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Talk:Papal bull

General Queries
There is a page on Unam Sanctam, but it is called Unam sanctam. Is there a standard available for the caps?

 * There is probably no standard YET for papal bulls in . You are welcome to suggest one. In the meantime, I have created a redirect. olivier 06:35, Mar 15, 2004 (UTC)

As the titles of the bulls are the first two Latin words of their text, the use of lower case for the second word seems more appropriate and in line with general policy... Djnjwd 00:59, 19 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Why are Catholics so offended by the page *Papal Bull that Embarrasses Catholics that they keep deleting it as an external link?--67.136.153.232 05:59, 13 December 2005 (UTC)

 * Your external link borders on hate speech. It's inflammatory and polemic. BTW Im not Catholic, but I sure have a poor opinion of the seventh-day Adventists if thats the kind of crap they put out. --Stbalbach 06:06, 13 December 2005 (UTC)

Seventh-day Adventists don't ghostwrite for popes. If popes publish hate speech, Wikipedia should represent popes as promulgators of hateful speech. Naturally, Catholics approve of what the popes have written. You are free to call it "hate speech" and "crap" if you like but they are the words of men revered for their supreme holiness.

The first quote you label as crap is of the same character as all the other selected quotes. If you google for *Pope Boniface VIII, the Bull "Unam Sanctam" you will find 9,810 hits. On the first page you will see the Catholic reference *papalencyclicals.net. The translation given there agrees with the reprehensible quotation you seem to loathe: "Furthermore, we declare, we proclaim, we define that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff." --67.136.153.232 08:12, 13 December 2005 (UTC)
 * No, the title of the article is hate speech, it's an outright attack on Catholics. It violates the rules of Wikipedia on neutrality. --Stbalbach 16:20, 13 December 2005 (UTC)

The original title was "Selective Quotes From Roman Pontificates". How about a change of title to "A Catholic Requirement for Salvation"? or "The belief that all should submit to the Roman Pontiff"? --67.136.153.200 17:13, 13 December 2005 (UTC)
 * Whats this have to do with an academic encyclopedia article on Papal Bulls? Nothing. Its polemic material, you obviously have an agenda and are pushing your POV that attacks Catholics. --Stbalbach 17:33, 13 December 2005 (UTC)

It would be better that I start a Wikipedia article on *The Catholic belief that all should submit to the Roman Pontiff. Thanks for the suggestion! --67.136.153.200 18:04, 13 December 2005 (UTC)

I have no expertise in this area, so forgive me if I'm off the mark, but this seems incorrect to me: "Aeterni regis, 1481—Sixtus IV (dividing the New World between Spain and Portugal)" Firstly, because what I understand by the term "The New World" wasn't discovered by Europeans until 1492, and secondly because, according to the Wikipedia article Aeterni Regis, it does no such thing.
 * Good call. Fixed the description and added a reference at the relevant page Aeterni regis --Wetman 20:43, 25 February 2006 (UTC)

Another source
A good source of information is this entry in the 1728 Cyclopaedia. Anyone interested, please add that content to this article. --  BRIAN  0918 22:55, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Capitalizing "pope"
The convention is just the same as that for "duchess": When a specific pope is intended, the title is capitalized: Pope Alexander VI. When "the pope" could be substituted by "a pope" in a sentence, signifying "this or any pope", it is not capitalized. --Wetman 03:50, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

Incipits
The two or three opening words of a bull, known as its incipit ("it begins"), do not form a summary of the theme, nor are they necessarily indicative of the contents; they are simply the first two or three words of the opening sentence. A glance down the list of bulls given at the end of the article will demonstrate this fact. Do we need to give English translations of these Latin words to convince any stray doubters? --Wetman 10:51, 28 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Well, a few of the bull articles have translations, I see what you mean. If you can translate, perhaps all of them should have translations. -- Stbalbach 15:13, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

 * Wetman is right that often (not always, some popes seem even to shift the first phrase, as Latin grammar allows rather well, for this purpose) the incipit is meaningless in se, so translations would be rather pointless; a short mention of the actual subject would make more sense, if anyone goes to the trouble of looking them up. Fastifex 06:43, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

Gratia Divina, 1656
I have been unable to find any information related to the bull Gratia Divina (1656) found in the "Examples of papal bulls" section. Can anybody come up with a reference, or should this item be deleted? — Itai (talk) 23:07, 1 October 2006 (UTC)

List and Examples
Since we now have a separate article List of papal bulls, can anyone justify why we also need an Examples of Papal Bulls? It looks like they are almost the same in length - a bare list of "examples" is indiscriminate trivia. -- Stbalbach 21:39, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

I moved the examples list to the talk page of List of papal bulls and added a top hat to this article pointing readers to the List article for specific bulls. -- Stbalbach 21:44, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

Images
I would suggest removing the second image, the letter of Innocent IV: it is a good image and certainly a copy of an actual papal bull. The problem is that it is a copy in codex form and lacks the important seal. The first example shows the seal from which the term "bull" is derived. It alone would be a sufficient example. Aramgar (talk) 16:23, 9 February 2008 (UTC) I have removed the second image. Aramgar (talk) 03:28, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

Current slang terms
If I'm not mistaken, the term "Bullshit" derived from Papal Bulls, protestants calling them "shit" leading to the common association with general lies. 173.20.230.146 (talk) 02:25, 12 November 2009 (UTC)

While on the subject of slang is there a better way to state this, "While it used to always bear a metal seal..". This is from the fourth paragraph.Otr500 (talk) 15:03, 17 December 2009 (UTC)

"INTER CAETERA" OF 1493
While Papal Bulls are supposed to be edicts, messages to the public, or decrees for that matter, they also gave rights to the rulers of the known world to conquer, take land both known and unkown and convert the indigenous peoples to Catholicism. This also gave conquerers the right to claim all lands whether the were inhabited or not for their own. The particular Bull Inter Caetera of 1493 grants Spain and Portugal the license to invade and convert people of any lands to Catholicism by whatever means necessary. This Bull seems to authorize the use of torture and murder as a means of conversion as well as slavery to provide wealth to the church. Of course the words are not outrightly written but inferred and can be seen in the english transcript version in the link provided below. cited reference: http://www.manataka.org/page155.html  Eire's Son 15:06, 27 February 2011 (UTC)  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Eire's Son (talk • contribs)

Take your Anti-Catholic sentiments and contribute to the Criticism of the Catholic Church article. This is an article regarding Papal Bull, not your soap-box for Anti-Pope complaints. TOTALLY IRRELEVANT. LoveforMary (talk) 02:55, 3 February 2012 (UTC)LoveforMary

comparison needed
Since there are different types of papal communications, the articles on bulls, encyclicals, and decretals should all discuss the different applicability. For example, are bulls always applicable to the entire church while encyclicals were usually regional. The fact that there has been sloppy usage shows that these articles need to clear up the confusion. 71.163.117.143 (talk) 21:25, 25 November 2013 (UTC)

Rescinding a papal bull?
Re this: http://www.domlife.org/2012Stories/500th_anniv_udpate_feb.html Is there a formal structure in place to revoke or repeal papal bulls, and how many times in the past has this happened? Kortoso (talk) 19:58, 19 June 2015 (UTC)

questionable?
"The term "bulla" derives from the Latin "bullire" (""to boil""), and alludes to the fact that, whether of wax, lead, or gold, the material making the seal had to be melted to soften it for impression."

This has no source. It also appears to conflict with the wiki page on bulla as well as the wiktionary page, which both state that it comes from the Latin for "bubble," because the earliest bullae were sperical and hollow (containing tokens inside). Early bullae (not counting the Roman protective amulets of the same name) were made of clay, which surely did not require boiling at any point. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.249.133.224 (talk) 18:47, 24 February 2019 (UTC)

title: Talk:Papal bull


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Thrall-Demonsweatlive

Thrall-Demonsweatlive is an EP by American heavy metal band Danzig. It was released in 1993 on Def American Recordings and has been certified Gold.

Music and recording
The EP is split into two sections. The first section, Thrall, consists of three new studio recordings that were tracked live and completed by the band in a single day. The studio recording "Trouble" is a cover of the Elvis Presley song featured in the movie King Creole. Glenn Danzig had previously recorded the song with Samhain, which was later released on the box set version of their Final Descent EP.

The second section, Demonsweatlive, includes four live recordings taken from the band's Halloween 1992 performance at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheater in California.

From the fourth pressing on, the CD releases have a hidden track featuring the remixed studio version of "Mother", titled "Mother '93". Symbolically, the song is hidden at track number 93, and the total length of the blank tracks leading to the song is 7 minutes and 6 seconds (6 minutes and 66 seconds).

Artwork and packaging
The cover artwork is by artist Simon Bisley. The EP was issued as a picture-disc CD and LP in Europe. Like Danzig's four studio albums with the original lineup, this EP was given a Parental Advisory label despite the absence of common profanity.

Music videos
Music videos were released for the songs "Mother '93" and "It's Coming Down".

The "Mother '93" music video was a success on MTV. As a result, "Mother" became Danzig's most well known song; its popularity helping both the EP and the band's debut album to reach Gold status in 1994, and later Platinum status.

The uncensored version of the "It's Coming Down" music video was banned by music channels, including MTV, due to its sexually explicit content. The music video depicts various acts of bondage, sadomasochism, and cock and ball torture. The video was directed by Jon Reiss and features an appearance by performance artist Bob Flanagan, both known for their video work with Nine Inch Nails. Eerie Von explained the concept behind the music video: "It was part of mine and Glenn's personalities, part of what we used to see when we lived in New York. The director also had some good ideas, and we let him do what he wanted. I like stuff that people think is bizarre. It was pretty heavy, but so what? Sexually, you're either open minded or you're not."

All music videos from the album are featured on Danzig's Archive de la Morte DVD.

Track listing

 * Thrall:
 * 1) "It's Coming Down" – 3:35
 * 2) "The Violet Fire" – 4:58
 * 3) "Trouble" (Elvis Presley cover) – 3:23
 * Demonsweatlive:
 * 1) "Snakes of Christ" – 4:17
 * 2) "Am I Demon" – 4:21
 * 3) "Sistinas" – 4:04
 * 4) "Mother" – 3:35
 * 5) "Mother '93" –  3:23

All songs written by Glenn Danzig, except "Trouble" by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.

Credits

 * Glenn Danzig – vocals, guitar, keyboards
 * Chuck Biscuits – drums
 * John Christ – guitar
 * Eerie Von – bass

Production

 * Producers – Glenn Danzig, Rick Rubin
 * Engineer – Bruno Tattaglia
 * Mastering – Stephen Marcussen
 * Artwork – Simon Bisley
 * Photography – Mark Leialoha
 * Design – Dirk Walter

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

title: Thrall-Demonsweatlive


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Talk:The Number Painter's victim

VfD reasons: No context, no wiki or external links, little probability that a minor curiosity in a series of films warrants an entry in wikipedia. --Tagishsimon 13:34, 14 Mar 2004 (UTC)

This is... this is so weird.

I love it.DS 03:43, 7 Mar 2005 (UTC)

title: Talk:The Number Painter's victim


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Wikipedia talk:Requests for comment/User conduct/Archive

split this monstrosity
I see this was suggested above but never done. I think older discussions should be moved to subpages linked from the main page, as is done on pretty ,much every other page like this. Any objections? Beeblebrox (talk) 23:34, 9 February 2013 (UTC)

 * Ok, per WP:SILENCE I am going to create archives and begin moving older discussions into them. I'm thinking the first one will be all the unformatted stuff from the bottom of the list, then the rest split by year, leaving only 2012 and 2013, with the idea that each year be archived no earlier than July of the next year so more recent discussions are still very easy to find. While I'm at it this page could stand to be archived as well... Beeblebrox (talk) 18:40, 24 March 2013 (UTC)

 * ✅. Beeblebrox (talk) 19:50, 24 March 2013 (UTC)

listing the certifiers
This was mentioned way back in 2006 when the table was introduced and I think, if anyone is paying attention, that it might be worth discussing again. What is the reasoning behind listing the certifiers? If a user is curious about who it was they can easily click the link and see, and doing the formatting for th etable is annoying enough without it. I propose that a cut-off date be established and that after that date we start a new table that does not require this parameter. Beeblebrox (talk) 20:47, 24 March 2013 (UTC)

 * You know what, I've got one to archive right now, I don't want to do the extra part that is a pain in the ass, and I don't believe a consensus was ever established to require this field in the first place. Since it seems like nobody is watching this page anyway I am changing the format right now so that the certifier's names are no longer a required field. Beeblebrox (talk) 20:35, 25 March 2013 (UTC)

 * ✅. Beeblebrox (talk) 20:44, 25 March 2013 (UTC)

Usefulness
I'm surprised to see the relatively few cases listed here and was wondering if this was still an active area of Wikipedia. Are people bypassing RfU and just going straight to ANI now? Might this be a duplication of effort that is part and parcel of any bureaucracy? Newjerseyliz (talk) 15:00, 12 August 2013 (UTC)


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Ellen MacArthur

Dame Ellen Patricia MacArthur (born 8 July 1976) is a retired English sailor, from Whatstandwell near Matlock in Derbyshire, now based in Cowes, Isle of Wight.

MacArthur is a successful solo long-distance yachtswoman. On 7 February 2005, she broke the world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe, a feat which gained her international renown. Francis Joyon, the Frenchman who had held the record before MacArthur, was able to recover the record again in early 2008.

Following her retirement from professional sailing on 2 September 2010, MacArthur announced the launch of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a charity that works with business and education to accelerate the transition to a circular economy.

Early life
MacArthur was born in Derbyshire where she lived with her parents, who were both teachers, and two brothers Fergus, still in Whatstandwell, and Lewis, who now lives in Pennsylvania. She acquired her early interest in sailing, firstly by her desire to emulate her idol at the time, Sophie Burke, and secondly by reading Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of books. She has since become the Patron of the Nancy Blackett Trust which owns and operates Ransome's yacht, Nancy Blackett.

Her first experience of sailing was on a boat owned by her aunt Thea MacArthur on the east coast of England. She saved her school dinner money for three years to buy her first boat, an eight-foot dinghy, which she named Threp'ny Bit even though decimalisation had taken place before she was born. She sellotaped a real 'threepenny bit' coin onto the bow.

MacArthur attended Wirksworth County Infants and Junior Schools and the Anthony Gell School and also worked at a sailing school in Hull. When she was 17, MacArthur bought a Corribee and named it Iduna; she described the first moment she saw it as "love at first sight". In 1995 she sailed Iduna single-handed on a circumnavigation of Great Britain.

In 1997, she finished 17th in the Mini Transat solo transatlantic race after fitting out her 21 ft (6.4 m) Classe Mini yacht Le Poisson herself while living in a French boatyard.

She was named 1998 British Telecom/Royal Yachting Association "Yachtsman of The Year" in the UK and "Sailing's Young Hope" in France.

Asteroid 20043 Ellenmacarthur is named after her.

Professional sailing career
MacArthur first came to general prominence in 2001 when she finished second in the Vendée Globe solo round-the-world sailing race in her Owen Clarke/Rob Humphreys designed Kingfisher (named after her sponsors, Kingfisher plc), and subsequently MacArthur was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to sport. At 24, she was the youngest competitor to complete the voyage.

In 2003, she captained a round-the-world record attempt for a crewed yacht in Kingfisher 2 (a catamaran formerly owned by Bruno Peyron and known as Orange), but was thwarted by a broken mast in the Southern Ocean.

A trimaran named B&Q/Castorama (after two companies in the Kingfisher group) unveiled in January 2004, was specially designed by Nigel Irens and Benoit Cabaret for her to break solo records. The 75-foot (23 m) trimaran was built in Australia, with many of the components specifically arranged to take into account MacArthur's 5-foot 2 inch (1.57 m) height.

Using the yacht, her first significant record attempt in 2004 to break the west–east transatlantic crossing time failed by around one and a quarter hours, after over seven days of sailing.

She began her attempt to break the solo record for sailing non-stop around the world on 28 November 2004. During her circumnavigation, she set records for the fastest solo voyage to the equator, past the Cape of Good Hope, past Cape Horn and back to the equator again. She crossed the finishing line near the French coast at Ushant at 22:29 UTC on 7 February 2005 beating the previous record set by French sailor Francis Joyon by 1 day, 8 hours, 35 minutes, 49 seconds. Her time of 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes 33 seconds is world record for the 27354 nmi covered. This is an average speed of 15.9 kn.

On 8 February 2005, following her return to England, it was announced that she was to be made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to sailing. She was the youngest person to ever receive this honour at the age of 28. Coming immediately after the event being recognised, rather than appearing in due course in the New Year's or Birthday Honours lists, this recognition was reminiscent of accolades previously bestowed upon Francis Drake and Francis Chichester when reaching home shores after their respective circumnavigations in 1580 and 1967. MacArthur was also granted the rank of Honorary Lieutenant Commander, Royal Naval Reserve on the same day.

In recognition of her achievement she was appointed a Knight (Chevalier) of the French Legion of Honour by President Nicolas Sarkozy in March 2008. She is a fluent French speaker.

In 2007 MacArthur headed up BT Team Ellen, a three-person sailing team which includes Australian Nick Moloney and Frenchman Sébastien Josse.

In October 2009 MacArthur announced her intention to retire from competitive racing to concentrate on the subject of resource and energy use in the global economy.

Sailing records
In June 2000, MacArthur sailed the monohull Kingfisher from Plymouth, UK to Newport, Rhode Island, USA in 14 days, 23 hours, 11 minutes. This is the current record for a single-handed woman monohull east-to-west passage, and also the record for a single-handed woman in any vessel.

MacArthur's second place in the 2000–2001 edition of the Vendée Globe, with a time of 94 days, 4 hours and 25 minutes, was the world record for a single-handed, non-stop, monohull circumnavigation by a woman. The record stood for 20 years until Clarisse Crémer beat it in 2020-2021 edition of the Vendée Globe.

In June 2004, MacArthur sailed her trimaran B&Q/Castorama from Ambrose Light, Lower New York Bay, USA to Lizard Point, Cornwall, UK in 7 days, 3 hours, 50 minutes. This set a new world record for a transatlantic crossing by women, beating the previous crewed record as well as the singlehanded version.

In 2005, MacArthur beat Francis Joyon's existing world record for a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation. MacArthur in the trimaran B&Q/Castorama sailed 27354 nmi at an average speed of 15.9 knots. Her time of 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes 33 seconds beat Joyon's then world record time by 1 day, 8 hours, 35 minutes and 49 seconds. She had no more than 20 minutes' sleep at a time during the voyage, having to be on constant lookout day and night. On 23 November 2007 Joyon set off in IDEC 2 in an attempt to beat MacArthur's current world record for a single handed circumnavigation. He achieved his goal in 57 days, 13 hours 34 minutes and 6 seconds. Despite Joyon's reclamation of the record, Robin Knox-Johnston still described MacArthur's time as an "amazing achievement".

Her boat, now named USE IT AGAIN is skippered by French professional sailor, Romain Pilliard.

Popular culture
In 2009 McArthur appeared on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. Her chosen book was The SAS Survival Handbook by John "Lofty" Wiseman and her luxury item was a fluffy worm mascot.

MacArthur was also the last record holder on Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car on the BBC's Top Gear television driving programme until the eighth series, when the car and rules were changed, and previous records were removed. The competition was a timed lap of a racetrack in a Suzuki Liana. She completed the lap in 1 minute 46.7 seconds, beating Jimmy Carr by 0.2 seconds. MacArthur won Top Gear's Fastest Driver of the Year award in 2005.

She also took part in 2011 TV series Jamie's Dream School.

There is a display about MacArthur at the Wirksworth Heritage Centre, Derbyshire.

Books
In 2002, MacArthur released her first autobiography entitled Taking on the World. Later she wrote Race Against Time, published in 2005, a day-by-day account of her record journey around the world. In September 2010, she published a second autobiography entitled Full Circle.

Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust
In 2003, MacArthur set up the Ellen MacArthur Trust (now the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust), a registered charity, to 8 to 24 year olds sailing to help them regain their confidence whilst recovering from cancer, leukaemia and other serious illnesses.

In 2008 MacArthur joined other sports celebrities to raise £4 million for the Rainbows children's hospice. The aim is to give terminally ill young people their own customised sleeping unit to enable children in separate age groups to have their families stay with them.

Ellen MacArthur Foundation
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) is a UK registered charity which promotes the circular economy. It does this by developing and promoting the concept of a circular economy, working with business, policy makers and academics.

History
Founded on 23 June 2009, the foundation was publicly launched on 2 September 2010 by MacArthur at the Science Museum. The charity was inspired by MacArthur's sailing experiences.

On 17 May 2017, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Prince of Wales' International Sustainability Unit launched a US$2 million prize fund for innovations which work towards the management of waste plastics.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a founding member and partner of the Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE), which was launched out of the World Economic Forum.

title: Ellen MacArthur


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Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is the fifth studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath, released on December 1, 1973. It was produced by the band and recorded at Morgan Studios in London in September 1973. The writing process for the album, which began in Los Angeles, California, was initially hampered in part by the band's substance abuse and fatigue following their 1972–1973 world tour in support of their previous album, Vol. 4. The band then relocated to Clearwell Castle in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, where guitarist Tony Iommi conceived the main riff of what became the album's title track and lead single.

Recording
Following Black Sabbath's 1972–1973 world tour in support of their album, Vol. 4, the group returned to Los Angeles to begin work on its successor. Pleased with Vol. 4, the band sought to recreate the recording atmosphere, and returned to the Record Plant Studios. The band rented a house in Bel Air and began writing in the summer of 1973 but, due in part to substance abuse and fatigue, were unable to complete any songs. "Ideas weren't coming out the way they were on Vol. 4 and we really got discontent," said guitarist and songwriter Tony Iommi. "Everybody was sitting there waiting for me to come up with something. I just couldn't think of anything. And if I didn't come up with anything, nobody would do anything." In 2013, bassist Geezer Butler told Mojo magazine that after the tour in support of Vol. 4 the band was "absolutely, completely exhausted" and by the time they played the Hollywood Bowl, "Tony collapsed. It was really touch-and-go at one point whether he'd survive or not because he was totally depleted. So we had to cancel the rest of the tour and we actually took time off for the first time since the band started. We got away from each other and had a social life. Then we came back together to start on the next album, and couldn't come up with anything." In his autobiography I Am Ozzy, singer Ozzy Osbourne states that in the time leading up to the Hollywood Bowl "Tony had been doing coke literally for days – we all had, but Tony had gone over the edge. I mean, that stuff just twists your whole idea of reality. You start seeing things that aren't there. And Tony was gone. Near the end of the gig he walked off stage and collapsed." Regarding his writer's block, Iommi admitted to Phil Alexander in 2013, "I panicked because I didn't have a single idea about what to write. It might have been the drugs, it could have been the pressure, but either way I felt it was my fault." The band were also disappointed to discover that the room they had used previously at the Record Plant had been replaced with a "giant synthesizer" by Stevie Wonder, who had recently recorded there.

After a month in Los Angeles with no results, the band opted to return to the UK, where they rented Clearwell Castle in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, in which the likes of Led Zeppelin, Mott the Hoople and Deep Purple wrote and recorded. The medieval surroundings may have revitalised the band musically, but also left a sinister impression; in the liner notes to the 1998 live album Reunion, Iommi recalls, "We rehearsed in the armoury there and one night I was walking down the corridor with Ozzy and we saw this figure in a black cloak ... We followed this figure back into the armoury and there was absolutely no one there. Whoever it was had disappeared into thin air! The people that owned the castle knew all about this ghost and they said, 'Oh yes, that's the ghost of so and so. We were like 'What!?'" Adds Butler, "We rehearsed in the dungeons and it was really creepy but it had some atmosphere, it conjured up things, and stuff started coming out again". While working in the dungeon, Iommi stumbled onto the main riff of "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", which set the tone for the new material. In 2001 Butler admitted to Dan Epstein of Guitar World, "We almost thought that we were finished as a band ... Once Tony came out with the initial riff for 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' we went 'We're baaaack!'" The spooky atmosphere at Clearwell Castle perfectly complemented the band's practice of playing practical jokes on one another. In the documentary Black Sabbath, Volume 1: 1970–1978 Iommi recalls, "I've got to be honest, we frightened the life out of each other. We had to leave in the end, everybody terrified of each other because we were playing jokes on each other and nobody knew who was doing it... We used to leave and drive all the way home and drive back the next day. It was really silly." In his autobiography Osbourne cracks, "We weren't so much the Lords of Darkness as the Lords of Chickenshit when it came to that kind of thing ... We wound each other up so much none of us got any sleep. You'd just lie there with your eyes wide open, expecting an empty suit of armour to walk into your bedroom at any second to shove a dagger up your arse." Osbourne also writes that he nearly burnt the castle down one night when he fell asleep with his boot in the fire. Osbourne said that when it came to the shenanigans Bill Ward typically "got the worst of it", with the drummer eventually going to bed at night with a dagger.

Although the band's then-manager Patrick Meehan received credit as co-producer, Iommi said years later that Meehan had virtually no actual involvement in the album's production, saying "Meehan's ego got involved, and he stuck his name down as producer". Recording was completed at Morgan Studios in Willesden, North London in 1973. Keyboardist Rick Wakeman of the band Yes (who were recording Tales from Topographic Oceans in the next studio) was brought in as a session player, appearing on "Sabbra Cadabra". Wakeman refused payment from the band and was ultimately compensated with beer for his contribution. The members of Led Zeppelin, close friends of the band from their early days in Birmingham, showed up at the studio during Sabbath Bloody Sabbath's recording. Drummer John Bonham was eager to play on "Sabbra Cadabra", but Sabbath preferred to play material other than their own for the occasion. In the end, the two bands had an improvised jam session which was recorded but never released.

Osbourne has said that Sabbath Bloody Sabbath was "the beginning of the end" for Black Sabbath's original line-up. In 2013, the singer elaborated to Mojo, "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath was really the album after which I should have said goodbye because after that I really started unravelling. Then we ended up falling out of favour with each other." Fuelled by rampant drug and alcohol use within the band, tensions began to mount. Iommi began to resent doing most of the songwriting and studio work, thus having no social life. Bassist Butler also began complaining that vocalist Osbourne had become too reliant on him for lyrics.

Composition
Building on the stylistic changes introduced on Vol. 4, new songs incorporated synthesizers, strings, keyboards and more complex arrangements. Iommi experimented with sitar and bagpipes in the studio but was not able to master the instruments to his satisfaction. The lyrics also delved into new areas, with Mojo opining in 2013, "The title track led into an expansive set as Butler's lyrics contemplated the mysteries of birth and DNA in 'A National Acrobat' and "Spiral Architect', respectively." "'A National Acrobat' was just me thinking about who selects what sperm gets through to the egg", Butler explained in the liner notes to Reunion in 1998. "'Spiral Architect' was about life's experiences being added to a person's DNA to create a unique individual. I used to get very contemplative on certain substances. I still do, but without those substances." In his autobiography Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven & Hell with Black Sabbath, Iommi reveals that the initial riff for "A National Acrobat" was written by Butler, to which the guitarist "added bits to it. Geezer can write some great stuff." According to the book How Black Was Our Sabbath, the band invited an orchestra to play on 'Spiral Architect' "but couldn't cram all of the musicians and their instruments into Morgan Studios. They ended up at the nearby Pye Studio along the road, with Ozzy trying to explain what he wanted them to play like some sort of mad conductor. He had no written music to give the orchestra, he just hummed the part and they picked it up."

Osbourne purchased a Moog synthesizer; though he "didn't know how to use it" according to Iommi, he was still able to compose the song "Who Are You?" with it. In his memoir Osbourne states, "I'd written it one night at Bulrush Cottage while I was loaded and fiddling around with a Revox tape machine and my ARP 2600." The singer also writes that Sabbath Bloody Sabbath was "Our last truly great album, I think... And with the music we'd managed to strike just the right balance between our old heaviness and our new, 'experimental' side." "Killing Yourself to Live" was a Butler composition written while he was in hospital for kidney problems caused by heavy drinking. Ward was also drinking heavily, and the song reflects the problems caused by their "extreme" lifestyles. An early incarnation of the song can be heard on the live albums Live at Last and Past Lives. The instrumental "Fluff" was composed by Iommi and named after BBC radio disc jockey Alan "Fluff" Freeman. Freeman was one of the few radio personalities in Britain to play Sabbath's music on-air.

Artwork
Illustrator Drew Struzan created coloured pencil drawings for both the front and back album sleeves. The front, drawn primarily in red tones, depicts a nude man on an elaborate California king satanic bed with a large “666” on the headboard tormented by nude male and female demons and rats. The back shows a more peaceful scene, rendered mostly in blue, with a dying man surrounded by grieving loved ones and sleeping lions.

The Vertigo LP featured a gatefold cover, with the interior showing a color photograph of translucent members of the band standing in a furnished bedroom.

Release and reception
Black Sabbath released Sabbath Bloody Sabbath on December 1, 1973. For the first time in their career, the band began to receive favourable reviews in the mainstream press, with Rolling Stone calling the album "an extraordinarily gripping affair", and "nothing less than a complete success". Later reviewers such as AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia cite the album as "a masterpiece, essential to any heavy metal collection", while also displaying "a newfound sense of finesse and maturity". The album marked the band's fifth consecutive platinum selling album in the United States. It reached number four on the UK charts, and number eleven in the US. In the UK, it was the first Black Sabbath album to attain Silver certification (60,000 units sold) by the British Phonographic Industry, achieving this in February 1975. The album would go on to be regarded in high esteem by the band members themselves; when asked by Guitar for the Practicing Musician in 1994 which songs he would like to see on the upcoming Black Sabbath box set, Butler replied, "Probably anything off of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. The song "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" itself. It was a whole new era for us. We felt really open on that album. It was a great atmosphere, good time, great coke! Just like a new birth for me. We had done the first four albums and done it that way. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath was like Part Two of your life. It was a weird feeling; a good feeling." In his memoir, Iommi calls the album "the pinnacle".

The song "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" has been singled out for praise by many hard rock and heavy metal guitar players, with Slash from Guns N' Roses stating to Guitar World in 2008, "The outro to 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' is the heaviest shit I have ever heard in my life. To this day, I haven't heard anything as heavy that has as much soul." Brent Hinds of Mastodon agrees, telling Nick Bowcott in 2008, "The 'dreams turn to nightmares, Heaven turns to Hell' riff at the end of that song is unbeatable." Kirk Hammett of Metallica cites "Killing Yourself to Live" as his favourite Black Sabbath song, revealing in the Holiday 2008 issue of Guitar World that "A lot of people gravitate toward the album's title track, 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath', but for me this is the stand out cut on the album." Metallica would later cover "Sabbra Cadabra" on their 1998 covers album, Garage Inc. Dave Williams of Drowning Pool stated that he would want the album with him if he were stranded on a desert island.

Track listing
All songs by Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward.

The initial Castle Communications CD release from 1986 (NELCD 6017) also featured a live version of "Cornucopia" from Live at Last as a bonus track. The subsequent Castle CD release (CLACD 201) returned to the original tracklist.

Black Sabbath

 * Ozzy Osbourne – vocals (all tracks except 3), synthesizers (tracks 5 and 6) , tambourine, handclaps (track 7)
 * Tony Iommi – guitars (all tracks), piano (tracks 3, 4, and 6) , synthesizer (track 5) , harpsichord (track 3) , organ (track 7) , flute (track 7) , handclaps (track 7) , bagpipes (track 8)
 * Geezer Butler – bass (all tracks), synthesizer and mellotron (track 6) , handclaps (track 7) , nose (track 8)
 * Bill Ward – drums (all tracks except 3), bongos (track 1) , timpani (tracks 6 and 8) , handclaps (track 7)

Additional personnel

 * Rick Wakeman – piano and Minimoog (track 4)
 * Wil Malone – conductor, arranger
 * The Phantom Fiddlers – strings (track 8)

Production

 * Produced by Black Sabbath for Excellency Productions
 * Engineered by Mike Butcher
 * Coordination: Mark Forster Biatch
 * Direction: Patrick Meehan
 * Tape operator: George Nicholson
 * Cover artwork: Drew Struzan
 * Cover concept: Pacific Eye & Ear

title: Sabbath Bloody Sabbath