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Diane Wakoski

Diane Wakoski (born August 3, 1937) is an American poet. Wakoski is primarily associated with the deep image poets, as well as the confessional and Beat poets of the 1960s. She received considerable attention in the 1980s for controversial comments linking New Formalism with Reaganism.

Life and work
Wakoski was born in Whittier, California. She studied at the University of California, Berkeley where she graduated in 1960 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. During her time at this university she participated in Thom Gunn's poetry workshops. It was there that she first read many of the modernist poets who would influence her writing style. Her early writings were considered part of the deep image movement that also included the works of Jerome Rothenberg, Robert Kelly, and Clayton Eshleman, among others. She also cites William Carlos Williams, Allen Ginsberg and Charles Bukowski as influences. Her poetry career began in New York City, where she moved with La Monte Young in 1960. She remained a resident of New York City until 1973. Her later work is more personal and conversational in the Williams mode. Wakoski is married to the photographer Robert Turney, and is University Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan.

Wakoski's literary works have been recognized and highlighted at Michigan State University in their Michigan Writers Series.

Her work has been published in more than twenty collections and many slim volumes of poetry. Her selected poems, Emerald Ice, won the William Carlos Williams Prize from the Poetry Society of America in 1989. She is best known for a series of poems collectively known as The Motorcycle Betrayal Poems. Many of her books have been published in fine editions by Black Sparrow Press. In 2022, Black Sparrow Press published an expanded edition of The Motorcycle Betrayal Poems titled Dancing on the Grave of a Son of a Bitch: The Complete Motorcycle Betrayal Poems. The new hardcover edition includes an introduction by Elizabeth A.I. Powell, additional poems, and an afterword by Wakoski.

Awards

 * William Carlos Williams Award for her book Emerald Ice.
 * Guggenheim Foundation grant
 * National Endowment for the Arts grant
 * Fulbright Grant
 * Pansy Award from The Society of Western Flowers

Collections

 * Smudging. Black Sparrow Press. 1972.
 * Greed: Parts 8, 9, & 11. Black Sparrow Press. 1973.
 * Why My Mother Likes Liberace: A Musical Selection. SUN/gemini Press. 1985.
 * ISBN 978-0876858103
 * ISBN 978-1934695159
 * ISBN 978-1934695326
 * ISBN 978-1934695586
 * Smudging. Black Sparrow Press. 1972.
 * Greed: Parts 8, 9, & 11. Black Sparrow Press. 1973.
 * Why My Mother Likes Liberace: A Musical Selection. SUN/gemini Press. 1985.
 * ISBN 978-0876858103
 * ISBN 978-1934695159
 * ISBN 978-1934695326
 * ISBN 978-1934695586
 * Why My Mother Likes Liberace: A Musical Selection. SUN/gemini Press. 1985.
 * ISBN 978-0876858103
 * ISBN 978-1934695159
 * ISBN 978-1934695326
 * ISBN 978-1934695586
 * Why My Mother Likes Liberace: A Musical Selection. SUN/gemini Press. 1985.
 * ISBN 978-0876858103
 * ISBN 978-1934695159
 * ISBN 978-1934695326
 * ISBN 978-1934695586
 * ISBN 978-0876858103
 * ISBN 978-1934695159
 * ISBN 978-1934695326
 * ISBN 978-1934695586
 * ISBN 978-1934695159
 * ISBN 978-1934695326
 * ISBN 978-1934695586
 * ISBN 978-1934695586

title: Diane Wakoski


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Talk:Diane Wakoski

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title: Talk:Diane Wakoski


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The Knight's Tale

"The Knight's Tale" (The Knightes Tale) is the first tale from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales.

The Knight is described by Chaucer in the "General Prologue" as the person of highest social standing amongst the pilgrims, though his manners and clothes are unpretentious. We are told that he has taken part in some fifteen crusades in many countries and also fought for one pagan leader against another. Though the list of campaigns is real, his characterization is idealized. Most readers have taken Chaucer's description of him as "a verray, parfit gentil knyght" to be sincere but Terry Jones suggested that this description was ironic, and that Chaucer's readers would have deduced that the Knight was a mercenary. He is accompanied on his pilgrimage by the Squire, his 20-year-old son.

The story introduces themes and arguments typically encountered in the literature of knighthood, including courtly love and ethical dilemmas.

Sources and composition
The epic poem Teseida (full title Teseida delle Nozze d’Emilia, or "The Theseid, Concerning the Nuptials of Emily") by Giovanni Boccaccio is the source of the tale, although Chaucer makes many significant diversions from that poem. The Teseida has 9,896 lines in twelve books, while "The Knight's Tale" has only 2,250 lines—though it is still one of the longest poems in the Tales. Most of the epic characteristics of the Teseida are removed, and instead the poem conforms primarily to the genre of romance; there are no epic invocations; the fighting and mythological references are severely reduced; and Theseus' conquests, the assault on Thebes, and the epic catalogue of heroes fighting for Palamon and Arcite are all severely compressed. The Knight-narrator repeatedly admits that he must skip past such details so that other pilgrims will get a chance to tell their stories.

The tale is considered a chivalric romance, yet it is markedly different from either the English or French traditions of such tales. For instance, there is the inclusion of philosophical themes—mainly of the kind contained in the Consolation of Philosophy of Boethius—astrological references, and an epic context.

The tale is the first to be told in The Canterbury Tales, as it is announced as such in the "Prologue." The tale that follows it is told by the drunken Miller and also involves a conflict between two men over a woman. It is a direct antithesis to the Knight's in register, with none of the nobility or heritage of classical mythology, but is instead a rollicking, bawdy fabliau, and designed to annoy the Knight and amuse the other pilgrims with its crude comedy.

Synopsis
Two cousins and knights, Palamon and Arcite, are captured and imprisoned by Theseus, duke of Athens, after being found unconscious following his battle against Creon. Their cell sits in the tower of Theseus' castle, with a window which overlooks his palace garden. The imprisoned Palamon wakes early one morning in May and catches sight of Emelye, who is Theseus's sister-in-law, below in the courtyard picking flowers for a garland. He instantly falls in love with her, wondering if she is human or a goddess; his moan is heard by Arcite, who then also wakes and sees Emelye. He falls in love with her as well. This angers Palamon, who believes that he claimed her first. Arcite argues that he also loved Emelye before it was even established that she was human, and adds that love obeys no rules anyway.

The friendship between Palamon and Arcite quickly deteriorates over their competition for Emelye. After some years, Arcite is released from prison through the help and advice of Perotheus, a mutual friend of Theseus and Arcite, amending Arcite's sentence down from imprisonment to exile; but Arcite laments that being away from Emelye is worse than imprisonment. He later secretly returns to Athens in disguise and enters service in Emelye's household, to get close to her. Palamon eventually escapes by drugging the jailer, and, while hiding in a grove, overhears Arcite singing about love and fortune.

They begin to duel with each other over who should get Emelye, but are thwarted by the arrival of Theseus's hunting party. Theseus plans to sentence the two to summary execution, but upon the protests of his wife and Emelye, he decides to have them compete in a tournament instead. Palamon and Arcite are to gather 100 men apiece and to fight a mass judicial tournament, the winner of which is to marry Emelye. The forces are assembled one year later and lavishly banqueted by Theseus. On the early morning before the tournament, Palamon prays to Venus to make Emelye his wife; Emelye prays to Diana to remain unmarried, or else to marry the one who truly loves her; and Arcite prays to Mars for victory. Theseus lays down rules for the tournament so that if any man becomes seriously injured, he must be dragged out of the battle and is no longer in combat. Because of this, the narrator (the Knight) claims that there were no deaths on either side.

Although both Palamon and Arcite fight valiantly, Palamon is wounded by a chance sword thrust from one of Arcite's men, and is unhorsed. Theseus declares the fight to be over. Arcite wins the battle, but following a divine intervention by Saturn who takes Venus's side, he is mortally wounded by his horse throwing him off and falling on him before he can claim Emelye as his prize. As he dies in bed, he tells Emelye that she should marry Palamon, because he would make a good husband for her. After a heroic burial and a period of mourning, Theseus proclaims that Palamon should marry Emelye, and thus all three prayers are fulfilled.

The First Mover
The First Mover or the Firste Moevere is a speech delivered by Theseus, spanning lines 2129–2216, bringing the poem's narrative to its close.

Background
The First Mover speech appears near the end of the poem, after the protagonists Arcite and Palamon have finished their duel for Emelye's hand; Arcite is fatally injured, and Theseus speaks to console Emelye and Palamon as they grieve for Arcite.

Summary
Theseus begins with a reference to the First Mover, the primum movens, or unmoved mover of Aristotelian philosophy creating the “Great Chain of Love”, the kyndely enclyning, or natural inclination, that holds the universe together in Medieval cosmology. He describes the inevitability of death for all things at their proper time, using the destruction of an oak tree, a stone, and a river as examples, and listing all the classes of medieval society as universally subject to death. He then shifts to a discussion of the proper way to respond to this inevitability of death. Theseus maintains that, since every man must die when his time comes, that it is best to die with a good name and reputation, on good terms with his friends, and having died with honour. Theseus's comfort to Emelye and Palamon is that Arcite died in just such a manner, having acquitted himself well in a feat of arms.

Scholarly interpretation
It is generally acknowledged among scholars that the First Mover speech draws on the philosophy of Boethius. What the purpose of the speech is, however, has been assessed variously. Some scholars maintain that the speech, with its Boethian elements, is not only representative of Boethian philosophy, but of Chaucer's own beliefs, and a reconciliation of Boethian and Christian philosophy, though this is disputed. The speech has also been read as a parody of Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy, as a narrative device simply conveying an idea from the Character of Theseus to the characters of Palamon and Emelye, as a transition from a tragic character death to a happy ending, as a counsel of how and when to die properly, and even as an expression of disappointment in not only the events of the tournament, but in the divine order he describes.

Adaptations and derivations
Richard Edwardes's 1566 play Palamon and Arcite is based on this tale, but the text of the play is lost. Another version of the story was performed in 1594, but this is only known from a reference in Philip Henslowe's diary. The Two Noble Kinsmen, a 1613 play co-written by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher, is based on the tale.

John Dryden translated this story into the language of his time–modern English. Dryden's book is titled Palamon and Arcite and is longer than the original text due to the insertion of embellishments by the later poet.

In Alan Plater's 1975 TV series Trinity Tales the story is transformed into a competition between two young men for the attentions of a barmaid.

The story is one of the tales that inspired the 2001 movie A Knight's Tale, in which Chaucer himself is one of the principal characters.

It was also adapted for the BBC's The Canterbury Tales in 2003. The names of the characters Palamon and Arcite are changed to Paul (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Ace (John Simm), and the story was moved to a modern prison setting where the two men battle for the attentions of a prison teacher named Emily (Keeley Hawes).

Director Luca Guadagnino and screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes's film Challengers is based on this tale. The names of the characters Palamon and Arcite are changed to Patrick (Josh O'Connor) and Art (Mike Faist), and Emily becomes Tashi Duncan (Zendaya). The setting is imposed into that of the world of competitive tennis.

title: The Knight's Tale


text:
Aldi

Aldi (stylised as ALDI ) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 12,000 stores in 18 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when they took over their mother's store in Essen. The business was split into two separate groups in 1960, that later became Aldi Nord, headquartered in Essen, and Aldi Süd, headquartered in neigbouring Mülheim.

In 1962, they introduced the name Aldi (a syllabic abbreviation for Albrecht Diskont), which is pronounced. In Germany, Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd have been financially and legally separate since 1966, although both divisions' names may appear as if they were a single enterprise with certain store brands or when negotiating with contractor companies. The formal business name of Aldi Nord is Aldi Einkauf GmbH & Co., while the formal business name of Aldi Süd is ALDI SÜD Dienstleistungs-SE & Co. Each company is owned and operated independently, but they do have contractual business with one another.

Aldi's German operations consist of Aldi Nord's 35 individual regional companies with about 2,200 stores in western, northern, and eastern Germany, and Aldi Süd's 32 regional companies with 2,000 stores in western and southern Germany. Internationally, Aldi Nord operates in Belgium, Netherlands, France, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Spain, while Aldi Süd operates in Australia, Austria, China, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Slovenia, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States. In Austria and Slovenia, Aldi operates stores under the Hofer brand. Aldi Nord also owns the Trader Joe's grocery chain in the United States which operates separately from the group. Aldi Süd owns the Winn-Dixie and Harveys supermarket chains in the southern United States.

Aldi is the chief competitor of the similar German discount chain Lidl in several markets.

History
Karl and Theo Albrecht's mother opened a small store in a suburb of Essen, Germany, in 1913. Their father was employed as a miner and later as a baker's assistant. Karl and Theo were born in 1920 and 1922 respectively. Theo Albrecht completed an apprenticeship in his mother's store, while Karl Albrecht worked in a delicatessen.

Karl Albrecht took over a food shop formerly run by F. W. Judt and later served in the German Army during World War II. In 1945, the brothers took over their mother's business and soon opened another retail outlet nearby. By 1950, the Albrecht brothers owned 13 stores in the Ruhr Valley.

The brothers' idea was to subtract the legal maximum rebate of 3% before sale. The market leaders at the time, which often were co-operatives, required their customers to collect rebate stamps and to send them at regular intervals to reclaim their money. The Albrecht brothers also rigorously removed merchandise that did not sell from their shelves, cutting costs by neither advertising nor selling fresh produce and keeping the size of their retail outlets small. By 1960, there were 300 stores in Germany.

Split
The brothers split the company in 1960, over a dispute about whether they should sell cigarettes. Karl believed they would attract shoplifters while his brother, Theo, did not. This led to Theo running Aldi Nord, and Karl running Aldi Süd. At the time, they jointly owned 300 shops. In 1962, they introduced the name Aldi—short for Albrecht-Diskont, which translates into English as "Albrecht Discount". Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd have been financially and legally separate since 1966.

The individual groups were originally owned and managed jointly by the brothers. After the death of Theo's son Berthold, Aldi Nord continues to be controlled by the Albrecht family through its Markus, Lukas and Jakobus foundations, which hold a combined 80.5 per cent of the company's issued capital.

International expansion
Aldi started to expand internationally in 1967, when Aldi Süd acquired the grocery chain Hofer in Austria; Aldi Nord opened its first stores abroad in the Netherlands in 1973, and other countries followed. In 1976, Aldi Süd opened its first store in the United States in Iowa, and, in 1979, Aldi Nord acquired Trader Joe's. After German reunification and the fall of the Iron Curtain, Aldi experienced a rapid expansion. The brothers retired as CEOs in 1993; control of the companies was placed in the hands of private family foundations, the Siepmann Foundation (Aldi Süd) and the Markus, Jakobus and Lukas Foundation (Aldi Nord, Trader Joe's).

Acquisition of Winn-Dixie and Harveys
On August 16, 2023, ALDI Süd entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket, including approximately 400 stores across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi. On March 7, 2024, Aldi Süd closed the Southeastern Grocers acquisition and announced it would open 800 new US stores by the end of 2028, with some being Winn-Dixie and Harveys stores converted to the Aldi format.

Germany
The Aldi Nord group currently consists of 35 independent regional branches with approximately 2,500 stores. Aldi Süd is made up of 24 companies with 2,000 stores. The border between their territories is commonly known as ″Aldi-Äquator″ (literally: Aldi equator) and runs from the Rhine via Mülheim an der Ruhr, Wermelskirchen, Marburg, Siegen, and Gießen east to just north of Fulda.

The former East Germany is served by Aldi Nord, except for one Aldi Süd in Sonneberg, Thuringia, whose regional office is in Bavaria. The regional branches are organised as limited partnerships with a regional manager for each branch who reports directly to the head office in Essen (Aldi Nord) or Mülheim an der Ruhr (Aldi Süd).

Internationally
The Aldi group operates over 12,000 stores worldwide. Aldi Nord is responsible for its stores in Northern Germany, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Spain. Aldi Nord also owns the Trader Joe's grocery chain in the United States which operates separately from the group. Aldi Süd's responsibilities are for Southern Germany, Australia, China, Ireland, United Kingdom, United States and through Austrian subsidiary Hofer AG in Austria, Hungary, Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland. In Austria and Slovenia Aldi Süd operates their stores under the Hofer brand. Aldi Süd's first Switzerland store opened in 2005, and it has operated in Hungary since 2007. Aldi Süd had invested an estimated €800m ($1bn; £670m) in Greece from November 2008 until pulling out on 31 December 2010.

While Aldi Nord has renamed its Dutch and Belgian subsidiaries Combi and Lansa to the Aldi Markt/Aldi Marché brand, Aldi Süd tries to maintain a regional appearance, branding its stores Aldi Süd in Germany, Aldi Suisse in Switzerland, and Hofer in Austria and Slovenia. Aldi launched in Great Britain, on 5 April 1990, when it opened its first store there in Stechford, Birmingham, using the wholly owned English registered company of Aldi Stores Limited. In October 2013, Aldi opened the 300th store in Great Britain. By 2017, Aldi had over 600 stores there and was opening them at a rate of more than one a week. In January 2022, Aldi launched its Shop&Go concept in Greenwich, London. In September 2022 it was confirmed that Aldi had overtaken Morrisons to become Britain's 4th largest supermarket with a 9.3% market share. In September 2023, Aldi opened its 1000th location in the UK and shared its plan to open another 500 as a long-term goal.

Aldi entered the Irish market in 1999. In March 2022, its 150th store in Ireland opened in Cahersiveen (County Kerry).

Aldi opened its first Australian store in Sydney in 2001, and has grown rapidly since, maintaining a 12.6% market share as of early 2016. It has still yet to open any stores in the state of Tasmania or in Northern Australia in major cities such as Hobart or Darwin. Financial website Canstar rated Australia's supermarkets based on the feedback of 2,897 consumers who had visited one in the past month with Aldi coming out on top. By August 2019, there were 540 Aldi stores in Australia; Aldi had approximately 11 percent share of the Australian grocery market in the previous year.

Aldi Süd expanded to the United States under the Aldi banner, having expanded throughout the Eastern and Midwestern US Aldi Süd revealed expansion plans in 2015, and expanded into the Southern California market, where Aldi Nord's Trader Joe's is based. Reports in August 2019, stated that the company was in the process of using a $3.4 billion investment in order to expand to 2,500 stores in the country by year end 2022; it was also investing an extra $1.6 billion to renovate 1,300 of its US stores. By February 2020, there were over 1,900 Aldi stores in 36 states. Groceries ordered on-line could be delivered to homes in the areas covered by 95 percent of stores in the US; this service was provided in conjunction with Instacart. In February 2021, Aldi said that it is planning to open 100 new stores in 2021, in the United States (Arizona, California, Florida and the Northeast region).

Aldi Süd opened its first 10 stores in Italy on 1 March 2018. In the first year of operation, 51 outlets were opened. By October 2019, there were 66 stores in northern Italy. At that time, the company was planning to open 80 new stores in the country as well as a distribution centre in Landriano.

In mid-2019, Aldi Süd opened two small, upscale, stores in Shanghai. Two more were opened in late-2019. This is the first of a planned one hundred such locations in the city.

In December 2020, Aldi bought 545 supermarkets and three warehouses of Leader Price and another 2 Casino supermarkets in France for €717 million from Casino Group. The transaction is part of Aldi's plan to catch up with Lidl in France.

On 9 December 2022, Aldi Nord issued a press release stating that Aldi is withdrawing from Denmark after 45 years of operations there. 114 of the chain's total of 188 stores will be taken over by Norwegian competitor Rema 1000. In August 2023, it was announced the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority had approved the Rema 1000 acquisition.

Business practices
On 9 August 2018, Aldi Nord announced plans to expand its product selection by offering more organic, fresh and easy-to-prepare meals. Aldi also aims to expand to about 2,500 stores in the United States by 2022. On 18 September 2018, Aldi announced its intent to offer grocery delivery in the United States. Aldi began testing grocery delivery in 2017 in select cities such as Atlanta, Georgia, and Chicago, Illinois.

In-store layout
Aldi stores are noted as examples of so-called no-frills stores that often display a variety of items at discount prices, specializing in staple items, such as food, beverages, toilet paper, sanitary articles, and other inexpensive household items. Many of its products are own brands, with the number of other brands usually limited to a maximum of two for a given item.

Aldi mainly sells exclusively produced, custom-branded products (often very similar to and produced by major brands ) with brand names including Grandessa, Happy Farms, Millville, Simply Nature, and Fit & Active.

Branded products carried include Haribo in Germany, Knoppers in Belgium, France, and the United States, Marmite and Branston Pickle in Great Britain; and Vegemite and Milo in Australia. Unlike most shops, Aldi does not accept manufacturers' coupons, although some US stores successfully experimented with store coupons.

In addition to its standard assortment, Aldi has weekly special offers, some of them on more expensive products such as electronics, tools, appliances, or computers. Discount items can include clothing, toys, flowers and gifts. Special offers have limits on quantities, and are for one week. Aldi's early computer offers in Germany, such as a Commodore 64 in 1987, resulted in those products selling out in a few hours.

Aldi is the largest wine retailer in Germany. Many Australian stores now sell alcoholic beverages. Some US stores also sell alcoholic beverages, mainly beer and wine, where permitted by local and state laws. In March 2019, Aldi Süd launched smaller-format stores in the UK called Aldi Local, with the first store in Balham, south London. The store has slightly fewer products than a regular Aldi, a preference for fresh products, two sizes of baskets rather than trolleys, and lacks the notable "middle aisle" of weekly offers.

Aldi stores generally do not play music, though some stores in Scotland play Christmas music during December. Some have a PA system for announcements (not commercials), but most lack any audio system. In The Netherlands and Belgium, Aldi also sells A-brands.

In 2021, Aldi UK opened its first cashierless store in Greenwich.

Advertising policy
In the United States, it advertises in newspapers and on television, as well as print ads distributed in stores, and via the Internet.

In the United Kingdom and in Ireland, print and television ads have appeared since May 2005. And since 2016, Aldi began producing a series of Christmas adverts to rival John Lewis' featuring a carrot named Kevin. In 2024, Aldi partnered with British television channel Channel 4 to sponsor its food programming strands.

In Australia, television advertising is common and the current ads are listed on the Australian website.

In Belgium, print, radio and television ads started appearing in late 2017. These ads were based on the positive results of taste-tests where the chain pitted its own products against common name-brand products.

In 2024, Aldi UK also partnered with Channel 4 to sponsor its food programming.

Logos and branding
The two stores Nord and Süd have distinct logos with Nord displaying the entire 'A' for Aldi while Süd unveiled a logo in 1982 which displays only half. In 2006, Aldi Süd modified the logo slightly and then in March 2017, unveiled a new logo which removed the blue box line around the artistic 'A' and revealed a more rounded, 3D look for the logo as well as a new font for the word 'ALDI', further differentiating it from the Aldi Nord logo which had shared the same font for the brand until then.

Sustainability
Between 2012 and 2019, Aldi's UK operations became "carbon neutral", with investments in solar, green energy, energy efficiency and offsets reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 53 per cent per square meter of sales floor. On 4 March 2020, Aldi announced that all its suppliers must utilize recyclable, reusable, or compostable packaging by 2025. In January 2024, the company announced plans to eliminate plastic bags from its 2,300 US stores. Cloth bags would still be available for customer use. It also said it would aim to use natural refrigerants in its US stores by the end of 2035. Other grocery retailers were making similar moves at the time of the announcement.

Reputation
In the United Kingdom, Aldi has won Supermarket of the Year two years in a row (2012/13), and in 2013, Aldi won the Grocer of the Year Award. In February 2015, Aldi narrowly lost to Waitrose for the title of Supermarket of the Year 2015. In April 2015, Aldi overtook Waitrose to become the United Kingdom's sixth-largest supermarket chain.

In February 2017, Aldi overtook the Co-op to become the United Kingdom's fifth largest supermarket chain. In May 2017, Aldi lost out to Marks & Spencer for the title of Supermarket of the Year 2017 (published by the magazine Which?). According to research firm Kantar Worldpanel, nearly two-thirds of households within the UK now visit an Aldi or Lidl branch at least once every 12 weeks.

In the United States, due to the relatively low staffing of Aldi locations compared to other supermarket chains, Aldi has a reputation of starting employees out at significantly higher than minimum wage, unusual among American supermarkets.

In Ireland, Aldi has been accused of a "lack of corporate responsibility" to their farmer suppliers by the Irish Farmers' Association.

Aldi was named 2018 "Retailer of the Year" by Supermarket News.

Australian trucking giant Scott's Refrigerated Logistics was plunged into receivership and liquidation on 3 March 2023 after going into voluntary administration that February. This sparked protests from the Transport Workers' Union who put the blame on Aldi Australia for increasing strains on the company during the last few years of shortages and inflation.

Subsidiaries and joint ventures
Subsidiaries include the mobile network operator "Aldi Talk", the alcoholic drink brand "Aldi Alcohol", and petrol station retailer "Diskont". Multimedia products such as CD-R and DVD-R recordable media, boomboxes, DVD players, digital cameras, camcorders, and turntables are branded as "Tevion" and "Maginon".

Aldi Talk
Aldi has a mobile virtual network operator in Germany called Aldi Talk, also known as "MEDIONmobile" (Service provider is Medion). Aldi also operates a similar network in Australia using Telstra's network, called "ALDImobile". Aldimobile is also in Switzerland by Sunrise LLC. In Austria and Slovenia, Hofer stores serve as distributors for the brand HoT Hofer Telekom (Service provider is Ventocom).

Aldi Alcohol
Aldi sells low cost alcohol from its alcohol stores. Until March 2016, Aldi had an alcohol website serving the east coast of Australia. This has now been closed down, citing it wishes to focus on expanding the supermarket chain across Australia. In November 2019, Aldi announced same-day beer and wine delivery via a partnership with Instacart in the US.

Diskont
In Austria through its subsidiary Hofer, Aldi has a joint venture with the local petrol retailer OMV Downstream GmbH, to create some no frills petrol stations called Diskont. The 85 stations in Austria are on or near the stores, providing self-serve unleaded or diesel fuel by card-operated pumps. These have been in operation since 2009.

Aldi Insurance
Aldi launched Aldi Insurance in Australia in June 2024. The company provides home and contents insurance, car insurance and landlord’s insurance backed by Honey Insurance and RACQ Insurance.

title: Aldi


text:
The Miller's Tale

"The Miller's Tale" (The Milleres Tale) is the second of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (1380s–1390s), told by the drunken miller Robin to "quite" (a Middle English term meaning requite or pay back, in both good and negative ways) "The Knight's Tale". The Miller's Prologue is the first "quite" that occurs in the tales.

Prologue
The general prologue to The Canterbury Tales describes the Miller, Robin, as a stout and evil churl fond of wrestling. In the Miller's Prologue, the pilgrims have just heard and enjoyed "The Knight's Tale", a classical story of courtly love, and the Host asks the Monk to "quite" with a tale of his own. Before the Monk can respond, however, the drunken Miller insists on going next. The Host tries to persuade the Miller to let some "bettre" man tell the next tale, but acquiesces when the Miller threatens to leave the company. The Miller claims that his tale is "noble", but reminds the other pilgrims that he is quite drunk and cannot be held accountable for what he says. He explains that his story is about a carpenter and his wife, and how a clerk "hath set the wrightes cappe" (that is, fooled the carpenter). Osewold the Reeve, who had originally been a carpenter himself, shouts out his immediate objection to such ridicule, and protests that the tale will insult carpenters and wives, but the Miller insists on proceeding with his tale.

"The Miller's Tale" begins the trend in which succeeding tellers "quite" (or one-up) the previous story with their own. In a way, the Miller requites the "Knight's Tale" and is himself directly requited with "The Reeve's Tale", in which the Reeve follows Robin's insulting story about a carpenter with his own tale disparaging a miller.

Synopsis

"The Miller's Tale" is the story of a carpenter, his lovely wife, and two younger men who are eager to sleep with her. The carpenter, John, lives in Oxford with his much younger wife, Alisoun, who is a local beauty. In order to make extra money, John rents out a room in his house to a clever Oxford University student named Nicholas, who has taken a liking to Alisoun. Another man in the town, Absolon, the parish clerk, also has his eye on Alisoun.

The action begins when John makes a day trip to a nearby town. While he is gone, Nicholas grabs Alisoun "by the queynte". When she threatens to cry for help, he begins to cry and, after a few sweet words, she agrees to have sex with him when it is safe to do so. Their affair begins. Shortly afterward, Alisoun goes to church, where Absolon sees her and immediately is filled with "love-longing." He tries to woo Alisoun by singing love songs under her window during the full moon and sending her gifts. He also seeks her attention by taking a part in a local play. However, Alisoun rebuffs all his efforts because she is already involved with Nicholas.

Nicholas, meanwhile, longs to spend a whole night in Alisoun's arms rather than just the few moments they get during John's absences. With Alisoun, he hatches a scheme that will enable him to do that. Being a student of astrology, Nicholas tells John that he has divined that a terrible event is about to occur. The next Monday night, there will be a massive flood, twice as great as the one in Noah's time. God has told him they can save themselves by hanging three large tubs from the ceiling of the barn, each loaded with provisions and an axe. When the flood waters have risen, they can cut the ropes, hack through the roof, and float until the flood subsides. John believes him and, on Monday night, they ascend by ladders into the hanging tubs. As soon as John is asleep, Nicholas and Alisoun climb down, run back to the house, and sleep together in John's bed.

That same night, Absolon comes to the house and begs Alisoun to kiss him. At first she refuses, but Absolon persists, so she offers him one quick kiss. Instead of presenting her lips to Absolon, though, she sticks her backside out the bedroom's "shot-window" (privy vent), and Absolon kisses her "ers" (arse) in the dark. Angry at being fooled, Absolon gets a red-hot coulter from the blacksmith, with which he intends to burn Alisoun in revenge. He returns with it to the window and knocks again, promising Alisoun a gold ring in exchange for a kiss. This time, Nicholas, having gotten up to relieve himself anyway, sticks his buttocks out to get in on the joke and farts thunderously in Absolon's face. Absolon thrusts the coulter "amidst the ers" of Nicholas who cries out for "Water!" to assuage the pain.

The screams wake John who, hearing the cries of "water!", thinks "Nowel's flood" (the unlettered carpenter confuses "Noe" (Noah) with "Nowel" (Christmas)) is upon them and cuts the rope attaching his tub to the ceiling. He crashes to the floor, breaking his arm, and the townspeople, hearing the noise, rush to the scene. Upon hearing Nicholas' and Alisoun's version of events, they laugh at poor John and consider him mad. The tale ends: "Thus, swyved was this carpenteris wyf, / For al his kepyng and his jalousye, / And Absolon hath kist hir nether ye, / And Nicholas is scalded in the towte. This tale is doon, and God save al the rowte!"

Arts and culture
Geoffrey Chaucer wrote during the reign of Richard II, who very much appreciated the arts and culture of the time. We see this in The Miller's Tale when Chaucer describes what is in Nicholas' bedroom. His Almageste and books grete and smale,

His astrelabie longynge for his art,

Hise augrym stones layen faire apart

On shelves couched at his beddes heed"

Nicholas is described not by his valor in battle or honour in the court. Instead, his many skills are described at great length, including the fact that he is studying one of the many scholarly arts that were popular at that time. Chaucer then goes on to describe what Nicholas is wearing and his skills as a musician. His presse ycovered with a faldyng reed,

And al above ther lay a gay sautrie

On which he made a nyghtes melodie

So swetely that al the chambre song,

And Angelus ad virginem he song,

And after that he song The Kynges Noote;

Full often blessed was his myrie throte!

Again Nicholas is shown not as a brave knight but as a talented musician. He is shown to be very cultured as well as studied. Chaucer shows that Nicholas was skilled in the art of music, as he knew these certain songs which might have been quite popular at the time. What Nicholas wears could also be here to show that Nicholas wore clothes befitting his social class status This focus on what a person could wear based on status was also important to Richard II.

Analysis
The tale appears to combine the motifs of two separate fabliaux, the 'second flood' and 'misdirected kiss', both of which appear in continental European literature of the period. Its bawdiness serves not only to introduce the Reeve's tale, but the general sequence of low comedy which terminates in the unfinished Cook's tale.

This Absolom, that jolly was and gay, Gooth with a sencer (censer) on the haliday, Sensynge the wyves of the parisshe faste; And many a lovely look on hem he caste, And namely on this carpenteris wyf. (3339)

Alisoun, however, does not return Absolom's affections, although she readily takes his gifts.

A third theme, that of knowledge and science, appears in several marginal comments. Nicholas is an avid astrologer (as Chaucer himself was), equipped with, "His Almageste, and bookes grete and smale, / His astrelabie, longynge for his art..." John the carpenter represents unintellectual laymen; John tells Nicholas:

Men sholde nat knowe of goddes pryvetee [God's private affairs]. Ye, blessed be alwey a lewed [unlearned] man That noght but oonly his bileve kan! [who knows nothing except the Creed] (3454)

He also recounts a story (sometimes told of Thales) of an astrologer who falls into a pit while studying the stars. The issue of whether learned or unlearned faith is better is also relevant to The Prioress's Tale and The Parson's Tale.

The Miller’s Tale draws on a lot of biblical information, mainly that of the Ark of the Covenant and Noah’s Ark. The Ark of the Covenant is referenced due to the root of the word arc meaning both chest and hidden in Latin, making an ark a hiding place. The ark of the Covenant was made to hide the tablets of law, Aaron’s Rod and the pot of manna, in a similar way, the tubs in which Nicholas, John and Alisoun are made to hide the 3 of them to keep them safe. The more obvious reference is to that of Noah’s Ark, Both Nicholas and Noah make reference to “Astrologye” being a catalyst for the information they receive about the coming flood. The stars were said to be able to predict events at the time. They also reference Divine Intervention of God speaking to them and the stars showing that a great cataclysm is coming. Nicholas uses this mix of astrology and information from God to convince John that he is not crazy by rooting it in how Noah found out. Chaucer also manages to draw a parallel between Gabriel the Angel and Nicholas by giving John the message about the flood, much like how Gabriel gave the message of Mary being pregnant with the son of God to her. Nicholas resembles Gabriel in the fact he is described somewhat effeminate and is eloquent with his words. The two diverge in the fact that Nicholas seduces John’s wife, and they commit adultery, which Gabriel did not do with Mary.

Parody
The tale is replete with puns. Much is made of variations on "priv-" implying both secret things and private parts. Nicholas fondles Alisoun's "queynte", a noun, while Absolom is described after his humiliation as having his ardour "yqueynt" or quenched.

The Miller's name is intended as a pun on the phrase "rob 'em". As told in the Reeve's Tale the Miller is a not just a bully but a thief of grain he is supposed to grind for his customers.

Continuations
The 15th-century Tale of Beryn depicts the Miller trying and failing to explain the stained glass windows of Canterbury cathedral.

Chaucer refers to the Distichs of Cato when discussing the age difference between Alison and her husband with this passage: "He knew nat Catoun, for his wit was rude." The Distichs of Cato was one of the most common textbooks in schools throughout medieval Europe, and was familiar to almost anyone with a basic education in Latin.

The painting Netherlandish Proverbs by Pieter Breugel the Elder illustrates many of the themes in this story including a shot-window in use, a man with his backside on fire, a falling through a basket from a roof, pious hypocrisy, and cuckolding.

Adaptations
The Miller's Tale is one of eight of Chaucer's tales adapted in Pasolini's The Canterbury Tales. Jenny Runacre portrays Alison, Michael Balfour portrays John the carpenter, Dan Thomas portrays Nicholas, Peter Cain portrays Absolom, Martin Philips portrays Martin and Alan McConnell portrays Gervase the blacksmith.

title: The Miller's Tale


text:
Closed and exact differential forms

In mathematics, especially vector calculus and differential topology, a closed form is a differential form α whose exterior derivative is zero (dα = 0), and an exact form is a differential form, α, that is the exterior derivative of another differential form β. Thus, an exact form is in the image of d, and a closed form is in the kernel of d.

For an exact form α, α = dβ for some differential form β of degree one less than that of α. The form β is called a "potential form" or "primitive" for α. Since the exterior derivative of a closed form is zero, β is not unique, but can be modified by the addition of any closed form of degree one less than that of α.

Because d = 0, every exact form is necessarily closed. The question of whether every closed form is exact depends on the topology of the domain of interest. On a contractible domain, every closed form is exact by the Poincaré lemma. More general questions of this kind on an arbitrary differentiable manifold are the subject of de Rham cohomology, which allows one to obtain purely topological information using differential methods.

Examples
A simple example of a form that is closed but not exact is the 1-form $$d\theta$$ given by the derivative of argument on the punctured plane $\mathbb{R}^2\smallsetminus\{0\}$. Since $$\theta$$ is not actually a function (see the next paragraph) $$d\theta$$ is not an exact form. Still, $$d\theta$$ has vanishing derivative and is therefore closed.

Note that the argument $$\theta$$ is only defined up to an integer multiple of $$2\pi$$ since a single point $$p$$ can be assigned different arguments $r$, $r+2\pi$, etc. We can assign arguments in a locally consistent manner around $p$, but not in a globally consistent manner. This is because if we trace a loop from $$p$$ counterclockwise around the origin and back to $p$, the argument increases by $2\pi$. Generally, the argument $$\theta$$ changes by
 * $$\oint_{S^1} d\theta$$

over a counter-clockwise oriented loop $S^1$.

Even though the argument $$\theta$$ is not technically a function, the different local definitions of $$\theta$$ at a point $$p$$ differ from one another by constants. Since the derivative at $$p$$ only uses local data, and since functions that differ by a constant have the same derivative, the argument has a globally well-defined derivative "$d\theta$".

The upshot is that $$d\theta$$ is a one-form on $$\mathbb{R}^2\smallsetminus\{0\}$$ that is not actually the derivative of any well-defined function $\theta$. We say that $$d\theta$$ is not exact. Explicitly, $$d\theta$$ is given as:
 * $$d\theta = \frac{-y\,dx + x\,dy}{x^2+y^2} ,$$

which by inspection has derivative zero. Because $$d\theta$$ has vanishing derivative, we say that it is closed.

This form generates the de Rham cohomology group $$H^1_{dR}(\mathbb{R}^2\smallsetminus\{0\}) \cong \mathbb{R},$$ meaning that any closed form $$\omega$$ is the sum of an exact form $$df$$ and a multiple of $d\theta$: $\omega = df + k\ d\theta$, where $k = \frac{1}{2\pi}\oint_{S^1} \omega$ accounts for a non-trivial contour integral around the origin, which is the only obstruction to a closed form on the punctured plane (locally the derivative of a potential function) being the derivative of a globally defined function.

Examples in low dimensions
Differential forms in $$\R^2$$ and $$\R^3$$ were well known in the mathematical physics of the nineteenth century. In the plane, 0-forms are just functions, and 2-forms are functions times the basic area element $$dx\wedge dy$$, so that it is the 1-forms

 * $$ \alpha = f(x,y) \, dx + g(x,y) \, dy$$

that are of real interest. The formula for the exterior derivative $$d$$ here is

 * $$ d \alpha = (g_x-f_y) \, dx\wedge dy$$

where the subscripts denote partial derivatives. Therefore the condition for $$\alpha$$ to be closed is

 * $$ f_y=g_x.$$

In this case if $$h(x,y)$$ is a function then

 * $$ dh = h_x \, dx + h_y \, dy.$$

The implication from 'exact' to 'closed' is then a consequence of the symmetry of second derivatives, with respect to $$x$$ and $$y$$.

The gradient theorem asserts that a 1-form is exact if and only if the line integral of the form depends only on the endpoints of the curve, or equivalently, if the integral around any smooth closed curve is zero.

Vector field analogies
On a Riemannian manifold, or more generally a pseudo-Riemannian manifold, k-forms correspond to k-vector fields (by duality via the metric), so there is a notion of a vector field corresponding to a closed or exact form.

In 3 dimensions, an exact vector field (thought of as a 1-form) is called a conservative vector field, meaning that it is the derivative (gradient) of a 0-form (smooth scalar field), called the scalar potential. A closed vector field (thought of as a 1-form) is one whose derivative (curl) vanishes, and is called an irrotational vector field.

Thinking of a vector field as a 2-form instead, a closed vector field is one whose derivative (divergence) vanishes, and is called an incompressible flow (sometimes solenoidal vector field). The term incompressible is used because a non-zero divergence corresponds to the presence of sources and sinks in analogy with a fluid.

The concepts of conservative and incompressible vector fields generalize to n dimensions, because gradient and divergence generalize to n dimensions; curl is defined only in three dimensions, thus the concept of irrotational vector field does not generalize in this way.

Poincaré lemma
The Poincaré lemma states that if B is an open ball in Rn, any closed p-form ω defined on B is exact, for any integer p with 1 ≤ p ≤ n.

More generally, the lemma states that on a contractible open subset of a manifold (e.g., $$\mathbb{R}^n$$), a closed p-form, p > 0, is exact.

Formulation as cohomology
When the difference of two closed forms is an exact form, they are said to be cohomologous to each other. That is, if ζ and η are closed forms, and one can find some β such that
 * $$\zeta - \eta = d\beta$$

then one says that ζ and η are cohomologous to each other. Exact forms are sometimes said to be cohomologous to zero. The set of all forms cohomologous to a given form (and thus to each other) is called a de Rham cohomology class; the general study of such classes is known as cohomology. It makes no real sense to ask whether a 0-form (smooth function) is exact, since d increases degree by 1; but the clues from topology suggest that only the zero function should be called "exact". The cohomology classes are identified with locally constant functions.

Using contracting homotopies similar to the one used in the proof of the Poincaré lemma, it can be shown that de Rham cohomology is homotopy-invariant.

Application in electrodynamics
In electrodynamics, the case of the magnetic field $$\vec B(\mathbf r)$$ produced by a stationary electrical current is important. There one deals with the vector potential $$\vec A(\mathbf r )$$ of this field. This case corresponds to k = 2, and the defining region is the full $$\R^3$$. The current-density vector is $\vec j$. It corresponds to the current two-form

 * $$\mathbf I :=j_1(x_1,x_2, x_3) \, {\rm d}x_2\wedge {\rm d}x_3+j_2(x_1,x_2, x_3) \, {\rm d}x_3\wedge {\rm d}x_1+j_3(x_1,x_2, x_3) \, {\rm d}x_1\wedge {\rm d}x_2.$$

For the magnetic field $$\vec B$$ one has analogous results: it corresponds to the induction two-form $\Phi_B:=B_1{\rm d}x_2\wedge {\rm d}x_3 +\cdots$, and can be derived from the vector potential $$\vec A$$, or the corresponding one-form $$\mathbf A$$,

 * $$ \vec B =\operatorname{curl}\vec A =\left\{ \frac{\partial A_3}{\partial x_2}-\frac{\partial A_2}{\partial x_3}, \frac{\partial A_1}{\partial x_3}-\frac{\partial A_3}{\partial x_1} ,\frac{\partial A_2}{\partial x_1}-\frac{\partial A_1}{\partial x_2}\right\},

\text{ or } \Phi_B={\rm d}\mathbf A.$$

Thereby the vector potential $$\vec A$$ corresponds to the potential one-form

 * $$\mathbf A:=A_1 \, {\rm d}x_1+A_2 \, {\rm d}x_2+A_3 \, {\rm d}x_3.$$

The closedness of the magnetic-induction two-form corresponds to the property of the magnetic field that it is source-free: $\operatorname{div} \vec B \equiv 0$, i.e., that there are no magnetic monopoles.

In a special gauge, $$\operatorname{div}\vec A{~\stackrel{!}{=}~}0$$, this implies for i = 1, 2, 3
 * $$A_i(\vec r) = \int \frac{\mu_0 j_i\left(\vec r'\right)\,\, dx_1'\,dx_2'\,dx_3'}{4\pi |\vec r -\vec r'|} \, .$$

(Here $$\mu_0$$ is the magnetic constant.)

This equation is remarkable, because it corresponds completely to a well-known formula for the electrical field $$\vec E$$, namely for the electrostatic Coulomb potential $$\varphi (x_1,x_2, x_3)$$ of a charge density $$\rho (x_1,x_2,x_3)$$. At this place one can already guess that can be unified to quantities with six rsp. four nontrivial components, which is the basis of the relativistic invariance of the Maxwell equations.
 * $$\vec E$$ and $$\vec B ,$$
 * $$\rho $$ and $$\vec j ,$$
 * $$\varphi$$ and $$\vec A$$

If the condition of stationarity is left, on the left-hand side of the above-mentioned equation one must add, in the equations for $A_i$, to the three space coordinates, as a fourth variable also the time t, whereas on the right-hand side, in $j_i'$, the so-called "retarded time", $t':=t-\frac{ must be used, i.e. it is added to the argument of the current-density. Finally, as before, one integrates over the three primed space coordinates. (As usual c is the vacuum velocity of light.)

title: Closed and exact differential forms


text:
Chhagan Bhujbal

Chhagan Bhujbal (born 15 October 1947) is an Indian politician from Maharashtra, who is the member of current Government of Maharashtra, headed by Eknath Shinde. Currently he is a member of 14th Legislative Assembly of Maharashtra from Yeola Assembly. He also served as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 18 October 1999 – 23 December 2003. He earlier also served as Minister of Public Works Department and Minister of Home Affairs in Government of Maharashtra.

Political career
Bhujbal is an OBC leader. He started his political career from Shiv Sena in the 1960s. Before entering politics, Bhujbal was a vegetable vendor in Byculla Market where his mother had a small fruit shop. He was being influenced by Shiv Sena philosophy and more particularly, by Balasaheb Thackeray, Bhujbal evolved into a hardcore Shiv Sainik. He was amongst initial members of Shiv Sena.

Bhujbal started his political career with the Shiv Sena party. He left the party in 1991 and joined the Indian National Congress. Later, after the Indian National Congress leader Sharad Pawar decided to split from the Congress and form his own party, the Nationalist Congress Party, Bhujbal went along with him.

During his work as Corporator, Bhujbal maintained consistent contact, communication with rank and file of his constituency and its neighbourhood. Later he was elected as Mayor of Mumbai twice.

He was among the earliest MLAs of Shiv Sena elected from Mazgaon first in 1985 & again in 1990.

Bhujbal contested 2014 General Elections from Nashik Constituency and lost the race to Hemant Godse from Shiv Sena.

Bhujbal is currently Member of Legislative Assembly from Yeola Constituency and is incumbent since 2004. The disputed member of the family Mr.Avijeet Bhujabal has been cutting the link since 18 years and a relatable networth currently he is staying with his maternal side relative after the death of his parents.

Enforcement Directorate proceedings
In December 2017, Enforcement Directorate attached assets worth 20.41 crore rupees belonging to the Bhujbal family under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Allegations of deteriorating law & order situation in Nashik
Nashik known to be a peaceful district, where law & order situation has collapsed under Bhujbals' political clout. It is witnessing recession in all sectors. Daylight robberies, armed attacks, chain-snatchings and setting of two- and four-wheelers on fire have become routine.

In view of the criticism of the home department, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan sent police commissioner Vinod Lokhande on leave for his dismal performance, while Samir Bhujbal demanded a CID probe into the collapse of law and order. But a senior Indian Police Service (IPS) official said that when each and every police official has been appointed on the family's recommendations, why should the home department be blamed? Chhagan Bhujbal must accept responsibility and initiate measures to restore the people's confidence.

Alleged misuse and mismanagement of trust property
In 2012, Mumbai Educational Trust (MET) filed a criminal complaint against Chhagan Bhujbal, alleging misuse and mismanagement of trust property for family-run furniture business and destruction of evidence in connection.

Attack on Alpha Marathi
On 23 Dec 2003, Chhagan Bhujbal resigned from the post of Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, owning the moral responsibility of attack on Alpha Marathi office in Andheri, Mumbai. A group of workers belonging to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) attacked the office of Alpha Marathi, which belongs to the Zee group. They were upset with the channel for airing a satire on Bhujbal's alleged role in the multi-crore fake stamp paper scam. NCP president Sharad Pawar told the media on Tuesday night that Bhujbal had sought his permission to resign on moral grounds. Chhagan Bhujbal handed over his resignation to then Chief Minister of Maharashtra Sushilkumar Shinde.

title: Chhagan Bhujbal


text:
The Wife of Bath's Tale

"The Wife of Bath's Tale" (The Tale of the Wyf of Bathe) is among the best-known of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. It provides insight into the role of women in the Late Middle Ages and was probably of interest to Chaucer himself, for the character is one of his most developed ones, with her Prologue twice as long as her Tale. He also goes so far as to describe two sets of clothing for her in his General Prologue. She holds her own among the bickering pilgrims, and evidence in the manuscripts suggests that although she was first assigned a different, plainer tale—perhaps the one told by the Shipman—she received her present tale as her significance increased. She calls herself both Alyson and Alys in the prologue, but to confuse matters these are also the names of her 'gossib' (a close friend or gossip), whom she mentions several times, as well as many female characters throughout The Canterbury Tales.

Geoffrey Chaucer wrote the "Prologue of the Wife of Bath's Tale" during the fourteenth century at a time when the social structure was rapidly evolving during the reign of Richard II; it was not until the late 1380s to mid-1390s when Richard's subjects started to take notice of the way in which he was leaning toward bad counsel, causing criticism throughout his court. It was evident that changes needed to be made within the traditional hierarchy at the court of Richard II; feminist reading of the tale argues that Chaucer chose to address through "The Prologue of the Wife of Bath's Tale" the change in mores that he had noticed, in order to highlight the imbalance of power within a male-dominated society. Women were identified not by their social status and occupations, but solely by their relations with men: a woman was defined as either a maiden, a spouse or a widow – capable only of child-bearing, cooking and other "women's work".

The tale is often regarded as the first of the so-called "marriage group" of tales, which includes the Clerk's, the Merchant's and Franklin's tales. But some scholars contest this grouping, first proposed by Chaucer scholar Eleanor Prescott Hammond and subsequently elaborated by George Lyman Kittredge, not least because the later tales of Melibee and the Nun's Priest also discuss this theme. A separation between tales that deal with moral issues and ones that deal with magical issues, as the Wife of Bath's does, is favoured by some scholars.

The tale is an example of the "loathly lady" motif, the oldest examples of which are the medieval Irish sovereignty myths such as that of Niall of the Nine Hostages. In the medieval poem The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle, Arthur's nephew Gawain goes on a nearly identical quest to discover what women truly want after he errs in a land dispute, although, in contrast, he never stooped to despoliation or plunder, unlike the unnamed knight who raped the woman. By tradition, any knight or noble found guilty of such a transgression (abuse of power) might be stripped of his name, heraldic title and rights, and possibly even executed.

Jodi-Anne George suggests that the Wife's tale may have been written to ease Chaucer's guilty conscience. It is recorded that in 1380 associates of Chaucer stood surety for an amount equal to half his yearly salary for a charge brought by Cecily Champaign for "de rapto", rape or abduction; the same view has been taken of his Legend of Good Women, which Chaucer himself describes as a penance.

Scholarly work reported in October 2022 refutes this, stating that the court documents from 1380 have been misinterpreted and that mention of "raptus" were related to a labor dispute in which Chaucer hired a Cecily Chaumpaigne before she was released from her previous employer.

Prologue
The Wife of Bath's Prologue is by far the longest in The Canterbury Tales and is twice as long as the actual story, showing the importance of the prologue to the significance of the overall tale. In the beginning the wife expresses her views in which she believes the morals of women are not merely that they all solely desire "sovereignty", but that each individual woman should have the opportunity to make the decision. The Wife of Bath speaks against many of the typical customs of the time, and provides her assessment of the roles of women in society.

The Wife of Bath particularly speaks out in defence of those who, like her, have married multiple times. As a counterargument, she mentions many holy men who have had multiple wives:

Through this quote, she addresses why society should not look down on her or any other woman who has wed to multiple men throughout their life. The tale confronts the double standard and the social belief in the inherent inferiority of women, and tries to establish a defence of secular women's sovereignty that opposes the conventions available to her.

Tale
The Wife of Bath's tale, spoken by one who had been married five times, argues that women are morally identical to men who have also had more than one spouse. Double standards for men and women were common and deeply rooted in culture.

A knight in King Arthur's time raped a fair young maiden. King Arthur issues a decree that the knight must be brought to justice. When the knight is captured, he is condemned to death, but Queen Guinevere intercedes on his behalf and asks the King to allow her to pass judgment upon him. The Queen tells the knight that he will be spared his life if he can discover for her what it is that women most desire, and allots him a year and a day in which to roam wherever he pleases and return with an answer.

Everywhere the knight goes he explains his predicament to the women he meets and asks their opinion, but "No two of those he questioned answered the same." The answers range from fame and riches to play, or clothes, or sexual pleasure, or flattery, or freedom. When at last the time comes for him to return to the Court, he still lacks the answer he so desperately needs.

Outside a castle in the woods, he sees twenty-four maidens dancing and singing, but when he approaches they disappear as if by magic, and all that is left is an old woman. The Knight explains the problem to the old woman, who is wise and may know the answer, and she forces him to promise to grant any favour she might ask of him in return. With no other options left, the Knight agrees. Arriving at the court, he gives the answer that women most desire sovereignty over their husbands, which is unanimously agreed to be true by the women of the court who, accordingly, free the Knight.

The old woman then explains to the court the deal she has struck with the Knight, and publicly requests his hand in marriage. Although aghast, he realizes he has no other choice and eventually agrees. On their wedding night the old woman is upset that he is repulsed by her in bed. She reminds him that her looks can be an asset—she will be a virtuous wife to him because no other men would desire her. She asks him which one he would prefer—an old and ugly wife who is true and loyal, or a beautiful and young woman, who may not be faithful. The Knight responds by saying that the choice is hers. Happy that she now has the ultimate power, he having taken to heart the lesson of sovereignty and relinquished control, rather than choosing for her, she promises him both beauty and fidelity. The Knight turns to look at the old woman again, but now finds a young and lovely woman. The old woman makes "what women want most" and the answer that she gave true to him, sovereignty.

The Wife of Bath ends her tale by praying that Jesus Christ bless women with meek, young, and submissive husbands and the grace to break them.

Feminist critique
The Wife of Bath's Prologue simultaneously enumerates and critiques the long tradition of misogyny in ancient and medieval literature. As Cooper notes, the Wife of Bath's "materials are part of the vast medieval stock of antifeminism", giving St. Jerome's Adversus Jovinianum, which was "written to refute the proposition put forward by one Jovinianus that virginity and marriage were of equal worth", as one of many examples.

As author Ruth Evans notes in her book, "Feminist Readings in Middle English Literature: the Wife of Bath and All her Sect", the Wife of Bath embodies the ideology of "sexual economics," wherein described as the "psychological effects of economic necessity, specifically on sexual mores." The wife is described as a woman in the trade of textiles, she is neither upper-class or lower, strictly a middle-class woman living independently off her own profit. The Wife of Bath sees the economics of marriage as a profitable business endeavor, based solely on supply and demand: she sells her body in marriage and in return is given money in the form of titles and inheritance. She is both the broker and commodity in this arrangement.

The Wife of Bath's first marriage occurred at the age of twelve which highlights the lack of control that women and girls had over their own bodies in medieval Europe as children were often bartered in marriage to increase family status. By choosing her next husbands and subsequently "selling herself," she regains some semblance of control and ownership over her body, and the profit is solely hers to keep.

The simple fact that she is a widow who has remarried more than once radically defies medieval conventions. Further evidence of this can be found through her observation: "For hadde God commanded maydenhede, / Thanne hadde he dampned weddyng with the dede." She refutes Jerome's proposition concerning virginity and marriage by noting that God would have condemned marriage and procreation if He had commanded virginity. Her decision to include God as a defence for her lustful appetites is significant, as it shows how well-read she is. By the same token, her interpretations of Scripture, such as Paul on marriage, are tailored to suit her own purposes.

While Chaucer's Wife of Bath is clearly familiar with the many ancient and medieval views on proper female behavior, she also boldly questions their validity. Her repeated acts of remarriage, for instance, are an example of how she mocks "clerical teaching concerning the remarriage of widows". Furthermore, she adds, "a rich widow was considered to be a match equal to, or more desirable than, a match with a virgin of property", illustrating this point by elaborating at length concerning her ability to remarry four times, and attract a much younger man.

While she gleefully confesses to the many ways in which she falls short of conventional ideals for women, she also points out that it is men who constructed those ideals in the first place.  Who painted the lion, tell me who? By God, if women had written stories, As clerks have within their studies, They would have written of men more wickedness Than all the male sex could set right.

That does not, however, mean they are not correct, and after her critique she accepts their validity.

Behaviour in marriage
Both Carruthers and Cooper reflect on the way that Chaucer's Wife of Bath does not behave as society dictates in any of her marriages. Through her nonconformity to the expectations of her role as a wife, the audience is shown what proper behaviour in marriage should be like. Carruthers' essay outlines the existence of deportment books, the purpose of which was to teach women how to be model wives. Carruthers notes how the Wife's behaviour in the first of her marriages "is almost everything the deportment-book writers say it should not be." For example, she lies to her old husbands about them getting drunk and saying some regrettable things. Yet, Carruthers does note that the Wife does do a decent job of upholding her husbands' public honour. Moreover, deportment books taught women that "the husband deserves control of the wife because he controls the estate"; it is clear that the Wife is the one who controls certain aspects of her husband's behaviour in her various marriages.

Cooper also notes that behaviour in marriage is a theme that emerges in the Wife of Bath's Prologue; neither the Wife nor her husbands conform to any conventional ideals of marriage. Cooper observes that the Wife's fifth husband, in particular, "cannot be taken as any principle of correct Christian marriage". He, too, fails to exhibit behaviour conventionally expected within a marriage. This can perhaps be attributed to his young age and lack of experience in relationships, as he does change at the end, as does the Wife of Bath. Thus, through both the Wife's and her fifth and favorite husband's failure to conform to expected behaviour in marriage, the poem exposes the complexity of the institution of marriage and of relationships more broadly.

Female sovereignty
As Cooper argues, the tension between experience and textual authority is central to the Prologue. The Wife argues for the relevance of her own marital experience. For instance, she notes that:  Unnethe myghte they the statut holde "unnethe" = not easily In which that they were bounden unto me. "woot" = know Ye woot wel what I meene of this, pardee! ''"pardee" = "by God", cf. French "par dieu"'' As help me God, I laughe whan I thynke How pitously a-nyght I made hem swynke! (III.204–08) "hem" = them; "swynke" = work'' The Wife of Bath's first three husbands are depicted as subservient men who cater to her sexual appetites. Her characterisation as domineering is particularly evident in the following passage:  Of tribulacion in mariage, Of which I am expert in al myn age This is to seyn, myself have been the whippe. (III.179–81) The image of the whip underlines her dominant role as the partnership; she tells everyone that she is the one in charge in her household, especially in the bedroom, where she appears to have an insatiable thirst for sex; the result is a satirical, lascivious depiction of a woman, but also of feudal power arrangements.

However, the end of both the Prologue and the Tale make evident that it is not dominance that she wishes to gain, in her relation with her husband, but a kind of equality.

In the Prologue she says: "God help me so, I was to him as kinde/ As any wyf from Denmark unto Inde,/ And also trewe, and so was he to me." In her Tale, the old woman tells her husband: "I prey to God that I mot sterven wood,/ But I to yow be also good and trewe/ As evere was wyf, sin that the world was newe."

In both cases, the Wife says so to the husband after she has been given "sovereyntee". She is handed over the control of all the property along with the control of her husband's tongue. The old woman in the Wife of Bath's Tale is also given the freedom to choose which role he wishes her to play in the marriage.

Economics of love
In her essay "The Wife of Bath and the Painting of Lions," Carruthers describes the relationship that existed between love and economics for both medieval men and women. Carruthers notes that it is the independence that the Wife's wealth provides for her that allows her to love freely. This implies that autonomy is an important component in genuine love, and since autonomy can only be achieved through wealth, wealth then becomes the greatest component for true love. Love can, in essence, be bought: Chaucer makes reference to this notion when he has the Wife tell one of her husbands:  Is it for ye wolde have my queynte allone? ''"queynte" = a nice thing, cf. Latin quoniam, with obvious connotation of "cunt"'' Wy, taak it al! Lo, have it every deel! "deel" = "part"; plus, the implication of transaction Peter! I shrewe yow, but ye love it weel; ''"Peter" = St. Peter; "shrewe" = curse; hence: "I curse you if you don't love it well." For if I wolde selle my bele chose, "belle chose": another suggestion of female genitalia (her "lovely thing") I koude walke as fressh as is a rose; But I wol kepe it for youre owene tooth. (III.444–49) ''"tooth" = taste, pleasure The Wife appears to make reference to prostitution, whereby "love" in the form of sex is a "deal" bought and sold. The character's use of words such as "dette (debt)" and "paiement (payment)" also portray love in economic terms, as did the medieval Church: sex was the debt women owed to the men that they married. Hence, while the point that Carruthers makes is that money is necessary for women to achieve sovereignty in marriage, a look at the text reveals that love is, among other things, an economic concept. This is perhaps best demonstrated by the fact that her fifth husband gives up wealth in return for love, honour, and respect.

The Wife of Bath does take men seriously and wants them for more than just sexual pleasure and money. When the Wife of Bath states, "but well I know, surely, God expressly instructed us to increase and multiply. I can well understand that noble text" to bear fruit, not in children, but financially through marriage, land, and from inheritance when her husbands die; Chaucer's Wife chose to interpret the meaning of the statement by clarifying that she has no interest in childbearing as a means of showing fruitfulness, but the progression of her financial stability is her ideal way of proving success.

Sex and Lollardy
While sexuality is a dominant theme in The Wife of Bath's Prologue, it is less obvious that her sexual behaviour can be associated with Lollardy. Critics such as Helen Cooper and Carolyn Dinshaw point to the link between sex and Lollardy. Both describe the Wife's knowledge and use of Scripture in her justification of her sexual behaviour. When she states that "God bad us for to wexe and multiplye", she appears to suggest that there is nothing wrong with sexual lust, because God wants humans to procreate. The Wife's "emphatic determination to recuperate sexual activity within a Christian context and on the authority of the Bible [on a number of occasions throughout the text] echoes one of the points made in the Lollard Twelve Conclusions of 1395". The very fact that she remarries after the death of her first husband could be viewed as Chaucer's characterisation of the Wife as a supporter of Lollardy, if not necessarily a Lollard herself, since Lollards advocated the remarriage of widows.

Author Alistair Minnis makes the assertion that the Wife of Bath is not a Lollard at all but was educated by her late husband Jankyn, an Oxford-educated clerk, who translated and read aloud anti-feminist texts. Jankyn gave her knowledge far beyond what was available to women of her status which explains how she can hold her own when justifying her sexual behavior to the Canterbury group. Further, Minnis explains that "being caught in possession of a woman's body, so to speak, was an offense in itself, carrying the penalty of a life-sentence", showing a perception that in medieval Europe, women could not hold priestly duties on the basis of their sex and no matter how flawless her moral status was, her body would always bar her from the ability to preach the word of God. Minnis goes on to say that "it might well be concluded that it was better to be a secret sinner than a woman" as a sinful man could always change his behavior and repent, but a woman could not change her sex.

Femininity
In an effort to assert women's equality with men, the Wife of Bath states that an equal balance of power is needed in a functional society. Wilks proposes that through the sovereignty theme, a reflection of women's integral role in governance compelled Chaucer's audience to associate the Wife's tale with the reign of Anne of Bohemia. By questioning universal assumptions of male dominance, making demands in her own right, conducting negotiations within her marriages and disregarding conventional feminine ideals, Chaucer's Wife of Bath was ahead of her time.

The Queen's Law
The Wife of Bath's Tale reverses the medieval roles of men and women (especially regarding legal power), and it also suggests a theme of feminist coalition-building. Appointed as sovereign and judge over the convicted knight, the Queen holds a type of power given to men in the world outside the tale. She has power as judge over the knight's life. Author Emma Lipton writes that the Queen uses this power to move from a liberal court to an educational court. In this sense the court is moving beyond punishment for the offense, and it now puts a meaning behind the offense, tying it to consequences. In the tale, the Queen is a figurehead for a feminist movement within a society that looks much like the misogynistic world in which the Canterbury Tales are told. From this tale's feminist notion that the Queen leads, women are empowered rather than objectified. The effect of feminist coalition-building can be seen through the knight. As a consequence for the knight's sexual assault against the maiden, when the old woman asks the Queen to allow the knight to marry her, the Queen grants it. This shows support for the broader female community's commitment to education in female values. In response to this fate, the knight begs the court and the Queen to undo his sentence, offering all his wealth and power: "Take all my goods and let my body go," which the Queen does not allow. The knight's lack of agency in this scene demonstrates a role reversal, according to Carissa Harris, in juxtaposition to women's lack of agency in situations of rape.

Adaptations
Pasolini adapted the prologue of this tale in his film The Canterbury Tales. Laura Betti plays the wife of Bath and Tom Baker plays her fifth husband.

Zadie Smith adapted and updated the prologue and story for the Kiln Theatre in Kilburn in 2019 as The Wife of Willesden, a play which ran from November 2021 to January 2022.

Karen Brookes has written a book based on the tale, The Good Wife of Bath, as has Chaucer scholar Marion Turner in The Wife of Bath: A Biography.

title: The Wife of Bath's Tale


text:
Chittoor

Chittoor is a city and district headquarters in Chittoor district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is also the mandal and divisional headquarters of Chittoor mandal and Chittoor revenue division respectively. The city has a population of 153,756 and that of the agglomeration is 175,647.

History
After Indian independence in 1947, Chittoor became a part of the erstwhile Madras State. The modern Chittoor district was formerly North Arcot district, which was established by the British in the 19th century and had Chittoor as its headquarters. On 1 April 1911, the district was split into two - Chittoor district and North Arcot district.

Pre-history
The district abounds in several pre-historic sites. The surface finds discovered are assigned to special stages in the progress of civilization. Paleolithic tools were discovered at Tirupathi, Sitarampeta, Ellampalle, Mekalavandlapalle and Piler. Mesolithic tools were discovered at Chinthaparthi, Moratavandlapalle, Aruvandlapalle and Tirupathi.Remains of Neolithic and ancient tools were unearthed near Bangarupalem. The existence of megalithic culture was revealed by the discovery of graves at Irulabanda, Bapanatham, Valimikipuram (Vayalpadu), Sodum, Velkuru, Nyakaneri and Basinikonda.

Political history
The political history of the district commences with the Mauryas in the 4th century BC. The district of Chittoor was not a homogeneous administrative unit up to 1911. Its component parts were under the control of various principal dynasties at different periods of times, namely, the Mauryas, Satavahanas, Pallavas, Chalukyas of Badami, Rashtrakutas, Cholas, Pandyas, Kakatiyas, Hoysalas, Royal of Vijayanagara, Qutub Shahis, Mughals, Asof Jahis, Marathas, Hyder Ali and Tipu of Mysore, and the British, besides dynasties such as Cholas, Banas, Vaidumbas, Nolambas, Western Gangas, Yadavas, Matlis, Uttama Chola, Andiyaman, Siyaganga rulers, Nawabs of Kadapa and Arcot. The zamindars of Karvetinagar, Srikalahasthi, Punganur and Kangundhi also ruled over this district.

Geography
Chittoor city lies on the banks of Neeva River at the southernmost part of Andhra Pradesh state. It is located on the NH 69 and NH 40 linking major metropolitan cities of Bangalore and Chennai.

It is located between the northern latitudes of 37" and 14°8" and between the eastern longitudes 78°33" and 79°55". It is bounded on the east by Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh, on the south by Krishnagiri District, Vellore, Tiruvallur,Thirupattur districts of Tamil Nadu, on the west by Kolar district of Karnataka, and on the north by Annamayya district of Andhra Pradesh. In respect of area it takes the eighth place with an area of 15,150 square kilometers which accounts for 5.51 percent of the total area of the state. The general elevation of the mountainous part of the district is 2500 feet above sea level. Chennai & Bangalore cities are located in 150 km. and 165 km. respectively from Chittoor Town. Vellore is the nearest city and twin city located 30 kms across the border with Tamil Nadu.

Demographics
Telugu is the official and widely spoken language. Chittoor has a population of 212,816 and has a sex ratio of 1002 females per 1000 males compared to the state average of 992 females, as of 2011 census. The literacy rate of the city is 90.60%. Chittoor was upgraded as municipal corporation in 2011. And also a large minority of Tamil people live here.

Governance
Chittoor Municipal Corporation is the civic administrative body of the city. It was constituted as a Grade–III municipality in the year 1917. It was upgraded to Grade–II in 1950, Grade–I in 1965, Special Grade in 1980 and Selection Grade in 2000. On 7 July 2012, it was upgraded to municipal corporation by merging 14 gram panchayats into the corporation and is spread over an area of 69.75 km2.

Economy
Chittoor is the district headquarters and houses many district level government institutions.

Chittoor is predominantly an agro-market place and a major market for mango, grain, sugarcane, and peanut. Other industries include oilseed, poultry and milk. Tomato farming contributing over 20% of the State's production. Ground nut is the most major commercial crop in the district followed by sugarcane and the major horticulture crop of mangoes. 2nd largest milk-producing district with its expansive dairy industries. In the field of dairy, the district stood first in the state. The district is famous also for textile industries like that of silk with 13,000 power looms providing employment 40,000 workers. Granite industry famous for its black, pink and grey granites.

Landmarks
The Swayambu Varasidhi Vinayakaswamy temple at Kanipakam is a famous Hindu temple near the city. Ardhagiri Anjaneyaswamy temple at Aragonda is another notable landmark near the city.

Education
The primary and secondary school education is imparted by government, aided and private schools of the School Education Department of the state. The medium of instruction followed by different schools are English and Telugu.

Engineering colleges: Medical colleges: Others:
 * SITAMS: Sreenivasa Institute of Technology and Management Studies
 * Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering Technology, Chittoor
 * VEMU : Vemu Institute of Technology
 * Apollo Institute of Medical Sciences and Research
 * P.E.S. Institute of Medical Sciences and Research
 * KKC Homoeopathic Medical College
 * P. V. K. N. Government College.

Transport
Roadways The city is well connected to major cities through national and state highways. The National Highways through Chittoor City are, National Highway 40 (India) connecting Chittoor with Kadapa and Kurnool on North and connecting Vellore and Chennai on South National Highway 69 (India) connecting Chittoor with Kolar and Bangalore on West National Highway 140 (India) connecting Chittoor with Tirupati and Nellore on East. The city has total road length of 382.30 km.

Public transport

The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation operates bus services from Chittoor bus station. Bus services are operated to Kuppam, Kanipakam, Tirupati, Madanapalle, Punganur, Palamaner, Piler, Puttur, Srikalahasti, Nellore, Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Salem, Kanchipuram, Chennai, Puducherry, Kolar, Bangalore, Mysore, Kurnool, Kadapa, Anantapur, Hyderabad, Hanumakonda, Warangal, Visakhapatnam, Rajamahendravaram, Kakinada, Vijayawada, Guntur, Tenali, Ongole Amaravati and also to all other major towns and cities in the Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Puducherry and Telangana states.

Railways Chittoor railway station is a National railway station in Chittoor city of Andhra Pradesh. It lies on Gudur–Katpadi branch line section and is administered under Guntakal railway division of South Central Railway zone. Nearest major railway junction is Katpadi Junction railway station Tamil Nadu. Just 30 km South from Chittoor city. There are direct trains daily from Chittoor to Vijayawada, Kakinada, Rajamahendravaram, Guntur, Tenali, Visakhapatnam, Kacheguda (Hyderabad), Bengaluru, Mysuru, Thiruvananthapuram, New Delhi to Kanyakumari HimSagar Express and weekly/biweekly/triweekly trains connect Chittoor with Mannargudi, Jammu, Katra, Tirunelveli, Mangalore, Ernakulam, Visakhapatnam, Rajamahendravaram, Hatia Ranchi, Santragachi (Kolkata) and Jayanthi Janata Express, etc. which run through Chittoor.

Airports

The nearest airports are:

1) Tirupati Airport at Renigunta in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, is about 80 kms North. IATA:TIR is at par with other major cities, but flights are operated in a limited fashion.

2) Chennai International Airport. IATA:MAA at Chennai is about 150 kms East

3) Kempegowda International Airport. IATA:BLR at Bangalore is about 185 Kms West

4) Kuppam Airport.

The Infrastructure Corporation of Andhra Pradesh Limited (INCAP) will build Kuppam Airport at Shantipuram Mandal at an estimated cost of Rs 100 crore.

Politics
Chittoor city spreads over Chittoor assembly (Majority), Puthalapattu assembly (partially) and Gangadhara Nellore assembly (partially) constituencies in Andhra Pradesh. Chittoor is part of Chittoor (Lok Sabha constituency).

Chittoor Assembly Constituency

 * |Year| |Assembly Constituency|  |Winner Candidates Name|     |Party|     |Votes|	   |Runner UP|	              |Party|     |Votes|
 * 2019  ---   Chittoor	 ---   	    Jangalapalli Srinivasulu   ---   YSRC  ---  91206 ---  A.S. Manohar            --- TDP   ---    51238
 * 2014	 ---  Chittoor	 ---        D. A. Sathya Prabha        ---   TDP   --- 	73430 --- Jangalapalli Srinivasulu --- YSRC  ---    66631
 * 2009	 ---  Chittoor	 ---        C.K.Jayachandra Reddy      ---   INC   --- 	46094 --- Jangalapalli Srinivasulu --- PRP   ---    44384
 * 2004	 ---  Chittoor	 ---        A.S. Manohar               ---   TDP   --- 	58788 --- C.K. Jayachandra Reddy   --- IND   ---    54900
 * 1999	 ---  Chittoor	 ---        C.K.Jayachandra Reddy      ---   INC   --- 	62999 --- A.S.Manohar	           --- TDP   ---    48702
 * 1994	 ---  Chittoor	 ---        C.K. Jayachandra Reddy     ---   INC   --- 	46709 --- A.S. Manohar	           --- TDP   ---    44623
 * 1989	 ---  Chittoor	 ---        C.K. Jayachandra Reddy     ---   IND   --- 	44972 --- C. Hari Prasad	   --- TDP   ---    26986
 * 1985	 ---  Chittoor	 ---        R. Gopinathan	       ---   INC   ---	45081 --- Rajasimhulu	           --- TDP   ---    36439
 * 1983	 ---  Chittoor	 ---        Jhansi Laxmi	       ---   IND   ---	49127 --- N.P.Venkateswara Choudary--- INC   ---    32693
 * 1978	 ---  Chittoor	 ---        N.P.Venkateswara Choudary  ---   JNP   ---	29941 --- C.V.L. Narayana	   --- INC(I)---    21139
 * 1972	 ---  Chittoor	 ---        D. Aanjineyulu Naidu       ---   INC   ---	32607 --- K. M. Erriah	           --- DMK   ---    14324
 * 1967	 ---  Chittoor	 ---        D. Aanjineyulu Naidu       ---   INC   ---	32559 --- P. V. Naidu	           --- SWA   ---    20979
 * 1962	 ---  Chittoor	 ---        C. D. Naidu	               ---   SWA   ---	35256 --- P. Chinnama Reddy	   --- INC   ---    13301
 * 1955	 ---  Chittoor	 ---        P. Chinnama Reddy	       ---   INC   ---	17397 --- C.V. Srinivasa Modhaliar --- IND   ---    10456

Notable people

 * N. Chandrababu Naidu –Chief Minister, Chief of TDP
 * Mohan Babu – Actor
 * Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy – Ex Chief Minister
 * Talari Manohar – Member of Parliament, Member of Legislative Assembly.
 * V. Nagayya – actor
 * D. K. Adikesavulu Naidu – Ex MP, Ex Chairman TTD, Founder Vydehi Hospitals, Liquor Baron
 * Chittoor Subramaniam Pillai – Carnatic musician
 * Madhurantakam Rajaram – writer, Sahitya Akademi awardee
 * Cattamanchi Ramalinga Reddy – educationist and political thinker, essayist and economist, poet and literary critic.
 * Dr. Kesava Reddy – Novelist
 * Prathap C. Reddy – founder and chairman of the Apollo group of hospitals
 * P. Chinnamma Reddy was a prominent politician in the Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh, India until the 1960s.

title: Chittoor


text:
The Cook's Tale

"The Cook's Tale" is one of the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. It breaks off after 58 lines and was presumably never finished, although some scholars argue that Chaucer deliberately left the tale unfinished.

Prologue
The Cook (Roger) starts by commenting on the Reeve's tale and then, after a reference to Solomon, asks for his listeners to attend while he tells of a trick that was played in his city (Lines 1 – 19). The host then invites the cook to tell his tale (Lines 20 – 40).

Plot
The story starts telling of an apprentice named Perkyn (a.k.a. Perkin) who is fond of drinking and dancing. Perkyn is released by his master and moves in with a friend who also loves to drink, and whose wife is a shopkeeper whose real occupation is that of a prostitute.

After the tale, The Host later calls upon the Cook for another, but he is too drunk and, after he falls from his horse and is helped back up, the Manciple tells a tale.

Analysis
The tale continues the general downward trend of the preceding tales—the Knight's, the Miller's and the Reeve's tale—into ever-more-seedy stories. Its length makes finding a source impossible, but it is thought by some scholars to be a retelling of contemporary events, with a Roger Knight de Ware being mentioned in several manuscripts of the time.

In 25 of The Canterbury Tales MSS (notably Harley MS 7334 and Corpus Christi 198) the Cook's unfinished tale is followed by the anonymous Tale of Gamelyn, and it has been suggested that Chaucer intended to rewrite the tale for the Cook. There is, however, no other connection of Gamelyn with Chaucer and the great difference in tone between that tale and the one the Cook starts suggests that it was inserted by the scribes who copied the manuscripts. Skeat argued instead that Chaucer intended the tale for the Yeoman, who would presumably be more interested in a tale of country life.

Adaptations
Pasolini adapted this story in his film The Canterbury Tales. He greatly expanded on the story which is very short at only 58 lines. Ninetto Davoli stars as Perkin. The story includes a lot of slapstick humor and homages the films of Charlie Chaplin.

Influences
A renowned chef, Dev Biswal, renamed his Canterbury restaurant from 'The Ambrette' to 'Cook's Tale', in a tribute to the Chaucerian character. The tasting menu features such medieval delights as "Ypocras, fortified Kentish wine served with cake; Wastel breed with flavoured beef drippings; Pyk in Brasey; Pigeon with wortes and marybones; Salat of Sawge with Chybollus, Pesen Pottage; Mushroom bake with fecces; Tamworth pork mortreux, Venysoun with roasted chasteynes and Walsh-notes; and poached peres; and Chese."

title: The Cook's Tale


text:
Belly

Belly may refer to:

Anatomy

 * The abdomen, the part of the body between the pelvis and the thorax; or the stomach
 * A beer belly, an overhang of fat above the waist, presumed to be caused by regular beer drinking
 * Belly dance
 * The fleshy, central part of a skeletal muscle (also known as a "muscle belly")

People

 * The nickname of the England cricketer Ian Bell
 * Leon-August-Adolphe Belly, a 19th-century French painter
 * Pierre Belly (1738–1814), Louisiana planter, lawyer and judge
 * Belly Mujinga (1972/3–2020), Congolese-born transport worker who died in London from COVID-19

Places

 * Belly River, river in Alberta, Canada

Music

 * Belly (band), An American Alternative Rock band
 * Belly (rapper) (born 1984), Canadian rap artist of Palestinian origin
 * Lead Belly (1889–1949), real name Huddie William Ledbetter, American folk and blues musician
 * Belly, an EP by The Beast
 * The surface of a sound board, of a string instrument
 * A kind of steelpan

Other

 * Belly (loyalty program), a digital loyalty program for small businesses
 * Belly (film), a 1998 film
 * Belly (soundtrack), a 1998 soundtrack album of the film
 * The draft, in a sail
 * Tuna, belly (fatty tuna), also known as toro, used in Japanese food
 * Belly landing, of an aircraft when it crashes onto a runway with its undercarriage retracted

title: Belly