title: Chemistry

text: Organic chemistry was developed by Justus von Liebig and others, following Friedrich Wöhler's synthesis of urea. Other crucial 19th century advances were; an understanding of valence bonding (Edward Frankland in 1852) and the application of thermodynamics to chemistry (J. W. Gibbs and Svante Arrhenius in the 1870s).


title: Chemistry

text: Chemistry is typically divided into several major sub-disciplines. There are also several main cross-disciplinary and more specialized fields of chemistry.


title: Chemistry

text: Others subdivisions include electrochemistry, femtochemistry, flavor chemistry, flow chemistry, immunohistochemistry, hydrogenation chemistry, mathematical chemistry, molecular mechanics, natural product chemistry, organometallic chemistry, petrochemistry, photochemistry, physical organic chemistry, polymer chemistry, radiochemistry, sonochemistry, supramolecular chemistry, synthetic chemistry, and many others.


title: Chemistry

text: Interdisciplinary fields include agrochemistry, astrochemistry (and cosmochemistry), atmospheric chemistry, chemical engineering, chemical biology, chemo-informatics, environmental chemistry, geochemistry, green chemistry, immunochemistry, marine chemistry, materials science, mechanochemistry, medicinal chemistry, molecular biology, nanotechnology, oenology, pharmacology, phytochemistry, solid-state chemistry, surface science, thermochemistry, and many others.


title: Chemistry

text: The chemical industry represents an important economic activity worldwide. The global top 50 chemical producers in 2013 had sales of US$980.5 billion with a profit margin of 10.3%.


title: Cnut

text: Cnut (; ; ; died 12 November 1035), also known as Cnut the Great and Canute II, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rule are referred to together as the North Sea Empire.


title: Cnut

text: As a Danish prince, Cnut won the throne of England in 1016 in the wake of centuries of Viking activity in northwestern Europe. His later accession to the Danish throne in 1018 brought the crowns of England and Denmark together. Cnut sought to keep this power-base by uniting Danes and English under cultural bonds of wealth and custom. After a decade of conflict with opponents in Scandinavia, Cnut claimed the crown of Norway in Trondheim in 1028. The Swedish city Sigtuna was held by Cnut (he had coins struck there that called him king, but there is no narrative record of his occupation). In 1031, Malcolm II of Scotland also submitted to him, though Anglo-Norse influence over Scotland was weak and ultimately did not last by the time of Cnut's death.


title: Cnut

text: Dominion of England lent the Danes an important link to the maritime zone between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, where Cnut, like his father before him, had a strong interest and wielded much influence among the Norse–Gaels. Cnut's possession of England's dioceses and the continental Diocese of Denmark—with a claim laid upon it by the Holy Roman Empire's Archdiocese of Hamburg-Bremen—was a source of great prestige and leverage within the Catholic Church and among the magnates of Christendom (gaining notable concessions such as one on the price of the pallium of his bishops, though they still had to travel to obtain the pallium, as well as on the tolls his people had to pay on the way to Rome). After his 1026 victory against Norway and Sweden, and on his way back from Rome where he attended the coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor, Cnut deemed himself "King of all England and Denmark and the Norwegians and of some of the Swedes" in a letter written for the benefit of his subjects. The Anglo-Saxon kings used the title "king of the English". Cnut was —"king of all England". Medieval historian Norman Cantor called him "the most effective king in Anglo-Saxon history".


title: Cnut

text: Cnut was a son of the Danish prince Sweyn Forkbeard, who was the son and heir to King Harald Bluetooth and thus came from a line of Scandinavian rulers central to the unification of Denmark. Neither the place nor the date of his birth are known. Harthacnut I was the semi-legendary founder of the Danish royal house at the beginning of the 10th century, and his son, Gorm the Old, became the first in the official line (the 'Old' in his name indicates this). Harald Bluetooth, Gorm's son and Cnut's grandfather, was the Danish king at the time of the Christianization of Denmark; he became one of the first Scandinavian kings to accept Christianity.


title: Cnut

text: The "Chronicon" of Thietmar of Merseburg and the "Encomium Emmae" report Cnut's mother as having been Świętosława, a daughter of Mieszko I of Poland.


title: Cnut

text: Norse sources of the High Middle Ages, most prominently "Heimskringla" by Snorri Sturluson, also give a Polish princess as Cnut's mother, whom they call Gunhild, a daughter of "Burislav", the king of "Vindland".


title: Cnut

text: Since in the Norse sagas the "king of Vindland" is always "Burislav", this is reconcilable with the assumption that her father was Mieszko (not his son Bolesław). Adam of Bremen in "Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum" is unique in equating Cnut's mother (for whom he also produces no name) with the former queen of Sweden, wife of Eric the Victorious and by this marriage mother of Olof Skötkonung.


title: Cnut

text: To complicate the matter, "Heimskringla" and other sagas also have Sweyn marrying Eric's widow, but she is distinctly another person in these texts, named "Sigrid the Haughty", whom Sweyn only marries after "Gunhild", the Slavic princess who bore Cnut, has died.


title: Cnut

text: Different theories regarding the number and ancestry of Sweyn's wives (or wife) have been advanced (see Sigrid the Haughty and Gunhild). But since Adam is the only source to equate the identity of Cnut's and Olof Skötkonung's mother, this is often seen as an error on Adam's part, and it is often assumed that Sweyn had two wives, the first being Cnut's mother, and the second being the former Queen of Sweden. Cnut's brother Harald was the younger of the two brothers according to "Encomium Emmae".


title: Cnut

text: Some hint of Cnut's childhood can be found in the "Flateyjarbók", a 13th-century Icelandic source that says he was taught his soldiery by the chieftain Thorkell the Tall, brother to Sigurd, Jarl of Jomsborg, and the legendary Jomsvikings, at their stronghold on the island of Wollin, off the coast of Pomerania. His date of birth, like his mother's name, is unknown. Contemporary works such as the "Chronicon" and the "Encomium Emmae", do not mention this. Even so, in a "Knútsdrápa" by the skald Óttarr svarti, there is a statement that Cnut was "of no great age" when he first went to war. It also mentions a battle identifiable with Sweyn Forkbeard's invasion of England and attack on the city of Norwich, in 1003–04, after the St. Brice's Day massacre of Danes by the English, in 1002. If Cnut indeed accompanied this expedition, his birthdate may be near 990, or even 980. If not, and if the skald's poetic verse references another assault, such as Sweyn's conquest of England in 1013–14, it may even suggest a birth date nearer 1000. There is a passage of the Encomiast (as the author of the "Encomium Emmae" is known) with a reference to the force Cnut led in his English conquest of 1015–16. Here (see below) it says all the Vikings were of "mature age" under Cnut "the king".


title: Cnut

text: Hardly anything is known for sure of Cnut's life until the year he was part of a Scandinavian force under his father, King Sweyn, in his invasion of England in summer 1013. Cnut was likely part of his father's 1003 and 1004 campaigns in England, although the evidence is not firm. The 1013 invasion was the climax to a succession of Viking raids spread over a number of decades. Following their landing in the Humber, the kingdom fell to the Vikings quickly, and near the end of the year King Æthelred fled to Normandy, leaving Sweyn Forkbeard in possession of England. In the winter, Sweyn was in the process of consolidating his kingship, with Cnut left in charge of the fleet and the base of the army at Gainsborough in Lincolnshire.


title: Cnut

text: Harald succeeded him as King of Denmark, while the Vikings and the people of the Danelaw immediately elected Cnut as king in England. However, the English nobility took a different view, and the Witenagemot recalled Æthelred from Normandy. The restored king swiftly led an army against Cnut, who fled with his army to Denmark, along the way mutilating the hostages they had taken and abandoning them on the beach at Sandwich in Kent. Cnut went to Harald and supposedly made the suggestion they might have a joint kingship, although this found no favour with his brother. Harald is thought to have offered Cnut command of his forces for another invasion of England, on the condition he did not continue to press his claim. In any case, Cnut succeeded in assembling a large fleet with which to launch another invasion.


title: Cnut

text: Among the allies of Denmark was Bolesław I the Brave, the duke of Poland (later crowned king) and a relative to the Danish royal house. He lent some Polish troops, likely to have been a pledge made to Cnut and Harald Hardrada when, in the winter, they "went amongst the Wends" to fetch their mother back to the Danish court. She had been sent away by their father after the death of the Swedish king Eric the Victorious in 995, and his marriage to Sigrid the Haughty, the Swedish queen mother. This wedlock formed a strong alliance between the successor to the throne of Sweden, Olof Skötkonung, and the rulers of Denmark, his in-laws. Swedes were certainly among the allies in the English conquest. Another in-law to the Danish royal house, Eiríkr Hákonarson, was the earl of Lade and the co-ruler of Norway with his brother Sweyn Haakonsson—Norway having been under Danish sovereignty since the Battle of Svolder, in 999. Eiríkr's participation in the invasion left his son Hakon to rule Norway, with Sweyn.


title: Cnut

text: In the summer of 1015, Cnut's fleet set sail for England with a Danish army of perhaps 10,000 in 200 longships. Cnut was at the head of an array of Vikings from all over Scandinavia. The invading army was composed primarily of mercenaries. The invasion force was to engage in often close and grisly warfare with the English for the next fourteen months. Practically all of the battles were fought against the eldest son of Æthelred, Edmund Ironside.


title: Cnut

text: According to the "Peterborough Chronicle" manuscript, one of the major witnesses of the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle", early in September 1015 "[Cnut] came into Sandwich, and straightway sailed around Kent to Wessex, until he came to the mouth of the Frome, and harried in Dorset and Wiltshire and Somerset", beginning a campaign of an intensity not seen since the days of Alfred the Great. A passage from Queen Emma's "Encomium" provides a picture of Cnut's fleet:


title: Cnut

text: Wessex, long ruled by the dynasty of Alfred and Æthelred, submitted to Cnut late in 1015, as it had to his father two years earlier. At this point Eadric Streona, the Ealdorman of Mercia, deserted Æthelred together with 40 ships and their crews and joined forces with Cnut. Another defector was Thorkell the Tall, a Jomsviking chief who had fought against the Viking invasion of Sweyn Forkbeard, with a pledge of allegiance to the English in 1012—some explanation for this shift of allegiance may be found in a stanza of the "Jómsvíkinga saga" that mentions two attacks against Jomsborg's mercenaries while they were in England, with a man known as Henninge, a brother of Thorkell, among their casualties. If the "Flateyjarbók" is correct that this man was Cnut's childhood mentor, it explains his acceptance of his allegiance—with Jomvikings ultimately in the service of Jomsborg. The 40 ships Eadric came with, often thought to be of the Danelaw, were probably Thorkell's.


title: Cnut

text: Early in 1016, the Vikings crossed the Thames and harried Warwickshire, while Edmund Ironside's attempts at opposition seem to have come to nothing—the chronicler says the English army disbanded because the king and the citizenry of London were not present. The mid-winter assault by Cnut devastated its way northwards across eastern Mercia. Another summons of the army brought the Englishmen together, and they were met this time by the king, although "it came to nothing as so often before", and Æthelred returned to London with fears of betrayal. Edmund then went north to join Uhtred the Earl of Northumbria and together they harried Staffordshire, Shropshire and Cheshire in western Mercia, possibly targeting the estates of Eadric Streona. Cnut's occupation of Northumbria meant Uhtred returned home to submit himself to Cnut, who seems to have sent a Northumbrian rival, Thurbrand the Hold, to massacre Uhtred and his retinue. Eiríkr Hákonarson, most likely with another force of Scandinavians, came to support Cnut at this point, and the veteran Norwegian jarl was put in charge of Northumbria.


title: Cnut

text: Prince Edmund remained in London, still unsubdued behind its walls, and was elected king after the death of Æthelred on 23 April 1016.


title: Cnut

text: Cnut returned southward, and the Danish army evidently divided, some dealing with Edmund, who had broken out of London before Cnut's encirclement of the city was complete, and had gone to gather an army in Wessex, the traditional heartland of the English monarchy. Part of the Danish army besieged London, constructing dikes on the northern and southern flanks and a channel dug across the banks of the Thames to the south of the city, enabling their longships to cut off communications up-river.


title: Cnut

text: There was a battle fought at Penselwood in Somerset – with a hill in Selwood Forest as the likely location – and a subsequent battle at Sherston, in Wiltshire, which was fought over two days but left neither side victorious.


title: Cnut

text: Edmund was able to temporarily relieve London, driving the enemy away and defeating them after crossing the Thames at Brentford. Suffering heavy losses, he withdrew to Wessex to gather fresh troops, and the Danes again brought London under siege, but after another unsuccessful assault they withdrew into Kent under attack by the English, with a battle fought at Otford. At this point Eadric Streona went over to King Edmund, and Cnut set sail northwards across the Thames estuary to Essex, and went from the landing of the ships up the River Orwell to ravage Mercia.


title: Cnut

text: On 18 October 1016, the Danes were engaged by Edmund's army as they retired towards their ships, leading to the Battle of Assandun, fought at either Ashingdon, in south-east, or Ashdon, in north-west Essex. In the ensuing struggle, Eadric Streona, whose return to the English side had perhaps only been a ruse, withdrew his forces from the fray, bringing about a decisive English defeat. Edmund fled westwards, and Cnut pursued him into Gloucestershire, with another battle probably fought near the Forest of Dean, for Edmund had an alliance with some of the Welsh.


title: Cnut

text: On an island near Deerhurst, Cnut and Edmund, who had been wounded, met to negotiate terms of peace. It was agreed that all of England north of the Thames was to be the domain of the Danish prince, while all to the south was kept by the English king, along with London. Accession to the reign of the entire realm was set to pass to Cnut upon Edmund's death. Edmund died on 30 November, within weeks of the arrangement. Some sources claim Edmund was murdered, although the circumstances of his death are unknown. The West Saxons now accepted Cnut as king of all of England, and he was crowned by Lyfing, Archbishop of Canterbury, in London in 1017.


title: Cnut

text: Cnut ruled England for nearly two decades. The protection he lent against Viking raiders—many of them under his command—restored the prosperity that had been increasingly impaired since the resumption of Viking attacks in the 980s. In turn the English helped him to establish control over the majority of Scandinavia, too. Under his rule, England did not experience serious external attacks.


title: Cnut

text: As Danish King of England, Cnut was quick to eliminate any prospective challenge from the survivors of the mighty Wessex dynasty. The first year of his reign was marked by the executions of a number of English noblemen whom he considered suspect. Æthelred's son Eadwig Ætheling fled from England but was killed on Cnut's orders. Edmund Ironside's sons likewise fled abroad. Æthelred's sons by Emma of Normandy went under the protection of their relatives in the Duchy of Normandy.


title: Cnut

text: In July 1017, Cnut wed Queen Emma, the widow of Æthelred and daughter of Richard I, Duke of Normandy. In 1018, having collected a Danegeld amounting to the colossal sum of £72,000 levied nationwide, with an additional £10,500 extracted from London, Cnut paid off his army and sent most of them home. He retained 40 ships and their crews as a standing force in England. An annual tax called heregeld (army payment) was collected through the same system Æthelred had instituted in 1012 to reward Scandinavians in his service.


title: Cnut

text: Cnut built on the existing English trend for multiple shires to be grouped together under a single ealdorman, thusly dividing the country into four large administrative units whose geographical extent was based on the largest and most durable of the separate kingdoms that had preceded the unification of England. The officials responsible for these provinces were designated earls, a title of Scandinavian origin already in localised use in England, which now everywhere replaced that of ealdorman. Wessex was initially kept under Cnut's personal control, while Northumbria went to Erik of Hlathir, East Anglia to Thorkell the Tall, and Mercia remained in the hands of Eadric Streona.


title: Cnut

text: This initial distribution of power was short-lived. The chronically treacherous Eadric was executed within a year of Cnut's accession. Mercia passed to one of the leading families of the region, probably first to Leofwine, ealdorman of the Hwicce under Æthelred, but certainly soon to his son Leofric. In 1021, Thorkel also fell from favour and was outlawed.


title: Cnut

text: Following his death in the 1020s, Erik of Hlathir was succeeded as Earl of Northumbria by Siward, whose grandmother, Estrid (married to Úlfr Thorgilsson), was Cnut's sister. Bernicia, the northern part of Northumbria, was theoretically part of Erik and Siward's earldom, but throughout Cnut's reign it effectively remained under the control of the English dynasty based at Bamburgh, which had dominated the area at least since the early 10th century. They served as junior Earls of Bernicia under the titular authority of the Earl of Northumbria. By the 1030s Cnut's direct administration of Wessex had come to an end, with the establishment of an earldom under Godwin, an Englishman from a powerful Sussex family. In general, after initial reliance on his Scandinavian followers in the first years of his reign, Cnut allowed those Anglo-Saxon families of the existing English nobility who had earned his trust to assume rulership of his Earldoms.


title: Cnut

text: At the Battle of Nesjar, in 1016, Olaf Haraldsson won the kingdom of Norway from the Danes. It was at some time after Erik left for England, and on the death of Svein while retreating to Sweden, maybe intent on returning to Norway with reinforcements, that Erik's son Hakon went to join his father and support Cnut in England, too.


title: Cnut

text: Cnut's brother Harald may have been at Cnut's coronation, in 1016, returning to Denmark as its king, with part of the fleet, at some point thereafter. It is only certain, though, that there was an entry of his name, alongside Cnut's, in confraternity with Christ Church, Canterbury, in 1018. This is not conclusive, though, for the entry may have been made in Harald's absence, perhaps by the hand of Cnut himself, which means that, while it is usually thought that Harald died in 1018, it is unsure whether he was still alive at this point. Entry of his brother's name in the Canterbury codex may have been Cnut's attempt to make his vengeance for Harald's murder good with the Church. This may have been just a gesture for a soul to be under the protection of God. There is evidence Cnut was in battle with "pirates" in 1018, with his destruction of the crews of thirty ships, although it is unknown if this was off the English or Danish shores. He himself mentions troubles in his 1019 letter (to England, from Denmark), written as the King of England and Denmark. These events can be seen, with plausibility, to be in connection with the death of Harald. Cnut says he dealt with dissenters to ensure Denmark was free to assist England:


title: Cnut

text: Cnut was generally remembered as a wise and successful king of England, although this view may in part be attributable to his good treatment of the Church, keeper of the historic record. Accordingly, we hear of him, even today, as a religious man despite the fact that he was in an arguably sinful relationship, with two wives, and the harsh treatment he dealt his fellow Christian opponents.


title: Cnut

text: Under his reign, Cnut brought together the English and Danish kingdoms, and the Scandinavic and Saxon peoples saw a period of dominance across Scandinavia, as well as within the British Isles. His campaigns abroad meant the tables of Viking supremacy were stacked in favour of the English, turning the prows of the longships towards Scandinavia. He reinstated the Laws of King Edgar to allow for the constitution of a Danelaw, and for the activity of Scandinavians at large.


title: Cnut

text: Cnut reinstituted the extant laws with a series of proclamations to assuage common grievances brought to his attention, including: "On Inheritance in case of Intestacy", and "On Heriots and Reliefs". He also strengthened the currency, initiating a series of coins of equal weight to those being used in Denmark and other parts of Scandinavia. He issued the Law codes of Cnut known now as I Cnut and II Cnut, though these seem primarily to have been produced by Wulfstan of York.


title: Cnut

text: Harald II died in 1018, and Cnut went to Denmark to affirm his succession to the Danish crown, stating his intention to avert attacks against England in a letter in 1019 (see above). It seems there were Danes in opposition to him, and an attack he carried out on the Wends of Pomerania may have had something to do with this. In this expedition, at least one of Cnut's Englishmen, Godwin, apparently won the king's trust after a night-time raid he personally led against a Wendish encampment.


title: Cnut

text: His hold on the Danish throne presumably stable, Cnut was back in England in 1020. He appointed Ulf Jarl, the husband of his sister Estrid Svendsdatter, as regent of Denmark, further entrusting him with his young son by Queen Emma, Harthacnut, whom he had designated the heir of his kingdom. The banishment of Thorkell the Tall in 1021 may be seen in relation to the attack on the Wends. With the death of Olof Skötkonung in 1022, and the succession to the Swedish throne of his son Anund Jacob bringing Sweden into alliance with Norway, there was cause for a demonstration of Danish strength in the Baltic. Jomsborg, the legendary stronghold of the Jomsvikings (thought to be on an island off the coast of Pomerania), was probably the target of Cnut's expedition. Successful, after this clear display of Cnut's intentions to dominate Scandinavian affairs, it seems that Thorkell reconciled with Cnut in 1023.


title: Cnut

text: When, in spite of this, the Norwegian king Olaf Haraldsson and Anund Jakob took advantage of Cnut's commitment to England and began to launch attacks against Denmark, Ulf gave the Danish freemen cause to accept Harthacnut, still a child, as king. This was a ruse on Ulf's part since his role as caretaker of Harthacnut gave him the reign of the kingdom. Upon news of these events, Cnut set sail for Denmark to restore himself and to deal with Ulf, who then got back in line. In a battle known as the Battle of the Helgeå, Cnut and his men fought the Norwegians and Swedes at the mouth of the river Helgeå, probably in 1026, and the apparent victory left Cnut as the dominant leader in Scandinavia. Ulf the usurper's realignment and participation in the battle did not, in the end, earn him Cnut's forgiveness. Some sources state that the brothers-in-law were playing chess at a banquet in Roskilde when an argument arose between them, and the next day, Christmas 1026, one of Cnut's housecarls killed the jarl with his blessing, in Trinity Church, the predecessor to Roskilde Cathedral.


title: Cnut

text: His enemies in Scandinavia subdued, and apparently at his leisure, Cnut was able to accept an invitation to witness the accession in Rome of the Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II. He left his affairs in the north and went from Denmark to the coronation at Easter 1027, which would have been of considerable prestige for rulers of Europe in the Middle Ages. On the return journey he wrote his letter of 1027, like his letter of 1019, informing his subjects in England of his intentions from abroad and proclaiming himself "king of all England and Denmark and the Norwegians and of some of the Swedes".


title: Cnut

text: Consistent with his role as a Christian king, Cnut says he went to Rome to repent for his sins, to pray for redemption and the security of his subjects, and to negotiate with the Pope for a reduction in the costs of the pallium for English archbishops, and for a resolution to the competition between the archdioceses of Canterbury and Hamburg-Bremen for superiority over the Danish dioceses. He also sought to improve the conditions for pilgrims, as well as merchants, on the road to Rome. In his own words:


title: Cnut

text: "Robert" in Cnut's text is probably a clerical error for Rudolph, the last ruler of an independent Kingdom of Burgundy. Hence, the solemn word of the Pope, the Emperor and Rudolph was given with the witness of four archbishops, twenty bishops, and "innumerable multitudes of dukes and nobles", suggesting it was before the ceremonies were completed. Cnut without doubt threw himself into his role with zest. His image as a just Christian king, statesman and diplomat and crusader against unjustness, seems rooted in reality, as well as one he sought to project.


title: Cnut

text: A good illustration of his status within Europe is the fact that Cnut and the King of Burgundy went alongside the emperor in the imperial procession and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him on the same pedestal. Cnut and the emperor, in accord with various sources, took to one another's company like brothers, for they were of a similar age. Conrad gave Cnut lands in the Mark of Schleswig—the land-bridge between the Scandinavian kingdoms and the continent—as a token of their treaty of friendship. Centuries of conflict in this area between the Danes and the Germans led to construction of the Danevirke, from Schleswig, on the Schlei, an inlet of the Baltic Sea, to the North Sea.


title: Cnut

text: Cnut's visit to Rome was a triumph. In the verse of "Knútsdrápa", Sigvatr Þórðarson praises Cnut, his king, as being "dear to the Emperor, close to Peter". In the days of Christendom, a king seen to be in favour with God could expect to be ruler over a happy kingdom. He was surely in a stronger position, not only with the Church and the people, but also in the alliance with his southern rivals he was able to conclude his conflicts with his rivals in the north. His letter not only tells his countrymen of his achievements in Rome, but also of his ambitions within the Scandinavian world at his arrival home:


title: Cnut

text: In his 1027 letter, Cnut refers to himself as king of "the Norwegians, and of some of the Swedes" – his victory over Swedes suggests Helgeå to be the river in Uppland and not the one in eastern Scania — while the king of Sweden appears to have been made a renegade. Cnut also stated his intention of proceeding to Denmark to secure peace between the kingdoms of Scandinavia, which fits the account of John of Worcester that in 1027 Cnut heard some Norwegians were discontented and sent them sums of gold and silver to gain their support for his claim to the throne.


title: Cnut

text: In 1028, Cnut set off from England to Norway, and the city of Trondheim, with a fleet of fifty ships. King Olaf Haraldsson was unable to put up a serious fight, both as his nobles had been bribed by Cnut and (according to Adam of Bremen) because he tended to apprehend their wives for sorcery. Cnut was crowned king, now of England, Denmark and Norway as well as part of Sweden. He entrusted the Earldom of Lade to the former line of earls, in Håkon Eiriksson, with Eiríkr Hákonarson probably dead by this time. Hakon was possibly the Earl of Northumbria after Erik as well.


title: Cnut

text: Hakon, a member of a family with a long tradition of hostility towards the independent Norwegian kings, and a relative of Cnut's, was already in lordship over the Isles with the earldom of Worcester, possibly from 1016 to 1017. The sea-lanes through the Irish Sea and the Hebrides led to Orkney and Norway, and were central to Cnut's ambitions for dominance of Scandinavia and the British Isles. Hakon was meant to be Cnut's lieutenant in this strategic chain, and the final component was his installation as the king's deputy in Norway, after the expulsion of Olaf Haraldsson in 1028. Unfortunately, he was drowned in a shipwreck in the Pentland Firth (between the Orkney Islands and the mainland coast) either late 1029 or early 1030.


title: Cnut

text: Upon the death of Hakon, Olaf Haraldsson returned to Norway, with Swedes in his army. He died at the hands of his own people, at the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030. Cnut's subsequent attempt to rule Norway without the key support of the Trondejarls, through Ælfgifu of Northampton, and his eldest son by her, Sweyn Knutsson, was not a success. The period is known as "Aelfgifu's Time" in Norway, with heavy taxation, a rebellion, and the restoration of the former Norwegian dynasty under Saint Olaf's illegitimate son Magnus the Good.


title: Cnut

text: In 1014, while Cnut was preparing his re-invasion of England, the Battle of Clontarf pitted an array of armies laid out on the fields before the walls of Dublin. Máel Mórda mac Murchada, king of Leinster, and Sigtrygg Silkbeard, ruler of the Norse-Gaelic kingdom of Dublin, had sent out emissaries to all the Viking kingdoms to request assistance in their rebellion against Brian Bóruma, the High King of Ireland. Sigurd the Stout, the Earl of Orkney, was offered command of all the Norse forces, while the High King had sought assistance from the Albannaich, who were led by Domnall mac Eimín meic Cainnig, the Mormaer of Mar. The Leinster-Norse alliance was defeated, and both commanders, Sigurd and Máel Mórda, were killed. Brian, his son, his grandson, and the Mormaer Domhnall were slain as well. Sigtrygg's alliance was broken, although he was left alive, and the high-kingship of Ireland went back to the Uí Néill, again under Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill.


title: Cnut

text: There was a brief period of freedom in the Irish Sea zone for the Vikings of Dublin, with a political vacuum felt throughout the entire Western Maritime Zone of the North Atlantic Archipelago. Prominent among those who stood to fill the void was Cnut, "whose leadership of the Scandinavian world gave him a unique influence over the western colonies and whose control of their commercial arteries gave an economic edge to political domination". Coinage struck by the king in Dublin, Silkbeard, bearing Cnut's quatrefoil type—in issue c. 1017–25—sporadically replacing the legend with one bearing his own name and styling him as ruler either 'of Dublin' or 'among the Irish' provides evidence of Cnut's influence. Further evidence is the entry of one "Sihtric dux" in three of Cnut's charters.


title: Cnut

text: In one of his verses, Cnut's court poet Sigvatr Þórðarson recounts that famous princes brought their heads to Cnut and bought peace. This verse mentions Olaf Haraldsson in the past tense, his death at the Battle of Stiklestad having occurred in 1030. It was therefore at some point after this and the consolidation of Norway that Cnut went to Scotland with an army, and the navy in the Irish Sea, in 1031, to receive, without bloodshed, the submission of three Scottish kings: Maelcolm, the future King Maelbeth and Iehmarc. One of these kings, Iehmarc, may be one Echmarcach mac Ragnaill, an Uí Ímair chieftain and the ruler of a sea-kingdom of the Irish Sea, with Galloway among his domains. Nevertheless, it appears that Malcolm adhered to little of Cnut's power, and that influence over Scotland died out by the time of Cnut's death.


title: Cnut

text: Further, a "Lausavísa" attributable to the skald Óttarr svarti greets the ruler of the Danes, Irish, English and Island-dwellers—use of "Irish" here being likely to mean the Gall Ghaedil kingdoms rather than the Gaelic kingdoms. It "brings to mind Sweyn Forkbeard's putative activities in the Irish Sea and Adam of Bremen's story of his stay with a "rex Scothorum" (? king of the Irish) [&] can also be linked to... Iehmarc, who submitted in 1031 [&] could be relevant to Cnut's relations with the Irish".


title: Cnut

text: Cnut's actions as a conqueror and his ruthless treatment of the overthrown dynasty had made him uneasy with the Church. He was already a Christian before he was king—being named "Lambert" at his baptism—although the Christianization of Scandinavia was not at all complete. His marriage to Emma of Normandy, even though he was already married to Ælfgifu of Northampton, who was kept in the south with an estate in Exeter, was another conflict with Church teaching. In an effort to reconcile himself with his churchmen, Cnut repaired all the English churches and monasteries that were victims of Viking plunder and refilled their coffers. He also built new churches and was an earnest patron of monastic communities. His homeland of Denmark was a Christian nation on the rise, and the desire to enhance the religion was still fresh. As an example, the first stone church recorded to have been built in Scandinavia was in Roskilde, c. 1027, and its patron was Cnut's sister Estrid.


title: Cnut

text: It is difficult to ascertain whether Cnut's attitude towards the Church derived from deep religious devotion or was merely a means to reinforce his regime's hold on the people. There is evidence of respect for the pagan religion in his praise poetry, which he was happy enough for his "skalds" to embellish in Norse mythology, while other Viking leaders were insistent on the rigid observation of the Christian line, like St Olaf. Yet he also displays the desire for a respectable Christian nationhood within Europe. In 1018, some sources suggest he was at Canterbury on the return of its Archbishop Lyfing from Rome, to receive letters of exhortation from the Pope. If this chronology is correct, he probably went from Canterbury to the Witan at Oxford, with Archbishop Wulfstan of York in attendance, to record the event.


title: Cnut

text: His ecumenical gifts were widespread and often exuberant. Commonly held land was given, along with exemption from taxes as well as relics. Christ Church was probably given rights at the important port of Sandwich as well as tax exemption, with confirmation in the placement of their charters on the altar, while it got the relics of St Ælfheah, at the displeasure of the people of London. Another see in the king's favour was Winchester, second only to the Canterbury see in terms of wealth. New Minster's "liber vitae" records Cnut as a benefactor of the monastery, and the Winchester Cross, with 500 marks of silver and 30 marks of gold, as well as relics of various saints was given to it. Old Minster was the recipient of a shrine for the relics of St Birinus and the probable confirmation of its privileges. The monastery at Evesham, with its Abbot Ælfweard purportedly a relative of the king through Ælfgifu the Lady (probably Ælfgifu of Northampton, rather than Queen Emma, also known as Ælfgifu), got the relics of St Wigstan. Such generosity towards his subjects, which his skalds called "destroying treasure", was popular with the English. Yet it is important to remember that not all Englishmen were in his favour, and the burden of taxation was widely felt. His attitude towards London's see was clearly not benign. The monasteries at Ely and Glastonbury were apparently not on good terms either.


title: Cnut

text: Other gifts were also given to his neighbours. Among these was one to Chartres, of which its bishop wrote: "When we saw the gift that you sent us, we were amazed at your knowledge as well as your faith ... since you, whom we had heard to be a pagan prince, we now know to be not only a Christian, but also a most generous donor to God's churches and servants". He is known to have sent a psalter and sacramentary made in Peterborough (famous for its illustrations) to Cologne, and a book written in gold, among other gifts, to William the Great of Aquitaine. This golden book was apparently to support Aquitanian claims of St Martial, patron saint of Aquitaine, as an apostle. Of some consequence, its recipient was an avid artisan, scholar and devout Christian, and the Abbey of Saint-Martial was a great library and scriptorium, second only to the one at Cluny. It is likely that Cnut's gifts were well beyond anything we can now know.


title: Cnut

text: Cnut's journey to Rome in 1027 is another sign of his dedication to the Christian religion. It may be that he went to attend the coronation of Conrad II in order to improve relations between the two powers, yet he had previously made a vow to seek the favour of St Peter, the keeper of the keys to the heavenly kingdom. While in Rome, Cnut made an agreement with the Pope to reduce the fees paid by the English archbishops to receive their pallium. He also arranged that travellers from his realm not be straitened by unjust tolls and that they should be safeguarded on their way to and from Rome. Some evidence exists for a second journey in 1030.


title: Cnut

text: Cnut died on 12 November 1035. In Denmark he was succeeded by Harthacnut, reigning as Cnut III, although with a war in Scandinavia against Magnus I of Norway, Harthacnut was "forsaken [by the English] because he was too long in Denmark". His mother Queen Emma, previously resident at Winchester with some of her son's housecarls, was made to flee to Bruges in Flanders, under pressure from supporters of Cnut's other son, after Svein, by Ælfgifu of Northampton: Harold Harefoot – regent in England 1035–37 (who went on to claim the English throne in 1037, reigning until his death in 1040). Eventual peace in Scandinavia left Harthacnut free to claim the throne himself in 1040 and to regain for his mother her place. He brought the crowns of Denmark and England together again until his death in 1042. Denmark fell into a period of disorder with a power struggle between the pretender to the throne Sweyn Estridsson, son of Ulf, and the Norwegian king, until the death of Magnus in 1047. The inheritance of England was briefly to return to its Anglo-Saxon lineage.


title: Cnut

text: The house of Wessex reigned again as Edward the Confessor was brought out of exile in Normandy and made a treaty with Harthacnut, his half-brother. As in his treaty with Magnus, it was decreed that the throne would go to Edward if Harthacnut died with no legitimate male heir. In 1042, Harthacnut died, and Edward was king. His reign secured Norman influence at court thereafter, and the ambitions of its dukes finally found fruition in 1066 with William the Conqueror's invasion of England and crowning, fifty years after Cnut was crowned in 1017.


title: Cnut

text: If the sons of Cnut had not died within a decade of his death, and if his only known daughter Cunigund, who was to marry Conrad II's son Henry III eight months after his death, had not died in Italy before she became empress consort, Cnut's reign might well have been the foundation for a complete political union between England and Scandinavia, a North Sea Empire with blood ties to the Holy Roman Empire.


title: Cnut

text: Cnut died at Shaftesbury in Dorset and was buried in the Old Minster, Winchester. With the events of 1066 the new regime of Normandy was keen to signal its arrival with an ambitious programme of grandiose cathedrals and castles throughout the High Middle Ages. Winchester Cathedral was built on the old Anglo-Saxon site and the previous burials, including Cnut's, were set in mortuary chests there. During the English Civil War in the 17th century, plundering Roundhead soldiers scattered the bones of Cnut on the floor and they were spread amongst the various other chests, notably those of William Rufus. After the restoration of the monarchy, the bones were collected and replaced in their chests, although somewhat out of order.


title: Cnut

text: The Old Norse catalogue of skalds known as "Skáldatal" lists eight skalds who were active at Cnut's court. Four of them, namely Sigvatr Þórðarson, Óttarr svarti, Þórarinn loftunga and Hallvarðr háreksblesi, composed verses in honour of Cnut which have survived in some form, while no such thing is apparent from the four other skalds Bersi Torfuson, Arnórr Þórðarson jarlaskáld (known from other works), Steinn Skaptason and Óðarkeptr (unknown). The principal works for Cnut are the three "Knútsdrápur" by Sigvatr Þórðarson, Óttarr svarti and Hallvarðr háreksblesi, and the "Höfuðlausn" and "Tøgdrápa" by Þórarinn loftunga. Cnut also features in two other contemporary skaldic poems, namely Þórðr Kolbeinsson's "Eiríksdrápa" and the anonymous "Liðsmannaflokkr".


title: Cnut

text: Cnut's skalds emphasise the parallelism between Cnut's rule of his earthly kingdom and God's rule of Heaven. This is particularly apparent in their refrains. Thus the refrain of Þórarinn's "Höfuðlausn" translates to "Cnut protects the land as the guardian of Byzantium [God] [does] Heaven" and the refrain of Hallvarðr's "Knútsdrápa" translates to "Cnut protects the land as the Lord of all [does] the splendid hall of the mountains [Heaven]". Despite the Christian message, the poets also make use of traditional pagan references and this is particularly true of Hallvarðr. As an example, one of his half-stanzas translates to "The Freyr of the noise of weapons [warrior] has also cast under him Norway; the battle-server [warrior] diminishes the hunger of the valcyrie's hawks [ravens]." The skald here refers to Cnut as "Freyr of battle", a kenning using the name of the pagan god Freyr. References of this sort were avoided by poets composing for the contemporary kings of Norway but Cnut seems to have had a more relaxed attitude towards pagan literary allusions.


title: Cnut

text: This story of Cnut resisting the incoming tide was first recorded by Henry of Huntingdon in his "Historia Anglorum" in the early twelfth century:


title: Cnut

text: This has become by far the best known story about Cnut, although in modern readings he is usually a wise man who knows from the start that he cannot control the waves.


title: Pornographic film actor

text: A pornographic film actor or actress, pornographic performer, adult entertainer, or porn star is a person who performs sex acts in video that is usually characterized as a pornographic movie. Such videos tend to be made in a number of distinct pornographic subgenres and attempt to present a sexual fantasy; the actors selected for a particular role are primarily selected on their ability to create or fit that fantasy. Pornographic videos are characterised as either softcore, which does not contain depictions of sexual penetration or extreme fetishism, and hardcore, which can contain depictions of penetration or extreme fetishism, or both. The genres and sexual intensity of videos is mainly determined by demand. Depending on the genre of the film, the on-screen appearance, age, and physical features of the actors and their ability to create the sexual mood of the video is of critical importance. Most actors specialize in certain genres, such as straight sex, bisexual sex, gay sex, lesbian sex, bondage, strap-on sex, anal sex, double penetration, semen swallowing, teenage women, orgy sex, age roleplay sex, fauxcest sex, interracial or MILFs and much more.


title: Pornographic film actor

text: The pornography industry in the United States was the first to develop its own movie star system, primarily for commercial reasons. In other countries, the "star" system is not common, with most actors being amateurs. Most performers use a pseudonym and strive to maintain off-screen anonymity. A number of pornographic actors and actresses have written autobiographies. It is very rare for pornographic actors and actresses to successfully cross over to the mainstream film industry.


title: Pornographic film actor

text: The number of pornographic film actors who have worked in the United States can be indicated by number of actors tested by Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation (AIM). When in 2011 its patient database was leaked it contained details of over 12,000 pornographic actors that it had tested since 1998. , it was reported that roughly 1,200–1,500 performers were working in California's "Porn Valley".


title: Pornographic film actor

text: Production of risqué films commenced with the start of photography. "Moving pictures" that featured nudity were popular in "penny arcades" of the early 1900s which had hand-cranked films and stereoscope glasses. These penny arcade attractions featured topless women, full frontal nudity, and even sexual coupling.


title: Pornographic film actor

text: Production of erotic films commenced almost immediately after the invention of the motion picture. The first erotic film was the seven-minute 1896 film directed by Frenchman Albert Kirchner (under the name "Léar") which had Louise Willy performing a bathroom striptease. Other French filmmakers also started making this type of risqué films, showing women disrobing. The Pathé brothers supplied the demand throughout Europe. In Austria, Johann Schwarzer produced 52 erotic productions between 1906 and 1911, each of which contained young local women fully nude, to provide an alternative local source to the French productions.


title: Pornographic film actor

text: Performers in these early productions were usually uncredited or used pseudonyms to avoid legal sanction and social disapprobation. The use of pseudonyms was the norm in the industry; pornographic film actors maintained a low profile, using pseudonyms to maintain a level of anonymity, while others performed uncredited. The use of pseudonyms has remained a tradition in the industry, and actors would perform under a number of pseudonyms, depending on the genre of film, or changed a pseudonym when the previous one ceased to be a draw card.


title: Pornographic film actor

text: Casey Donovan starred in the first mainstream pornographic hit, "Boys in the Sand", in 1971. However, arguably the first pornstar to become a household name was Linda Lovelace (the pseudonym of Linda Susan Boreman) from New York City, who starred in the 1972 feature "Deep Throat". The film grossed millions of dollars worldwide, success that was echoed by similar stars and productions such as Marilyn Chambers ("Behind the Green Door"), Gloria Leonard ("The Opening of Misty Beethoven"), Georgina Spelvin ("The Devil in Miss Jones"), and Bambi Woods ("Debbie Does Dallas").


title: Pornographic film actor

text: The period from the early 1970s through the late-70s or early 1980s has been called "The Golden Age of Porn", when erotic films were produced in the United States with narratives, backed by movie-style promotional budgets, and were shown in public theaters and accepted (or at least tolerated) for public consumption. Performers in these productions became celebrities including Peter Berlin, John Holmes, Ginger Lynn Allen, Porsche Lynn, Desireé Cousteau, Juliet Anderson ("Aunt Peg"), Lisa De Leeuw, Veronica Hart, Nina Hartley, Harry Reems, Seka, Annette Haven and Amber Lynn. Meanwhile, in Europe, many pornographic actresses and actors come from the so-called pornographic bloc countries, such as Russia, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. In France, popular female performers have included Brigitte Lahaie, Clara Morgane, Céline Tran (Katsuni), and Yasmine Lafitte. In Italy, the Swedish Marina Lothar rose to prominence in the early 1980s, as well as Moana Pozzi, Ilona Staller (Cicciolina), and Lilli Carati.


title: Pornographic film actor

text: The on-screen physical appearances of the female performers is of primary importance. They are typically younger in age than their male counterparts, in their teens, 20s, and 30s. There is a preference in the industry for thinness and large-breasted actresses; some film studios encourage their actresses to have breast implants, and offer to pay for the procedure.


title: Pornographic film actor

text: Less desirable actresses are more likely to agree to perform more extreme and high-risk sexual acts such as "double-anal" in order to get work. According to Morgan:


title: Pornographic film actor

text: Some performers note that "a performer's pleasure is not of primary importance" and that "porn sex is not the same as private sex".


title: Pornographic film actor

text: According to a study investigating health risks for industry performers, female performers experience significantly higher risk within their job role than male performers. The study reported:


title: Pornographic film actor

text: Furthermore, there is a contrary opinion stating that porn production is not necessarily unethical or degrading. According to Lynn Comella, a women's studies professor at UNLV, presenting demeaning practices as representative of the entire porn industry is "akin to talking about Hollywood while only referencing Spaghetti Westerns".


title: Pornographic film actor

text: A 2012 study titled, "Why Become a Pornography Actress?" analyzed female performers in pornography, and their reasons for choosing the occupation; it found that the primary reasons were money (53%), sex (27%), and attention (16%). Respondents also stated the aspects of their work which they disliked. These included industry-associated people, e.g., co-workers, directors, producers, and agents, whose "attitudes, behaviors, and poor hygiene [were] difficult to handle within their work environment" or who were unscrupulous and unprofessional (39%); STIs risk (29%); and exploitation within the industry (20%).


title: Pornographic film actor

text: According to a 2013 study in the Journal of Sex Research, female porn performers were reported to have engaged in sexual activity at a younger age, utilized several drugs, identify as bisexual, had more sexual partners, and have better enjoyment of sex compared to their non-porn peers. They were also found to have a good quality of life, social support systems, sexual fulfillment, spirituality, and equal or better levels of self-esteem compared to their non-porn counterparts.


title: Pornographic film actor

text: A 2018 review published in the Journal of Sex Research found in a survey that the majority of male pornography consumers disliked seeing "acts that were more clearly unpleasant/painful for female performers, such as forced gagging or forceful anal penetration." The study concluded that despite the oversaturation of extreme and kinky content in the industry, most consumers are not interested in kinky, fetish or degrading pornography.


title: Pornographic film actor

text: While the primary focus of heterosexual adult films are the women in them, who are mostly selected for their on-screen appearance, there is a definite focus on the male performers who are able to fulfill the desires of the male watching audience as their on-screen proxies. Most male performers in heterosexual pornography are generally selected less for their looks and more for their sexual prowess, namely their ability to do three things: achieve an erection while on a busy and sometimes pressuring film set, maintain that erection while performing on camera, and then ejaculate on cue. However, the majority of on-screen ejaculations, semen, and "money shots" are artificial. In the past, an actor's inability to maintain an erection or being subject to premature ejaculation could make the difference between a film turning a profit or a loss. If an actor loses his erection, filming is forced to stop. This problem has been addressed with the use of Viagra, although Viagra can make the actor's face noticeably flushed, give him a headache, make it difficult to ejaculate, and can take about 45 minutes to take effect. According to director John Stagliano, using Viagra means "You also lose a dimension. The guy's fucking without being aroused."


title: Pornographic film actor

text: Ron Jeremy, John Holmes, and Rocco Siffredi are considered by AVN as the top male performers of all time. Adding to his fame, Ron Jeremy has been a staple in the industry since the 1970s and has become something of a cultural icon.


title: Pornographic film actor

text: Ken Shimizu is credited with having had sex with over 8,000 women in the course of making 7,500 films.


title: Pornographic film actor

text: Payment for pornstars is dependent on the sex acts performed; penetration typically paying highest. In a single scene, female actresses typically make between $100 and $6000, while male actors make between $100 and $400. In 2017, "The Independent" reported that female performers in scenes with male performers typically earn around $1,000, compared with $700–800 in scenes with other females. "The Independent" also claimed that pay rates are subject to variation up or down by around 10–20%, depending on various factors. The Daily Beast claimed in 2019 that female performers could make between $300 and $2500 per scene, depending on their level of experience and the sex acts performed. Higher-paid female performers could make around $1200 per scene. The "Los Angeles Times" reported, in 2009, that the pay rates for a female actress performing heterosexual scenes were $700 to $1,000. According to the porn website Videobox in 2008, actresses make these rates: Blowjobs: $200–$400; Straight sex: $400–$1,200; Anal sex: $900–$1,500; Double Penetration: $1,200–$1,600; Double anal: $2,000. For more unusual fetishes, women generally get 15% extra. Ron Jeremy has commented that in 2008, "The average guy gets $300 to $400 a scene, or $100 to $200 if he's new." According to producer Seymore Butts in 2007, who runs his own sex-film recruitment agency as well as producing sex films, "depending on draw, female performers who perform in both straight and lesbian porn earn more than those who do just heterosexual scenes [and] usually make about US$200–800[,] while those who only do oral sex (blow job) usually only make about US$100–300 for the scene". In a 2004 interview conducted by Local10 news of Florida, it was claimed that individuals were offered $700 for sexual intercourse while shooting a scene of the popular series "Bang Bus". In 2001, actress Chloe said of pay-rates: "In Gonzo, you're paid not by the picture, but by the scene. So it's girl-girl: $700, plus $100 for an anal toy. Boy-girl: $900. Anal: $1,100. Solo: $500. DP: $1,500."


title: Pornographic film actor

text: Salaries for female actresses typically range from $60,000 to $400,000, compared with $40,000 for male actors. In 2017, "The Independent" reported that top porn performers' salaries were around $300,000 to $400,000. In 2011, the manager of Capri Anderson said, "A contract girl will only shoot for one company, she won't shoot for anyone else. Most actresses in the adult industry are free agents – they'll shoot for anyone. Most contract girls make $60,000 a year. In one year, a contract girl will shoot, on average, four movies and each movie takes about two or three weeks to shoot."


title: Pornographic film actor

text: Besides appearing in films, porn stars often make money from endorsements and appearance fees. For instance, in 2010, some night clubs were paying female porn stars and Playboy Playmates to appear there to act as draws for the general public; the "Los Angeles Times" reported that Jesse Jane was paid between $5,000 to $10,000 for one appearance by a Chicago club.


title: Pornographic film actor

text: In the 1980s, there was an outbreak of HIV/AIDS in the pornographic film industry which caused many deaths. This led to the creation of the Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation (AIM) in 1998, which voluntarily tested the pornographic performers for HIV, chlamydia and gonorrhea every 30 days; and twice a year for hepatitis, syphilis and HSV. AIM closed all its operations in May 2011.


title: Pornographic film actor

text: Since 2011, STI testing for pornographic performers is being monitored by Free Speech Coalition, which set up the Adult Production Health and Safety Services (APHSS) system, now known as Performer Availability Screening Services (PASS). Performers are tested every fourteen days for HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, hepatitis B and C and trichomoniasis. According to PASS, there has not be an on-set transmission of HIV on a regulated set since 2004.


title: Pornographic film actor

text: Exceptional performance of pornographic actors and actresses is recognized in the AVN Awards, XRCO Awards and XBIZ Awards. The AVN Awards are film awards sponsored and presented by the American adult video industry trade magazine "AVN" ("Adult Video News"). They are called the "Oscars of porn". The AVN Awards are divided into nearly 100 categories, some of which are analogous to industry awards offered in other film and video genres, and others that are specific to pornographic/erotic film and video. The XRCO Awards are given by the X-Rated Critics Organization annually. The Venus Awards are presented each year in Berlin as part of the Venus Berlin trade fair.


title: Pornographic film actor

text: With some notable or occasional exceptions, pornographic actors are not generally reported on by mainstream media. As a result, specialized publications (or trade journals) emerged to serve as a source of information about the industry, its business dealings, trends and forecasts, as well as its personnel. Two of the predominant media outlets are "Adult Video News" and the X-Rated Business journal known as "XBIZ". Certain performers also have had their public accounts blocked on social media platforms.


title: Pornographic film actor

text: The "Internet Adult Film Database" (IAFD) lists adult film productions dating back to the 1970s, the performers in those films, and the associated directors.


title: Pornographic film actor

text: Porn actors have spoken out about discrimination they face due to their work, including being denied banking services and being fired from other jobs. Lana Rhoades and others faced difficulty when renting or buying a home. On numerous occasions, banks refused to open or close the accounts of porn actors. Chanel Preston was among those whose bank account was closed due to her profession.


title: Pornographic film actor

text: Porn actors also face discrimination from social media websites. Around 200 performers and models signed a letter to Facebook saying that their Instagram accounts were closed unfairly. Many say that they are being held to a different standard than mainstream celebrities. More than 1,300 performers claimed that their accounts have been deleted by Instagram's content moderators for violations of the site's community standards, despite not showing any nudity or sex. They claim that famous celebrities are allowed to be much more explicit on their accounts than porn stars or sex workers without getting sanctioned.


title: Pornographic film actor

text: Over 100 platforms, including banks, payment processors, social media websites and hotels have been accused of discriminating against sex workers.


title: Metal Gear

text: Several sequels have been released for multiple consoles, which have expanded the original game's plot, adding characters opposing and supporting Snake, while several prequels have explored the origins of Metal Gear and recurring characters. The third game in the series, "Metal Gear Solid" for the PlayStation, marked a transition to 3D graphics and gained the series international fame. It was ported two years later by Microsoft Game Studios to Windows, marking the franchise's debut on the platform. , copies of games in the franchise have been sold worldwide, with individual installments critically and commercially acclaimed and receiving several awards.


title: Metal Gear

text: The series is credited for pioneering and popularizing stealth video games and "cinematic video games". Notable traits of the series include cinematic cutscenes, intricate storylines, offbeat and fourth wall humour, and exploration of cyberpunk, dystopian, political and philosophical themes, with references to Hollywood films to add flavor. The franchise has also been adapted into other media, such as comics, novels, and drama CDs. Solid Snake has also gone on to appear in other games, such as the "Super Smash Bros." series, "Ape Escape 3", and "LittleBigPlanet".


title: Metal Gear

text: Hideo Kojima designed the original "Metal Gear", which debuted in Japan and Europe in 1987 for the MSX2 computer platform. A separate team created a heavily modified Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) port of the game that was released in Japan on December 22, 1987, North America in June 1988, and Europe and Australia sometime in 1989. Konami produced an NES sequel, "Snake's Revenge", again without Kojima, released in North America and Europe in 1990. One of that game's designers became acquainted with Kojima and asked him to create a "real "Metal Gear" sequel". In reaction, Kojima began development of "", which was released in Japan in 1990 for the MSX2.


title: Metal Gear

text: Following "Metal Gear 2"s completion, Kojima worked on other projects before directing his third "Metal Gear" game, "Metal Gear Solid", for the PlayStation. It began development in 1994 and debuted at the 1996 Tokyo Game Show, before being released in 1998. The success of "Metal Gear Solid" resulted in a series of sequels, prequels, spin-offs, ports, and remakes for Microsoft Windows, the Game Boy Color, PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. "Metal Gear Solid" was followed up by the sequel "" released in November 2001 for the PlayStation 2. A remake of the original "Metal Gear Solid" called "" was made for the Nintendo GameCube in early 2004. Later that year, the third numbered entry, "", was released on the PlayStation 2. This is the first prequel which was set prior to all the previously released Metal Gear games and which acted as an origin to the franchise. These games were followed by a sequel to "Snake Eater", "", which was released on the PlayStation Portable in 2006. The series' main storyline was concluded in "" for the PlayStation 3 in 2008. The game featured a multiplayer spin-off called "Metal Gear Online".


title: Metal Gear

text: In April 2010, another sequel to "Snake Eater", "", was released for the PlayStation Portable and was set shortly after the events of "Portable Ops". The spin-off game, "", was released in 2013 on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and in Jan 2014 on Steam (PC). The game is set after "Guns of the Patriots" and stars Raiden, the protagonist of "Sons of Liberty" who turned into a cyborg ninja.


title: Metal Gear

text: Expanded re-releases of games in the series were produced as well, such as "Integral" ("Metal Gear Solid"), "Substance" ("Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty"), and "Subsistence" (""). The series' portable installments are usually set outside the main storyline. "" was released for the Game Boy Color, and several games were released for Sony's PlayStation Portable. In a departure from the series' style, "Metal Gear Acid" and its sequel used turn-based strategy mechanics based on collectible cards.


title: Metal Gear

text: On May 18, 2009, a teaser site for the following installment in the "Metal Gear" series was uploaded by Kojima Production. The site initially consisted of a series of countdowns leading to several flashing letters and the images of two characters looking like a middle-aged Big Boss and a cyborg Raiden. An article published in the July 2009 issue of "Famitsu PSP + PS3" covers the content of the site and features an interview with Hideo Kojima. The interview, revealing many details, is heavily censored and was published that way as a request by Kojima, who was directing and designing the new game. Famitsu was to publish the full interview in its following issue. The new game was eventually revealed to be "", which was announced on June 1, 2009, at E3, during the Microsoft Press Conference.


title: Metal Gear

text: At E3 2010, a demo, "Metal Gear Solid 3D: Snake Eater – The Naked Sample", was shown on the Nintendo 3DS. The official E3 Kojima site later released screenshots and official art for the demo. Kojima did state, however, that this was not a preview for a full game but just a sample of what could be done on the 3DS hardware. Another mobile port of a previously released game was shown at Sony's PlayStation Meeting on January 27, 2011, where Hideo Kojima demonstrated a possible portable version of "Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots" for the upcoming PlayStation Vita.


title: Metal Gear

text: On June 2, 2011, Konami announced the "Metal Gear Solid HD Collection" which was released in November 2011 for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The collection features remastered versions of "Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty", "", and "Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker", rendered in 720p and running at 60fps, including Trophies/Achievements, and remastered audio. On August 15, 2011, UK retailer Zavvi secured the exclusive right to sell the "Metal Gear Solid: Ultimate HD Collection" only available for the PlayStation 3, which was released on November 25.


title: Metal Gear

text: In November 2011, Kojima discussed with "PlayStation Official Magazine (UK)" the series' future commenting an upcoming "Metal Gear Solid 5". Kojima said: "I think we'll probably have to make it [a sequel to "MGS4"] at some point, but what that will be, we have no idea". Kojima stated that when Konami does get around to building the game, he will have less influence than he had on previous iterations in the series. After the mixed fan reactions of the reveal of the rebooted action gameplay focused spin-off "Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance", Hideo Kojima reassured fans that an "authentic stealth "Metal Gear Solid"" sequel would be coming in the future.


title: Metal Gear

text: During a discussion panel at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in March 2012, Kojima stated: "I am working on something that I think will become the shining moment" for his career and the "Metal Gear" series". During the franchise's 25th anniversary, Konami revealed a demo for a new game in the "Metal Gear" series, "". A social game for the GREE, "", was released in December 2012.


title: Metal Gear

text: On December 7, 2012, a teaser for "" was revealed on the Spike Video Game Awards. Following the teaser trailer, numerous video game-related websites and fansites reported the trailer's seemed connection to the "Metal Gear" series of video games.


title: Metal Gear

text: On March 27, 2013, Kojima announced at GDC 2013 that "" and "The Phantom Pain" were two different portions of one work, "," with "Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes" serving as the prologue and "The Phantom Pain" serving as the main story. Snake's usual English-language voice actor David Hayter was not cast for the role. Instead, Hollywood actor and producer Kiefer Sutherland portrayed the character through voice acting and facial capture.


title: Metal Gear

text: In 2015, Konami revealed that they were recruiting new staff members to develop a new "Metal Gear" game as Kojima left the company. On August 17, 2016, Konami announced during Gamescom 2016 that a new "Metal Gear" game was in the works, known as "Metal Gear Survive". It is a spin-off game as well as a supplemental to "Metal Gear Solid V" as a whole, taking place between "Ground Zeroes" and "The Phantom Pain".


title: Metal Gear

text: In the Metal Gear universe, history had diverged at some point during World War II, with the fictional Cobra Unit, led by The Boss, being instrumental in the defeat of the Axis Powers. Cloning, AI and robotics technology of the 1970s are more advanced. The eleven games in the main "Metal Gear" series continuity reveal a narrative that spans five and a half decades, from the Cold War, until the near future. Big Boss is the most relevant character within the story of the series and of the canonical 11 games five are prequels centering on his story, set decades before the events of the original "Metal Gear". However, Solid Snake is still depicted as the primary main character of the series, as the prequels create context of his purpose and him being the antithesis of his Father.


title: Metal Gear

text: "", which is chronologically the first game in the series, introduces "Naked Snake" (or "Snake" for short), an operative working for the fictional "Force Operation X (FOX)" unit of the CIA during the Cold War. The game focuses on the rise of Snake from an apprentice to a legendary soldier, as well as the downfall of his mentor and matriarchal figure, The Boss. After The Boss defects to the Soviet Union, Snake is sent into Russia to kill her and end the threat posed by Yevgeny Borisovitch Volgin, a GRU colonel with plans to overthrow the Soviet government. Snake's heroics during the game earn him the nickname "Big Boss" at the end. The origins of The Patriots, an organization founded by Zero, are also explored.


title: Metal Gear

text: "" serves as a direct sequel to "" and follows Naked Snake's life after disbanding from FOX. With Snake not yet accepting the Big Boss codename, the plot features the origins of his mercenary unit as he attempts to escape the San Hieronymo Peninsula and battles his old unit. The canonicity of "Portable Ops" is disputed, with Kojima having stated that "the main story of "Portable Ops" is part of the Saga, is part of the official "Metal Gear" timeline, while some of the small details that are in "Portable Ops" are outside the Saga, not part of the main timeline of the game."


title: Metal Gear

text: The next game, "", is set ten years after the events of "Snake Eater" and returns to the story of the young Big Boss. Now the head of the mercenary corporation Militaires Sans Frontières (MSF), Big Boss discovers that nuclear warheads are being transported to Latin America and decides that he must put a stop to it. "Peace Walker" features a new cast of characters to provide both aid and intelligence for Big Boss. A few characters from later games, such as a younger Kazuhira Miller, make appearances in the game.


title: Metal Gear

text: "", serves as the direct sequel to "Peace Walker" and is composed of two chapters. The prologue, "", is set a few weeks after the final mission in "Peace Walker", as Big Boss is tasked with rescuing two VIPs from a U.S. military black site on the coast of Cuba. Big Boss' mission coincides with a visit to Mother Base by the IAEA, which turns out to be a cover for an attack on Mother Base orchestrated by the mysterious organization XOF. In the chaos, Big Boss' helicopter collides with another, and he is sent to the hospital for nine years, which leads to the events of the main chapter, "The Phantom Pain". The basis of the main story revolves around Big Boss forming a new private military company, the Diamond Dogs to retaliate for the destruction of MSF and the loss of his comrades. However, this "Big Boss" is revealed to be a part of the medical staff who survived the helicopter crash, who was brainwashed to believe himself to be Big Boss, while the real Big Boss went into hiding to create Outer Heaven, a place where soldiers can live without having to abide by any particular ideology.


title: Metal Gear

text: The first "Metal Gear" game for the MSX follows Solid Snake, a rookie of the FOXHOUND special operations unit. He is sent by his superior Big Boss to the fortress in South Africa known as Outer Heaven, with the goal of finding the missing squad member Gray Fox and investigating a weapon known as Metal Gear. However, after Snake unexpectedly completes his goals, Big Boss is revealed to be the leader of Outer Heaven, which he has created as a place for soldiers to fight free of any ideology that he believes has been forced upon them by governments. He fights Snake and is killed. However, it turns out that this was actually the body double from "Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain". In "" the real Big Boss has established a new military nation, Zanzibar Land, and he and Snake face off again, with Snake achieving victory and seemingly killing Big Boss for good.


title: Metal Gear

text: "Metal Gear Solid" elaborates on the storyline of the earlier games and reveals that Solid Snake is a genetic clone of Big Boss, created as part of a secret government project. An antagonist is introduced in the form of Liquid Snake, Snake's twin brother who takes control of FOXHOUND after Snake's retirement. Liquid and FOXHOUND take control of a nuclear weapons disposal facility in Alaska and commandeer REX, the next-generation Metal Gear weapons platform being tested there. They threaten to detonate REX's warhead unless the government turns over the remains of Big Boss. Solid Snake destroys Metal Gear REX and kills the renegade FOXHOUND members, with the exception of Revolver Ocelot.


title: Metal Gear

text: A third Snake brother known as Solidus Snake is introduced as the United States President at the end of "Metal Gear Solid" and serves as the main antagonist of "". During his time as president, Solidus became aware of a secretive cabal known as "The Patriots" who were steadily manipulating the course of history. After his tenure as president is over, Solidus takes control of the "Big Shell" offshore facility, which is being used to develop Arsenal Gear, a mobile undersea fortress designed to house and protect a network of AIs created to influence human development by filtering the availability of information across the Internet. The game is set four years after Liquid's death in "Metal Gear Solid", and it puts the player in control of Raiden, a soldier who fights against Solidus, who is revealed to be his former commander during his time as a child soldier. Raiden joins forces with Snake and learns that they are being manipulated by Revolver Ocelot, who has been working for the Patriots. At the end of the game, Ocelot seemingly becomes possessed by Liquid Snake as the nanomachines from Liquid's arm (which Ocelot took to replace his own arm after Gray Fox slices it off in "Metal Gear Solid") work their way into Ocelot's thought process.


title: Metal Gear

text: "" deals with a rapidly aging Solid Snake (now branded "Old Snake") who is on a mission to find and defeat Revolver Ocelot, now known as Liquid Ocelot. Despite the destruction of the Arsenal Gear in "Sons of Liberty", the Patriots have continued in their plans to influence the course of human history, installing artificial intelligence systems around the world. Ocelot, opposed to this, has assembled armies with which to fight back and intends to hijack their entire operating system for his own ends. Solid Snake's objective later changes to destroying the AIs of the Patriots and stop their oppression. After he and his allies succeed, Snake decides to live out his life peacefully.


title: Metal Gear

text: "" is set four years after "Guns of the Patriots" and it stars Raiden as a cyborg ninja mercenary. Raiden joins the private military firm, Maverick Security Consulting, and is tasked with defending the prime minister of an unspecified African country. However, the situation goes awry and the prime minister is killed by a rival PMC company named Desperado Enforcement LLC. Raiden is defeated in the battle, but decides to re-avenge his failure and is sent out with a brand new cyborg body to fight the mysterious military group.


title: Metal Gear

text: The original "Metal Gear", which was released in 1987 during the Cold War, dealt with the manipulation of soldiers by politicians of the East and West, countered by the concept of "Outer Heaven", a country without politics. Its sequel "Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake", which was released in 1990 at the end of the Cold War, expanded on this with themes regarding political intrigue, battlefield ethics, military history, and the negative effects of warfare.


title: Metal Gear

text: The overarching theme of the "Metal Gear Solid" series is that of the "gene, meme, scene, sense, peace, revenge and race," and how people are affected by these factors according to the game's producer Kojima—"Metal Gear Solid" deals with genetics and the moral implications of genetic engineering, "Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty" deals with how identity can be affected by the philosophies of one's society (a "meme") and the effects of censorship on society, "" deals with how the time and place one lives in (a "scene") affects their identity, how politics change along with the times and hyperreality, the inability to distinguish fact and fiction in an information saturated world.


title: Metal Gear

text: "Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots" deals with "sense", which is a person's understanding of the world that is lost when they die. It also encompasses how some things cannot be passed down to future generations and be misinterpreted as well as the artificially controlled (and globally shared) sense-data of the new era's nanotech-enhanced soldiers. With "Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker" the plot deals with the true nature of 'peace', and the concept of conflict in human societies. "Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain" deals with the themes "race" and "revenge" and how the latter can make one lose his humanity. Following the initial Metal Gear, each game has been a deconstruction of action movies and video games, using tropes to invoke the themes and ideas especially those of spy movies - it examines what kind of mind and complete control of a situation would be needed to pull off the absurdly complex and convoluted plans that rely on events completely within the realm of chance yet comes off without a hitch. Furthermore, it examines what happens to a child soldier forced to take up a normal life through the characters Eli (also known as Liquid Snake) in "Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain" and Jack (primarily known as Raiden) in "Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots".


title: Metal Gear

text: "Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance" also deals with "revenge". Raiden is defeated in the beginning and feels a deep sense of vengeance, and as such exacts his 'revenge' on the group who sabotaged him, as well as coming to terms with his own past and embracing his true nature. The games carry many implicit parallels to Nietzschean philosophy. Solid Snake serves as a deconstruction of the action hero archetype, as his wartime experiences have turned him into a bitter, broken-down soldier who wishes to retire, but cannot escape the life of conflict that had entwined him for so long. This concept is further explored through Raiden, who is put through the same torments as Snake in explicit detail. Big Boss is similarly not immune to this theme: as Naked Snake, he does not resemble a suave, impeccable secret agent that would otherwise fit into the 1960s spy film pastiche of "Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater", but is instead an everyman character. Only after undergoing immense psychological and physical scarring does he begin to resemble the ultimate soldier known as Big Boss.


title: Metal Gear

text: Although the series takes place in a realistic military setting, the "Metal Gear" video games also feature a strong focus on supernatural elements, leading the series to be commonly described as magic realism.


title: Metal Gear

text: In games, players control a character who has to infiltrate into his enemy's area alone to complete his mission. Across the mission, the player receives assistance from a supporting team communicated by Codec. While the team tells the player hints about the mission, it also helps expand the characters through their interactions. During their debuts, player characters Solid Snake and Raiden are meant to represent the player while in the following games they acquire more defined personalities. A common motif in the series is the use of powerful enemies. As games were released, new concepts were given to the bosses to make them innovative and notice their strength. As the first games used humans with supernatural abilities, for "Metal Gear Solid 4", the designers decided to use monsters rather than humans as enemies. A notable boss battle was The End from "Metal Gear Solid 3" that was meant to differentiate it from all the other bosses in the franchise due to its strategic gameplay. Another common motif has been the transformation of a previously normal character returning as a ninja. It started with Kyle Schneider in "Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake" when he fought against Snake as "Black Ninja". Several other characters have done the same, including Gray Fox, Olga Gurlukovich, and Raiden.


title: Metal Gear

text: Much as "Metal Gear" began as partially a pastiche of action movies of the time, characters were sometimes pastiches of contemporary action movie heroes. "Metal Gear Solid" characters have been designed by Yoji Shinkawa. Several of their real names and aliases are references to various Hollywood films. Because of the time skip between games, a few of the characters have been redesigned to fit in the game's year. With the improvements from new video game consoles like the PlayStation and PlayStation 2, the staff gave the characters a more realistic look although they initially had doubts about it. Kojima's thoughts regarding Snake's improved abilities by the time of "Metal Gear Solid" led to the concept of cloned characters who would be able to match him in combat. By "Metal Gear Solid 2", Kojima was inspired by the Sherlock Holmes novels to introduce a sidekick character in order to view Snake from a different perspective.


title: Metal Gear

text: The first "Metal Gear" game was intended to be an action game that featured modern military combat. However, the MSX2's hardware limited the number of on-screen bullets and enemies, which Hideo Kojima felt impeded the combat aspect. Inspired by "The Great Escape", he altered the gameplay to focus on a prisoner escaping. In a series of articles written for "Official PlayStation 2 Magazine", Hideo Kojima identified several Hollywood films as the primary sources of inspiration for the storylines and gameplay of the "Metal Gear" series. He further noted that the James Bond series is what influenced him the most regarding the creation of "Metal Gear Solid". The original plot has references to the nuclear war paranoia during the mid-1980s that resulted from the Cold War. Following games would revolve around nuclear weapon inspections in Iraq and Iran, but this idea was left out due to growing concern regarding the political situation in the Middle East. Other changes to the series were made in "Metal Gear Solid 2" as a result of the September 11 attacks.


title: Metal Gear

text: After "Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake", Kojima planned to release the third "Metal Gear" game in 1994 for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer in 1994. Besides changing the game's platform to the PlayStation, the game was renamed, and its subsequent sequels were given the word "Solid" as the series started using 3D computer graphics. Since then, the games were designed to be more realistic to further entertain the players. "Metal Gear Solid 3" was initially meant to be made for the PlayStation 3, but due to the long wait for the console, the game was developed for the PlayStation 2 instead. As previous game's settings were indoors areas due to difficulties with the consoles, since "Metal Gear Solid 3", Kojima wished to drastically change it despite difficulties. Since "Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty" had several plot points unresolved, it was originally meant to leave it to players to discuss them to come to their own conclusions. This has led to consistency issues in the English versions of "Metal Gear Solid" and "Metal Gear Solid 2" as they mentioned plot elements that were further explored in "Metal Gear Solid 4".


title: Metal Gear

text: A novel adaptation of the original "Metal Gear" was published in 1988 as a part of Scholastic's "Worlds of Power" line of novelizations, which were based on third-party NES games. It was written by Alexander Frost. The novelization is not based on the game's official storyline, but rather on Konami of America's localization of the plot. The book takes further liberties by giving Solid Snake the name of Justin Halley, and by changing the name of Snake's unit from FOXHOUND to the "Snake Men". In Japan, a "Metal Gear" gamebook was published on March 31, 1988, shortly after the release of the game on the Famicom. It is set two years after the events of the original "Metal Gear" and is part of the "Konami Gamebook Series". A novelization of "Metal Gear Solid" was published in 2008. It was written by Raymond Benson, the author of nine James Bond novels. Benson also wrote a "" novelization, which was published in 2009. Critical reaction to Benson's novelizations has been generally positive, with Bookgasm.com writing that "Benson does a fine job translating the game to the page" with "Metal Gear Solid", and MishMashMagazine.com calling "Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty" "a great companion to the game". A Japanese-language novelization of "" by Project Itoh was published on June 12, 2008. The novel was translated into English by Viz Media and was released on June 19, 2012.


title: Metal Gear

text: A comic book adaptation of the original "Metal Gear Solid" was published by IDW Publishing in 2004. It was written by Kris Oprisko and with illustrations by Ashley Wood. The series lasted 24 issues and has been collected in two trade paperbacks as well as a single hardback collector's edition which is currently out-of-print. The entire run of the comic was collected again in a paperback book, "Metal Gear Solid Omnibus," and released in June 2010. A comic book adaptation of "Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty" has also been published by IDW, written by Alex Garner with illustrations by Ashley Wood. A digital version of the first comic book adaptation was released for the PlayStation Portable, "Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel," in 2006. A second digital version, "Metal Gear Solid 2: Bande Dessinée", was released exclusively in Japan as a DVD release in 2008 and features fully voiced versions of both comic book adaptations. All the Japanese voice actors from the games reprised their roles with the exception of those that have died.


title: Metal Gear

text: A radio drama based on the original "Metal Gear Solid" aired in Japan from 1998 to 1999 as part of Konami's syndicated "CLUB db" program. Directed by Shuyo Murata and written by Motosada Mori, the serial lasted over 12 weekly installments spanning three story arcs. The series was later collected as a two-volume set. The series serves as an alternate continuation to the events of Shadow Moses, with Solid Snake, Meryl Silverburgh, Mei Ling and Roy Campbell going on further missions as FOXHOUND operatives (Mei Ling and Meryl are depicted wearing a battle dress uniform and a sneaking suit respectively), although the stories are not considered part of the mainstream "Metal Gear" canon. The Japanese voice actors from the game reprised their roles for the series, while new characters are introduced as well.


title: Metal Gear

text: Several promotional DVDs have been released detailing the "Metal Gear" series. "Metal Gear Saga vol. 1" was released in 2006 as a pre-order disc for "MGS3: Subsistence". It is divided into five chapters, each dealing with one game of the then five-part "Metal Gear" series in chronological order (beginning with "MGS3"), and each includes discussions by Hideo Kojima. "Metal Gear Saga vol. 2" was first shown at the 20th Metal Gear Anniversary Party, and then released as a pre-order disc for "MGS4". In this, the video is presented as a pseudo-documentary about Solid Snake and is divided into a prologue and four chapters: Naked Snake-the birth of Snake (chronicling the events of "MGS3", "MG1", and "MG2"), Liquid Snake-the second snake ("MGS"), Solidus Snake-the third Snake ("MGS2") and Solid Snake-the first Snake (setting the stage for "MGS4").


title: Metal Gear

text: In May 2006, "Metal Gear" series creator Hideo Kojima announced that an English-language film adaptation of "Metal Gear Solid" was in early development. Kojima also announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo later that month that he had negotiated a contract with a party in Hollywood to adapt the video game into a film, though no further details were shared at that time. David Hayter, the English voice actor for Solid Snake, submitted a film treatment that executives passed on. Producers had expressed interest in "Equilibrium" director Kurt Wimmer as writer and/or director, or Paul Thomas Anderson to direct; Kojima also denied claims that German director Uwe Boll was a possible contender. Viggo Mortensen and Hugh Jackman were considered for the role of Snake, while Christian Bale denied rumors of his involvement. However, on January 11, 2010, producer Michael De Luca confirmed that work on a "Metal Gear" film adaptation had been postponed indefinitely. He said Konami expressed concern that the entire "Metal Gear" franchise could be seriously affected if a movie version performed poorly. In March 2012, during "The Art of Video Games" exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Kojima stated that he did not have a desire to write or direct a potential "Metal Gear Solid" movie himself.


title: Metal Gear

text: At the Metal Gear 25th Anniversary on August 30, 2012, Hideo Kojima announced that Arad Productions, owned by Arad brothers Avi and Ari, have agreed to produce a movie version of "Metal Gear Solid" with Columbia Pictures. Columbia's parent company, Sony Pictures Entertainment, will be in charge of distribution. On June 3, 2014, "Deadline Hollywood" reported that Sony was in talks with Jordan Vogt-Roberts to direct the film. On March 30, 2015, Sony Pictures announced that Jay Basu would write the screenplay. In February 2017, Vogt-Roberts said the filmmakers are working on the film's script with Kojima and making it either an R or PG-13 rating. In November 2017, Derek Connolly was hired to rewrite the script. In July 2018, Vogt-Roberts announced that the first draft of the film's screenplay had been completed. In August 2018, Vogt-Roberts stated that he wished for the film to receive an R rating, stating, "It’s about doing it for a price so you can make the riskier, balls-to-the-wall, Kojima-san version of it. ...To me, it’s a way to make the first great video game movie where it doesn’t matter that it’s based on a video game". In December 2019, Vogt-Roberts announced that another draft had been completed. In December 2020, it was announced that Oscar Isaac had been officially cast as Solid Snake; Isaac had previously expressed interest in the role.


title: Metal Gear

text: "Metal Gear Solid" was referenced in the Disney film "Wreck-It Ralph", in which Ralph finds the exclamation mark that appears above enemies whenever they spot Snake, accompanied by the famous "alert" sound.


title: Metal Gear

text: An Italian fan film, "", was produced in 2009. The film is set in 2007, near the events of the first act of "". Kojima remarked that the movie was well-made and showed the fan's love for the series.


title: Metal Gear

text: In 1999, McFarlane Toys, with the collaboration of Konami, launched a series of action figures depicting key characters from "Metal Gear Solid". In 2001, following the success of the first series, and with the release of "," McFarlane Toys, and Konami combined their efforts to produce a line of action figures depicting "Sons of Liberty"'s main characters. Each character has a piece of Metal Gear RAY, so collecting the entire set is essential to build the robot.


title: Metal Gear

text: Konami has also released 4" scale blind-box figures based on "MGS2" released in Japan, "Sons of Liberty" in 2002 and "Substance" shortly after in 2003; the "Substance" series was eventually brought to the US and UK markets packaged on card rather than blind boxed. During the release of "MGS3", Medicom released 12" figures of Snake as part of their Real Action Heroes line. Medicom continued to support the franchise with the release of Kubrick figures for "Snake Eater" and "Guns of the Patriots", which also included seven- and 12-inch versions of the game's characters.


title: Metal Gear

text: In 2009, toy company ThreeA joined forces with Kojima to make related products. The first fruit of this partnership came in late 2012, when ThreeA released a massive 1/48 scale figure of Metal Gear REX, with working LED lights. It can also be dressed up to depict REX's decrepit condition in "Guns of the Patriots". The company is also cooperating with graphic artist Ashley Wood to develop a similarly scaled Metal Gear RAY. A prototype was first unveiled at the ReVenture hobby show in Hong Kong in April 2012.


title: Metal Gear

text: Square Enix also joined the production of toys based on the franchise starting with the boss vehicles and characters from "". The toys, which are from Square's "Play Arts Kai" line, were released in 2010. The line has since expanded to include characters from "Metal Gear Solid," "Sons of Liberty," "Ground Zeroes", and "The Phantom Pain", with the detail more pronounced than the original McFarlane Toys figures.


title: Metal Gear

text: In 2012, Hot Toys released a 1/6th action figure of Naked Snake in his original sneaking suit attire from "MGS3", as well as the Boss.


title: Metal Gear

text: To celebrate the franchise's 25th anniversary, model kit company Kotobukiya released a 1/100 scale Metal Gear REX, which features small figures of Solid Snake, Liquid Snake, and Gray Fox in both standing and near-death versions., and later followed suit with RAY. Kaiyodo's Revoltech action figure line includes versions of Big Boss from "Peace Walker" and Raiden from "Rising: Revengeance", plus Venom Snake and a generic Soviet Army soldier from "The Phantom Pain" for the smaller RevoMini action figure category.


title: Metal Gear

text: Soundtracks for the first two games were produced by Iku Mizutani, Shigehiro Takenouchi, and Motoaki Furukawa. For "Metal Gear Solid", Kojima wanted "a full orchestra right next to the player"; a system which made modifications such as tempo and texture to the currently playing track, instead of switching to another pre-recorded track. Although these features could not be achieved at that time, they were implemented in "Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty". Hideo Kojima's choice of Harry Gregson-Williams, a Hollywood film composer from Hans Zimmer's studio, as the composer for "Metal Gear Solid 2" was highly publicized in the run-up to the game's release. Gregson-Williams would reprise his role in "Metal Gear Solid 3" and "Metal Gear Solid 4". Starting with "Metal Gear Solid", theme songs have been provided by popular artists such as Rika Muranaka. Several soundtracks based on the games have also been published.


title: Metal Gear

text: The "Metal Gear" franchise has achieved great success, selling over copies . By February 2007, the series had grossed more than (equivalent to between adjusted for inflation) from copies sold, in addition to having sold ancillary merchandise including strategy guides, action figures and 200,000 comic books. , the franchise has grossed about worldwide.


title: Metal Gear

text: "Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty" sold copies worldwide, and is followed in sales by "Metal Gear Solid" with over copies sold, and then "Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots" and "Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain", each with over copies sold. According to Chart-Track, "Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots" was the second fastest-selling PlayStation 3 game in the United Kingdom after "Grand Theft Auto IV". "The Phantom Pain" grossed on release day, higher than the combined opening day box office of the films "" and "Jurassic World". The PlayStation Portable games were met with notably lower sales, but it has been analyzed that this was because of the low sales of the console when the games were released. "Metal Gear Survive", the first "Metal Gear" game to be developed since series creator Hideo Kojima left Konami, sold only a fraction of the sales made by "Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain".


title: Metal Gear

text: The series as a whole (namely concerning the Kojima-directed titles) is often regarded as one of the most influential of all time and has received largely critical acclaim from critics and players. Most of the numbered installments are considered to be some of the greatest video games of all time. "Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty" currently possesses 95.09% on GameRankings and 96/100 on Metacritic, making it the highest-scoring game of the series to date. In 2002, IGN's editors ranked "Metal Gear Solid" as the best PlayStation game ever. In "Game Informer Magazine"s list of top 200 games of all time, "Metal Gear Solid 2" ranked at No. 50 on the list. "" was also voted as the fifth greatest PlayStation game in a poll from "PlayStation Official Magazine (UK)". "Metal Gear Solid" and "Metal Gear Solid 2" were featured in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's "The Art of Video Games" exhibition taking place from March 16 to September 30, 2012. Games have won multiple awards such as "Metal Gear Solid", which won the "Excellence Award for Interactive Art" by the Japan Media Arts Festival, and "Metal Gear Solid 2", which was given the Game of the Year award by "Game Informer".