text:
Hrothgar

Hrothgar (Hrōðgār ; ) was a semi-legendary Danish king living around the early sixth century AD.

Hrothgar appears in the Anglo-Saxon epics Beowulf and Widsith, in Norse sagas and poems, and in medieval Danish chronicles. In both Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian tradition, Hrothgar is a Scylding, the son of Halfdan, the brother of Halga, and the uncle of Hrólfr Kraki. Moreover, in both traditions, the mentioned characters were the contemporaries of the Swedish king Eadgils; and both traditions also mention a feud with men named Fróði and Ingeld. The consensus view is that Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian traditions describe the same person.

Names
Hrothgar, also rendered Hrōðgār, is an Old English form attested in Beowulf and Widsith, the earliest sources to mention the character. In non-English sources, the name appears in more or less corresponding Old Icelandic, Old Danish, and Latinized versions. He appears as Hróarr, Hroar, etc., in sagas and poetry, and as Ro or Roe in the Danish Latin chronicles. The form Hrōðgār is thought to have derived from the proto-Norse *Hrōþigaizaz "famous spear", i.e. Roger. The corresponding Old Norse name Hróarr and its variations are derived from *Hrōþigaizaz, and from the very close names *Hrōþiwarjaz "famous defender" or *Hrōþiharjaz "famous warrior".

Anglo-Saxon poems
Hrothgar appears in two Anglo-Saxon poems, Beowulf and Widsith. Beowulf gives the fuller account of Hrothgar and how the Geatish hero Beowulf visited him to free his people from the trollish creature Grendel. Widsith only mentions Hrothgar, Heorot, his nephew Hroðulf and their enemy Ingeld, but can complete Beowulf in some cases where Beowulf does not give enough information. This is notably the case concerning the ending of his feud with Ingeld.

Beowulf
In the epic poem Beowulf, Hrothgar is mentioned as the builder of the great hall Heorot and ruler of Denmark, when the Geatish hero Beowulf arrives to defeat the monster Grendel.

When Hrothgar is introduced in Beowulf, it is explained that he was the second of four children of King Healfdene: he had an older brother, Heorogar, who was king before him; a younger brother Halga; and a sister, who was married to the king of Sweden. The sister is not named in the manuscript and most scholars agree this is a scribal error, but suggested names are Signy and Yrsa. Friderich Kluge (1896) accordingly suggested that the line be restored as hyrde ic þ [Sigeneow wæs Sæw]elan cwen, rendering the Norse names in Old English forms. However, the only certain Swedish (Scylfing) royal name ending in -ela that has come down to us is Onela, and according to the rules of alliteration, this means that the queen's name must have begun with a vowel. Sophus Bugge consequently identified her with the Swedish queen Yrsa. He thus suggested the line should be emended to read hyrde ic þ[æt Ȳrse wæs On]elan cwen. Most 20th-century translators followed this suggestion. However, in Norse tradition, Yrsa was the daughter and lover/rape victim of Hrothgar's younger brother Halga, and the mother of Halga's son Hroðulf, and most modern translators simply leave the line as it is.

The poem further tells that Hrothgar was "slain in war" and so his kinsmen eagerly followed him. He is both honest and generous: "He broke no oaths, dealt out rings, treasures at his table". When Beowulf leads his men to Denmark, he speaks of Hrothgar to both a coast-guard and to Hrothgar's herald: he calls Hrothgar a "famed king", "famed warrior", and "protector of the Scyldings" (the ruling clan), and describes him as "old and good." The poet emphasizes that the Danes "did not find fault" with Hrothgar, "for that was a good King". When Beowulf defeats Grendel, Hrothgar rewards Beowulf and his men with great treasures, showing his gratitude and open-handedness. The poet says that Hrothgar is so generous that "no man could fault him, who wished to speak the truth."

Hrothgar was married to a woman named Wealhþeow, who was a Helming, probably defining her as a relative of Helm, the ruler of the Wulfings. When Hrothgar welcomes Beowulf, he recalls his friendship with Beowulf's family. He met Beowulf's father Ecgþeow "when I first ruled the Danes" after the death of Heorogar; he laments Heorogar's fall ("He was better than I!") and recalls how he settled Ecgþeow's blood feud with the Wulfings. Hrothgar thanks God for Beowulf's arrival and victory over Grendel, and swears to love Beowulf like a son.

The poem introduces Hroðulf (Hrólfr Kraki in Scandinavian sources) as Hrothgar's supporter and right-hand man; and we learn that Hroðulf is Hrothgar's nephew and that "each was true to the other". The common piece of information that Hrothgar's younger brother Halga is Hroðulf's father comes from Scandinavian sources (see below), where Halga was unaware that Yrsa was his own daughter and either raped or seduced her. Yrsa herself was tragically also the result of Halga raping a woman.

Wealhþeow has borne Hrothgar two sons, Hreðric and Hroðmund, and Hroðulf is to be regent if Hrothgar dies before his sons are grown. (Since Hrothgar is an old man at this time—he tells Beowulf he has been king for "fifty winters" —and Wealhþeow's two sons are not yet grown, it seems likely that Wealhþeow is much younger than Hrothgar, and may not be his first wife.)

Hrothgar is plunged into gloom and near-despair after Grendel's mother attacks the hall and kills Hrothgar's best friend and closest advisor; but when Beowulf advises him not to despair, and that "it is better to avenge our friends than to mourn overmuch", Hrothgar leaps to his feet and thanks God for Beowulf's wise words, and leads the Danes and Geats out to attack the small lake (mere) where Grendel's mother lives.

After Beowulf defeats Grendel's mother, Hrothgar rewards him again, and then preaches a sermon in which he warns Beowulf to beware of arrogance and forgetfulness of God.

Beowulf takes his leave of Hrothgar to return home, and Hrothgar embraces him and weeps that they will not meet again (because Hroðgar is a very old man). This is Hrothgar's last appearance in the poem. When Beowulf reports on his adventure to his lord Hygelac, he mentions that Hrothgar also had a daughter, Freawaru; it is not clear whether Freawaru was also the daughter of Wealhþeow or was born of an earlier marriage. Since the Danes were in conflict with the Heaðobards, whose king Froda had been killed in a war with the Danes, Hrothgar sent Freawaru to marry Froda's son Ingeld, in an unsuccessful attempt to end the feud.

Beowulf predicts to Hygelac that Ingeld will turn against his father-in-law Hrothgar. Earlier in the poem, the poet tells us that the hall Heorot was eventually destroyed by fire:

It is tempting to interpret the new war with Ingeld as leading to the burning of the hall of Heorot, but the poem separates the two events (by a ne wæs hit lenge þā meaning "nor far way was that day when", in Gummere's translation). According to Widsith (see below), Hrothgar and Hroðulf defeat Ingeld, and if Scandinavian tradition (see the more detailed discussion below) is to be trusted Hrothgar himself is killed by a relative, or by the king of Sweden, but he is avenged by his younger brother Halga. Halga dies in a Viking expedition; Hroðulf succeeds him and rises in fame, and according to Hroðulf's own saga and other sources, Hroðulf's cousin and/or brother-in-law Heoroweard slays Hroðulf (is this the event referred to as the burning of Heorot?). Heoroweard himself dies in that battle, and according to two sources, this happens only a few hours later, as an act of vengeance by a man loyal to Hroðulf, called Wigg. This is the kin-slaying end of the Scylding dynasty.

Widsith
Whereas Beowulf never dwells on the outcome of the battle with Ingeld, the possibly older poem Widsith refers to Hrothgar and Hroðulf defeating Ingeld at Heorot:

This piece suggests that the conflict between the Scyldings Hrothgar and Hroðulf on one side, and the Heaðobards Froda and Ingeld on the other, was well known in Anglo-Saxon England. This conflict also appears in Scandinavian sources, but in the Norse tradition the Heaðobards had apparently been forgotten and the conflict is instead rendered as a family feud (see Gesta Danorum, Hrólf Kraki's saga and Skjöldunga saga, below, for more information). The Norse sources also deal with the defeat of Ingeld and/or Froda.

Scandinavian sources
In the Scandinavian sources, consisting of Norse sagas, Icelandic poems and Danish chronicles, Hrothgar also appears as a Danish king of the Scylding dynasty. He remains the son of Healfdene and the elder brother of Halga. Moreover, he is still the uncle of Hroðulf. The Scandinavian sources also agree with Beowulf by making Hrothgar contemporary with the Swedish king Eadgils. These agreements with Beowulf are remarkable considering that these sources were composed from oral tradition 700 to 800 years after the events described, and 300 to 400 years later than Beowulf and Widsith.

There are also notable differences. The Heaðobards Ingeld and Froda also appear in Scandinavian tradition, but their tribe, the Heaðobards, had long been forgotten, and instead the tribal feud was rendered as a family feud. Their relationship as father and son had also been reversed in some sources, and so either Ingeld or Froda is given as the brother of Healfdene. Ingeld or Froda murdered Healfdene, but was himself killed in revenge by Hrothgar and Halga. Moreover, in Scandinavian tradition, Hrothgar is a minor character in comparison to his nephew Hroðulf. Such differences indicate that Beowulf and Scandinavian sources represent separate traditions.

The names of Hrothgar and others appear in the form they had in Old Icelandic or Latinized Old Danish at the time the stories were put to paper, and not in their Old English or more "authentic" Proto-Norse forms.

It has been a matter of some debate whether the hero Beowulf could have the same origin as Hroðulf's berserker Bödvar Bjarki, who appears in Scandinavian sources.

Among these sources, it is the most famous one, the Hrólfr Kraki's saga, which is most different from Beowulf, and a notable difference is that Hrothgar leaves the rule of Denmark to his younger brother Halga and moves to Northumbria. The focus is consequently on the Hrólfr Kraki's saga when a scholar questions the comparison of Hrothgar and other characters from Beowulf with counterparts in Scandinavian tradition. Scandinavian sources have added some information that appear in Beowulf studies, without having any founding in the work itself, such as the information that Halga was, or probably was, Hroðulf's father. Another example is the existence of a woman named Yrsa, who, however, has been transposed to a role she never had in any source texts, that of Hrothgar's sister.

Norse sagas and poems
In Icelandic sources, Hrothgar, Halga and Hroðulf appear under the Old Icelandic forms of their names; that is, as Hróarr, Helgi and Hrólfr, the last one with the epithet Kraki. In the case of the Skjöldunga saga ("Saga of the Scyldings") only a Latin summary has survived, and so their names are Latinized. The Icelandic sources can be divided into two groups: the Hrólfr Kraki's saga on the one hand, and the Skjöldunga saga and Bjarkarímur on the other. Both groups tell a version of Hrothgar and Halga's feud with Froda (Fróði) and Ingeld (Ingjaldr). However, whereas the Hrólfr Kraki's saga make Froda the brother of Healfdene, the Skjöldunga saga and Bjarkarímur make Ingeld the brother of Healfdene. Hrólfr Kraki's saga also disagrees with all the other works by moving Hrothgar from the throne of Denmark to Northumbria.

Hrólfr Kraki's saga
Hrólfr Kraki's saga relates that Halfdan has three children, Hróarr, Helgi, and the daughter Signý, who is married to Sævil Jarl. Halfdan has a brother named Fróði and both of them rule a kingdom, but Halfdan is good-natured and friendly, whereas Fróði is savage. Fróði attacks and kills Halfdan and makes himself the king of a united Denmark. He then sets out to neutralize his nephews Hróarr and Helgi. However, the two brothers survive on an island, protected by a man called Vivil; and after some adventure they avenge their father by killing Fróði.

Hróarr is presented as "meek and blithe", and he is completely removed from ruling the kingdom, leaving the rule to his brother Helgi. Instead he joins Norðri, the king of Northumberland, where he marries Ögn, the king's daughter. As recompense for Hróarr's share of the Danish kingdom, Helgi gives him a golden ring.

Sævil Jarl's son Hrókr (Hróarr and Helgi's nephew) becomes jealous that he has not inherited anything from his grandfather Halfdan; he goes to his uncle Helgi to claim his inheritance. Helgi refuses to give him a third of Denmark, and so instead he goes to Northumbria to claim the golden ring. He asks Hróarr if he at least could have a look at the ring, whereupon he takes the ring and throws it into the water. Hróarr naturally becomes angry, and cuts off Hrókr's feet and sends him back to his ships. Hrókr cannot live with this, and so he returns with a large army and slays Hróarr. Helgi avenges his brother by also cutting off Hrókr's arms. Hróarr's son Agnar retrieves the ring by diving in the water, which gives him great glory. Agnar is said to have become greater than his father, and much talked of in the old sagas.

Helgi attacks Sweden to retrieve Yrsa, his daughter and lover, but is killed by Aðils, the king of Sweden. He is succeeded by Hrólfr Kraki, his son by Yrsa.

Although it agrees with all the other Scandinavian sources in telling the story of Halga's incestuous relationship with his daughter Yrsa, it disagrees with all of them and with Beowulf by removing Hrothgar altogether as the king of Denmark. Instead, his place is taken by his brother Halga, and Hrothgar is sent to Northumberland, where he marries Ögn, the daughter of a positively fictive king Norðri who is named after Northumberland (Norðimbraland). Opinion is divided on whether there is any connection between Hrothgar's wife Wealhþeow in Beowulf and his wife Ögn in Hrólfr Kraki's saga; it has been suggested that Ögn shows that Wealhþeow and her family (the Helmings) were Anglo-Saxon. Another difference is that Hrothgar's sons Hreðric and Hroðmund do not appear in the Scandinavian tradition, but correspond to Agnar, in Hrólfr Kraki's saga.

Skjöldunga saga and Bjarkarímur
The Skjöldunga saga and Bjarkarímur tell a similar version to that of the Hrólfr Kraki's saga, but with several striking differences. Ingeld (Ingjaldus) of Beowulf reappears, but it is Ingeld who is the father of Froda (Frodo), and unlike in Hrólf Kraki's saga, Ingeld takes Froda's place as the half-brother of Healfdene (Haldan).

The sources relate that Haldan has a half-brother named Ingjaldus and a queen Sigrith with whom he has three children: the sons Roas and Helgo and the daughter Signy.

Ingjaldus is jealous of his half-brother Haldan and so he attacks and kills him, and then marries Sigrith. Ingjaldus and Sigrith then have two sons named Rærecus and Frodo. Their half-sister Signy stays with her mother until she is married to Sævil, the jarl of Zealand. Ingjaldus, who is worried that his nephews will want revenge, tries to find them and kill them, but Roas and Helgo survive by hiding on an island near Skåne. When they are old enough, they avenge their father by killing Ingjaldus.

The two brothers both become kings of Denmark, and Roas marries the daughter of the king of England. When Helgo's son Rolfo (whom Helgo begat with his own daughter Yrsa) is eight years old, Helgo dies and Rolfo succeeds him. Not much later, Roas is killed by his half-brothers Rærecus and Frodo, whereupon Rolfo becomes the sole king of Denmark.

This version agrees with all other versions of the legend of Hrothgar (Roas) and Halga (Helgo) by making them sons of Healfdene (Haldan) and by presenting Hrothgar as the uncle of Hroðulf (Rolfo). It agrees with Beowulf and Hrólfr Kraki's saga by mentioning that they had a sister, and by dealing with their feud with Froda (Frodo) and Ingeld (Ingjaldus), although there is a role reversal by making Ingeld the father of Froda instead of the other way round. It agrees with the other Scandinavian versions by treating Halga's incestuous relationship with his own daughter Yrsa. Moreover, it agrees with all other versions, except for Hrólfr Kraki's saga, by presenting Hrothgar as a king of Denmark, although it agrees with Hrólfr Kraki's saga by marrying Hrothgar to an Anglo-Saxon woman. Another agreement with Hrólfr Kraki's saga is the information that their sister was married to a Sævil Jarl, and that they had to hide on an island fleeing their kin-slaying uncle, before they could kill him and avenge their father.

Hversu Noregr byggdist
The Old Norse genealogy work Hversu Noregr byggdist tells that Hróarr had a son named Valdar, the father of Harald the Old, the father of Halfdan the Valiant, the father of Ivar Vidfamne, who was the maternal grandfather of Harald Wartooth. Harald fell at the Battle of the Brávellir against his nephew Sigurd Hring, a king of Sweden and the father of Ragnar Lodbrok.

This account is not about presenting the life of Hrothgar, but in presenting how Harald Fairhair was descended from kings and heroes in Scandinavian legend. The only reason for assuming that Hróarr is the same as Hrothgar, the Scylding, is that only Hrothgar would be a personage of old so famous so as not to need any further identification than his name. However, the Skjöldunga saga tells that a Valdar disputed that Rörek, the cousin of Halga succeeded Hroðulf (Hrólfr Kraki) as the king of the Daner. After the war, Rörek took Zealand, while Valdar took Skåne. If based on the same tradition as Hversu Noregr byggdist, Valdar had the right to claim the throne being the son of the former king Hrothgar.

Danish medieval chronicles
In the Chronicon Lethrense, Annales Lundenses and Gesta Danorum (12th-century works of Danish history, written in Latin), King Hrothgar is mentioned by the Old Danish form of the name Ro or Roe. His father Healfdene appears as Haldan or Haldanus, while his brother Halga appears as Helghe or Helgo. Hroðulf appears with an epithet as Roluo Krage or Rolf Krage. Their Swedish enemy, King Eadgils, appears as Athislus or Athisl (the Chronicon Lethrense calls him Hakon.)

The only Danish work that retains traditions of the feud with Ingeld and Froda is the Gesta Danorum.

Chronicon Lethrense and Annales Lundenses
The Chronicon Lethrense and the included Annales Lundenses report that Ro and Helghe were the sons of Haldan, who died of old age. The two brothers shared the rule, Ro taking the land and Helghe the water. They also tell that Ro founded and gave his name to the market town of Roskilde and that he was buried in Lejre. However, before Ro's nephew Rolf Krage (Hroðulf), who was Helghe's son by his own daughter Yrse, could ascend the throne, the rule of Denmark was given to a dog, on the orders of the Swedish king Hakon/Athisl (that is, Eadgils).

The Chronicon Lethrense and the Annales Lundenses agree with Beowulf in presenting Hrothgar (Ro) and his brother Halga (Helghe) as the sons of Healfdene (Haldan). They do not, however, contain a character description as Beowulf does; nor do they mention his spouse or his children. However, they introduce a sharing of power between Hrothgar and Halga where Halga only had power over the fleet. Hrothgar is reported as founding the town of Roskilde, which coincides with the information in Beowulf that he built Heorot. The information that Hroðulf (Rolf) was the result of an incestuous relationship between Halga and his daughter Yrse only appears in Scandinavian tradition. Like Beowulf, the Annales Lundenses makes Hrothgar the contemporary of Eadgils (Athisl), whereas the Chronicon Lethrense calls the Swedish king Hakon.

Gesta Danorum
The Gesta Danorum (book 2), by Saxo Grammaticus, contains roughly the same information as Beowulf, the Chronicon Lethrense and the Annales Lundenses: that is, that Ro was the son of Haldanus and the brother of Helgo, and the uncle of his successor Roluo Krage (Hroðulf). It is only said about Ro that he was "short and spare", that he founded the town of Roskilde, and that when their father Haldanus died of old age, he shared the rule of the kingdom with his brother Helgo, Ro taking the land and Helgo the water.

Ro could not defend his kingdom against the Swedish king Hothbrodd, who was not happy with warring in the East but wished to test his strength against the Danes (Oliver Elton's translation): Fain to extend his empire, he warred upon the East, and after a huge massacre of many peoples begat two sons, Athisl and Hother, and appointed as their tutor a certain Gewar, who was bound to him by great services. Not content with conquering the East, he assailed Denmark, challenged its king, Ro, in three battles, and slew him. Ro was, however, avenged by his brother Helgo, who then promptly went east and died in shame (because he discovered that he had fathered Roluo Krake with his own daughter Urse.) Roluo succeeded his father and uncle to the Danish throne.

The Gesta Danorum also agrees with Beowulf in presenting Hrothgar (Ro) and Halga (Helgo) as brothers and the sons of Healfdene (Haldanus). Moreover, like the Chronicon Lethrense and the Annales Lundenses, it presents Hroðulf (Roluo) as the son of Halga and his own daughter. A striking difference is that the Swedish king Eadgils (Athisl) is pushed forward a generation, and instead, Saxo introduces Hrothgar's killer Hothbrodd as the father of Eadgils, a place that other sources give to Ohthere. A similar piece of information is also found in the Chronicon Lethrense and the Annales Lundenses, where Halga had to kill a man named Hodbrod to win all of Denmark. However, Saxo also adds the god Höðr as the brother of Eadgils in order to present a euhemerized version of the Baldr myth, later.

The tradition of the feud with the Heaðobards Ingeld and Froda appears twice in the Gesta Danorum. The first time it tells of the feud is Book 2, where Ingeld (called Ingild) appears with the son Agnar. In this version, Ingeld's son was about to marry Hroðulf's sister Rute, but a fight broke out and Agnar died in a duel with Bödvar Bjarki (called Biarco).

The second time it tells of Froda and Ingeld is in Book 7, but here Hrothgar is replaced by a Harald and Halga by a Haldanus. It is the Scandinavian version of the feud, similar to the one told in the Skjöldunga saga, Bjarkarímur and Hrólfr Kraki's saga, where the Heaðobards are forgotten and the feud with Froda and Ingeld has become a family feud. The main plot is that Ingeld had the sons Frodo (Froda) and Harald (corresponds to Healfdene). The relationship between Ingeld and Froda was thus reversed, a reversal also found in the Skjöldunga saga and in the Bjarkarímur. Froda killed his brother and tried to get rid of his nephews Harald (corresponds to Hrothgar) and Haldanus (corresponds to Halga). After some adventures, the two brothers burnt their uncle to death inside his house and avenged their father.

Comments
With the exception of Hversu Noregr byggdist, where he is only a name in a list, three elements are common to all of the accounts: he was the son of a Danish king Healfdene, the brother of Halga, and he was the uncle of Hroðulf. Apart from that, the Scandinavian tradition is unanimous in dwelling on the incestuous relationship between Halga and his daughter Yrsa which resulted in Hroðulf, a story which was either not presented in Beowulf or was not known to the poet. The Danish sources (Chronicon Lethrense, Annales Lundenses, Gesta Danorum) all agree with Beowulf by making Hrothgar the king of Denmark. The Icelandic (Skjöldunga saga, Bjarkarímur, Hrólf Kraki's saga) all agree with Beowulf by mentioning that they had a sister, and by mentioning their feud with Froda and Ingeld, albeit with alterations. What is unique to the Icelandic versions are the adventures of Hrothgar and Halga before one of the two brothers could become king.

The similarities between Beowulf and the mentioned Scandinavian sources are by far not the only ones. Other personalities mentioned in Beowulf appear in the stories before and after dealing with Hrothgar, but for more, see origins for Beowulf and Hrólf Kraki.

title: Hrothgar


text:
Reinhold Messner

Reinhold Andreas Messner (born 17 September 1944) is an Italian climber, explorer, and author from South Tyrol. He made the first solo ascent of Mount Everest and, along with Peter Habeler, the first ascent of Everest without supplemental oxygen. He was the first person to climb all 14 eight-thousanders, doing so without supplementary oxygen. Messner was the first to cross Antarctica and Greenland with neither snowmobiles nor dog sleds and also crossed the Gobi Desert alone. He is widely considered to be the greatest mountaineer of all time.

From 1999 to 2004, Messner served as a member of the European Parliament for north-east Italy, as a member of the Federation of the Greens.

Messner has published more than 80 books about his experiences as a climber and explorer. In 2010, he received the 2nd Piolet d'Or Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2018, he received jointly with Krzysztof Wielicki the Princess of Asturias Award in the category of Sports.

Early life and education
Messner was born to a German-speaking family in St. Peter, Villnöß, near Brixen in South Tyrol, which is part of Italy. According to his sister, his delivery was difficult as he was a large baby and the birth took place during an air raid. His mother Maria (1913–1995) was the daughter of a shop owner and 4 years older than her husband. His father Josef (1917–1985) was drafted to serve the German army and participated in World War II on the Russian front. After the war, he was an auxiliary teacher until 1957, when he became the director of the local school. Messner was the second of nine children – Helmut (born 1943), Günther (1946–1970), Erich (born 1948), Waltraud (born 1949), Siegfried (1950–1985), Hubert (born 1953), Hansjörg (born 1955) and Werner (born 1957), and grew up in modest means.

Messner spent his early years climbing in the Alps and falling in love with the Dolomites. His father was strict and sometimes severe with him. He led Reinhold to his first summit at the age of five.

When Messner was 13, he began climbing with his brother Günther, age 11. By the time Reinhold and Günther were in their early twenties, they were among Europe's best climbers.

Since the 1960s, Messner, inspired by Hermann Buhl, was one of the first and most enthusiastic supporters of alpine style mountaineering in the Himalayas, which consisted of climbing with very light equipment and a minimum of external help. Messner considered the usual expedition style (which he dubbed "siege tactics") disrespectful toward nature and mountains.

Career
Before his first major Himalayan climb in 1970, Messner had made a name for himself mainly through his achievements in the Alps. Between 1960 and 1964, he led over 500 ascents, most of them in the Dolomites. In 1965, he climbed a new direttissima route on the north face of the Ortler. A year later, he climbed the Walker Spur on the Grandes Jorasses and ascended the Rocchetta Alta di Bosconero. In 1967, he made the first ascent of the northeast face of the Agnér and the first winter ascents of the Agnér north face and Furchetta north face.

In 1968, he achieved further firsts: the Heiligkreuzkofel middle pillar and the direct south face of the Marmolada. In 1969, Messner joined an Andes expedition, during which he succeeded, together with Peter Habeler, in making the first ascent of the Yerupaja east face up to the summit ridge and, a few days later, the first ascent of the 6121 m Yerupaja Chico. He also made the first solo ascent of the Droites north face, the Philipp-Flamm intersection on the Civetta and the south face of Marmolada di Rocca. As a result, Messner won the reputation of being one of the best climbers in Europe.

In 1970, Messner was invited to join a major Himalayan expedition that was going to attempt the unclimbed Rupal face of Nanga Parbat. The expedition, which was the major turning point in his life, turned out to be a tragic success. Both he and his brother Günther reached the summit but Günther died two days later on the descent of the Diamir face. Reinhold lost seven toes, which had become badly frostbitten during the climb and required amputation. Reinhold was severely criticized for persisting on this climb with the less experienced Günther. The 2010 movie Nanga Parbat by Joseph Vilsmaier is based on his account of the events.

While Messner and Peter Habeler were noted for fast ascents in the Alps of the Eiger North Wall, standard route (10 hours) and Les Droites (8 hours), his 1975 Gasherbrum I first ascent of a new route took three days. This was unheard of at the time.

In the 1970s, Messner championed the cause for ascending Mount Everest without supplementary oxygen, saying that he would do it "by fair means" or not at all. In 1978, he reached the summit of Everest with Habeler. This was the first time anyone had been that high without supplemental oxygen and Messner and Habeler achieved what certain doctors, specialists, and mountaineers thought impossible. He repeated the feat, without Habeler, from the Tibetan side in 1980, during the monsoon season. This was Everest's first solo summit.

In 1978, he made a solo ascent of the Diamir face of Nanga Parbat. In 1986, Messner became the first to complete all fourteen eight-thousanders (peaks over 8,000 metres above sea level).

Messner has crossed Antarctica on skis, together with fellow explorer Arved Fuchs. He has written over 80 books about his experiences, a quarter of which have been translated. He was featured in the 1984 film The Dark Glow of the Mountains by Werner Herzog. From 1999 to 2004, he held political office as a Member of the European Parliament for the Italian Green Party (Federazione dei Verdi). He was also among the founders of Mountain Wilderness, an international NGO dedicated to the protection of mountains worldwide.

In 2004 he completed a 2000 km expedition through the Gobi desert. In 2006, he founded the Messner Mountain Museum.

Ascents above 8,000m
Messner was the first person to climb all fourteen eight-thousanders in the world and without supplemental oxygen. His climbs were also all amongst the first 20 ascents for each mountain individually. Specifically, these are:

Other expeditions since 1970

 * 1971 – Journeys to the mountains of Iran, Nepal, New Guinea, Pakistan and East Africa;
 * 1972 – Noshaq (7492 m) in the Hindu Kush;
 * 1973 – Marmolada West Pillar, first climb; Furchetta West Face, first climb;
 * 1974 – Aconcagua south wall (6959 m), partially new "South Tyrol Route"; Eiger North Face with Peter Habeler in 10 hours (a record that stood for 34 years, for a roped party);
 * 1976 – Mount McKinley (6193 m), "Face of the Midnight Sun", first climb;
 * 1978 – Kilimanjaro (5895 m), "Breach Wall", first climb;
 * 1979 – Ama Dablam rescue attempt; first climbs in the Hoggar Mountains, Africa;
 * 1981 – Chamlang (7317 m) Centre Summit-North Face, first climb;
 * 1984 – Double-Traverse of Gasherbrum II and I with Hans Kammerlander;
 * 1985 – Tibet Transversale with Kailash exploration;
 * 1986 – Crossing of East Tibet; Mount Vinson (4897 m, Antarctic), on 3 December 1986, thus becoming the first person to complete Seven Summits without the use of supplemental oxygen on Mount Everest;
 * 1987 – Bhutan trip; Pamir trip;
 * 1988 – Yeti-Tibet solo expedition;
 * 1989–1990 – Antarctic crossing (over the South Pole) on foot, 2800 km trek with Arved Fuchs;
 * 1991 – Bhutan crossing (east-west); "Around South Tyrol" as a positioning exercise, where he was peripherally involved in the Ötzi find, being among the groups who inspected the mummy on-site the day after its initial discovery;
 * 1992 – Ascent of Chimborazo (6310 m); crossing of Taklamakan Desert in Xinjiang;
 * 1993 – Trip to Dolpo, Mustang and Manang in Nepal; Greenland longitudinal crossing (diagonal) on foot, 2200 km trek;
 * 1994 – Cleaning project in North India/Gangotri, Shivling region (6543 m); to Ruwenzori (5119 m), Uganda;
 * 1995 – Arctic crossing (Siberia to Canada) failed; trip to Belukha (4506 m), Altai Mountains/Siberia;
 * 1996 – Trip through East Tibet and to Kailash.
 * 1997 – Trip to Kham (East Tibet); small expedition into Karakoram; filming on the Ol Doinyo Lengai (holy mountain of the Maasai) in Tanzania
 * 1998 – Trip to the Altai Mountains (Mongolia) and to Puna de Atacama (Andes)
 * 1999 – Filming: San Francisco Peaks, Arizona (Holy mountain of Navajo); trip into the Thar Desert/India
 * 2000 – Crossing of South Georgia on the Shackleton Route; Nanga Parbat Expedition; filming on Mount Fuji/Japan for the ZDF series Wohnungen der Götter (~"Homes of the Gods")
 * 2001 – Dharamsala and foothills of the Himalayas/India; ZDF series Wohnungen der Götter on Gunung Agung/Bali
 * 2002 – In the "International Year of the Mountains" visit by mountaineers into the Andes and ascent of Cotopaxi (5897 m), Ecuador
 * 2003 – Trekking to Mount Everest (fiftieth anniversary of the first successful climb); trip to Franz Joseph Land/Arctic; on 1 October opening of the "Günther Mountain School" in the Diamir Valley on Nanga Parbat/Pakistan
 * 2004 – Longitudinal crossing of the Gobi Desert (Mongolia) on foot, about 2000 km trek
 * 2005 – Trip to the Dyva Nomads in Mongolia; "time journey" around Nanga Parbat/Pakistan

Nanga Parbat
Reinhold Messner took a total of five expeditions to Nanga Parbat. In 1970 and 1978 he reached the summit (in 1978 solo); in 1971, 1973 and 1977, he did not. In 1971 he was primarily looking for his brother's remains.

Rupal Face 1970
In May and June 1970, Messner took part in the Nanga Parbat South Face expedition led by Karl Herrligkoffer, the objective of which was to climb the as yet unclimbed Rupal Face, the highest rock and ice face in the world. Messner's brother, Günther, was also a member of the team. On the morning of 27 June, Messner was of the view that the weather would deteriorate rapidly, and set off alone from the last high-altitude camp. Surprisingly his brother climbed after him and caught up to him before the summit. By late afternoon, both had reached the summit of the mountain and had to pitch an emergency bivouac shelter without tent, sleeping bags and stoves because darkness was closing in.

The events that followed have been the subject of years of legal actions and disputes between former expedition members, and have still not been finally resolved. What is known now is that Reinhold and Günther Messner descended the Diamir Face, thereby achieving the first traverse of Nanga Parbat and second traverse of an eight-thousander after Mount Everest in 1963. Reinhold arrived in the valley six days later with severe frostbite, but survived. His brother, Günther, however died on the Diamir Face—according to Reinhold Messner on the same descent, during which they became further and further separated from each other. As a result, the time, place and exact cause of death is unknown. Messner said his brother had been swept away by an avalanche.

In June 2005, after an unusual heat wave on the mountain, the body of his brother was recovered on the Diamir Face, which seems to support Messner's account of how Günther died.

The drama was turned into a film Nanga Parbat (2010) by Joseph Vilsmaier, based on the memories of Reinhold Messner and without participation from the other former members of the expedition. Released in January 2010 in cinemas, the film was criticised by the other members of the team for telling only one side of the story.

Because of severe frostbite, especially on his feet—seven toes were amputated—Messner was not able to climb quite as well on rock after the 1970 expedition. He therefore turned his attention to higher mountains, where there was much more ice.

Solo climb in 1978
On 9 August 1978, after three unsuccessful expeditions, Messner reached the summit of Nanga Parbat again via the Diamir Face.

Manaslu
In 1972, Messner succeeded in climbing Manaslu on what was then the unknown south face of the mountain, of which there were not even any pictures. From the last high-altitude camp he climbed with Frank Jäger, who turned back before reaching the summit. Shortly after Messner reached the summit, the weather changed and heavy fog and snow descended. Initially Messner became lost on the way down, but later, heading into the storm, found his way back to the camp, where Horst Fankhauser and Andi Schlick were waiting for him and Jäger. Jäger did not return, although his cries were heard from the camp. Orientation had become too difficult. Fankhauser and Schlick began to search for him that evening, but lost their way and sought shelter at first in a snow cave. Messner himself was no longer in a position to help the search. The following day, only Horst Fankhauser returned. Andi Schlick had left the snow cave during the night and disappeared. Thus, the expedition had to mourn the loss of two climbers. Messner was later criticised for having allowed Jäger go back down the mountain alone.

Gasherbrum I
Together with Peter Habeler, Messner made a second ascent of Gasherbrum I on 10 August 1975, becoming the first man ever to climb more than two eight-thousanders. It was the first time a mountaineering expedition succeeded in scaling an eight-thousander using alpine style climbing. Until that point, all fourteen 8000-meter peaks had been summitted using the expedition style, though Hermann Buhl had earlier advocated "West Alpine Style" (similar to "capsule" style, with a smaller group relying on minimal fixed ropes).

Messner reached the summit again in 1984, this time together with Hans Kammerlander. This was achieved as part of a double ascent where, for the first time, two eight-thousander peaks (Gasherbrum I and II) were climbed without returning to base camp. Again, this was done in alpine style, i.e. without the pre-location of stores. Filmmaker Werner Herzog accompanied the climbers along the 150 km approach to base camp, interviewing them extensively about why they were making the climb, if they could say; they could not. Messner became emotional on camera when he recalled having to tell his mother about his brother's death.

It took a week for the two climbers to summit both peaks and return to camp, after which Herzog interviewed them again. His documentary, The Dark Glow of the Mountains, with some footage the two climbers shot during the expedition on portable cameras, was released the following year.

Mount Everest

On 8 May 1978, Messner and Habeler reached the summit of Mount Everest, becoming the first men to climb it without using supplemental oxygen. Before this ascent, it was disputed whether this was possible at all. Messner and Habeler were members of an expedition led by Wolfgang Nairz along the southeast ridge to the summit. Also on this expedition was Reinhard Karl, the first German to reach the summit, albeit with the aid of supplemental oxygen.

Two years later, on 20 August 1980, Messner again stood atop the highest mountain in the world, without supplementary oxygen. For this solo climb, he chose the northeast ridge to the summit, where he crossed above the North Col in the North Face to the Norton Couloir and became the first man to climb through this steep gorge to the summit. Messner decided spontaneously during the ascent to use this route to bypass the exposed northeast ridge. Before this solo ascent, he had not set up a camp on the mountain.

K2
For 1979, Messner was planning to climb K2 on a new direct route through the South Face, which he called the "Magic Line". Headed by Messner, the small expedition consisted of six climbers: Italians Alessandro Gogna, Friedl Mutschlechner and Renato Casarotto; the Austrian, Robert Schauer; and Germans Michael Dacher, journalist, Jochen Hölzgen, and doctor Ursula Grether, who was injured during the approach and had to be carried to Askole by Messner and Mutschlechner. Because of avalanche danger on the original route and time lost on the approach, they decided to climb via the Abruzzi Spur. The route was equipped with fixed ropes and high-altitude camps, but no hauling equipment (Hochträger) or bottled oxygen was used. On 12 July, Messner and Dacher reached the summit; then the weather deteriorated and attempts by other members of the party failed.

Shishapangma
During his stay in Tibet as part of his Everest solo attempt, Messner explored Shishapangma. A year later, Messner, with Friedel Mutschlechner, Oswald Oelz, and Gerd Baur, set up a base camp on the north side. On 28 May, Messner and Mutschlechner reached the summit in very bad weather; part of the climb involving ski mountaineering.

Kangchenjunga
In 1982, Messner wanted to become the first climber ever to scale three eight-thousanders in one year. He planned to climb Kangchenjunga, then Gasherbrum II and Broad Peak.

Messner chose a new variation of the route up the north face. Because there was still a lot of snow, Messner and Mutschlechner made very slow progress. In addition, the difficulty of the climb forced the two mountaineers to use fixed ropes. Finally, on 6 May, Messner and Mutschlechner stood on the summit. There, Mutschlechner suffered frostbite to his hands, and later to his feet as well. While bivouacking during the descent, the tent tore away from Mutschlechner and Messner, and Messner also fell ill. He was suffering from amoebic liver abscess, making him very weak. He made it back to base camp only with Mutschlechner's help.

Gasherbrum II
After his ascent of Kangchenjunga, Mutschlechner flew back to Europe because his frostbite had to be treated and Messner needed rest. Thus the three mountains could not be climbed as planned. Messner was cured of his amoebic liver abscess and then travelled to Gasherbrum II, but could not use the new routes as planned. In any case, his climbing partners, Sher Khan and Nazir Sabir, would not have been strong enough. Nevertheless, all three reached the summit on 24 July in a storm. During the ascent, Messner discovered the body of a previously missing Austrian mountaineer, whom he buried two years later at the G I – G II traverse.

Broad Peak
In 1982, Messner scaled Broad Peak, his third eight-thousander. At the time, he was the only person with a permit to climb this mountain; he came across Jerzy Kukuczka and Wojciech Kurtyka, who had permits to climb K2, but used its geographic proximity to climb Broad Peak illegally. In early descriptions of the ascent, Messner omitted this encounter, but he referred to it several years later. On 2 August, Messner was reunited with Nazir Sabir and Khan again on the summit. The three mountaineers had decamped and made for Broad Peak immediately after their ascent of Gasherbrum II. The climb was carried out with a variation from the normal route at the start.

Cho Oyu
In the winter of 1982–83, Messner attempted the first winter ascent of Cho Oyu. He reached an altitude of about 7500 m, when great masses of snow forced him to turn back. This expedition was his first with Hans Kammerlander. A few months later, on 5 May, he reached the summit via a partially new route together with Kammerlander and Michael Dacher.

Annapurna
In 1985, Messner topped out on Annapurna. Using a new route on the northwest face, he reached the summit with Kammerlander on 24 April. Also on the expedition were Reinhard Patscheider, Reinhard Schiestl and Swami Prem Darshano, who did not reach the summit. During Messner and Kammerlander's ascent, the weather was bad and they had to be assisted by the other three expedition members during the descent due to heavy snowfall.

Dhaulagiri

Messner had already attempted Dhaulagiri in 1977 and 1984, unsuccessfully. In 1985 he finally summited. He climbed with Kammerlander up the normal route along the northeast ridge. After only three days of climbing they stood on the summit in a heavy storm on 15 May.

Makalu
Messner tried climbing Makalu four times. He failed in 1974 and 1981 on the South Face of the south-east ridge. In winter 1985–1986 he attempted the first winter ascent of Makalu via the normal route. Even this venture did not succeed. Not until February 2009 was Makalu successfully climbed in winter by Denis Urubko and Simone Moro.

In 1986, Messner returned and succeeded in reaching the summit using the normal route with Kammerlander and Mutschlechner. Although they had turned back twice during this expedition, they made the summit on the third attempt on 26 September. During this expedition, Messner witnessed the death of Marcel Rüedi, for whom the Makalu was his 9th eight-thousander. Rüedi was on the way back from the summit and was seen by Messner and the other climbers on the descent. Although he was making slow progress, he appeared to be safe. The tea for his reception had already been boiled when Rüedi disappeared behind a snow ridge and did not reappear. He was found dead a short time later.

Lhotse
Messner climbed his last normal route. Messner and Kammerlander had to contend with a strong wind in the summit area. To reach the summit that year and before winter broke, they took a direct helicopter flight from the Makalu base camp to the Lhotse base camp.

Thus Messner became the first person to climb all eight-thousanders. Since this ascent, Messner has never climbed another eight-thousander. In 1989, Messner led a European expedition to the South Face of the mountain. The aim was to forge a path up the as-yet-unclimbed face. Messner himself did not want to climb any more. The expedition was unsuccessful.

The Seven Summits
In 1985 Richard Bass first postulated and achieved the mountaineering challenge Seven Summits, climbing the highest peaks of each of the seven continents. Messner suggested another list (the Messner or Carstensz list) replacing Mount Kosciuszko with Indonesia's Puncak Jaya, or Carstensz Pyramid (4884 m). From a mountaineering point of view the Messner list is the more challenging one. Climbing Carstensz Pyramid has the character of an expedition, whereas the ascent of Kosciuszko is an easy hike. In May 1986 Pat Morrow became the first person to complete the Messner list, followed by Messner himself when he climbed Mount Vinson in December 1986 to become the second.

World-first records
Messner is listed nine times in the Guinness Book of Records. All of his achievements are classed as "World's Firsts" (or "Historical Firsts"). A "World's First" is the highest category of any Guinness World Record, meaning the ownership of the title never expires. As of 2021, Messner is the second highest record holder of "World's Firsts" (after Icelandic oceanic rower Fiann Paul, who has 13). Messner's world firsts are:

 * First ascent of Manaslu without supplementary oxygen
 * First solo summit of Everest
 * First ascent of Everest and K2 without supplementary oxygen
 * First ascent of the top three highest mountains without supplementary oxygen
 * First 8,000-metre mountain hat-trick
 * First person to climb all 8,000-metre mountains without supplementary oxygen
 * First person to climb all 8,000-metre mountains
 * First ascent of Everest without supplementary oxygen
 * First ascent of Gasherbrum I without supplementary oxygen

Messner Mountain Museum
In 2003 Messner started work on a project for a mountaineering museum. On 11 June 2006, the Messner Mountain Museum (MMM) opened, a museum that unites within one museum the stories of the growth and decline of mountains, culture in the Himalayan region and the history of South Tyrol.

The MMM consists of five or six locations:

 * MMM Firmian at Sigmundskron Castle near Bozen is the centerpiece of the museum and concentrates on man's relationship with the mountains. Surrounded by peaks from the Schlern and the Texel range, the MMM Firmian provides visitors with a series of pathways, stairways, and towers containing displays that focus on the geology of the mountains, the religious significance of mountains in the lives of people, and the history of mountaineering and alpine tourism. The so-called white tower is dedicated to the history of the village and the struggle for the independence of South Tyrol.
 * MMM Juval at Juval Castle in the Burggrafenamt in Vinschgau is dedicated to the "magic of the mountains", with an emphasis on mystical mountains, such as Mount Kailash or Ayers Rock and their religious significance. MMM Juval houses several art collections.
 * MMM Dolomites, known as the Museum in the Clouds, is located at Monte Rite (2181 m) between Pieve di Cadore and Cortina d'Ampezzo. Housed in an old fort, this museum is dedicated to the subject of rocks, particularly in the Dolomites, with exhibits focusing on the history of the formation of the Dolomites. The summit observation platform offers a 360° panorama of the surrounding Dolomites, with views toward Monte Schiara, Monte Agnèr, Monte Civetta, Marmolada, Monte Pelmo, Tofana di Rozes, Sorapis, Antelao, Marmarole.
 * MMM Ortles at Sulden on the Ortler is dedicated to the theme of ice. This underground structure is situated at 1900 m and focuses on the history of mountaineering on ice and the great glaciers of the world. The museum contains the world's largest collection of paintings of the Ortler, as well as ice-climbing gear from two centuries.
 * MMM Ripa at Brunico Castle in South Tyrol is dedicated to the mountain peoples from Asia, Africa, South America and Europe, with emphasis on their cultures, religions, and tourism activities.
 * MMM Corones, opened in July 2015 on the top of the Kronplatz mountain (Plan de Corones in Italian), is dedicated to traditional climbing.

Political career
In 1999, Messner was elected Member of the European Parliament for the Federation of the Greens (FdV), the Italian green party, receiving more than 20,000 votes in the European election. He fully served his term until 2004, when he retired from politics.

Messner was officially a member of South Tyrolean Greens, a regionalist and ecologist political party active only in South Tyrol, which de facto acts as a regional branch of the FdV.

Personal life
From 1972 until 1977, Messner was married to Uschi Demeter. With his partner, Canadian photographer Nena Holguin, he has a daughter, Làyla Messner, born in 1981. On 31 July 2009, he married his long time girlfriend Sabine Stehle, a textile designer from Vienna, with whom he has three children. They divorced in 2019. In late May 2021, Messner married Diane Schumacher, a 41-year-old Luxembourgish woman living in Munich, at the town hall in Kastelbell-Tschars near his home in South Tyrol.

In media

 * The Dark Glow of the Mountains (Gasherbrum – Der leuchtende Berg), a 1985 Werner Herzog television documentary
 * Portrait of a Snow Lion, a BBC/France3 1992 documentary on Messner; part 4 of the series The Climbers
 * Messner, a 2002 feature documentary about Messner by Les Guthman
 * Lissi und der wilde Kaiser, an animated comedy movie from 2007 by Michael Herbig that ends with a photo of the Yeti with his new buddy, Reinhold Messner
 * Nanga Parbat, a 2010 film based on Messner's achievements
 * The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, a 1999 album by Ben Folds Five, unrelated to Messner
 * 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible, a 2021 Netflix documentary film about Nirmal Purja and his mountaineering team's world record breaking ascent of the 14 highest mountains in the world. Reinhold Messner provides commentary in several interview segments. The New York Times described his contribution to the film as "the alpine legend Reinhold Messner waxing beautifully existential".
 * The Alpinist, a 2021 documentary film with commentary by Messner

Interviews

 * Gaia Symphony Documentary series (Japanese production).
 * Reinhold Messner Biography and Interview on American Academy of Achievement.

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

title: Reinhold Messner


text:
Talk:Helena, mother of Constantine the Great

Wouldn't it be better to place the article under "Helena of Constantinople" and make this a redirect? It is true that she is most famous for being the mother of Constantine, but that's not the only thing she's done.Valhalla 14:20 30 Jun 2003 (UTC)

The Island could be moved to Saint Helena (Island), and We could move this to Saint Helena. It would then be more consistent with the other Saints, since the Island is named after the woman. What do you think? Boots 14:48 30 Jun 2003 (UTC)

 * That's another good opinion, but involves moving two articles instead of one. I'm not so sure about what could be the wikipedia policy in such cases. Any suggestion? Valhalla 16:18 30 Jun 2003 (UTC)


text:
Legendre

Legendre, LeGendre or Le Gendre is a French surname. It may refer to:
 * Adrien-Marie Legendre (1752–1833), French mathematician
 * Associated Legendre polynomials
 * Legendre's equation
 * Legendre polynomials
 * Legendre symbol
 * Legendre transformation
 * Legendre (crater), a lunar impact crater located near the eastern limb of the Moon
 * 26950 Legendre, a main-belt asteroid discovered on May 11, 1997
 * Anne Legendre Armstrong (1927–2008), United States diplomat and politician
 * Charles Le Gendre (1830–1899), French-born American general and diplomat
 * François Legendre (1763–1853), surveyor, seigneur and political figure in Lower Canada
 * Géraldine Legendre (born 1953), French-American cognitive scientist and linguist
 * Gertrude Sanford Legendre (1902–2000), American socialite who served as a spy during World War II
 * Jacques Legendre (disambiguation), several people
 * Kevin Le Gendre, British journalist and broadcaster

 * Louis Legendre (1752–1797), French politician of the Revolution period
 * Louis Legendre (oceanographer), Canadian oceanographer
 * Pierre Legendre (historian) (born 1930), French historian of law and psychoanalyst
 * Pierre Legendre (ecologist), Canadian numerical ecologist
 * Richard Legendre (born 1953), former professional tennis player and a Quebec politician
 * Robert LeGendre (1898–1931), American athlete

title: Legendre


text:
Janosch

Janosch (, born as Horst Eckert on 11 March 1931) is a German children's author and illustrator.

Biography
Janosch was born as Horst Eckert on 11 March 1931 in what was then Hindenburg (now Zabrze, Poland) in Upper Silesia to a family of mixed German and Polish origin, though he identifies his nationality as "Silesian". His mother was a pious Catholic, and his father a violent alcoholic.

After World War II, the family fled to West Germany. In the area of Oldenburg, Janosch worked in a textile mill. In 1953, he went to Munich, where he studied for some terms at the Academy of Arts, but broke off his studies eventually. Afterwards, he worked as a freelance artist. In 1960, his first book for children was published with George Lentz, a friend of his, who also persuaded him to take on the penname Janosch.

By 1980, he had published over 100 books for children in nearly 30 languages. Amongst his most recognisable characters is the Tigerente that appears in Oh, wie schön ist Panama and the stories around the little tiger and the little bear. He has also published several books for adults, in which he deals with his childhood experiences of growing up with an abusive father and a God-fearing mother, constantly recurring topics being friendship, family relationships, and the quest for the meaning of life.

Between 1953 and 1980 the artist lived in Munich, and then relocated to the island of Tenerife where he resides to this day.

Awards
Among others, he has received the following awards:
 * 1975: Literaturpreis der Stadt München
 * 1979: German Youth Literature Award
 * 1984: Zilveren Griffel
 * 1993: Bundesverdienstkreuz

Works
In German, Janosch published until today about 150 books which in part were translated into 30 languages.
 * Die Geschichte von Valek dem Pferd. Georg-Lentz-Verlag, Munich 1960.
 * Valek und Jarosch. Georg-Lentz-Verlag, Munich 1960.
 * Das kleine Schiff. Georg-Lentz-Verlag, Munich 1960.
 * Der Josa mit der Zauberfidel. Georg-Lentz-Verlag, Munich 1960.
 * Onkel Poppoff kann auf Bäume fliegen. Parabel-Verlag, Munich 1964.
 * Das Auto hier heißt Ferdinand. Parabel-Verlag, Munich 1964, ISBN 3-407-79316-2.
 * Böllerbam und der Vogel. Middelhauve Verlag, Cologne 1968,.
 * Cholonek oder Der liebe Gott aus Lehm. Georg-Bitter-Verlag, Recklinghausen 1970, ISBN 3-7903-0125-6.
 * Lari Fari Mogelzahn. Beltz-Verlag, Weinheim 1971, ISBN 3-407-80207-2.
 * Leo Zauberfloh. dtv, Munich 1975, ISBN 3-423-07025-0.
 * Sacharin im Salat. Bertelsmann-Verlag, Munich 1975, ISBN 3-570-00047-8.
 * Update on Rumpelstiltskin and other Fairy Tales by 43 Authors. Beltz & Gelberg, Weinheim 1976, ISBN 3-407-80518-7.
 * Traumstunde für Siebenschläfer. Beltz-Verlag, Weinheim 1977, ISBN 3-407-80526-8.
 * Die Maus hat rote Strümpfe an. Beltz-Verlag, Weinheim 1978, ISBN 3-407-80538-1.
 * Oh, wie schön ist Panama. Beltz-Verlag, Weinheim 1978, ISBN 3-407-80533-0.
 * English translation: The Trip to Panama. Beltz & Gelberg Verlag, Weinheim 1990, ISBN 3-407-78074-5. translator: Anthea Bell
 * Sandstrand. Beltz-Verlag, Weinheim 1979, ISBN 3-407-80758-9; Merlin Verlag, Gifkendorf 2001, ISBN 3-87536-218-7.
 * Komm, wir finden einen Schatz. Beltz-Verlag, Weinheim 1979, ISBN 3-407-80555-1.
 * Schnuddelbuddel sagt Gutnacht. Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, Munich 1979, ISBN 3-423-07506-6.
 * Post für den Tiger. Beltz-Verlag, Weinheim 1980, ISBN 3-407-78031-1.
 * The City meets the Country. Beltz & Gelberg, Weinheim 1980, ISBN 3-407-80570-5.
 * Das Leben der Thiere. Beltz-Verlag, Weinheim 1981, ISBN 3-407-80585-3.
 * Rasputin der Vaterbär. Beltz-Verlag, Weinheim 1983, ISBN 3-407-80270-6.
 * Ich mach dich gesund, sagte der Bär. Diogenes-Verlag, Zürich 1985, ISBN 3-407-79335-9.
 * Das Lumpengesindel. Diogenes-Verlag, Zürich 1987, ISBN 3-257-00689-6.
 * Der Mäuse-Sheriff. Georg Bitter Verlag, Recklinghausen 1989, ISBN 3-931081-05-2.
 * Die Kunst der bäuerlichen Liebe 1. Teil. Merlin Verlag, Gifkendorf 1990, ISBN 3-926112-26-3.
 * Du bist ein Indianer, Hannes. Bitter Verlag, Recklinghausen 1990, ISBN 3-7903-0388-7.
 * Polski Blues. Goldmann Verlag, Munich 1991, ISBN 3-442-30417-2.
 * Zurück nach Uskow. Merlin Verlag, Gifkendorf 1992, ISBN 3-926112-34-4.
 * Schäbels Frau. Goldmann Verlag, Munich 1992, ISBN 3-442-30442-3.
 * Mutter sag, wer macht die Kinder?. Mosaik-Verlag, Munich 1992, ISBN 3-576-10038-5.
 * Von dem Glück, Hrdlak gekannt zu haben. Goldmann Verlag, Munich 1994, ISBN 3-442-30443-1.
 * Von dem Glück, als Herr Janosch überlebt zu haben. Merlin Verlag, Gifkendorf 1994, ISBN 3-926112-25-5.
 * Franz mit dem verdammten Hut. Little Tiger Verlag, Hamburg 1995, ISBN 3-423-70389-X.
 * Schnuddel baut ein Wolkenhaus. Isis Verlag, Chur 1995,.
 * Schnuddels Gute-Nacht-Geschichten. Isis Verlag, Chur 1995,.
 * Wörterbuch der Lebenskunst. Goldmann Verlag, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-442-30626-4.
 * Gastmahl auf Gomera. Goldmann Verlag, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-442-30662-0.
 * Restaurant & Mutterglück oder Das Kind. Merlin Verlag, Gifkendorf 1998, ISBN 3-926112-79-4.
 * Ich liebe eine Tigerente. Mosaik-Verlag, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-576-11318-5.
 * Janoschs großer, kleiner Tigeratlas. Bassermann, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-8094-1239-2.
 * Janoschs Tausend-Bilder-Lexikon. Bassermann, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-8094-1240-6.
 * Wie der Tiger zählen lernt. Bassermann, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-8094-1238-4.
 * Wie der Tiger lesen lernt. Bassermann, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-8094-1237-6.
 * Bei Liebeskummer Apfelmus. Bassermann, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-8094-1371-2.
 * Morgen kommt der Weihnachtsbär. Bassermann, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-8094-1369-0.
 * Wenn Schnuddel in die Schule geht und andere Geschichten. cbj, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-570-21622-5.
 * Gibt es hitzefrei in Afrika? So leben die Kinder dieser Welt. Heyne Verlag, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-453-12089-2.

Tigerente

The Tigerente (lit. tiger duck) is a children's book character created by the German artist and author Janosch. It is a little wooden toy duck on wheels, striped black on yellow, that is pulled around on a string by various characters of Janosch's books. It never has a line of dialogue, but still has become by far the most popular figure ever created by the author. The Tigerente has since appeared on a wide range of products including posters, postcards, high school art projects, buttons, mugs, socks, umbrellas, cutlery, and nearly every item of children's furniture imaginable, and has been the namesake and mascot of the German TV show Tigerenten Club, all without ever uttering a single line.

The story has been made into a contemporary opera "Oh, the beautiful Panama" by Lin Wang. The opera was premiered at Deutsche Oper Berlin in 2013, and was a sold-out event.

title: Janosch


text:
Lymphogranuloma venereum

Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV; also known as climatic bubo, Durand–Nicolas–Favre disease, poradenitis inguinale, lymphogranuloma inguinale, and strumous bubo) is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the invasive serovars L1, L2, L2a, L2b, or L3 of Chlamydia trachomatis.

LGV is primarily an infection of lymphatics and lymph nodes. Chlamydia trachomatis is the bacterium responsible for LGV. It gains entrance through breaks in the skin, or it can cross the epithelial cell layer of mucous membranes. The organism travels from the site of inoculation down the lymphatic channels to multiply within mononuclear phagocytes of the lymph nodes it passes.

In developed nations, it was considered rare before 2003. An outbreak in the Netherlands among gay men has led to an increase of LGV in Europe and the United States.

LGV was first described by Wallace in 1833 and again by Durand, Nicolas, and Favre in 1913. Since the 2004 Dutch outbreak many additional cases have been reported, leading to greater surveillance. Soon after the initial Dutch report, national and international health authorities launched warning initiatives and multiple LGV cases were identified in several more European countries (Belgium, France, the UK, Germany, Sweden, Italy and Switzerland) and the US and Canada. All cases reported in Amsterdam and France and a considerable percentage of LGV infections in the UK and Germany were caused by a newly discovered Chlamydia variant, L2b, a.k.a. the Amsterdam variant. The L2b variant could be traced back and was isolated from anal swabs of men who have sex with men (MSM) who visited the STI city clinic of San Francisco in 1981. This finding suggests that the recent LGV outbreak among MSM in industrialised countries is a slowly evolving epidemic. The L2b serovar has also been identified in Australia.

Signs and symptoms
The clinical manifestation of LGV depends on the site of entry of the infectious organism (the sex contact site) and the stage of disease progression.
 * Inoculation at the mucous lining of external sex organs (penis and vagina) can lead to the inguinal syndrome named after the formation of buboes or abscesses in the groin (inguinal) region where draining lymph nodes are located. These signs usually appear from 3 days to a month after exposure.
 * The rectal syndrome (lymphogranuloma venereum proctitis, or LGVP) arises if the infection takes place via the rectal mucosa (through anal sex) and is mainly characterized by proctocolitis or proctitis symptoms.
 * The pharyngeal syndrome is rare. It starts after infection of pharyngeal tissue, and buboes in the neck region can occur.

Primary stage
LGV may begin as a self-limited painless genital ulcer that occurs at the contact site 3–12 days after infection. Women rarely notice a primary infection because the initial ulceration where the organism penetrates the mucosal layer is often located out of sight, in the vaginal wall. In men fewer than one-third of those infected notice the first signs of LGV. This primary stage heals in a few days. Erythema nodosum occurs in 10% of cases.

Secondary stage
The secondary stage most often occurs 10–30 days later, but can present up to six months later. The infection spreads to the lymph nodes through lymphatic drainage pathways. The most frequent presenting clinical manifestation of LGV among males whose primary exposure was genital is unilateral (in two-thirds of cases) lymphadenitis and lymphangitis, often with tender inguinal and/or femoral lymphadenopathy because of the drainage pathway for their likely infected areas. Lymphangitis of the dorsal penis may also occur and resembles a string or cord. If the route was anal sex, the infected person may experience lymphadenitis and lymphangitis noted above. They may instead develop proctitis, inflammation limited to the rectum (the distal 10–12 cm) that may be associated with anorectal pain, tenesmus, and rectal discharge, or proctocolitis, inflammation of the colonic mucosa extending to 12 cm above the anus and associated with symptoms of proctitis plus diarrhea or abdominal cramps.

In addition, symptoms may include inflammatory involvement of the perirectal or perianal lymphatic tissues. In females, cervicitis, perimetritis, or salpingitis may occur as well as lymphangitis and lymphadenitis in deeper nodes. Because of lymphatic drainage pathways, some patients develop an abdominal mass which seldom suppurates, and 20–30% develop inguinal lymphadenopathy. Systemic signs which can appear include fever, decreased appetite, and malaise. Diagnosis is more difficult in women and men who have sex with men (MSM) who may not have the inguinal symptoms.

Over the course of the disease, lymph nodes enlarge, as may occur in any infection of the same areas as well. Enlarged nodes are called buboes. Buboes are commonly painful. Nodes commonly become inflamed, thinning and fixation of the overlying skin. These changes may progress to necrosis, fluctuant and suppurative lymph nodes, abscesses, fistulas, strictures, and sinus tracts. During the infection and when it subsides and healing takes place, fibrosis may occur. This can result in varying degrees of lymphatic obstruction, chronic edema, and strictures. These late stages characterised by fibrosis and edema are also known as the third stage of LGV, and are mainly permanent.

Diagnosis
The diagnosis usually is made serologically (through complement fixation) and by exclusion of other causes of inguinal lymphadenopathy or genital ulcers. Serologic testing has a sensitivity of 80% after two weeks. Serologic testing may not be specific for serotype (has some cross reactivity with other chlamydia species) and can suggest LGV from other forms because of their difference in dilution, 1:64 more likely to be LGV and lower than 1:16 is likely to be other chlamydia forms (emedicine).

For identification of serotypes, culture is often used. Culture is difficult. Requiring a special medium, cycloheximide-treated McCoy or HeLa cells, and yields are still only 30–50%. DFA, or direct fluorescent antibody test, PCR of likely infected areas and pus, are also sometimes used. DFA test for the L-type serovar of C. trachomatis is the most sensitive and specific test, but is not readily available.

If polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests on infected material are positive, subsequent restriction endonuclease pattern analysis of the amplified outer membrane protein A gene can be done to determine the genotype.

A fast realtime PCR (TaqMan analysis) has been developed to diagnose LGV. With this method an accurate diagnosis is feasible within a day. It has been noted that one type of testing may not be thorough enough.

Treatment
Treatment involves antibiotics and may involve drainage of the buboes or abscesses by needle aspiration or incision. Further supportive measure may need to be taken: dilatation of the rectal stricture, repair of rectovaginal fistulae, or colostomy for rectal obstruction.

Common antibiotic treatments include tetracycline (doxycycline) (all tetracyclines, including doxycycline, are contraindicated during pregnancy and in children due to effects on bone development and tooth discoloration), and erythromycin. Azithromycin is also a drug of choice in LGV.

Further recommendations
As with all STIs, sex partners of patients who have LGV should be examined and tested for urethral or cervical chlamydial infection. After a positive culture for chlamydia, clinical suspicion should be confirmed with testing to distinguish serotype. Antibiotic treatment should be started if they had sexual contact with the patient during the 30 days preceding onset of symptoms in the patient. Patients with a sexually transmitted infection should be tested for other STIs due to high rates of comorbid infections. Antibiotics are not without risks and prophylactic broad antibiotic coverage is not recommended.

Prognosis
Prognosis is highly variable. Spontaneous remission is common. Complete cure can be obtained with proper antibiotic treatments to kill the causative bacteria, such as tetracycline, doxycycline, or erythromycin. Prognosis is more favorable with early treatment. Bacterial superinfections may complicate course. Death can occur from bowel obstruction or perforation, and follicular conjunctivitis due to autoinoculation of infectious discharge can occur.

Long-term complications
Genital elephantiasis or esthiomene, which is the dramatic end-result of lymphatic obstruction, which may occur because of the strictures themselves, or fistulas. This is usually seen in females, may ulcerate and often occurs 1 to 20 years after primary infection. Fistulas of, but not limited to, the penis, urethra, vagina, uterus, or rectum. Also, surrounding edema often occurs. Rectal or other strictures and scarring. Systemic spread may occur, possible results are arthritis, pneumonitis, hepatitis, or perihepatitis.

title: Lymphogranuloma venereum


text:
LGV

LGV may refer to:

Transportation and vehicles

 * Large goods vehicle, Europe
 * Laser Guided Vehicle
 * Light goods vehicle, Hong Kong
 * Lignes à Grande Vitesse, French high-speed rail lines:
 * LGV Atlantique
 * LGV Est
 * LGV Interconnexion Est
 * LGV Nord
 * LGV Méditerranée
 * LGV Picardie
 * LGV Rhône-Alpes
 * LGV Rhin-Rhône
 * LGV Sud-Est
 * LGV Sud Europe Atlantique

Other

 * Lymphogranuloma venereum, a sexually transmitted disease
 * Državljanska lista Gregorja Viranta (LGV) (Gregor Virant's Civic List), former name of Civic List (Slovenia), a political party in Slovenia
 * Lattitude Global Volunteering, a British charity — volunteering for young people
 * LG V series Android smartphones
 * LGV a part of Legal & General

title: LGV


text:
Gérard Bessette

Gérard Bessette (25 February 1920, in Sainte-Anne-de-Sabrevois, Quebec – 21 February 2005, in Kingston, Ontario) was a French Canadian writer and educator.

Bessette grew up in Montreal and attended the Collège Saint-Ignace. He continued his studies at the Université de Montréal, where in 1950 he completed his doctorate entitled Images in French-Canadian poetry.

Unable to obtain an academic position in Quebec because of his atheism, he taught at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh from 1951 to 1957. He then found a job in Kingston, Ontario, first at Royal Military College of Canada in 1958, and then in the Department of French Studies at Queen's University from 1959 to 1979. Bessette's novels L'incubation (1965) and Le cycle (1971) won the Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction (French). In 1980 he was awarded the Prix Athanase-David, Quebec's highest literary honour.

Several of Bessette's works address issues that led to and were representative of the Révolution tranquille, a series of societal shifts that took place in Quebec during the 1960s, which saw increased secularization and a general movement away from the influence of the Catholic Church. His earlier works are written in a realistic style, while his later novels utilize elements of the nouveau roman literary movement and tend to be more experimental. His literary criticism is noted for its Freudian readings of Québécois literature.

One of his most noted works is Le libraire (1960), an existential tale of a book store employee in a small Quebec town in the 1950s. The book deals with one of Bessette's most common themes: the stifling culture of Quebec of that time. His work was also part of the literature event in the art competition at the 1948 Summer Olympics.

title: Gérard Bessette


text:
User:Snooweatinganima~enwiki

I'm from Mainz, in the beautiful southwest of Germany. Find out more at http://www.snooweatinganima.de

title: User:Snooweatinganima~enwiki


text:
Isidor Gunsberg

Isidor Arthur Gunsberg (also spelled Günzberg, Gunsberg Artúr Izidor; 1 November 1854 – 2 May 1930) was a Hungarian chess player, best known for narrowly losing the 1891 World Chess Championship match to Wilhelm Steinitz.

Biography
Gunsberg began his career as the player operating the remote-controlled chess automaton Mephisto, but later became a chess professional. He moved to Great Britain in 1876, later becoming a naturalized British citizen on 12 May 1908.

In the late 1880s and early 1890s Gunsberg was one of the top players in the world. He decisively won a national tournament in London in July 1885, and a few weeks later won the 4th German Chess Congress in Hamburg. In match play, he defeated Joseph Blackburne and Henry Bird in 1886. In 1887, he shared first with Amos Burn in the London tournament. In 1890 he drew a match with Mikhail Chigorin, a former and future challenger for the world chess championship. Later that year, Gunsberg himself challenged Wilhelm Steinitz for the world title. The match took place in New York City and Gunsberg lost with four wins, six losses, and nine draws.

In 1916 he sued the Evening News for libel when they said that his chess column contained "blunders". He won the suit after the High Court accepted a submission that in chess matters, eight oversights did not make a "blunder".

Chess strength
Arpad Elo calculates that Gunsberg's best 5-year average Elo rating was 2560. According to Chessmetrics, Gunsberg's best single performance was his 1887 match against Blackburne, where he scored 8 of 13 possible points (62%). Also, Gunsberg's performance in the world championship match against Steinitz indicated he was a part of the world elite in the late 1880s and early 1890s. However, in the year he qualified for the match against Steinitz, 1889, Gunsberg played in three different international tournaments: Amsterdam, the German Chess Congress, and the US Chess Congress. At Amsterdam, he finished in 5th place out of 9 competitors with an exact 50% score, 4/8, behind Burn, a young Emanuel Lasker, Mason, and Van Vliet. At the German Chess Congress, he finished tied for 4th–7th places out of 18 competitors, with a +3 score, 10/17, behind Tarrasch, Burn, and Mieses. Finally, at the US Chess Congress, his best result, and the reason he was allowed to challenge Steinitz, he finished in lone 3rd place out of 20 competitors, with a +19 score, 28½/38, behind Weiss and Chigorin.

Later on, Gunsberg's position among the foremost chess masters would slip. In the famous Hastings 1895 chess tournament, Gunsberg finished with a −3 score of 9/21, good for a share of 15th–16th place out of 22 competitors.

title: Isidor Gunsberg


text:
Talk:Lymphogranuloma venereum

Please
Please copyedit imports! "Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV), a rare disease in the United States," <- does this disease exist exclusively in the USA?

What does this mean? ---

I am unsure where 2nd and 3rd demarcate and because of such have not seperated them.. It may be an important point because of treatment.. will have to look into it. I'll be working on this page this week. dk

Wow
Holy crap, oncedead didn't make it up. Jack Cain 21:09, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

---

There's a link to an image on free web hosting with 'fartpipe' in the URL and 'stileproject.com' watermarked thereupon. Sure, it depicts a veneral disease, but can we be assured it is the correct one?

Differential
it needs a differential diagnosis and links to other similar conditions:

Herpes Granuloma Inguinale Donovanosis

HassanKachal (talk) 19:17, 24 February 2008 (UTC)

No Lymphogranuloma Inguinale
Lymphogranuloma inguinale (donovanosis) is caused by Klebsiella granulomatis, NOT Chlamydia trachomatis. This is different from lymphogranuloma venereum, which is caused by C. trachomatis. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 134.84.186.238 (talk) 22:27, 9 May 2011 (UTC)

Distinction between LGV and Chlamydia
I know that Lymphogranuloma venerum and Chlamydia are different presentations, but they are both caused by Chlamydia trachomatis. If I remember right it is a different serotype, but this is not clear in the article. I was wondering if someone who new the topic better could flesh out that part of the article. Thanks, D.c.camero (talk) 17:41, 11 February 2018 (UTC)

title: Talk:Lymphogranuloma venereum


text:
Algazel

Algazel may refer to:
 * Al-Ghazali, a Persian 11th century philosopher
 * Scimitar Oryx, a north African antelope

title: Algazel