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Newmilns

Newmilns is a village in the burgh of Newmilns and Greenholm, in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It has a population of 3,057 people (2001 census) and lies on the A71, around seven miles east of Kilmarnock and twenty-five miles southwest of Glasgow. It is situated in a valley through which the River Irvine runs and, with the neighbouring towns of Darvel and Galston, forms an area known as the Upper Irvine Valley (locally referred to as The Valley).

As the name suggests, the burgh exists in two parts – Newmilns to the north of the river and Greenholm to the south. The river also divides the parishes of Loudoun and Galston, which is why the burgh, although generally referred to as Newmilns, has retained both names.

Etymology
The name itself appears to have its origins in Old English, niwe (new) / mylen (mill), so it could be dated to the Old English period (c. mid-5th to mid-12th centuries). The earliest known recording of the name appears as Nawemeln in 1126, with the use of the plural s dating from at least as early as the 15th century.

Of the mills themselves, little now remains. The last in operation was Pate's Mill, which sat on Brown Street opposite the railway station (present-day Vesuvius building). Famed in Allan Ramsay's poem, "The Lass o Pate's Mill", it was demolished in 1977 and all that now remains is part of the mill's exterior wall. The only mill building still intact can be found at the foot of Ladeside. Now used as housing, Loudoun Mill (formerly the Meal Mill / Corn Mill of Newmilns) was in use from 1593 until it stopped producing meal in the 1960s. In 1970, the mill wheel was removed and the lade filled in, with the only remaining suggestion of the site's former use being a motto, "No Mill, No Meal – JA 1914" inscribed on the outer wall.

Early history
Evidence of early habitation can be found across The Valley, with the earliest sites dating from around 2000 BC. To the east of Loudoun Gowf Course, evidence has been found of the existence of a Neolithic stone circle and a Neolithic burial mound lies underneath the approach to the seventh green. A site in Henryton uncovered a Neolith barrow containing stone axes (c. 1500 BC) and a Bronze Age cairn dating from about 1000 BC (the cairn itself contains cists which are thought to have been made by bronze weapons or tools).

Following this early period, from around AD 200 evidence exists of not only a Roman camp at Loudoun Hill, but also a Roman road running through The Valley to the coast at Ayr. The camp was uncovered through quarry work taking place south of Loudoun Hill but tragically much of this evidence has been lost. According to local workmen, many of the uncovered remains & artefacts were taken with the rest of the quarried materials to be used in road construction projects.

Typically, little is known of The Valley's history during the Dark Ages, but it seems likely that an important battle was fought around AD 575 at the Glen Water. In addition, given the strong strategic importance of Newmilns' position as a suitable fording place and a bottleneck on one of Scotland's main east–west trade routes, it is not unlikely that other battles and skirmishes occurred during this period.

The period AD 800 – 1200 can be characterised by the presence of a motte and medieval earthworks north of Loudoun Kirk, the remnants of a medieval castle and lime-kilns to the west of Woodhead Farm and a profusion of forts across Loudoun Parish. These have been attributed to the presence of Vikings in the area.

Burgh of Barony
Newmilns became a free Burgh of Barony on 9 January 1490, a privilege bestowed upon George Campbell of Loudoun (and consequently the people of Newmilns) by King James IV. This was an important stage in the development of Newmilns as it granted liberties over control of the local economy, the right to elect local Baillies and necessary local government officials and the right to hold weekly markets and annual fairs.

Newmilns is Ayrshire's oldest inland burgh, ahead of Auchinleck (1507), Cumnock (1509) Mauchline (1510), Kilmaurs (1527) and Kilmarnock (1592). The granting of burgh status is generally recognised by residents of Newmilns as the birth of the town, hence the quincentenary celebrations in 1990. Newmilns was upgraded to a Burgh of Regality in 1707 and became a Police Burgh in 1834.

Christianity and Conflict

The establishment of Loudoun Kirk about two miles east of Newmilns marks the earliest known Christian worship in the area. The building is generally accepted as having been erected in 1451, although this has been disputed. To accommodate Newmilns' growing population, a chapel was erected in 1530 and became the main parish church at some point after 1600. (It is speculated that this happened in 1738, with the erection of a church on the present day Main Street site of Loudoun Church, but no evidence exists to confirm this ). Latterly, Newmilns had three distinct congregations and church buildings: Loudoun Old (Church of Scotland), Loudoun East (Free Kirk) and Newmilns West (United Presbyterian). The West Church congregation was dissolved in 1961. The East Church and Loudoun Church congregations amalgamated in 1980, and Loudoun Church is now the main place of worship in Newmilns. The disused church buildings were demolished in 1961 and 1986 respectively, with West Church Street and East Church Court marking the former whereabouts of these buildings.

Around 1520, a local farmer and Lollard called Murdoch Nisbet produced the first Scots Language version of the New Testament. At the time, it was illegal to possess a layman's copy of The Bible, with the offence punishable by either imprisonment or death. This, coupled with the political persecution of Lollards, forced Nisbet to flee the country. Thankfully, Nisbet was eventually able to return and upon his death, bequeathed the book to his son. It was subsequently passed down through generations of the Nisbet family before coming into the possession of the British Museum, where it remains today. In 2003, a new housing development was named Murdoch Nisbet Court in his honour.

The century following Nisbet saw yet more religious upheaval. In 1638, the male head of every household was required to sign the National Covenant which brought all concerned under threat of religious persecution. On 1 June 1679, a large conventicle taking place near Loudoun Hill was attacked by a company of dragoons, led by John Graham of Claverhouse. This encounter was to become known as the Battle of Drumclog and saw the Covenanters successfully rout Claverhouse's forces. It is known that Nisbet's great-grandson, John Nisbet was present at Drumclog, as were Newmilns residents John Gebbie and John Morton, who both died during the battle. From this, it is highly likely that many more Newmilns residents were in attendance.

Alongside Gebbie and Morton, Newmilns claims several other Covenanter martyrs. A memorial stone in the grounds of Loudoun Church records the names of Matthew Paton (captured during the Pentland Rising and executed in Glasgow on 19 December 1666), David Findlay (shot in Newmilns by order of General Dalziel in 1666), James Wood (captured at the Battle of Bothwell Brig and executed at Magus Muir on 25 November 1679), James Nisbet (executed in Glasgow on 11 June 1684) and the aforementioned John Nisbet (fought at Pentland, Drumclog and Bothwell Brig, captured during a service in Fenwick and executed at Kilmarnock Cross on 14 April 1683). A stone plaque in Castle Street also records the name of John Law, who was shot in April 1685 while successfully helping eight Covenanters escape their imprisonment in Newmilns Keep.

Weaving, Lace and Industrialisation
Towards the end of the 16th century, Huguenot refugees settled in the area and introduced Newmilns to the craft of weaving. About two centuries later, Britain began importing cotton from the United States and as Newmilns by this time had a long-established weaving tradition, the town's handloom industry rose to national prominence. The success of this industry can be seen by the growth in population from around 500 in 1750 to 2,000 in 1850. Newmilns also became very prosperous during this period, evidenced by both buildings around the Cross and the institution of the Trades' Race in 1743, which became an annual event for many years to come.

Born in Newmilns in 1821, Joseph Hood became a major player in the lace industry. By the age of 21, he had already developed, manufactured and supplied many Jacquard Looms and throughout his life, was responsible for many weaving innovations. Handloom weaving however was in decline. The introduction of the power loom in 1877 and general move towards automation left many weavers unemployed, resulting in a population drop as many left Newmilns to find work. Joseph Hood and his colleague, Hugh Morton, installed a lace curtain machine in Newmilns in 1876 and very quickly, others followed suit. Within ten years, a further eight companies had formed, providing work for over 1,500 people.

The success of the lace industry prompted a boom in the urban development of Newmilns. The town expanded rapidly in all directions, particularly to the east of the townfoot and south into Greenholm, with areas such as Loudoun Road, Darvel Road and Borebrae seeing the erection of many villas for Newmilns' growing middle-class. This was further augmented by the creation of council housing during the 20th century, primarily in Gilfoot, Mason's Holm, Campbell Street and Ladeside. Expansion slowed however as the lace industry fell into decline during the 20th century, with foreign competition, World War I, the Great Depression and World War II all contributing to the loss of markets and access to raw materials. The original Hood & Morton factory still stands on Nelson Street, but it is now disused. Only two lace mills remain in operation.

Modern era
Newmilns has suffered a significant drop in employment through the aforementioned decline of the lace industry, the closure of the Bleachfield, the railway station, the Cooperative and many other major employers including most recently, the Vesuvius plant in Brown Street. Many shopkeepers and tradesmen, who were dependent upon the business of locally employed residents have also gone out of business. This is reflected by the transformation of Newmilns from an industrial town into a commuter town, which is evidenced by a higher-than-average proportion of Newmilns' residents having to travel to their place of employment and a drop in population from a pre-war 5,000 to just over 3,000 today.

Landscape

Newmilns lies at the foot of a glaciated valley and is mostly surrounded by farmland and woodland. Of particular interest is the Lanfine Estate, which lies to the south of the town. The estate, although much older, came into the possession of the Brown family in 1769 and expanded from an initial 400 acre to over 10000 acre by the end of the following century. The Browns' management of the estate not only oversaw this vast expansion of land, but saw many improvements to the land itself, including a large afforestation program (resulting in the present-day Lanfine Wood), the erection of a stately home and three gatehouses, the installation of Browns Road (which runs from Newmilns to Darvel and allows access to the estate) and the introduction of small game to the area. 2200 acre of the estate were bought by Herr Roesner in 1982 and development has continued, which most notably saw the introduction of wild boar to the estate during the 1990s. Today, both Browns Road and Lanfine are popular walks for residents of Newmilns.

Townscape

Newmilns extends for about two miles along the narrowest part of The Valley and roughly follows the course of the river. Most of the town sits on the north side of the river; the south side remains less developed, despite being generally flatter. Newmilns' urban development is reasonably easy to chart – as the town extends from The Cross to its outskirts, newer buildings become more abundant and the A71 gradually widens. In recent years, redevelopment of disused factories and buildings has brought new housing into older areas of the town, although some of these buildings have retained their original facade.

Newmilns' most significant buildings are concentrated in and around The Cross. The townhouse was built in 1739 and is a sign of Newmilns' prosperity during the handloom period. The townhouse steps led to the council chamber, and the side door (on the Main Street) led to the jail underneath. The town bell (housed in the belltower above the building) is engraved with the date 1547, predating the building below. At the far end of The Cross from the townhouse is the Browns Institute, which was given to Newmilns by Ms Martha Brown (of Lanfine) in 1872. Across the road stands the Loudoun Arms, which was built during the 18th century. To the east of The Cross can be found three adjacent buildings, the Commercial Inn, Morton Hall and Lady Flora's, which date to 1869, 1896 and 1875 respectively. Both Lady Flora's and the Commercial Inn have since been turned into housing, but have retained their original facade. The Morton Hall still serves as Newmilns' town hall, however with regionalisation in 1975, responsibility for the hall was transferred to Kilmarnock & Loudoun District Council (now East Ayrshire Council), taking it out of the hands of the Newmilns' townsfolk to whom it had been given.

Standing behind The Cross in Castle Street, The Keep (occasionally referred to as Newmilns Tower) is Newmilns' oldest building. The building dates from the 1530s and was probably built by Sir Hugh Campbell (not to be confused with either Hugh Campbell, 1st Lord Campbell of Loudoun or Hugh Campbell, 3rd Earl of Loudoun, who both lived much later). Over its history, The Keep has served many purposes, including being used as a barracks, prison, grain store, doocot, band hall and beer cellar. After falling into a state of disrepair for many years, it was restored in 1997 and now exists as housing.

On Brown Street at the Greenholm Bridge stands Lamlash House (formerly Bank House) an imposing red sandstone property of traditional Scots vernacular architecture which was built from 1888 to 1889 by Robert Carmichael Mitchell, the local Bank Agent and Match Manufacturer in Glasgow. The land on which the house sits was purchased from Ms Martha Brown of Lanfine Estate. In the entrance staircase of the house, there are 5 Stephen Adam designed stained glass windows which feature images of James Hogg, Sir Walter Scott, Allan Ramsay, Robert Tannahill and Robert Burns. Each of the windows contains a floral panel which links back to the image of Flora, the Roman Goddess of flowers and the season of spring. The property was Listed by Historic Scotland in 1992 and since 2006, has undergone a major programme of internal and external restoration works to ensure its longterm integrity.

The Bank vacated the ground floor of the property in 2015 after over a century and a further programme of restoration has been carried out to reinstate the Victorian detailing which had been removed in the past. As part of the regeneration of Newmilns, the former Bank will be used for private events and functions.

Wildlife

With its mix of agricultural, wooded, urban, and freshwater environments, Newmilns is home to a wide variety of wildlife. Notably, this includes a red squirrel population which has largely escaped the reduction of its numbers seen elsewhere in the country. Alongside squirrels more common mammals can be found, such as the badger, fox, deer, rabbit, hare, weasel, stoat, hedgehog and species of rats, mice, shrews and voles. The river provides home to minnows, salmon and trout; frogs, toads, bats and a large and varied insect population can be found nearby. To the west of Newmilns, local residents have sighted common kingfishers along the riverbank which, although elusive, are a popular aspect of the river's biodiversity.

Newmilns is also home to a large bird population. The Eurasian jackdaw is perhaps the most common resident and can be found nesting and feeding in buildings and gardens throughout the town. Accompanying the jackdaw are its close relatives, carrion crows and rooks (rooks are generally found on the outskirts of Newmilns) alongside a variety of other birds including the common swift, barn swallow, sparrowhawk, Eurasian wren, dunnock, robin, common starling, pied wagtail, spotted flycatcher, Eurasian magpie, dipper, oystercatcher, curlew, treecreeper, fieldfare, house sparrow, collared dove, woodpigeon, goose, common cuckoo, buzzard and multiple species of gull, duck, warbler, tit, thrush (notably the common blackbird) and finch. Grey herons are commonplace along the river and common kestrels are often found to the west of the town. Owls (generally tawny and barn) are also found in the area, although their numbers have reduced over the years.

Lammas Floods
On 18 October 1954, residents of Newmilns were shocked to witness an avalanche of "black debris-littered scum" make its way down Darvel Road before eventually settling at the East Strand. The black tide caused damage to homes and businesses across the east of Newmilns and prompted one factory owner, James Inglis, to sue the town council for damages. The town coup, which for eighteen years prior had been situated in a field above Darvel Road, had been washed downhill by severe rainfall and left much of Newmilns swamped in filth.

Many residents who witnessed this were reminded of the night of 10 August 1920, when severe rainfall caused the river to burst its banks in several places. The damage most notably occurred along the Main Street and Kilnholm Street, where the force of the river caused the adjacent stone wall to collapse (replaced by the current-day Red Wall) and caused the near-destruction of the Iron Brig (replaced by the current Iron Brig). It also caused great damage to the Henderson, Morton, Inglis & Co factory, which was built over the Norrel Burn. The high volume of water caused the lade to burst and consequently, the burn flooded the factory floor causing damage to both machinery and electricity cables.

These floods are extreme examples of a phenomenon known as the Lammas Floods. As the floods usually occur around August, it is likely the name derives from Lammas Day, which falls on 1 August. Since 1954, better planning, understanding of rainfall patterns and sturdier building has severely marginalised the impact of the Lammas Floods, however both 2007 and 2008 saw their return to Newmilns, when heavy rainfall caused burns north of the town to burst their banks and flow through the streets, again causing damage to homes and businesses across the town.

Popular Pastimes
Aside the usual array of clubs and organisations catering for different age ranges and interest groups, Newmilns is host to a variety of different sports, leisure & social pursuits including a bowling club, a dry ski slope and mountain-bike track, three public houses, an annual cattle show, a library and three public parks at Greenside, the Glebe and Gilfoot. Jamieson Park (Gilfoot) is also home to Newmilns' amateur football team, Newmilns Vesuvius AFC, who currently play in the Premier Division of the Ayrshire AFC.Vesuvius disbanded in 2008 but in 2022 Newmilns Greenholm AFC was founded by a group of locals. 'The holm' will begin playing in the Ayrshire Sunday Amateur League in 2023 and are sponsored by The Riverside Inn and the club badge incorporates the traditional red and white colours of previous clubs in the town.On August 13th Newmilns beat Lawthorn 2-0 in the clubs first ever league game.

Irvine Valley Walking Festival
2003 saw the commencement of the Irvine Valley Walking Festival. The 2003 festival was attended by 400 people and has since become an annual event, growing in size and stature over this time. The festival is based around the Irvine Valley Paths Network, which connects some 35 miles worth of disused railway line, rights of way and country roads around The Valley and nearby Hurlford. Participants are usually accompanied by guides, who impart their knowledge of local points of interest found along the way. The Irvine Valley Regeneration Partnership, which runs the event, is based in the townhouse at Newmilns Cross.

Gala Day

Like many towns, Newmilns holds an annual gala day. The day starts with a brass band-led parade, which includes representatives from local groups, businesses, organisations and members of the wider community. The parade assembles at Gilfoot and heads east along Loudoun Road, Kilnholm Street and the Main Street, before turning right onto Union Street and disbanding at Greenside Park (until recent years the parade followed the reverse of this route, assembling in Union Street and disbanding at the Jamieson Park).

The main event usually lasts throughout the afternoon and plays host to bands, battle reenactments, races, stalls and amusements such as tug-o-war and beat-the-goalie competitions, with the events of the afternoon culminating in the crowning of the gala queen. The gala day is viewed as an important event in Newmilns' social calendar as it brings together and caters for the whole community. The Newmilns Gala Committee, which organises the event, also holds fundraisers throughout the year, which again are viewed as important social events for similar reasons.

Age of Steam
The present-day Vesuvius site was originally a railway station. It was opened in 1850 and proved successful until around the 1930s, when passengers gradually switched to the local bus service. From then on, the railway mainly carried freight and mail. Despite remaining financially viable, Newmilns' railway service was axed during Richard Beeching's Reshaping of British Railways in the 1960s.

The area behind Newmilns Fire Station was formerly home to Loudoun Colliery, with a bogey line carrying coal from the colliery to the main railway. Subsequent housing development has rendered the bogey line undetectable, but the hump in the road outside the entrances to Gilfoot and Mason's Holm marks the spot where it crossed the A71. The road running up to Woodhead Farm is known locally as The Pit Brae, as it provided access to the colliery.

Anti-Slavery Society
In response to the American Civil War, the Newmilns Anti-Slavery Society was formed. After writing to the U.S. Government to declare their support for the anti-slavery cause, an appreciative Abraham Lincoln presented Newmilns with an American flag. The flag however was eventually lost, leading U.S. Consul, General Dayle C McDonough to present a new one during Newmilns' Civic Week celebrations in 1949.

The Battle of the Lime Road
The Lime Road, which is found on the western periphery of Newmilns, was once a popular walk for local residents. From 1878 to 1893, Baron Donington of Loudoun Castle erected barriers, in a bid to block walkers' access. Local residents took the case to court and eventually won, protecting the Lime Road's status as a public right-of-way. It is now recognised by the Irvine Valley Path Network, although certain barriers have been erected to block free access to Loudoun Castle Theme Park.

Robert Burns
In 1786, Robert Burns used the proceeds from his Kilmarnock Edition to book passage from Greenock to Jamaica, in the hope of making a better life for himself abroad. At this time he was relatively unknown in Scotland and was only dissuaded from leaving after receiving a letter from the Edinburgh-based poet, Thomas Blacklock. This letter arrived only days before Burns was due to leave, but succeeded in encouraging him to stay and publish more work (which also saved Burns' life, as the ship sank en route to the West Indies). Blacklock himself had only recently become aware of Burns, after receiving a copy of the Kilmarnock Edition from one Rev. George Lawrie, of Loudoun Manse.

Lawrie is known to have received Burns several times at the manse. In reference to this, Burns' brother Gilbert wrote, "This was a delightful family scene for our poet, then lately introduced to the world. His mind was roused to a poetic enthusiasm and the stanzas were left in the room where he slept." Alongside the stanza referred to, Burns also presented Lawrie's daughters with verses describing his visits to Loudoun Manse and on one window pane in the manse, scratched the following line with his diamond, "Lovely Mrs. Lawrie, she is all charms."

Football
Around the start of the 20th century, many local footballers went on to have successful careers in both the Scottish and English leagues. The best-remembered of these is perhaps Hugh Wilson, who in 1890 was capped for Scotland against Wales whilst playing for Newmilns Seniors. He not only won further caps for Scotland, but went on to win three English league titles with Sunderland in 1892, 1893 & 1895, before returning to Scotland to win the league & cup with Third Lanark in 1904 & 1905 respectively.

In 1891, local lace manufacturers, Johnstone Shields & Co, opened a factory in Gothenburg, using Newmilns employees to set up and run the site. Whilst in Gothenburg, the employees established a team, Örgryte Idrottsällskap and won Sweden's first ever football match. The employees went on to form another team, which eventually evolved into the world-renowned IFK Göteborg.

Two years later, Johnstone Shields set up a factory in Barcelona and again used their Newmilns workforce. The men from Newmilns set up another football team, Colonia Escocesa, which, according to local historians, contested the first ever Spanish cup final. This is slightly ambiguous, the first Copa del Rey final was contested between Club Vizcaya (later Athletic Club de Bilbao) and FC Barcelona. Records do show however that in 1900, Colonia Escocesa lost 2–0 to FC Barcelona, in a match recorded as Amistoso Internacional (Catalan for International Friendly). Whilst seemingly not part of an official tournament, it is quite possible that the participating players viewed the match as an international cup final, explaining why oral tradition remembers it as such.

At least one Newmilns man, George Girvan, went on to play for FC Barcelona before returning to Scotland. Such was Barca's immediate success, it is not unlikely that he and other Newmilns residents would have won silverware with the club.

Gowf
The site which occupies Loudoun Gowf Club was originally rented from the Earl of Loudoun in 1908. The rental was under the condition that were the club to close, the area should be returned to its pre-rental state. As the club was notoriously poor at turning a profit, it's believed it only survived because until 1947, it never had sufficient funds to return the area to its original condition.

Street Names
Over the years, various street name changes have taken place. High Street was originally divided into three parts, known from bottom to top as Doitburn Street, Grey Street & High Street. Nelson Street was similarly divided, known from west to east as North Devon Place, Waterwynd & Nelson Street. The area of the Main Street around the Brigend was known as West Strand. The East Strand was located at the gardens on the Main Street, opposite the Long Entry. Castle Street was originally New Road and Kilnholm Street led to an area known simply as The Wilderness. Loudoun Road West was known (locally at least) as the Toll Road and King Street was formerly known as Back Street. A sign on an entry-wall in Loudoun Road (at the corner of Shields Road) records the name Jeffrey Place, although it is uncertain what area this encompassed.

Names of streets have changed, but one area of Greenholm has all but disappeared. Stewarts Place occupied the area between Browns Road and the Tilework Brae and was built to accommodate navvies brought to Newmilns for the purpose of extending the railway line to Darvel. Stewarts Place gradually fell into disrepair and became locally known as Bedlam, due to this. Remnants of the buildings still stand, but lie behind a large, stone wall and as such are largely unnoticed by local residents.

Gilfoot was built from 1936 to 1939 and was pragmatically fitted out with electric street lighting. Initially, the street lights were not connected to an electricity supply, so gas lights were hung from lamp-posts until electrification could take place. The sight of this gave the area an eastern feel, leading local residents to refer to Gilfoot as Shanghai. Although the name is not in common use today, it persisted for many years after the gas lights were removed.

title: Newmilns


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Talk:Paschal greeting

old talk
A brief note on Church Slavonic:

It is not merely a form of Russian, nor did it originate in Russia. It, and the Cyrillic alphabet, were developed specifically in conjunction with mission work among the Bulgars--south Slavs and then spread northward.
 * You are confusing Old Church Slavonic with Church Slavonic language. It is also my fault: the link Church Slavonic I used is a wrong redirect; I am to make it into a disambiguation page. Modern church slavonic was so heavily modernized that it can hardly be placed into the south branch. It is rather a synthetic language of its own. Mikkalai 20:52, 12 May 2004 (UTC)

 * Thanks for the clarification. I guess that means that Church Slavonic may be the only Western Indo-European language that is purely liturgical Dogface 02:19, 13 May 2004 (UTC)

 * In regards to Glagolitic alphabet--this was only used for "Old Church Slavonic". By the time Old Church Slavonic converted to Church Slavonic, the Cyrillic alphabet was in use.

What's particularly interesting is how one can look at similarities and differences within language groups in this greeting. Of course, the greeting is "artificial" in the sense that it will probably maintain more archaic forms ("Truly He is risen!" is not quite ordinary modern English word order, for example), but it's interesting, nonetheless. Dogface 02:19, 13 May 2004 (UTC)

It seems a little silly to have the phrase in Yiddish, which is the traditional language of European Jews. A Jew would never say "Christ is risen" as a greeting. The Yiddish should be removed.

 * Object vehemently. You mix up ethnics and religion. When the Old Catholic Church was formed in the 19th century, it attracted many Jewish converts in Austrian lands, not only Austria, but also Czechia and Southern Poland. Many of them continued to speak Yiddish. The Old Catholic church, like the Anglican church knows the Pachal greeting. Of course, in one sense you are right: there are probably no or paractically no people alive today who would use the Paschal greeting in Yiddish - thanks to another great Austrian (yes, I know that is a Godwin). But if the greeting is attested (and many Orthodox websites mention it) it must stay. No need to kill these people a second time. --Pan Gerwazy 19:02, 1 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Very interesting. thanks.  What about Rastafarian?  That is more clearly a religion than a linguistic/ethnic group, no?  Do Rastafarians, inasmuch as they might have an Ethiopian Orthodox background, say this? --Richardson mcphillips (talk) 12:53, 8 April 2012 (UTC)

According to Google, Paschal greeting is the more common form. Should the article be moved there? Dori | Talk 04:25, May 13, 2004 (UTC)

Is there a reference for the Quenya translation? It strikes me as incorrect as given. First, Tolkien himself used "Hristo" for Christos in Quenya and didn't attempt to translate it. In this he followed most real-world languages from Latin to Slavonic to English which tend to adapt the Greek word to local morphology. Second, the verb appears to be a simple past tense (misspelled) and not the aorist as in Slavonic and (if I'm not mistaken) Greek. Third, why not use a pronoun in the response like everyone else does? Fourth, "anwa" for "truly" is incorrect. "Anwa" means "true"; the adverb is "anwavë". Fifth, word order as in English is perfectly acceptable; in Quenya it's more a matter of taste than anything else. (Source for all this is the Ardalambion)

So what we have here, back-translated, is "Christ rose! Christ true rose!" which is plainly amiss. I suggest instead "Hristo orta! Anwavë Ortas!" (Orta: singular aorist from orta-, rise; Ortas: the same with third person pronomial ending -s. This should possibly be ortáro, which has a third person masculine pronomial ending; the third person pronouns in Quenya are obscure and Tolkien revised them -- or maybe not -- after LoTR.) I'm far from a Quenya expert though, so I'll gladly yield to an expert opinion if someone can turn one up. Csernica 05:05, 24 Feb 2005 (UTC)

 * Modified according to the advice of the kind people at Mellonath Daeron. If the Tengwar is misspelled, I invite correction. Csernica 23:13, 4 May 2005 (UTC)

Harisutosu is used by Orthodox Christians in Japan primarily because Orthodox Christianity was brought to Japan by Russians, who have a pronunciation of "Christ" that is closer to that of the Greek "chi". Thus, the sound is "softer" than the more typical "K" sound used by Western Christians, who took their pronunciation primarily from Latin.

 * Some Dutch protestants also pronounce a guttural fricative (close to ch in Scottish loch). As a result, in the Dutch Paschal greeting for the Netherlands, both pronunciations are possible. The Netherlands version is based on Dutch protestant tradition, by the way. The Belgium version which I inserted, is probably based on Roman Catholic tradition, and the "ch" of "Christus" is always pronounced "k" in Belgium.--Pan Gerwazy 19:02, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

Serbian
I added the Macedonian form just now, but I think the Serbian one may be wrong. I always thought it was ''Hristos Vaskrse! Vaistinu Vaskrse!''. --Daniel Tanevski talk 05:11, 23 April 2006 (UTC)
 * You're right. TCC (talk) (contribs) 07:22, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

malayalam version
Is "uyirthezhunnettu" actually correct? I would have thought it to be ഉയര്ന്നെഴുന്നേറ്റു "uyarnnezhunnēttu", unless it is an archaism. --Grammatical error 19:11, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

Esperanto
The pope uses in his Easter greetings the phrase: Feliĉan paskon en la ĝojo de Kristo resurektinta, not leviĝinta. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 129.125.156.31 (talk) 11:09, 5 April 2007 (UTC).

Yiddish
Between the January 7, 2007 and Feburary 6, 2007 revisions, the Yiddish greeting was removed. I see no reason why a Yiddish greeting should not be part of the page. I agree with Pan Gerwazy above that a Yiddish-language form is appropriate in a page like this, even if few if any Yiddish speakers would use it; it is completely possible that Yiddish speakers could join a tradition in which such greetings are used, and then use them in their own language. I suggest that we put the Yiddish back in. (I haven't ventured to do so myself, since I'm brand new to Wikipedia and am not yet quite sure of protocol for these things.) Steorra 02:35, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

 * I put it back in. That is, I found a Yiddish version which in my view has a broader base than the older version, some of the people who quoted it were not Orthodox, but this one is, and seems authoritative enough. If people object, they can add "or: Der Meschiache" as was done on Russian wiki. In fact, the guy who deleted it, was responsible for improving Wikipedia  ... --Pan Gerwazy 23:34, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

 * I don't know enough Yiddish to discuss which translation is better. But I'm not as confident as you are about the reliability of that source. It's definitely Orthodox, but I'm not sure it's based on any particular knowledge of the languages involved; I believe I've spotted several mistakes.Steorra 05:16, 11 April 2007 (UTC)

Yiddish has been removed again. I suggest that it be replaced unless it was removed for being inaccurate; perhaps the person who removed it can say so if that is why they removed it. Steorra (talk) 23:24, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Prior to Orthodox Easter
There is a Greek saying prior to the day of Orthodox Easter. Does anyone know what that is? --Son (talk) 02:48, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

 * Many say Kalo Pascha or Kali Anastasi. 96.240.74.123 (talk) 14:43, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

really now
Is it proper to have the elmer fudd and klingon entries in there? Elmer fudd isn't even a language. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hurricane Omega (talk • contribs) 00:34, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

If you're giong to have Esperanto, you should have Klingon, too -- in terms of number of speakers, it's comparable. I'd agree that "Elmer Fudd" is absurd, though. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.218.83.8 (talk) 01:59, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

Church Slavonic vs. Russian
Although most of the people in Russia would still use Church Slavonic form (Христос Воскрес_е_, Воистину Воскрес_е_!), correct Russian form of the greeting will not have final "e" at the end of the verb, thus it should be Христос Воскрес! Воистину Воскрес!

And by the way, ХРИСТОС ВОСКРЕСЕ! :) --Nick Pchelin (talk) 19:55, 20 April 2009 (UTC)

COMPLETELY copied
This page was COMPLETELY copied from the Orthodox Wiki (http://orthodoxwiki.org/Paschal_greeting). What gives? 70.179.114.157 (talk) 17:28, 3 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Actually, the Orthodox Wiki page was originally copied from an earlier version of the Wikipedia page: (http://orthodoxwiki.org/index.php?title=Paschal_greeting&action=history). And the pages aren't identical - probably both have received different edits since then, and sometimes one page may have been edited on the basis of the other, and vice versa. This does point to a problem, though, with lists of phrases like this: they're often compiled by people who have more enthusiasm for the subject than knowledge of the different languages involved. It's easy for an error to spring up in one list and be spread to others that copy from it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Steorra (talk • contribs) 03:09, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

Greek interwiki
I moved the Greek interwiki link to Paschal troparion since that actually seemed to be the subject of the target article. 192.91.171.36 (talk) 21:15, 30 January 2014 (UTC)

The picture
I suggest that the present picture showing a politician be removed and replaced with Christ. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.77.220.60 (talk) 05:46, 20 April 2014 (UTC)

Slovak "also not used"
What is the point or meaning of the "also not used" addition in the Slovak entry? What does it mean, and what does the "also" refer to ? --Richardson mcphillips (talk) 00:17, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

Greeting
The article says "Similar responses are also used in the liturgies of other Christian churches, but not so much as general greetings."

This is not correct. In the Lutheran church for instance people definitely use this greeting in the United States. Same for the Episcopal / Anglican church. As a greeting, not just as liturgy. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.65.81.1 (talk) 08:55, 17 April 2017 (UTC)

 * There are other churches where it really is used only in the liturgy and not as a greeting. As for the claim that it is used as a greeting by some Lutherans and Anglicans, do you have a source? I would be genuinely surprised if that was a widespread practice. Ohff (talk) 04:39, 18 April 2017 (UTC)
 * It is common in German Methodist churches. --WiseWoman (talk) 22:07, 20 April 2019 (UTC)
 * Grew up Lutheran (LCMS), we said "Christ is Risen" "He is risen indeed, alleluia!" as a greeting. Us kids gained a little amusmement out of repeating it at anyone who neglected the "alleluia" at the end. Not sure where I could find a citeable source though. Gsnerd (talk) 18:03, 12 April 2020 (UTC)

This restrictive phrase bothered me as well. I've been a member of Protestant and Roman Catholic churches, and attended Presbyterian, Methodist, other UCC churches, Baptist, and Lutheran Easter worship services. The phrase "Christ is risen!" and the congregation's response of "He is risen indeed!" is common across many, many Christian churches. So I added this fact, and yes, I did the research (on Easter Sunday - considered it part of my Easter celebration) and included several references. There are many, many, many more available but I thought that would be overkill. CountryMama27 (talk) 16:11, 9 April 2023 (UTC)

Languages
I am not so comfortable with having an ever-expanding list of foreign languages for this greeting. Editors are much quicker to add text than citations, and it is difficult to verify something in a foreign language. Also, this is English Wikipedia. I can understand the desire to have a few representative samples in languages that are commonly spoken, so for now, I've kept the Greek and Church Slavonic. But please, when adding a greeting, provide a citation to some kind of source that an English speaker can visit and see that it is not "Your mother was a hamster!" Thanks. Elizium23 (talk) 00:50, 13 April 2020 (UTC)

 * Should definitely include Latin, the liturgical language of Western Europe for many centuries... AnonMoos (talk) 06:44, 14 April 2020 (UTC)
 * It has been brought to my attention that the full list of translations was split to List of translations of the Paschal greeting. Elizium23 (talk) 07:00, 14 April 2020 (UTC)

 * Then there probably shouldn't be a bulleted list on this article. Greek and Latin are still important enough to be included on the article, though... AnonMoos (talk) 07:50, 14 April 2020 (UTC)

Examples in a separate article
Last year, the examples were moved into a separate article without discussion. The main article was already designed as a list: WP:SALLEAD requires some form of lead section to a list, which this supplies, whereas the list on its own has no context. Should the list be moved back to its original home? AndrewNJ (talk) 07:51, 20 April 2020 (UTC)
 * I am nearing a WP:AFD on the list article. We have discussed it some on WP:VPP and I do not believe the article should exist. Certainly not without extensive sources. Elizium23 (talk) 12:26, 20 April 2020 (UTC)
 * , I would support deletion of this, utterly inappropriate for an encyclopedia article, unclear why we need every translation of this particular phrase. Or just redirect or prod it. Reywas92Talk 20:05, 24 April 2020 (UTC)
 * Articles for deletion/List of translations of the Paschal greeting Elizium23 (talk) 20:16, 24 April 2020 (UTC)

traditional use in Latin rites
? Happy Easter or some version of Joyeuses Paques. I've never heard of read "Christ is risen!" as a traditional Latin rite greeting. --142.163.195.18 (talk) 17:25, 12 April 2021 (UTC)

Theories of Origin
In researching the phrase, I found two competing theories on the origin, and added those, with a few references, to the wiki page. It's important to note the history of the Paschal greeting, though where and when it started, and whether it stems from biblical references or Christian stories seems equally important.

If more references are needed, please add or request. There were many theological debates on the origin, as well as church official stances on side versus the other. I'm not a theologian; it would be great to have someone with expertise add more depth to the greeting's origin and history. CountryMama27 (talk) 16:11, 9 April 2023 (UTC)

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

title: Talk:Paschal greeting


text:
Marlon Wayans

Marlon Lamont Wayans (born July 23, 1972) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his work with his brother Shawn Wayans on The WB sitcom The Wayans Bros. (1995–1999), and in the comedy films Don't Be a Menace (1996), Scary Movie (2000), Scary Movie 2 (2001), White Chicks (2004), Little Man (2006), and Dance Flick (2009).

Wayans has appeared in other films, including Above the Rim (1994), The 6th Man (1997), Norbit (2007), G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009), The Heat (2013), A Haunted House (2013) and its sequel A Haunted House 2 (2014), Naked (2017), Fifty Shades of Black (2016), Sextuplets (2019), and On the Rocks (2020). He also had a dramatic role in the 2000 psychological drama film Requiem for a Dream.

Wayans partnered with Randy Adams to create What the Funny, an online destination for urban comedy. He created the comedy competition television show Funniest Wins, which aired on TBS in 2014. In 2014, Wayans and his brothers traveled the U.S. with "The Wayans Brothers Tour". In 2017, he co-wrote and starred in the NBC sitcom Marlon, which ran for two seasons.

Early life
Wayans was born in New York City, the son of Elvira Alethia (Green), a homemaker and social worker, and Howell Stouten Wayans, a supermarket manager. He was raised in Fulton Houses, a housing project in New York City, the youngest of ten siblings. He is the brother of Nadia, Shawn, Keenen Ivory, Damon, Dwayne, and Kim. His family were Jehovah's Witnesses. Wayans went to Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City, the school made famous in Fame. After graduating from high school, he attended Howard University in Washington, D.C., but dropped out after two years.

Career
Between 1992 and 1993, Wayans appeared with his siblings on the sketch comedy show In Living Color. From 1995 until 1999, he co-starred in the WB sitcom The Wayans Bros. with his brother Shawn Wayans. He was originally considered for the role of Robin in the 1992 film Batman Returns, but it was felt that the film featured too many characters, so his character was omitted. Wayans was then formally signed to the role in the 1995 sequel Batman Forever to play opposite Billy Dee Williams as Two-Face, but the mid-production change in directors from Tim Burton to Joel Schumacher resulted in both parts being recast and Wayans being paid out (Williams was not yet signed on, but received a penalty fee as his contract for Batman allowed him the option of reprise), and he still receives royalty payments. He was replaced by Chris O'Donnell. In August 2021, a comic book adaptation of the original concept, Batman '89, began publication, by DC Entertainment, using Wayans's likeness for Robin with his permission, their civilian identity renamed Drake Winston.

Wayans produced the first two films of the Scary Movie series, in which he and Shawn were credited writers and co-stars. Those films were released in 2000 and 2001. In 2000, Wayans appeared as Tyrone C. Love in Requiem for a Dream and as Snails in Dungeons & Dragons. That same year, he and Shawn hosted the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. Wayans also produced the Nickelodeon cartoon series Thugaboo. In 2017, NBC gave him his own sitcom, Marlon, for a 10-episode run. In September 2017, Marlon was renewed for a second season. It is now available on Netflix.

Also in September 2017, Variety announced that Wayans would partner with LA-based entertainment company Shots Studios to launch a YouTube channel. He has appeared in videos alongside creators such as Anwar Jibawi and Hannah Stocking. In 2020, Wayans signed a deal with HBO Max.

Personal life
Wayans was in a long-term relationship with Angela Zackery from 1992 to 2013, and although he once called her his "ex-wife", he said in 2021 that he had never married. They have two children. Wayans also shares a child with his former girlfriend, Brittany Moreland. Wayans was a close friend of rapper Tupac Shakur. He is also a longtime friend of actor Omar Epps.

title: Marlon Wayans


text:
Grooved ware

Grooved ware is the name given to a pottery style of the British Neolithic. Its manufacturers are sometimes known as the Grooved ware people. Unlike the later Beaker ware, Grooved culture was not an import from the continent but seems to have developed in Orkney, early in the 3rd millennium BC, and was soon adopted in Britain and Ireland.

The diagnostic shape for the style is a flat-bottomed pot with straight sides sloping outwards and grooved decoration around the top. Beyond this the pottery comes in many varieties, some with complex geometric decorations others with applique bands added. The latter has led some archaeologists to argue that the style is a skeuomorph and is derived from wicker basketry.

Grooved ware pots excavated at Balfarg in Fife have been chemically analysed to determine their contents. It appears that some of the vessels there may have been used to hold black henbane (Hyoscyamus niger) which is a poison and a powerful hallucinogen.

Since many Grooved ware pots have been found at henge sites and in burials, it is possible that they may have had a ritual purpose as well as a functional one. Grooved ware comes in many sizes, some vessels are extremely large, c. 30 impgal, and would be suitable for fermentation. The majority are smaller, ranging from jug- to cup-size, and could be used for serving and drinking. The theory that the first British farmers (c. 4000 BC) had the knowledge and ability to make ale from their crops with their pottery appears to be controversial and not yet widely discussed by the archaeological community.

The earliest examples have been found in Orkney and may have evolved from earlier Unstan ware bowls. Excavations at nearby Ness of Brodgar have revealed many sherds of finely decorated Grooved ware pottery, some of it representing very large pots. Many drinking vessels have also been identified. The style soon spread and it was used by the builders of the first phase of Stonehenge. Grooved ware pottery has been found in abundance in excavations at Durrington Walls and Marden Henge in Wiltshire. Here, the feasting would have involved drinking ale and eating pork. Smaller quantities of Grooved ware have been found at the nearby site of Figsbury Ring.

Grooved ware was previously referred to as Rinyo-Clacton ware, first identified by Stuart Piggott in the 1950s and named after sites where it was found. Rinyo is a neolithic settlement on the island of Rousay, Orkney. The site at Clacton now lies under the sea.

One way the tradition may have spread is through trade routes up the west coast of Britain. What seems unusual is that although they shared the same style of pottery, different regions still maintained vastly different traditions. Evidence at some early Henges (Mayburgh Henge, Ring of Brodgar, Arbor Low) suggests that there were staging and trading points on a national 'motorway' during the Neolithic and Bronze Age. This evidence perhaps explains how Cumbrian stone axes found their way to Orkney.

Unstan ware, a variation on grooved ware, emerged in Orkney. The people who used Unstan ware had totally different burial practices but managed to co-exist with their Grooved ware counterparts. Some hybrid chambered cairns have emerged in this region, containing architectural features of both the Maeshowe subclass and the Orkney-Cromarty stalled subclasses of cairn.

title: Grooved ware


text:
Rövarspråket

Rövarspråket (The Robber Language) is a Swedish language game. It became popular after the books about Bill Bergson by Astrid Lindgren, where the children use it as a code, both at play and in solving actual crimes.

The formula for encoding is simple. Every consonant (spelling matters, not pronunciation) is doubled, and an o is inserted in-between. Vowels are left intact. It is possible to render the Rövarspråket version of an English word as well as a Swedish, such as the following for the word stubborn:

 * sos-tot-u-bob-bob-o-ror-non or sostotubobboborornon

The code is not very useful in written form, but it can be difficult to decode when spoken by a trained user speaking quickly. For an untrained speaker, a word or phrase can often be something of a tongue-twister or a shibboleth.

Today, the books (and subsequent films) are so well known in Sweden, and also in Norway, that the language is part of the culture of schoolchildren.

title: Rövarspråket


text:
Storm Constantine

Storm Constantine (12 October 1956 – 14 January 2021) was a British science fiction and fantasy author, primarily known for her Wraeththu series, which began as one trilogy but has spawned many subsequent works.

Beginning in the 1980s, Constantine's short stories appeared in dozens of genre fiction magazines and anthologies. She authored over 30 published novels and non-fiction books (often examining issues of sex and gender), and numerous other publications, including grimoires. Her debut novel, The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit, was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror. Subsequent work was nominated for the BSFA Award, the British Fantasy Award, the Locus Award and the Otherwise Award.

In addition to her work as a writer, Constantine headed Immanion Press, an independent publishing company she founded in 2003 to publish her own back catalogue and works by other niche writers.

Early life
Constantine was born on 12 October 1956 in Stafford, Staffordshire. She began creating stories and art at an early age, devising make-believe worlds and writing sequels to Greek and Roman myths. In a 2017 interview, she said, "Before I learned to write as a young child, I made stories up in my head [...] I embellished reality always and often got into trouble for it. I simply had a natural impulse to make things up and it's been part of me all my life."

Education and early career
Constantine attended Stafford Girls' High School, then attended Stafford Art College from 1971–1972, though she left before completing her degree, frustrated with the institution's disdain for figurative art.

In the early 1980s, she joined the Goth subculture in and around Birmingham, eventually developing friendships with several bands and eventually managing a few. She later cited her years in this scene as a strong influence for her Wraeththu series, explaining to an interviewer that the people around her "were all very androgynous" and to her "seemed like fantasy creatures".

Her primary day job was at Stafford's public library.

Wraeththu
Constantine began her serious writing career by writing a novel which became the Wraeththu Chronicles and included The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit, The Bewitchments of Love and Hate, and The Fulfillments of Fate and Desire. Working as a librarian at the time, she decided to focus on writing when she came to the following realization: "This is it for the rest of my life. I've got to do something about it." Constantine had been working with the concept and characters of Wraeththu since the late 1970s.

By the late 1980s, Constantine had a synopsis and outline of the trilogy completed. One day, she was at the Andromeda bookshop in Birmingham (operated by Rog Peyton) when she had a chance encounter with a representative from MacDonald Futura (which was absorbed by Little, Brown Book Group in 1992). The representative subsequently picked up the novels, which were published between 1987 and 1989.

The first book of the series, The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit, was a finalist for the 1991 Lambda Literary Award for Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror.

In 1993, Tor released the trilogy in omnibus format in the United States. The trilogy developed a cult following, particularly in the Goth subculture and among those interested in fiction tackling alternative sexuality.

Beginning with the initial trilogy, and continuing on to subsequent novels, novellas, and short stories, the Wraeththu stories follow the rise of a race of hermaphrodites / androgynes transformed from humans. This new race takes possession of a world decline, a slow apocalypse, and then rebuilds the world into something better. Members of the new species are referred to as hara. The world of Wraeththu includes representations of real-life Earth continents and cultures, but all have been renamed and reworked. Constantine described the setting as an "alternate reality".

Constantine framed the Wraeththu as follows:

"Humanity is in decline, ravaged by insanity, natural disasters, conflict, disease and infertility. A mysterious new race has risen from the ghettos and ruins of the decaying, dying cities. The young are evolving into a new species, which is stronger, sharper and more beautiful than their forerunners. Androgynous beings, they transcend gender and race. They possess skin psychic abilities and the means, through a process called inception, to transform humans into creatures like themselves. But they are wild in their rebirth and must strive to overcome all that is human within them in order to create society anew. They are the Wraeththu."

The structure and plot of the Wraeththu Chronicles revolves around three characters: Pellaz ("Pell"), Swift, and Calanthe ("Cal"), who are (in that order) the first-person narrators. Their intertwining stories begin with Cal meeting Pell and whisking him away to a town where he is incepted and becomes har. Eventually the couple, deeply in love, encounter Swift, a Wraeththu child living in the home of a high-ranking tribal leader. Shortly after their visit, Pell is killed. All is not as it seems, however, and Pell is "reborn" and becomes the Tigron of Immanion, ruler the Gelaming tribe. Swift's narrative, a coming-of-age story, tells the tale of what happened after Pell and Cal left, and then what happened when Cal returned, devastated by the loss of Pell. In the third book, set a couple of decades later, Cal pieces together the shattered memories of his life and embarks on a quest to reunite with Pell, who, as he has learned, is alive. At the end of the book, Cal arrives in Immanion and claims Pell once again as his own. Pell has already bonded with another har and sired. And although the other har is angry, by the finale, the three hara become joint rulers of the Gelaming and by extension the Wraeththu race.

In subsequent works, including a trilogy intersecting with the first, several novels, and many short stories, Constantine further developed Wraeththu, in particular their evolution into fully realized, androgynous beings. After beginning their lives as rebellious teenagers and subsequently inheriting the world, they must take responsibility. In a 2016 interview, Constantine reflected:

"Wraeththu are simply how the human race would be if I could design it myself: androgynous, beautiful (mostly), magical and housed in a more efficient vehicle of flesh and blood. Yet Wraeththu hara are not stainless; they are flawed. What makes them different from humanity – apart from their androgyny and improved physical/psychic being – is that they have a clean slate to start anew. Longevity helps them; humans, being frail creatures, become infirm and die just as they reach the threshold to real wisdom. Hara might have risen from a brutal start, but have a greater capacity to rise above it, to reach their potential. A world without villains and conflict, from a fictional point of view, would be pretty dull, so the mythos has to include those aspects. Wraeththu aren't perfect, but to me they are better than what came before."As Constantine became more active in online spaces beginning in the early 2000s, she found interest in the Wraeththu stories remained high, which led her to write the Wraeththu Histories following events and characters in the Wraeththu Chronicles. The books garnered interest with publishers in the United States but not in the United Kingdom. Wanting to release the new books and revised editions of the original trilogy, Constantine founded Immanion Press in 2003, where she could publish both her own work and that of other authors.

During the 2000s and 2010s, Constantine authored and published several more Wraeththu novels, contributed and/or edited numerous short story collections, and put out several non-fiction works.

Fan fiction
With the publication of Histories and the revised Chronicles, Wraeththu fans emerged as an enthusiastic community online. Numerous web sites emerged, including an online zine and a fan fiction archive. Constantine regularly interacted directly with fans through online forums, early forms of social media, and weekly online chats. In 2003, this coalesced into Grissecon, a convention held in Stafford for fans of Wraeththu and related fiction and topics. Subsequently, Constantine participated in numerous conventions, including Lunacon and Dragon Con in the United States, plus many others in the United Kingdom.

Constantine was accepting of fan fiction, and once she began to read what her fans had written, actively encouraged it. In a 2016 interview, she expounded on her attitude:"It was brought to my attention that a small community had arisen devoted to writing Wraeththu fanfic. The main reason these writers had turned to my Mythos was because they'd been hounded out of another one by a famous writer who strongly objected to their activities. A fanfic writer mailed me about this and asked for my opinion, and what I felt about fan fiction set in a world I'd invented and about which I still continued to write. I thought about it for some time, and realized that I didn't feel offended at all. As far as I could see, it was similar to a time in my childhood when I'd also invented make-believe worlds – avidly – and the more friends I could get to share in that make-believe and play in my world, the better. This to me was the same. People were coming to play in my garden with me. Why should that be offensive? Could I ever stop people imagining these stories? No. Hadn't I myself begun my writing life as a fanfic author – albeit writing 'sequels' to Greek and Roman myths as a child rather than an established author's work? I understood the impulse to add to an invented world, to want to play in it when the author had closed the gates for the night."She eventually used her publisher, Immanion Press, to publish novels that began as fan fiction and published fans' short stories as anthologies.

Other writing
Following the success of Wraeththu, Constantine embarked on a decade of high productivity which included the publication of two fantasy trilogies, a science fiction duet and six stand-alone novels, including Silverheart, a collaboration with Michael Moorcock. The Grigori trilogy is a modern-day fantasy tale in which characters connect back with the mysterious Nephilim, referred to in the books as Grigori. The Magravandias trilogy is a more conventional fantasy tale, with nobles, castles, medieval warfare and dragons. The Artemis duet is a science fiction tale about a colony world where radical feminism has gone disastrously wrong, with males having been made completely subservient. The remaining stand-alone novels are genre works which fall under the genres of cyberpunk, dark fantasy, and science fiction. Constantine's short stories were widely printed in genre fiction magazines, which during the decade were thriving, and in larger print anthologies. With the publication of so many novels and stories, Constantine's cult following grew, and she began to appear at many science fiction and fantasy conventions in the United Kingdom as well as Dragon Con in the United States.

During this time period, Constantine also founded a fiction magazine with Jamie Spracklen, called Visionary Tongue, through which she published fiction by Freda Warrington, Graham Joyce, and Tanith Lee.

Immanion Press
Constantine founded Immanion Press in 2003, an option that became commercially viable with the arrival of affordable and efficient print-on-demand services. She published her own works, as well as fiction and non-fiction texts from other authors. In addition to standalone books, Immanion Press published a series of Wraeththu short story anthologies featuring her own work as well as those of fan writers. The initial collection was published in 2010, and within ten years, it had been joined by five others.

Although the company attracted several prominent authors, including Tanith Lee and David Barnett, for the most part, the fiction side of the house lost money. After a few years, Constantine opted to focus more on esoteric non-fiction, covering such topics as paganism, magic, myth and mythology and Reiki.

In addition to writing more Wraeththu books, Constantine was primary editor for many books Immanion Press published. She laid out many books, including her own, for publication, formatting text, setting up artwork, and preparing the final file to be sent to the printer.

Personal life and death
In the late 1980s, Constantine began using the name Storm Constantine as a pen name and eventually changed her name legally. When asked about her name in a 2010 interview, she said, "I feel that as people grow up, they don't always fit the names they've been given by their parents. So I decided quite early on that I wanted a different name. I chose one I felt would give me assertiveness and confidence."

Constantine lived in Stafford her entire life and was married to Jim Hibbert. They lived in a Victorian terrace house they restored and shared their lives with a menagerie of cats.

Constantine died aged 64 on 14 January 2021 following a long illness.

Wraeththu Chronicles

 * The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit (1987; German translation published by Zauberfeder Verlag in 2006, revised edition published by Immanion Press, 2003)
 * The Bewitchments of Love and Hate (1988; revised edition published by Immanion Press, 2007)
 * The Fulfilments of Fate and Desire (1989; revised edition published by Immanion Press, 2018)
 * Wraeththu (omnibus) published by Tor in 1993

Histories

 * The Wraiths of Will and Pleasure (2003)
 * The Shades of Time and Memory (2004)
 * The Ghosts of Blood and Innocence (2005)

Miscellaneous

 * From Enchantment to Fulfilment (role-playing game) (with Gabriel Strange and Lydia Wood, 2005)
 * Wraeththu: The Picture Book (photography based on Wraeththu books) (2007)

Artemis

 * The Monstrous Regiment (1991)
 * Aleph (1991)

Grigori Trilogy

 * Stalking Tender Prey (1995)
 * Scenting Hallowed Blood (1996)
 * Stealing Sacred Fire (1997)

Magravandias

 * Sea Dragon Heir (1998)
 * The Crown of Silence (2000)
 * The Way of Light (2001)

Alba Sulh sequence

 * The Hienama (2005)
 * Student of Kyme (2008)
 * The Moonshawl (2014)

Standalone novels

 * Hermetech (1991)
 * Burying the Shadow (1992)
 * Sign for the Sacred (1993)
 * Calenture (1994)
 * Thin Air (1999)
 * The Oracle Lips (1999)
 * Silverheart (with Michael Moorcock) (2000)
 * Blood, the Phoenix and a Rose: An Alchymical Triptych (2016)
 * Breathe, My Shadow (2019)

Novellas

 * The Thorn Boy (1999)

Sole author

 * The Oracle Lips (1999)
 * Three Heralds of the Storm (1997)
 * Mythophidia (2008)
 * Mythangelus (2009)
 * Mytholumina (2010)
 * Mythanimus (2011)
 * Splinters of Truth (2016)
 * Mythumbra (2018)
 * A Raven Bound with Lilies: Stories of the Wraeththu Mythos (2017)

Contributor and editor

 * Paragenesis: Stories of the Dawn of Wraeththu (2010) (with Wendy Darling)
 * Para Imminence: Stories of the Future of Wraeththu (2012) (with Wendy Darling)
 * Para Kindred: Enigmas of Wraeththu (2014) (with Wendy Darling)
 * Night's Nieces: The Legacy of Tanith Lee (2015)
 * Dark in the Day (2016) (with Paul Houghton)
 * Para Animalia: Creatures of Wraeththu (2016) (with Wendy Darling)
 * The Darkest Midnight in December (2017)
 * Songs to Earth and Sky: Stories of the Seasons (2017)
 * Para Spectral: Hauntings of Wraeththu (2018) (with Wendy Darling)
 * Para Mort: Wraeththu Tales of Love and Death (2020) (with Wendy Darling)

Contributor
List of select story collections in which Constantine's works have appeared
 * Digital Dreams (1990)
 * Dante's Disciples (1991)
 * Women of Wonder, the Contemporary Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1970s to the 1990s (1995)
 * The Crow: Shattered Lives & Broken Dreams (1999)
 * The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror (2001)
 * The Mammoth Book of Vampire Stories by Women (2001)
 * Ravens in the Library: Magic in the Bard's Name (2009)
 * Magic: An Anthology of the Esoteric and Arcane (2012)
 * Obsession: Tales of Irresistible Desire (2012)
 * Blood Sisters: Vampire Stories by Women (audiobook, 2015)
 * Dreams from the Witch House: Female Voices of Lovecraftian Horror (2016)
 * Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers: Magical Tales of Love and Seduction (2002)
 * Black Thorn, White Rose (Fairy Tale Anthologies Book 2) (2007)

Non-fiction books

 * The Inward Revolution (with Deborah Benstead) (1998)
 * Bast and Sekhmet: Eyes of Ra (with Elouise Coquio) (1999)
 * Egyptian Birth Signs: The Secrets of the Ancient Egyptian Horoscope (2002)
 * Sekhem Heka: A Natural Healing and Self Development System (2008)
 * What a Long Strange Trip It's Been: Wilderness Tips for World of Warcraft (2011)
 * Whatnots & Curios: A Selection of Articles and Reviews (2015)
 * SHE: Primal Meetings with the Dark Goddess (2019) (with Andrew Collins)

Grimoires

 * Wraeththu: Grimoire Dehara
 * Grimoire Dehara: Kaimana (2011)
 * Grimoire Dehara: Ulani (2016) (with Taylor Ellwood)
 * Grimoire Dehara: Nahir Nuri (2017) (with Taylor Ellwood)
 * Coming Forth By Day: A System of Khematic Magic (2019)

title: Storm Constantine


text: User talk:165.138.213.10

title: User talk:165.138.213.10