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Castlevania

Castlevania, known in Japan as Akumajō Dracula, (悪魔城ドラキュラ) is a gothic horror action-adventure video game series and media franchise created by Konami. The series is largely set in the eponymous castle of Count Dracula, the main antagonist of the Belmont clan of vampire hunters.

Debuting with the 1986 video game for the Nintendo Family Computer Disk System, the first entry and the majority of its sequels are side-scrolling action platformers. The 1997 game, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, originally released for the PlayStation, returned to the nonlinear gameplay first seen in Castlevania II: Simon's Quest; which also introduced role-playing elements and exploration. Several installments later adopted Symphony of the Night's gameplay, and along with Super Metroid, they have popularized the Metroidvania genre. 2010 saw the release of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, a 3D action-adventure game developed by MercurySteam and Kojima Productions that served as a reboot of the series.

The Castlevania series has been released on various platforms; from early systems to modern consoles, as well as handheld devices such as mobile phones. The franchise has since expanded into several spin-off video games and other media; including comic books and a critically-acclaimed animated television series.

Spanning over three decades, Castlevania is one of Konami's most successful and prominent franchises; several of its entries are ranked among the best video games ever made. Retrospectives attributed to the series' success to its unique blend of action, adventure, and horror elements; and it has been praised for its challenging gameplay mechanics, atmospheric settings, and iconic music.

Games
Most Castlevania titles have been released in Japan, North America, Europe and Australia on various video game consoles, personal computers (PC) and mobile phones, with additional remakes and re-releases.

The first console title, Castlevania, was released on the Famicom Disk System in 1986 and in North America in 1987 on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). A 2D sidescrolling action game where the player progresses through six stages, many principal features of the Castlevania series originated with it. It has been ported to many platforms, such as the NES Classic Edition. Also released in 1986 was Vampire Killer for the MSX home computer, which played significantly differently from the original Castlevania, where players had to search for the exit before they could proceed to the next stage. Following that year, in 1987, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest further departed from the standard platforming genre of the first Castlevania for a game more similar to the nonlinear gameplay of Metroid, with several role-playing elements such as a world map which the player is free to explore and revisit.

The franchise's first arcade game, Haunted Castle (1988), returned to the linear platforming gameplay of the original. This continued with the first handheld Game Boy entry, Castlevania: The Adventure and the NES sequel, Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, both released in 1989. Dracula's Curse added features to the original gameplay, including alternate stages and multiple playable characters. The Adventure saw a Game Boy sequel, Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge, in 1992 and a remake, Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth, developed by M2 for the WiiWare service in 2009.

The franchise's first 16-bit home console game, Super Castlevania IV, was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in 1991. A Castlevania title for the Sharp X68000 home computer was released in Japan in 1993 and would not be available in English until Castlevania Chronicles (2001) for the PlayStation. During the same year, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood was released for the PC Engine and was not localized in English until it was included with Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (2007) for the PlayStation Portable. The first Castlevania produced for a CD-ROM, Rondo of Blood featured Red Book audio and fully voiced dialogue. The game's content would be reused in Castlevania: Dracula X, a game for the SNES in 1995. Castlevania: Bloodlines (1994) was the first Castlevania entry produced for a Sega console, the Genesis. It would not be re-released until 2019 as part of the Castlevania Anniversary Collection.

In 1997, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Castlevania Legends were launched for the PlayStation and Game Boy, respectively. Symphony of the Night introduced a major change to the gameplay, incorporating role-playing elements and a nonlinear map that the player could freely explore, which was previously seen in Simon's Quest and Nintendo's Metroid series. Elements of Symphony of the Night would influence the gameplay of future titles, beginning with the Game Boy Advance entries Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, and Aria of Sorrow, which were released from 2001 to 2003. Aria of Sorrow received a 2005 sequel, Dawn of Sorrow for the Nintendo DS, which was followed by Portrait of Ruin (2006) and Order of Ecclesia (2008).

Under the development of Konami's Kobe branch, the first game in the series to employ 3D graphics was Castlevania for Nintendo 64 in 1999, and it received an expansion called Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness later that year. In 2003, the next 3D Castlevania title, Lament of Innocence debuted for the PlayStation 2 with combat-oriented hack and slash gameplay that drew comparisons to Devil May Cry and retroactively, God of War. It was followed two years later by Castlevania: Curse of Darkness.

A reboot of the franchise launched with Castlevania: Lords of Shadow in 2010, a multi-platform 3D action title developed by MercurySteam and co-produced by Hideo Kojima. It was followed by two sequels, Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate for Nintendo 3DS in 2013, and Lords of Shadow 2 in 2014. Lords of Shadow 2 was the last mainline game in the franchise to date, due to Konami shifting focus to mobile games and gambling in the 2010s.

In 2021, rumours began circulating that, following internal restructuring at Konami to refocus on PC and console games, a new main entry in the series was in development.

Spin-offs
Castlevania has spawned numerous spin-offs, the first being the 1990 platformer, Kid Dracula for the Famicom, a parody which stars the eponymous character. It was released for the first time in English for the Castlevania Anniversary Collection (2019). The game received a sequel for the Game Boy, also titled Kid Dracula.

Castlevania's first fighting game, Castlevania Judgment debuted for the Wii in 2008 and was developed by Eighting. Castlevania: Harmony of Despair, released in 2010, was an online, multiplayer title in-which players could play as past Castlevania characters and explore stages. A mobile game called Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls was released on September 16, 2019 for iOS.

Arcade and slot machines based on the series have been produced. Castlevania: The Arcade (2009), a light gun shooter utilizing an LED remote, has been released in Japan and Europe. The Japanese-exclusive Pachislot Akumajō Dracula series is a line of pachislot titles released between 2009 and 2017. The first three are based on the video game Dracula's Curse, while a fourth game based on the Lords of Shadow reboot, Pachislot Akumajō Dracula: Lords of Shadow, was made available in 2017.

Castlevania characters and elements have appeared in crossovers and other titles such as the Konami Wai Wai World series, Contra: Hard Corps, DreamMix TV World Fighters, Bomberman R and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Gameplay

Castlevania, released for the NES in 1986, is a platform game in which the player takes the role of the character Simon Belmont, navigating through six levels of Dracula's castle. Each level is divided into six blocks of three stages each. He can navigate the castle's terrain by jumping across platforms and walking up staircases, enabling him to progress to new stages. Simon has a health meter, which decreases upon contact with enemies or hazards. Loss of all health, falling off-screen, or running out of time results in losing a life, with the game ending when all lives are depleted, though players can continue from the last checkpoint. Collecting points throughout the levels can increase the player's score and earn them additional lives. Each level culminates in a boss battle against one of Dracula's monsters, each with their own life meter that needs to be depleted using Simon's attacks. Simon wields the Vampire Killer whip, which can be improved by collecting upgrades hidden in candles. These upgrades extend the whip's length and power, allowing Simon to attack enemies from a greater distance with increased damage. Alongside the whip, Simon can use secondary weapons like throwing knives, holy water, and the boomerang-like cross, which consume hearts collected throughout the levels.

While Castlevania's gameplay set the standard for most titles, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest in 1987 briefly introduced role-playing elements, a departure from the strict platforming format of its predecessor. Unlike the linear progression of the first game, Simon's Quest allows players to explore a freely accessible world map, revisit areas, and engage with a dynamic environment that includes day and night cycles affecting enemy strength and the availability of non-playable characters. Players can interact with villagers who provide hints and visit merchants to buy items using hearts collected from defeated enemies. This installment also introduces experience points where Simon can increase his level and health capacity by gathering hearts. 1997's Castlevania: Symphony of the Night significantly expanded upon the gameplay introduced in Simon's Quest, setting a new formula for the series and influencing subsequent Metroidvania titles. Symphony of the Night also features non-linear exploration, requiring players to gather specific items and abilities to access different areas of Dracula’s castle. This installment expanded the role-playing elements by including a more complex attribute and leveling system where the protagonist, Alucard, increases his in-game statistics by gaining experience points from defeated enemies. Alucard's ability to transform into a bat, wolf, or mist also allows him to explore previously inaccessible areas, and he can also use a wider range of equipment.

The first 3D installment in the franchise, Castlevania (1999) on the Nintendo 64 adopted gameplay elements distinctly different from its 2D predecessors. Unlike earlier titles, this version implemented a basic targeting and lock-on system for combat for the two playable characters, Reinhardt and Carrie. The new environment itself played a crucial role in the gameplay, with challenges based on precision in jumping across 3D platforms and navigating through hazardous areas, some of which included rotating and crumbling platforms. Castlevania for the Nintendo 64 also incorporated elements of survival horror, such as a sequence where the player must run from a pursuing enemy in a hedge maze. Unlike the earlier 3D installment which involved navigating through various levels with a degree of platforming challenge, 2003's Lament of Innocence focused on a central hub system. This hub allowed access to five main areas from the start, with progress tied to defeating bosses to unlock the final area. The combat system also allows the player to execute a series of fluid and dynamic combos using the primary weapon, the Whip of Alchemy. This system enables players to chain attacks into continuous strikes, enhancing combat engagement and effectiveness against enemies. The 2010 reboot, Lords of Shadow introduced a more diverse range of up to forty unlockable combos with the game's whip, the Combat Cross, integrating both direct and area attacks. Additionally, it functions as a tool for exploration, aiding in scaling walls, rappelling, and swinging across gaps, which deepens the platforming elements central to the franchise. Moreover, Lords of Shadow features massive boss battles against titans, where players must use the Combat Cross to navigate and disable them.

Plot and setting
The Castlevania franchise heavily references the horror films produced by Universal Pictures and Hammer Film Productions. Creator of the series, Hitoshi Akamatsu, wanted players to feel like they were in a classic horror film. Zombies, werewolves, Frankenstein's monster, and Count Dracula make recurring appearances. Alucard, introduced in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, is a reference to the character of the same name from the 1943 film, Son of Dracula. The games include folklore and mythological monsters such as Medusa, as well as direct references to literary horror. Castlevania: Bloodlines explicitly incorporates the events of Bram Stoker's Dracula into the series, and the recurring character Carmilla is based on the 1872 novel Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu.

Castlevania mainly takes place in the castle of Count Dracula, who resurrects every hundred years to take over the world. With the exception of some games, the players assume the role of the Belmonts, a clan of vampire hunters who have defeated Dracula for centuries with the Vampire Killer. The Vampire Killer is a legendary whip that is passed down to their successors and can only be used by them. In Castlevania: Bloodlines, the whip has been inherited by John Morris, the son of Quincey Morris, who is a distant descendant of the Belmonts. Other recurring characters throughout the series include the dhampir Alucard, who sides with Trevor Belmont against his father Dracula in Dracula's Curse. Trevor is joined by Sypha Belnades, a vampire hunter who fights using magic and marries Trevor by the end of the game. Descendants of the Belnades clan, such as Carrie Fernandez and Yoko Belnades, would make appearances as playable characters in later titles.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a reboot of the franchise, with its first game set in Southern Europe during the Middle Ages. The main character, Gabriel Belmont, is a member of the Brotherhood of Light, an elite group of holy knights who defend people from supernatural creatures. With a retractable chain whip called the Combat Cross, Gabriel fights a malevolent force known as the Lords of Shadow in order to obtain the God Mask, which he believes can bring back his deceased wife. In Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate, Gabriel stars as Dracula, the main antagonist of Simon and Trevor Belmont. The sequel, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 is set during modern times, where Dracula is looking for a way to put an end to his immortality.

In 2002, the games Legends, Circle of the Moon, Castlevania (1999), and Legacy of Darkness were retconned from the official chronology by Koji Igarashi, a move which had been met with some criticism by fans. Igarashi noted that Legends conflicted with the plotline of the series, and that the reason for Circle of the Moon's removal was not due to his non-involvement with the game, but instead the intention of the game's development team for Circle of the Moon to be a stand-alone title. The American 20th Anniversary Pre-order Bundle for Portrait of Ruin in 2006 featured a poster with a timeline that re-included the games other than Legends. In 2007, Konami still excluded them from the canon on the official Japanese website. Igarashi has said that he considered the titles a "subseries".

Development
Castlevania was directed and programmed by Hitoshi Akamatsu for the Family Computer Disk System in 1986. The game's staff roll features names taken from horror film icons, with Akamatsu being credited as 'Trans Fishers', a reference to film director Terence Fisher. This is possibly because Konami did not allow the use of real names at the time in order to prevent other companies from hiring people who worked for them. An admirer of cinema, Akamatsu approached projects with a "film director's eye", and said the visuals and music for Castlevania were "made by people who consciously wanted to do something cinematic." The protagonist Simon Belmont uses a whip because Akamatsu liked the mechanics of a weapon able to repel enemies, and also because Akamatsu was a fan of Raiders of the Lost Ark. After the success of Castlevania, it was released in cartridge format for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) as one of its first major platform games. The international title Castlevania was the result of Konami of America senior vice president Emil Heidkamp's discomfort with Akumajō Dracula, which he believed translated as "Dracula Satanic Castle". Because of Nintendo of America's censorship policies at the time, most instances of blood, nudity and religious imagery were removed or edited in early Castlevania games.

Akamatsu directed Castlevania II: Simon's Quest in 1987, which adopted gameplay similar to Nintendo's Metroid. When asked if Metroid had any inspiration, Akamatsu instead cited Maze of Galious, another Konami title which featured exploration and puzzle solving. His last game in the series, Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (1989), returned to the standard platforming genre of Castlevania. Since Konami's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games sold many copies, their development was prioritized above other titles, leading the developers for Dracula's Curse to make a game that would outdo them. Simon's Quest and Dracula's Curse were not a commercial success, and Akamatsu was demoted to working in one of Konami's game centers before he chose to resign.

In 1993, three Castlevania games were in parallel development, which included Akumajō Dracula, Rondo of Blood, and Bloodlines. Directed and produced by Toru Hagihara, Rondo of the Blood was the first installment made for a CD-ROM and the first to be fully voiced. Hagihara would go on to direct a sequel, Symphony of the Night (1997) for the PlayStation, with Koji Igarashi joining him as the assistant director and story writer. Joining the staff was artist Ayami Kojima, who was hired to introduce a new look for Castlevania. She would be the character designer for several future Castlevania titles. Igarashi said it began development as "something of a side story series". From the outset, the game was supposed to take the franchise in a new direction. The gameplay took a departure from the original platforming entries, instead adopting nonlinear exploration and role-playing game elements, which were last seen in Simon's Quest. The critical reaction to Simon's Quest and its gameplay allowed them to pitch Symphony of the Night to Konami. Igarashi was eventually asked to finish the game as the assistant director after Hagihara was promoted to head of the division. On release, Symphony of the Night was well-received and became a sleeper hit, but its commercial performance was mediocre, particularly in the United States where it was meagerly publicized.

The first Castlevania game to feature 3D computer graphics began development in 1997 on the Nintendo 64 by Konami Computer Entertainment Kobe (KCEK) as Dracula 3D. Like most of its predecessors, it was an action-adventure and platforming game. It was eventually released as Castlevania in 1999 and received an expanded version titled Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness during the same year. KCEK's last Castlevania game was the acclaimed Circle of the Moon, released as a launch title for the Game Boy Advance in 2001. Circle of the Moon was the first entry to feature Metroidvania gameplay since Symphony of the Night. Igarashi, who was not involved with the game, was critical of Circle of the Moon. In 2002, he retconned Castlevania Legends (1997) and the games developed by KCEK from the series' chronology due to story conflicts, which was met with some resistance from fans. After KCEK was dissolved during 2002, the Game Boy Advance received a second installment, Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, now produced by Igarashi and developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo (KCET). Starting with Harmony of Dissonance, the Japanese games adopted Castlevania as the title for a brief period. According to Igarashi, the developers did this since Count Dracula is not always the main antagonist. This continued with Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (2003), a 3D title developed as a new starting point for the series. Konami eventually returned to the title Akumajō Dracula with the Japanese release of 2005's Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow for the Nintendo DS. Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin (2006) introduced a new art style in hopes of broadening the player demographic and preventing younger Nintendo DS owners from being put off by Ayami Kojima's art. This discontinued with Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia in 2008.

Due to concern over the poor sales of the recent Castlevania games, a number of prototypes in development competed to become the next Castlevania installment, which included a game by Igarashi announced at Tokyo Game Show 2008 and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow by Spanish studio MercurySteam. Konami told MercurySteam the game would be an original intellectual property (IP) when it was first greenlit as a Castlevania title. Konami eventually asked them to cease work on Lords of Shadow while it was still in its early stages, until producer David Cox showed the Japanese senior management the game and was offered help by video game designer Hideo Kojima. According to Igarashi, development on his project had not been going smoothly, and Konami had canceled it and chose Lords of Shadow as the pitch for the next Castlevania entry. Produced by Dave Cox and Hideo Kojima, Lords of Shadow was a multi-platform 3D action-adventure reboot of the series. Kojima offered his input on the project and also oversaw the game's localization in Japan. It was the first Castlevania to feature celebrity voice talent, starring Robert Carlyle in the lead role and Patrick Stewart. The art style departed from the previous games in favor of one inspired by Guillermo del Toro's work. Lords of Shadow was met with positive reception in 2010 and a commercial success, becoming the best selling Castlevania game to date. It was followed by two sequels, Mirror of Fate (2013) and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 (2014). Lords of Shadow 2 was not as well received as its predecessor. Following its release, an anonymous source claiming to be employees from MercurySteam alleged that development on the game had been troubled.

After having been moved to Konami's social division in 2011, Igarashi felt he was unable to release any new games when Konami shifted its focus towards mobile game development. He left in March 2014 to independently create Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, a spiritual successor to Castlevania. Dave Cox followed Igarashi's resignation a few months later. Recent Castlevania titles released under Konami's recent business model include pachinko and slot machines based on the IP.

Audio
Castlevania's music features a wide range of compositions, with themes reused throughout the series. It has been critically acclaimed and released on many albums, initially under the King Records label. In addition to original soundtracks, it has also inspired remix albums, which include orchestra, rap and heavy metal arrangements. In 2010, Castlevania – The Concert was performed in Stockholm, Sweden by longtime Castlevania composer, Michiru Yamane, and the Stockholm Youth Symphonic Orchestra.

The music for the first installment, Castlevania, was composed by Kinuyo Yamashita and Satoe Terashima. The game's staff roll featured pseudonyms, with Yamashita credited as James Banana. Yamashita said she did not know anything about video games at the time and composed for Castlevania shortly after graduating from college. Under strict hardware constraints, she would first write the scores before entering it as data into a computer. The hardware for the first 16-bit title, Super Castlevania IV, allowed for a more atmospheric environment in the game, and was composed by Masanori Adachi and Taro Kudo.

Known primarily for her work on the Castlevania series, Michiru Yamane first composed music for the Sega Genesis game, Castlevania Bloodlines. Yamane was under pressure at the time because the series was already popular and known for its music. She felt there was a link with the game's vampiric themes and the classical music she had grown up with, having studied Johann Sebastian Bach in university, and worked to integrate her style with the rock themes of the previous games. Since Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Yamane became involved with the development of the series with its former producer, Koji Igarashi. Symphony of the Night's art director, Osamu Kasai, requested Yamane to join the team, and she would draw inspiration from Ayami Kojima's concept artwork. Unlike the FM synthesis that Bloodlines used, Yamane felt she had more freedom with Symphony of the Night as it was produced for a CD-ROM, which made it capable of much higher quality music and sound. She continued to compose for the series, including the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS games, which had note limitations like older home consoles, and also collaborated with other composers such as Yuzo Koshiro. Before becoming a freelance composer, the last Castlevania game she scored was Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia in 2008, which she worked on with Yasuhiro Ichihashi.

For the 2010 reboot, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, the game was scored by Óscar Araujo using a 120-piece orchestra. His work on Lords of Shadow earned him a nomination for breakout composer of the year by the International Film Music Critics Association, and he won "Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media." Araujo went on to compose the sequels, Mirror of Fate and Lords of Shadow 2.

Reception and legacy
The Castlevania franchise had sold over 20 million copies worldwide ; it had previously sold over 3.7 million units by 1993. The franchise has received mostly positive reviews, with the most acclaimed game being Symphony of the Night for the PlayStation and the most panned being Judgment, with aggregate scores of 93 and 49, respectively, on Metacritic and 93.38% and 52.71%, respectively, on GameRankings.

Many of the games have appeared on lists of video games considered to be the best. Symphony of the Night appeared at #16 on IGN "Top 100 games" and was one of the first to be introduced on the GameSpot "The Greatest Games of All Time". Both acclaimed the game to successfully making a game in 2D while the industry was moving to 3D. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse was named the 9th best 8-bit game by GameTrailers. Super Castlevania IV was named the 11th best game of the SNES by ScrewAttack on their "Top 20 SNES Games". The series as a whole was named the 4th best franchise in games ever by IGN, behind only Final Fantasy, The Legend of Zelda and Mario, and citing Super Castlevania IV and Symphony of the Night as highlights. Aria of Sorrow was named the 2nd best game on the Game Boy Advance and one of the must buys for the system, according to the same website. Castlevania, Super Castlevania IV, and Aria of Sorrow appeared on Nintendo Power's "Top 200 Games" list. Trivia about the series has been mentioned in the Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008.

In other media
Simon Belmont was one of the stars in the animated series Captain N: The Game Master. Simon is portrayed as egotistical on the show and his physical appearance differs from his design in the video game series. He was a member of the N-Team, a group of mostly video game characters who defended Videoland against the antagonist Mother Brain from Metroid. Dracula, referred to only as "the Count", appeared as a villain in Captain N. Alucard also appeared in one episode, though he was portrayed as a rebellious skateboarding teenager.

Several novels and comic book adaptations have been made. Worlds of Power, a 1990s series of books with stories based on Nintendo games, featured a novel about Simon's Quest written by Christopher Howell, and the series was produced by Seth Godin. It departs from the original plot and introduces characters not seen in the game, including junior high school student Timothy Bradley, a video gamer who crosses over into the world of Simon's Quest and assists Simon Belmont. In 2005, IDW Publishing released the graphic novel, Castlevania: The Belmont Legacy, written by Marc Andreyko with art by E. J. Su. It was based on Castlevania: The Adventure. Illustrated by Kou Sasakura, a two-volume manga adaptation titled Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, based on the PlayStation 2 installment, was published in Japan from 2005 to 2006. It was released in English in 2008. 2003's Lament of Innocence was adapted into a cellphone comic book, released exclusively in Japan from 2007-2008 for 40 episodes.

The franchise has its own toy line manufactured by NECA which consists of six figures of Simon Belmont, Alucard, Dracula, Succubus and a Pixel Simon mini figure which was exclusively available as a promotional item at Comic-Con 2007.

TV series
The streaming service Netflix released an American animated series titled Castlevania as part of its original programming. The show is being showrun by Adi Shankar, who had previously teased plans for an animated mini-series based on Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse in 2015, and is written by Warren Ellis. Fred Seibert and Kevin Kolde co-produce. The series is animated by Seibert's Frederator Studios and Powerhouse Animation Studios, under Michael Hirsh's Wow Unlimited Media company. The show's first season released on July 7, 2017, and ran for four episodes, while the second season premiered on October 26, 2018, and ran for eight episodes. By the time the second season became available in 2018, Castlevania had reportedly garnered nearly 30 million viewers worldwide according to Netflix analytics, becoming one of the most successful original animated shows on Netflix. A third season released on March 5, 2020, and ran for 10 episodes. The fourth and final season was released on May 13, 2021. A sequel to the original show, Castlevania: Nocturne, was released on Netflix on September 28, 2023. It focuses on Richter Belmont, a descendent of Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades, and Maria Renard in France during the French Revolution, 300 years after the original series. A second season was announced on October 6, 2023.

Cancelled projects
A Castlevania television series was considered in the late 1980s as part of the Super Mario Bros. Power Hour, a one-hour animation block of Nintendo-focused video game adaptations. Concept art was produced for the project by DIC Animation City. Only the Mario and The Legend of Zelda segments for the block were ultimately produced, airing in 1989 as part of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!.

A Castlevania film was planned in the late 2000s. However, in December 2007, Rogue Pictures halted active development of Castlevania due to the writers' strike and, later, the sale of the studio to Relativity Media and possibility of a screen actors' guild strike. On May 27, 2009, the Castlevania film was reported as officially canceled.

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Qassam rocket

The Qassam rocket (صاروخ القسام Ṣārūkh al-Qassām; also Kassam) is a simple, steel artillery rocket developed and deployed by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas. These rockets cannot be fired to target specific military objectives in or near civilian areas, and are "indiscriminate when used against targets in population centers".

Since the rocket was first manufactured in 2001 by Tito Masoud and Nidal Farhat, three models of the Qassam rocket have been produced and used. More generally, all types of Palestinian rockets fired into southern Israel, for example the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Al Quds rockets, are called Qassams by the Israeli media, and often by foreign media.

Leading international human rights organizations have called Palestinian armed groups' use of Qassam rockets against civilian and civilian targets a war crime and a violation of international law.

Many of the rocket's components are made of common materials such as sugar, fertilizer, firearms cartridges, springs, nails, and steel cylinders.

Name
Qassam rockets are named after the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed branch of Hamas, itself named for Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, a Syrian Muslim preacher whose death during a guerrilla raid against British Mandatory authorities in 1935 was one of the catalysts for the 1936–39 Arab revolt in Palestine.

Manufacture and deployment
Tito Masoud and Nidal Farhat manufactured the first Qassam-1 rocket, with a 2,500m range, in June 2001. This development in rocket manufacturing and development was a turning point in the war between Palestinian armed factions and Israel. The first Qassam produced was the Qassam-1, with a maximum range of 3 to 4.5 km.

Hamas launched the first Qassam-1 rocket attack in October 2001, during the Second Intifada. The first time Palestinians launched rockets into Israel, rather than at an Israeli settlement in the Gaza Strip, occurred on February 10, 2002. One of the rockets landed in Kibbutz Saad. Two Qassam rockets landed in the southern Israeli city of Sderot, the first city hit, on March 5, 2002. Some rockets have hit as far as the edge of Ashkelon. By the end of December 2008, a total of 15 people had been killed by Palestinian rockets since attacks began in 2001. Since 2000, Palestinian rockets, which include the Qassam, alongside others such as the Grad rocket, have been used to kill 22 Israeli citizens and one Thai national (as of January 9, 2009).

Rocket
The Qassam rocket is the best-known type of rocket deployed by Palestinian militants, mainly against Israeli civilians, but also some military targets during the Second Intifada of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. According to Human Rights Watch, Qassam rockets are too inaccurate and prone to malfunction to be used against specific military targets in or near civilian areas, and are mainly launched for the purpose of "harming civilians".

Design
The utility of the Qassam rocket design is assumed to be ease and speed of manufacture, using common tools and components. To this end, the rockets are propelled by a solid mixture of sugar and potassium nitrate, a common fertilizer. The warhead is filled with smuggled or scavenged TNT and urea nitrate, another common fertilizer. The warhead's explosive material is similar to the civilian explosive ammonite.

The rocket consists of a steel cylinder, containing a rectangular block of the propellant. A steel plate which forms and supports the nozzles is then spot-welded to the base of the cylinder. The warhead consists of a simple metal shell surrounding the explosives, and is triggered by a fuse constructed using a simple firearm cartridge, spring and a nail.

Early designs used a single nozzle which screwed into the base; later rockets use a seven-nozzle design, with the nozzles drilled directly into the rocket baseplate. This alteration both increases the tolerance of the rocket to small nozzle design defects, and makes manufacture easier by allowing the use of a drill rather than a lathe during manufacture (because of the smaller nozzle size). Unlike many other rockets, the nozzles are not canted, which means the rocket does not spin about its longitudinal axis during flight. While this results in a significant decrease in accuracy, it greatly simplifies manufacture and the launch systems required.

Cost
The cost of the materials used for manufacturing each Qassam is up to $800 or €500 (in 2008–2009) per rocket.

Israeli
The introduction of the Qassam rocket was unexpected by Israeli politicians and military experts, and reactions have been mixed. In 2006, the Israeli Ministry of Defense viewed the Qassams as "more a psychological than physical threat." A 2008 study found that over half of Sderot's residents have been hurt, either physically or psychologically, by the use of Qassams. The Israel Defense Forces has reacted to the deployment of the Qassam rockets by deploying the Red Color early warning system in Sderot, Ashkelon, and other potential targets placed at risk. The system consists of an advanced radar that detects rockets as they are being launched, and loudspeakers warn civilians to take cover between 15 and 45 seconds before impact in an attempt to minimize the threat posed by the rockets. A system called Iron Dome, designed to intercept the rockets before they can hit their targets, has been in use since March 2011. A system based on lasers (Nautilios) was researched in a joint Israeli-American project in the early 2000s, but was discontinued.

An online clock timer, developed by Aaron Friedman and Yehonatan Tsirolnik, that automatically resets when Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel occur uses information from the IDF Home Front Command system and counts time up from the last Palestinian rocket attack on Israel. It displays how long Israel has been rocket-free and shows the summed-up total numbers of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel. "Israel has been under non-stop rocket attacks for years (..) Whenever a rocket is fired, it restarts. Sadly, this counter never really gets above an hour", Friedman said on July 18, 2014, during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict. An amateur YouTube video, showing the Israeli Iron Dome defense system at a military checkpoint near a crossing into Gaza taking out multiple Qassam rockets was uploaded in 2014.

Palestinian
In 2012, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas stated "There is no justification for rockets from Gaza or anywhere else," adding that "Rocket attacks are in vain because they do not bring peace any closer."

Ibrahim Khreisheh, the Palestinian envoy to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), stated in an PA TV interview on July 9, 2014 (translated by MEMRI) that indiscriminate Hamas rockets from densely populated residential areas are "crimes against humanity", while Israeli strikes are legal responses.

Human rights groups
Amnesty International labeled Palestinian groups' use of rockets during the 2014 Gaza war as a "war crime", stating that "Palestinian armed groups operating in the Gaza Strip fired thousands of indiscriminate rockets and mortars into Israel; firing munitions which cannot be aimed accurately into civilian areas is a war crime, and statements by Hamas and Palestinian armed groups also indicates that some attacks were intended to kill or injure civilians."

Amnesty additionally "has documented that Palestinian armed groups have stored munitions in and fired indiscriminate rockets from residential areas in the Gaza Strip, and available evidence indicates that they continue to do both during the current hostilities, in violation of international humanitarian law (..) Under international humanitarian law, (..) Parties to the conflict must also take necessary precautions to protect civilians in their power from the effects of attack. This includes avoiding, to the maximum extent feasible, co-locating military objectives in the vicinity of densely populated civilian neighbourhoods. This means the parties should avoid endangering civilians by storing ammunition in, and launching attacks from, populated civilian areas."

Human Rights Watch has called the use of Qassam rockets by Hamas against civilians and civilian targets illegal under international law. In a 2005 statement, the group said that "such weapons are therefore indiscriminate when used against targets in population centers. The absence of Israeli military forces in the areas where rockets have hit, as well as statements by leaders of Palestinian armed groups that population centers were being targeted, indicate that the armed groups deliberately attacked Israeli civilians and civilian objects." In another 2005 statement, the group noted that as the ruling authority of Gaza, Hamas was obligated to uphold the laws of war and should appropriately punish those responsible for serious violations". The international community considers indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian structures that do not discriminate between civilians and military targets as illegal under international law.

Similar Palestinian rockets
Other Palestinian militant groups have also developed home-made rockets. The media generally refer to all Palestinian high-trajectory rockets as "Qassam rockets" or "Qassam missiles", while they call most rockets fired from Lebanon "Katyushas", as a Katyusha is not a specific model but rather a generic class of rocket.

 * Palestinian Islamic Jihad – Al Quds 101 & 2
 * Popular Resistance Committees – al Nasser-3
 * Tanzim – Saria-2
 * Fatah – Kafah
 * PFLP – Samoud-1

The Israeli Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center estimated that in 2007 the proportions of rockets fired were:
 * 34% – Palestinian Islamic Jihad
 * 22% – Hamas
 * 8% – Fatah
 * 6% – Popular Resistance Committees
 * 30% – unknown

The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center reports that the number of Palestinian rockets fired per year were:

 * 2001:   4
 * 2002:  35
 * 2003: 155
 * 2004: 281
 * 2005: 179
 * 2006: 946
 * 2007: 896
 * 2008: 2,048

title: Qassam rocket


text:
Kaloyan of Bulgaria

Kaloyan or Kalojan, also known as Ivan I, Ioannitsa or Johannitsa (Калоян, Йоаница; c. 1170 – October 1207), the Romanslayer, was emperor or tsar of Bulgaria from 1196 to 1207. He was the younger brother of Theodor and Asen, who led the anti-Byzantine uprising of the Bulgarians and Vlachs in 1185. The uprising ended with the restoration of Bulgaria as an independent state. He spent a few years as a hostage in Constantinople in the late 1180s. Theodor, crowned Emperor Peter II, made him his co-ruler after Asen was murdered in 1196. A year later, Peter was also murdered, and Kaloyan became the sole ruler of Bulgaria.

After the successful siege of Varna in 1201 against the Byzantine Empire, the defenders and governors of the city were tied and thrown into the moat of the fortress walls and covered with dirt by the Bulgarians. After they were buried alive in this way, Kaloyan declared himself a Bulgarian avenger, adopting the moniker "the Romanslayer" by analogy with the emperor Basil II the Bulgar Slayer, who blinded an entire Bulgarian army of 15,000 people.

To obtain an imperial title from the Holy See, Kaloyan entered into correspondence with Pope Innocent III, offering to acknowledge papal primacy. His expansionist policy brought him into conflict with the Byzantine Empire, Hungary, and Serbia. In 1204, King Emeric of Hungary allowed the papal legate who was to deliver a royal crown to Kaloyan to enter Bulgaria only at the Pope's demand. The legate crowned Kaloyan "king of the Bulgarians and Vlachs" on 8 November 1204, but Kaloyan continued to style himself as tsar (emperor).

Kaloyan took advantage of the disintegration of the Byzantine Empire after the fall of Constantinople to the Crusaders or "Latins" in 1204. He captured fortresses in the themes of Macedonia and Thrace and supported the local population's riots against the Crusaders. He defeated Baldwin I, Latin Emperor of Constantinople, in the Battle of Adrianople on 14 April 1205. Baldwin was captured and later died in Kaloyan's prison. Kaloyan launched new campaigns against the Crusaders and Romans, capturing or destroying dozens of their fortresses. He died under mysterious circumstances during the siege of Thessalonica in 1207.

Early life
Kaloyan was the younger brother of Theodor and Asen, noted as the instigators of the uprising of the Bulgarians and Vlachs against the Byzantine Empire in 1185. Theodor was crowned emperor and adopted the name Peter in 1185. Asen became Peter's co-ruler before 1190. They secured the independence of their realm with the assistance of Cuman warriors from the Pontic steppes.

Kaloyan, who was still a teenager in 1188, must have been born around 1170, according to historian Alexandru Madgearu. He was baptised Ivan (or John), but he was called Johannitsa ("Little Ivan") because Ivan was also the baptismal name of his elder brother Asen. Kaloyan derived from the Greek expression for John the Handsome (Kallos Ioannis). His Greek enemies also called him Skyloioannes ("John the Dog"), which gave rise to references to Tsar Skaloyan or Scaluian in frescos in the Dragalevtsi Monastery and the Sucevița Monastery.

After the Byzantines captured Asen's wife, Kaloyan was sent as a hostage to Constantinople in exchange for her in the spring of 1188. The date of his release is not known, or said to be about 1189 when he escaped. He was back in his homeland when a boyar, Ivanko, murdered Asen in Tarnovo in 1196. Ivanko attempted to obtain the throne with Byzantine support, but Theodor-Peter forced him to flee to the Byzantine Empire.

Conflicts with the Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine historian Niketas Choniates mentioned that Theodor-Peter designated Kaloyan "to assist him in his labors and share in his rule" at an unspecified time. Kaloyan became the sole ruler of Bulgaria after Theodor-Peter was murdered in 1197. Shortly afterwards he attacked the Byzantine province of Thrace and launched frequent raids against it during the following months. Around this time, he sent a letter to Pope Innocent III, urging him to dispatch an envoy to Bulgaria. He wanted to persuade the pope to acknowledge his rule in Bulgaria. Innocent eagerly entered into correspondence with Kaloyan because the reunification of the Christian denominations under his authority was one of his principal objectives.

The Byzantine Emperor Alexios III Angelos made Ivanko the commander of Philippopolis (now Plovdiv in Bulgaria). Ivanko seized two fortresses in the Rhodopi Mountains from Kaloyan, but by 1198 he had made an alliance with him. Cumans and Vlachs from the lands to the north of the river Danube broke into the Byzantine Empire in the spring and autumn of 1199. Choniates, who recorded these events, did not mention that Kaloyan cooperated with the invaders, so it is likely that they crossed Bulgaria without his authorization. Kaloyan captured Braničevo, Velbuzhd (now Kyustendil in Bulgaria), Skopje and Prizren from the Byzantines, most probably in that year, according to historian Alexandru Madgearu.

Innocent III's envoy arrived in Bulgaria in late December 1199, bringing a letter from the Pope to Kaloyan. Innocent stated that he was informed that Kaloyan's forefathers had come "from the City of Rome". Kaloyan's answer, written in Old Church Slavonic, has not been preserved, but its content can be reconstructed based on his later correspondence with the Holy See. Kaloyan styled himself "Emperor of the Bulgarians and Vlachs", and asserted that he was the legitimate successor of the rulers of the First Bulgarian Empire. He demanded an imperial crown from the Pope and expressed his wish to put the Bulgarian Orthodox Church under the pope's jurisdiction.

The Byzantines captured Ivanko and occupied his lands in 1200. Kaloyan and his Cuman allies launched a new campaign against Byzantine territories in March 1201. He destroyed Constantia (now Simeonovgrad in Bulgaria) and captured Varna. He also supported the rebellion of Dobromir Chrysos and Manuel Kamytzes against Alexios III, but they were both defeated. Roman Mstislavich, prince of Halych and Volhynia, invaded the Cumans' territories, forcing them to return to their homeland in 1201. After the Cuman's retreat, Kaloyan concluded a peace treaty with Alexios III and withdrew his troops from Thrace in late 1201 or in 1202. According to Kaloyan's letter to the Pope, Alexios III was also willing to send an imperial crown to him and to acknowledge the autocephalous (or autonomous) status of the Bulgarian Church.

Imperial ambitions
Vukan Nemanjić, ruler of Zeta, expelled his brother, Stefan, from Serbia in 1202. Kaloyan gave shelter to Stefan and allowed the Cumans to invade Serbia across Bulgaria. He invaded Serbia himself and captured Niš in the summer of 1203. According to Madgearu he also seized Dobromir Chrysos's realm, including its capital at Prosek. Emeric, King of Hungary, who claimed Belgrade, Braničevo and Niš, intervened in the conflict on Vukan's behalf. The Hungarian army occupied territories which were also claimed by Kaloyan. Since Vukan had already acknowledged papal primacy, Innocent III urged Kaloyan to make peace with him in September. In the same month, the papal legate, John of Casamari, gave a pallium to Basil I, the head of the Bulgarian Church, confirming his rank of archbishop, but denying his elevation to the rank of patriarch.

Dissatisfied with the Pope's decision, Kaloyan sent a new letter to Rome, asking Innocent to send cardinals who could crown him emperor. He also informed the Pope that Emeric of Hungary had seized five Bulgarian bishoprics, asking Innocent to arbitrate in the dispute and determine the boundary between Bulgaria and Hungary. In the letter, he styled himself the "Emperor of the Bulgarians". The Pope did not accept Kaloyan's claim to an imperial crown, but dispatched Cardinal Leo Brancaleoni to Bulgaria in early 1204 to crown him king.

Kaloyan sent envoys to the crusaders who were besieging Constantinople, offering military support to them if "they would crown him king so that he would be lord of his land of Vlachia", according to Robert of Clari's chronicle. However, the crusaders treated him with disdain and did not accept his offer. The crusaders captured Constantinople on 13April. They elected Baldwin IX of Flanders emperor and agreed to divide the Byzantine Empire among themselves.

The papal legate, Brancaleoni, travelled through Hungary, but he was arrested at Keve (now Kovin in Serbia) on the Hungarian–Bulgarian frontier. Emeric of Hungary urged the cardinal to summon Kaloyan to Hungary and to arbitrate in their conflict. Brancaleoni was only released at the Pope's demand in late September or early October. He consecrated Basil primate of the Church of the Bulgarians and Vlachs on 7November. Next day, Brancaleone crowned Kaloyan king. In his subsequent letter to the Pope, Kaloyan styled himself as "King of Bulgaria and Vlachia", but referred to his realm as an empire and to Basil as a patriarch.

War with the Crusaders
Taking advantage of the disintegration of the Byzantine Empire, Kaloyan captured former Byzantine territories in Thrace. Initially he attempted to secure a peaceful division of the lands with the crusaders (or "Latins"). He asked Innocent III to prevent them from attacking Bulgaria. However, the crusaders wanted to implement their treaty which divided the Byzantine territories between them, including lands that Kaloyan claimed.

Kaloyan gave shelter to Byzantine refugees and persuaded them to stir up riots in Thrace and Macedonia against the Latins. The refugees, according to Robert of Clari's account, also pledged they would elect him emperor if he invaded the Latin Empire. The Greek burghers of Adrianople (now Edirne in Turkey) and nearby towns rose up against the Latins in early 1205. Kaloyan promised that he would send them reinforcements before Easter. Considering Kaloyan's cooperation with the rebels a dangerous alliance, Emperor Baldwin decided to launch a counter-attack and ordered the withdrawal of his troops from Asia Minor. He laid siege to Adrianople before he could muster all his troops. Kaloyan hurried to the town at the head of an army of more than 14,000 Bulgarian, Vlach and Cuman warriors. A feigned retreat by the Cumans drew the heavy cavalry of the crusaders into an ambush in the marshes north of Adrianople, enabling Kaloyan to inflict a crushing defeat on them on 14April 1205.

Baldwin was captured on the battlefield and died in captivity in Tarnovo. Choniates accused Kaloyan of having tortured and murdered Baldwin because he "seethed with anger" against the crusaders. George Akropolites added that Baldwin's head was "cleaned of all its contents and decorated all round with ornaments" to be used as a goblet by Kaloyan. On the other hand, Baldwin's brother and successor, Henry, informed the pope that Kaloyan behaved respectfully towards the crusaders who had been captured at Adrianople.

Kaloyan's troops pillaged Thrace and Macedonia after his victory over the Latins. He launched a campaign against the Kingdom of Thessalonica, laying siege to Serres in late May. He promised free passage to the defenders, but after their surrender he broke his word and took them captive. He continued the campaign and seized Veria and Moglena (now Almopia in Greece). Most inhabitants of Veria were murdered or captured on his orders. Henry (who still ruled the Latin Empire as regent) launched a counter-invasion against Bulgaria in June. He could not capture Adrianople and a sudden flood forced him to lift the siege of Didymoteicho.

Kaloyan decided to take vengeance of the townspeople of Philippopolis, who had voluntarily cooperated with the crusaders. With the assistance of the local Paulicians, he seized the town and ordered the murder of the most prominent burghers. The commoners were delivered in chains to Vlachia (a loosely defined territory, located to the south of the lower Danube). He returned to Tarnovo after a riot had broken out against him in the second half of 1205 or early 1206. He "subjected the rebels to harsh punishments and novel methods of execution", according to Choniates. He again invaded Thrace in January 1206. He captured Rousion (now Keşan in Turkey) and massacred its Latin garrison. He then destroyed most of the fortresses along the Via Egnatia, as far as Athira (present-day Büyükçekmece in Turkey). The local inhabitants were captured and forcibly relocated to the lower Danube. Akropolites recorded that thereafter Kaloyan called himself "Romanslayer", with a clear reference to Basil II who had been known as the "Bulgarslayer" after his destruction of the First Bulgarian Empire.

The massacre and capture of their compatriots outraged the Greeks in Thrace and Macedonia. They realized that Kaloyan was more hostile to them than the Latins. The burghers of Adrianople and Didymoteicho approached Henry offering their submission. Henry accepted the offer and assisted Theodore Branas in taking possession of the two towns. Kaloyan attacked Didymoteicho in June, but the crusaders forced him to lift the siege. Soon after Henry was crowned emperor on 20August, Kaloyan returned and destroyed Didymoteicho. He then laid siege to Adrianople, but Henry forced him to withdraw his troops from Thrace. Henry also broke into Bulgaria and released 20,000 prisoners in October. Boniface, King of Thessalonica, had meanwhile recaptured Serres.

Kaloyan concluded an alliance with Theodore I Laskaris, Emperor of Nicaea. Laskaris had started a war against David Komnenos, Emperor of Trebizond, who was supported by the Latins. He persuaded Kaloyan to invade Thrace, forcing Henry to withdraw his troops from Asia Minor. Kaloyan laid siege to Adrianople in April 1207, using trebuchets, but the defenders resisted. A month later, the Cumans abandoned Kaloyan's camp, because they wanted to return to the Pontic steppes, which compelled Kaloyan to lift the siege. Innocent III urged Kaloyan to make peace with the Latins, but he did not obey.

Henry concluded a truce with Laskaris in July 1207. He also had a meeting with Boniface of Thessalonica, who acknowledged his suzerainty at Kypsela in Thrace. However, on his way back to Thessalonica, Boniface was ambushed and killed at Mosynopolis on 4September. According to Geoffrey of Villehardouin local Bulgarians were the perpetrators and they sent Boniface's head to Kaloyan. Robert of Clari and Choniates recorded that Kaloyan had set up the ambush. Boniface was succeeded by his minor son, Demetrius. The child king's mother, Margaret of Hungary, took up the administration of the kingdom. Kaloyan hurried to Thessalonica and laid siege to the town.

Death
Kaloyan died during the siege of Thessalonica in October 1207, but the circumstances of his death are uncertain. Historian Akropolites (1217/20-1282) stated that he died of pleurisy. He also recorded a rumour claiming that Kaloyan's "death was caused by divine wrath; for it seemed to him that an armed man appeared before him in his sleep and struck his side with a spear".

Legends about Saint Demetrius of Thessalonica's intervention on behalf of the besieged town were recorded shortly after Kaloyan's death. Robert of Clari wrote before 1216 that the saint himself came to Kaloyan's tent and "struck him with a lance through the body", causing his death. Stefan Nemanjić wrote down the same legend in 1216 in his hagiography of his father, Stefan Nemanja. John Staurakios, who compiled the legends of Saint Demetrius in the late 13th century, recorded that a man riding on a white horse struck Kaloyan with a lance. Kaloyan, continued Staurakios, associated the attacker with Manastras, the commander of his mercenaries, who thus had to flee before Kaloyan's death. The legend was depicted on the walls of more than five Orthodox churches and monasteries. For instance, a fresco in the Decani Monastery depicts Saint Demetrius slaying Tsar Skaloyan.

The contradictory records of Kaloyan's death gave rise to multiple scholarly theories, many of them accepting that he was murdered. Madgearu says Kaloyan was actually murdered by Manastras, who had most probably been hired by Kaloyan's wife and nephew, Boril. Historians Genoveva Cankova-Petkova and Francesco Dall'Aglia also write that Manastras killed Kaloyan, but they assume that the Greeks had persuaded him to turn against the tsar.

Grave

The location of Kaloyan's grave is unknown. According to the late 13th-century version of the Life of Saint Sava of Serbia, Kaloyan's body was embalmed and delivered to Tarnovo. However, the older version of the same legend, recorded in 1254, does not mention this episode. A golden ring, which was found in a grave near the Church of the Holy Forty Martyrs in Tarnovo in 1972, bears the Cyrillic inscription Kaloianov prăsten ("Kaloyan's ring"). Historian Ivan Dujčev stated that the ring proved that Kaloyan's remains were transferred to the church, which was built in 1230. The identification of the grave as Kaloyan's burial place is controversial, because the ring bearing his name cannot be dated to before the 14th century. Furthermore, the graves of all other royals who were buried in the same place are located within the church, suggesting that the ring was not owned by Kaloyan, but by one of his 14th-century namesakes.

Based on the skull found in the same grave and associated with Kaloyan, anthropologist Jordan Jordanov reconstructed Kaloyan's face.

Family
Kaloyan's wife was a Cuman princess. She gave birth to Kaloyan's only known daughter (whose name is unknown). According to gossip recorded by Alberic of Trois-Fontaines, Kaloyan's wife tried to seduce the Latin Emperor Baldwin who had been imprisoned in Tarnovo. However, the gossip continued, Baldwin refused her, for which she accused him of having tried to seduce her. Outraged by his wife's claim, Kaloyan had Baldwin executed and fed his corpse to the dogs. Based on the story of Potiphar and his wife, the rumour is obviously unreliable, according to Madgearu. After Kaloyan's death, his widow married his successor, Boril. Boril gave Kaloyan's daughter in marriage to the Latin Emperor Henry in 1211.

title: Kaloyan of Bulgaria


text:
Caterpillar D9

The Caterpillar D9 is a large track-type tractor designed and manufactured by Caterpillar Inc. It is usually sold as a bulldozer equipped with a detachable large blade and a rear ripper attachment.

The D9, with 354 kW (474 hp) of gross power and an operating weight of 49 ST, is in the upper end of Caterpillar's track-type tractors, which range in size from the D2 69 kW (92 hp), 9 ST, to the D11 698 kW (935 hp), 104 ST.

The size, durability, reliability, and low operating costs have made the D9 one of the most popular large track-type tractors in the world.

Engineering and technical description
The D9 is a series of heavy tracked-type tractors, carried on continuous tracks and usually used as bulldozers. The series began in 1954 with a prototype tractor called the D9X. Ten D9X prototype models were built in 1954. In 1955, the 286 hp D9 was introduced to compete against the more powerful Euclid TC-12. The D9 came equipped with a 1,473 cid D353, which powered the D9 until the 1980 introduction of the D9L. In 1956, the D9 had its engine power raised to 320 hp. The new 335 hp D9E replaced that model in 1959. Two years later, the legendary 385 hp D9G was introduced; it remained in production for 13 years; it became the main crawler on many job sites, testifying to its sturdiness and design.

In 1965, West Coast businessman Buster Peterson hooked up a pair of D9Gs to pushload the largest wheel tractor scrapers built. In 1968, Caterpillar bought the rights to this concept, thus the 770 hp DD9G was created (DD stands for Dual D9G). Peterson also built the first SxS D9G, which has two D9Gs side-by-side, pushing a 24 ft-wide bulldozer blade.

In 1969, Caterpillar introduced this new SxS D9G. In 1974, the improved 410 hp D9H was introduced to replace the D9G. The D9H is still the most powerful conventional track-type tractor in company history. The DD9H and the SxS D9H soon followed.

In 1980, the 460 hp D9L was introduced. The unit featured the same new type of elevated drive sprocket undercarriage as had been introduced on the larger D10 in 1977. The new undercarriage design reduced strain and shock loads on the final drives and gave the "belly pan" more ground clearance. The elevated-drive-sprocket undercarriage is a modular design. To repair the machines, one breaks down the tracks and pulls the drive sprockets out. As a result, one can pull the powershift transmission out of the rear. The 370 hp D9N replaced the D8L in 1987.

In 1988, Caterpillar produced their 25,000th elevated-drive-sprocket track-type tractor, a D9N. The 405 hp D9R replaced the D9N in 1996. The 410 hp D9T replaced the D9R in 2004. The D9T has a low-emissions ACERT diesel engine. The current model is the D9T; however, older models such as the D9R, D9N, and D9L are still commonly used. The L, N, R, and T models of the D9 are visually very similar, differing primarily in the design of their internal systems.

The D9L was replaced by the 520 hp D10N in 1987. The 370 hp D9N replaced D8L in 1987. The main difference between the D9T and the D9R is the installment of the new Cat C18 ACERT inline-six engine in the D9T vs the V8 3408 HEUI in the D9R. The D9R has clutch and brake steering, while the D9T has differential steering. The D9L is the most powerful D9 in history, with a flywheel power of 460 hp. The D9L is also the heaviest D9 in history at 130,000 lb.

The D9's primary working tools are the blade, affixed to the front and controlled by four hydraulic cylinders, and an optional ripper, which can be attached to the back. The blade is mainly intended for earthmoving and bulk material handling: pushing up sand, soil, and rubble. It also can be used to push other heavy equipment such as earthmoving scraper pans, and in military applications, main battle tanks. The dozer blade usually has three variants: Like many other bulldozers, the D9 can be fitted with other devices, such as mine plows.
 * A straight blade ("S-blade") is short and has no lateral curve, with no side wings, and can be used for fine grading.
 * A universal blade ("U-blade") is tall and very curved, and has large side wings to carry more material.
 * A "S-U" combination blade is shorter, has less curvature, and has smaller side wings. This blade is typically used for pushing piles of large rocks, such as at a quarry.

The rear ripper is intended for use in loosening rocky ground and ripping out larger stones. It can also break frozen ground and excavate small ditches. The ripper can be replaced with a multi-shank ripper, allowing the bulldozer to comb the ground.

The size, power, and weight of the larger track-type tractors dictate that they are used primarily for major projects. The D9 is most commonly found in use in construction, demolition, forestry, mining, waste, and quarry operations.

Military applications

Caterpillar Inc. does not manufacture a military version of the D9 per se, but the attributes that make the D9 popular for major construction projects make it desirable for military applications, as well, and with Israeli modifications and armor, it has been particularly effective for the Israel Defense Forces and also used by KBR in Iraq.

The US Army used D9 bulldozers to clear forest in the Vietnam War, but after the war, they were replaced with smaller and cheaper Caterpillar D7G bulldozers. D7G bulldozers are still very common in US combat engineering battalions, but a series of oft-recurrent suggestions have been made to replace the lighter D7Gs with the newer and more heavily armored D9s.

The Caterpillar D9 have been used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) since it was introduced, but an armored model, with Israeli-developed vehicle armor kit, was introduced only in 1986, on the D9L. The IDF Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozer is operated by combat soldiers from the Combat Engineering Corps (Hebrew: חיל ההנדסה הקרבית) after going through a 2-month course. Many of the D9 operators are reservists and veterans, who operated heavy equipment also as civilians. The current models of the D9 employed by the IDF are the D9L, D9N, D9R, and D9T. Most of the IDF's D9 fleet today are composed of the D9R with slat armor.

IDF D9 bulldozers were used during the Second Intifada (2000–2005) to demolish Palestinian structures and clear improvised explosive devices. The Israeli armor provides protection from small arms and explosives, and the bulldozers were used the Battle of Jenin 2002 during Operation Defensive Shield. A 2003 incident involving an IDF D9, in which a 23-year-old American activist was killed, resulted in a lawsuit brought against Caterpillar, Inc. in the United States. The court dismissed the case on grounds that it was outside their jurisdiction, and that Israeli tort law was a sufficient avenue to pursue remedies. Today, the D9 is one of the main combat engineering tools of the IDF.

title: Caterpillar D9


text:
Robert Malet

Robert Malet (c. 1050 – by 1130) was a Norman-English baron and a close advisor of Henry I.

Early life
Malet was the son of William Malet, and inherited his father's great honour of Eye in 1071. This made him one of the dozen or so greatest landholders in England. According to the Domesday book he held 221 manors in Suffolk, 32 in Yorkshire, eight in Lincolnshire, three in Essex, two in Nottinghamshire, and one in Hampshire. He also inherited the family property in Normandy.

Public life
From 1070 to 1080, Malet was High Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk, and helped suppress the rebellion of Ralph Wader. Afterwards, he appeared frequently at King William I's court. All changed with the accession of William II. By 1094 Malet's English lands had been taken away from him. The reasons are unknown, and no more is known of Malet's activities during William II's reign. Most likely he was in Normandy, and it may be that his falling out with William II was due to his preference for Duke Robert of Normandy in the rivalry between the two brothers.

Malet reappeared in the public record three days after the death of William II in 1100, as a witness to Henry I's coronation charter. He must have been with Henry at the time of William's death, or rushed from Normandy when word came. In any case, Malet soon regained his office as Sheriff of Suffolk, and his honour of Eye.

It was thought that Malet had some quarrel with the king, and again lost his lands, on the basis of some statements by Orderic Vitalis, but most historians now think Orderic confused Malet with his successor, William Malet. However it appears that Robert Malet remained in the king's confidence and held his lands until his death.

Some sources claim that a Robert Malet died at the battle of Tinchebrai (28 September 1106), though there is no specific evidence linking this to Robert Malet of Suffolk.

Until some time before 1130, Malet was appointed Lord Great Chamberlain (or Master Chamberlain), the first person to hold this position. Little is known about the role attached at the time to this title or what it entailed. It is possible, however, that the position succeeded that of a Lord High Steward. While the rest of the financial responsibilities of the parent job were separated from that job and were given under the newly-formed title of Lord High Treasurer in 1126. So perhaps Malet became Lord Great Chamberlain in 1126 when the job of Lord High Treasurer seems to have been formed.

title: Robert Malet


text:
Mawashi

In sumo, a mawashi (廻し) is the loincloth that rikishi (sumo wrestlers) wear during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a keshō-mawashi as part of the ring entry ceremony or dohyō-iri.

Mawashi

For top ranked professional rikishi, it is made of silk and comes in a variety of colours. It is approximately 30 ft in length when unwrapped, about 2 ft wide and weighs about 8 to 11 lb. It is wrapped several times around the rikishi and fastened in the back by a large knot. A series of stiffened silk fronds of matching colour called sagari Sagari (下がり) are inserted into the front of the mawashi. Their number varies from 13 to 25, and is always an odd number. They mark out the only part of the mawashi that it is illegal to grab on to: the vertical part covering the sumotori's groin, and if they fall out during competition the gyōji (referee) will throw them from the ring at the first opportunity.

Sometimes a rikishi may wear his mawashi in such a way as to give him some advantage over his opponent. He may wear it loosely to make it more difficult to be thrown, or he may wrap it tightly and splash a little water on it to help prevent his opponent from getting a good grip on it. His choice will depend on the type of techniques he prefers to employ in his bouts. Thus a wrestler preferring belt sumo will usually wear it more loosely, while those preferring pushing techniques will tend to wear the mawashi more tightly.

Many rikishi are superstitious and will change the color of their mawashi to change their luck. Sometimes a poor performance will cause them to change colors for the next tournament, or even during a tournament, in an attempt to change their luck for the better. An example of this was done by Ōnoshō during the 2020 July tournament, when, after several losses in a row, he decided to change from crimson to dark gray.

Rikishi only wear the silk mawashi during competitive bouts either during ranking tournaments or touring displays. During training, a heavy cotton mawashi is worn. For senior rikishi in the top two divisions (the so-called sekitori), this belt is coloured white, and it is worn with one end distinctively looped at the front. Sagari are not worn during training.

Rikishi ranked in the lower divisions wear a black cotton mawashi both for training and in competition. In competition, cotton sagari are inserted into the belt, but these are not stiffened.

Amateur sumo wrestlers are expected to wear a white cotton mawashi without the looping accorded to the senior professional's training garb.

If a wrestler's mawashi comes off during a tournament bout, he is automatically disqualified. This is extremely rare, but did occur in May 2000, when sandanme wrestler Asanokiri's mawashi came off during a match with Chiyohakuhō. However, for most of sumo's history, whether or not a wrestler's mawashi came off during a bout was considered irrelevant, and the policy of disqualification only came into place when Japan began adopting European attitudes towards nudity.

Keshō-mawashi

Wrestlers in the two upper divisions, makuuchi and jūryō, are allowed to wear a second ceremonial keshō-mawashi during their ring entering ceremony. The silk 'belt' opens out at one end into a large apron which is usually heavily embroidered and with thick tassels at the bottom. The keshō-mawashi may advertise the produce of a sponsor of the rikishi (for example Bulgarian ōzeki Kotoōshū was sponsored by a Japanese brand of yogurt, "Bulgaria", which was prominently displayed on the front of his keshō-mawashi) or be a gift from one of the rikishi's support groups. Alternatively, some foreign-born rikishi (such as Czech-born Takanoyama) bear their national flag on their keshō-mawashi. Popular rikishi may be given many of these keshō-mawashi.

Yokozuna have matching sets of three keshō-mawashi, with two being worn by his wrestler "assistants" (his tachimochi and tsuyuharai) during his ring entrance ceremony.

In the Edo period, the keshō-mawashi also served as the wrestler's fighting mawashi. However, as the aprons become more ornate, eventually the two functions were split apart. In this period wrestlers were normally sponsored by feudal daimyō or overlords, whose clan crest would therefore appear on the keshō-mawashi.

title: Mawashi


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Georgian Bay

Georgian Bay (Baie Georgienne) is a large bay of Lake Huron, in the Laurentia bioregion. It is located entirely within the borders of Ontario, Canada. The main body of the bay lies east of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. To its northwest is the North Channel.

Georgian Bay is surrounded by (listed clockwise) the districts of Manitoulin, Sudbury, Parry Sound and Muskoka, as well as the more populous counties of Simcoe, Grey and Bruce. The Main Channel separates the Bruce Peninsula from Manitoulin Island and connects Georgian Bay to the rest of Lake Huron. The North Channel, located between Manitoulin Island and the Sudbury District, west of Killarney, was once a popular route for steamships and is now used by a variety of pleasure craft to travel to and from Georgian Bay.

The shores and waterways of the Georgian Bay are the traditional domain of the Anishinaabeg First Nations peoples to the north and Huron-Petun (Wyandot) to the south. The bay was thus a major Algonquian-Iroquoian trade route.

Etymology
Georgian Bay has been known by several names. To the Ojibwe, it is known as "Spirit Lake". To the Huron-Wendat, it is known as Lake Attigouatan. Samuel de Champlain, the first European to explore and map the area in 1615–1616, called it "La Mer douce" (the sweet/calm/fresh sea), which was a reference to the bay's freshwater. It was named "Lake Manitoulin" by Royal Navy Captain William Fitzwilliam Owen. In 1822, after Great Britain had taken over the territory, Lieutenant Henry Wolsey Bayfield of a Royal Navy expedition named it as "Georgian Bay" (after King George IV).

Geography
Georgian Bay is about 190 km long by 80 km wide. It covers approximately 15000 km2, making it nearly 80% the size of Lake Ontario.

Eastern Georgian Bay is part of the southern edge of the Canadian Shield, granite bedrock exposed by the glaciers at the end of the last ice age, about 11,000 years ago. The granite rock formations and windswept eastern white pine are characteristic of the islands and much of the shoreline of the bay. The rugged beauty of the area inspired landscapes by artists of the Group of Seven. The western part of the bay, from Collingwood north, and including Manitoulin, Drummond, Cockburn and St. Joseph islands, borders the Niagara Escarpment. Because of its size and narrowness of the straits joining it with the rest of Lake Huron, which is analogous to if not as pronounced as the separation of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, Georgian Bay is sometimes called the "sixth Great Lake".

If Georgian Bay were considered a lake in its own right, it would be the fourth largest lake located entirely within Canada (after Great Bear Lake, Great Slave Lake and Lake Winnipeg). With Georgian Bay, Lake Huron is considered to be the second largest of the Great Lakes - if Georgian Bay were excluded, Lake Huron would be the third largest (after Lake Superior and Lake Michigan, but still ahead of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario).

There are tens of thousands of islands in Georgian Bay. Most of these islands are along the east side of the bay and are collectively known as the "Thirty Thousand Islands", including the larger Parry Island. Manitoulin Island, lying along the northern side of the bay, is the world's largest island in a freshwater lake. The Trent–Severn Waterway connects Georgian Bay to Lake Ontario, running from Port Severn in the southeastern corner of Georgian Bay through Lake Simcoe into Lake Ontario near Trenton. Further north, Lake Nipissing drains into Georgian Bay through the French River. In October 2004, the Georgian Bay Littoral was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.

History
Archaeological records reveal an Aboriginal presence in the southern regions of the Canadian Shield dating from 11,000 years ago. Evidence of later Paleo-Indian settlements have been found on Manitoulin Island and near Killarney.

During the period of deglaciation, a succession of prehistoric lakes in the Huron basin caused shoreline advance and retreat. The former shoreline of pro-glacial Lake Algonquin left behind high ridges which were attractive sites for human occupation. As shorelines retreated, the highly mobile Paleo-Indian groups of the period were able to migrate northward into this new land. Declining water levels created two distinct lakes in the Huron basin: Lake Stanley and Lake Hough, the latter of which corresponds to the modern Georgian Bay. Lake Stanley drained into Lake Hough through a spillway. While it is sometimes unclear whether some sites were contemporaneous with shorelines or were located a distance inland, sites are geographically-temporally stratified in correspondence with water levels.

For example, at two sites along Batteaux Creek near modern-day Collingwood adjacent to the south shore of Georgian Bay, the transitional Late Paleo-IndianEarly Archaic McKean site corresponds to the relatively low water ebb of Lake Hough, while the Middle Archaic Rentner site (likely a true shoreline site) reflects the high water levels of the later Nipissing transgression.

At the time of European contact, the Ojibwe and Ottawa First Nations, both of whom call themselves Anishinaabe (plural: Anishinaabeg), lived along the northern, eastern and western shores of Georgian Bay. The Huron (or Wendat) and Petun inhabited the lands along the southern coast, having migrated from the northern shores of Lake Ontario. Names of islands such as "Manitoulin" (from Gitchi Manitou, the Great Spirit who left the bay as a source of life for the first people) and "Giant's Tomb" are indicative of the richness of the cultural history of the area. Aboriginal communities continue to live on their territories and practise their cultural traditions.

The first European to visit this area was likely Étienne Brûlé, who at age less than 20, in 1610 was sent to live as an interpreter trainee with the Onontchataronon, an Algonquian people of the Ottawa River. They travelled every winter to live with the Arendarhonon people of the Huron-Wendat Nation at the southern end of Georgian Bay, in the area now called Huronia. Brulé returned to the Arendarhonon the following year. At the same time another young interpreter trainee, a youth remembered only as Thomas, who was employed by the French surgeon and trader Daniel Boyer, also likely made it to Huronia, in the company of the Onontchataronon, another member of the confederacy.

In 1615, Brulé's employer, the French explorer Samuel de Champlain, made his own visit to Georgian Bay and overwintered in Huronia. He was preceded that summer by a Récollet missionary, Joseph Le Caron, who would live among the Huron in 1615–1616 and 1623–1624. Another Récollet missionary, Gabriel Sagard, lived there from 1623–34. The French Jesuit Jean de Brébeuf began a mission in Huronia in 1626. In 1639 he oversaw the building of the mission fort of Sainte-Marie, Ontario's first European settlement, at what is now the town of Midland. The reconstructed Jesuit mission, Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, is now a historic park operated by Huronia Historical Parks, an agency of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture. Also nearby is the Martyrs' Shrine, a Catholic church dedicated to the Canadian Martyrs, Jesuits who were killed during Iroquois warfare against the Huron around Georgian Bay in the 17th century. The Bay appears on maps of the time as "Toronto Bay".

Penetanguishene, the location of an Ojibwe village located at the southern tip of the bay near present-day Midland, was developed as a naval base in 1793 by John Graves Simcoe, first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. In 1814, during the War of 1812 between Great Britain and the United States, one of the battles was fought in southern Georgian Bay. On August 17, at the mouth of the Nottawasaga River near Wasaga Beach, the British schooner HMS Nancy was sunk by three American vessels. Several weeks later, Nancy was avenged when British boarding parties in the De Tour Passage surprised and captured two of the three American vessels.

The first nautical charts of Georgian Bay were made in 1815 by Captain William Fitzwilliam Owen, who called it Lake Manitoulin. Captain Henry Bayfield, who made more detailed charts of the bay, renamed it in 1822 after King George IV. His charts are the basis for those in use today.

The Canadian Hydrographic Service traces its history back to 1883, when it was originally established as the Georgian Bay Survey, tasked with charting and improving knowledge of the bay after a steamship wrecked there the previous year, killing 150 of its passengers.

Over the years, 32 lighthouses were built on Georgian Bay. Six of them were designed with limestone towers; these were built in the 1850s and are known collectively as the Imperial Towers. Some of the 32 can be toured by the public, some cannot, and some are accessible only by tour boats or private boat.

Legend of Kitchikewana
Wyandot legend tells of a god called Kitchikewana, who was large enough to guard the whole of the Georgian Bay. Kitchikewana was known for his great temper, and his tribe decided the best way to calm him was with a wife. They held a grand celebration, and many women came. Kitchikewana met a woman named Wanakita here. He decided that this was the woman he wanted to marry, and started planning the wedding immediately after she left. But when she was invited back, she told Kitchikewana that she was already engaged. Enraged, Kitchikewana destroyed all the decorations, running to one end of Beausoleil Island and grabbing a large ball of earth. Running to the other end, he tossed it into the Great Lakes. Thus, the 30,000 Islands were created. The indentations left behind by his fingers form the five bays of Georgian Bay: Midland Bay, Penetang Bay, Hog Bay, Sturgeon Bay, and Matchedash Bay. He then lay down to sleep and sleeps there still as Giant's Tomb Island.

The town of Penetanguishene now has a large statue of Kitchikewana on its main street. There is a YMCA summer camp for youth located on Beausoleil Island, in southern Georgian Bay, named after Kitchikewana. YMCA Camp Kitchikewana, or Kitchi for short, has been located in Georgian Bay Islands National Park since 1919. Originally operated by the Midland YMCA, it is now the residential camp for youth from the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka.

Settlements
Wasaga Beach has now passed Collingwood as the largest town on the bay, not long after Collingwood had surpassed Owen Sound. Owen Sound served for a long time as a shipping and rail depot for the Upper Great Lakes. The towns of Midland and Penetanguishene and villages of Port Severn and Honey Harbour are at the southeastern end of the bay and are popular sites for summer cottages, as are the many bays and islands on the eastern coast. Collingwood, Meaford, and Wasaga Beach are located at the southern end of the bay, around Nottawasaga Bay. Owen Sound, Wiarton, and Lion's Head are located on the Bruce Peninsula along the southern and southwestern shores of the bay, while Tobermory is located at the northern tip of the Bruce Peninsula on the Main Channel. The passenger ferry MS Chi-Cheemaun travels from Tobermory across the Main Channel to South Baymouth on Manitoulin Island. Parry Sound, the world's deepest freshwater port, is located on the eastern shore of the bay.

There are communities of summer cottages on the north and east shore and on the adjacent 30,000 Islands. These include areas such as Cognashene, Wah Wah Taysee, Sans Souci, Pointe au Baril and Byng Inlet. Most of these cottages are accessible only by water.

title: Georgian Bay


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Akebono

Akebono is a Japanese word meaning dawn or the color of the sky at dawn. It may refer to:

Science

 * Akebono (fly), a fly genus in the family Sciomyzidae or Phaeomyiidae
 * Akebono (satellite), a magnetosphere observation satellite

Ships

 * Akebono Maru, several ships
 * Japanese destroyer Akebono, several ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy and the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force

Other uses

 * Akebono (train), a sleeping-car train in Japan
 * Akebono Brake Industry, a Japanese manufacturer
 * Akebono scale, a common scale used in Japanese music
 * Akebono Tarō (1969-2024), sumo wrestler and professional wrestler
 * Kimura Akebono (1872–1890), Japanese novelist

title: Akebono


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User:Masurao

Welcome. What is the context for the articles you're writing? It looks like they're all about some martial art, but which one?Vicki Rosenzweig 22:50, 5 Aug 2003 (UTC)

title: User:Masurao


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Étienne Aignan

Étienne Aignan (9 April 1773, Beaugency – 21 June 1824, Paris) was a French translator, political writer, librettist and playwright. In 1814 he was made a member of the Académie française, succeeding Bernardin de Saint-Pierre in Seat 27. He died on 21 June 1824 aged 51 years old.

Main works

 * 1793: Le Martyre de Marie-Antoinette d'Autriche, reine de France, five-act tragedy
 * 1793: La Mort de Louis XVI, three-act tragedy.
 * 1795: Aux Mânes des neuf victimes d'Orléans. Chants funèbres exécutés pour la première fois sur le théâtre d'Orléans, le 29 prairial, an IIIe. de la République française, et suivis de notes historiques: libretto/text, set in music by Brochiez for soloist singers, choir and orchestra (with narrator). (in memoriam the nine national guards from Orléans guillotined under the reign of Terror following the Léonard Bourdon case.)
 * 1798: L'Hôtellerie portugaise, opéra comique, Paris, Théâtre Feydeau, 7 thermidor an VI
 * 1801: Essai sur la critique, poëme en trois chants, suivi de deux discours philosophiques, traduction en vers libres de l'anglais de Pope.
 * 1803: Le Ministre de Wakefield, by Oliver Goldsmith, new translation.
 * 1803: Chimère et réalité, opéra comique in 1 act and in verse, Paris, Théâtre Feydeau, 17 nivôse an XI.
 * 1804: Le Connétable de Clisson, three-act opera, Paris, Opéra, 20 pluviôse an XII.
 * 1804: Polyxène, tragedy in three acts and in verse, Paris, Théâtre-Français, 23 nivôse an XII.
 * 1806: Nephtali ou les Ammonites, three-act opera.
 * 1809: L'Iliade, traduite en vers français, suivie de la comparaison des divers passages de ce poëme avec les morceaux correspondants des principaux poètes hébreux, grecs, français, allemands, italiens, anglais, espagnols et portugais, 3 vol.
 * 1810: Brunehaut, ou les Successeurs de Clovis I, tragédie en 5 actes et en vers, Paris, Théâtre-Français, 24 February.
 * 1817: De la justice et de la police, ou Examen de quelques parties de l'instruction criminelle considérées dans leur rapport avec les mœurs et la sûreté des citoyens.
 * 1818: De l'État des protestants en France depuis le XVIe jusqu'à nos jours, avec des notes et éclaircissements historiques (1818).
 * 1819: Des Coups d'État dans la monarchie constitutionnelle.
 * 1822: Histoire du jury.
 * 1823–1828: Bibliothèque étrangère d'histoire et de littérature ancienne et moderne, ou Choix d'ouvrages remarquables et curieux, traduits ou extraits de diverses langues, avec des notices et des remarques (3 vol.).
 * 1825: Extraits des Mémoires relatifs à l'histoire de France depuis 1757.

title: Étienne Aignan


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William Malet (companion of William the Conqueror)

William Malet (Guillaume Malet de Graville, died 1071) held senior positions within the Norman forces that occupied England from 1066. He was appointed the second High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1068. Of the so-called companions of William of Normandy, Malet is one of about a dozen for whom there is evidence of their presence at the Battle of Hastings of 14 October 1066. For example, the contemporary chronicler William of Poitiers recorded that Malet was present at the battle.

According to apocryphal accounts, Malet was related to both William of Normandy and King Harold of England. Some accounts claim that Malet took charge of Harold's body following the Norman victory at Hastings. However, there is no evidence confirming such claims.

Malet held substantial property in Normandy – chiefly in the Pays de Caux, with a castle at Graville (now a suburb of Le Havre). After 1066, he held many properties in England as well, most of them in Yorkshire and East Anglia.

Early life
According to unverifiable, apocryphal accounts, Malet had significant, multiple ties to the Anglo-Saxon elite before the Norman Conquest.

 * Malet's mother was said to be English.

 * He was said to be the brother of Ælgifu, wife of Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia (and, therefore, daughter-in-law of Lady Godiva).

 * In or about January 1066, King Harold married Ealdgyth, often known as Edith (the dowager of Welsh king Gruffydd ap Llywelyn) and a daughter of Ælgifu and Ælfgar of Mercia. If Malet was a biological uncle of the queen consort of England in 1066, he would probably have been pivotal to Norman-English relations at around the time of the Battle of Hastings.

Battle of Hastings
There is evidence that Malet fought on the Norman side at Hastings, regardless of any divided loyalties that may have been caused by family ties. For instance, William of Poitiers wrote of King Harold's remains: "His corpse was brought into the Duke's camp and William [of Normandy] gave it for burial to William, surnamed Malet, and not to Harold's mother, who offered for the body of her beloved son its weight in gold." If Malet was at the Norman headquarters, immediately after the battle, it would be strong evidence that he played a significant role in the Norman victory.

High Sheriff of Yorkshire
Malet's activities during the first few years of the Norman conquest of England are not known. Early on he was granted the great honour of Eye, with vast lands in Suffolk and several other shires. It was in fact the largest lordship in East Anglia. He made Eye his caput, his main headquarters, built a motte and bailey castle there, and started a highly successful market. He is credited with initiating the urbanization of Eye.

After the Danish stronghold York was captured in 1068, he was appointed the second High Sheriff of Yorkshire. William was in charge of the garrisons defending the shire, and built a timbered castle fortress on a motte in York and another wooden castle across the River Ouse. His efforts at defending the shire from Danish raids were, in the end, a terrible failure, for the next year the city was burned and the garrison slaughtered. Malet, his wife, and two of their children were held as hostages, and finally released when the Danes were driven off.

Malet was relieved of his duties in the north, but his efforts to defend the kingdom did not go unappreciated. He stayed in the king's favour and was appointed High Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk about 1069/70, and appointment that passed to his son Robert upon his death.

In historical literature & the media
The Domesday Book of 1086 also mentions a Durand Malet, who held land in Lincolnshire and possibly some neighbouring shires. This may be William Malet's brother, but this is not certain.

On screen, Malet has been portrayed by Peter Halliday in the two-part BBC TV play Conquest (1966), part of the series Theatre 625, and by Gawn Grainger in the TV drama Blood Royal: William the Conqueror (1990).

Family
While still in Normandy, about 1050, William married Hesilia (Helise or Elisee), daughter of Gilbert de Brionne. Hesilia was the second cousin of William the Conqueror and possibly the widow of Balderic Teutonicus (Balderic de Courcy; Balderic de Bacqueville). William and Hesilia had two sons and a daughter:
 * Robert Malet (c. 1050 – by 1130)
 * Gilbert Malet, founder of the Malets of Shepton Mallet in Somerset.
 * Beatrice.

Death
William Malet died around 1071, probably during the rebellion of Hereward the Wake. He was succeeded by his son Robert as Lord of Eye and Sheriff of Suffolk.


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John Aikin

John Aikin (15 January 1747 – 7 December 1822) was an English medical doctor and surgeon. Later in life he devoted himself wholly to biography and writing in periodicals.

Life
He was born at Kibworth Harcourt, Leicestershire, England, son of Dr John Aikin, Unitarian divine, and received his elementary education at the Nonconformist academy at Warrington, where his father was a tutor. He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, and in London under Dr. William Hunter. He practised as a surgeon at Chester and Warrington. Finally, he went to Leiden in Holland, earned an M.D. in 1780, and in 1784 established himself as a doctor in Great Yarmouth.

In 1792, one of his pamphlets having given offence, he moved to London, where he practised as a consulting physician. He lived in Church Street, Stoke Newington. However, he concerned himself more with the advocacy of liberty of conscience than with his professional duties, and he began at an early period to devote himself to literary pursuits, to which his contributions were incessant. When Richard Phillips founded The Monthly Magazine in 1796, Aikin was its first editor. In conjunction with his sister, Anna Laetitia Barbauld, he published a popular series of volumes entitled Evenings at Home (6 vols, 1792–1795), for elementary family reading, which were translated into almost every European language.

Works
In 1798 Aikin retired altogether from medicine and devoted himself to literary undertakings such as his General Biography (10 vols, 1799–1815). His other work included Biographical Memoirs of Medicine in Great Britain (1780),''The Arts of Life... described in a series of letters. For the instruction of young persons (1802, reprinted 1807), and The Lives of John Selden, Esq., and Archbishop Usher'' (1812).

Apart from editing The Monthly Magazine (1796–1807) and Dodsley's Annual Register (1811–1815), Aikin produced a paper called The Athenaeum in 1807–1809, not to be confused with the well-known magazine The Athenaeum (1828–1921).

Family
Aikin had four children, three sons and a daughter. The eldest son, Arthur, was a prominent scientist, and the youngest, Edmund, an architect. The second son, Charles, was adopted by Aikin's sister, who had no children. Through Charles, Aikin was grandfather to the writer Anna Letitia Le Breton. His daughter Lucy was a biographer, who in 1823 published Memoir of John Aikin, M.D., with a selection of Miscellaneous Pieces, Biographical, Moral and Critical.

title: John Aikin