title: Jesus Christ Superstar

text: In 2017, a production featuring an all-Black cast was directed by Ron Kellum at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora, IL. Kellum's production ran from April 19, 2017, through May 28, 2017.


title: Jesus Christ Superstar

text: Two notable Jesuses were Takeshi Kaga, in the 1976 Japanese production, and Camilo Sesto in the 1975 Spanish production. Mary Magdalene was played by Rocío Banquells in a 1981 production in Mexico. A Czech version premiered in 1994 in Prague's Spirála Theatre and ran until 1998, with 1288 performances. In the 2000s, a Venezuelan production ran for two years (2006–2008), directed by Michel Hausmann. A Spanish production produced by Stage Entertainment ran from 2007 to 2009, followed by long-running productions in Italy and Sweden (featuring Ola Salo) and Norway.


title: Jesus Christ Superstar

text: Concerts of the show have been mounted in Vienna, Austria, since 1981, including one on Easter of 2015 starring Drew Sarich in the title role.


title: Jesus Christ Superstar

text: In 2010, an Australian production presented by Harvest Rain Theatre Company was directed by Tim O'Connor. Luke Kennedy appeared as Jesus, Naomi Price as Mary, Tod Strike as Judas, and Steven Tandy as Herod. A 2017 Professional Australian Production was staged at the Arts Centre Melbourne and starred Rob Mills as Jesus.


title: Jesus Christ Superstar

text: A 2014 production in São Paulo, Brazil starred Igor Rickli as Jesus. Negra Li was Mary Magdalene. A 2014 production in Lima, Peru, at the Sarita Colonia prison, as part of a rehabilitation program for inmates, received some press. Eighty prisoners mounted the production, directed by inmate Freddy Battifora, who also played the role of Jesus. The Catholic Church approved of the production.


title: Jesus Christ Superstar

text: In 2018, a new production, directed by Michael Hunt was premiered at the Perm Academic Theatre, Russia. Hunt worked closely with The Really Useful Group on a new translation together with the concept for a new staging. This rock opera is very popular in Russia but is the first authorised production to receive the support of the Really Useful Group.


title: Jesus Christ Superstar

text: The original 1970 concept album was very popular; its 1971 release topped the US Billboard Pop Albums. The 1972 and 1992 Australian cast recordings were also both highly successful.


title: Jesus Christ Superstar

text: A 1996 radio production for BBC Radio 2 starred Tony Hadley as Jesus, Roger Daltrey as Judas, Frances Ruffelle as Mary Magdalene and Julian Clary as King Herod; this production was re-broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra on 6 August 2016.


title: Jesus Christ Superstar

text: In May 2018, Aztec Records released a 1973 live recording of the Australian production; previous recordings of that production were released as "bootleg" copies.


title: Jesus Christ Superstar

text: A film adaptation of "Jesus Christ Superstar" was released in 1973. The film, directed by Norman Jewison, was shot in Israel and other Middle Eastern locations. Ted Neeley, Carl Anderson and Yvonne Elliman were each nominated for a Golden Globe Award for their portrayals of Jesus, Judas and Mary Magdalene, respectively. Bob Bingham (Caiaphas) and Barry Dennen (Pilate) also reprised their roles. A new song, called "Then We Are Decided" and phrased as a dialogue between Caiaphas and Annas, was written for this adaptation.


title: Jesus Christ Superstar

text: A second adaptation was filmed in 1999, and released around the world on video in 2000 and 2001. It starred Glenn Carter as Jesus, Jérôme Pradon as Judas, Reneé Castle as Mary Magdalene, and Rik Mayall as Herod, and was directed by Gale Edwards and Nick Morris. It was released on video in the UK in October 2000. In the U.S. it was released on VHS and DVD in March 2001, and aired on PBS's "Great Performances" series in April 2001. It won the International Emmy Award for Best Performing Arts Film in November 2001. The style of the film is more like the stage version than the location-based 1973 adaptation, and it used many of the ideas from the 1996–1999 UK production.


title: Jesus Christ Superstar

text: On Easter Sunday, 1 April 2018, NBC aired a live concert version of the show featuring John Legend as Jesus, Sara Bareilles as Mary Magdalene, Brandon Victor Dixon as Judas, Alice Cooper as King Herod, Norm Lewis as Caiaphas, Ben Daniels as Pilate, Jin Ha as Annas, Erik Grönwall as Simon Zealotes and Jason Tam as Peter.


title: Saxons

text: The Saxons (, , , , , ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, ) near the North Sea coast of northern Germania, in what is now Germany. In the late Roman Empire, the name was used to refer to Germanic coastal raiders, and as a name similar to the later "Viking". Their origins are believed to be in or near the German North Sea coast where they appear later, in Carolingian times. In Merovingian times, continental Saxons had been associated with the activity and settlements on the coast of what later became Normandy. Their precise origins are uncertain, and they are sometimes described as fighting inland, coming into conflict with the Franks and Thuringians. There is possibly a single classical reference to a smaller homeland of an early Saxon tribe, but its interpretation is disputed. According to this proposal, the Saxons' earliest area of settlement is believed to have been Northern Albingia. This general area is close to the probable homeland of the Angles.


title: Saxons

text: During the eighth and ninth centuries the Saxons of Old Saxony were in continual conflict with the Franks, whose kingdom at the time was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty. After thirty three years of conquest due to military campaigns led by the lord king and emperor Charlemagne beginning in 772 and ending around 804, the Franks defeated the Saxons, forced them to convert to Christianity and seized the territory of Old Saxony, annexing it into the Carolingian domain, although the Franks had been enemies of the Saxons in the time of Clovis I, during the early Merovingian period of the fifth and sixth centuries.


title: Saxons

text: Charles Martel, Duke and prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia, the grandfather of Charlemagne, had fought and led numerous campaigns against the Saxons.


title: Saxons

text: In contrast, the English Saxons, today referred to in English as Anglo-Saxons, became a single nation bringing together migrant Germanic peoples (Frisians, Jutes, Angles [whence "English"]) and assimilated Celtic Britons populations. Their earliest weapons and clothing south of the Thames were based on late Roman military fashions, but later immigrants north of the Thames showed a stronger North German influence. The term "Anglo-Saxon", combining the names of the Angles and the Saxons, came into use by the eighth century (for example Paul the Deacon) to distinguish the Germanic inhabitants of Britain from continental Saxons (referred to in the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" as "Ealdseaxe", 'old Saxons'), but both the Saxons of Britain and those of Old Saxony (Northern Germany) continued to be referred to as 'Saxons' in an indiscriminate manner, especially in the languages of Britain and Ireland.


title: Saxons

text: Although the English Saxons were no longer raiders, the political history of the continental Saxons is unclear until the time of the conflict between their semi-legendary hero Widukind and the Frankish emperor Charlemagne. The continental Saxons are no longer a distinctive ethnic group or country but their name lives on in the names of several regions and states of Germany, including Lower Saxony (which includes central parts of the original Saxon homeland known as Old Saxony), Saxony in Upper Saxony, as well as Saxony-Anhalt (which includes Old, Lower and Upper Saxon regions).


title: Saxons

text: The name of the Saxons may derive from a kind of knife associated with the ethnos; such a knife has the name "seax" in Old English, "Sax" in German, "sachs" in Old High German, and "sax" in Old Norse. The seax has had a lasting symbolic impact in the English counties of Essex and Middlesex, both of which feature three seaxes in their ceremonial emblem. The names of these counties, along with the names "Sussex" and "Wessex", contain a remnant of the root of the word "Saxon".


title: Saxons

text: The Elizabethan-era play "Edmund Ironside" suggests that the name "Saxon" derives from the Latin "saxa" (stones; singular form: "saxum"):


title: Saxons

text: In the Celtic languages, the words designating English nationality derive from the Latin word . The most prominent example, a loanword in English from Scottish Gaelic (older spelling: ), is the word , used by Scots-, Scottish English- and Gaelic-speakers in the 21st century as a racially pejorative term for an English person. The "Oxford English Dictionary" (OED) gives 1771 as the date of the earliest written use of the word in English. The Gaelic name for England is (older spelling: , genitive: ), and (formed with a common adjective suffix ) means "English" in reference to people and things, though not when naming the English language, which is .


title: Saxons

text: , the Irish word for an Englishman (with meaning England), has the same derivation, as do the words used in Welsh to describe the English people (, singular ) and the language and things English in general: and .


title: Saxons

text: Cornish terms the English , from the same derivation. In the 16th century Cornish-speakers used the phrase to feign ignorance of the English language. The Cornish words for the English people and England are and ('Land [Pays] of Saxons'). Similarly Breton, spoken in north-western France, has ('English'), ('the English language'), and for 'England'.


title: Saxons

text: The label "Saxons" (in ) also became attached to German settlers who settled during the 12th century in southeastern Transylvania. From Transylvania, some of these Saxons migrated to neighbouring Moldavia, as the name of the town shows. Sascut lies in the part of Moldavia that forms part of present-day Romania.


title: Saxons

text: During George Frideric Handel's visit to the Republic of Venice (1706–09), much was made of his origins in Saxony; in particular, the Venetians greeted the 1709 performance of his opera "Agrippina" with the cry , "Cheers for the beloved Saxon!"


title: Saxons

text: The Finns and Estonians have changed their usage of the root "Saxon" over the centuries to apply now to the whole country of Germany ( and respectively) and the Germans ( and , respectively). The Finnish word (scissors) reflects the name of the old Saxon single-edged sword — seax — from which the name "Saxon" supposedly derives. In Estonian, means "a nobleman" or, colloquially, "a wealthy or powerful person". As a result of the 13th-century Northern Crusades, Estonia's upper class comprised mostly persons of German origin until well into the 20th century.


title: Saxons

text: The word survives as the surnames of  /  (in Low German or Low Saxon), and . The Dutch female given name, , originally meant 'a Saxon woman' (metathesis of "Saxia").


title: Saxons

text: Following the downfall of Henry the Lion (11291195, Duke of Saxony 11421180), and the subsequent splitting of the Saxon tribal duchy into several territories, the name of the Saxon duchy was transferred to the lands of the Ascanian family. This led to the differentiation between Lower Saxony (lands settled by the Saxon tribe) and Upper Saxony (the lands belonging to the House of Wettin). Gradually, the latter region became known as "Saxony", ultimately usurping the name's original geographical meaning. The area formerly known as Upper Saxony now lies in Central Germany - in the eastern part of the present-day Federal Republic of Germany: note the names of the federal states of Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt.


title: Saxons

text: Ptolemy's "Geographia", written in the second century, is sometimes considered to contain the first mentioning of the Saxons. Some copies of this text mention a tribe called "Saxones" in the area to the north of the lower Elbe. However, other versions refer to the same tribe as "Axones". This may be a misspelling of the tribe that Tacitus in his "Germania" called "Aviones". According to this theory, "Saxones" was the result of later scribes trying to correct a name that meant nothing to them. On the other hand, Schütte, in his analysis of such problems in "Ptolemy's Maps of Northern Europe", believed that "Saxones" is correct. He notes that the loss of first letters occurs in numerous places in various copies of Ptolemy's work, and also that the manuscripts without "Saxones" are generally inferior overall.


title: Saxons

text: Schütte remarks that there was a medieval tradition of calling this area "Old Saxony" (covering Westphalia, Angria and Eastphalia). This view is in line with Bede who mentions Old Saxony was near the Rhine, somewhere to the north of the river Lippe (Westphalia, northeastern part of modern German state Nordrhein-Westfalen).


title: Saxons

text: The first undisputed mention of the Saxon name in its modern form is from AD 356, when Julian, later the Roman emperor, mentioned them in a speech as allies of Magnentius, a rival emperor in Gaul. Zosimus mentions a specific tribe of Saxons, called the "Kouadoi", which have been interpreted as a misunderstanding for the Chauci, or Chamavi. They entered the Rhineland and displaced the recently settled Salian Franks from Batavi, whereupon some of the Salians began to move into the Belgian territory of Toxandria, supported by Julian.


title: Saxons

text: Both in this case and in others the Saxons were associated with using boats for their raids. In order to defend against Saxon raiders, the Romans created a military district called the "Litus Saxonicum" ("Saxon Shore") on both sides of the English Channel.


title: Saxons

text: In 441–442 AD, Saxons are mentioned for the first time as inhabitants of Britain, when an unknown Gaulish historian wrote: "The British provinces (...) have been reduced to Saxon rule".


title: Saxons

text: Saxons as inhabitants of present-day Northern Germany are first mentioned in 555, when the Frankish king Theudebald died, and the Saxons used the opportunity for an uprising. The uprising was suppressed by Chlothar I, Theudebald's successor. Some of their Frankish successors fought against the Saxons, others were allied with them. The Thuringians frequently appeared as allies of the Saxons.


title: Saxons

text: In the Netherlands, Saxons occupied the territory south of the Frisians and north of the Franks. In the west it reached as far as the Gooi region, in the south as far as the Lower Rhine. After the conquest of Charlemagne, this area formed the main part of the Bishopric of Utrecht. The Saxon duchy of Hamaland played an important role in the formation of the duchy of Guelders.


title: Saxons

text: The local language, although strongly influenced by standard Dutch, is still officially recognised as Dutch Low Saxon.


title: Saxons

text: In 569, some Saxons accompanied the Lombards into Italy under the leadership of Alboin and settled there. In 572, they raided southeastern Gaul as far as "Stablo", now Estoublon. Divided, they were easily defeated by the Gallo-Roman general Mummolus. When the Saxons regrouped, a peace treaty was negotiated whereby the Italian Saxons were allowed to settle with their families in Austrasia. Gathering their families and belongings in Italy, they returned to Provence in two groups in 573. One group proceeded by way of Nice and another via Embrun, joining up at Avignon. They plundered the territory and were as a consequence stopped from crossing the Rhône by Mummolus. They were forced to pay compensation for what they had robbed before they could enter Austrasia. These people are known only by documents, and their settlement cannot be compared to the archeological artifacts and remains that attest to Saxon settlements in northern and western Gaul.


title: Saxons

text: A Saxon king named Eadwacer conquered Angers in 463, to be dislodged by Childeric I and the Salian Franks, allies of the Roman Empire. It is possible that Saxon settlement of Great Britain began in response to expanding Frankish control of the Channel coast.


title: Saxons

text: Some Saxons already lived along the Saxon shore of Gaul as Roman foederati. They can be traced in documents, but also in archeology and in toponymy. The "Notitia Dignitatum" mentions the "Tribunus cohortis primae novae Armoricanae, Grannona in litore Saxonico". The location of "Grannona" is uncertain and was identified by the historians and toponymists at different places: mainly with the town known today as Granville (in Normandy) or nearby. The "Notitia Dignitatum" does not explain where these "Roman" soldiers came from. Some toponymists have proposed Graignes ("Grania" 1109–1113) as the location for "Grannona"/"Grannonum". Although some scholars believe it could be the same element "*gran", that is recognised in Guernsey ("Greneroi" 11th century), it most likely derives from the Gaulish god Grannos. This location is closer to Bayeux, where Gregory of Tours evokes otherwise the "Saxones Bajocassini" (Bessin Saxons), which were ineffective against the Breton Waroch II in 579.


title: Saxons

text: A Saxon unit of "laeti" settled at Bayeuxthe "Saxones Baiocassenses". These Saxons became subjects of Clovis I late in the fifth century. The Saxons of Bayeux comprised a standing army and were often called upon to serve alongside the local levy of their region in Merovingian military campaigns. In 589, the Saxons wore their hair in the Breton fashion at the orders of Fredegund and fought with them as allies against Guntram. Beginning in 626, the Saxons of the Bessin were used by Dagobert I for his campaigns against the Basques. One of their own, Aeghyna, was created a "dux" over the region of Vasconia.


title: Saxons

text: In 843 and 846 under king Charles the Bald, other official documents mention a "pagus" called "Otlinga Saxonia" in the Bessin region, but the meaning of "Otlinga" is unclear. Different Bessin toponyms were identified as typically Saxon, ex : Cottun ("Coltun" 1035–1037 ; "Cola"s "town"). It is the only place name in Normandy that can be interpreted as a "-tun" one (English "-ton"; cf. Colton). In contrast to this one example in Normandy are numerous "-thun" villages in the north of France, in Boulonnais, for example Alincthun, Verlincthun, and Pelingthun, showing, with other toponyms, an important Saxon or Anglo-Saxon settlement. Comparing the concentration of "-ham"/"-hem" (Anglo-Saxon "hām" > home) toponyms in the Bessin and in the Boulonnais gives more examples of Saxon settlement. In the area known today as Normandy, the "-ham" cases of Bessin are uniquethey do not exist elsewhere. Other cases were considered, but there is no determining example. For example, Canehan ("Kenehan" 1030/"Canaan" 1030–1035) could be the biblical name "Canaan" or Airan ("Heidram" 9th century), the Germanic masculine name "Hairammus".


title: Saxons

text: The Bessin examples are clear; for example, Ouistreham ("Oistreham" 1086), Étréham ("Oesterham" 1350 ?), Huppain ("*Hubbehain" ; "Hubba"s "home"), and Surrain ("Surrehain" 11thcentury). Another significant example can be found in the Norman onomastics: the widespread surname Lecesne, with variant spellings: LeCesne, Lesène, Lecène, and Cesne. It comes from Gallo-Romance "the Saxon", which is "saisne" in Old French. These examples are not derived from more recent Anglo-Scandinavian toponyms, because in that case they would have been numerous in the Norman regions (pays deCaux, Basse-Seine, North-Cotentin) settled by Germanic peoples. That is not the case, nor does Bessin belong to the "pagii", which were affected by an important wave of Anglo-Scandinavian immigration.


title: Saxons

text: In addition, archaeological finds add evidence to the documents and the results of toponymic research. Around the city of Caen and in the Bessin (Vierville-sur-Mer, Bénouville, Giverville, Hérouvillette), excavations have yielded numerous examples of Anglo-Saxon jewellery, design elements, settings, and weapons. All of these things were discovered in cemeteries in a context of the fifth, sixth and seventh centuries AD.


title: Saxons

text: The oldest Saxon site found in France to date is Vron, in Picardy. Archaeologists excavated a large cemetery with tombs dating from the Roman Empire until the sixth century. Furniture and other grave goods, as well as the human remains, revealed a group of people buried in the fourth and fifth centuries AD. Physically different from the usual local inhabitants found before this period, they instead resembled the Germanic populations of the north. Starting around 375 AD the burials are located in the region known in Roman times as the Saxon Shores. 92% of these burials were inhumations, and sometimes included weapons of typical Germanic type. Starting from around 440 AD the burial ground displaced eastward. The burials were now arranged in rows and displayed a strong Anglo-Saxon influence until around 520 AD, when this influence subsided. Archaeological material, neighbouring toponymy, and historical accounts support the conclusion of settlement of Saxon foederati with their families on the shores of the English Channel. Further anthropological research by Joël Blondiaux shows these people were from Lower Saxony.


title: Saxons

text: Saxons, along with Angles, Frisians and Jutes, invaded or migrated to the island of Great Britain (Britannia) around the time of the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. Saxon raiders had been harassing the eastern and southern shores of Britannia for centuries before, prompting the construction of a string of coastal forts called the "Litora Saxonica" or Saxon Shore. Before the end of Roman rule in Britannia, many Saxons and other folk had been permitted to settle in these areas as farmers.


title: Saxons

text: According to tradition, the Saxons (and other tribes) first entered Britain en masse as part of an agreement to protect the Britons from the incursions of the Picts, Gaels and others. The story, as reported in such sources as the "Historia Brittonum" and Gildas, indicates that the British king Vortigern allowed the Germanic warlords, later named as Hengist and Horsa by Bede, to settle their people on the Isle of Thanet in exchange for their service as mercenaries. According to Bede, Hengist manipulated Vortigern into granting more land and allowing for more settlers to come in, paving the way for the Germanic settlement of Britain.


title: Saxons

text: Historians are divided about what followed: some argue that the takeover of southern Great Britain by the Anglo-Saxons was peaceful. The known account from a native Briton who lived in the mid-5th century AD, Gildas, described events as a forced takeover by armed attack:


title: Saxons

text: Gildas described how the Saxons were later slaughtered at the battle of Mons Badonicus 44 years before he wrote his history, and their conquest of Britain halted. The eighth-century English historian Bede tells how their advance resumed thereafter. He said this resulted in a swift overrunning of the entirety of South-Eastern Britain, and the foundation of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.


title: Saxons

text: During the period of the reigns from Egbert to Alfred the Great, the kings of Wessex emerged as Bretwalda, unifying the country. They eventually organised it as the kingdom of England in the face of Viking invasions.


title: Saxons

text: The continental Saxons living in what was known as "Old Saxony" (c. 531–804) appear to have become consolidated by the end of the eighth century. After subjugation by the Emperor Charlemagne, a political entity called the Duchy of Saxony (804-1296) appeared, covering Westphalia, Eastphalia, Angria and Nordalbingia (Holstein, southern part of modern-day Schleswig-Holstein state).


title: Saxons

text: The Saxons long resisted becoming Christians and being incorporated into the orbit of the Frankish kingdom. In 776 the Saxons promised to convert to Christianity and vow loyalty to the king, but, during Charlemagne's campaign in Hispania (778), the Saxons advanced to Deutz on the Rhine and plundered along the river. This was an oft-repeated pattern when Charlemagne was distracted by other matters.


title: Saxons

text: They were conquered by Charlemagne in a long series of annual campaigns, the Saxon Wars (772804). With defeat came enforced baptism and conversion as well as the union of the Saxons with the rest of the Germanic, Frankish empire. Their sacred tree or pillar, a symbol of Irminsul, was destroyed. Charlemagne deported 10,000 Nordalbingian Saxons to Neustria and gave their largely vacant lands in Wagria (approximately modern Plön and Ostholstein districts) to the loyal king of the Abotrites. Einhard, Charlemagne's biographer, says on the closing of this grand conflict:


title: Saxons

text: The war that had lasted so many years was at length ended by their acceding to the terms offered by the king; which were renunciation of their national religious customs and the worship of devils, acceptance of the sacraments of the Christian faith and religion, and union with the Franks to form one people.


title: Saxons

text: Under Carolingian rule, the Saxons were reduced to tributary status. There is evidence that the Saxons, as well as Slavic tributaries such as the Abodrites and the Wends, often provided troops to their Carolingian overlords. The dukes of Saxony became kings (Henry I, the Fowler, 919) and later the first emperors (Henry's son, Otto I, the Great) of Germany during the tenth century, but they lost this position in 1024. The duchy was divided in 1180 when Duke Henry the Lion refused to follow his cousin, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, into war in Lombardy.


title: Saxons

text: During the High Middle Ages, under the Salian emperors and, later, under the Teutonic Knights, German settlers moved east of the Saale into the area of a western Slavic tribe, the Sorbs. The Sorbs were gradually Germanised. This region subsequently acquired the name Saxony through political circumstances, though it was initially called the March of Meissen. The rulers of Meissen acquired control of the Duchy of Saxony (only a remnant of the previous Duchy) in 1423; they eventually applied the name "Saxony" to the whole of their kingdom. Since then, this part of eastern Germany has been referred to as Saxony (), a source of some misunderstanding about the original homeland of the Saxons, with a central part in the present-day German state of Lower Saxony ().


title: Saxons

text: Bede, a Northumbrian writing around the year 730, remarks that "the old (that is, the continental) Saxons have no king, but they are governed by several ealdormen (or "satrapa") who, during war, cast lots for leadership but who, in time of peace, are equal in power." The "regnum Saxonum" was divided into three provinces – Westphalia, Eastphalia and Angria – which comprised about one hundred "pagi" or "Gaue". Each "Gau" had its own satrap with enough military power to level whole villages that opposed him.


title: Saxons

text: In the mid-9th century, Nithard first described the social structure of the Saxons beneath their leaders. The caste structure was rigid; in the Saxon language the three castes, excluding slaves, were called the "edhilingui" (related to the term aetheling), "frilingi" and "lazzi". These terms were subsequently Latinised as "nobiles" or "nobiliores"; "ingenui", "ingenuiles" or "liberi"; and "liberti", "liti" or "serviles". According to very early traditions that are presumed to contain a good deal of historical truth, the "edhilingui" were the descendants of the Saxons who led the tribe out of Holstein and during the migrations of the sixth century. They were a conquering warrior elite. The "frilingi" represented the descendants of the "amicii", "auxiliarii" and "manumissi" of that caste. The "lazzi" represented the descendants of the original inhabitants of the conquered territories, who were forced to make oaths of submission and pay tribute to the "edhilingui".


title: Saxons

text: The "Lex Saxonum" regulated the Saxons' unusual society. Intermarriage between the castes was forbidden by the "Lex," and wergilds were set based upon caste membership. The "edhilingui" were worth 1,440 solidi, or about 700 head of cattle, the highest wergild on the continent; the price of a bride was also very high. This was six times as much as that of the "frilingi" and eight times as much as the "lazzi". The gulf between noble and ignoble was very large, but the difference between a freeman and an indentured labourer was small.


title: Saxons

text: According to the "Vita Lebuini antiqua", an important source for early Saxon history, the Saxons held an annual council at Marklo (Westphalia) where they "confirmed their laws, gave judgment on outstanding cases, and determined by common counsel whether they would go to war or be in peace that year." All three castes participated in the general council; twelve representatives from each caste were sent from each "Gau". In 782, Charlemagne abolished the system of "Gaue" and replaced it with the "Grafschaftsverfassung", the system of counties typical of Francia. By prohibiting the Marklo councils, Charlemagne pushed the "frilingi" and "lazzi" out of political power. The old Saxon system of "Abgabengrundherrschaft", lordship based on dues and taxes, was replaced by a form of feudalism based on service and labour, personal relationships and oaths.


title: Saxons

text: Saxon religious practices were closely related to their political practices. The annual councils of the entire tribe began with invocations of the gods. The procedure by which dukes were elected in wartime, by drawing lots, is presumed to have had religious significance, i.e. in giving trust to divine providenceit seemsto guide the random decision making. There were also sacred rituals and objects, such as the pillars called Irminsul; these were believed to connect heaven and earth, as with other examples of trees or ladders to heaven in numerous religions. Charlemagne had one such pillar chopped down in 772 close to the Eresburg stronghold.


title: Saxons

text: Early Saxon religious practices in Britain can be gleaned from place names and the Germanic calendar in use at that time. The Germanic gods Woden, Frigg, Tiw and Thunor, who are attested to in every Germanic tradition, were worshipped in Wessex, Sussex and Essex. They are the only ones directly attested to, though the names of the third and fourth months (March and April) of the Old English calendar bear the names "Hrethmonath" and "Eosturmonath", meaning "month of Hretha" and "month of Ēostre." It is presumed that these are the names of two goddesses who were worshipped around that season. The Saxons offered cakes to their gods in February ("Solmonath"). There was a religious festival associated with the harvest, "Halegmonath" ("holy month" or "month of offerings", September). The Saxon calendar began on 25 December, and the months of December and January were called Yule (or "Giuli"). They contained a "Modra niht" or "night of the mothers", another religious festival of unknown content.


title: Saxons

text: The Saxon freemen and servile class remained faithful to their original beliefs long after their nominal conversion to Christianity. Nursing a hatred of the upper class, which, with Frankish assistance, had marginalised them from political power, the lower classes (the "plebeium vulgus" or "cives") were a problem for Christian authorities as late as 836. The "Translatio S.Liborii" remarks on their obstinacy in pagan "ritus et superstitio" (usage and superstition).


title: Saxons

text: The conversion of the Saxons in England from their original Germanic religion to Christianity occurred in the early to late seventh century under the influence of the already converted Jutes of Kent. In the 630s, Birinus became the "apostle to the West Saxons" and converted Wessex, whose first Christian king was Cynegils. The West Saxons begin to emerge from obscurity only with their conversion to Christianity and keeping written records. The Gewisse, a West Saxon people, were especially resistant to Christianity; Birinus exercised more efforts against them and ultimately succeeded in conversion. In Wessex, a bishopric was founded at Dorchester. The South Saxons were first evangelised extensively under Anglian influence; Aethelwalh of Sussex was converted by Wulfhere, King of Mercia and allowed Wilfrid, Bishop of York, to evangelise his people beginning in 681. The chief South Saxon bishopric was that of Selsey. The East Saxons were more pagan than the southern or western Saxons; their territory had a superabundance of pagan sites. Their king, Saeberht, was converted early and a diocese was established at London. Its first bishop, Mellitus, was expelled by Saeberht's heirs. The conversion of the East Saxons was completed under Cedd in the 650s and 660s.


title: Saxons

text: The continental Saxons were evangelised largely by English missionaries in the late seventh and early eighth centuries. Around 695, two early English missionaries, Hewald the White and Hewald the Black, were martyred by the "vicani", that is, villagers. Throughout the century that followed, villagers and other peasants proved to be the greatest opponents of Christianisation, while missionaries often received the support of the "edhilingui" and other noblemen. Saint Lebuin, an Englishman who between 745 and 770 preached to the Saxons, mainly in the eastern Netherlands, built a church and made many friends among the nobility. Some of them rallied to save him from an angry mob at the annual council at Marklo (near river Weser, Bremen). Social tensions arose between the Christianity-sympathetic noblemen and the pagan lower castes, who were staunchly faithful to their traditional religion.


title: Saxons

text: Under Charlemagne, the Saxon Wars had as their chief object the conversion and integration of the Saxons into the Frankish empire. Though much of the highest caste converted readily, forced baptisms and forced tithing made enemies of the lower orders. Even some contemporaries found the methods employed to win over the Saxons wanting, as this excerpt from a letter of Alcuin of York to his friend Meginfrid, written in 796, shows:


title: Saxons

text: If the light yoke and sweet burden of Christ were to be preached to the most obstinate people of the Saxons with as much determination as the payment of tithes has been exacted, or as the force of the legal decree has been applied for fault of the most trifling sort imaginable, perhaps they would not be averse to their baptismal vows.


title: Saxons

text: Charlemagne's successor, Louis the Pious, reportedly treated the Saxons more as Alcuin would have wished, and as a consequence they were faithful subjects. The lower classes, however, revolted against Frankish overlordship in favour of their old paganism as late as the 840s, when the "Stellinga" rose up against the Saxon leadership, who were allied with the Frankish emperor Lothair I. After the suppression of the "Stellinga", in 851 Louis the German brought relics from Rome to Saxony to foster a devotion to the Roman Catholic Church. The Poeta Saxo, in his verse "Annales" of Charlemagne's reign (written between 888 and 891), laid an emphasis on his conquest of Saxony. He celebrated the Frankish monarch as on par with the Roman emperors and as the bringer of Christian salvation to people. References are made to periodic outbreaks of pagan worship, especially of Freya, among the Saxon peasantry as late as the 12th century.


title: Saxons

text: In the ninth century, the Saxon nobility became vigorous supporters of monasticism and formed a bulwark of Christianity against the existing Slavic paganism to the east and the Nordic paganism of the Vikings to the north. Much Christian literature was produced in the vernacular Old Saxon, the notable ones being a result of the literary output and wide influence of Saxon monasteries such as Fulda, Corvey and Verden; and the theological controversy between the Augustinian, Gottschalk and Rabanus Maurus.


title: Saxons

text: From an early date, Charlemagne and Louis the Pious supported Christian vernacular works in order to evangelise the Saxons more efficiently. The "Heliand", a verse epic of the life of Christ in a Germanic setting, and "Genesis", another epic retelling of the events of the first book of the Bible, were commissioned in the early ninth century by Louis to disseminate scriptural knowledge to the masses. A council of Tours in 813 and then a synod of Mainz in 848 both declared that homilies ought to be preached in the vernacular. The earliest preserved text in the Saxon language is a baptismal vow from the late eighth or early ninth century; the vernacular was used extensively in an effort to Christianise the lowest castes of Saxon society.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: David James Stuart Mitchell (born 14 July 1974) is a British comedian, actor, writer and television personality. He is part of the comedy duo Mitchell and Webb, alongside Robert Webb.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: Mitchell and Webb starred in the Channel 4 sitcom "Peep Show", in which Mitchell plays Mark Corrigan. Mitchell won the British Academy Television Award for Best Comedy Performance in 2009 for his performance. The duo have written and starred in several sketch shows including "Bruiser", "The Mitchell and Webb Situation", "That Mitchell and Webb Sound" and also "That Mitchell and Webb Look". The pair also starred in the UK version of Apple's "Get a Mac" advertising campaign. Their first film, "Magicians", was released in 2007. In 2013, the duo starred in the short-lived TV series "Ambassadors". Since 2017, Mitchell has starred in the Channel 4 comedy-drama "Back," alongside Webb.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: Mitchell starred as Owen in "Think the Unthinkable", and in the Ben Elton-penned BBC Two historical comedy "Upstart Crow" (2016–), playing the central character William Shakespeare.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: Mitchell is a frequent participant on British panel shows, being a team captain on "Would I Lie to You?", the host of "The Unbelievable Truth" on BBC Radio 4, and the former host of "The Bubble" and "Was It Something I Said?", as well as guesting on other panel shows including "QI", "The Big Fat Quiz of the Year", "Mock the Week", "8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown" and "Have I Got News for You". He was also a co-host of the comedy news programme "10 O'Clock Live". As a writer, Mitchell contributes comment articles to the British newspapers "The Observer" and "The Guardian".


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: Mitchell was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, to Ian Douglas Mitchell and Kathryn Grey Mitchell (née Hughes), who were, at that time, hotel managers. In 1977, when Mitchell was two years old, his parents gave up their jobs to lecture in hotel management, which gave them more time to look after him. He attended Napier House Primary School. He is the older of two boys, his brother Daniel being born when David was seven. The family moved to Oxford, where Mitchell's parents became lecturers at Oxford Polytechnic, now Oxford Brookes University. Mitchell attended New College School, which is an independent preparatory school in the city. In a 2006 interview with "The Independent", Mitchell stated his childhood dreams:


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: From the age of thirteen, Mitchell was educated at Abingdon School, a public school in Oxfordshire. Having always been top of the class at primary school and prep school, once he moved to Abingdon, he realised that there were plenty of people more intelligent than he was, so he turned his attention to debating and drama, "where [he] had a chance of being the best". There, Mitchell often took part in plays, "largely because you got to play cards backstage." His roles mainly consisted of small minute-long parts, until he won the role of Rabbit in "Winnie-the-Pooh". This was the first time that he was "consciously aware I was doing a performance" and that that "was better, even, than playing cards." Mitchell had been "obsessed" with comedy writing since his school days, as he "always felt that doing a joke was the cleverest thing", and "would intrinsically prefer a parody of something to the actual thing itself".


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: Rejected by Merton College, Oxford, in 1993, Mitchell went to Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he studied history. There, he began performing with the Cambridge Footlights, of which he became President for the 1995–96 academic year.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: Mitchell was in his first year at university when he met Robert Webb during rehearsals for a Footlights production of "Cinderella", in 1993, and the two men soon established a comedy partnership. According to Mitchell, these factors had a detrimental effect on his academic performance at university and he attained a 2:2 in his final exams.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: Before his break into comedy, Mitchell worked as an usher at the Lyric Hammersmith theatre, and in the cloakroom of "TFI Friday" among other jobs.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: Mitchell's first project with Webb was in January 1995, a show about a nuclear apocalypse entitled "Innocent Millions Dead or Dying: A Wry Look at the Post-Apocalyptic Age". Webb later described it as being "fucking terrible". After leaving university he and Webb began performing a number of two-man shows at the Edinburgh Fringe.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: As a result of their performances at the Edinburgh Fringe, the duo were given the chance to write for Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller and for series two of "Big Train". After minor work on "The Jack Docherty Show" and "Comedy Nation", their first break into television acting was in 2000, on the short-lived BBC sketch show "Bruiser", which they primarily wrote, and starred in. The show also featured future Academy Award and BAFTA winner Olivia Colman, who would become a regular cast member of Mitchell and Webb projects, and Martin Freeman, later of "The Office" fame. Other cast members included Matthew Holness and Charlotte Hudson. Additional material for the show was provided by various people, including Ricky Gervais and James Bachman.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: In 2001 the two men were commissioned for a sketch show of their own, entitled "The Mitchell and Webb Situation", which ran for six episodes on the now defunct channel Play UK. The show was reasonably well received. "Wessex Scene"s Darren Richman said "what the series lacked in budget, it made up for in magnificent material" and went on to call it "far superior to the vastly overrated "Little Britain"" and "perhaps the greatest forgotten sketch show of modern times." "Eureka! TV", which released "The Mitchell and Webb Situation" on DVD in 2005, said that the show "gushes forth an hilarious stream of surreal and quirkily inventive sketches", as well as calling it a "cult success". In the interview with "Wessex Scene", Mitchell stated that he was "more proud of the way it turned out than annoyed that it was only aired on a small channel."


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: Mitchell and Webb's next project came in 2003, with starring roles in the Channel 4 sitcom "Peep Show", as flatmates Mark Corrigan and Jeremy Usbourne respectively. The show originated from writers Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain's failed attempt to complete a team-written sitcom for the BBC; they had an old script that they wanted to revive and Mitchell and Webb helped out, with it eventually evolving into "Peep Show". Despite low viewing figures (which almost got the show cancelled after series three) the show was received to wide critical acclaim. The "British Sitcom Guide" called it "without a doubt one of the best sitcoms of the decade." Ricky Gervais has been cited as saying "the last thing I got genuinely excited about on British TV was "Peep Show", which I thought was the best sitcom since "Father Ted"". The BBC hailed Mitchell's performance in the series, citing that "As Mark Corrigan, David reached out to all those middle-aged men in a twentysomething's body, who believe drugs are boring and systems are necessary if society is to function at all." Mitchell has stated that he empathises with Mark and enjoys playing him and that he "agrees with many of [Mark's] opinions." "Peep Show" aired for nine series, which makes it the longest-running sitcom in Channel 4 history.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: In 2009, Mitchell won the British Academy Television Award for Best Comedy Performance for his work on "Peep Show", after having lost in the same category the year before. He was nominated again in 2010. He won the award "Best Television Comedy Actor" at the 2007 British Comedy Awards, and the pair shared the 2007 Royal Television Society Award for "Comedy Performance". They were also jointly nominated for "Best Television Comedy Actor" at the 2006 British Comedy Awards. "Peep Show" itself has also won the BAFTA for "Best situation comedy" in 2008, and the British Comedy Award for "Best TV comedy" in 2006, and retained it the following year. It also won "Best TV Comedy" at the "South Bank Show Awards", and claimed a Golden Rose in 2004.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: After the success of "Peep Show", Mitchell and Webb returned to sketch comedy with their BBC Radio 4 sketch show "That Mitchell and Webb Sound", which ran for five series. The show was adapted for television and became "That Mitchell and Webb Look". Producer Gareth Edwards described it as "the shortest pitch [he had] ever written". The show ran for four series. Towards the end of 2006 the pair made their first tour, with a show called "The Two Faces of Mitchell and Webb". The tour was criticised as just "a succession of largely unrelated scenes" by "The Guardian"s Brian Logan, who gave it a rating of two stars.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: "That Mitchell and Webb Look" won them the BAFTA for Best Comedy Programme or Series at the 2007 awards, and they earned a further nomination for it in 2009. It was nominated for two British Comedy Awards in 2006: Britain's Best New TV Comedy and the Highland Spring People's Choice. Their stage tour "The Two Faces of Mitchell and Webb" was nominated for the British Comedy Award for Best Stage Comedy, and "That Mitchell and Webb Sound" won a Sony Silver Award.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: Their first film, "Magicians", was released on 18 May 2007. It was directed by Andrew O'Connor and written by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain. Mitchell played the role of a magician named Harry. Later in 2007, the pair recorded a pilot BBC Radio 2 sitcom entitled "Daydream Believers", in which Mitchell played Ray, a science-fiction writer. The show was previously a one-off television pilot from Channel 4's "Comedy Lab", and also starred Mitchell and Webb.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: Mitchell and Webb's first comedy book, "This Mitchell and Webb Book", was published in 2009. A second book is in preparation. They also wrote and filmed "Playing Shop", a comedy television pilot for BBC2 about two men who operate a business out of their shed. Although the BBC commissioners were happy with it, Mitchell and Webb scrapped it themselves, as they felt it was too similar to "Peep Show". A new pilot had been commissioned, but the plan was later shelved. Mitchell and Webb voiced a robotic duo in the "Doctor Who" episode "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" in 2012.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: In 2007 the duo fronted the UK version of Apple Inc.'s "Get a Mac" adverts, with Mitchell playing PC. The adverts received much criticism. Writing in "The Guardian", Charlie Brooker claimed that the use of Mitchell and Webb in the adverts was a curious choice. He compared the characters of PC and Mac in the adverts to those of Mark and Jeremy in "Peep Show", stating that "when you see the ads, you think, 'PCs are a bit rubbish yet ultimately lovable, whereas Macs are just smug, preening tossers.'" "The British Sitcom Guide" also criticised the pair for "selling their souls". One journalist called the adverts "worse than not funny", and accused Mitchell and Webb of "an act of grave betrayal" for taking corporate work. In an interview with "The Telegraph", Robert Webb responded to the duo's critics, stating that "when someone asks, 'Do you want to do some funny ads for not many days in the year and be paid more than you would be for an entire series of "Peep Show"?' the answer, obviously, is, 'Yeah, that's fine.'" In the same interview, Mitchell also said: "I don't see what is morally inconsistent with a comedian doing an advert. It's all right to sell computers, isn't it? Unless you think that capitalism is evil – which I don't. It's not like we're helping to flog a baby-killing machine."


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: In 2005, the duo were placed ninth on a list of the United Kingdom's best television talent, and were named twelfth in a "Radio Times" list of the most powerful people in television comedy.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: As well as his work alongside Webb, Mitchell has appeared on his own in several shows. He played technical expert Owen in the Radio 4 sitcom "Think the Unthinkable" in 2001. He played the surgeon Dr Toby Stephens in the BBC2 sitcom "Doctors and Nurses". In 2005 he played Kate's hapless secretary Tim in the BBC's updating of "The Taming of The Shrew" in its ShakespeaRe-Told series. Mitchell appeared as various roles on the Channel 4 sketch programme "Blunder". The show was not well received, with the British Sitcom Guide naming it as the worst thing that Mitchell did in all of 2006 in their "British Sitcom Awards" of that year. He portrayed the recurring character of Dr. James Vine in the BBC sitcom "Jam and Jerusalem". Mitchell had a small part in the film "I Could Never Be Your Woman", playing an English writer, also named David. While in Los Angeles to record the part he decided that he did not like the area much, and preferred filming in Britain.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: He wrote series five of the BBC2 impressionist sketch show "Dead Ringers", and voiced Mitch in the Disney animated series "Phineas and Ferb". He also narrated the reality show "Beauty and the Geek". Following the success of "Channel 4's Alternative Election Night" in 2010, which Mitchell hosted with Jimmy Carr, Charlie Brooker and Lauren Laverne, the four presented "10 O'Clock Live", a series of live shows looking at the week's affairs. Mitchell has a solo segment entitled "Listen to Mitchell". The show ran for three series.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: Mitchell has presented four series of the online video show "David Mitchell's Soapbox", a series of short monologues co-written with John Finnemore for ChannelFlip. In these monologues Mitchell has criticised a variety of subjects, including the BBC show "Doctor Who" and 3D television. Matt Warman of "The Daily Telegraph" suggested that the series could be a sign that new comedy will increasingly become available online, rather than on television. The series has been released on DVD.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: He provided the voiceover for a £1 million government advert for FRANK, warning of the dangers of cocaine, as "Pablo the Drug Mule Dog"; and also for the Driving Standards Agency's "The Highway Code". He writes columns for "The Observer" and "The Guardian". He also took part in "Channel 4's Comedy Gala", a benefit show held in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital at the O2 Arena. In October 2009, Mitchell signed a deal with HarperCollins and its imprint Fourth Estate to write a volume of memoirs and a novel. The memoirs, "", was published in October 2012 with the novel scheduled for 2013.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: Mitchell plays William Shakespeare in all three series of the sitcom "Upstart Crow", the first series of which was broadcast in 2016 as part of the celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the playwright's death.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: Mitchell made his stage debut in Ben Elton's "The Upstart Crow" which premiered in London in February 2020 at the Gielgud Theatre. He played the part of Shakespeare as in the television series "Upstart Crow" which inspired the play.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: Mitchell has become a regular participant on many panel shows, leading "The Independent"s James Rampton to christen him "if not king, then certainly prince regent of the panel games." Mitchell is a team captain on the BBC panel show "Would I Lie To You?", opposite Lee Mack. The show has run since 2007, now airing in its fifteenth series. Since 2006, he has hosted 20 series of "The Unbelievable Truth", a panel game on BBC Radio 4. The inaugural episode of "Was It Something I Said?", a panel comedy show that Mitchell hosts, was broadcast on Channel 4 in October 2013.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: He was a team captain on the Channel 4 comedy quiz show "Best of the Worst", opposite Johnny Vaughan. Mitchell has also hosted ten episodes of "Have I Got News For You". Mitchell hosted the panel show "The Bubble". He hosted the second week of Channel 4's "FAQ U", and appeared as himself in an episode of "Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive", a panel show parody. He also appeared as one of the participants on the Channel 4 show "TV Heaven, Telly Hell", and has appeared on several episodes of "Question Time". Other appearances include "QI", "Have I Got News for You", "Mock the Week", "Just a Minute", "Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive" and "8 Out of 10 Cats", as well as appearances on "The Big Fat Quiz of the Year" in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: In a 2007 interview with Digital Spy, Mitchell stated that he enjoyed panel shows, as they are "a game worth playing". He then further explained his appreciation of the panel format by challenging criticism from "Fast Show" co-creator Charlie Higson, who stated in September 2013 that panel comedies were overtaking television programming at the expense of sketch shows and sitcoms:


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: The "Radio Times" named him "The Best Comedy Panel Show Guest" in the world, stating that "he's incredibly, disgustingly witty" and "even starting to make Paul Merton look slow on the uptake".


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: Following his BAFTA win, Mitchell was ranked at No. 53 in the 2009 MediaGuardian 100, an annual ranking of media people in "The Guardian". In reference to his ubiquitous presence in broadcast and print media, "The Guardian"s writer called him "the go-to funnyman of the moment". In their entry for "Peep Show" on their list of "The top 50 TV shows of the Noughties", "The Times" labelled Mitchell "a national institution".


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: Mitchell's favourite actor is Sir Alec Guinness, and he lists Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers and Peter Cook as his comedy idols. Additionally, following the death of British actor Richard Briers in February 2013, Mitchell revealed that whenever he has acted he "always hoped to be something like him". Mitchell has also identified "Morecambe and Wise", "Monty Python" and "The Two Ronnies" as highly influential on his career.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: Because Mitchell's Merseyside-born father's family were from Scotland and his mother is Welsh, Mitchell considers himself British rather than English. He explored his ancestry in an episode of the television programme "Who Do You Think You Are?", discovering his connection to the Gaelic scholars John Forbes and Alexander Robert Forbes. On 7 August 2014, Mitchell was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to "The Guardian" expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue. Mitchell's participation in the open letter follows a May 2011 column in "The Observer", in which he concludes that "If Scotland ever goes it alone ... the British will have lost their country".


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: Mitchell has often joked about his personal life in interviews. In 2005, he stated that he had "been in so many situations when I've just said nothing to someone I've fancied". He later added that "I'm sort of all right on my own. I don't want it to be forever, but the fundamental thing is I'm all right alone." For many years he lived in Kilburn, London, as the flatmate of novelist Robert Hudson. In 2006, he was best man at Robert Webb's wedding to Abigail Burdess.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: He first met broadcaster Victoria Coren at Jonathan Ross's annual Halloween party in 2007 and was "completely smitten". She decided to pursue someone else and he pined for her but in December 2010 they began dating. In March 2012, their engagement was announced in "The Times", and they married on 17 November 2012 with Robert Webb as his best man. In May 2015, Coren announced the birth of their daughter.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: He remains interested in history and said in an interview with "The Observer" that "I can see myself in a few years' time joining the National Trust and going round the odd castle. I think I might find that restful as the anger of middle age sets in". In his interview on "Parkinson" he said that if he could go back in time to do one thing, it would be to go to the building of Stonehenge, to ask them "why they were bothering".


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: He is a cricket and snooker fan, and also plays squash and tennis. He does not drive. He is an agnostic.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: Mitchell walks for an hour daily to help a bad back and has lost weight as a result, but he "probably [has] quite a bad diet" and "probably drinks too much". He describes himself as a worrier.


title: David Mitchell (comedian)

text: Beyond the realm of film and television, Mitchell cites Evelyn Waugh among his favourite authors. He appeared on the radio programme "Desert Island Discs". Mitchell has revealed that he once attended a Shirley Bassey concert and that he owns just two CDs: Phil Collins's "... But Seriously" and Susan Boyle's "I Dreamed a Dream".


title: Glaucoma

text: Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that result in damage to the optic nerve (or retina) and cause vision loss. The most common type is open-angle (wide angle, chronic simple) glaucoma, in which the drainage angle for fluid within the eye remains open, with less common types including closed-angle (narrow angle, acute congestive) glaucoma and normal-tension glaucoma. Open-angle glaucoma develops slowly over time and there is no pain. Peripheral vision may begin to decrease, followed by central vision, resulting in blindness if not treated. Closed-angle glaucoma can present gradually or suddenly. The sudden presentation may involve severe eye pain, blurred vision, mid-dilated pupil, redness of the eye, and nausea. Vision loss from glaucoma, once it has occurred, is permanent. Eyes affected by glaucoma are referred to as being glaucomatous.


title: Glaucoma

text: Risk factors for glaucoma include increasing age, high pressure in the eye, a family history of glaucoma, and use of steroid medication. For eye pressures, a value of above atmospheric pressure (760 mmHg) is often used, with higher pressures leading to a greater risk. However, some may have high eye pressure for years and never develop damage. Conversely, optic nerve damage may occur with normal pressure, known as normal-tension glaucoma. The mechanism of open-angle glaucoma is believed to be the slow exit of aqueous humor through the trabecular meshwork, while in closed-angle glaucoma the iris blocks the trabecular meshwork. Diagnosis is achieved by performing a dilated eye examination. Often, the optic nerve shows an abnormal amount of cupping.


title: Glaucoma

text: If treated early, it is possible to slow or stop the progression of disease with medication, laser treatment, or surgery. The goal of these treatments is to decrease eye pressure. A number of different classes of glaucoma medication are available. Laser treatments may be effective in both open-angle and closed-angle glaucoma. A number of types of glaucoma surgeries may be used in people who do not respond sufficiently to other measures. Treatment of closed-angle glaucoma is a medical emergency.


title: Glaucoma

text: About 70 million people have glaucoma globally, with about two million patients in the United States. It is the leading cause of blindness in African Americans. It occurs more commonly among older people, and closed-angle glaucoma is more common in women. Glaucoma has been called the "silent thief of sight", because the loss of vision usually occurs slowly over a long period of time. Worldwide, glaucoma is the second-leading cause of blindness after cataracts. Cataracts caused 51% of blindness in 2010, while glaucoma caused 8%. The word "glaucoma" is from the Ancient Greek "glaukos", which means "shimmering." In English, the word was used as early as 1587 but did not become commonly used until after 1850, when the development of the ophthalmoscope allowed doctors to see the optic nerve damage.


title: Glaucoma

text: As open-angle glaucoma is usually painless with no symptoms early in the disease process, screening through regular eye exams is important. The only signs are gradually progressive visual field loss and optic nerve changes (increased cup-to-disc ratio on fundoscopic examination).


title: Glaucoma

text: About 10% of people with closed angles present with acute angle closure characterized by sudden ocular pain, seeing halos around lights, red eye, very high intraocular pressure (>), nausea and vomiting, suddenly decreased vision, and a fixed, mid-dilated pupil. It is also associated with an oval pupil in some cases. Acute angle closure is an emergency.


title: Glaucoma

text: Ocular hypertension (increased pressure within the eye) is the most important risk factor for glaucoma, but only about 50% of people with primary open-angle glaucoma actually have elevated ocular pressure. Ocular hypertension—an intraocular pressure above the traditional threshold of or even above —is not necessarily a pathological condition, but it increases the risk of developing glaucoma. One study found a conversion rate of 18% within five years, meaning fewer than one in five people with elevated intraocular pressure will develop glaucomatous visual field loss over that period of time. It is a matter of debate whether every person with an elevated intraocular pressure should receive glaucoma therapy; currently, most ophthalmologists favor treatment of those with additional risk factors.


title: Glaucoma

text: Open-angle glaucoma accounts for 90% of glaucoma cases in the United States. Closed-angle glaucoma accounts for fewer than 10% of glaucoma cases in the United States, but as many as half of glaucoma cases in other nations (particularly East Asian countries).


title: Glaucoma

text: No clear evidence indicates that vitamin deficiencies cause glaucoma in humans. As such, oral vitamin supplementation is not a recommended treatment. Caffeine increases intraocular pressure in those with glaucoma, but does not appear to affect normal individuals.


title: Glaucoma

text: Many people of East Asian descent are prone to developing angle closure glaucoma because of shallower anterior chamber depths, with the majority of cases of glaucoma in this population consisting of some form of angle closure. Higher rates of glaucoma have also been reported for Inuit populations, compared to White populations, in Canada and Greenland.


title: Glaucoma

text: Positive family history is a risk factor for glaucoma. The relative risk of having primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is increased about two- to four-fold for people who have a sibling with glaucoma. Glaucoma, particularly primary open-angle glaucoma, is associated with mutations in several genes, including "MYOC, ASB10, WDR36, NTF4", "TBK1", and "RPGRIP1", although most cases of glaucoma do not involve these genetic mutations. Normal-tension glaucoma, which comprises one-third of POAG, is also associated with genetic mutations (including "OPA1" and "OPTN" genes).


title: Glaucoma

text: Various rare congenital/genetic eye malformations are associated with glaucoma. Occasionally, failure of the normal third-trimester gestational atrophy of the hyaloid canal and the tunica vasculosa lentis is associated with other anomalies. Angle closure-induced ocular hypertension and glaucomatous optic neuropathy may also occur with these anomalies and has been modelled in mice.


title: Glaucoma

text: Other factors can cause glaucoma, known as "secondary glaucoma", including prolonged use of steroids (steroid-induced glaucoma); conditions that severely restrict blood flow to the eye, such as severe diabetic retinopathy and central retinal vein occlusion (neovascular glaucoma); ocular trauma (angle-recession glaucoma); and inflammation of the middle layer of the pigmented vascular eye structure (uveitis), known as uveitic glaucoma.


title: Glaucoma

text: The underlying cause of open-angle glaucoma remains unclear. Several theories exist on its exact etiology. However, the major risk factor for most glaucomas and the focus of treatment is increased intraocular pressure. Intraocular pressure is a function of production of liquid aqueous humor by the ciliary processes of the eye, and its drainage through the trabecular meshwork. Aqueous humor flows from the ciliary processes into the posterior chamber, bounded posteriorly by the lens and the zonules of Zinn, and anteriorly by the iris. It then flows through the pupil of the iris into the anterior chamber, bounded posteriorly by the iris and anteriorly by the cornea.


title: Glaucoma

text: From here, the trabecular meshwork drains aqueous humor via the scleral venous sinus (Schlemm's canal) into scleral plexuses and general blood circulation.


title: Glaucoma

text: In open/wide-angle glaucoma, flow is reduced through the trabecular meshwork, due to the degeneration and obstruction of the trabecular meshwork, whose original function is to absorb the aqueous humor. Loss of aqueous humor absorption leads to increased resistance and thus a chronic, painless buildup of pressure in the eye.


title: Glaucoma

text: In close/narrow-angle, the iridocorneal angle is completely closed because of forward displacement of the final roll and root of the iris against the cornea, resulting in the inability of the aqueous fluid to flow from the posterior to the anterior chamber and then out of the trabecular network. This accumulation of aqueous humor causes an acute increase in pressure and pain.


title: Glaucoma

text: Degeneration of axons of the retinal ganglion cells (the optic nerve) is a hallmark of glaucoma. The inconsistent relationship of glaucomatous optic neuropathy with increased intraocular pressure has provoked hypotheses and studies on anatomic structure, eye development, nerve compression trauma, optic nerve blood flow, excitatory neurotransmitter, trophic factor, retinal ganglion cell/axon degeneration, glial support cell, immune system, aging mechanisms of neuron loss, and severing of the nerve fibers at the scleral edge.


title: Glaucoma

text: Screening for glaucoma is usually performed as part of a standard eye examination performed by optometrists and ophthalmologists. Testing for glaucoma includes measurements of the intraocular pressure using tonometry, anterior chamber angle examination or gonioscopy as well as examination of the optic nerve to discern visible damage, changes in the cup-to-disc ratio, rim appearance and vascular change. A formal visual field test is performed. The retinal nerve fiber layer can be assessed with imaging techniques such as optical coherence tomography, scanning laser polarimetry or scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (Heidelberg retinal tomogram). Visual field loss is the most specific sign of the condition, though it occurs later in the course of the disease.


title: Glaucoma

text: As all methods of tonometry are sensitive to corneal thickness, methods such as Goldmann tonometry may be augmented with pachymetry to measure the central corneal thickness (CCT). A thicker cornea can result in a pressure reading higher than the true pressure but a thinner cornea can produce a pressure reading lower than the true pressure.


title: Glaucoma

text: Because pressure-measurement error can be caused by more than just CCT (such as by corneal hydration or elastic properties), it is impossible to adjust pressure measurements based only on CCT measurements. The frequency-doubling illusion can also be used to detect glaucoma with the use of a frequency-doubling technology perimeter.


title: Glaucoma

text: Examination for glaucoma is assessed with attention given to gender, race, history of drug use, refraction, inheritance and family history.


title: Glaucoma

text: Primary angle closure glaucoma is caused by contact between the iris and trabecular meshwork, which in turn obstructs outflow of the aqueous humor from the eye. This contact between iris and trabecular meshwork (TM) may gradually damage the function of the meshwork until it fails to keep pace with aqueous production, and the pressure rises. In over half of all cases, prolonged contact between iris and TM causes the formation of synechiae (effectively "scars").


title: Glaucoma

text: These cause permanent obstruction of aqueous outflow. In some cases, pressure may rapidly build up in the eye, causing pain and redness (symptomatic, or so-called "acute" angle closure). In this situation, the vision may become blurred, and halos may be seen around bright lights. Accompanying symptoms may include a headache and vomiting.


title: Glaucoma

text: Diagnosis is made from physical signs and symptoms: pupils mid-dilated and unresponsive to light, cornea edematous (cloudy), reduced vision, redness, and pain. However, the majority of cases are asymptomatic. Prior to the very severe loss of vision, these cases can only be identified by examination, generally by an eye care professional.


title: Glaucoma

text: Once any symptoms have been controlled, the first line (and often definitive) treatment is laser iridotomy. This may be performed using either Nd:YAG or argon lasers, or in some cases by conventional incisional surgery. The goal of treatment is to reverse and prevent contact between the iris and trabecular meshwork. In early to moderately advanced cases, iridotomy is successful in opening the angle in around 75% of cases. In the other 25%, laser iridoplasty, medication (pilocarpine) or incisional surgery may be required.


title: Glaucoma

text: Primary open-angle glaucoma is when optic nerve damage results in a progressive loss of the visual field. This is associated with increased pressure in the eye. Not all people with primary open-angle glaucoma have eye pressure that is elevated beyond normal, but decreasing the eye pressure further has been shown to stop progression even in these cases.


title: Glaucoma

text: The increased pressure is caused by trabecular meshwork blockage. Because the microscopic passageways are blocked, the pressure builds up in the eye and causes imperceptible very gradual vision loss. Peripheral vision is affected first, but eventually the entire vision will be lost if not treated.


title: Glaucoma

text: Diagnosis is made by looking for cupping of the optic nerve. Prostaglandin agonists work by opening uveoscleral passageways. Beta-blockers, such as timolol, work by decreasing aqueous formation. Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors decrease bicarbonate formation from ciliary processes in the eye, thus decreasing the formation of aqueous humor. Parasympathetic analogs are drugs that work on the trabecular outflow by opening up the passageway and constricting the pupil. Alpha 2 agonists (brimonidine, apraclonidine) both decrease fluid production (via inhibition of AC) and increase drainage.


title: Glaucoma

text: Neovascular glaucoma, an uncommon type of glaucoma, is difficult or nearly impossible to treat, and is often caused by proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) or central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO). It may also be triggered by other conditions that result in ischemia of the retina or ciliary body. Individuals with poor blood flow to the eye are highly at risk for this condition.


title: Glaucoma

text: Neovascular glaucoma results when new, abnormal vessels begin developing in the angle of the eye that begin blocking the drainage. People with such condition begin to rapidly lose their eyesight. Sometimes, the disease appears very rapidly, especially after cataract surgery procedures. A new treatment for this disease, as first reported by Kahook and colleagues, involves the use of a novel group of medications known as anti-VEGF agents. These injectable medications can lead to a dramatic decrease in new vessel formation and, if injected early enough in the disease process, may lead to normalization of intraocular pressure. Currently, there are no high-quality controlled trials demonstrating a beneficial effect of anti-VEGF treatments in lowering IOP in people with neovascular glaucoma.


title: Glaucoma

text: Toxic glaucoma is open-angle glaucoma with an unexplained significant rise of intraocular pressure following unknown pathogenesis. Intraocular pressure can sometimes reach . It characteristically manifests as ciliary body inflammation and massive trabecular oedema that sometimes extends to Schlemm's canal. This condition is differentiated from malignant glaucoma by the presence of a deep and clear anterior chamber and a lack of aqueous misdirection. Also, the corneal appearance is not as hazy. A reduction in visual acuity can occur followed neuroretinal breakdown.


title: Glaucoma

text: Associated factors include inflammation, drugs, trauma and intraocular surgery, including cataract surgery and vitrectomy procedures. Gede Pardianto (2005) reported on four patients who had toxic glaucoma. One of them underwent phacoemulsification with small particle nucleus drops. Some cases can be resolved with some medication, vitrectomy procedures or trabeculectomy. Valving procedures can give some relief, but further research is required.


title: Glaucoma

text: Absolute glaucoma (H44.5) is the end stage of all types of glaucoma. The eye has no vision, absence of pupillary light reflex and pupillary response, and has a stony appearance. Severe pain is present in the eye. The treatment of absolute glaucoma is a destructive procedure like cyclocryoapplication, cyclophotocoagulation, or injection of 99% alcohol.


title: Glaucoma

text: Glaucoma is an umbrella term for eye conditions that damage the optic nerve and that can lead to a loss of vision. The main cause of damage to the optic nerve is intraocular pressure (IOP), excessive fluid pressure within the eye, which can be caused by factors such as blockage of drainage ducts and narrowing or closure of the angle between the iris and cornea.


title: Glaucoma

text: Glaucoma is primarily categorized as either open-angle or closed-angle (or angle-closure). In open-angle glaucoma, the iris meets the cornea normally, allowing the fluid from inside the eye to drain, thus relieving the internal pressure. When this angle is narrowed or closed, pressure increases over time, causing damage to the optic nerve and leading to blindness.


title: Glaucoma

text: Primary open-angle glaucoma (also called primary or chronic glaucoma) involves the slow clogging of drainage canals resulting in increased eye pressure, which causes progressive optic nerve damage. This manifests as a gradual loss of the visual field, starting with a loss of peripheral vision, but eventually all vision will be lost if the condition is not treated. This is the most common type of glaucoma, accounting for 90% of cases in the United States, but is less prevalent in Asian countries. Onset is slow and painless, and loss of vision is gradual and irreversible.


title: Glaucoma

text: With narrow-angle glaucoma (also called closed-angle glaucoma), the iris bows forward, narrowing the angle that drains the eye, increasing pressure within the eye. If untreated, it can lead to the medical emergency of angle-closure glaucoma.


title: Glaucoma

text: With angle-closure glaucoma (also called closed-angle, primary angle-closure or acute glaucoma), the iris bows forward and causes physical contact between the iris and trabecular meshwork, which blocks the outflow of aqueous humor from within the eye. This contact may gradually damage the draining function of the meshwork until it fails to keep pace with aqueous production, and the intraocular pressure rises. The onset of symptoms is sudden and causes pain and other noticeable symptoms, and the condition is treated as a medical emergency. Unlike open-angle glaucoma, angle-closure glaucoma is a result of the closing of the angle between the iris and cornea. This tends to occur in the farsighted, who have smaller anterior chambers, making physical contact between the iris and trabecular meshwork more likely. A variety of tests may be performed to detect those at risk of angle-closure glaucoma.


title: Glaucoma

text: Normal-tension glaucoma (NTG, also called low-tension or normal-pressure glaucoma) is a condition in which the optic nerve is damaged although intraocular pressure (IOP) is in the normal range (). Individuals with a family history of NTG, those of Japanese ancestry, those with a history of systemic heart disease and those with Flammer syndrome are at an elevated risk of developing NTG. The cause of NTG is unknown.


title: Glaucoma

text: Secondary glaucoma refers to any case in which another disease, trauma, drug or procedure causes increased eye pressure, resulting in optic nerve damage and vision loss, which may be mild or severe. This may be the result of an eye injury, inflammation, a tumor or advanced cases of cataracts or diabetes. It can also be caused by certain drugs such as steroids. Treatment depends on whether the condition is identified as open-angle or angle-closure glaucoma.


title: Glaucoma

text: With pseudoexfoliation glaucoma (also known as PEX or exfoliation glaucoma) the pressure results from the accumulation of microscopic granular protein fibers, which can block normal drainage of the aqueous humor. PEX is prevalent in Scandinavia, primarily in those over 70, and more commonly in women.


title: Glaucoma

text: Pigmentary glaucoma (also known as pigmentary dispersion syndrome) is caused by pigment cells sloughing off from the back of the iris and floating around in the aqueous humor. Over time, these pigment cells can accumulate in the anterior chamber and begin to clog the trabecular meshwork. It is a rare condition that occurs mostly among white males in their mid-20s to 40s, most of whom are nearsighted.


title: Glaucoma

text: Primary juvenile glaucoma is a neonate or juvenile abnormality in which ocular hypertension is evident at birth or shortly thereafter and is caused by abnormalities in the anterior chamber angle development that blocks the outflow of the aqueous humor.


title: Glaucoma

text: Uveitic glaucoma is caused by uveitis, the swelling and inflammation of the uvea, the middle layer of the eye. The uvea provides most of the blood supply to the retina. Increased eye pressure can result from the inflammation itself or from the steroids used to treat it.


title: Glaucoma

text: In glaucoma visual field defects result from damage to the retinal nerve fiber layer. Field defects are seen mainly in primary open angle glaucoma. Because of the unique anatomy of the RNFL, many noticeable patterns are seen in the visual field. Most of the early glaucomatous changes are seen within the central visual field, mainly in Bjerrum's area, 10-20° from fixation.


title: Glaucoma

text: The United States Preventive Services Task Force stated, as of 2013, that there was insufficient evidence to recommend for or against screening for glaucoma. Therefore, there is no national screening program in the US. Screening, however, is recommended starting at age 40 by the American Academy of Ophthalmology.


title: Glaucoma

text: There is a glaucoma screening program in the UK. Those at risk are advised to have a dilated eye examination at least once a year.


title: Glaucoma

text: The modern goals of glaucoma management are to avoid glaucomatous damage and nerve damage, and preserve visual field and total quality of life for patients, with minimal side-effects. This requires appropriate diagnostic techniques and follow-up examinations, and judicious selection of treatments for the individual patient. Although intraocular pressure (IOP) is only one of the major risk factors for glaucoma, lowering it via various pharmaceuticals and/or surgical techniques is currently the mainstay of glaucoma treatment. A review of people with primary open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension concluded that medical IOP-lowering treatment slowed down the progression of visual field loss.


title: Glaucoma

text: Vascular flow and neurodegenerative theories of glaucomatous optic neuropathy have prompted studies on various neuroprotective therapeutic strategies, including nutritional compounds, some of which may be regarded by clinicians as safe for use now, while others are on trial. Mental stress is also considered as consequence and cause of vision loss which means that stress management training, autogenic training and other techniques to cope with stress can be helpful.


title: Glaucoma

text: Intraocular pressure can be lowered with medication, usually eye drops. Several classes of medications are used to treat glaucoma, with several medications in each class. By reducing pressure, eye drops also help to lower the risk of sight loss. Latanoprost, for example, seems to halve this risk.


title: Glaucoma

text: Each of these medicines may have local and systemic side effects. Wiping the eye with an absorbent pad after the administration of eye drops may result in fewer adverse effects, like the growth of eyelashes and hyperpigmentation in the eyelid. Initially, glaucoma drops may reasonably be started in either one or in both eyes.


title: Glaucoma

text: The possible neuroprotective effects of various topical and systemic medications are also being investigated.


title: Glaucoma

text: Poor compliance with medications and follow-up visits is a major reason for vision loss in glaucoma patients. A 2003 study of patients in an HMO found half failed to fill their prescriptions the first time, and one-quarter failed to refill their prescriptions a second time. Patient education and communication must be ongoing to sustain successful treatment plans for this lifelong disease with no early symptoms.


title: Glaucoma

text: Adherence to medication protocol can be confusing and expensive; if side effects occur, the patient must be willing either to tolerate them or to communicate with the treating physician to improve the drug regimen. Initially, glaucoma drops may reasonably be started in either one or in both eyes.


title: Glaucoma

text: Argon laser trabeculoplasty (ALT) may be used to treat open-angle glaucoma, but this is a temporary solution, not a cure. A 50-μm argon laser spot is aimed at the trabecular meshwork to stimulate the opening of the mesh to allow more outflow of aqueous fluid. Usually, half of the angle is treated at a time. Traditional laser trabeculoplasty uses a thermal argon laser in an argon laser trabeculoplasty procedure.


title: Glaucoma

text: Nd:YAG laser peripheral iridotomy (LPI) may be used in patients susceptible to or affected by angle closure glaucoma or pigment dispersion syndrome. During laser iridotomy, laser energy is used to make a small, full-thickness opening in the iris to equalize the pressure between the front and back of the iris, thus correcting any abnormal bulging of the iris. In people with narrow angles, this can uncover the trabecular meshwork. In some cases of intermittent or short-term angle closure, this may lower the eye pressure. Laser iridotomy reduces the risk of developing an attack of acute angle closure. In most cases, it also reduces the risk of developing chronic angle closure or of adhesions of the iris to the trabecular meshwork.


title: Glaucoma

text: Diode laser cycloablation lowers IOP by reducing aqueous secretion by destroying secretory ciliary epithelium.


title: Glaucoma

text: Both laser and conventional surgeries are performed to treat glaucoma. Surgery is the primary therapy for those with congenital glaucoma. Generally, these operations are a temporary solution, as there is not yet a cure for glaucoma.


title: Glaucoma

text: Canaloplasty is a nonpenetrating procedure using microcatheter technology. To perform a canaloplasty, an incision is made into the eye to gain access to the Schlemm's canal in a similar fashion to a viscocanalostomy. A microcatheter will circumnavigate the canal around the iris, enlarging the main drainage channel and its smaller collector channels through the injection of a sterile, gel-like material called viscoelastic. The catheter is then removed and a suture is placed within the canal and tightened.


title: Glaucoma

text: By opening the canal, the pressure inside the eye may be relieved, although the reason is unclear, since the canal (of Schlemm) does not have any significant fluid resistance in glaucoma or healthy eyes. Long-term results are not available.


title: Glaucoma

text: The most common conventional surgery performed for glaucoma is the trabeculectomy. Here, a partial thickness flap is made in the scleral wall of the eye, and a window opening is made under the flap to remove a portion of the trabecular meshwork. The scleral flap is then sutured loosely back in place to allow fluid to flow out of the eye through this opening, resulting in lowered intraocular pressure and the formation of a bleb or fluid bubble on the surface of the eye.


title: Glaucoma

text: Scarring can occur around or over the flap opening, causing it to become less effective or lose effectiveness altogether. Traditionally, chemotherapeutic adjuvants, such as mitomycin C (MMC) or 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), are applied with soaked sponges on the wound bed to prevent filtering blebs from scarring by inhibiting fibroblast proliferation. Contemporary alternatives to prevent the scarring of the meshwork opening include the sole or combinative implementation of nonchemotherapeutic adjuvants such as the Ologen collagen matrix, which has been clinically shown to increase the success rates of surgical treatment.


title: Glaucoma

text: Collagen matrix prevents scarring by randomizing and modulating fibroblast proliferation in addition to mechanically preventing wound contraction and adhesion.


title: Glaucoma

text: The first glaucoma drainage implant was developed in 1966. Since then, several types of implants have followed on from the original: the Baerveldt tube shunt, or the valved implants, such as the Ahmed glaucoma valve implant or the ExPress Mini Shunt and the later generation pressure ridge Molteno implants. These are indicated for glaucoma patients not responding to maximal medical therapy, with previous failed guarded filtering surgery (trabeculectomy). The flow tube is inserted into the anterior chamber of the eye, and the plate is implanted underneath the conjunctiva to allow a flow of aqueous fluid out of the eye into a chamber called a bleb.


title: Glaucoma

text: The ongoing scarring over the conjunctival dissipation segment of the shunt may become too thick for the aqueous humor to filter through. This may require preventive measures using antifibrotic medications, such as 5-fluorouracil or mitomycin-C (during the procedure), or other nonantifibrotic medication methods, such as collagen matrix implant, or biodegradable spacer, or later on create a necessity for revision surgery with the sole or combinative use of donor patch grafts or collagen matrix implant. And for glaucomatous painful blind eye and some cases of glaucoma, cyclocryotherapy for ciliary body ablation could be considered to be performed.


title: Glaucoma

text: The most common surgical approach currently used for the treatment of glaucoma is trabeculectomy, in which the sclera is punctured to alleviate intraocular pressure.


title: Glaucoma

text: Nonpenetrating deep sclerectomy (NPDS) surgery is a similar, but modified, procedure, in which instead of puncturing the scleral bed and trabecular meshwork under a scleral flap, a second deep scleral flap is created, excised, with further procedures of deroofing the Schlemm's canal, upon which, percolation of liquid from the inner eye is achieved and thus alleviating intraocular pressure, without penetrating the eye. NPDS is demonstrated to have significantly fewer side effects than trabeculectomy. However, NPDS is performed manually and requires higher level of skills that may be assisted with instruments. In order to prevent wound adhesion after deep scleral excision and to maintain good filtering results, NPDS as with other non-penetrating procedures is sometimes performed with a variety of biocompatible spacers or devices, such as the Aquaflow collagen wick, ologen Collagen Matrix, or Xenoplast glaucoma implant.


title: Glaucoma

text: Laser-assisted NPDS is performed with the use of a CO laser system. The laser-based system is self-terminating once the required scleral thickness and adequate drainage of the intraocular fluid have been achieved. This self-regulation effect is achieved as the CO laser essentially stops ablating as soon as it comes in contact with the intraocular percolated liquid, which occurs as soon as the laser reaches the optimal residual intact layer thickness.


title: Glaucoma

text: For people with chronic closed-angle glaucoma, lens extraction can relieve the block created by the pupil and help regulate the intraocular pressure.


title: Glaucoma

text: In open-angle glaucoma, the typical progression from normal vision to complete blindness takes about 25 years to 70 years without treatment, depending on the method of estimation used. The intraocular pressure can also have an effect, with higher pressures reducing the time until blindness.


title: Glaucoma

text: As of 2010, there were 44.7 million people in the world with open angle glaucoma. The same year, there were 2.8 million people in the United States with open angle glaucoma. By 2020, the prevalence is projected to increase to 58.6 million worldwide and 3.4 million in the United States.


title: Glaucoma

text: Both internationally and in the United States, glaucoma is the second-leading cause of blindness. Globally, cataracts are a more common cause. Glaucoma is also the leading cause of blindness in African Americans, who have higher rates of primary open-angle glaucoma. Bilateral vision loss can negatively affect mobility and interfere with driving.


title: Glaucoma

text: A meta-analysis published in 2009 found that people with primary open angle glaucoma do "not" have increased mortality rates, or increased risk of cardiovascular death.


title: Glaucoma

text: The association of elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) and glaucoma was first described by Englishman Richard Banister in 1622: "...that the Eye be grown more solid and hard, then naturally it should be...". Angle-closure glaucoma was treated with cataract extraction by John Collins Warren in Boston as early as 1806. The invention of the ophthalmoscope by Hermann Helmholtz in 1851 enabled ophthalmologists for the first time to identify the pathological hallmark of glaucoma, the excavation of the optic nerve head due to retinal ganglion cell loss. The first reliable instrument to measure intraocular pressure was invented by Norwegian ophthalmologist Hjalmar August Schiøtz in 1905. About half a century later, Hans Goldmann in Berne, Switzerland, developed his applanation tonometer which still today - despite numerous new innovations in diagnostics - is considered the gold standard of determining this crucial pathogenic factor. In the late 20th century, further pathomechanisms beyond elevated IOP were discovered and became the subject of research like insufficient blood supply – often associated with low or irregular blood pressure – to the retina and optic nerve head. The first drug to reduce IOP, pilocarpine, was introduced in the 1870s; other major innovations in pharmacological glaucoma therapy were the introduction of beta blocker eye drops in the 1970s and of prostaglandin analogues and topical (locally administered) carbonic anhydrase inhibitors in the mid-1990s.. Early surgical techniques like iridectomy and fistulating methods have recently been supplemented by less invasive procedures like small implants, a range of options now widely called MIGS (micro-invasive glaucoma surgery).


title: Glaucoma

text: The word "glaucoma" comes from the Ancient Greek γλαύκωμα, a derivative of γλαυκóς, which commonly described the color of eyes which were not dark (i.e. blue, green, light gray). Eyes described as γλαυκóς due to disease might have had a gray cataract in the Hippocratic era, or, in the early Common Era, the greenish pupillary hue sometimes seen in angle-closure glaucoma. This colour is reflected in the Chinese word for glaucoma, 青光眼 "(qīngguāngyǎn)," literally “cyan-light eye”.


title: Glaucoma

text: The TAGS randomised controlled trial investigated if eye drops or trabeculectomy is more effective in treating advanced primary open-angle glaucoma. After two years researchers found that vision and quality of life are similar in both treatments. At the same time eye pressure was lower in people who underwent surgery and in the long-run surgery is more cost-effective.


title: Glaucoma

text: The LiGHT trial compared the effectiveness of eye drops and selective laser trabeculoplasty for open angle glaucoma. Both contributed to a similar quality of life but most people undergoing laser treatment were able to stop using eye drops. Laser trabeculoplasty was also shown to be more cost-effective.


title: Glaucoma

text: Rho kinase inhibitors, such as ripasudil, work by inhibition of the actin cytoskeleton, resulting in the morphological changes in the trabecular meshwork and increased aqueous outflow. More compounds in this class are being investigated in phase 2 and phase 3 trials.


title: Glaucoma

text: A 2013 Cochrane Systematic Review compared the effect of brimonidine and timolol in slowing the progression of open angle glaucoma in adult participants. The results showed that participants assigned to brimonidine showed less visual field progression than those assigned to timolol, though the results were not significant, given the heavy loss-to-followup and limited evidence. The mean intraocular pressures for both groups were similar. Participants in the brimonidine group had a higher occurrence of side effects caused by medication than participants in the timolol group.


title: Glaucoma

text: Studies in the 1970s reported that the use of cannabis may lower intraocular pressure. In an effort to determine whether marijuana, or drugs derived from it, might be effective as a glaucoma treatment, the US National Eye Institute supported research studies from 1978 to 1984. These studies demonstrated some derivatives of marijuana lowered intraocular pressure when administered orally, intravenously, or by smoking, but not when topically applied to the eye.


title: Glaucoma

text: In 2003, the American Academy of Ophthalmology released a position statement stating that cannabis was not more effective than prescription medications. Furthermore, no scientific evidence has been found that demonstrates increased benefits and/or diminished risks of cannabis use to treat glaucoma compared with the wide variety of pharmaceutical agents now available.


title: Glaucoma

text: In 2010 the American Glaucoma Society published a position paper discrediting the use of cannabis as a legitimate treatment for elevated intraocular pressure, for reasons including short duration of action and side effects that limit many activities of daily living.


title: Glaucoma

text: A study conducted in UK showed that people living in an area of high deprivation were likely to be diagnosed in the later stage of the disease. It also showed that there were lack of professional ophthalmic services in the area of high deprivation.


title: Glaucoma

text: A study in 2017 shows that there is a huge difference in the volume of glaucoma testing depending on the type of insurance in the US. Researchers reviewed 21,766 persons age ≥ 40 years old with newly diagnosed open-angle glaucoma (OAG) and found that Medicaid recipients had substantially lower volume of glaucoma testing performed compared to patients with commercial health insurance.


title: Glaucoma

text: Results from a meta-analysis of 33,428 primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) participants published in 2021 suggest that there are substantial ethnic and racial disparities in clinical trials in the US. Although ethnic and racial minorities have a higher disease burden, the 70.7% of the study participants was White as opposed to 16.8% Black and 3.4% Hispanic/Latino.


title: American Bully

text: The American Bully is a modern breed of dog that was developed as a companion dog, and originally standardized and recognized as a breed in 2004 by the American Bully Kennel Club (ABKC). Their published breed standard describes the dog as giving the "impression of great strength for its size". In 2008, the American Bully was recognized by the European Bully Kennel Club (EBKC), and on July 15, 2013, by the United Kennel Club (UKC). Neither The Kennel Club nor American Kennel Club (AKC) have recognized or accepted the American Bully into their registry as a purebred dog. The founding registry (ABKC) divided the American Bully into four categories, including the "Pocket", "Standard", "Classic," and "XL", whereas other registries, including the UKC, have approved one consistent size standard.


title: American Bully

text: There are several types, ranging from pocket to XXL in size and weight. Temperament in adult dogs is very much dependent on training, and the breed can be very demanding and needs to be properly trained.