaire is arrested and put in jail on suspicion of stealing the Mona Lisa from the Louvre museum. 1916 – US federal employees win the right to Workers' compensation by Federal Employers Liability Act (39 Stat. 742; 5 U.S.C. 751) 1920 – Two newly purchased Savoia flying boats crash in the Swiss Alps en route to Finland where they were to serve with the Finnish Air Force, killing both crews. 1921 – In Atlantic City, New Jersey, the first Miss America Pageant, a two-day event, is held. 1921 – The Legion of Mary, the largest apostolic organization of lay people in the Catholic Church, is founded in Dublin, Ireland. 1923 – The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) is formed. 1927 – The first fully electronic television system is achieved by Philo Farnsworth. 1929 – Steamer Kuru capsizes and sinks on Lake Näsijärvi near Tampere in Finland. One hundred thirty-six lives are lost. 1932 – The Battle of Boquerón, the first major battle of the Chaco War, commences. 1936 – The last thylacine, a carnivorous marsupial named Benjamin, dies alone in its cage at the Hobart Zoo in Tasmania. 1940 – Romania returns Southern Dobruja to Bulgaria under the Treaty of Craiova. 1940 – World War II: The German Luftwaffe begins the Blitz, bombing London and other British cities for over 50 consecutive nights. 1942 – World War II: Japanese marines are forced to withdraw during the Battle of Milne Bay. 1943 – A fire at the Gulf Hotel in Houston kills 55 people. 1943 – World War II: The German 17th Army begins its evacuation of the Kuban bridgehead (Taman Peninsula) in southern Russia and moves across the Strait of Kerch to the Crimea. 1945 – World War II: Japanese forces on Wake Island, which they had held since December 1941, surrender to U.S. Marines. 1945 – The Berlin Victory Parade of 1945 is held. 1953 – Nikita Khrushchev is elected first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. 1963 – The Pro Football Hall of Fame opens in Canton, Ohio with 17 charter members. 1965 – During an Indo-Pakistani War, China announces that it will reinforce its troops on the Indian border. 1965 – Vietnam War: In a follow-up to August's Operation Starlite, United States Marines and South Vietnamese forces initiate Operation Piranha on the Batangan Peninsula. 1970 – Fighting begins between Arab guerrillas and government forces in Jordan. 1970 – Vietnam Television was established. 1977 – The Torrijos–Carter Treaties between Panama and the United States on the status of the Panama Canal are signed. The United States agrees to transfer control of the canal to Panama at the end of the 20th century. 1977 – The 300-metre-tall CKVR-DT transmission tower in Barrie, Ontario, Canada, is hit by a light aircraft in a fog, causing it to collapse. All aboard the aircraft are killed. 1978 – While walking across Waterloo Bridge in London, Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov is assassinated by Bulgarian secret police agent Francesco Gullino by means of a ricin pellet fired from a specially-designed umbrella. 1979 – The Chrysler Corporation asks the United States government for US$1.5 billion to avoid bankruptcy. 1981 – British plantation company, Guthrie was taken over by the Malaysian government after successfully purchasing shares to become the major shareholder. This is famously called the 'Dawn Raid attack'. 1984 – An explosion on board a Maltese patrol boat disposing of illegal fireworks at sea off Gozo kills seven soldiers and policemen. 1986 – Desmond Tutu becomes the first black man to lead the Anglican Diocese of Cape Town. 1986 – Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet survives an assassination attempt by the FPMR; 5 of Pinochet's bodyguards are killed. 1988 – Abdul Ahad Mohmand, the first Afghan in space, returns to Earth after nine days on the Mir space station. 1996 – Rapper and actor Tupac Shakur is fatally shot in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. He succumbs to his injuries six days later. 1997 – Maiden flight of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. 1999 – The 6.0 Mw  Athens earthquake affected the area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), killing 143, injuring 800–1,600, and leaving 50,000 homeless. 2005 – Egypt holds its first-ever multi-party presidential election. 2008 – The United States government takes control of the two largest mortgage financing companies in the US, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. 2010 – A Chinese fishing trawler collided with two Japanese Coast Guard patrol boats in disputed waters near the Senkaku Islands. 2011 – The Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash in Russia kills 43 people, including nearly the entire roster of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Kontinental Hockey League team. 2012 – Canada officially cuts diplomatic ties with Iran by closing its embassy in Tehran and orders the expulsion of Iranian diplomats from Ottawa, over nuclear plans and purported human rights abuses. 2017 – The 8.2 Mw  2017 Chiapas earthquake strikes southern Mexico, killing at least 60 people. 2017 – Equifax announce a cyber-crime identity theft event potentially impacting approximately 1451⁄2 million U.S. consumers. 2019 – Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov and 66 others are released in a prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia. 2021 – Bitcoin becomes legal tender in El Salvador.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 9.7

70 – A Roman army under Titus occupies and plunders Jerusalem. 878 – Louis the Stammerer is crowned as king of West Francia by Pope John VIII. 1159 – Pope Alexander III is chosen. 1191 – Third Crusade: Battle of Arsuf: Richard I of England defeats Saladin at Arsuf. 1228 – Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II lands in Acre, Israel, and starts the Sixth Crusade, which results in a peaceful restoration of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. 1303 – Guillaume de Nogaret takes Pope Boniface VIII prisoner on behalf of Philip IV of France. 1571 – Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, is arrested for his role in the Ridolfi plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots. 1620 – The town of Kokkola (Swedish: Karleby) was founded by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. 1652 – Around 15,000 Han farmers and militia rebel against Dutch rule on Taiwan. 1695 – Henry Every perpetrates one of the most profitable pirate raids in history with the capture of the Grand Mughal ship Ganj-i-Sawai. In response, Emperor Aurangzeb threatens to end all English trading in India. 1706 – War of the Spanish Succession: Siege of Turin ends, leading to the withdrawal of French forces from North Italy. 1764 – Election of Stanisław August Poniatowski as the last ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. 1776 – According to American colonial reports, Ezra Lee makes the world's first submarine attack in the Turtle, attempting to attach a time bomb to the hull of HMS Eagle in New York Harbor (no British records of this attack exist). 1778 – American Revolutionary War: France invades Dominica in the British West Indies, before Britain is even aware of France's involvement in the war. 1812 – French invasion of Russia: The Battle of Borodino, the bloodiest battle of the Napoleonic Wars, is fought near Moscow and results in a French victory. 1818 – Carl III of Sweden–Norway is crowned king of Norway, in Trondheim. 1822 – Dom Pedro I declares Brazil independent from Portugal on the shores of the Ipiranga Brook in São Paulo. 1856 – The Saimaa Canal was inaugurated. 1857 – Mountain Meadows massacre: Mormon settlers slaughter most members of peaceful, emigrant wagon train. 1860 – Italian unification: Giuseppe Garibaldi enters Naples. 1863 – American Civil War: Union troops under Quincy A. Gillmore capture Fort Wagner in Morris Island after a 7-week siege. 1864 – American Civil War: Atlanta is evacuated on orders of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman. 1876 – In Northfield, Minnesota, Jesse James and the James–Younger Gang attempt to rob the town's bank but are driven off by armed citizens. 1901 – The Boxer Rebellion in Qing dynasty (modern-day China) officially ends with the signing of the Boxer Protocol. 1906 – Alberto Santos-Dumont flies his 14-bis aircraft at Bagatelle, France successfully for the first time. 1907 – Cunard Line's RMS Lusitania sets sail on her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England, to New York City. 1909 – Eugène Lefebvre crashes a new French-built Wright biplane during a test flight at Juvisy, south of Paris, becoming the first aviator in the world to lose his life in a powered heavier-than-air craft. 1911 – French poet Guillaume Apollinaire is arrested and put in jail on suspicion of stealing the Mona Lisa from the Louvre museum. 1916 – US federal employees win the right to Workers' compensation by Federal Employers Liability Act (39 Stat. 742; 5 U.S.C. 751) 1920 – Two newly purchased Savoia flying boats crash in the Swiss Alps en route to Finland where they were to serve with the Finnish Air Force, killing both crews. 1921 – In Atlantic City, New Jersey, the first Miss America Pageant, a two-day event, is held. 1921 – The Legion of Mary, the largest apostolic organization of lay people in the Catholic Church, is founded in Dublin, Ireland. 1923 – The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) is formed. 1927 – The first fully electronic television system is achieved by Philo Farnsworth. 1929 – Steamer Kuru capsizes and sinks on Lake Näsijärvi near Tampere in Finland. One hundred thirty-six lives are lost. 1932 – The Battle of Boquerón, the first major battle of the Chaco War, commences. 1936 – The last thylacine, a carnivorous marsupial named Benjamin, dies alone in its cage at the Hobart Zoo in Tasmania. 1940 – Romania returns Southern Dobruja to Bulgaria under the Treaty of Craiova. 1940 – World War II: The German Luftwaffe begins the Blitz, bombing London and other British cities for over 50 consecutive nights. 1942 – World War II: Japanese marines are forced to withdraw during the Battle of Milne Bay. 1943 – A fire at the Gulf Hotel in Houston kills 55 people. 1943 – World War II: The German 17th Army begins its evacuation of the Kuban bridgehead (Taman Peninsula) in southern Russia and moves across the Strait of Kerch to the Crimea. 1945 – World War II: Japanese forces on Wake Island, which they had held since December 1941, surrender to U.S. Marines. 1945 – The Berlin Victory Parade of 1945 is held. 1953 – Nikita Khrushchev is elected first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. 1963 – The Pro Football Hall of Fame opens in Canton, Ohio with 17 charter members. 1965 – During an Indo-Pakistani War, China announces that it will reinforce its troops on the Indian border. 1965 – Vietnam War: In a follow-up to August's Operation Starlite, United States Marines and South Vietnamese forces initiate Operation Piranha on the Batangan Peninsula. 1970 – Fighting begins between Arab guerrillas and government forces in Jordan. 1970 – Vietnam Television was established. 1977 – The Torrijos–Carter Treaties between Panama and the United States on the status of the Panama Canal are signed. The United States agrees to transfer control of the canal to Panama at the end of the 20th century. 1977 – The 300-metre-tall CKVR-DT transmission tower in Barrie, Ontario, Canada, is hit by a light aircraft in a fog, causing it to collapse. All aboard the aircraft are killed. 1978 – While walking across Waterloo Bridge in London, Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov is assassinated by Bulgarian secret police agent Francesco Gullino by means of a ricin pellet fired from a specially-designed umbrella. 1979 – The Chrysler Corporation asks the United States government for US$1.5 billion to avoid bankruptcy. 1981 – British plantation company, Guthrie was taken over by the Malaysian government after successfully purchasing shares to become the major shareholder. This is famously called the 'Dawn Raid attack'. 1984 – An explosion on board a Maltese patrol boat disposing of illegal fireworks at sea off Gozo kills seven soldiers and policemen. 1986 – Desmond Tutu becomes the first black man to lead the Anglican Diocese of Cape Town. 1988 – Abdul Ahad Mohmand, the first Afghan in space, returns to Earth after nine days on the Mir space station. 1996 – Rapper and hip hop artist Tupac Shakur is fatally shot in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. He succumbs to his injuries six days later. 1997 – Maiden flight of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. 1999 – The 6.0 Mw  Athens earthquake affected the area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), killing 143, injuring 800–1,600, and leaving 50,000 homeless. 2005 – Egypt holds its first-ever multi-party presidential election. 2008 – The United States government takes control of the two largest mortgage financing companies in the US, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. 2010 – A Chinese fishing trawler collided with two Japanese Coast Guard patrol boats in disputed waters near the Senkaku Islands. 2011 – A plane crash in Russia kills 43 people, including nearly the entire roster of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Kontinental Hockey League team. 2012 – Canada officially cuts diplomatic ties with Iran by closing its embassy in Tehran and orders the expulsion of Iranian diplomats from Ottawa, over nuclear plans and purported human rights abuses. 2017 – The 8.2 Mw  2017 Chiapas earthquake strikes southern Mexico, killing at least 60 people. 2017 – Equifax announce a cyber-crime identity theft event potentially impacting approximately 1451⁄2 million U.S. consumers. 2019 – Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov and 66 others are released in a prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia.

[thewidowstanton]

Alexandra Royer, Russian bar flyer and aerial hoop specialist: Barcode Circus Company

Alexandra Royer, who comes from Quebec City, was inspired to take up circus after watching companies such as Cirque Eloize and Cirque du Soleil. Later, after living in Morocco, she trained at the Quebec Circus School and was approached by Cirque du Soleil to join its show Quidam on an aerial hoop contract when she was just 16. In 2008, Alex chose instead to further her studies at Montreal’s National Circus School. There she met her two American Russian bar bases, Eric Bates and Tristan Nielsen, and on graduating they began to perform worldwide with leading companies including The 7 Fingers, Cirque Eloize, Cirque du Soleil and La Soirée.

The trio were joined by Eve Bigel of Compagnie XY, and as Barcode Circus Company they have performed in Olympic ceremonies, on TV shows and at corporate events and cabarets, also in street and contemporary dance shows, as well as full-length circus creations. They have also won numerous awards, including silver and bronze medals at 2018’s Cirque de Demain Festival in Paris. Alex is now taking part in Barcode’s first full-length production, Sweat and Ink (De Sueur et d’Encre), which headlines at Hand to Hand: A FringeArts Circus Festival in Philadelphia, USA. The show runs from 31 May – 2 June 2018. She chats to Liz Arratoon.

The Widow Stanton: How old were you when you first became aware of circus? Alexandra Royer: Quite young. In Quebec City we were surrounded by Cirque du Soleil, Cirque Eloize… and I can’t remember exactly when I asked about it but I wanted to go to the circus. I wasn’t doing circus yet but I asked my parents to take me.

Do any shows stand out? I totally remember Nomade by Cirque Eloize. It was wonderful… Anton Carabinier was in it. He was, I think, 18 then and I had a big crush on him… and I wanted to do circus after seeing it. Guillaume Saladin was in it too, and he is so nice, just so nice. And also Cirque Eos, which was a circus from Quebec City. A lot of artists from Eos still do circus even though it was like, 20 years ago. Erika Lemay is like the queen of circus; she has long legs and she’s beautiful; she does handstands. She was with them.

Were you always an active kid? In school my mum registered me for theatre and dance classes but I was actually really, really shy so going onstage was never an option. But when I was seven we found a little class in a circus school. It was only half an hour a week but it was really fun.

Is anyone else in your family in showbusiness? I found out later on that I had some distant cousins – something like my grandparents were cousins of their grandparents – and they were also in Nomade. My cousin, Marie Michèle Faber, is beautiful and she sings and does aerial hoop and silks in Cirque du Soleil. Her brother is Jean-François Faber, and he does acrobatic bike, like, trial bike, manipulations and acrobatics. But they are not why I went into circus; they didn’t influence me.

Who or what did inspire you? After the year of circus I did when I was seven, my family moved to Morocco and I did horseback riding there. Once, the trapeze company Les Arts Sauts brought a huge show, Kayassine, to Marrakech. I was talking about circus then but I don’t remember why it affected me so much because I couldn’t do any acrobatics. My dad had bought a trampoline just to ease the move to another country but actually I was super happy to go. It was really nice to have a trampoline in the backyard but I was only doing simple moves… front drop, back drop… My mum is from France and she knows Danielle Le Pierrès’ sister really well. Danielle is the founder of Le P’tit Cirk, and when Les Arts Sauts came my mum’s friend was there to babysit Danielle’s young children.

My mum, of course, saw her friend, so we had a private visit to the tent. We climbed into the safety net, we saw the show, it was gorgeous – one of the best memories of a show I have. I think I was about nine. Then a lot of the cast came to our backyard for a barbecue. We had some wild boar in the freezer – a hunter had given us so much meat – so my mum was like: “Oh perfect, bring the whole cast.” Everybody was there and the trampoline was there, so some of the porters made people do backflips and I was thinking, ‘Wow, this is really fun. I want to join in with them’.

I think it was the first time I realised that I really wanted to do circus, not because of the show so much, but more because of the feeling backstage. It was really great; a great afternoon where we had fun and talked to the artists. After they left I carried on with my life in Morocco without circus but when we came back to Canada I went to the school in Quebec.

Why did you then choose aerial? Um… good question. To get into the school in Quebec I did a trapeze act. Jade Dussault, who is in FlipFabriQue, was my coach. I think she was 12 years old and I was ten. [Laughs] It’s really funny; I wasn’t ready to enter the programme so much but they were looking for people because it was a rather new programme. They said: “Oh, she’s super small and kind of strong and flexible,” so I did trapeze. I can still remember how stressed I was before doing my act. I couldn’t remember the music; I only had a CD and the guy said: “What is your music?” And I said, ‘I don’t know. My teacher is not here…’, or, ‘My teacher is 12 years old…’. but finally I did something and I was accepted. I was alone at home when they told me and I asked, ‘Is this person and this person also coming? I’ll come if they’re coming’. I had also been thinking of going to horseback riding school but I decided to do circus because I had so much fun in the audition and met lots of people.

How difficult a decision was it to turn down Cirque du Soleil’s offer? What’s interesting in Quebec you learn to do everything, and we were training quite hard. I saw The 7 Fingers’ show Traces, and we were all so pumped up when we came back, we wanted the school to open up, but it was the middle of the night; everybody was on a high. I was doing trampoline at the time… swinging trapeze, aerials, hand to hand, everything, and my aerial hoop coach was Marie-Eve Bisson from the hoop trio in Quidam. She was 27 and I was 16. I had about ten classes with her and she really showed me everything on hoop. She could spin so fast. She was the one I’d watched on the Quidam video.

But when I got the offer, I didn’t have many options. My mum just said: “No.” I did the audition at the National Circus School in Montreal and was accepted. The crew and vibe of our year was amazing. I also wanted to learn something else; I didn’t want to have just one act. I had the feeling that if I went to Quidam, I’d go to Montreal for six months, go on tour and then never be talked about again. It’s a bit like that in Cirque du Soleil; you just become a number. They take good care of you but at that age it was nice to keep learning stuff. My trampoline coach said: “Do you wanna be really good, or like, medium good?” I said, ‘I want to be really good’. So he said: “Go to the school.” They’d accepted me for aerial and acrobatics, so that was interesting. In Quebec I could change my schedule; I could ask for Cyr wheel or whatever but in Montreal, once you get your schedule it’s quite hard to change it. 

What made you add Russian bar to your skills? There was a Russian bar trio in Quebec City, and they made me try it. They were so chilled, like: “You really should do it.” They put the idea into my head and it’s something not so many people do. That was the idea behind it.

How much trust is needed between you and your bases? I was a bit unaware of how important the relationship with the porters is. I didn’t consider myself a flyer at all; I was doing aerial hoop as a specialist. But when I started to work with Eric and Tristan, we were really laughing a lot. They had their own specialties as well, so it was a good match because none of us were putting all our eggs in one basket. From the beginning, and it’s still the deal we have, that whenever it stops being fun, or one of us gets hurt, or we don’t believe in it, we won’t do it any more, because it’s quite dangerous.

What advice would you give to someone thinking of taking it up? A good level in trampoline is a good thing, even though I haven’t done it for years now because it’s really hard. The partners you work with are really important, because that’s how you could get hurt. You can learn on Russian bar quite fast but the relationship of trust afterwards becomes a bit complicated. You do the trick once and that’s great, but you have to keep doing it. We stopped for a while after Cirque de Demain because we had so many things to do but I needed to take myself in hand and say, ‘OK, let’s go; we’re doing it again’. For myself, I would not do it at all, but because we have this trio energy, we have to do it. It’s easier as well because we go through it together and have fun, and then we can travel so much with the Russian bar, because it’s such a rare discipline. If I’d only done aerial hoop, I would probably have done some flying thing but the Russian bar is special enough to make you a bit privileged with the contracts you have. So, that’s quite fun.

How wide is the bar and does it hurt your feet when you land? It’s maybe 15cm, but your body knows at some point… and the guys are so precise. That’s why it’s so important to choose your bases carefully. We pad it with a little bit of camping mat. Tristan is our Russian-bar maker, so he takes care of it.

You’ve brought some innovative moves to the discipline; how did that come about? We were watching other Russian bar acts when we started to make our acts, thinking: “Oh, we don’t like it when she has the moments of preparation; it’s too much, too long, too stiff and it’s only about the trick.” Also Eric and Tristan can handle being alone onstage; they don’t need the bar. Often the Russian bar porters only do Russian bar, so when we made one of our first acts the goal was, ‘What can we do that is not Russian bar-like?’. I think the act we did at Cirque de Demain was, ‘What can do that we’d like to see on Russian bar?’.  

So that was maybe the difference. And the fact that I’m not a crazy acrobat. I’m more like a mover in general; we use that. Especially when we were with The 7 Fingers, Shana Carroll was the instigator of the way I moved on the bar because before we did their show Sequence 8, we had never done a real Russian bar act; it was our minor discipline. I remember she put the music on and said: “Let yourself go.” We were working on that base of movement and then transferred it to the bar. It was really natural. It’s a strange movement that it gives you and I’m lucky to have boys who are good enough to catch me during that strange bit.

It’s almost like a rag doll; it’s lovely. I love your costumes as well. Who designed them? Camille Thibaud. We met her through The 7 Fingers. She really helped us a lot with the style. We didn’t really know what we wanted because we were creating the act at the same time. She was very open and at some point I realised that we needed movement in the costumes. I wanted something that flowed, but it was super challenging for a costume maker because there are so many technical requirements in making a Russian-bar costume that isn’t going to be dangerous. We worked with her last summer. I wanted rich fabrics, so it’s all silk, pure cotton or linen. She really understood what I was looking for, but you can’t just take linen and bend you legs so much, or take silk that will have to stretch, so she made it look like it’s good fabric but there are also stretchy parts that she made invisible. The costumes are really intelligently made. Camille Thibaud is a name to remember, I think.

What can you tell us about Sweat and Ink? Basically it has all the disciplines we do: aerial hoop, Russian bar, cigar-box juggling, hand to hand, and Eve is also a specialist in small teeterboard, when you land in columns and hand-to-hand positions. So the three of us are learning that right now. It’s quite fun for the four of us to do something acrobatically, and I catch in a three high; like, I’m a porter also [laughs]. It’s really good.

How long have you been working on the show? We started to work seriously on it last summer. We did a show together and it was really for Eve and Tristan to make sure they wanted to keep working together because their association was rather new. They didn’t want to rush anything so we did a summer contract to see, if they both liked it, then we’d do a quartet and make a show. But we were talking about it before that. Eve just arrived in Montreal in April last year and we pitched her the idea. Basically we wanted to talk about books, we wanted to talk about writing and that led to the topic of memory and oblivion. There were some readings I’d done that were addressing the questions, ‘What’s the duty of memory and what right do we have to forget things?’. It touched me a lot so I told the idea to the others and it brought up a lot of conversation, so we decided it could be a starting point of the creation.

It has been quite long and, I don’t want to say painful, but we’re not administrators; we want to be onstage, so for us it’s harder. Also we were preparing for Cirque de Demain. And in Canada if you’re not working, there’s no intermittance, you’re just spending money, so you need to work whenever you have free time. But I like that life. It’s quite hectic and crazy but that’s how it is right now… and we travel a lot so it’s really exciting.

You were very successful in Paris, did it bring you lots of opportunities? Yes, so many emails. Oh, my god! The goal in going to Paris was to have something that the four of us had done together. And because it went well for all of us at the same time, that has helped us a lot. With all the press we got we can ask for visas, that’s really helpful and so is having established something with the four of us, because we’d only done corpos or the show last summer with The 7 Fingers.

It wasn’t that stressful in the end and it was a small victory because I was always thinking, ‘If I go to a festival and do the Russian bar, I’m gonna do something wrong, for sure’. So most important was that we didn’t hurt ourselves. We were more stressed than usual so the first performance was a bit shaky. Russian bar needs to be super settled down and calm, so for me that was my medal. We did it and technically I was good. My coach, André St-Jean, was there too, and he’s somebody very important in our lives, so to see him happy was really nice. He’s the master of acrobatics in Montreal and teaches all the guys from teeterboard.

Can you pick out a few highlights from your career so far? The first time I left Montreal by myself and I went to do a circus festival, SOLyCirco in Germany, in 2011. I was doing my hoop act. There was a bunch of friends and it was all new for us. There were some well-known names taking part and I was like, ‘This is so awesome’. Finally I won the gold medal. There’s a picture of me when they said my name and I’m like… I still don’t realise it. I won because there was a storm at the same time as I was doing my act.

The act was about the Sisyphus myth. The music was by the Kronos Quartet and the composer was Peter Sculthorpe; it was super-contemporary. We’d felt the storm coming the whole day, the energy of the sky was super low and it was warm and had this windy thing. I started my act and the storm starts, but for real. The tent was shaking and the wind was everywhere, people had the shivers and I was just doing my act in the middle like a crazy horse; the movement was inspired a lot by horses. So, I was performing but honestly I had special effects doing my act. [Laughs] That was a great moment. I remember before I started I was, like, ‘Oh, my god, I’ve forgotten the act, I’ve forgotten the act’. [Laughs] It’s one of the best moments onstage I’ve had. It’s such a shame that festival doesn’t exist any more.

Afterwards I did Russian bar with Eric and Tristan at Flic Flac Circus, and that was also a great highlight because we had to do everything ourselves. It was traditional circus; nobody’s gonna check to see if I’ve rigged my hoop well, nobody’s gonna tell you: “Stand by.” There’s a clock so you should be on time. We learned a lot over there and that’s where we met the guys from XY. But whenever I work with friends it’s the best. After we did Sequence 8 with our best friends for three years – that was just a blast – we keep choosing projects on whatever they bring us artistically and who’s in the cast.

Alex appears in Barcode’s first full-length production, Sweat and Ink (De Sueur et d’Encre), which headlines at Hand to Hand: A FringeArts Circus Festival in Philadelphia, USA. The show runs from 31 May – 2 June 2018.

Picture credits: Caroline Dostie; Meredith Mullins; Sebastien Lozé

Barcode’s website and Facebook

Twitter: @FringeArts

Follow @TheWidowStanton on Twitter

Read our interviews with Barcode’s Eric Bates, when he was guesting with Silver Lining in 2015, and another Russian bar flyer, Tain Molendijk, when she was with15ft6 the same year.