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Assassin's Apprentice

Assassin's Apprentice is a fantasy novel by American writer Robin Hobb, the first book in The Farseer Trilogy. It was Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden's first book under this pseudonym, and was published in 1995. The book was written under the working title Chivalry’s Bastard.

The novel covers the early life of FitzChivalry, a royal bastard living in Buckkeep Castle as he begins his training as an assassin and successfully safeguards the throne from his over-ambitious uncle Regal, almost at the cost of his life. The stories of characters found in the Farseer Trilogy continue in the Tawny Man Trilogy and the Fitz and the Fool Trilogy. Other series, The Liveship Traders and The Rain Wild Chronicles, are set in the same world and in the same timeframe, with some crossover.

Plot summary
A six-year-old boy is taken by his maternal grandfather to the Farseers' army base in Moonseye, the Six Duchies' outpost on the border of the Mountain Kingdom. His grandfather says he is King-in-Waiting Chivalry's bastard son. The boy is brought to Prince Verity, the second Son of King Shrewd who is currently in command of Moonseye. Verity orders that the boy be given into the care of Burrich, Chivalry's right-hand man and stableman, who calls the boy, who does not know his own name, "Fitz." With Burrich, Fitz travels to Buckkeep, the seat of the Farseer throne. Before Fitz arrives, Chivalry abdicates from the post of King-in-Waiting so that there will not be uncertainty about his bastard son's claim to the throne. Chivalry retires to the royal holdings of Withywoods with his wife Lady Patience without ever meeting Fitz. Chivalry's and Verity's younger half-brother, Prince Regal, despises Fitz and treats him badly when he arrives.

Burrich is left with the task of raising Fitz and trains him as a stable boy. Fitz is treated poorly for being a bastard, so he becomes a close friend of a young dog named Nosy. Fitz possesses what is known as Wit, an ancient and distrusted magic which allows him to communicate telepathically with animals. He 'bonds' with Nosy, but this is discovered by Burrich. With apparent disgust, he takes Nosy away, thus breaking the bond, and warns Fitz not to use the Wit, which is widely seen as a perversion. The only other companionship Fitz finds is with children living in Buckkeep town — in particular, a girl called Molly.

Fitz is desperately lonely and seemingly has no prospects, but he catches the attention of King Shrewd, who sees that a bastard can be either a threat or an asset to the royal line. Fitz swears fealty to the king. He is taken into the castle proper and is schooled, taught combat skills, and develops a sense of loyalty to the Farseer line, especially King-in-Waiting Verity. One night he is introduced to a recluse named Chade Fallstar, who is a skilled assassin and spy. Fitz agrees to secretly learn Chade's skills and complete minor assassin work for King Shrewd. Meanwhile, Chivalry dies when thrown from a horse, but it is strongly suspected that Queen Desire, King Shrewd's second wife and Regal's mother, has had him assassinated. The widowed Lady Patience arrives at Buckkeep, where she and Fitz become close, and he adopts the name "FitzChivalry." Lady Patience gives Fitz a puppy, which he names Smithy and secretly forms a Wit bond with.

The coastal regions of the Six Duchies are being attacked by Outislanders known as the Red-Ship Raiders. The Raiders rampage through villages and towns, killing and taking hostages while stealing little, making their attacks seem to lack a motive. The hostages are returned, reduced to a brutal, emotionless state driven only by desire; they are named the Forged Ones. Forged Ones become robbers that plunder the countryside; Fitz is ordered by Chade to secretly kill many of them, and he finds he cannot sense them with his Wit at all. Verity fights the Raiders with the Skill, a magic found in the Farseer bloodline which allows its users to share thoughts and strength, which weakens him. Fitz becomes "King's Man" to Verity, allowing Verity to link with him to draw out Skill strength for his own use.

Fitz is made part of a class of students to be taught in the Skill to help Verity. The teacher, Galen, despises Fitz, treating him without respect and abusing the students. He tries to kill Fitz, then, with more success, sabotages his Skill training with mental blocks. During the last test of Galen's Skill classes, Galen sends Fitz to Forge, ostensibly to see if he can use the Skill to get back. Fitz is attacked by Forged Ones, although he manages to return safely. While he is away, Galen arranges an assassination attempt on Burrich which Fitz witnesses through Smithy's eyes. Smithy saves Burrich but is killed.

To gain allies against the Raiders, Prince Verity is to be married to Princess Kettricken of the neighboring Mountain Kingdom. Fitz travels there with orders from Shrewd to assassinate Kettricken's brother, Prince Rurisk, to bring Verity closer to the throne, based on information from Regal. However, this is compromised when Regal reveals Fitz's secret mission to Kettricken while drunk and Regal's information proves to be false. Fitz discovers a plan to steal the throne for Regal with the help of Galen, who tries to assassinate Verity using the Skill. Rurisk is poisoned and killed, leaving Kettricken the sole heir of the Mountain Kingdom. Fitz is poisoned by Regal but manages to contact Verity using the Skill to help him kill Galen. Fitz is rescued by his dog Nosy, who was not killed by Burrich, but sent to the Mountain Kingdom as a gift. Fitz recovers slowly, with lasting effects on his health. He laments the death of Nosy during that event and the pain of an older narrator at writing this.

Reception
Assassin’s Apprentice earned generally positive reviews. Publishers Weekly stated the book was "a gleaming debut in the crowded field of epic fantasies and Arthurian romances." Kirkus Reviews found the story to be "satisfyingly self-contained yet leaving plenty of scope for future extensions and embellishments." Reviewer Adam Miller praised the novel's characters for being "deep and complex."

Influence
The Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation used this book as inspiration for their song "Hand of Sorrow" from their album The Heart of Everything. British girl group Kitchen Party cited the novel as an inspiration for their 2013 single "Fitz's Poem".

Editions

 * An American English paperback edition was issued in New York by Bantam Books in 1995 with ISBN 0-553-37445-1. The cover of this edition is illustrated by Michael Whelan.
 * A British English hardback edition was issued in London by Voyager/HarperCollins in 1995 with ISBN 0-00-224606-6. This edition's cover is illustrated by John Howe.
 * A British English clothbound edition was issued in London by Voyager/HarperCollins in 2013 with ISBN 978-0-00-749155-1.
 * In September 2020, Folio Society released an illustrated hardback edition of the trilogy, with illustrations by David Palumbo.

title: Assassin's Apprentice


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Royal Assassin

Royal Assassin is a fantasy novel by American writer Robin Hobb, the second book in The Farseer Trilogy. It was published in 1996.

Plot summary
FitzChivalry has survived Prince Regal's attempt to poison him, but is left weak and prone to unpredictable seizures. Fitz vows to never return to Buckkeep and his king. A vision of Molly fending off an attack by Red-ship Raiders convinces him otherwise, and he returns to the royal court of the Six Duchies.

At Buckkeep, Fitz is immediately embroiled in the intrigues of the royal family. Molly is alive, but she has been left a pauper by her father's death and debts, and serves as a lady's maid at Buckkeep. She and Fitz admit their love for each other and begin a relationship. When Fitz approaches King Shrewd for permission to marry, Shrewd reveals he has already pledged Fitz to the daughter of a duke. Fitz and Molly are left to conduct their courtship in secret, not only because of Shrewd's command, but to keep Molly safe from Fitz's enemies at the court.

King-in-Waiting Verity is consumed by the need to protect the Duchies' coast from the Red-ships, using his Skill to stave off Raider attacks, but failing to give attention to Kettricken, his new queen. King Shrewd suffers a mysterious wasting disease whose pain only mind-clouding drugs can abate, which Fitz suspects is the doing of Regal and his followers. Bands of Forged Ones begin to converge on Buckkeep, which Fitz secretly assassinates. Fitz rescues a young wolf, Nighteyes, and forms a Wit bond with him despite the danger of discovery. Regal and his lackeys come close to discovering that Fitz is Witted, and Fitz struggles to use the Skill to guard his mind.

After their relationship is strained by Fitz's duties and inability to marry her, Molly tells him that she is leaving him and Buck forever for the sake of another. Fitz desperately reveals his biggest secret, that he is an assassin. Molly is instead repulsed and rejects Fitz with finality. Galen's Skill coterie is supposed to help Verity fight the Raiders, but unsent messages and late warnings leave the coastal Duchies easy prey. Verity decides to journey to the mountains to seek the Elderlings, legendary beings that defended the Six Duchies in the past. This leaves Regal free to begin amassing power and loyalty to himself. Shrewd grows more weak and addled. Even the Fool is not safe from Regal, though he hints to Fitz that he has a great destiny. Fitz and Kettricken leave to quell a Raider attack on the coast. While they are gone, Regal announces that word has come that Verity is dead, and makes himself King-in-Waiting.

Using his mostly uncontrollable Skill, Fitz discovers that Verity is still alive, but to say this in the court where Regal now holds power would mean death. After an attempt is made on the life of Verity's unborn heir, Fitz and his mentors Chade and Burrich make plans to spirit King Shrewd and Kettricken, now pregnant, safely out of Regal's reach. Shrewd dies in an attempt to Skill to Verity before the plans can be carried out. However, Fitz gets a glimpse of the true source of the King's long illness and death: Serene and Justin, two members of the coterie, have been using their Skill to slowly drain King Shrewd's life away. Fitz takes the King's blade and immediately assassinates Serene, then hunts down and kills Justin in front of much of the court. Meanwhile, Kettricken manages to escape Buck with the Fool.

Fitz is imprisoned and accused of homicide, regicide, and exposed for using the Wit. Regal, in an attempt to get Fitz to confess to his alleged crimes, tortures Fitz both physically and mentally by having him beaten while a member of the coterie, Will, assaults Fitz with the Skill. Fitz, knowing his mind and body cannot sustain any more punishment, uses the Wit to leave his body behind and join with his wolf, Nighteyes.

After his death, Fitz is publicly pronounced guilty of all charges, and his body is buried by his last remaining supporter, Lady Patience. However, Burrich and Chade exhume Fitz's body and, after much coaxing, convince him to leave Nighteyes' mind and go back into his own body. Looking back on his past, an older Fitz laments the loss of freedom and simplicity he experienced as a wolf.

Reception
Royal Assassin has received mostly positive reviews. Reviewers have generally praised the book's characterization and its climactic ending. Of the book, Kirkus Reviews stated the novel is a "spellbinding installment, built of patient detail, believable characters, and mature plotting—though, at an unwarranted 608 pages, there are ominous signs that Hobb's beginning to lose control of her narrative."

Editions

 * An American English paperback edition was issued in New York by Bantam Books in 1996 with ISBN 0-553-37563-6.
 * A British English hardback edition was issued in London by Voyager/HarperCollins in 1996 with ISBN 0-00-224607-4. This edition's cover is illustrated by John Howe.
 * In September 2020, Folio Society released a new illustrated hardback edition of the trilogy, with illustrations by David Palumbo.

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

title: Royal Assassin


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Shadow King

The Shadow King (Amahl Farouk) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is particularly associated with the X-Men family of comics. His nemesis is the X-Men's leader, Professor X, while he also figures into the backstory of the X-Man Storm. As originally introduced, Farouk was a human mutant from Egypt who used his vast telepathic abilities for evil, taking the alias Shadow King. Later writers established Farouk as only the modern incarnation of an ancient evil entity that has been around since the dawn of humanity, who became one with Farouk when he grew older.

The Shadow King has appeared in various adaptations of X-Men stories. The character's live-action debut is as the primary antagonist in the television series Legion, portrayed by Aubrey Plaza and Navid Negahban.

Publication history
Created by writer Chris Claremont and illustrator/co-writer John Byrne, the character the Shadow King first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #117 (January 1979) as the telepathic mutant Amahl Farouk.

X-Treme X-Men and X-Men: True Friends reveal the Shadow King to be an entity of the astral plane which has existed since the dawn of humanity, an ethereal demon preferring to enslave the bodies of telepaths and psychics and use their capabilities to enslave others. As a side effect of its greed, hedonism and lack of self-control, the Shadow King's long-term telepathic hosts are often morbidly obese.

Fictional character biography
The Shadow King's origins are unclear. All that is known is that he was living in Morocco until the 1800s before taking Farouk as a host. He claims to be a multiversal manifestation of the dark side of the human consciousnesses, spawned by the first nightmare, and has since been feeding on the shadows in their souls, transferring from host to host since the dawn of humanity and suggested that like him, Annihilation, the Adversary, the First Fallen, le Bete Noir and the Goblin Force are all part of a cosmic pantheon which are different masks worn by a singular force of evil.

For many years, the Shadow King's primary human manifestation was Amahl Farouk. His powers developed he could psychically control those around him, and merged with the Shadow King. As Farouk, the Shadow King originally confronted Professor X which inspired the latter to form the X-Men.

As Amahl Farouk in the 1930s
The Shadow King was known as Amahl Farouk in 1931, working for two of Adolf Hitler's special agents (Wolfgang von Strucker and Geist). Von Strucker and Geist planned to dethrone King Edward of England and replace him with a fascist ruler sympathetic to Hitler. When Farouk conducted a mystical ceremony, he accidentally brought back Phoenix Force host Rachel Summers and her teammate Shadowcat (also known as Kitty Pryde). Von Strucker began to doubt Farouk's abilities. The Shadow King quickly possessed Rachel Summers and, as Shadowcat escaped, allied herself with Alasdhair Kinross. Farouk kidnapped the heir to the throne, Lilibet, and fled to Edinburgh. When Shadowcat tried to reach Summers telepathically, she found Farouk in control. Pryde surprised Farouk by calling him "Shadow King", enabling her to escape. Farouk took control of Kinross and tried to kill them both, but Pryde used her phasing powers to disrupt Kinross's nervous system and knock him out. Although Farouk was going to sacrifice Kinross to demons in return for a spell which would annihilate the English monarchy, he was interrupted by Kitty and his crystal knife shattered. The demons entered Farouk's body, overpowering him. He began dispersing energy, killing all the Nazi soldiers; von Strucker accused him of treason and tried to shoot him. Farouk transformed into the Shadow King and tried to force Pryde and Kinross to fight, but they were saved by the young Logan. Phoenix unleashed her power on Farouk, but she was subdued and possessed. Lilibet escaped, fleeing to Holyrood House. Farouk possessed the house's servants and sent them and Phoenix in pursuit. Logan ambushed Farouk, von Strucker and Geist, but Farouk had Summers and the servants attack him. Farouk then possessed Pryde and Lilibet. Pryde began talking about the future and the fall of Hitler; Lilibet attacked Farouk, disabling him enough for Pryde to disrupt his nervous system (stunning them both and giving Summers time to regain control of herself). Farouk recovered and tried to retake his prisoners, but Phoenix fought on the astral plane. Phoenix was going to kill him when Pryde struck them with the Sword of Scones, causing them to return to their bodies; Farouk's body was supposedly destroyed by an energy blast from the sword but later when questioned by Rachel if they had killed Farouk, Pryde reveals that they had for the moment only weakened him.

Confrontation with Charles Xavier
In 1971, Farouk returned and met V-Battalion leader James Watkins Jr. Watkins offered him V-Battalion support if Farouk could obtain information about the Everlasting. Farouk gave Watkins the name of Marduk.

Farouk became a crime lord in Egypt, controlling Cairo's Thieves Quarter (where the young Charles Xavier's pocket was picked by the child Ororo Munroe). After Xavier stopped her and retrieved his wallet, he was struck by a bolt of psionic energy. When he recovered, he discovered that the source of the attack was a nearby tavern (where he met Farouk). Sitting at separate tables, they conversed telepathically. Farouk told Xavier that he sensed another telepath nearby, and the attack was a warning to stay clear of the area. He unsuccessfully tried to persuade Xavier to join him in his criminal activities; Xavier believed that people with such gifts should use them to better the world. They assumed astral form, and Xavier defeated Farouk on the astral plane with a fatal psionic attack. Farouk was Xavier's first encounter with an evil mutant, which led to the formation of the X-Men. His psyche still on the Astral plane, Farouk awaited another chance to fight Xavier (whom he now feared).

New Mutants
The Shadow King became aware of a young mutant, Karma, a member of the New Mutants with the psychic ability to possess other beings. In one of the team's earliest missions, Karma was apparently killed in an explosion at the Viper's hideout. However, the Shadow King used Karma's powers against her to possess her.

As Karma, the Shadow King rebuilt his worldwide empire while indulging his gluttony through her body. He used her to control the Gladiators, a group of mutants, by using a holographic image of leader Alexander Flynn.

The Shadow King used the Gladiators to abduct Magma and Sunspot, forcing them to fight each other until teammates Cannonball, Shadowcat, Dazzler, and Magik tried to rescue them. In their battle to escape the Gladiators, Cannonball and Shadowcat recognized their obese antagonist as Karma (not realizing that she was controlled by the Shadow King).

The team followed Karma to Madripoor, where they were subjected to Karma's mind control (augmented by the Shadow King). The remaining New Mutants and Storm fought their teammates in Cairo, where Karma took control of Storm and Mirage. Magik, realizing that Karma was possessed by the Shadow King, released her teammates from Karma's control and Karma from the Shadow King. After losing his host, the Shadow King transferred to Cypher; Karma entered the astral plane, apparently destroying his astral form.

Muir Island saga
The Shadow King resurfaced during the Muir Island Saga many years later in the body of deceased FBI agent Jacob Reisz when Storm had been sent back to childhood by the Nanny and woke up with amnesia. Forge used meditation to enter the astral plane, discovering that Storm was still alive but at the cost of his cybernetic arm. When the Shadow King tried to claim the child, he was questioned about his motives, at which point he killed a man and framed Storm. On Muir Island, the telepath Legion used Cerebro to look for Storm and the other X-Men when the Shadow King attacked and possessed him; he also controlled Moira MacTaggert and Valerie Cooper, after which he sent Valerie Cooper to kill Mystique. The Shadow King set a trap to capture Storm. Her youth gave her less control of her mutant powers, and when he tried to possess her mind she involuntarily hit him with a lightning bolt, but he soon found her with Gambit. They worked together to fight him, escaping with the Shadow King's hounds in pursuit. Mystique defeated Valerie Cooper and impersonated her, appearing on television to report Mystique's death. Part of Carol Danvers separated from Rogue and traveled to Muir Island, where she was forced to fight Legion and Moira MacTaggert, when she emerged from the Siege Perilous in the X-Men's former Australian hideout. Although she defeated them, she was possessed by the Shadow King. He compelled her to go to the Savage Land to find Rogue, but she was defeated on arrival by Magneto. The Shadow King, with his ambitious schemes, was afraid of being identified by other telepaths. He needed a nexus between the astral and psionic planes to generate a disturbance which would affect other telepaths. Polaris' powers had been recently altered by Zaladane, and he chose Polaris as his nexus.

Jean Grey tried to access the astral plane with Cerebro, but the Shadow King overrode Cerebro's defenses and noticed that Jean had lost her telepathic powers and was helpless. He tried to turn her into his Shadow Queen, but Psylocke unaware of who he was, threatened him with her psi-blade but ended using it on Jean instead, returning her to the physical world; however, they could not remember the details of the encounter and his identity was not yet compromised. His control over Muir Island was only uncovered when Professor X probed Colossus' mind after the latter tried to kill him.

The X-Men sent a task force which included Storm, Forge, Gambit, Banshee, Wolverine and Jubilee to remove his influence. The Shadow King sent his slaves to defend the island, and they defeated the invaders. Xavier understood that he needed a human host and a nexus to continue his exploits, and planned to cut both the links. Mystique revealed herself and shot Jacob Reisz in the head, destroying his brain and killing the Shadow King's human host. Due to shock and the removal of the Shadow King's host, Legion became unstable. X-Factor discovered that his nexus was Polaris, but the Shadow King took possession of Legion. He ordered the slaves to hide underground because he was going to use Legion's power to destroy the surface of Muir Island. Jean Grey's telekinesis protected X-Factor and the X-Men.

Xavier then used Jean as a psi-anchor to fight the Shadow King in the astral plane, but he was defeated; reveling in making Xavier suffer, he issued psychic attacks so intense that they manifested as physical damage, breaking Xavier's legs and crippling him in the process. Archangel, Colossus, Cyclops and Storm joined Jean in the astral plane to help Xavier, unaware of Legion's body nearby. Although they gave Xavier willpower and energy, the possessed Legion destroyed a large swath of Muir island; upon awakening, Xavier acknowledges that his physical damage has returned him to a paraplegic state. Forge uses Psylocke's psi-blade on Polaris, breaking the Shadow King's link to the nexus, after which his energy dissipated overcoming the X-Men. Xavier and Jean tried to absorb whatever they could and shield the others. Xavier offered the Shadow King a chance to redeem himself, but he opted for the void and Legion was left in a coma.

Psi-War
After the Onslaught incident in which Charles Xavier lost his powers, the Shadow King could return to the physical world since the psionic plane had lost its guardian. Posing as "Ananasi", the Shadow King took over the African tribe who worshiped Storm. After attacking one of her relatives, Psylocke took Storm to the astral plane to fight "Ananasi" only to find the villagers’ minds set up in a distinct pattern. Before they can discern the reasoning, "Ananasi" attacks Psylocke and brings up her past failures and how she was always considered a redundant Jean Grey-wannabe. Ainet finds Storm and tells her the truth, but "Ananasi" buries Storm under bones of her dead friends before she can tell Betsy the truth. Psylocke falls into Ananasi’s trap and accidentally hits one of the villagers with her psi-blade. This caused a chain reaction that cripples the entire psionic plan itself, damaging the collective subconscious of every being on Earth (the basis of the psi-plane) as well as all psi-sensitive in the corporeal world. Humans experienced déjà vu, nightmares, migraines or nosebleeds, and those born with psionic, telepathic or intuitive abilities were maimed; Jean and Nate Grey, Cable, Emma Frost, Chamber and Bianca LaNiege were devastated. "Maddie" Pryor (Nate Grey's psionic construct from Madelyne Pryor's psionic remnants) was obliterated, and Dr. Strange and Spider-Man were also affected while Psylocke is left as a discombobulated mess, as "Ananasi" reveals himself to be the Shadow King, now free of any opposition on the Psionic Plane. With the world's telepaths crippled, the Shadow King ascends to dominance and, one by one, begins to corrupt mankind. He explains to Psylocke that although he was defeated and thought dead by Charles Xavier at Muir Island, as long as one dark thought exists in man, he can live. He went into hibernation, for the lack of a better word. He eventually bids her farewell forever as he teleports away and Psylocke turns to stone and then falls apart. Yet the Crimson Dawn saves Psylocke once again and resurrects her, this time with an all black psi-form and the ability to command the shadows of the Psionic Plane, which allow her to go undetected by the Shadow King. She eventually confronts the Shadow King and pretends to be tempted by his offer to become the Shadow Queen to distract him while Storm freed the other X-Men. However Farouk saw through the ruse; Psylocke sent the X-Men to the physical world and takes the fight directly to the Shadow King, who stretches his powers to the maximum to infect every mind on Earth. Psylocke is intoxicated by the power, but keeps her focus and discovers that the Shadow King has left his nexus, the soul of every person on the Psionic Plane, exposed as his body unravels to reach every mind. Psylocke uses her shadows to contain the nexus and the Shadow King is trapped, but only as long as Psylocke focuses her telepathy on him, which means she can never use her powers again or else he will be set free. Psylocke leaves the Psionic Plane for the last time and reveals what happened to Storm.

Sometime later the Shadow King reached Psylocke's mind when she's forced to use Cerebro to cleansed Logan of the Death persona with a little push from each of Logan's closest friends, but Archangel experienced a metamorphosis of his own from his close contact to Apocalypse's handiwork. The Shadow King eventually managed to convince Betsy to release him in order to help Warren but before she reaches him, Warren himself mysteriously appears on her mind and stop her from setting him free, sending the Shadow King back to his prison when Betsy disconnected herself from Cerebro.

Freedom
The Shadow King was eventually released from his prison when Psylocke perished in combat with the mutant hunter, Vargas. Once again free, he possessed the Reavers and attempted to attack the X-Men. However, Rogue used her acquired memories as well as Sage's computer like mind and attacked the Shadow King, binding his core as Psylocke had done.

New Excalibur
Due to the events of House of M, the Shadow King was released from his prison and was able to escape to an alternate reality, Earth-6141. Once there, he possessed their version of Professor X and then corrupted the original X-Men (whom he called the Dark X-Men). He maintained constant telepathic contact and control over them and forced them to kill all the heroes of their world. The Scarlet Witch's Decimation Wave enabled the Shadow King to bring himself and his team to Earth-616 in order to gain revenge on those who had crossed him. He tried to kill Captain Britain with the controlled New Excalibur, but was again defeated by Psylocke (who was revived by her brother, Jamie Braddock). The Dark X-Men tried to free Xavier from his prison with the help of Lionheart. Lionheart sealed the Shadow King in the Dark Xavier's body, releasing the Shadow-X from his control and killed Dark Xavier therefore sending the Shadow King back to the Astral plane.

X-Men: Worlds Apart
The Shadow King reappeared in Wakanda, where he killed a Wakandan priest and framed former New X-Men member Gentle. He then controlled Black Panther to confront his longtime enemy (and T'Challa's wife) Storm. The Shadow King intended to break Storm psychologically, forcing her to choose between the X-Men and her husband. He forced Cyclops to attack Emma Frost and the rest of the X-Men in California and forced the Black Panther to wreak havoc in Africa. While Storm raced to save the Black Panther and the X-Men, she recognized a third option: to take down the one responsible for making her choose. Storm defeated the Black Panther and flew with Gentle to San Francisco, taking down Gentle and the rest of the active X-Men (controlled by the Shadow King). She struck Cyclops (the Shadow King's host) with a bolt of lightning, stopping his heart and forcing the Shadow King to possess Storm. This was a trap; when he entered Storm's mind, the Shadow King found the panther god Bast waiting for him. Storm revealed that she allowed the Wakanda panther god to hide in her mind to avenge the Shadow King for violating T'Challa's mind. Bast essentially and literally devoured the Shadow King's astral form. Farouk's plan to cut Storm off from her relationships instead strengthened them.

Brotherhood of Evil Mutants
The Shadow King's nexus survived however and when he recuperated he took over a military base's nuclear facility to use its missiles, aiming them at Utopia and New York. The X-Force headed to the military base after losing contact with Deadpool (who was investigating the psychic emanations felt by Betsy), learning that the Shadow King controlled the base.

He told Psylocke that her mind is an open book to him, and releases Archangel from his psychic prison in Warren's memory in revenge; Archangel cuts off the Shadow King's "head", erasing Betsy's memory and enabling her to kill the man who was under the Shadow King's influence. The Shadow King gave a reporter photographs of Warren killing the military, forcing the squad to apprehend their teammate and seek help from Dark Beast. As Farouk, the Shadow King appeared as a member of Daken's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (consisting of Sabretooth, Mystique, Skinless Man, the Blob from Earth-295, and the Omega Clan) in a plot to attack the X-Force.

He created an illusion of the Professor and Angel to catch Psylocke off-guard, expressing disappointment at the ease of defeating the warrior who caged him. Farouk was with the Brotherhood as they watched the apparent death of the X-Force. He, Creed and Daken showed Evan that his life was a computer-generated illusion and he was a clone of Apocalypse. The Brotherhood unsuccessfully planned to compel Evan to put on Apocalypse armor, make the Shadow King control him and destroy Jean Grey's school. Psylocke locked the Shadow King in Omega White's body and entrusted it to her brother, Captain Britain.

Apparently Brian or someone at his command had sealed the Shadow King's host body in a tomb in the Gobi Desert where it was eventually found in stasis erroneously trapped inside Omega Black's body by the Crimson Pirates and unwittingly released by their telepath, Bloody Bess. He possessed the Pirates except for Bess, who appealed to Nightcrawler for help. Nightcrawler and Bess fought the Pirates and the X-Men, who were controlled by the Shadow King. He was defeated when Bess and Psylocke threw off his mind control and sent Nightcrawler against him armed with Psylocke's psi-blade, which stunned him long enough to be interred again in Omega Black's body.

Psi-War II
The Shadow King has since been revealed to be imprisoned in the Astral Plane, but still trying to force his way out to the physical world. He began targeting psychics to build a web in order to escape the Astral Plane and the first one was Psylocke, who fell prey to him and would have released him if not for the intervention of Rogue, Old Man Logan, Warren, Bishop, Gambit and Fantomex. Knowing now that others psychics can fall prey too, Psylocke sends to the Astral Plane her teammates in order to defeat the Shadow King, unaware that he had changed, now half-human half-spider and is waiting for them. He also reveals that he has imprisoned in his realm the astral form of Professor Xavier.

As they arrive, they quickly fall into the Shadow King's illusions and if they don't break it their bodies and souls will fall under his control. Old Man Logan suddenly remembers everything and helps the other X-Men realize that the Shadow King is affecting their memories. As the room they are in transforms, they see three doors in front of them. Logan mentions that while the Shadow King is controlling things there are two minds involved in whatever they are in, which is how he figured out the play was fake. In the battle's final moments, Shadow King spread a psychic infection on London before the X-Men ultimately defeated him with Fantomex donating his body to Professor X's astral form while his mind remained in the Astral Plane. Professor Xavier now using the alias of X, controlled the psychic infection which was soon afterwards revealed to be actually Proteus which X unwittingly reconstituted back. X then convinced Psylocke to form a psychic network and draw its power to push back Proteus' influence, however the Shadow King had planted a portion of himself in Xavier's mind and took advantage of this strategy and accessed the network to escape from the Astral Plane through X's body. After the Shadow King defeated the X-Men, X managed to recover and worked together with Psylocke to create a deeper psychic network to defeated him once and for all. X erased the memories of all of the X-Men involved in his return save for Psylocke so she could watch over him in case the Shadow King wasn't truly gone from his mind.

Dawn of X
During the "Empyre" storyline, Amahl Farouk is among the psychic mutants that are summoned to Genosha to help deal with a seed pod-type bomb that is vulnerable to psychic attacks, and it's revealed that Amahl and the Shadow King are actually two different individuals. Having been born in Egypt Eyalet, to a merchant trader, during the sixteenth century, Amahl Farouk is a mutant whose psychic powers emerged at a young age. Amahl then used them to protect the market from thieves, until tragedy would eventually arrive to the market in the form of a plague. The young Amahl sat with his dying father and tried to use his telepathic powers to prevent the inevitable, suggesting that his telepathic powers likely allowed him to "feel" his father's death as partly his own. With his father dead and the market gone, the young mutant had nothing to tether him to the city until he was approached by the Shadow King, who promised the boy a chance to never be alone again. From that moment on, Amahl was immersed in darkness as he joined with the Shadow King. Also while Amahl Farouk himself has already been seen on Krakoa, it wasn't clear if the Shadow King was still a part of the mutant's life, until a group of young mutants finishes their training and head for the caves on Krakoa, far from their instructors. There, Amahl Farouk, clearly still possessed by the Shadow King, awaits them to listening intently to the young X-Men and doubtlessly planning something sinister for the youngest mutants.

In time, the Shadow King sets his plans in motion and begins seducing several young mutants who are unsure of themselves, including Gabrielle Kinney and Rahne Sinclair. However, Gabrielle begins to suspect Farouk and is subsequently killed by Rahne, whom he had placed under his mind control. Gabrielle is resurrected, and confronted by the senior New Mutants, Farouk draws them and Gabrielle's clique into the astral plane. The young mutants confront the Shadow King, encouraging Farouk to dissolve his connection with him, restoring his human mind and personality. Scarred by his connection with the Shadow King, Farouk leaves Krakoa, with the endorsement of the New Mutants, to undergo rehabilitation.

The Shadow King
Originally presented as a telepathic mutant second only to Professor X, the Shadow King is truly a multi-universal ethereal entity extending into each reality as a tendril of its larger self. It was spawned by the first nightmare, and preys on the bodies of powerful psychics. He uses captive psychics to enslave others, while feeding off their negative energy. He causes the captives to slowly merge with his own essence. In its native form, the Shadow King is able to possess other beings and although he can be harmed psychically or by magic weapons, he is incapable of truly being killed or expelled permanently. He is effectively immortal as long as one dark thought exists in man.

He can influence many individuals telepathically, but typically chooses only one host to occupy with his disembodied spirit. This host body effectively becomes the Shadow King's own. The Shadow King can somehow physically repair damage to the host. Although taking a host gives him more power on the physical plane, it also makes him vulnerable. Killing the Shadow King's host can disperse his astral essence, and it may take months or even years for him to manifest his astral form again.

Amahl Farouk
Amahl Farouk is a powerful psychic mutant with the ability to read minds and project his own thoughts into the minds of others. He is able to create realistic telepathic illusions. He can cause people to experience imaginary events, through influencing their perception of reality. His psychic powers might have gotten stronger after becoming a vessel to the Shadow King.

Reception

 * In 2017, WhatCulture ranked Shadow King 8th in their "10 Most Evil X-Men Villains" list.

Other versions
In an alternate universe, the Shadow King conquered the Hellfire Club. In the Mutant X dimension, he merged with Professor Xavier to form an evil being.

Age of Apocalypse
In the Age of Apocalypse storyline, the Shadow King story is essentially unchanged. He assumes the guise of crime lord Amahl Farouk and encounters Charles Xavier; they wage a psychic battle on the astral plane which kills Farouk's body, forcing his mind to move there. When Xavier died, the Shadow King became an agent of Apocalypse and appeared as a cloudy face in a bottle in his sanctum. Apocalypse used him to hunt down resisting mutants with powerful psionic powers, and train those that do agree to come aboard.

The Shadow King was the first to sense the presence of Nate Grey, forcing Apocalypse to send Domino and her Bounty Hunters to capture or kill him. When Angel's assistant Karma was captured by Apocalypse's servants, the Shadow King psychically tortured her into revealing the location of Magneto's X-Men. He later attempted to read the mind of Bishop, but Bishop's memory of the original reality (Earth-616) was enough to expel the Shadow King from his mind. Finally, the Shadow King followed Nightcrawler to the sanctuary of Avalon by hiding in the mind of Dead Man Wade. There he took control of the minds of the many of Avalon's mutant and human refugees, causing great carnage. Nightcrawler, with the assistance of the psychic and Shadow King's former student Damask, the time-stopping Switchback and Mystique, was able to physically teleport into the astral plane and defeat the Shadow King. The casualties caused by the Shadow King's attack were enough to convince Destiny to accompany Nightcrawler and the X-Men on a mission to Apocalypse's stronghold; Following his defeat on Avalon, the Shadow King was next seen reporting to Apocalypse about Domino's failure to capture Nate Grey and inform Apocalypse about the destruction of the Southwest Kingdom by the Eurasian High Council's radioactive bombs.

After Weapon X betrayed the X-Men and become the heir of Apocalypse, the Shadow King became his agent and chief telepath, though there are some hierarchy issues between him and Weapon X.

Ultimate Marvel
In the Ultimate X-Men series, Ultimate Amahl Farouk appeared as Storm's lover and the leader of the group of thieves to which she and Lady Deathstrike belonged. After Storm discovered her powers, she sent him into a coma after accidentally electrocuting him. His mind went to another dimension, where he encountered the Brood and others and became the Shadow King. After returning in the present-day, he subtly manipulated Storm's dreams, causing Ororo to write down her inflicted visions in an online play called "The Shadow King". Soon, Farouk took direct action, dragging Ororo into the astral plane after a tiring battle and confronting her about her past. Once he revealed the circumstances of his transformation into the Shadow King, he attacked the X-Men with his Brood army; however, Storm's willingness to let go of the past allowed her to once again attack Farouk, but intentionally, and his form disappeared from the plane, implying that he had died in the physical realm. His attack on the X-Men with the Brood was also revealed to be a ruse on Farouk's part, to trick Ororo into killing him.

X-Men '92
In Marvel's 2015 Secret Wars storyline, the 1992 X-Men animated series was adapted into a limited series where this reality was made into the Battleworld domain of Westchester. In the series, Cassandra Nova runs a rehabilitation center for former villains, but is secretly possessed by the Shadow King. He planned on killing the Battlezone's baron, Senator Kelly, but is stopped when X-Force rescues the X-Men.

Live action

 * Amahl Farouk / Shadow King appears as the main antagonist in the FX TV series Legion, portrayed primarily by Aubrey Plaza in the first season (in the form of Lenny Busker) and Navid Negahban in the second and third seasons (in his original likeness).  Prior to the revelation of the character's identity, he was referred to by David Haller as "the Devil with the Yellow Eyes" (portrayed by Quinton Boisclair). The Shadow King takes several forms over the course of the series other than his real form, including the aforementioned "Devil" form of an obese man with thin, long limbs, Haller's childhood dog King, the "Angry Boy" (portrayed by Devyn Dalton) who is a manifestation of the title character from the children's book The World's Angriest Boy in the World, Haller's friend in the Clockworks Institute - (Lenny) Busker, and a friend from his youth named Benny (portrayed by Kirby Morrow). Originally a mutant enemy of Professor X, the Shadow King's consciousness escaped his death and latched on to David as a kind of psychic parasite, using David's mutant abilities to grow stronger. His presence influenced David's mental instability and the way the latter perceives reality resulting in the form of schizophrenia. Eventually, Farouk assumes his true appearance during his quest to find his original body, which resembles that of his comics counterpart, being of Middle-Eastern appearance, sporting three-piece suits and the signature circular sunglasses.

Animation

 * Shadow King appears in two episodes of X-Men: The Animated Series (1992–97), voiced by Maurice Dean Wint. In flashbacks he is the first evil mutant faced by the younger Charles Xavier who banished his spirit to the astral plane. Farouk is depicted as an athletic, middle-aged bearded man instead of his bald, obese appearance in the comics.
 * Shadow King appears in the Wolverine and the X-Men episode "Overflow", voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson. In a flashback, Farouk takes in Ororo Munroe to steal for him until Professor X defeats him, the battle destroying his body. In the present, he finds his way to and possesses Storm who he forces to see Africa burning; Storm tries to extinguish the fire, but is unaware that the efforts are the destruction's real cause. The X-Men confront the Shadow King, allowing anyone he could use as a host to get away which weakens him enough for Emma Frost to fight him on the astral plane and apparently destroy him with a telepathic sword.

Video games

 * Shadow King is one of three primary villains in the video game X-Men Legends, voiced by Dorian Harewood. He first traps Ilyana in the Astral Plane to lure Xavier into a trap.
 * Shadow King appears as a playable character in Marvel Snap.

title: Shadow King


text:
Assassin's Quest

Assassin's Quest is a 1997 fantasy novel by American writer Robin Hobb, the third and final book in The Farseer Trilogy. It follows the exploits of FitzChivalry Farseer. While Fitz's narrative continues in The Tawny Man Trilogy, the Liveship Traders Trilogy is next in the chronology of the Realm of the Elderlings.

Plot summary
FitzChivalry Farseer has been raised from death, but spends months with the mind of a wolf after his time sharing minds with Nighteyes. He lives in a remote cabin watched by Burrich and Chade, the only ones who know he is alive. Fitz gradually regains his humanity but struggles with the loss of his former life and the trauma of his torture in King Regal's dungeons. Fitz decides only a personal quest to kill Regal will bring him peace. Before departing the cabin, Fitz is attacked by and kills Forged Ones. Through his uncontrollable Skill dreams, Fitz later learns that Burrich found the scene and believes him dead. Burrich is caring for Molly, Fitz's former lover who is now pregnant with his child. Meanwhile, Lady Patience leads Buckkeep's remaining resistance against the Red Ship Raiders.

Fitz travels to Regal's palace in Tradeford but fails to assassinate him thanks to the remaining coterie members. Verity aids his escape and imprints the command "Come To Me" into Fitz's mind. Unable to disobey, Fitz follows the path of Verity's quest to find the Elderlings to the Mountain Kingdom. His bond with his Wit companion, Nighteyes, deepens and changes as they become more similar. The wolf begins to think abstractly and plan events as a human does. Fitz meets other Witted people who call themselves "Old Blood," but declines to learn more of their ways.

Fitz and Nighteyes are joined by Starling, a minstrel, and Kettle, an old woman who is seeking the White Prophet. They evade Regal's men to reach the Mountain Kingdom. Fitz is tended back to health by the White Prophet, revealed to be the Fool. The Fool has prophesied that Fitz is a Catalyst who is essential to the future of the Six Duchies. Verity and Kettricken's child was stillborn. Kettricken and Chade decide to take Fitz and Molly's daughter to become the Farseer heir, despite Fitz's pleas that he be allowed a simple life with them.

As Regal attempts to conquer the Mountain Kingdom, Fitz, Kettricken, the Fool, and Starling set off to find Verity, followed by Kettle, who is mysteriously knowledgeable about the Skill. The group encounter a road leading to a ruined city, both constructed of a black stone imbued with Skill. The road is perilous for those sensitive to the Skill but without sufficient training. Fitz survives thanks to the guidance of Kettle and his bond with Nighteyes, and also develops a bond with the Fool. They discover a garden full of dragon sculptures that Fitz senses as alive with his Wit, which they realize may be the legendary Elderlings.

Beyond the garden is a quarry of Skill stone where they find Verity, frail and obsessed with carving a dragon of his own. Kettle reveals she is the last remaining member of a former royal coterie, though her Skill ability was taken from her. She reveals that the stone dragons were carved by Skilled Farseers and their coteries by Skilling their own memories and emotions into the stone, giving up their lives to animate the dragons. Fitz uses his Skill and Wit to help Verity and Kettle restore each other's Skill strength. They nearly complete the dragon, but Verity does not have enough power left. After learning that Molly and Burrich have fallen in love while caring for her daughter, Fitz offers his own life on the condition that they be left alone. Instead, Verity and Fitz's minds switch bodies, allowing Verity to share a last night with Kettricken and providing the final surge of emotion and memory needed. Verity becomes the dragon and flies with Kettricken and Starling to defend Buckkeep.

The Fool inadvertently wakes another incomplete dragon while Fitz faces Regal's men. He learns how to wake the other dragons with a combination of blood and Wit. The risen dragons defeat the soldiers and Will, and are then led by Verity-as-Dragon to defeat the Red Ship Raiders. With his coterie broken, Regal has no defense against Fitz's Skill. Instead of killing him, Fitz imprints him with fanatical loyalty to Kettricken and the Six Duchies. Regal restores Buckkeep and ensures the legitimacy of Kettricken and Verity's heir she is left pregnant with, Prince Dutiful.

After the Raiders are defeated, the dragons return to the mountains to sleep as stone again. The Fool disappears, the prophecy of the Catalyst apparently fulfilled. Fitz retires into anonymity and travels for several years. Chade and Starling are some of the few who know he still lives in isolation, attempting to write about his history.

Themes
Assassin’s Quest has been called a coming of age story. A starred review from Publishers Weekly stated that the story holds a lesson "that the pursuit of truth demands a price in loneliness only a few can or will pay." Other reviewers have pointed to a sense of hopelessness in the narrative and how often Hobb makes use of failure.

Reception
Assassin’s Quest received positive reviews from critics. Reviewers have called the novel a fun and enjoyable read. Publishers Weekly gave the novel a starred review and commented on the "shimmering language". Kirkus Reviews called the novel "an enthralling conclusion to this superb trilogy, displaying an exceptional combination of originality, magic, adventure, character, and drama."

Editions

 * An American English paperback edition was issued in New York by Bantam Books in 1997 with ISBN 0-553-10640-6.
 * A British English hardback edition was issued in London by Voyager/HarperCollins in 1997 with ISBN 0-00-224608-2. This edition's cover is illustrated by John Howe.
 * In September 2020, Folio Society released a new illustrated hardback edition of the trilogy, with illustrations by David Palumbo.

title: Assassin's Quest


text:
Joan II of Navarre

Joan II (Jeanne; 28 January 1312 – 6 October 1349) was Queen of Navarre from 1328 until her death. She was the only surviving child of Louis X of France, King of France and Navarre, and Margaret of Burgundy. Joan's paternity was dubious because her mother was involved in a scandal, but Louis X declared her his legitimate daughter before he died in 1316. However, the French lords were opposed to the idea of a female monarch and elected Louis X's brother, Philip V, king. The Navarrese noblemen also paid homage to Philip. Joan's maternal grandmother, Agnes of France, and uncle, Odo IV of Burgundy, made attempts to secure the counties of Champagne and Brie (which had been the patrimony of Louis X's mother, Joan I of Navarre) to Joan, but the French royal troops defeated her supporters. After Philip V married his daughter to Odo and granted him two counties as her dowry, Odo renounced Joan's claim to Champagne and Brie in exchange for a compensation in March 1318. Joan married Philip of Évreux, who was also a member of the French royal family.

Philip V was succeeded by his brother, Charles IV, in both France and Navarre in 1322, but most Navarrese lords refused to swear loyalty to him. After Charles IV died in 1328, the Navarrese expelled the French governor and declared Joan the rightful monarch of Navarre. In France, Philip of Valois was crowned king. He concluded an agreement with Joan and her husband, who renounced Joan's claims to Champagne and Brie in exchange for three counties, while Philip acknowledged their right to Navarre. Joan and her husband were together crowned in Pamplona Cathedral on 5 March 1329.

The royal couple closely cooperated during their joint reign, but Philip of Évreux was more active. However, they mostly lived in their French domains, with Navarre being administered by governors during their absences.

Uncertain legitimacy
Joan was the daughter of Louis, King of Navarre, and his wife, Margaret of Burgundy. Joan was born in 1312. Her father was the oldest son and heir of King Philip IV of France and Queen Joan I of Navarre.

Joan's mother, Margaret, and the other daughters-in-law of King Philip, Joan and Blanche of Burgundy, were arrested in 1314. They were charged with adultery with two knights, the brothers Philip and Walter of Aunay. After being tortured, one of the brothers confessed that they had been the lovers of Margaret and Blanche for three years. The Aunay brothers were soon executed, and Margaret and Blanche were imprisoned. After the scandal, the legitimacy of Joan became dubious, because her mother was accused of having had an extramarital affair around the year of Joan's birth.

Philip IV died on 26 November 1314, and Joan's father became Louis X of France. Margaret technically became queen of France, but was not released and before long died in her prison in Château Gaillard.

Louis stated that Joan was his legitimate daughter on his deathbed. He died on 5 June 1316. His second wife, Clementia of Hungary, was pregnant. According to an agreement of the most powerful French lords, which was completed on 16 July, if Clementia gave birth to a son, the son was to be crowned King of France, but if a daughter was born, she and Joan could only inherit the Kingdom of Navarre and the counties of Champagne and Brie (the three realms that Louis X had inherited from his mother, Joan I of Navarre). It was also agreed that Joan was to be sent to her mother's relatives in Burgundy, but her marriage could not be decided without the consent of the members of the French royal family.

Orphanhood
Clementia gave birth to a son, John the Posthumous, on 13 November 1316, but he died five days later. Joan's maternal uncle, Odo IV, Duke of Burgundy, who was in Paris, entered into negotiations with Philip IV's second son, Philip the Tall, to protect Joan's interests, but Philip did not respond to Odo's demands. Instead, he made arrangements for his own coronation, which took place in Reims on 9 January 1317. The Estates-General of 1317, an assembly of the French lords strengthened Philip's position on 2 February, declaring that a woman could not inherit the French crown. The Navarrese noblemen sent a delegation to Paris to swear fidelity to Philip. Philip also refused to give Champagne and Brie to Joan.

Joan's maternal grandmother, Agnes of France, Duchess of Burgundy, sent letters to the leading French lords, protesting against his coronation, but Philip V mounted the throne without real opposition. Letters were also written to the lords of Champagne in Joan's name, urging them to refrain from paying homage to Philip and to protect Joan's rights to Champagne. In another letter, Odo IV argued that the disinheritance of Joan by Philip V went against "the divine right of law, by custom, in the usage kept in similar cases in empires, kingdoms, fiefs, in baronies in such a length of time that there is no memory of the contrary". However, Philip V's uncle, Charles of Valois, defeated Joan's supporters.

Philip and Odo concluded an agreement on 27 March 1318. Philip gave his eldest daughter (who was also named Joan) in marriage to Odo, recognizing them as heirs to the counties of Burgundy and Artois, while Joan was to marry her cousin, Philip of Évreux, with a dowry of 15,000 livres tournois in rents and the right to inherit Champagne and Brie if Philip V died leaving no sons. The men also agreed that Joan was to renounce her claims to France and Navarre at the age of twelve. There is no evidence that the renunciation ever took place. The marriage of Joan and Philip was celebrated on 18 June 1318. Thereafter Joan lived with her husband's grandmother, Marie of Brabant. Although they lived near each other, Philip and Joan were not raised together due to age difference. The marriage was only consummated in 1324.

Extinction of the main Capet line
Philip V died without leaving a surviving son in early 1322. His brother, Charles the Fair, who was Philip IV's last surviving son, succeeded him in both France and Navarre. Most Navarrese refused to do homage to Charles, and he did not confirm the Fueros (or liberties) of Navarre. Charles died on 1 February 1328, prompting another succession crisis. Since Charles's widow, Joan of Évreux, was pregnant, the peers of France and other influential French lords assembled in Paris to elect a regent. The majority of the French lords concluded that Philip of Valois had the strongest claim to the office, because he was the closest patrilinear relative of the deceased king. The representatives of the Estates of the realm in Navarre, who assembled at Puente La Reina on 13 March, replaced the French governor with two local lords.

Charles's widow gave birth to a daughter, Blanche, on 1 April. Her birth made it clear that the direct male line of the royal Capetian dynasty of France had become extinct with Charles the Fair's death. Joan and her husband could claim the French throne, because they both were descended from French monarchs, but there were at least five other claimants, including Philip of Valois. The claimants' representatives met at Saint-Germain-en-Laye to reach a compromise. The general assembly of Navarre passed a resolution in May, requesting Joan to visit Navarre and to take control of its government, because the crown belonged "by right of succession and inheritance" to her.

Philip of Valois was crowned king of France in Reims on 29 May. He had no claim to Navarre, Champagne and Brie, because he was not descended from Joan I of Navarre. To strengthen his position in France, in July Philip acknowledged the right of Joan and her husband to rule Navarre. He also persuaded them to renounce Champagne and Brie in exchange for the counties of Longueville, Mortain and Angouleme, because he wanted to preserve the strategically important Champagne and Brie for the French crown.

Accession and coronation
After the decision of the general assembly of Navarre in May 1328, Joan was regarded the lawful monarch of Navarre. This decision put an end to the personal union of Navarre and France, formed through the marriage of Joan I of Navarre and Philip IV of France. During the following months, Joan and her husband conducted lengthy negotiations with the Estates of the realm, especially about the role of Philip of Évreux in the administration of the kingdom. Although the Navarrese had only acknowledged Joan's hereditary right to rule, her husband also claimed authority. During the couple's absence, pogroms against the Jews occurred in the towns of Navarre.

Joan and Philip of Évreux sent two French lords, Henri IV de Sully and Philippe de Melun, to Navarre to represent them during the negotiations. The Navarrese were initially reluctant to confirm Philip's right to share the queen's rule. The delegates of the general assembly first declared that Philip would be allowed to take part in the administration of Navarre in a meeting in Roncesvalles in November 1328. However, they also stated that all traditional elements of the coronation (including the new monarch's elevation on a shield and the throwing of money to spectators) would only be carried out in connection with Joan. To emphasize Philip's claim to reign in his wife's realm, Henry de Sully referred to Paul the Apostle who had stated that "the head of woman is man" in his First Epistle to the Corinthians. Sully also emphasized that Joan had approved and consented to strengthen her husband's position.

Joan and Philip came to Navarre in early 1329. They were crowned in the Pamplona Cathedral on 5 March. Both were raised on a shield and both threw money during the ceremony. They signed a coronation oath, establishing their royal prerogatives. The charter underlined that Joan was the "true and natural heir" of Navarre, but also declared that "all of the kingdom of Navarre would obey her consort". However, the Navarrese also specified that both Joan and Philip were to renounce the crown as soon as their heir reached twenty-one, or they were obliged to pay a fine of 100,000 livres. Joan also compensated her husband for his expenses connected to the acquisition of Navarre.

Reign
Joan II and Philip III of Navarre closely cooperated during their joint reign. Out of the eighty-five royal decrees preserved from the period of their joint rule, forty-one documents were issued in both names. However, the sources suggest that Philip was more active in several fields of government, especially legislation. He signed thirty-eight decrees alone, without referring to his wife. Only six documents were issued exclusively in Joan's name.

After the coronation, the royal couple ordered the punishment of the perpetrators of the anti-Jewish riots and the paying of compensation to the victims. The royal fortresses were repaired and a new castle was built at Castelrenault during their reign. Irrigation system of the arid fields around Tudela was also constructed with the royal couple's financial support. They also wanted to maintain peaceful relationship with the neighboring states. They opened negotiations about the betrothal of their firstborn daughter, Joan, to Peter, the heir of Aragon, already in 1329. A peace treaty with Castille was signed at Salamance on 15 March 1330.

Joan and Philip left Navarre in September 1331. Historian Elena Woodacre notes, the "royal couple had to balance the needs of their French territories alongside the rule of Navarre", which forced them to split their time between all of their domains. Joan and Philip could hardly get accustomed to the "tastes and customs of the Navarrese, and were alien to their language", according to historian José María Lacarra, for which they were often absent from the kingdom. During the monarchs' absence, French governors administered Navarre on their behalf.

A border dispute over the ownership of the Monastery of Fitero developed into a war with Castille in 1335. Peter IV of Aragon supported the Navarrese and a new peace treaty with Castille was signed on 28 February 1336. Joan and Philip returned to Navarre in April 1336. Their second visit lasted till October 1337. Philip twice returned to the realm, but Joan did not accompany him.

Philip III died in September 1343. She soon replaced Philip of Melun, who had administered Navarre in the royal couple's name, with William of Brahe. Before long, she also dismissed William of Brahe, replacing him with Jean de Conflans. These changes may have reflected a disagreement with Philip over administration of Navarre, according to historian Elena Woodacre. In 1344, a copy of the Fueros of Navarre was arranged for the queen in the local Romance language (in ydiomate Navarre), providing a spare column for its translation to the ydioma galicanum (a French variant) eventually left a blank. French was probably the natural language used by Joan, even to deal with matters related with Navarre. Joan established the convent of San Francisco in Olite in 1345.

Joan decided to again visit Navarre, but she never returned, most probably because of the possibility of an invasion of her family's domains in France during the Hundred Years War. She and her husband had supported Philip VI against Edward III of England, who claimed the French throne as the son of Joan's aunt Isabella. By 1346, however, Joan was disappointed by Philip VI's failures as military leader. In November she boldly concluded a truce with the Earl of Lancaster, granting Edward's troops free passage through her county of Angoulême in return for protection of her lands. She also promised not to build new fortification or allow Philip's army to use the existing ones. Philip was unable to take action against her.

Joan died of Black Death on 6 October 1349. In her last will, she requested that her son finance a chapel in Santa Maria of Olite. She was buried in the Basilica of St Denis, though her heart was buried at the now-demolished church of the Couvent des Jacobins in Paris alongside that of her husband's.

Family
Joan's husband, Philip of Évreux, was a grandson of Philip III of France. They were efficient as co-rulers but no evidence attests to the closeness of their personal relationship, in contrast to the well-documented marriages of Joan's grandparents, father and uncles. This indicates that their marriage was marked neither by particular affection nor difficulty. They were very rarely apart, however, and had nine children together.

 * Joan (c. 1326–1387), intended as the wife of the future Peter IV of Aragon, but she became a nun at the Franciscan convent at Longchamp
 * Maria (c. 1329 – 1347), first wife of Peter IV of Aragon
 * Louis (1330–1334)
 * Blanche (1331–1398), second wife of Philip VI of France
 * Charles (1332–1387), successor as count of Évreux and king of Navarre
 * Philip (c. 1333–1363), married Yolande de Dampierre
 * Agnes (1334–1396), married Gaston III, Count of Foix
 * Louis (1341–1372), Count of Beaumont-le-Roger, married firstly Maria de Lizarazu and secondly Joanna, Duchess of Durazzo
 * Joan (aft 1342–1403), married John I, Viscount of Rohan

title: Joan II of Navarre


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/NHL Violence

I can't see why it's an article by itself and not part of a greater article like Violence in ice hockey or National Hockey League. The article itself was written by one contributor (User:Westendgirl), but the events mentioned therein are largely non-notable (eg. Coutu was not a great hockey player, his only claim to notoriety was his ban for life), or mentioned in greater detail in other articles (eg. Bailey and Shore are covered in greater detail in National Hockey League All-Star Game).

Other articles created by User:Westendgirl might need RFC, but the information can be verified.

kelvSYC 13:54, 18 Jul 2004 (UTC)

 * Keep content, but merging it somewhere might be a good idea. - SimonP 15:12, Jul 18, 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep. It's a recognized phenomenon. If I'm not mistaken there is a great deal more to say about it. No need to move or merge. Wile E. Heresiarch 19:09, 18 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Move to Violence in ice hockey, or maybe Violence in sports. --Ardonik 23:59, Jul 18, 2004 (UTC)
 * Move to Violence in ice hockey — siro  χ  o  02:53, Jul 19, 2004 (UTC)

 * Keep content. Merging with Violence in Sports, Violence in Professional Sports, or Violence in ice hockey may be prudent, but none of those topics exists and the article would be considerably lop-sided. The current article is quite brief, but I had expected it to evolve. Although you may not have heard of Billy Coutu, he was not an unknown player during his time. A Stanley Cup winner, Coutu was a founding member of the Montreal Canadiens' first NHL line-up, one of the five Canadiens who contracted pneumonia during the 1919 Stanley Cup, a Montreal Canadiens team captain, part of the NHL's first multi-player trade, the first player suspended from the NHL, the first player expelled from the NHL for life, and a coach of the Providence Reds. To this day, Coutu is one of 3 players ever granted a lifetime explusion from the NHL. Nearly all NHL history books make particular mention of Coutu's violence. His punishment was far more severe than that doled out to Eddie Shore, Marty McSorley, or Todd Bertuzzi. Thus, even a stub on NHL violence can discuss Coutu without overshadowing Shore, McSorley, or Bertuzzi. However, I agree that the topic may, at this point, be suited to inclusion in a less narrow topic, as long as that topic also covers other sports.Westendgirl 04:29, 19 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * There are few 1910s or 20s players listed in Wikipedia. Might be good to try to at least add former captains. I'm starting with the Montreal Canadiens and working my way up.

 * Keep, perhaps under a better title, but the content is notable enough to warrant a unique article IMO. And I think Coutu gaining notoriety for his ban for life implies in itself that he isn't non-notable. -- Matty j 04:43, Jul 19, 2004 (UTC)

 * Keep, I agree with others that the title needs work; and Coutu is mostly known for his lifetime ban for the very understandable reason that he played in the 1920s; and we seem to have a shortage of Wikipedians that have seen him play. I'd hazard a guess that we probably don't have very good coverage on 1920s hockey in general. Rhymeless 04:08, 20 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep. Events were likely notable at the time when they happened. Do not merge. This is more specific than National Hockey League and the other proposed articles for merge do not exist. Andris 12:01, Jul 21, 2004 (UTC)
 * It has always amazed me, given the level of aggressively encouraged territorial violence in hockey, that it doesn't result in more criminal prosecution. I teach martial arts for a living, and if my colleagues and I carried on like that we'd be incarcerated in short order for a long time. This level of violence isn't just found in the NHL, however, it is endemic to North American hockey from its earliest stages. The article is definitely a keeper, but should be expanded and renamed to be inclusive of North American hockey in general. Fire Star 13:36, 21 Jul 2004 (UTC)

(I've already voted.) I added an article on violence in sports. However, I think that violence in ice hockey deserves its own topic, as much could be written. Fans, coaches, athletes, and parents are all involved. NHL violence could be moved to violence in ice hockey, but first someone needs to write a general article, or it will be very lop-sided. --Westendgirl 22:24, 21 Jul 2004 (UTC) (moved here from vfd main space by Graham ☺ | Talk 21:33, 24 Jul 2004 (UTC))


text:
Augustus Lowell

Augustus Lowell (January 15, 1830 – June 22, 1900) was a wealthy Massachusetts industrialist, philanthropist, horticulturist, and civic leader. A member of the Brahmin Lowell family, he was born in Boston to John Amory Lowell and his second wife Elizabeth Cabot Putnam. His great-grandfather, John Lowell, was among the first Judges for the newly created federal courts, appointed by Presidents George Washington and John Adams. Augustus' elder brother, Judge John Lowell, would be appointed to hold the same seats held by their great-grandfather, by Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Rutherford Hayes.

Family
Lowell was amongst the fifth generation in his family to graduate from Harvard College, class of 1850. On June 1, 1854, he married Katherine Bigelow Lawrence (February 21, 1832 - April 1, 1895), the daughter of Hon. Abbott Lawrence. Both Augustus and Katherine were able to trace their ancestry back through the earliest colonial settlers and founders of New England, in the mid-17th century, and even further back to notable English families of the 12th and 13th centuries.

Augustus and Katherine Lowell had seven children and thus named their 10 acre, Brookline, Massachusetts, estate, Sevenels. The Lowells lost two of their children during infancy but their surviving children went on to great public prominence. Eldest son Percival Lowell wrote several books on the Far East and on the planet Mars, and founded the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. Their second son, Abbott Lawrence Lowell, succeeded Augustus as Trustee at the Lowell Institute in 1900, and became President of Harvard College in 1909, serving in that capacity until 1933. One of their daughters, Katharine Lowell, married (1) James Alfred Roosevelt, of the Long Island clan, and (2) T. James Bowlker, a Boston cotton mill owner. Another daughter, Elizabeth Lowell Putnam, was a prominent activist for prenatal care. And their youngest daughter, Amy Lowell, 20 years younger than her brothers, would become the second celebrated poet in the Lowell family.

Career
Augustus was Treasurer of the Merrimack Manufacturing Company, a textile mill in Lowell, Massachusetts, for much of his early career. In 1875, he became Treasurer of the Boott Cotton Mills, also in Lowell. And in 1883, he was Director of The Winnipiseogee Lake Cotton and Woolen Manufacturing Company. All were positions his father, John Amory, had once held within the same companies. He was also, as of 1878, a director of the Pacific Mills in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the largest textile combine of its time.

Lowell was also a member of the Corporation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Vice President of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1881, Augustus was appointed as the sole Trustee of the Lowell Institute, upon his father's death (Lowell 1899, pp 118–119), a position he would hold for the last 20 years of his life.

title: Augustus Lowell


text:
User:Espen/emba/studemba

Student list, EMBA IT assignment

Add your name to the list in the format used below:

(i.e.,: # Stein Sogge )

EMBA7 (2010/11) students:
 * 1) Espen
 * 2) Thomas Vikanes
 * 3) Lars Holtskog
 * 4) Eilert Eilertsen
 * 5) Stein Sogge
 * 6) Morten Tveraaen
 * 7) Erik Ulevik
 * 8) Kristian Klaastad
 * 9) Joakim Østensen
 * 10) Unnur Björk Gudmundsdottir
 * 11) Agnar Kordt
 * 12) Runar Vige
 * 13) Scott de Jong
 * 14) Leng Lundemo
 * 15) Pardeep Sharma
 * 16) Pavel Fokin
 * 17) Jannike Grüner
 * 18) Mauricio Ruiz
 * 19) Christian Blom
 * 20) Ole Petter Storstad
 * 21) Hein Kr. Jacobsen
 * 22) Thomas Magnussen
 * 23) Tomide Togun
 * 24) Bernardo Sampaio
 * 25) Gunnar Kristian Gran
 * 26) Monica Wall

EMBA6 (2009/10) students:
 * 1) Jens-Olav Finsveen Høl
 * 2) Sesha Konda
 * 3) Dag Otto Winnæss
 * 4) Sheenalimsc
 * 5) Saeed Zarghooni
 * 6) Terje Egil Nordbø
 * 7) Hilde Lervik
 * 8) Anne Dorte Lyken
 * 9) Fredrik Aaslestad
 * 10) Aristides Costa
 * 11) Jannecke Halvorsen
 * 12) Pål harald Osmundsen
 * 13) Alex Kristensen
 * 14) Ronny Kausland
 * 15) Ivar Førde Berget
 * 16) Hans-Herman Leganger
 * 17) Divisha Chandna
 * 18) Morten Sandgaard
 * 19) Albert Leirbukt
 * 20) Nils Ola Bark
 * 21) Inger Elis Ringen
 * 22) Frank Almaas
 * 23) Aslak Hougen
 * 24) Hanne Ek
 * 25) Martine Mills Hagen
 * 26) Linda Mulehamn
 * 27) Oddbjørn Furvann
 * 28) Anja Munro
 * 29) Yngve Nordby

EMBA5 (2008/9) students:
 * 1) Yvonne Hansen
 * 2) Per Ingar Skaar
 * 3) Lars Erik Baller
 * 4) Geir Hauge
 * 5) Stig Valderhaug
 * 6) Tom Kolstad
 * 7) Atle Marøen
 * 8) Vibeke Raae
 * 9) Harsharn Tathgar
 * 10) Tobias Paull
 * 11) Cesar Alvarez
 * 12) Kaja Natland
 * 13) Roger Larsen
 * 14) Børge Filseth
 * 15) Jørn Johansen
 * 16) Vegard Kobberdal
 * 17) Jarle Gjøsæther
 * 18) Bjarte Holdhus
 * 19) Martin Hartland
 * 20) Marianne Holmen
 * 21) Tami Weiss
 * 22) Petter Heier
 * 23) Tommy Vassnes
 * 24) Anil Gupta
 * 25) Tom Henrik Sundby
 * 26) Robert Ugland
 * 27) Anders Skipenes

EMBA4 (2007/8) students:
 * 1) Elisabeth Nøst
 * 2) David McCanny
 * 3) Hege Charlotte Bakken
 * 4) Birgitte Molstad
 * 5) Anne-Sofie Johnsrud
 * 6) Roar Ødegaard
 * 7) Øystein Vandvik (en) or ØV(no)
 * 8) sunil kumar
 * 9) Kathrine Roede
 * 10) Egil Trømborg
 * 11) Per Randor Kristoffersen
 * 12) Stig Magne Henriksen
 * 13) Torgeir Nilsen
 * 14) Hw2007 (en) or Hw2007 (no)
 * 15) Sveinung Larsen
 * 16) Alexander Friedensburg
 * 17) Ville Vuori
 * 18) Valborg Godal Vold
 * 19) Khalid Sadiq
 * 20) Erling Nordbø
 * 21) Roger Tuen
 * 22) Marco Antonio Agnese
 * 23) Gunnar Byberg
 * 24) Øyvind Steinvik
 * 25) Terje Arnesen
 * 26) Carl Ivar Holmen
 * 27) Bjørn Richard Watne
 * 28) Anders Jakobsen
 * 29) Espen Waage
 * 30) Kristian Enger
 * 31) Raymond Gabrielsen
 * 32) Øyvind Steira Mikkelsen
 * 33) Nneka Okoye Mulamba
 * 34) Maurice Velterop

EMBA3 (2006/7) students:
 * 1) Tronn Berge
 * 2) Erik Rønning
 * 3) Line Kloster
 * 4) Jan Frode Andersen
 * 5) Olugbenga Babatunde
 * 6) Erik Mehl
 * 7) Andrey Chudakov
 * 8) Per Aas
 * 9) Margrethe Melbye
 * 10) Wenche Johre
 * 11) Trygve Daae
 * 12) Jorunn Eie
 * 13) Anita Samuelsen
 * 14) Geir Mogstad
 * 15) Jon Holtan
 * 16) Rachel Montagu Ramsvik
 * 17) Fredrik Gustavsson
 * 18) Iris B. Frøybu
 * 19) Sissi Nobel
 * 20) Marc Weber
 * 21) Bjørn Vegard Herikstad
 * 22) Markus Koechling
 * 23) Roar Håland
 * 24) Philippe E. Toth
 * 25) Paul Olavesen-Stabb

EMBA2 (2005/6) students:
 * 1) Hilde
 * 2) Lise
 * 3) BT
 * 4) Tore
 * 5) Elie Karam
 * 6) CFS
 * 7) Powerserge
 * 8) Olav A L
 * 9) C
 * 10) A Waldemar
 * 11) Steinar
 * 12) Tommy
 * 13) Arnt Rønning
 * 14) Michael
 * 15) Mona
 * 16) Marit U
 * 17) Harald Vassal
 * 18) Wattuml
 * 19) Gjertmund
 * 20) JAF
 * 21) Snorre

EMBA1 (2004/5) students:
 * 1) Rune
 * 2) Anthony
 * 3) Anne
 * 4) Lotta
 * 5) Espen S
 * 6) Per Stilling
 * 7) Hager
 * 8) Trond
 * 9) Svein G.
 * 10) Wenche H.
 * 11) Tom-Atle
 * 12) John
 * 13) Bentove
 * 14) RAW
 * 15) Reidar
 * 16) Sigbjørn
 * 17) Bjarne

So far I've found two copyright violations inserted into Wikipedia today by members of this group:

 * Jan eggum in Norwegian I think, from -- Jmabel 00:06, Aug 17, 2004 (UTC)
 * Bunad from [] -- Jmabel 00:35, Aug 17, 2004 (UTC)

I don want to encourage your participation, but copying and pasting copyrighted information -- even with minor edits -- is not helpful. At best it wastes other people's time getting rid of it, at worst it can get us in legal trouble.

Here are a few good links for newcomers: How to edit a page, Picture tutorial, How to write a great article, Naming conventions, Manual of Style. I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! BTW, you can sign your name using three tildes, like this:. If you use four, you can add a datestamp too. If you have any questions, see the help pages, add a question to the village pump or ask me on my Talk page. Again, welcome!

Jmabel 00:35, Aug 17, 2004 (UTC)

Thanks, Joe - I will discuss it with the students. And apologies for the work, perhaps I should have provided the links to the "culture" pages in the assignment directly.

--Espen 15:29, 19 Aug 2004 (UTC)

title: User:Espen/emba/studemba


text:
Gerard van Honthorst

Gerard van Honthorst (Dutch: Gerrit van Honthorst; 4 November 1592 – 27 April 1656) was a Dutch Golden Age painter who became known for his depiction of artificially lit scenes, eventually receiving the nickname Gherardo delle Notti ("Gerard of the Nights"). Early in his career he visited Rome, where he had great success painting in a style influenced by Caravaggio. Following his return to the Netherlands he became a leading portrait painter. Van Honthorst's contemporaries included Utrecht painters Hendrick Ter Brugghen and Dirck van Baburen.

Early life

Van Honthorst was born in Utrecht, the son of a decorative painter, and trained under his father, and then under Abraham Bloemaert.

Italy
Having completed his education, Honthorst went to Italy, where he is first recorded in 1616. He was one of the artists from Utrecht who went to Rome at around this time, all of whom were to be deeply influenced by the recent art they encountered there. They were named the Utrecht caravaggisti. The other three were Dirk van Baburen, Hendrick ter Bruggen and Jan van Bijlert. In Rome he lodged at the palace of Vincenzo Giustiniani, where he painted Christ Before the High Priest, now in London's National Gallery. Giustiniani had an important art collection, and Honthorst was especially influenced by the contemporary artists, including Caravaggio, Bartolomeo Manfredi and the Carracci. He was particularly known for his depiction of artificially lit scenes. Cardinal Scipione Borghese became another important patron, securing important commissions for him at San Silvestro Della Mariro, Montecompatri, and at Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome. He also worked for Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.

Return to Utrecht
Honthorst returned to Utrecht in 1620, and went on to build a considerable reputation both in the Dutch Republic and abroad. In 1623, the year of his marriage, he was president of the Guild of St. Luke in Utrecht. He soon became so fashionable that Sir Dudley Carleton, then English envoy at The Hague, recommended his works to the Earl of Arundel and Lord Dorchester. In 1626 Honthorst hosted a dinner for Rubens, and painted him as the honest man sought for and found by Diogenes.

Royal patronage
Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia, sister of Charles I of England and Electress Palatine, then in exile in the Netherlands, commissioned Honthorst as a painter and employed him as a drawing-master for her children. Through her he became known to Charles, who invited him to England in 1628. There he painted several portraits, and a vast allegory, now at Hampton Court, of Charles and his queen as Diana and Apollo in the clouds receiving the Duke of Buckingham as Mercury and guardian of the King of Bohemia's children. He painted a more intimate group portrait of The Four Eldest Children of the King of Bohemia, (also at Hampton Court) in which the two eldest are depicted as Diana and Apollo.

After his return to Utrecht, Honthorst retained the patronage of the English monarch, painting for him, in 1631, a large picture of the king and queen of Bohemia and all their children. At around the same time he painted some pictures illustrating the Odyssey for Lord Dorchester, and some showing incidents of Danish history for Christian IV of Denmark. He also painted a portrait of the king's daughter Countess Leonora while she was in the Hague.

His popularity in the Netherlands was such that he opened a second studio in the Hague, where he painted portraits of members of the court, and taught drawing. These large studios, where the work included making replicas of Honthorst's royal portraits, employed a large number of pupils and assistants; according to one pupil, Joachim von Sandrart, describing his experiences in the mid-1620s, Honthorst would have about 24 students at any one time, each paying 100 guilders a year for their education.

His brother Willem van Honthorst (1594–1666) was also a portrait painter. Many of Willem's paintings were previously misattributed to Gerrit due to the similarity of their signatures. Willem was a pupil of Abraham Bloemaert, and was also taught by his own elder brother. In 1646 he went to Berlin, where he became court painter to Louise-Henriette, wife of the elector Frederick II of Brandenburg. He returned to Utrecht in 1664.

Nickname
Honthorst is often referred to as "Gherardo delle notti" ("Gerrit of the Nights") by modern Italians. However, the nickname does not actually appear in any known Italian sources dating before Honthorst's death. Surviving Italian documents from before 1656 refer to the artist as either "Gherardo Fiammingo" ("Gerrit the Fleming") or "Gherardo Hollandese" ("Gerrit the Dutchman"), emphasizing his foreignness rather than his trademark skill at rendering nocturnal lighting. It was only in the 18th century that the nickname "Gherardo delle notti" came into widespread use.

Legacy
Honthorst was a prolific artist. His most attractive pieces are those in which he cultivates the style of Caravaggio, often tavern scenes with musicians, gamblers and people eating. He had great skill at chiaroscuro, often painting scenes illuminated by a single candle.

Some of his pieces were portraits of the Duke of Buckingham and his family (Hampton Court), the King and Queen of Bohemia (Hanover and Combe Abbey), Marie de Medici (Amsterdam Stadthuis), 1628, the Stadtholders and their Wives (Amsterdam and The Hague), Charles Louis and Rupert, Charles I's nephews (Musée du Louvre, St Petersburg, Combe Abbey and Willin), and Baron Craven (National Portrait Gallery, London). His early style can be seen in the Lute-player (1614) in the Louvre, the Martyrdom of St John in Santa Maria della Scala at Rome, or the Liberation of Peter in the Berlin Museum.

His 1620 The Adoration of the Shepherds in the Uffizi was destroyed in the Via dei Georgofili Massacre of 1993.

Honthorst's 1623 The Concert was purchased for an undisclosed sum by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., US from a private collection in France in November 2013. The painting had not been on view since 1795. The 1.23 by The Concert went on display for the first time in 218 years in a special installation at the National Gallery of Art's West Building on 23 November 2013. It remained there for six months before going on permanent display in the museum's Dutch and Flemish galleries.

title: Gerard van Honthorst


text:
Alan Simpson (American politician)

Alan Kooi Simpson (born September 2, 1931) is an American politician from Wyoming. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a member of the United States Senate from 1979 to 1997. Simpson was the Republican whip in the U.S. Senate from 1985 to 1995, as majority whip from 1985 to 1987 and minority whip from 1987 to 1995. He also served as co-chair of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform with Democratic Party co-chair Erskine Bowles of North Carolina.

Born in Denver, Simpson graduated from the University of Wyoming's law school (1958). Simpson served in the Wyoming House of Representatives (1965–1977) and won election to the United States Senate (1978). His father, Milward Simpson, had served in the same seat (1962–1967). Simpson served as the Senate Republican Whip (1985–1995). After serving three terms in the Senate, Simpson declined to seek re-election in 1996.

Since leaving office, Simpson has practiced law and taught at different universities. He also served on the Continuity of Government Commission, the American Battle Monuments Commission, and the Iraq Study Group. In 2010, President Barack Obama appointed him to co-chair the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, which made several recommendations on ways to reduce the national debt. He has been a vocal proponent of amending the U.S. Constitution to overturn Citizens United v. FEC (2010) and allow Congress to set reasonable limits on campaign spending in U.S. elections.

Early life
Simpson was born in Denver, the son of Milward Simpson and the former Lorna Kooi. His middle name, Kooi, comes from his maternal grandfather, whose parents were Dutch immigrants. In his youth, Simpson was a Boy Scout, and once visited Japanese American Boy Scouts who, along with their families, had been interned near Ralston, Wyoming, during World War II. There, he developed a friendship with Norman Mineta, who later became a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from California, and the United States Secretary of Transportation in the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush. Mineta and Simpson served together in Congress, and on the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, and remained close friends.

Simpson has an older brother, Pete Simpson of Cody, a historian and a former administrator at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, who served in the Wyoming House of Representatives from 1981 to 1984, having represented Sheridan County, while he was then an administrator at Sheridan College. Pete Simpson was the 1986 Republican gubernatorial nominee, having sought the office while his younger brother was serving in the U.S. Senate.

Simpson grew to 6'7" (201 cm) and would become the tallest Senator in United States history until being overtaken by 6'9" (206 cm) Luther Strange in 2017, 20 years after his retirement. He would later claim to have shrunk to 6'5" (195.5 cm) at 85.

Alan Simpson graduated from Cody High School in Cody, Wyoming in 1949 and attended Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, in 1950 for a postgraduate year. He graduated in 1954 from the University of Wyoming with a Bachelor of Science degree, and in 1958 with a Juris Doctor degree. Like his brother, he was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity at the University of Wyoming.

In 1954, he married the former Susan Ann Schroll, who was a fellow UW student from Greybull, Wyoming. He served in the United States Army in Germany from 1955 to 1956, with the 10 Infantry Regiment of the now-inactive Fifth Infantry Division, and with the 12 Armored Infantry Battalion of the now-inactive 2nd Armored Division.

Simpson had several run-ins with the law during his youth. An amicus brief filed before the United States Supreme Court in the juvenile imprisonment cases Graham v. Florida and Sullivan v. Florida, states:

"In Simpson's words to this Court, 'I was a monster.'

In that brief, in support of the claimant in the Supreme Court case, Simpson admitted that, as a juvenile, he had been on federal probation for shooting mailboxes and punching a cop and that he 'was a monster'.

One day in Cody, Wyoming, when Simpson was in high school, he and some friends 'went out to do damage.' They went to an abandoned war relocation structure and decided to 'torch' it. They committed arson on federal property, a crime now punishable by up to twenty years in prison if no one is hurt, and punishable by up to life in prison if the arson causes a person's death. Luckily for Simpson, no one was injured in the blaze.

Simpson not only played with fire, but also with guns. He played a game with his friends in which they shot at rocks close to one another, at times using bullets they stole from the local hardware store. The goal of the game was to come as close as possible to striking someone without actually doing so. Again, Simpson was lucky: no one was killed or seriously injured, or caught by their parents.

Simpson and his friends went shooting throughout their community. They fired their rifles at mailboxes, blowing holes in several and killing a cow. They fired their weapons at a road grader. 'We just raised hell,' Simpson says. Federal authorities charged Simpson with destroying government property and Simpson pleaded guilty. He received two years of probation and was required to make restitution from his own funds – funds that he was supposed to obtain by holding down a job.

As Simpson has described it, 'The older you get, the more you realize ... your own attitude is stupefying, and arrogant, and cocky, and a miserable way to live.'" Simpson stated "I was just dumb and rebellious and stupid. And a different person," adding "You're not who you are when you're 16 or 18. You're dumb and you don't care, and you think you are eternal."

Wyoming House of Representatives
Simpson served from 1965 to 1977 in the Wyoming House of Representatives from Park County.

U.S. Senate
Simpson was elected to the United States Senate on November 7, 1978, but was appointed to the post early on January 1, 1979, following the resignation of Clifford Hansen, who had succeeded Milward Simpson, Alan Simpson's own father, in the seat. From 1985 to 1995, Simpson was the Republican whip, Assistant Republican Leader in the Senate, having served with then-Republican Leader Bob Dole of Kansas. He was chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs from 1981 to 1985 and again from 1995 to 1997 when Republicans regained control of the Senate. He also chaired the Immigration and Refugee Subcommittee of Judiciary; the Nuclear Regulation Subcommittee; the Social Security Subcommittee and the Committee on Aging. Simpson was a moderate conservative. He supported abortion rights and voted against a ban of late-term abortions which did not include an exception for physical health, only for life-threatening conditions, in 1995 and 1996. However he opposed federal funding for abortions and supported the Hyde Amendment. He was also the co-sponsor of a bill regulating immigration.

Simpson voted in favor of the bill establishing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday and initially voted in favor of the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 (but voted to sustain Ronald Reagan's veto). Simpson voted in favor of the Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination and Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States.

After Congress
In 1995, he lost the whip's job to Trent Lott of Mississippi, and he did not seek reelection to the Senate in 1996. From 1997 to 2000, Simpson taught at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard University's Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and he served for two years as the Director of the Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School.

Simpson then returned to his hometown of Cody and practices law there with his two lawyer sons (William and Colin) in the firm of Simpson, Kepler and Edwards. The three are also partners in the firm of Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine of Englewood, Colorado. Colin M. Simpson, the third generation of his family in Wyoming politics, was a Republican member of the Wyoming House of Representatives who served as Speaker of the House for the 59th session of the Legislature, 2008 to March 2010. He was a candidate for governor in the primary in 2010, finishing fourth.

Simpson teaches periodically at his alma mater, the University of Wyoming at Laramie, with his brother Pete. He has completed serving as chairman of the UW capital "Campaign for Distinction," which raised $204 million. That success was celebrated by the gala event, "An Extraordinary Evening", featuring former President George H. W. Bush (who had reportedly considered Simpson for the vice presidency in 1988) and Vice President Dick Cheney, another UW alumnus, and his wife Lynne Cheney.

In 2001, Simpson became Honorary Chairman of the Republican Unity Coalition (RUC), a gay/straight alliance within the Republican Party. In that capacity, Simpson recruited former President Gerald Ford to serve on the RUC advisory board.

In 2002, Simpson was involved in the Wyoming Republican gubernatorial primary on behalf of former Democrat Eli Bebout of Riverton.

Simpson was one of four speakers chosen to eulogize President George H.W. Bush at his state funeral.

Iraq Study Group
In 2006, Simpson was one of ten (five Democratic and five Republican) contributors to the Iraq Study Group Report.

National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform

Simpson was appointed in 2010 to co-chair President Obama's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform with Erskine Bowles.

Simpson has spoken extensively about the burden being placed on future generations by the structure of current entitlement programs. In an opinion piece, "Young Americans get the shaft" published in The Washington Post on June 13, 2012, Matt Miller recounted asking Simpson (then a US senator) in 1995 how to fix this problem. Miller stated that Simpson told him "nothing would change until someone like me could walk into his office and say, 'I'm from the American Association of Young People. We have 30 million members, and we're watching you, Simpson. You [mess with] us and we'll take you out.'"

He has continued to advocate for fiscal responsibility as a board member of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and a founder of the Campaign to Fix the Debt.

Campaign finance reform
Simpson has been a strong critic of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Citizens United v. FEC, calling for an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to overturn the Supreme Court's decision in the case. In an interview with Wyoming Public Radio, Simpson said: "I think most Americans would like to see reasonable limits on campaign spending."

Issue advocacy
Simpson has been an outspoken advocate for abortion rights, stating that the matter should not be a political issue in a party that believes in "government out of our lives" and "the right to be left alone" and "the precious right of privacy". He supports LGBT rights, and equality regardless of race and society, color, creed, gender, or sexual orientation. In an article in The Washington Post, Simpson criticized the since-ended "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, stating "'Gay' is an artificial category that says little about a person. Our differences and prejudices pale next to our historic challenge."

Civic participation
Simpson is on the board of directors at the National Institute for Civil Discourse (NICD). The institute was created at the University of Arizona after the shooting of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. He is an honorary board member of the humanitarian organization Wings of Hope and co-chair of the advisory board of Issue One, a nonprofit organization that seeks to reduce the role of money in politics. In 2016, he joined the advisory board of American Promise, a national, cross-partisan organization that advocates for a 28th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States that would allow the U.S. Congress and states to set limits on campaign finance in U.S. elections.

Presidential Medal of Freedom
On July 1, 2022, the White House announced that Simpson would be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

In popular culture
The June 7, 1994, edition of the now-defunct supermarket tabloid Weekly World News reported that 12 U.S. senators were aliens from other planets, including Simpson. The Associated Press ran a follow-up piece which confirmed the tongue-in-cheek participation of Senate offices in the story. Then-Senator Simpson's spokesman Charles Pelkey, when asked about Simpson's galactic origins, told the AP: "We've got only one thing to say: Klaatu barada nikto". This was a quotation from a classic science fiction film, The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), in which an alien arrives by flying saucer in Washington, D.C.

Simpson also played himself in a cameo appearance for the 1993 film Dave.

In December 2012, Simpson filmed a "Gangnam Style" video for a campaign, with a man in a tin can costume. The video, aimed at young people, is called "The Can Kicks Back," a reference to the tendencies of members of Congress to forever "kick the can down the road" in order to avoid making difficult decisions about lowering the national debt. In the video, Simpson admonishes younger Americans to make better use of their social media than "instagramming your breakfast and tweeting your first world problems." He advises younger people to use their social media skills and resources to rally their friends to join The Can Kicks Back. If younger Americans do not take heed, Simpson says, "These old coots will clean out the Treasury before you get there."

Works

 * Right in the Old Gazoo: A Lifetime of Scrapping with the Press. (William Morrow & Company, 1997). ISBN 0-688-11358-3)

Recognition
In 1998, Simpson received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement. In 2011, Simpson and Erskine Bowles were presented the Paul H. Douglas Award for Ethics in Government for their work on the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. In 2022 Simpson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a ceremony at the White House.

title: Alan Simpson (American politician)