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Harald Fairhair

Harald Fairhair (Old Norse: Haraldr Hárfagri) (c. 850 – c. 932) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from c. 872 to 930 and was the first King of Norway. Supposedly, two of his sons, Eric Bloodaxe and Haakon the Good, succeeded Harald to become kings after his death.

Much of Harald's biography is uncertain. A couple of praise poems by his court poet Þorbjörn Hornklofi survive in fragments, but the extant accounts of his life come from sagas set down in writing around three centuries after his lifetime. His life is described in several of the Kings' sagas, none of them older than the twelfth century. Their accounts of Harald and his life differ on many points, but it is clear that in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries Harald was regarded as having unified Norway into one kingdom.

Since the nineteenth century, when Norway was in a personal union with Sweden, Harald has become a national icon of Norway and a symbol of independence. Though the king's sagas and medieval accounts have been critically scrutinised during the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, Harald maintains a reputation as the father of the Norwegian nation. At the turn of the 21st century, a few historians have tried to argue that Harald Fairhair did not exist as a historical figure.

Meaning of epithet hárfagri
Old Norse hár translates straightforwardly into English as 'hair', but fagr, the adjective of which fagri is a form, is trickier to render, since it means 'fair, fine, beautiful' (but without the moral associations of English fair, as opposed to unfair). Although it is convenient and conventional to render hárfagri in English as 'fair-hair(ed)', in English 'fair-haired' means 'blond', whereas the Old Norse fairly clearly means 'beautiful-haired' (in contrast to the epithet which, according to some sources, Haraldr previously bore: lúfa, '(thick) matted hair'). Accordingly, some translators prefer to render hárfagri as 'the fine-haired' or 'fine-hair' (which, however, unhelpfully implies that Haraldr's hair was thinning) or even 'handsome-hair'.

Historicity
Through the nineteenth and most of the twentieth centuries, historians broadly accepted the account of Harald Fairhair given by later Icelandic sagas. However, Peter Sawyer began to cast doubt on this in 1976, and the decades around 2000 saw a wave of revisionist research that suggested that Harald Fairhair did not exist, or at least not in a way resembling his appearance in sagas. The key arguments for this are as follows:
 * There is no contemporary support for the claims of later sagas about Harald Fairhair. The first king of Norway recorded in near-contemporary sources is Harald Bluetooth (d. c. 985/986), who is claimed to be the king not only of Denmark but also Norway on the Jelling stones. The late ninth-century account of Norway provided by Ohthere to the court of Alfred the Great (about 890) and the history by Adam of Bremen written in 1075 record no King of Norway for the relevant period. Although sagas have Erik Bloodaxe, who does seem partly to correspond to a historical figure, as the son of Harald Fairhair, no independent evidence supports this genealogical connection. The twelfth-century William of Malmesbury does describe a Norwegian king called Haraldus visiting King Æthelstan of England (d. 939), which is consistent with later saga-traditions in which Harald Fairhair fostered a son, Hákon Aðalsteinsfóstri, on Æthelstan. But William is a late source and Harald a far from uncommon name for a Scandinavian character, and William does not give this Harald the epithet fairhair, whereas he does give that epithet to the later Norwegian king Haraldr Sigurðarson.
 * Although Harald Fairhair appears in diverse Icelandic sagas, few if any of these are independent sources. It is plausible that all these were participating in a shared textual tradition begun by the earliest Icelandic prose account of Harald, Ari Þorgilsson's Íslendingabók. Dating from the early twelfth century, this was written over 250 years after Harald's supposed death.
 * The saga evidence is potentially pre-dated by two skaldic poems, Haraldskvæði (also known as Hrafnsmál) and Glymdrápa, which have been attributed to Þorbjörn hornklofi or alternatively (in the case of the first poem) to Þjóðólfr of Hvinir, and are according to the sagas about Harald Fairhair. Although only preserved in thirteenth-century Kings' sagas, they might have been transmitted orally (as the sagas claim) from the tenth century. The first describes life at the court of a king called Harald, mentions that he took a Danish wife, and that he won a battle at Hafrsfjord. The second poem relates a series of battles won by a king called Harald. However, the information supplied in these poems is inconsistent with the tales in the sagas in which they are transmitted, and the sagas themselves often disagree on the details of his background and biography. Meanwhile, the most reliable manuscripts of Haraldskvæði call the poem's honorand Haraldr Hálfdanarson rather than Haraldr hárfagri, and Glymdrápa offers no epithet at all. All the poems suggest is that there was once a king called Haraldr (Hálfdanarson).
 * Sources from the British Isles which are independent of the Icelandic saga-tradition (and partly of each other), and are mostly earlier than the sagas, do attest to a king whose name corresponds to the Old Norse name Haraldr inn hárfagri—but they use this name of the well attested Haraldr Sigurðarson (d. 1066, often known in modern English as Harald Hardrada). These sources include manuscript D of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle ('Harold Harfagera', under the year 1066) and the related histories by Orderic Vitalis ('Harafagh', re events in 1066), John of Worcester ('Harvagra', s.aa. 1066 and 1098), and William of Malmesbury (Gesta regum Anglorum, 'Harvagre', s.a. regarding 1066); Marianus Scotus of Mainz ('Arbach', d. 1082/1083); and the Life of Gruffydd ap Cynan ('Haraldum Harfagyr', later twelfth century, though this may refer to two different kings by this name).

Scholarly consensus on Harald's historicity now falls into two camps. One suggests that the medieval Icelandic and Norwegian historiography of Harald Fairhair is part of an origin myth created to explain the settlement of Iceland, perhaps in which a cognomen of Haraldr Sigurðarson was transferred to a fictitious early king of all Norway. Sverrir Jakobsson has suggested that the idea of Iceland being settled by people fleeing an overbearing Norwegian monarch actually reflects the anxieties of Iceland in the early thirteenth century, when the island was indeed coming under Norwegian dominance. He has also suggested that the legend of Harald Fairhair developed in the twelfth century to enable Norwegian kings, who were then promoting the idea of primogeniture over the older custom of agnatic succession, to claim that their ancestors had had a right to Norway by lineal descent from the country's supposed first king.

One possibility advanced is that Harald Fairhair was based on a historical king called Harald, perhaps also known as "hárfagri", who ruled Vestlandet. The legend of this Harald later grew into the figure of medieval tradition. Historians who accept the early dating of skaldic poetry such as Claus Krag and Hans Jacob Orning tend to accept Harald's existence, while remaining skeptical regarding the saga accounts. In 2015, Hans Jacob Orning, building on then-recent archaeology and Krag's work, argued that Harald was based in Sogn, an area which the medieval Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson associated with Harald, and which was a centre of power in the ninth century. In the skaldic poetry (which is generally considered authentic ninth-century work by linguists) the estates mentioned match a convenient network of estates with about a day's traveling distance between them, which would be ideal for a king ruling in Vestlandet, but not all of Norway. This reading could be consistent with the Historia Norwegiæ 's account. While it is possible that Harald could have controlled other areas through jarls and client kings, this is difficult to prove with available archeology. Krag has noted that Snorri's account of Harald's origin in Vestfold might have been propaganda as the area of Viken was disputed between the Norwegian and Danish crown in the thirteenth century. Krag points of that Othere describes Viken as Danish territory and Hrafnsmál's description of the battle of Hafrsfjord suggest that Harald was attacked by "eastern" enemies that were routed and fled back east. He proposes that the battle was not part of a war of conquest but Harald defending his own territory from invaders. This idea offers a very different reading of the poem where its references to the dróttin Norðmanna (lord of the northmen) might have originally meant referred to the leader of the Norwegians in the battle, but later recontextualised as the lord of all Norwegians.

Attestations
Harald is mentioned in several sagas, some which quotes supposedly older skaldic poetry. If the linguistic dating of the poems are correct, they represent the earliest accounts of Harald Fairhair.

Hrafnsmál
Hrafnsmál, also known as Haraldskvæði, is a fragmentary skaldic poem generally accepted as being written by the 9th-century skald Þorbjörn Hornklofi. There does not exist a complete copy of the poem, and modern editions of the poem are based on the compilation of the segments. Through dating of the parts as well as the meter is consistent, they may be separate compositions but scholarly consensus is indecisive. Part of the poem is cited by Snorri in Heimskringla as a source for his narrative of the Battle of Hafrsfjord, while another is cited in Fagrskinna as information about Harald. Both credits Hornklofi as the composer.

Hrafnsmál largely consists of a conversation between an unnamed valkyrie and a raven; the two discuss the life and martial deeds of Harald Fairhair. The poem describes Harald as an Yngling, but does not use his famous nickname hárfagri (fairhair), but uses his widely cited previous nickname Lufa. The bulk of the poem seems to describe the Battle of Hafrsfjord, were Harald faced off against Kjotve the Rich and Hakláng. The poem mentions Ragnhild, who in Heimskringla is presented as Harald's queen and mother of Eirik Bloodaxe, as well as the following of ulfheðnar warriors that the saga tradition ascribes to Harald.

Glymdrápa
Like Hrafnsmál, Glymdrápa is a praise poem attributed to Þorbjörn Hornklofi about various battles won by Harald. It is dated to the late 9th century, but an exact dating is difficult and due to its fragmentary presentation it may be a compilation of unrelated stanzas. Unlike Hrafnsmál its relation to Harald and the events it supposedly relates to in Heimskringla is ambiguous.

Sendibitr
Sendibitr, the last and shortest poem Snorri quotes is attributed to Jórunn skáldmær (Jorunn the skaldmaiden), one of few female poets mentioned in the sagas. It deals with a conflict between Harald and his son Halfdan, identified in Heimskringla as Halfdan the Black (the Younger), Harald's son by Åsa Håkonsdottir. Finnur Jónsson dates this poem to the late 10th century. If the dating is correct, it is the first instance of Harald having the epithet "fairhair" (hárfagra in the text). However, consensus is that the exact dating is uncertain. It has been suggested that the poem refers to past events, which would mean the poet lived in a later time than the events described in the poem. Linguistic dating of the poem has not been successful.

Íslendingabók
The earliest narrative source which mentions Harald, the twelfth-century Íslendingabók, notes that Iceland was settled during his lifetime. Harald is thus depicted as the prime cause of the Norse settlement of Iceland and beyond. Iceland was settled by "malcontents" from Norway, who resented Harald's claim of rights of taxation over lands, which the possessors appear to have previously held in absolute ownership. It is the earliest non-skaldic account of Harald to use the nickname hárfagri.

Skarðsárbók
The Skarðsárbók-version of Landnámabók includes a brief narrative of Harald and his background. Harald is here described as the great-grandson of Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye through his daughter Áslaug, her son Sigurd Hart and his daughter Ragnhild. The text describes Halfdan the Black's death by going through the ice on Randsfjorden, a story also told by Snorri in Heimskringla, and that Harald became king afterwards. He is said to have taken control of Sogn from Atli jarl due to him never paying taxes. This happened before Harald's conquest of Norway.

Ágrip af Nóregskonungasögum
Ágrip af Nóregskonungasögum is dated to about 1190. Here Harald is described as having become the first king of all of Norway at the age of 20. It describes a battle in Hafrsvágr (as opposed of Hafrifjord) against a king called Skeithar-Brandr (Skeiðar-Brandr). The text quotes a poem called "Oddmjór" which describes Harald as a Scylding were as other sources calls him an Yngling. He is described to as having waged wars for 10 years before having conquered all of Norway. He is said to have had 20 children, but that only Eirik Bloodaxe & Hakon the Good becoming kings. In this account, Eirik is described as Harald's eldest son and Hakon as the youngest. Only one of Harald's wives/concubines is named, Snjófríthr, daughter of Svási (Norwegian: Svåse), a beautiful sami-woman. She is described as having died three years after their marriage with Harald mourning for her, but the people mourning for him, considering him bewitched. Eirik is said to have succeeded Harald, ruling for five years, with two as a co-ruler with his father. Hákon eventually supplanted the cruel and oppressive rule of Eirik and his wife Gunnhildr. Hákon is said to be a Christian, but swayed from Christianity due to his unnamed pagan wife and his will to please his people.

Historia Norwegiæ
Historia Norwegiæ, which is dated to about 1220, mentions that Iceland was discovered in the time of Harald Fairhair by Ingólfr Arnarson and Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson. The work describes the history of the Yngling-dynasty from the legendary king Ingvi as Harald's ancestors and Halfdan the Black was his father. Halfdan is here described as ruling a mountainous region of Norway and having drowned in Rondvatnet. Harald's rule is said to have lasted for 73 years and his nickname derived from his beautiful hair. Notably, Harald is here described as being the first to rule the entire coastal region of Norway, as opposed to all of Norway. The interior is described to as having been ruled by petty kings, however, it is said that Harald as good as ruled this region as well.

This account describes Eirik Bloodaxe as the oldest son of Harald, unlike in Heimskringla. Hákon is not referred to as "the good" and is Harald's second son, not his youngest. This account of Hákon suggest that he did not accept Christianity. Like the later Heimskringla, Ragnvald Rettilbeine is described as killed on Harald's orders. In Heimskringla he is burned alive by Eirik Bloodaxe, while Historia Norwegiæ describes Ragnvald as being drowned.

Fagrskinna
Fagrskinna is thought to have been written around 1220 and is a catalogue of the kings of Norway. The first part describes Harald Fairhair's birth ancestry in form of his paternal grandfather Gudrød the Hunter and maternal grandfather Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, and his parents Halfdan the Black and Ragnhildr. The text also describes Halfdan having another son called Harald by another woman named Ragnhildr, daughter of the king Harald Goldbeard of Sogn. Halfdan's first Harald inherited Sogn after the death of Harald Goldbeard, and then died himself. Halfdan then inherited Sogn from his first son. The story is repeated by Snorri in Heimskringla and suggests two conflicting stories of Harald's ancestry being combined into one. Harald Fairhair is said to have inherited Halfdan's lands at a young age after the king drowned in the lake Rǫnd in Rykinsvik. The text then sites the poem Hrafnsmál at length as an example of Harald's nobility and prowess in battle. Harald appointed Atli the Slender as jarl of Fjaler, but that the two fell out. In this time Harald meet jarl Håkon Grjotgardsson (called Hákon the Old in the text) at a feast in Hladir (Lade) in Trondheim and gave him part of Atli's fief. Atli defended his old area with violence and both of the jarls were killed. Harald proclaimed he would not cut his hair until having become overlord of Norway and earning tribute from every inland valley and outlying headland, earning him the nickname "Lufa", shockhead. Harald said to have fought many battles, including a decisive battle in Hafrfjord against Kjotve the Rich and Haklang. After this battle, all of Norway is said to paid tribute to Harald. Ragnvald jarl then cut Harald's hair and gave him the nickname Fairhair.

The text then described Harald's various sons, describing Eirik Bloodaxe as his most beloved and one of his oldest. Harald named Eirik his heir and died in Rogaland from old age and was buried in Haugesund.

Heimskringla
In the Saga of Harald Fairhair in Heimskringla (written around 1230), which is the most elaborate although not the oldest or most reliable source to the life of Harald, it is written that Harald succeeded, on the death of his father Halfdan the Black Gudrödarson in Rondvatnet, to the sovereignty of several small, and somewhat scattered kingdoms in Vestfold, which had come into his father's hands through conquest and inheritance. His protector-regent was his mother's brother Guthorm. He is described as the descendant of the Yngling-dynasty, whose history is described earlier in the work.

The unification of Norway is something of a love story. It begins with a marriage proposal that resulted in rejection and scorn from Gyda, the daughter of Eirik, king of Hordaland. She said she refused to marry Harald "before he was king over all of Norway". Harald was therefore induced to take a vow not to cut nor comb his hair until he was "þjóðkonungr" (people-king) of Norway, and when he was justified in trimming it ten years later, he exchanged the epithet "Shockhead" or "Tanglehair" (Haraldr lúfa) for the one by which he is usually known.

In 866, Harald made the first of a series of conquests over the many petty kingdoms which would compose all of Norway, including Värmland in Sweden, which had sworn allegiance to the Swedish saga-king Erik Eymundsson (whose historicity is not confirmed). Marching up through the Uplands and into Trondheim and then south along the coast Harald subdued many petty kings. Snorri credits his success to excellent leadership by him and his uncle Guthorm, as well as military reforms and his hard tax policy. The taxes demanded by Harald were much higher than other kings and a third of the revenues where given to his jarls. This made jarls and rich farmers flock to his cause to enrich themself. One of these was Håkon Grjotgardsson of Trondheim who allied with Harald and married off his daughter Åsa to him. Harald established the royal estate of Hlade in Trondheim and Håkon became the first of the Earls of Lade, a family which would be one of the dominating forces in Norway for the next 150 years. Harald's third principal ally was Rognvald Eysteinsson, jarl of Møre. Snorri describes Rognvald as Harald's closest friend and the one to coin the name "Fairhair". Harald is said to have fathered Bjørn Farmann and Olav Geirstadalv with Rognvald's sister Svanhild, ancestors of the famous Christian kings Olav Tryggvason (named after his grandfather Olav Geirstadalv) and Olav the Holy.

In 872, after a great victory at Hafrsfjord near Stavanger against Kjotve the Rich, Harald found himself king over the whole country, ruling from his Kongsgård seats at Avaldsnes and Alrekstad. His realm was, however, threatened by dangers from without, as large numbers of his opponents had taken refuge, not only in Iceland, then recently discovered; but also in the Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands, Hebrides Islands, Faroe Islands and the northern European mainland. However, his opponents' leaving was not entirely voluntary. Many Norwegian chieftains who were wealthy and respected posed a threat to Harald; therefore, they were subjected to much harassment from Harald, prompting them to vacate the land. At last, Harald was forced to make an expedition to the West, to clear the islands and the Scottish mainland of some Vikings who tried to hide there.

Snorri describes Harald's marriage to the daughter of Svási, here called Snæfrithr, but in his account they are described as jötnar rather than finns (sami). Gyda is said to have been made a friðla (concubine) of Harald after her father Eirik of Hordaland had been killed in battle by Harald's followers. Harald is said to have divorced Åsa and rejected Gyda and several other concubines to marry a Jutish princess called Ragnhild the Mighty. The couple only had one child, Eirik Bloodaxe, before her premature death. Eirik Bloodaxe was named after Ragnhild's father as was custom in medieval Scandinavia. Likely due to Eirik Bloodaxe royal mother, he was favored above Harald's other sons. Eirik himself had an unquestioning, near psychopathic loyalty to Harald. Unlike other authors, Snorri does not attribute Eirik's cruelty solely to Gunnhild. When Harald and Snæfrith's son Ragnvald Rettilbeine became known as patron of sorcerers and a practitioner of magic, Harald ordered him to cease such activity. When Ragnvald did not listen Harald sent Eirik Bloodaxe to murder him. Eirik had his half-brother and all of his sorcerers burned in their hall. When Bjørn Farmann was killed in a conflict with Eirik, Harald stepped in on Eirik's side against his other sons.

There are several accounts of large feasting mead halls constructed for important feasts when Scandinavian royalty was invited. The Värmlandish chieftain Áki (Swedish Åke jarl) invited both king Harald Fairhair and the Swedish saga-king Erik Eymundsson, but had the Norwegian king stay in the newly constructed and sumptuous one, because he was the youngest one of the kings and the one who had the greatest prospects. The older Swedish king, on the other hand, had to stay in the old feasting hall. The Swedish king was so humiliated that he killed Áki. Harald drove Erik Eymundsson out of Värmland and inserted Áki's son Ubbi (Swedish: Ubbe) as jarl. Harald is then said to have made a punitive raid into Västra Götaland, to weaken Erik Eymundsson.

As Harald's sons came of age their unruly behavior became a source of instability in Norway. Snæfrith's sons Halfdan Long-Leg and Gudrød Ljome burned Rognvald jarl alive in his hall and took his lands in More and Orkney. Halfdan Long-Legs was killed on Orkney by Rognvald's son Torf-Einarr and Gudrød was brought to justice by Harald. The estates in Møre are returned to Rognvald's other son Thorir the Silent who was given Harald's daughter Ålov in marriage as compensation. A variation of this story also appears in Orkneyinga saga. Afterwards, Gudrød was kept in Harald's hird, in a position where Harald could prevent him from similar transgressions.

The account describes Hákon the good as Harald's youngest son, through a servant named Thora.

Egil's Saga
The thirteenth-century Egil's Saga presents a broadly similar account to that of Heimskringla, though its depiction of Harald and his family is much more negative. It has been suggested that Heimskringla and Egil's Saga share Snorri Sturluson as author, or at least share a common source. Given the difference in attitude to the royal family and information regarding Erik Bloodaxe's family, the latter seems more likely. Through the name Harald Fairhair appears, he is mostly irreverently referred to as Haraldr lúfa. Chapter 3 and 4 tells of Harald's conquest of Norway. It repeats Snorri's story of Harald's vow not to cut his hair until he had become king of all of Norway, but no mention is made of Gyda. Harald is said to have first conquered the Uplands and then taken Trondheim and become overlord over the thronds. This accounts differs from Heimskringla where it is said that Harald made a marriage alliance with Håkon Grjotgardsson which won him Trøndelag after they together defeated the petty kings there. The saga then relates the story of the brothers Herlaug and Hrollaug, kings of Namdalen. When Herlaug heard Harald was coming he committed suicide by closing himself into a mound with 12 men. Hrollaug renounced his kingship and took the title of jarl instead. Harald accepted Hrollaug's surrender and allowed him to rule Namdalen in his name. This story is also present in Heimskringla. After this, Namdalen and Hålogaland were in his grasp. The saga then related how Harald did battle with the combined forces of kings Audbjörn of Firðafylki, Solvi Bandy-legs of Møre og Romsdal and Arnvid of Sunnmøre. They were all defeated in battle by Harald, with only Solvi escaping with his life to live the rest of his life as a roving Viking. The remaining independent rulers of Norway were then crushed by Harald's allies or opportunists that attacked their neighbors and then submitted to Harald like Hrollaug had done. The saga tells how people of Norway were then put under heavy taxes and oppression by Harald. Anyone suspected of wanting to rise in rebellion were given the option of fleeing the country, submitting himself as a tenant or having hands and feet cut off. According to the saga author, most who were given this option chose to flee. Harald is supposed to have confiscated massive amounts of private property and made many previously free farmers his thralls. Four sons of Harald are mentioned in the saga: Eirikr Bloodaxe (one of the saga's major antagonists), Hákon Aðalsteinsfóstri (otherwise called the Good), Olaf and Sigurðr (whose name is otherwise usually rendered as Sigröðr). The saga renders Harald's title as einváldskonungr (absolute king).

Grettis saga
Not unlike Egil's Saga, Harald's conquest of Norway sets off the plot of Grettis saga. Gretti's great-grandfather Önundr Wood-foot is said to be one of many people that fled Norway after fighting for king Kjotvi the Rich and Thorir Haklang in the battle of Hafrsfjord. The saga describes how Harald and his elite Úlfhèðnar warriors (famously mentioned in Hrafnsmál) fought and killed Thorir Haklang when he went berserk. Önundr got his name after his leg was crushed beneath the knee by the prow of one of the king's ships and he had to walk on a wooden pegleg for the rest of his life.

Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok
The 13th century Ragnars saga loðbrókar ok sona hans (Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons) mentions Harald Fairhair in chapter 18 as the great-great-grandson of Sigurd Hart through his daughter Aslaug, her son Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye and his daughter Ragnhild.

Ragnarssona þáttr
Harald's maternal ancestry is elaborated upon in the final chapter of the 14th century Ragnarssona þáttr. Harald's mother is said to have been Ragnhild Sigurdsdotter, who according to the saga was the great-granddaughter of Sigurd through her mother Inibjorg and he grandmother Aslaug. This story is the same as in Snorri's earlier Hálfdanar saga svarta in Heimskringla, but contradicts Fagrskinna. Both Hálfdanar saga svarta and Ragnarssona þáttr have issues with the traditional dating of the saga events. The marriage of Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye and Blaeja could not have occurred earlier than 867, which would put the dating Harald's ascension to kingship of Norway in 872 into question. Fagrskinna makes no mention of Blaeja and states that Ragnhild Sigurdsdotter was Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye's daughter and not his great-granddaughter, which seems more plausible in regards to the dating of events.

Flóamanna saga
Flóamanna saga is traditionally thought of as a 14th-century work and repeats the story of Harald Fairhair's ancestry as told in Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok, and elaborates back to Sigurd Fafnisbani and Odin through Aslaug. In old Norse society, the ancestry of both parents was considered of imperance for the status of a person. The saga relates the conflict between Atli the Slender and Håkon Grjotgardsson and their deaths. Håkon's son Sigurd Haakonsson advised Harald to kill Atli's son Hallstein which lead to Hallstein's exile in Iceland.

Vatnsdæla saga
In Vatnsdæla saga Harald's conquest of Norway is described. The saga's initial protagonist Ingimundr recognises that Harald will prevail at Hafrfjord and arranges a meeting with Harald, Ragnvald Mörejarl and their ulfhednar-warriors. Ingimundr offers his loyalty to Harald which Harald graciously accepts, but Ingimundr is suspicious of the king and he and his friend Sæmundr emigrate to Iceland. Harald wins an extrodinary victory at Hafrfjord and makes Ragnvald a jarl.

Orkneyinga saga
The Orkneyinga saga likely dates to in the early thirteenth century and belongs to belongs to the genre of "Kings’ Sagas" within Icelandic saga literature, a group of histories of the kings of Norway. It describes in more detail the expedition of Harald Fairhair and Rognvald Mørejarl on an expedition to clear the islands of the Viking refugees of from Harald's conquest of Norway that raided the coast. During the expedition Rognvald's son Ivar was killed so Harald gave governorship of the islands to him. Rognvald wanted to stay in his home in Møre so he passed the jarlship of the Islands to his brother Sigurd. The saga is informed by the Norwegian politics of the day. Once, historians could write that no-one denied the reality of Harald Fairhair's expeditions to the west (recounted in detail in the Heimskringla), but this is no longer the case. Thomson (2008) writes that Harald's "great voyage is so thoroughly ingrained in popular and scholarly history, both ancient and modern, that it comes as a bit of a shock to realise that it might not be true." The Norwegian contest with the Kings of Scots over the Hebrides and the Isle of Man in the mid 13th century is the backdrop to the saga writer's intentions and in part at least the sagas aim to legitimise Norwegian claims to both the Northern Isles and the Kingdom of the Isles in the west.

Flateyjarbók
The fourteenth-century Flateyjarbók features a Þáttr called Haralds þáttr hárfagra, literary "Harald Fairhair's Þáttr". The first chapter describes Harald's ascension to the throne at the age of sixteen, in contrast to other accounts which gives the age of ten. He is here given the otherwise unknown nickname "Dofrafostri" (Dovre-fostered). Harald's maternal uncle Guthormr is described as his duke and most important ally. Harald's war with Gandalf Alfgeirsson and his neighboring kings is described as in Heimskringla, through in less detail. Following this Harald's marriage to Gyda is described and his conquest of Norway. Unlike Heimskringla, Flateyjarbók clearly states that the two were married. Harald's further marriages are described as is his rejections of them and his various concubines in favor of Ragnhild the Mighty. The Þáttr concludes with a description of the fates of Harald's various sons, including Thorgils' and Frodi's career as "west-vikings".

Later life
According to the saga sources, the latter part of Harald's reign was disturbed by the strife of his many sons. The number of sons he left varies in the different saga accounts, from 11 to 20. Twelve of his sons are named as kings, two of them ruled over the whole of Norway. He gave them all the royal title and assigned lands to them, which they were to govern as his representatives; but this arrangement did not put an end to the discord, which continued into the next reign. When he grew old, Harald handed over the supreme power to his favourite son Eirik Bloodaxe, whom he intended to be his successor. Eirik I ruled side by side with his father when Harald was 80 years old. In the Gray Goose Laws, a person above the age of 80 was not allowed to make financial decisions or decisions about inheritance. This co-rulership likely reflected similar laws and would also been way for Harald to force his intended succession. Harald died three years later due to old age in approximately 933.

Harald Harfager was commonly stated to have been buried under a mound at Haugar by the Strait of Karmsund near the church in Haugesund, an area that later would be named the town and municipal Haugesund. The area near Karmsund was the traditional burial site for several early Norwegian rulers. The national monument of Haraldshaugen was raised in 1872, to commemorate the Battle of Hafrsfjord which is traditionally dated to 872.

Issue
While the various sagas name anywhere from 11 to 20 sons of Harald in various contexts, the contemporary skaldic poem Hákonarmál says that Harald's son Håkon would meet only "eight brothers" when arriving in Valhalla, a place for slain warriors, kings, and Germanic heroes. Only the following five names of sons can be confirmed from skaldic poems (with saga claims in parentheses), while the full number of sons remains unknown:
 * Eric Bloodaxe (by Ragnhild Eiriksdotter from Jutland, Denmark)
 * Håkon the Good (by Tora Mosterstong from Moster, Sunnhordland, Norway)
 * Ragnvald
 * Bjørn (Bjørn Farmann?)
 * Halvdan, possibly two by that name

According to Heimskringla
The full list of sons (and partial list of daughters) according to Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla:

Children with Åsa, daughter of Håkon Grjotgardssson, Jarl av Lade:
 * Guttorm Haraldsson, king of Rånrike
 * Halvdan Kvite (Haraldsson), king of Trondheim
 * Halvdan Svarte Haraldsson, king of Trondheim
 * Sigrød Haraldsson, king of Trondheim

Children with Gyda Eiriksdottir:
 * Ålov Årbot Haraldsdotter (Rogaland, 875 - Giske, Møre og Romsdal, 935), married Þórir Teiande, "Thore/Tore den Tause" ("the Silent") Ragnvaldsson (c. 862 - Giske, Møre og Romsdal, a. 935), Jarl av Møre, and had issue
 * Rørek Haraldsson
 * Sigtrygg Haraldsson
 * Frode Haraldsson
 * Torgils Haraldsson – identified as "Thorgest" in the (dates not correct) Irish history

Children with Svanhild, daughter of Øystein Jarl:
 * Bjørn Farmann Haraldssøon, king of Vestfold and reputed great-grandfather of Norwegian king Olaf II.
 * Olaf Haraldsson Geirstadalf, king of Vingulmark, later also Vestfold, and reputed father of Tryggve Olafsson, father of Norwegian king Olaf I.
 * Ragnar Rykkel Haraldsson

Children with Åshild, daughter of Ring Dagsson:
 * Ring Haraldsson
 * Dag Haraldsson
 * Gudrød Skirja Haraldsdotter
 * Ingegjerd Haraldsdotter

Children with Snæfrithr Svásadottir, daughter of Svåse the Finn:
 * Halfdan Halegg Haraldsson or "Long-Leg", was executed with the Blood eagle ritual by Torf-Einarr detailed in the Orkneyinga saga and Heimskringla
 * Gudröd the Radiant Haraldsson
 * Ragnvald Rettilbeine Haraldsson, murdered by Eirik Blodøks on Harald's orders
 * Sigurd Rise Haraldsson (great-grandfather to Harald Hardrada)

Other children:
 * Ingebjørg Haraldsdotter (Lade, Trondheim, c. 865 - 920), married Halvdan Jarl (c. 865 - 920), Finnmarksjarl, and had issue through an only daughter

In Norway
Harald Fairhair became an important figure in Norwegian nationalism in the nineteenth century, during its struggle for independence from Sweden, when he served as 'a heroic narrative character disseminating a foundation story of Norway becoming an independent nation'. In particular, a national monument to Harald was erected in 1872 on Haraldshaugen, an ancient burial mound at the town of Haugesund then imagined to be Harald Finehair's burial place, despite opposition from left-wing politicians. The German historian Jan Rüdiger concluded that: "His compelling narrative has survived scholarly scrutiny almost unscathed - or rather, professional historical knowledge based on a century of source criticism coexists with Snorri's unscathed narrative in the sense that in the 21st century both are 'true' in a completary, non-completive way. As unifier of the kingdom, Harald rests under a 'Viking' memorial site of burial mounds and memorial stones near his royal court at Avaldsnes in the Westland, precisely the region that first caught his attention in Gyda, and whose conquest at the Battle of Hafrsfjord has been regarded as the keystone in the unification of the realm ever since Snorri. Harald Fairhair will always be the first king of Norway."

The claim to Harald has become important to the development of the tourism industry of Haugesund and its region: "today, King Harald Fairhair is associated with several archaeological sites where modern monuments and theme parks (obelisks, towers, sculptures, ‘reconstructions’ of ancient houses/villages) are constructed and where various commemorative practices (jubilees, rallies, festivals) are being performed. The Viking hero Harald Fairhair has become part of a vital re-enactment culture, which is evident in, among other things, a memorial park in central Haugesund with the erection of a statue of Harald Fairhair ... the performance of a Harald musical ... the building of ‘the largest’ Viking ship in the world ... the establishment of a theme park based on the Viking concept, and a historic centre where the mythology of King Harald is disseminated ... The main initiators behind these commemorative projects in the Haugesund region today are, as it was in the 1870s, local commercial entrepreneurs who are nourished by local patriotism." In 2013, commercially led archaeological excavations at Avaldsnes began with the explicit intention of developing the local heritage industry in relation to the Harald Fairhair brand, provoking a prominent debate in Norway over the appropriate handling of archaeological heritage.

Elsewhere

 * Fairhair (Viking Kings of Norway #1) - A Viking historical fiction about the boy who set out to be the first king of Norway. Written by Ole Åsli and Tony Bakkejord (expected publication: 1 November 2022).
 * In the television show Vikings, a character broadly based on Harald (named Harald Finehair in the series) appears in seasons 4-6 (2016-2020) as one of the main protagonists and is portrayed by Finnish actor Peter Franzén.
 * In the 1984 film When the Raven Flies, the antagonist Vikings Thordur and Eirikur are refugees from Harald's conquest in Norway. Thordur is particularly paranoid about Harald's retainers following him to Iceland, which the protagonist Gestur uses against him.
 * The German power-metal band Rebellion has a song dedicated to Harald Fairhair, from the album Sagas of Iceland.
 * Leaves' Eyes, a symphonic metal band from Germany, wrote the album King of Kings about Harald and his conquests.
 * In the video games Crusader Kings II and Crusader Kings III, Harald Fairhair is a playable character during the 867 start date.
 * Harald Fairhair is mentioned in the manga series Vinland Saga as the tyrannical unifier of Norway.
 * Harald appears in Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, a video game by Ubisoft.
 * He's briefly mentioned in the 2014 film Northmen: A Viking Saga as the reason why the main characters are fleeing from Norway.
 * In the 2010 video-game expansion pack Mount and Blade: Warband's Viking Conquest expansion Harald (as Harald Halfdansson) appears as the faction leader of Northvegr (Norway).
 * In the 2022 film The Northman, Fjölnir said to have driven into exile by Harald of Norway. The film is set between in 895, making it a clear allusion to Harald Fairhair.

title: Harald Fairhair


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Lieutenant governor

A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-command", rather like deputy governor. In Canadian provinces and in the Dutch Caribbean, the lieutenant governor is the representative of the monarch in that jurisdiction, and thus outranks the head of government, but for practical purposes has virtually no power.

In India, lieutenant governors are in charge of union territories in that country.

In the United States, lieutenant governors are usually second-in-command to a state governor, and the actual power held by the lieutenant governor varies greatly from state to state. The lieutenant governor is often first in line of succession to the governorship, and acts as governor when the governor leaves the state or is unable to serve. Also, the lieutenant governor is often the president of the state senate.

In Argentina, lieutenant governors are called "vice governors" and are modeled after the U.S. lieutenant governors, since as their U.S. counterpart the vice governors are the second-in-command to a provincial governor, and are the first in the gubernatorial line of succession. Also, the vice governor usually acts as the president of the provincial senate (or the provincial legislature in unicameral provinces).

Lieutenant governors in the former British Empire

 * Australia – Lieutenant-Governor (Australia)
 * Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales
 * Lieutenant-Governor of Queensland
 * Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria
 * Canada – Lieutenant Governor (Canada)
 * Lieutenant Governor of Alberta
 * Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia
 * Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
 * Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick
 * Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador
 * Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia
 * Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
 * Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island
 * Lieutenant Governor of Quebec
 * Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan
 * British Crown Dependencies and other possessions
 * Guernsey – Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey
 * Isle of Man – Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man
 * Jersey – Lieutenant Governor of Jersey
 * Hong Kong (historical) – Lieutenant Governor of Hong Kong (1843–1902)
 * Indonesia (historical) – Lieutenant-Governor of Java (1811–1814)
 * India – lieutenant governors and administrators
 * List of current Indian lieutenant governors and administrators
 * List of lieutenant governors of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
 * List of lieutenant governors of Delhi
 * List of lieutenant governors of Jammu and Kashmir
 * List of lieutenant governors of Ladakh
 * List of lieutenant governors of Puducherry
 * New Zealand – The only person to have held the rank of Lieutenant Governor of New Zealand was Royal Navy Captain William Hobson from 1839 to 1841 when New Zealand colony was a dependency of the colony of New South Wales, governed at that time by Sir George Gipps. When New Zealand was designated a Crown colony in 1841, Hobson was raised to the rank of governor, which he held until his death the following year. Subsequently, in 1848 New Zealand was divided into three provinces: New Ulster, New Munster, and New Leinster, each with their own Lieutenant Governors.
 * Nigeria - known as Deputy Governor
 * U.S. states – Lieutenant governor (United States)
 * List of current United States lieutenant governors
 * Colonial government in the Thirteen Colonies

Lieutenant governors in the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Lieutenant governors (gezaghebber) of the former Dutch constituent country of Netherlands Antilles acted as head of the governing council of the island territories, which formed a level of decentral government until the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010. Currently the Netherlands has a lieutenant governor overseeing each of the three special municipalities in the Caribbean Netherlands – Saba, Bonaire, and Sint Eustatius – where their function is similar to a mayor in the European Netherlands.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Lieutenant governor


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Celtic knot

Celtic knots (snaidhm Cheilteach, cwlwm Celtaidd, kolm Keltek, snaidhm Ceilteach) are a variety of knots and stylized graphical representations of knots used for decoration, used extensively in the Celtic style of Insular art. These knots are most known for their adaptation for use in the ornamentation of Christian monuments and manuscripts, such as the 8th-century St. Teilo Gospels, the Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospels. Most are endless knots, and many are varieties of basket weave knots.

History
The use of interlace patterns had its origins in the late Roman Empire. Knot patterns first appeared in the third and fourth centuries AD and can be seen in Roman floor mosaics of that time. Interesting developments in the artistic use of interlaced knot patterns are found in Byzantine architecture and book illumination, Coptic art, Celtic art, Islamic art, Kievan Rus' book illumination, Ethiopian art, and European architecture and book illumination.

Spirals, step patterns, and key patterns are dominant motifs in Celtic art before the Christian influence on the Celts, which began around 450. These designs found their way into early Christian manuscripts and artwork with the addition of depictions from life, such as animals, plants and even humans. In the beginning, the patterns were intricate interwoven cords, called plaits, which can also be found in other areas of Europe, such as Italy, in the 6th century. A fragment of a Gospel Book, now in the Durham Cathedral library and created in northern Britain in the 7th century, contains the earliest example of true knotted designs in the Celtic manner.

Examples of plait work (a woven, unbroken cord design) predate knotwork designs in several cultures around the world, but the broken and reconnected plait work that is characteristic of true knotwork began in northern Italy and southern Gaul and spread to Ireland by the 7th century. The style is most commonly associated with the Celtic lands, but it was also practiced extensively in England and was exported to Europe by Irish and Northumbrian monastic activities on the continent. J. Romilly Allen has identified "eight elementary knots which form the basis of nearly all the interlaced patterns in Celtic decorative art".

The Celtic knot as a tattoo design became popular in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s.

title: Celtic knot


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Paschal candle

A Paschal candle is a large candle used in liturgies in Western Christianity (viz., the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran Churches, the Anglican Communion, and the Methodist Churches, among others). A new Paschal candle is blessed and lit every year at Easter. It is used throughout the Eastertide and then throughout the year on casualities such as baptisms, funerals and some other special occasions such as the ordination of priests, taking vows or the Consecration of virgins, when the fire from the Paschal candle is carried with a wick to light another liturgical candle, as for example the baptismal candle.

The equivalent of the Paschal candle in the Eastern Orthodox Church is the Paschal trikirion, which differs in both style and usage.

Etymology
The term Paschal comes from the Latin word Pascha, which came from the Hebrew word Pesach (/ˈpɛsɑːx, ˈpeɪ-/ ; פֶּסַח), meaning Passover, and relates to the Paschal mystery of salvation. It is sometimes referred to as the "Easter candle" or the "Christ candle".

Description
For congregations that use a Paschal candle, it is the largest candle in the worship space. In most cases the candle will display several common symbols:
 * 1) The cross, which is the most prominent symbol and most clearly identifies it as the Paschal candle
 * 2) The Greek letters alpha and omega, which symbolize that God is the beginning and the end (from the Book of Revelation)
 * 3) The numerals of the current year between the arms of the cross
 * 4) Five grains of incense, which are embedded in the candle (usually encased in red or golden wax "nails"). The "nails" represent the Five Holy Wounds: the three nails that pierced Christ's hands and feet, the spear thrust into his side to wound his heart, and the thorns that crowned his head. The grains of incense are to recall the aromatic spices that were used to prepare Christ's body for the tomb.

In the (medieval) Church, Paschal candles often reached a stupendous size. The Paschal candle of Salisbury Cathedral was said to have been 36 ft tall. At present time, in the United States and Southern Europe (e.g., Italy and France) the candle is approximately 4 in in diameter and 36 to 48 in tall; in Northern Europe the candle tends to be shorter in height (19 to 24 in) and wider in diameter (3 to 5 in). The Paschal candle of Manila Cathedral usually reaches 4 or and stands at 50 in tall.

The Paschal candle, like all liturgical candles, must be made at least from the most part of beeswax (ex cera apum saltem in maxima parte). The Church Fathers saw the bee as a symbol of the Virgin Mary. The beeswax symbolized the pure flesh of Christ, received from his mother.

Easter Vigil
For churches that celebrate the Easter Vigil on the night of Holy Saturday, the ceremonial preparation, dedication and lighting of the Paschal candle is one of the most solemn moments of the service. The Easter Vigil liturgies of the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, Methodist and Presbyterian Churches are nearly identical.

On Maundy Thursday of the same week the entire church is darkened by extinguishing all candles and lamps. This and the empty tabernacle symbolise the darkness of a world without Christ.

At the opening of the Easter Vigil a fire is lit and blessed. The minister will cuts a cross in the wax with a stylus and trace the symbols on the Paschal candle, saying words similar to: "Christ, yesterday and today, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega. All time belongs to him and all the ages; to him be glory and power through every age for ever. Amen." He then inserts five grains of incense (reminiscent of the nails used to fasten Christ on the Cross) on the five points of the cross, saying: "By his holy and glorious wounds, may Christ our Lord guard us and keep us. Amen."

The Paschal candle is the first candle to be lit with a flame from this sacred fire, representing the light of Christ coming into the world. This represents the risen Christ, as a symbol of light (life) dispelling darkness (death). Before it is lit, the minister says words similar to: "May the light of Christ, rising in glory, dispel the darkness of our hearts and minds."

Typically, the worshiping assembly then processes into the church led by the Paschal candle. The candle is raised three times during the procession, accompanied by the chant "The light of Christ" to which the assembly responds "Thanks be to God".

In some communities, it is common for nearby churches of different Christian denominations (e.g. Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, Methodist and Presbyterian) to make the new Easter Fire together and then after this, each congregation processes back to their own church with their own Paschal Candle for their Easter Vigil celebration; this is considered to be a fostering of ecumenism.

Following the procession the Exultet is chanted, traditionally by a deacon, but it may be chanted by the priest or – most parts of it – by a cantor. The Exultet concludes with the offering of the candle:

From the Roman Missal: On this, your night of grace, O holy Father, accept this candle, a solemn offering, the work of bees and of your servants' hands, an evening sacrifice of praise, this gift from your most holy Church. But now we know the praises of this pillar, which glowing fire ignites for God's honor, a fire into many flames divided, yet never dimmed by sharing of its light, for it is fed by melting wax, drawn out by mother bees to build a torch so precious. O truly blessed night, when things of heaven are wed to those of earth, and divine to the human. Therefore, O Lord, we pray you that this candle, hallowed to the honor of your name, may persevere undimmed, to overcome the darkness of this night. Receive it as a pleasing fragrance, and let it mingle with the lights of heaven. May this flame be found still burning by the Morning Star: the one Morning Star who never sets, Christ your Son, who, coming back from death's domain, has shed his peaceful light on humanity, and lives and reigns for ever and ever. After the Litany of the Saints, the Paschal candle is lowered three times into the Easter water to be blessed while the priest sings a prayer of blessing with the request for the descent of the Holy Spirit. In some eastern traditions, wax is dripped into the water for an even richer symbolism.

Other times of the year
The candle remains in the sanctuary close to the altar and is lit at least in all the more solemn worship services until Pentecost (or in some traditions until Ascension Day when it is extinguished just after the Gospel). In this context the Paschal candle symbolises the presence of the glorified risen Christ.

After Eastertide, the candle should be kept in the baptistry, so that in the celebrations of baptisms the candles of the baptized may be lit from the candle. The Paschal candle is lit during baptisms to signify the Holy Spirit and fire that John the Baptist promised to those who were baptised in Christ.

Before 1955, the option existed of blessing the baptismal font on the Vigil of Pentecost, and this was the only time the Paschal candle would be lit at services after Ascension. In the Ordinary form of the Roman Rite, the Paschal candle is lit and should be placed near the coffin during the Mass of the repose of the soul or the Requiem. This is to indicate that the death of a Christian is his own passover.

Eastern usage
In the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches, there is no direct correspondence to the Western Paschal candle. However, throughout Bright Week, the priest carries a cross and paschal trikirion at all of the services, especially when censing, during the Little Entrance or when giving the Paschal greeting. The trikirion consists of three lit candles in a candlestick, which the priest carries in his left hand. In the Slavic tradition, the three candles may be white or different colors: green, red, blue. The deacon also carries a special Paschal candle which is a single large candle whenever he leads an ektenia (litany) or censes.

title: Paschal candle


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Aardman Animations

Aardman Animations Limited is a British animation studio based in Bristol, England. It is known for films and television series made using stop-motion and clay animation techniques, particularly those featuring its plasticine characters from Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, and Morph. After some experimental computer-animated short films during the late 1990s, beginning with Owzat (1997), Aardman entered the computer animation market with Flushed Away (2006). As of February 2020, it had earned $1.1 billion worldwide, with an average $135.6 million per film.

Aardman's films have been consistently very well received, and their stop-motion films are among the highest-grossing produced, with their 2000 debut, Chicken Run, being their top-grossing film, as well as the highest-grossing stop-motion film of all time. A sequel, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, was released in 2023.

1972–1996
Aardman was founded in 1972 as a low-budget project by Peter Lord and David Sproxton, who wanted to realise their dream of producing an animated motion picture. The partnership provided animated sequences for the BBC series for deaf children Vision On. The company name originates from the name of their nerdish Superman character in that sequence. The process of using clay animation to produce a segment called "Gleebees" (1975) became the inspiration for creating Morph, a simple clay character. Around the same time, Lord and Sproxton made their first foray into adult animation with the shorts Down and Out and Confessions of a Foyer Girl, entries in the BBC's Animated Conversations series using real-life conversations as soundtracks.

Aardman also created the title sequence for The Great Egg Race and supplied animation for the multiple award-winning music video of Peter Gabriel's song "Sledgehammer". They produced the music video for the song "My Baby Just Cares For Me" by Nina Simone in 1987. Also in the 1980s, they created the trombone-playing character "Douglas" in a television commercial for Lurpak butter.

Later Aardman produced a number of shorts for Channel 4, including the Conversation Pieces series. These five shorts worked in the same area as the Animated Conversations pieces, but were more sophisticated. Lord and Sproxton began hiring more animators at this point; three of the newcomers made their directorial debut at Aardman with the Lip Synch series. Of the five Lip Synch shorts, two were directed by Lord, one by Barry Purves, one by Richard Goleszowski and one by Nick Park.

In 1990, Park's short, Creature Comforts, was the first Aardman production to win an Academy Award. Park also developed the clay modelled shorts featuring the adventures of Wallace and Gromit, a comical pair of friends: Wallace being a naive English inventor with a love of cheese, and Gromit his best friend, the intelligent but silent dog. These films include A Grand Day Out (1989), The Wrong Trousers (1993) and A Close Shave (1995), the latter two winning Academy Awards.

1997–2007
In December 1997, Aardman, DreamWorks (later DreamWorks Animation) and Pathé announced that their companies were teaming up to co-finance and distribute Chicken Run, Aardman's first feature film, which had already been in pre-production for a year. On 27 October 1999, Aardman and DreamWorks signed a $250 million deal to make an additional four films that were estimated to be completed during the next 12 years. Along with the deal their first project was announced, titled The Tortoise and the Hare. Intended to be based on Aesop's fable and directed by Richard Goleszowski, it was paused two years later because of script problems. On 23 June 2000, Chicken Run was released to a great critical and financial success. In 2005, after ten years of absence, Wallace and Gromit returned in Academy Award-winning The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. The following year Flushed Away, Aardman's first computer-animated feature, was released.

On 10 October 2005, a serious fire at a storage facility used by Aardman and other Bristol-based companies destroyed over 30 years of props, models, and scenery often built by the Bristol-based Cod Steaks. This warehouse was used for storage of past projects and so did not prevent the production of their current projects at the time. In addition, the company's library of finished films was stored elsewhere and was undamaged. An electrical fault was determined to be the cause of the blaze. Referring to the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, Park was quoted as saying, "Even though it is a precious and nostalgic collection and valuable to the company, in light of other tragedies, today isn't a big deal."

On 1 October 2006, right before the release of Flushed Away, The New York Times reported that due to creative differences DreamWorks Animation and Aardman would not be extending their contract. The deal was officially terminated on 30 January 2007. According to an Aardman spokesperson: "The business model of DreamWorks no longer suits Aardman and vice versa. But the split couldn't have been more amicable." Unofficial reasons for departure were weak performances of the last two movies, for which DreamWorks had to take writedowns, and citing the article, "Aardman executives chafed at the creative control DreamWorks tried to exert, particularly with Flushed Away..." The studio had another film in development, Crood Awakening (eventually The Croods), which had been announced in 2005, with John Cleese co-writing the screenplay. With the end of the partnership, the film's rights reverted to DreamWorks.

From 2006 to 2007, the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan, had an exhibit featuring the works of Aardman Studios. Sproxton and Lord visited the exhibit in May 2006 and met with animator Hayao Miyazaki during the visit. Miyazaki has long been a fan of Aardman Animations' works.

2007–2012
In April 2007, Aardman signed and in 2010 renewed a three-year deal with Sony Pictures to finance, co-produce, and distribute feature films. The next year, Aardman released a new Wallace and Gromit short film, called A Matter of Loaf and Death. The first film made in partnership with Sony was the computer-animated Arthur Christmas (2011), which is Aardman's first 3D feature film. 2012 saw the release of The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! (known internationally in America as The Pirates! Band of Misfits), Aardman's first 3D stop-motion film and Lord's first film as a director since Chicken Run. Two additional films were announced in June 2007: The Cat Burglars, a stop-motion animated heist comedy film directed by Steve Box, about cat burglars that steal milk, and their plans to pull off 'the great milk float robbery'; and an untitled Nick Park project (which would later become Early Man).

The studio is also known to provide generous resources and training to young animators by providing awards at various animation festivals. For example, The Aardman Award at the UK's Animex Festival in Teesside provides story consultation to a promising young animator for their next film.

In 2008, Aardman joined with Channel 4 and Lupus Films to launch a user-generated content animation portal called 4mations. They also designed the BBC One Christmas Idents for that year, which featured Wallace and Gromit to tie in with the showing of the new Wallace and Gromit film called A Matter of Loaf and Death on Christmas Day at 8:30pm. In April 2008, Aardman launched the Aardman YouTube channel, which is a YouTube Partner channel featuring the entire Creature Comforts TV series, the Morph series, Cracking Contraptions and clips from the Wallace and Gromit films. From December 2008, Aardman also started posting various flash games on Newgrounds, the majority of which are based on Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep.

In 2009, Nintendo announced that Aardman would make twelve short films using only Flipnote Studio. The films were posted on Flipnote's Hatena web service provider. The first film was called The Sandwich Twins and was released on 16 September 2009. The remaining eleven films were released on a weekly basis until Christmas, and can also be downloaded using Hatena. In the same year, the headquarters of the studio moved into a new building, designed by Alec French architects, in Gas Ferry Road, Bristol, although work needing large-scale sets is still carried out in sheds in Aztec West and Bedminster. In April 2009, Aardman Animations edited the existing Watch identity by UKTV to make the inflatable eyeball (called "Blinky") in the idents blink.

2013–2019
In October 2013, Lord (co-founder of Aardman Animations) created a fundraising project on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter. The campaign has a target of £75,000 which would be used to fund 12 new one-minute episodes of Morph. Lord was hoping to start production in January 2014 using the original stop-frame animation. Backers of the project would receive a variety of rewards, including early access to the new animations and a small box of clay used in the production, depending on the individual's level of funding.

In 2015, the studio bought a majority share in New York-based animation studio Nathan Love, announcing the merger with a short film called Introducing: Aardman Nathan Love on 25 September of the same year of that being that the British stop-motion animated series Digby Dragon debuted on Nick Jr. UK in 2016.

In advance of Aardman's fortieth anniversary, the BBC One aired the one-hour television documentary A Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman, first broadcast in December 2015. Narrated by Julie Walters, this career retrospective includes commentary by the company's founders and staff, as well as various friends, fans and colleagues including Terry Gilliam, John Lasseter, and Matt Groening.

From 29 June 2017 to 29 October 2017, an exhibition entitled "Wallace and Gromit and Friends" was shown at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) in Melbourne. A report on this exhibition was shown on Australian ABC News Breakfast on Wednesday, 28 June, featuring an 8-minute interview with producers Lord and Sproxton. The exhibition revealed that in Park's very early sketches, Gromit was originally a cat, but Park soon changed him into a dog, since it was generally agreed that a dog was clearly more suitable as a loyal pet/companion than a cat and also because a dog would be easier to make and animate in Plasticine. Embedded in the ABC News article is a video interview with Lord and Sproxton, which gives information not only on Wallace and Gromit, but also Shaun the Sheep and others.

On 9 November 2018, Aardman Animations announced that Lord and Sproxton would be transferring majority ownership of the company to its employees in order to keep the studio independent. In January 2019, Lord and Sproxton released a book detailing the history of the studio, called ''A Grand Success! The Aardman Journey, One Frame at a Time''.

2020–present
In December 2020, Netflix announced an Aardman Christmas musical special entitled Robin Robin. The 30-minute short, starring Bronte Carmichael, Richard E. Grant, Gillian Anderson and Adeel Akhtar, was released on the platform on 24 November 2021.

On 9 August 2021, it was announced that Gurinder Chadha was directing a musical claymation feature set in India, telling the story of an elephant dreaming about becoming a dancer.

On 30 November 2021, Aardman began producing The Very Small Creatures for Sky Kids and Apple TV.

On 20 January 2022, Netflix announced a sequel to Chicken Run entitled Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget. The film, starring Thandiwe Newton and Zachary Levi, premiered on the platform on 15 December 2023. A new Wallace and Gromit film was also confirmed to be 'in the works' for a 2024 release on the BBC in the UK and Netflix worldwide. Also in 2022–2023, the 52 episode children's series Lloyd of the Flies aired on CITV.

Aardman is one of the nine studios involved with Lucasfilm's Star Wars: Visions Volume 2, contributing the film "I Am Your Mother".

The factory that made Lewis Newplast, the modeling clay used by Aardman, shut down in March 2023; Aardman purchased enough remaining clay to cover the upcoming 2024 Wallace and Gromit film. The Daily Telegraph initially reported that the studio may not be able to produce new films afterwards due to a lack of clay, but Aardman later released a statement clarifying that it would find a new supplier.

On 1 March 2024 Emma Hardie was announced to be the newly-created role of Executive Commercial and Brand Director. She will be oversee financing, distribution, licensing, marketing, and planning of the studio's animated intellectual property. She takes up the role, which includes a seat on Aardman's executive board, on April 15. Peter Lord was also stepping down from Aardman’s executive board to focus on a slate of individual projects as the Creative Director. He also intends to act as an ambassador for the company and British animation. Along the announcements Sarah Cox and Daniel Efergan have received promotions to Chief Creative Director and Executive Creative Director of Interactive & Innovation respectively.

On 8 March 2024 Aardman and the BBC announced a new collaboration called Things We Love, based on the studio's Creature Comforts films, set to air throughout 2024. Like Creature Comforts, the six, 30-second-long shorts feature animated animals matched to the audio of real, unscripted interviews.

On 6 June 2024, Aardman announced the title of the new Wallace and Gromit feature film as Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.

Company name
The company name is taken from one of its early characters, a superhero created for Vision On in 1972. Unlike the claymation productions that the company are famous for, Aardman was cel-animated. Peter Lord has stated that the most interesting thing about the company name is that it "means nothing" and is only a joke that two teenagers found funny. He has stated that the name came from a combination of "Aardvark" and "Superman" for the reason that they found aardvark to be a particularly funny word. Aardman Animations became their company name when the BBC asked them to whom they should make their first cheque out. Co-founder David Sproxton has claimed that the name was a result of being unable to "find another word with more A's in it than 'aardvark as a schoolboy.

Non-Aardman productions by Aardman directors
A number of Aardman directors have worked at other studios, taking the distinctive Aardman style with them.

Aardman's Steve Box directed the animated music video for the Spice Girls' final single as a five-piece, "Viva Forever". The video took over five months to produce, considerably longer than the group's box office hit movie, Spice World. He is also the co-creator of the Finnish-British animated series Moominvalley, based on the Moomins books.

Barry Purves, director of the Aardman short Next, also directed Hamilton Mattress for Harvest Films. The film, a half-hour special that premiered on Christmas Day 2001, was produced by Chris Moll, producer of the Wallace and Gromit short film The Wrong Trousers. The models were provided by Mackinnon & Saunders, a firm that did the same for Bob the Builder and Corpse Bride.

Similarly, Robbie the Reindeer in Hooves of Fire, a BBC Bristol/Comic Relief production, was directed by Richard Goleszowski, creator of Rex the Runt. Its sequel, Robbie the Reindeer in Legend of the Lost Tribe, was directed by Peter Peake, whose directorial credits for Aardman include Pib and Pog and Humdrum.

Aardman alumni also produced many of the claymation shorts used in the 1986–1990 American television series Pee-wee's Playhouse.

Films
Aardman Animations has produced a number of animated features, shorts, videos and TV series, as well as adverts. Their major feature films are:

 * Chicken Run (2000)
 * Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
 * Flushed Away (2006)
 * Arthur Christmas (2011)
 * The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! (2012)
 * Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015)
 * Early Man (2018)
 * A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2019)
 * Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023)
 * Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024)

Aardman Features
Aardman Features Limited is a motion picture subsidiary of Aardman Animations. It has produced 9 films so far, 3 with DreamWorks Animation, 2 with Sony Pictures Animation, 3 with StudioCanal and 1 with Netflix.

Nathan Love
Nathan Love LLC (formerly Aardman Nathan Love LLC from 2006–2019) is an American subsidiary of Aardman Animations. Joe Burrascano founded the company in 2007.

Awards and nominations
The works of Aardman have received numerous awards and nominations, the major awards won include the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and BAFTA Award for Best British Film for Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

Books

 * Tristan Davies, Nick Park, Nick Newman (1997); Wallace & Gromit and the Lost Slipper. Adler's Foreign Books. ISBN 978-0-8417-2026-8
 * Peter Lord; Brian Sibley (1998). Cracking Animation: The Aardman Book of 3-D Animation. Thames & Hudson Ltd. ISBN 978-0-500-28168-0
 * Tristan Davies; Nick Newman (1998). Wallace & Gromit in Anoraknophobia. Adler's Foreign Books. ISBN 978-0-8417-2031-2
 * Tristan Davies; Nick Newman (1999). Wallace & Gromit: Crackers in Space. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-71289-4
 * Andy Lane (2003). Creating Creature Comforts. Boxtree Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7522-1564-8
 * Andy Lane (2004). The World of Wallace & Gromit. Boxtree Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7522-1558-7
 * Andy Lane; Paul Simpson (2005). The Art of Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Titan Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84576-136-3

title: Aardman Animations


text:
Wells, Somerset

Wells is a cathedral city and civil parish in Somerset, located on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills, 21 mi south-east of Weston-super-Mare, 22 mi south-west of Bath and 23 mi south of Bristol. Although the population recorded in the 2011 census was only 10,536, (increased to 12,000 by 2018) and with a built-up area of just 3.244 km2, Wells has had city status since medieval times, because of the presence of Wells Cathedral. Often described as England's smallest city, it is actually second smallest to the City of London in area and population, but unlike London it is not part of a larger urban agglomeration.

Wells takes its name from three wells dedicated to Saint Andrew, one in the market place and two within the grounds of the Bishop's Palace and cathedral. A small Roman settlement surrounded them, which grew in importance and size under the Anglo-Saxons when King Ine of Wessex founded a minster church there in 704. The community became a trading centre based on cloth making and Wells is notable for its 17th-century involvement in both the English Civil War and the Monmouth Rebellion. In the 19th century, transport infrastructure improved with stations on three different railway lines. However, since 1964 the city has been without a railway link.

The cathedral and the associated religious and medieval architectural history provide much of the employment. The city has a variety of sporting and cultural activities and houses several schools including The Blue School, a state coeducational comprehensive school that was founded in 1641, and the private Wells Cathedral School, which was founded possibly as early as 909 and is one of the five established musical schools for school-age children in the United Kingdom. Wells's historic architecture has led to the city being used as a shooting location for numerous films and television programmes.

History

The city was a Roman settlement that became an important centre under the Anglo-Saxons when King Ine of Wessex founded a minster church in 704. Two hundred years later, in 909, it became the seat of the newly formed bishopric of Wells; but in 1090, the bishop's seat was removed to Bath. The move caused severe arguments between the canons of Wells and the monks of Bath until 1245 when the bishopric was renamed the Diocese of Bath and Wells, to be elected by both religious houses. With the construction of the current cathedral and the bishop's palace in the first half of the 13th century, under the direction of Bishop Reginald and later Bishop Jocelin, a native of the city, Wells became the principal seat of the diocese.

The 8th-century port at Bleadney on the River Axe enabled goods to be brought to within 3 mi of Wells. In the Middle Ages overseas trade was carried out from the port of Rackley. In the 14th century a French ship sailed up the river, and by 1388 Thomas Tanner from Wells used Rackley to export cloth and corn to Portugal, and received iron and salt in exchange. Wells had been a centre for cloth making; however, in the 16th and 17th centuries this diminished, but the city retained its important market focus. Wells in the 19th century had the largest cheese market in the west of England.

Wells was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Welle, from the Old English wiells, not as a town but as four manors with a population of 132, which implies a population of 500–600. Earlier names for the settlement have been identified which include Fontanetum, in a charter of 725 granted by King Ina to Glastonbury and Fontanensis Ecclesia. "Tidesput" or "Tithesput furlang" relates to the area east of the bishop's garden in 1245. Wells was part of, and gave its name to, the hundred of Wells Forum.

Wells had been granted charters to hold markets by Bishop Robert (1136–66) and free burgage tenure was granted by Bishop Reginald (1174–1191). Wells was recognised as a free borough by a Royal charter of King John in 1201. The city remained under episcopal control until its charter of incorporation from Queen Elizabeth I in 1589. City status was most recently confirmed by Queen Elizabeth II by letters patent issued under the Great Seal dated 1 April 1974, which granted city status specifically to the civil parish; on that date major local government reorganisation came into effect, which involved the abolition of the municipal borough of Wells.

Anne of Denmark, the wife of King James came to Wells on 20 August 1613. She was entertained by a pageant performed by the town's trades and crafts. The blacksmiths presented Vulcan's forge. The butchers made a tableau of "old virgins", with their attires made of cow tails and necklaces made of cow's horns, who were drawn in a chariot by men and boys dressed in ox skins. The mayor, William Bull, held a dinner for members of the queen's household including her four maids of honour. The Venetian ambassador Antonio Foscarini recorded her delight.

During the English Civil War (1642–1651), at what became known as the "Siege of Wells", the city found itself surrounded by Parliamentarian guns on the Bristol, Glastonbury and Shepton Mallet sides. Col. William Strode had 2,000 men and 150 horse. The Royalists evacuated the city. Parliamentarian troops then used the cathedral to stable their horses and damaged much of the ornate sculpture by using it for firing practice.

William Penn stayed in Wells shortly before leaving for America (1682), spending a night at The Crown Inn. Here he was briefly arrested for addressing a large crowd in the market place, but released on the intervention of the Bishop of Bath and Wells. During the Monmouth Rebellion (1685) the rebel army attacked the cathedral in an outburst against the established church and damaged the west front. Lead from the roof was used to make bullets, windows were broken, the organ smashed and horses stabled in the nave. Wells was the final location of the Bloody Assizes on 23 September 1685. In a makeshift court lasting only one day, over 500 men were tried and the majority sentenced to death.

Wells first station, Priory Road, opened in 1859 on the Somerset Central Railway (later the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway, S&DJR) as the terminus of a short branch from Glastonbury. A second railway, the East Somerset, opened a branch line from Witham in 1862 and built Wells East Somerset station to the east of Priory Road. In 1870, the Cheddar Valley line branch of the Bristol & Exeter Railway from Yatton, reached Wells and built a third station at Tucker Street. Matters were simplified when the Great Western Railway acquired the Cheddar Valley and the East Somerset lines and built a link between them that ran through the S&DJR's Priory Road station. In 1878, when through trains began running between Yatton and Witham, the East Somerset station closed, but through trains did not stop at Priory Road until 1934. Priory Road closed to passenger traffic in 1951 when the S&DJR branch line from Glastonbury was shut, though it remained the city's main goods depot. Tucker Street closed in 1963 under the Beeching cuts, which closed the Yatton to Witham line to passengers. Goods traffic to Wells ceased in 1964. Southern Railway West Country class steam locomotive no 34092 was named City of Wells at a ceremony at Priory Road station in 1949. It was used to haul the Golden Arrow service between London and Dover. It was withdrawn from service in 1964, and rescued from a scrapyard in 1971, and as August 2021 was operational on the East Lancashire Railway.

During World War II, Stoberry Park in Wells was the location of a prisoner-of-war camp, housing Italian prisoners from the Western Desert Campaign, and later German prisoners after the Battle of Normandy. Penleigh Camp on the Wookey Hole Road was a German working camp.

Governance

Wells City Council is a parish council, with a membership of sixteen councillors, elected from three parish wards. They are (with the number of parish councillors each elects, in brackets): Central (four), St. Thomas' (six) and St. Cuthbert's (six).

The civil parish of Wells was formed in 1933 upon the merger of Wells St Cuthbert In and Wells St Andrew (the latter being the historic liberty of the cathedral, the bishop's palace, etc., amounting to just 52 acre). Wells is the successor parish for Wells Municipal Borough, which existed from the creation of municipal boroughs in 1835 to their abolition in 1974. The parish has held the city status of Wells since 1 April 1974 (previously held by the municipal borough) and the member of the City Council who chairs the council holds the historic office of Mayor of Wells, typically for one year. The current mayor (for the 2020–21 municipal year) is Councillor Philip Welch, who is the 647th Mayor of Wells. He was elected to office on 10 October 2020. Another historic position is that of the Town Crier.

The City Council has responsibility for local issues, including setting an annual precept (local rate) to cover the council's operating costs and producing annual accounts for public scrutiny. They also evaluate local planning applications and work with the local police, district council officers, and neighbourhood watch groups on matters of crime, security, and traffic. This includes city centre management including CCTV, an alcohol ban and regulating street trading permissions including the two funfairs held in the Market Place in May and November each year and the Wells in Bloom competition. The city council's role also includes initiating projects for the maintenance and repair of city facilities, as well as consulting with the district council on the maintenance, repair, and improvement of highways, drainage, footpaths, public transport, and street cleaning. They are involved in the management of the Community Sports Development Centre at the Blue School, the skateboard park and allotments in the grounds of the Bishop's Palace, Burcott Road and Barnes Close. Conservation matters (including trees and listed buildings) and environmental issues are also the responsibility of the council.

Wells Town Hall was built in 1778, with the porch and arcade being added in 1861 and the balcony and round windows in 1932. It is a Grade II listed building. It replaced the former on the site of the Market and Assize Hall in the Market Place, and a Canonical House also known as 'The Exchequer', on the authority of an Act of Parliament dated 1779. The building also houses the magistrates courts and other offices. The Assize court last sat here in October 1970.

All other local government services are provided by Somerset Council, a unitary authority established in April 2023. Prior to this date, Wells elected five councillors to Mendip District Council from the same three wards as are used for the City Council (two were returned from St Cuthbert's, two from St Thomas' and one from Central). Wells is an electoral division (with the same boundaries as the civil parish) of Somerset and returns two councillor to Somerset Council, but returned one to its predecessor Somerset County Council. Wells is part of the UK Parliament constituency of Wells. Since 2015 the Member of Parliament for Wells is James Heappey of the Conservatives.

The Wells city arms show an ash tree surrounded by three water wells, crested with a gold mural crown, with the Latin motto Hoc fonte derivata copia (translated: "the fullness that springs from this well").

The council formalised twinning links with Paray-le-Monial, France, and Bad Dürkheim, Germany in 1979, then added Fontanellato, Italy in 1983; the Wells Twinning Association and the Mayor of Wells organise the twinning activities.

HMS Somerset (F82), Mary Bignal-Rand, Danny Nightingale, The Rifles and the late Harry Patch have the Freedom of the City. The Somerset Light Infantry received the freedom of the City of Wells following their return from Cyprus in 1956.

City status

As the seat of an ancient cathedral and diocese, Wells is historically regarded as a city. City status was most recently confirmed by Queen Elizabeth II by letters patent dated 1 April 1974, which granted city status specifically to the civil parish. As the designation is typically awarded to a local council area, this administrative area is then considered to be the formal boundary of the city, including its urban and rural extents. Wells, due to its urban area and wider parish sizes, is near-smallest city on several measures based on 2011 statistics:

 * Its city council boundary area, surrounded wholly by countryside makes Wells the smallest free-standing city in the UK (2.11 sq mi) - the City of London is smaller (1.12) but is part of a much larger urban area (Greater London - 671 sq mi)
 * 2nd smallest in England and UK by city council boundary area (2.11 sq mi) behind the City of London (1.12)
 * 2nd smallest in England only by population and urban area (10,536 residents, 1.35 sq mi) behind the City of London (8,072, 1.12)
 * 4th smallest in the UK by population and urban area behind St Davids (1,841 residents, 0.23 sq mi), St Asaph (3,355, 0.50) and the City of London (8,072, 1.12).

Geography
Wells lies at the foot of the southern escarpment of the Mendip Hills where they meet the Somerset Levels. The hills are largely made of carboniferous limestone, which is quarried at several nearby sites. In the 1960s, the tallest mast in the region, the Mendip UHF television transmitter, was installed on Pen Hill above Wells, approximately 2 mi from the centre of the city. Streams passing through caves on the Mendip Hills, including Thrupe Lane Swallet and Viaduct Sink (approximately 5 km east of the city), emerge at Saint Andrew's Well in the garden of the Bishop's Palace,  from where the water fills the moat around the Palace and then flows into Keward Brook, which carries it for approximately a mile west to the point where the brook joins the River Sheppey in the village of Coxley.

Along with the rest of South West England, the Mendip Hills have a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of England. The annual mean temperature is about 10 °C with seasonal and diurnal variations, but due to the modifying effect of the sea, the range is less than in most other parts of the United Kingdom. January is the coldest month with mean minimum temperatures between 1 and 2 °C. July and August are the warmest months in the region with mean daily maxima around 21 °C. In general, December is the dullest month and June the sunniest. The south west of England enjoys a favoured location, particularly in summer, when the Azores High extends its influence north-eastwards towards the UK.

Cloud often forms inland, especially near hills, and reduces exposure to sunshine. The average annual sunshine totals around 1600 hours. Rainfall tends to be associated with Atlantic depressions or with convection. In summer, convection caused by solar surface heating sometimes forms shower clouds and a large proportion of the annual precipitation falls from showers and thunderstorms at this time of year. Average rainfall is around 800 –. About 8–15 days of snowfall is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, with June to August having the lightest. The predominant wind direction is from the south west.

The civil parish of Wells is entirely surrounded by the parish of St Cuthbert Out.

Demography
The population of the civil parish, recorded in the 2011 census, was 10,536. Of this number 97.5% are ethnically White (with the more specific White British category recorded at 93.5%) and 66.5% described themselves as Christian. The mean average age in 2011 was 41.9 years (the median age being 43). The population recorded for the Wells civil parish in the 2001 census was 10,406.

Economy
Following construction of the A39/A371 bypass, the centre of the city has returned to being that of a quiet market town. It has all the modern conveniences plus shops, hotels and restaurants. Wells is a popular tourist destination, due to its historical sites, its proximity to Bath, Bristol, Stonehenge and Glastonbury and its closeness to the Somerset coast. Also nearby are Wookey Hole Caves, the Mendip Hills and the Somerset Levels. Somerset cheese, including Cheddar, is made locally. Wells is part of the Wells and Shepton Mallet travel to work area which also includes Glastonbury, Cheddar and surrounding areas.

The historic part of the city has often been used for filming both documentaries and many period films and television series, including some with very large productions. Recent examples (2014 to 2017) include filming for Series 2 of Poldark, Dunkirk, Another Mother's Son, Broadchurch, The Levelling, Mum's List, and The White Princess. In addition to Wells Cathedral, the Bishop's Palace, Wells is particularly popular among productions, with filming at the latter conducted (in 2015–2016) for The Huntsman: Winter's War, Galavant, Terry and Mason's The Great British Food Trip, Escape to the Country, and Holiday of My Lifetime.

Transport

Wells is situated at the junction of three numbered routes. The A39 goes north-east to Bath and south-west to Glastonbury and Bridgwater. The A371 goes north-west to Cheddar and Weston-super-Mare, and east to Shepton Mallet. The B3139 goes west to Highbridge, and north-east to Radstock and Trowbridge. The nearest motorway connections are at junction 23 on the M5 via the A39 and at junction 1 of the M32 via the A39 and A37.

Wells is served by First West of England bus services to Bristol and Bristol Temple Meads station, Bath, Frome, Shepton Mallet, Yeovil, Street and Weston-super-Mare, as well as providing some local service. It is served by Berrys Coaches daily Superfast service to and from London. The bus station is in Princes Road. The Mendip Way and Monarch's Way long-distance footpaths pass through the city, as does National Cycle Route 3.

Railways
Wells had two stations which were closed by the Beeching Axe in the 1960s: Wells (Tucker Street) railway station and Wells (Priory Road) railway station. The nearest railway line today is the East Somerset Railway.

The nearest station today for the national rail network is Bristol Temple Meads which is easily accessible via the 376 bus route.

Education

The Blue School, founded in 1641, is a state coeducational comprehensive school and has been awarded Specialist science college status. It has 1,641 students aged 11–18 of both sexes and all ability levels.

Wells Cathedral School, founded in 909, is a private school that has a Christian emphasis and is one of the five established musical schools for school-age children in Britain. The school teaches over 700 pupils between the ages of 3 and 18. The school's boarding houses line the northern parts of the city and the music school retains close links with Wells Cathedral. The primary schools in Wells are Stoberry Park School, St Cuthbert's Church of England Infants School, St Cuthbert's Church of England Junior School and St Joseph and St Teresa Catholic Primary School.

Culture
Wells and Mendip Museum includes many historical artefacts from the city and surrounding Mendip Hills. Wells is part of the West Country Carnival circuit.

Wells Film Centre shows current releases and, in conjunction with the Wells Film Society shows less well known and historical films. The previous cinema, The Regal in Priory Road, closed in 1993 and is now Kudos Nightclub. It was built in 1935 by ES Roberts from Flemish bond brickwork with Art Deco features. It is a Grade II listed building, and was on the Buildings at Risk Register until its restoration which included the restoration and repair of the stained glass façade. Wells Little Theatre is operated by a voluntary society which started in 1902. In 1969 they took over the old boy's building of Wells Blue School, where they put on a variety of operatic and other productions.

Milton Lodge is a house overlooking the city. It has a terraced garden, which was laid out in the early 20th century, is listed as Grade II on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England.

Local media
Television programmes and local news is provided by BBC West and ITV West Country from the Mendip TV transmitter.

Local radio stations are BBC Radio Somerset on 95.5 FM, Heart West on 102.6 FM and Greatest Hits Radio South West on 107.7 FM.

The city is served by these local newspapers: Wells Voice, The Somerset County Gazette and Somerset Live.

Religious sites

A walled precinct, the Liberty of St Andrew, encloses the twelfth century Cathedral, the Bishop's Palace, Vicar's Close and the residences of the clergy who serve the cathedral. Entrances include the Penniless Porch, The Bishop's Eye and Brown's Gatehouse which were all built around 1450.

The Church of St Cuthbert has a Somerset stone tower and a carved roof. Originally an Early English building (13th century), it was much altered in the Perpendicular period. The nave's coloured ceiling was repainted in 1963 at the instigation of the then Vicar's wife, Mrs Barnett. Until 1561 the church had a central tower which either collapsed or was removed, and has been replaced with the current tower over the west door. Bells were cast for the tower by Roger Purdy.

The polychromatic stone Church of St Thomas was built during 1856 and 1857 and extended by Samuel Sanders Teulon in 1864, commemorating the work of Richard Jenkyns the Dean of Wells who had cared for the poor in the east of the city.

Wells Vineyard Church is an Evangelical Church formed in 2003.

Wells Cathedral
The cathedral is the seat of the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells. Wells has been an ecclesiastical city of importance since at least the early 8th century. Parts of the building date back to the tenth century, and it is a grade I listed building. It is known for its fine fan vaulted ceilings, Lady Chapel and windows, and the scissor arches which support the central tower. The west front is said to be the finest collection of statuary in Europe, retaining almost 300 of its original medieval statues, carved from the cathedral's warm, yellow Doulting stone. The Chapter House, at the top of a flight of stone stairs, leading out from the north transept is an octagonal building with a fan-vaulted ceiling. It is here that the business of running the cathedral is still conducted by the members of the Chapter, the cathedral's ruling body. Wells Cathedral clock is famous for its 24-hour astronomical dial and set of jousting knights that perform every quarter-hour. The cathedral has the heaviest ring of ten bells in the world. The tenor bell weighs just over 56 cwt (6,272 lb, 2,844 kg).

The Vicars' Close is the oldest residential street in Europe. The Close is tapered by 10 ft to make it look longer when viewed from the bottom. When viewed from the top, however, it looks shorter. The Old Deanery dates from the 12th century,  and St John's Priory from the 14th. The street is owned by Wells Cathedral.

The Bishop's Palace
The Bishop's Palace has been the home of the bishops of the Diocese of Bath and Wells for 800 years. The hall and chapel date from the 14th century. There are 14 acre of gardens including the springs from which the city takes its name. Visitors can also see the Bishop's private chapel, ruined great hall and the gatehouse with portcullis and drawbridge beside which mute swans ring a bell for food. The Bishop's Barn was built in the 15th century.

Sport
The city has two football clubs, one being Wells City F.C., past winners of the Western League. Belrose FC play their football in the Mid-Somerset Football League at Haybridge Park. Wells Cricket Club runs eight sides across senior, junior and women's cricket; they are based at South Horrington. Wells Wanderers Cricket Club are based in Meare. Rowdens Road Cricket Ground was a first-class venue. No longer a cricket ground, it is now occupied in part by Wells FC.

Mid-Somerset Hockey Club and Wells City Acorns Hockey Club both play on the Astroturf pitches at the Blue School, where several other sports clubs are based. Wells Leisure Centre has a 25 m swimming pool, gymnasium, sports hall, sauna, steam room, relaxation area and solarium. The 18-hole Wells Golf Club is on the outskirts of the city and also has a 24-bay driving range with optional grass tees.

In popular culture

Elizabeth Goudge used Wells as a basis for the fictional cathedral city of Torminster, in her book A City of Bells (1936), and its two sequels Sister of the Angels (1939) and Henrietta's House (1942: The Blue Hills, USA title).

Wells has been used as the setting for several films including: The Canterbury Tales (1973), A Fistful of Fingers (1994), The Gathering  (2003), The Libertine (2004), The Golden Age (2007), and Hot Fuzz (2007, as Sandford). The cathedral interior stood in for Southwark Cathedral during filming for the Doctor Who episode "The Lazarus Experiment", and was also used as an interior location in the film Jack the Giant Slayer (2013), and in 2017 for the film Hellboy. In 2017 the market square and town hall was used for production of the BBC series Poldark.

Notable people

 * Hugh of Wells – native of Wells, Bishop, elder brother of Jocelin of Wells.
 * Jocelin of Wells – native of Wells, Bishop, aided in creation of Magna Carta and largely responsible for the construction of the cathedral.
 * Herbert E. Balch – cave explorer and founder of Wells Museum. His name was given to Balch Road, a council estate that was built in the 1950s.
 * Mary Bignall-Rand – Gold medalist and world record breaker in the long jump at the 1964 Summer Olympics.
 * Jack Buckner – won a gold medal in the 5000 metres at the 1986 European Athletics Championships in Stuttgart and a silver medal over the same distance in the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh. Buckner also claimed a bronze medal at the 1987 World Athletics Championships in Athens.
 * Sir Chris Clarke – county councillor for Wells from 1985 to 2005.
 * Harry George Crandon – awarded the Victoria Cross during the Boer War.
 * Alexander Davie – born in Wells 1847, became 7th Premier of British Columbia.
 * Elizabeth Goudge – author of novels, short stories and children's books, was born in Wells in 1900.
 * Mary Hamilton – 18th century fraudster and cross-dresser
 * Roger Hollis – Director General of MI5.
 * John Holloway – Governor of Newfoundland (1807–1809) and Admiral of the Blue.
 * John Keate – born in Wells 1773, went on to become headmaster at Eton where he restored discipline with the birch, and once flogged 80 boys in one day.
 * James Keene – professional footballer formerly of Portsmouth F.C., playing for IF Elfsborg in Sweden.
 * Kris Marshall – actor, raised in the city and has lived there.
 * Harry Patch – last trench veteran of World War I, and at 111, briefly the oldest man in Europe and 3rd oldest man in the world. He was born in the nearby village of Combe Down and at the time of his death in July 2009 he was living in local care home Fletcher House.
 * Julia Somerville – born in Wells 1947, newsreader and journalist who is working with BBC and ITN and co-presenter of Rip Off Britain
 * Sir James Vaughan (1814–1906), magistrate at Bow Street Magistrates' Court
 * Edgar Wright – film and television director. Directed Hot Fuzz, which was filmed in the city.
 * Waleran de Wellesley (died c. 1276), judge in Ireland and ancestor of the Duke of Wellington.

title: Wells, Somerset