title: Jean-Paul Marat

text: Marat's assassination led to his apotheosis. The painter Jacques-Louis David, a member of one of the two "Great Committees" (the Committee of General Security), was asked to organise a grand funeral. David was also asked to paint Marat's death, and took up the task of immortalising him in the painting "The Death of Marat". The extreme decomposition of Marat's body made any realistic depiction impossible, and David's work beautified the skin that was discoloured and scabbed from his chronic skin disease in an attempt to create antique virtue. The resulting painting is thus not an accurate representation of Marat's death. As a result of this work, David was later criticised as glorifying the Jacobin's death.


title: Jean-Paul Marat

text: The entire National Convention attended Marat's funeral, and he was buried under a weeping willow in the garden of the former "Club des Cordeliers" (former "Couvent des Cordeliers"). After Marat's death, he was viewed by many as a martyr for the revolution, and was immortalized in various ways to preserve the values he stood for. His heart was embalmed separately and placed in an urn in an altar erected to his memory at the "Cordeliers" to inspire speeches that were similar in style to Marat's journalism. On his tomb, the inscription on a plaque read, "Unité, Indivisibilité de la République, Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité ou la mort." His remains were transferred to the Panthéon on 21 September 1794 and his near messianic role in the Revolution was confirmed with the elegy: "Like Jesus, Marat loved ardently the people, and only them. Like Jesus, Marat hated kings, nobles, priests, rogues and, like Jesus, he never stopped fighting against these plagues of the people." The eulogy was given by the Marquis de Sade, delegate of the Section Piques and an ally of Marat's faction in the National Convention.


title: Jean-Paul Marat

text: On 19 November, the port city of Le Havre-de-Grâce changed its name to Le Havre-de-Marat and then Le Havre-Marat. When the Jacobins started their dechristianisation campaign to set up the "Cult of Reason" of Hébert and Chaumette and later the "Cult of the Supreme Being" of the Committee of Public Safety, Marat was made a quasi-saint, and his bust often replaced crucifixes in the former churches of Paris.


title: Jean-Paul Marat

text: After the Thermidorian Reaction, Marat's reputation decreased. On 13 January 1795, Le Havre-Marat became simply Le Havre, the name it bears today. In February, his coffin was removed from the Panthéon and his busts and sculptures were destroyed. The 4 February 1795 (16 Pluviôse) issue of Le Moniteur Universel reported how, two days earlier, "his busts had been knocked off their pedestals in several theatres and that some children had carried one of these busts about the streets, insulting it [before] dumping it in the rue Montmartre sewer to shouts of 'Marat, voilà ton Panthéon !' [Marat, here is your Panthéon] His final resting place is the cemetery of the church of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont.


title: Jean-Paul Marat

text: A bronze sculpture of Marat was removed from Parc des Buttes Chaumont and was melted down during the Nazi occupation of Paris. Another was created in 2013 for the Musée de la Révolution française.


title: Jean-Paul Marat

text: He continued to be held in high regard in the Soviet Union. Marat became a common name, and Marat Fjord in Severnaya Zemlya was named after him. Russian battleship "Petropavlovsk" () was renamed "Marat" in 1921. A street in the centre of Sevastopol was named after Marat () on 3 January 1921, shortly after the Bolsheviks took over the city.


title: Jean-Paul Marat

text: Described during his time as a man "short in stature, deformed in person, and hideous in face," Marat has long been noted for physical irregularities. The nature of Marat's debilitating skin disease, in particular, has been an object of ongoing medical interest. In the 19th century Thomas Carlyle alleged that the cause was syphilis, though this is very unlikely as syphilitic rashes are generally neither itchy nor as long-lasting as Marat's skin condition was. Josef E. Jelinek noted that his skin disease was intensely itchy, blistering, began in the perianal region, and was associated with weight loss leading to emaciation. He was sick with it for the three years prior to his assassination, and spent most of this time in his bathtub. There were various minerals and medicines that were present in his bath while he soaked to help ease the pain caused by the disease. A bandana wrapped around his head was soaked in vinegar to reduce the severity of his discomfort. Jelinek's diagnosis is dermatitis herpetiformis.


title: Jean-Paul Marat

text: After Marat's death, his wife may have sold his bathtub to her journalist neighbour, as it was included in an inventory of his possessions. The royalist de Saint-Hilaire bought the tub, taking it to Sarzeau, Morbihan in Brittany. His daughter, Capriole de Saint-Hilaire, inherited it when he died in 1805 and she passed it on to the Sarzeau curé when she died in 1862. A journalist for "Le Figaro" tracked down the tub in 1885. The curé then discovered that selling the tub could earn money for the parish, yet the Musée Carnavalet turned it down because of its lack of provenance as well as its high price. The curé approached Madame Tussaud's waxworks, who agreed to purchase Marat's bathtub for 100,000 francs, but the curé's acceptance was lost in the mail. After rejecting other offers, including one from Phineas Barnum, the curé sold the tub for 5,000 francs to the Musée Grévin, where it remains today. The tub was in the shape of an old-fashioned high-buttoned shoe and had a copper lining.


title: Neil Druckmann

text: Neil Druckmann (; born December 5, 1978) is an Israeli-American writer, creative director, designer, and programmer who has been co-president (alongside Evan Wells) of the video game developer Naughty Dog since 2020. He is best known for his work on the Naughty Dog game franchises "Uncharted" and "The Last of Us", having created the latter.


title: Neil Druckmann

text: Druckmann's first video game work came as an intern at Naughty Dog. In 2004, he became a programmer on "Jak 3" (2004) and "" (2005), before becoming a designer for "" (2007). He was co-lead game designer for "" (2009), which he co-wrote with Amy Hennig and Josh Scherr; the narrative was praised and received several accolades. He has also written comics, including the motion comic "" (2009) and the graphic novels "A Second Chance at Sarah" (2010) and "" (2013).


title: Neil Druckmann

text: Druckmann led the development of "The Last of Us" (2013) as writer and creative director, roles he continued for "" (2014) and "" (2016), co-writing the latter with Scherr. All three games were directed by Bruce Straley, with whom Druckmann developed a close working relationship. He and Craig Mazin are the creators, writers, and executive producers for the television adaptation of "The Last of Us" for HBO, for which Druckmann directed an episode.


title: Neil Druckmann

text: Druckmann was promoted to vice president of Naughty Dog in 2018 during the development of "The Last of Us Part II" (2020), for which he was creative director and co-writer with Halley Gross, and was promoted to co-president in 2020. He has earned praise for his writing and directing work on "The Last of Us", "Uncharted 4", and "The Last of Us Part II". The games are often regarded as among the best written and have been listed as some of the greatest video games ever made. Druckmann has received several awards, including three British Academy Games Awards, four D.I.C.E. Awards, two Game Awards, three Game Developers Choice Awards, and four Writers Guild of America Awards.


title: Neil Druckmann

text: Neil Druckmann was born into a Jewish family in Israel on December 5, 1978, the son of Yehudith and Jerry Druckmann. He was raised in Beit Aryeh, a settlement in the West Bank, where he later recalled witnessing much violence. As an escape, his older brother Emanuel showed him comic books, video games, and movies at a young age. These forms of entertainment, particularly video games by Sierra Entertainment and LucasArts, helped him learn English. He became particularly interested in storytelling and wrote his own comic books. He moved to the U.S. with his family in 1989, attending middle school and high school in Miami, Florida. He then studied criminology, aiming to get experience as an FBI agent to use when writing novels. His brother snuck him into E3 in the late 1990s, and he attended the conference again in 1998, 2000, and 2002, as well as SIGGRAPH in 2002 and 2003. As a student at Florida State University in 2001, he won a "Conker's Bad Fur Day" multiplayer competition organized by Nintendo and "Playboy". While studying, he worked as a clerk at My Favorite Muffin and a salesman at PacSun.


title: Neil Druckmann

text: From July 2002, while living in Tallahassee, Druckmann spent a year as a graphics research assistant at Florida State University's Visualization Lab. During this time, he and some friends began developing the game "Pink-Bullet" for Linux and Windows. At one point, he wanted to be an animator, which required enlisting in art classes, but his parents forbade him from doing so. After taking a programming class, Druckmann realized that it was his preference, and he began a Bachelor of Computer Science with a minor in math in December 2002, graduating "cum laude" the following year with a grade point average of 3.61. Due to his academic results, he was a member of the Golden Key Honor Society. He then moved to Pittsburgh, where he attended Carnegie Mellon University, and began his master's degree in entertainment technology in August 2003 at the Entertainment Technology Center. As part of the degree, he took a game design class by Jesse Schell, which taught him philosophies he would use later. In April 2004, Druckmann developed the game "Dikki Painguin in: TKO for the Third Reich" for the NES as a student at Carnegie Mellon, in collaboration with fellow student Allan Blomquist.


title: Neil Druckmann

text: One of Druckmann's professors paid for him to attend the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in 2003, where he attended a presentation by Naughty Dog co-founder Jason Rubin. After Druckmann "bugged" Rubin, the latter gave him his business card. Some time later, Rubin contacted Druckmann and offered him an intern position, a first for Naughty Dog. By the time Druckmann responded, the position had been taken. When encouraged to apply for internships by CMU, Druckmann reached out to Rubin for advice, and was told about a new internship at the studio. He was put in contact with game director Evan Wells, who offered him the internship after an interview at GDC. During this time, he had also been offered an intern producer position at Electronic Arts on "The Sims 2"; he extended the offer in order to interview with Wells. In around May 2004, Druckmann joined Naughty Dog as a programming intern. He began working on localization tools and gameplay programming on "Jak 3" (2004). During this time, he would also offer assistance with additional design tasks. By the end of the internship in August, he was offered a full-time position by Wells and Stephen White, then co-presidents. He received credit for the second year of his master's degree through his work at Naughty Dog, earning the degree in 2005. He programmed the menu screens on "" (2005), which he considered one of the most difficult tasks of his career. He continued to assist with smaller design tasks where possible.


title: Neil Druckmann

text: During the development of "Jak 3" and "Jak X", Druckmann continued to ask Wells about joining the design team. Wells restrained from transferring him, as he was originally employed as a programmer and lacked experience in design, but agreed to review Druckmann's design work if he completed them in his spare time. Druckmann iterated on several level designs with Wells's feedback, initially on graph paper and later using Adobe Illustrator. Following the development of "Jak X", Wells concluded that Druckmann was skilled in design, and gave him a design position for "". Several months into development, Wells transferred Druckmann to work as a game designer on "" (2007), which was facing development troubles at the time; High Impact Games took over work on "The Lost Frontier", which was released in 2009. In his position as game designer on "Drake's Fortune", he worked closely with Amy Hennig to construct the story, before working on "" (2009) as a lead game designer, becoming more involved with the core writing of the game.


title: Neil Druckmann

text: In 2009, Druckmann worked on the motion comic "", as writer and director. A prequel to "Drake's Fortune", "Eye of Indra" tells the story of Nathan Drake prior to the events of the first game. Druckmann's first graphic novel, "A Second Chance at Sarah", was published by Ape Entertainment in February 2010. With illustrations by artist Joysuke Wong, the novel relates Druckmann's interest in traveling back in time to meet his wife at a younger age. "There's something cute and poetic about that idea," Druckmann explained. He felt that he shares many similarities with the novel's protagonist Johnny, and that "a lot of Johnny's flaws and fears are based on [his] own shortcomings". The comic was originally released on February 24, 2010; critics particularly praised Wong's illustrations, as well as Druckmann's writing and character development.


title: Neil Druckmann

text: Following the development of "Uncharted 2", Naughty Dog split into two teams to work on projects concurrently. With one team working on "" (2011), co-presidents Evan Wells and Christophe Balestra chose Druckmann and Bruce Straley to lead development on a new game; Druckmann was chosen for his determination and talent for design. Though they were originally set to develop a new game in the "Jak and Daxter" series, the team felt that they "weren't doing service to the fans of [the] franchise", and decided to create a new game, titled "The Last of Us".


title: Neil Druckmann

text: When conceiving ideas for "The Last of Us", Druckmann used a concept that he created as a student at Carnegie Mellon University. His idea was to merge the gameplay of "Ico" (2001) in a story set during a zombie apocalypse, like that of "Night of the Living Dead" (1968), with a lead character similar to John Hartigan from "Sin City" (1991–2000). The lead character, a police officer, would be tasked with protecting a young girl; however, due to his heart condition, players would often assume control of the young girl, reversing the roles. He based "The Last of Us" on this concept, replacing the police officer with Joel, and naming the young girl Ellie. Druckmann wrote "The Last of Us" with the intention of having the story "rooted firmly within reality", a stark departure from Naughty Dog's previous "light and loose" feeling. "It needed to go a little darker [than "Uncharted"] to explore a sadder theme," he explained. Prior to directing the game, Druckmann took acting classes in order to "talk to [the actors] in the same language". The game was released on June 14, 2013, with praise for Druckmann's work on the story. He earned numerous awards, including a BAFTA, a D.I.C.E. Award, a Game Developers Choice Award, a Golden Joystick Award, and a Writers Guild of America Award. "The Last of Us" is often regarded one of the best-written video games, and one of the greatest video games ever made.


title: Neil Druckmann

text: Druckmann later worked on the downloadable expansion pack "", a prequel focusing on Ellie's relationship with her friend Riley, which received critical acclaim. He earned additional accolades for his work on "Left Behind", including a second BAFTA and Writers Guild of America Award. In particular, he was praised for writing a scene involving a kiss between two female characters, which was named a "breakthrough moment" for video games. He also co-wrote the four-issue comic book miniseries "", with writer and artist Faith Erin Hicks. It was published by Dark Horse Comics, with the first issue released in April 2013, and was lauded for Druckmann's writing and character development, as well as Hicks' simplistic illustrations.


title: Neil Druckmann

text: Following Hennig's departure from Naughty Dog in March 2014, it was announced that Druckmann and Straley were working on "" (2016) as creative director and game director respectively. Initial reports claimed that Hennig was "forced out" of Naughty Dog by Druckmann and Straley, though co-presidents Evan Wells and Christophe Balestra later denied this. Druckmann co-wrote the story alongside Josh Scherr; Druckmann considered Scherr the "funny one", allowing him to write the humour of "Uncharted 4" due to Druckmann's self-professed inability to write jokes. He appreciated the collaboration of writing on "Uncharted 4", having written "The Last of Us" almost entirely independently. The game was released on May 10, 2016, and praised for its story. It was awarded Best Narrative at The Game Awards 2016, and Outstanding Achievement in Videogame Writing at the 69th Writers Guild of America Awards. Dave Meikleham of "GamesRadar+" found "Uncharted 4" among the best-written video games, and it is often regarded as mong the greatest games. Druckmann acted as head of narrative development for "", released in August 2017.


title: Neil Druckmann

text: In March 2014, Sony announced that Druckmann was writing a film adaptation of "The Last of Us", produced by Sam Raimi and distributed by Screen Gems. By January 2015, he had written the script's second draft, and performed a read-through with some actors. Very little work occurred following this, as Druckmann stated in April 2016 that the film had entered development hell, and in February 2018 said "I don't want that movie to be made." Druckmann worked as a playtester for "What Remains of Edith Finch" (2017). In August 2017, he was featured as a guest judge on an episode of "Face Off".


title: Neil Druckmann

text: Druckmann was promoted to vice president of Naughty Dog in March 2018. He returned as creative director for "The Last of Us Part II" (2020), co-writing the game alongside Halley Gross; Straley did not return to co-direct the game. The game's themes of revenge and retribution were inspired by Druckmann's own experiences growing up in Israel, where violence was a frequent topic. He specifically recalled watching footage of the 2000 Ramallah lynching, and how, after hearing the cheering crowds, his mind immediately turned to violent thoughts about bringing the perpetrators to justice; he later felt "gross and guilty" for having these thoughts. He wanted the player to feel a "thirst for revenge" before making them realize the reality of their actions. Druckmann noted that some members of the team felt reluctant about the game's cynicism, but ultimately he preferred a divisive story than a "mundane" one.


title: Neil Druckmann

text: "The Last of Us Part II" released on June 19, 2020, to critical acclaim. The story polarized critics; some praised the writing for its nuance and effectiveness, while others criticized its pacing and repetition of themes. The audience backlash towards the story led to Druckmann becoming the target of online hate and death threats, which were condemned by Naughty Dog. Druckmann makes a brief cameo appearance in the game as the voice of Briggs, a Washington Liberation Front soldier. An Easter egg in the game's collectible trading cards also references Druckmann in the fictional character Doctor Uckmann. "The Last of Us Part II" holds the record for most Game of the Year awards, surpassing previous record holder "" (2015). For their work on the game, Druckmann and Gross were awarded at the D.I.C.E. Awards, The Game Awards, Game Developers Choice Awards, Golden Joystick Awards, SXSW Gaming Awards, and Titanium Awards. Druckmann was also nominated at the Visual Effects Society Awards. "The Last of Us Part II" is regarded as among the best-written video games.


title: Neil Druckmann

text: Druckmann was promoted to co-president of Naughty Dog, serving alongside Wells, on December 4, 2020. He was included on the "Variety500" list in December 2020, identifying the most influential business leaders in the media industry. Druckmann was an executive producer on the film "Uncharted" (2022). With Craig Mazin, Druckmann is a writer and executive producer on the television adaptation of "The Last of Us" for HBO, expected to cover events of the first game and possibly some parts of its sequel. Druckmann also directed for the show, which he had completed by November 2021. He felt that his experience with directing reinforced and reflected his experience in directing games. Druckmann noted that some of the show's scripts borrow dialogue directly from the game, while others deviate greatly; some of the game's action-heavy tutorial sequences will be changed to focus more on the show's character drama, at the request of HBO. Druckmann noted that the series was taking the opposite approach to adaptation than the "Uncharted" film; while "Uncharted" tells a new story with moments from the games to give "an "Uncharted" flavor", "The Last of Us" is a direct adaptation with minor deviations, allowing alterations such as changing character perspectives in a manner unachievable in an immersive game.


title: Neil Druckmann

text: In December 2021, Druckmann presented Game of the Year at The Game Awards. At Summer Game Fest in June 2022, he revealed that he is working on a new game. He had a cameo voice appearance in "Return to Monkey Island" (2022).


title: Neil Druckmann

text: Druckmann's writing philosophy, which he realized while talking to game designer Cory Barlog, is "simple story, complex characters"; Druckmann dislikes video games with complicated exposition, but enjoys writing complex character relationships. Throughout his writing, Druckmann approaches scenes with focus on every character, attempting to enter the mindset of each one. He tries to ignore character tropes in an attempt to write "honestly". Druckmann also writes with a minimalist mindset, often asking himself "What is this scene really about? What's the least we have to say or do to convey that and no more?".


title: Neil Druckmann

text: Before writing "The Last of Us" and "Uncharted 4", Druckmann and Straley created entire outlines of the stories, before exploring the narrative more intricately, discussing the "moment-to-moment beats" of each level that lead to a bigger event. They began with the middle of the story, as it is the core of the gameplay and narrative, before exploring the game's climax and character development. "The Frame" host John Horn identified a repeating theme in Druckmann's stories, including "A Second Chance at Sarah" and "The Last of Us", is the concept of characters attempting or hoping to alter their past in some way; Druckmann admitted he had not noticed this trend, though agreed with it and recognized its recurrence.


title: Neil Druckmann

text: Druckmann cites game writer Sam Lake as a large inspiration, naming himself a "longtime fan". Druckmann's favorite video games include "" (1991), "Ico", "" (2001), and "Resident Evil 4" (2005), and he is often inspired by character-focused comics such as "Preacher" (1995–2000), and "" (2002–2008). Druckmann was also influenced by the character-driven storytelling in the adventure game "King's Quest" by Roberta Williams. While writing "The Last of Us", Druckmann was inspired by several films, including: "Unforgiven" (1992), for its ability to make audiences support the protagonist despite his immorality; "No Country for Old Men" (2007), due to its subtle and sparse execution, forcing audience engagement; and "Gravity" (2013), in regards to simplicity and intensity.


title: Neil Druckmann

text: Druckmann is a regular advocate of gender equality in video games, citing Anita Sarkeesian as an influence; he presented the Ambassador Award to Sarkeesian at the 2014 Game Developers Choice Awards, and regularly advocated her projects. When Druckmann found that he regularly wrote about "white, straight, Christian male" characters, he was prompted to instead create more diverse characters. Throughout the development of "Uncharted 4", Druckmann was influenced by concept artist Ashley Swidowski to include more female characters in the game. "She is constantly challenging me and pushing for diversity in our cast", he said. Upon focus testers' criticism regarding the inclusion and portrayal of female characters in "Uncharted 4", one of whom was forced to leave due to an outburst, Druckmann expressed "Wow, why does that matter?".


title: Neil Druckmann

text: Similarly, Ellie of "The Last of Us" was initially received negatively in early focus tests. Druckmann is proud that Ellie is a "strong, non-sexualized female lead character", and hoped that other developers would take similar approaches to characters without fear of unpopularity. Druckmann and Straley were surprised by some of the backlash in regards to gender roles in "The Last of Us", although Druckmann noted that "the more progress we make, the more those problems stand out". He declared it a "misconception" that female protagonists hinder game sales, evidenced by the success of "The Last of Us".


title: Neil Druckmann

text: Druckmann resides with his children in Santa Monica, California, where he brought a property in 2019; his house was styled by designer Kim Gordon. He and his wife, Maya, began dating while he was studying his undergraduate degree. He became a father during the development of "The Last of Us", and has said that his daughter was a "huge inspiration" to him when writing the game. He found that the birth of his daughter reinforced his ideas about family, as he realized he would "do anything" for her.


title: Neil Druckmann

text: Druckmann has a dent in his skull from being accidentally struck in the head with a golf club by a friend at the age of 16, which required 30 stitches. On his first day as director on "The Last of Us", he suffered from headaches and began seeing double; he discovered the following day that he required emergency eye surgery, as an infection threatened the vision in his left eye.


title: Neil Druckmann

text: Druckmann holds American citizenship, having voted and promoted voting in the 2016 presidential election, 2018 midterm elections, 2020 primary elections, and 2020 presidential election. In his spare time, he plays the guitar and joins his children in playing video games such as "Animal Crossing" and "Pokémon". During production of "The Last of Us Part II", he practised intermittent fasting, which is referenced in one of the game's collectible cards.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: Born and raised in upstate New York, Baum moved west after an unsuccessful stint as a theater producer and playwright. He and his wife opened a store in South Dakota and he edited and published a newspaper. They then moved to Chicago, where he worked as a newspaper reporter and published children's literature, coming out with the first "Oz" book in 1900. While continuing his writing, among his final projects he sought to establish a film studio focused on children's films in Los Angeles, California.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: His works anticipated such later commonplaces as television, augmented reality, laptop computers ("The Master Key"), wireless telephones ("Tik-Tok of Oz"), women in high-risk and action-heavy occupations ("Mary Louise in the Country"), and the ubiquity of clothes advertising ("Aunt Jane's Nieces at Work").


title: L. Frank Baum

text: Baum was born in Chittenango, New York, in 1856 into a devout Methodist family. He had German, Scots-Irish, and English ancestry. He was the seventh of nine children of Cynthia Ann (née Stanton) and Benjamin Ward Baum, only five of whom survived into adulthood. "Lyman" was the name of his father's brother, but he always disliked it and preferred his middle name "Frank".


title: L. Frank Baum

text: His father succeeded in many businesses, including barrel-making, oil drilling in Pennsylvania, and real estate. Baum grew up on his parents' expansive estate called Rose Lawn, which he fondly recalled as a sort of paradise. Rose Lawn was located in Mattydale, New York. Frank was a sickly, dreamy child, tutored at home with his siblings. From the age of 12, he spent two miserable years at Peekskill Military Academy but, after being severely disciplined for daydreaming, he had a possibly psychogenic heart attack and was allowed to return home.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: Baum started writing early in life, possibly prompted by his father buying him a cheap printing press. He had always been close to his younger brother Henry (Harry) Clay Baum, who helped in the production of "The Rose Lawn Home Journal". The brothers published several issues of the journal, including advertisements from local businesses, which they gave to family and friends for free. By the age of 17, Baum established a second amateur journal called "The Stamp Collector", printed an 11-page pamphlet called "Baum's Complete Stamp Dealers' Directory", and started a stamp dealership with friends.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: At 20, Baum took on the national craze of breeding fancy poultry. He specialized in raising the Hamburg chicken. In March 1880, he established a monthly trade journal, "The Poultry Record", and in 1886, when Baum was 30 years old, his first book was published: "The Book of the Hamburgs: A Brief Treatise upon the Mating, Rearing, and Management of the Different Varieties of Hamburgs".


title: L. Frank Baum

text: Baum had a flair for being the spotlight of fun in the household, including during times of financial difficulties. His selling of fireworks made the Fourth of July memorable. His skyrockets, Roman candles, and fireworks filled the sky, while many people around the neighborhood would gather in front of the house to watch the displays. Christmas was even more festive. Baum dressed as Santa Claus for the family. His father would place the Christmas tree behind a curtain in the front parlor so that Baum could talk to everyone while he decorated the tree without people managing to see him. He maintained this tradition all his life.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: Baum embarked on his lifetime infatuation—and wavering financial success—with the theater. A local theatrical company duped him into replenishing their stock of costumes on the promise of leading roles coming his way. Disillusioned, Baum left the theater—temporarily—and went to work as a clerk in his brother-in-law's dry goods company in Syracuse. This experience may have influenced his story "The Suicide of Kiaros", first published in the literary journal "The White Elephant". A fellow clerk one day had been found locked in a store room dead, probably from suicide.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: Baum could never stay away long from the stage. He performed in plays under the stage names of Louis F. Baum and George Brooks. In 1880, his father built him a theater in Richburg, New York, and Baum set about writing plays and gathering a company to act in them. "The Maid of Arran" proved a modest success, a melodrama with songs based on William Black's novel "A Princess of Thule". Baum wrote the play and composed songs for it (making it a prototypical musical, as its songs relate to the narrative), and acted in the leading role. His aunt Katharine Gray played his character's aunt. She was the founder of Syracuse Oratory School, and Baum advertised his services in her catalog to teach theater, including stage business, play writing, directing, translating (French, German, and Italian), revision, and operettas.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: On November 9, 1882, Baum married Maud Gage, a daughter of Matilda Joslyn Gage, a famous women's suffrage and feminist activist. While Baum was touring with "The Maid of Arran", the theater in Richburg caught fire during a production of Baum's ironically titled parlor drama "Matches", destroying the theater as well as the only known copies of many of Baum's scripts, including "Matches", as well as costumes.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: In July 1888, Baum and his wife moved to Aberdeen, Dakota Territory where he opened a store called "Baum's Bazaar". His habit of giving out wares on credit led to the eventual bankrupting of the store, so Baum turned to editing the local newspaper "The Aberdeen Saturday Pioneer" where he wrote the column "Our Landlady". Following the death of Sitting Bull at the hands of Indian agency police, Baum recommended the wholesale extermination of all America's native peoples in a column that he wrote on December 20, 1890 (full text below). It is unclear whether Baum meant it as a satire or not, especially since his mother-in-law Matilda Joslyn Gage received an honorary adoption into the Wolf Clan of the Mohawk Nation and was a fierce defender of Native American rights, but on January 3, 1891, he returned to the subject in an editorial response to the Wounded Knee Massacre:


title: L. Frank Baum

text: The Pioneer has before declared that our only safety depends upon the total extirmination of the Indians. Having wronged them for centuries, we had better, in order to protect our civilization, follow it up by one more wrong and wipe these untamed and untamable creatures from the face of the earth.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: Baum's description of Kansas in "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is based on his experiences in drought-ridden South Dakota. During much of this time, Matilda Joslyn Gage was living in the Baum household. While Baum was in South Dakota, he sang in a quartet which included James Kyle, who became one of the first Populist (People's Party) Senators in the U.S.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: Baum's newspaper failed in 1891, and he, Maud, and their four sons moved to the Humboldt Park section of Chicago, where Baum took a job reporting for the "Evening Post". Beginning in 1897, he founded and edited a magazine called "The Show Window", later known as the "Merchants Record and Show Window", which focused on store window displays, retail strategies and visual merchandising. The major department stores of the time created elaborate Christmas time fantasies, using clockwork mechanisms that made people and animals appear to move. The former "Show Window" magazine is still currently in operation, now known as "VMSD" magazine (visual merchandising + store design), based in Cincinnati. In 1900, Baum published a book about window displays in which he stressed the importance of mannequins in drawing customers. He also had to work as a traveling salesman.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: In 1897, he wrote and published "Mother Goose in Prose", a collection of Mother Goose rhymes written as prose stories and illustrated by Maxfield Parrish. "Mother Goose" was a moderate success and allowed Baum to quit his sales job (which had had a negative impact on his health). In 1899, Baum partnered with illustrator W. W. Denslow to publish "Father Goose, His Book", a collection of nonsense poetry. The book was a success, becoming the best-selling children's book of the year.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: In 1900, Baum and Denslow (with whom he shared the copyright) published "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" to much critical acclaim and financial success. The book was the best-selling children's book for two years after its initial publication. Baum went on to write thirteen more novels based on the places and people of the Land of Oz.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: Two years after "Wizard" publication, Baum and Denslow teamed up with composer Paul Tietjens and director Julian Mitchell to produce a musical stage version of the book under Fred R. Hamlin. Baum and Tietjens had worked on a musical of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" in 1901 and based closely upon the book, but it was rejected. This stage version opened in Chicago in 1902 (the first to use the shortened title "The Wizard of Oz"), then ran on Broadway for 293 stage nights from January to October 1903. It returned to Broadway in 1904, where it played from March to May and again from November to December. It successfully toured the United States with much of the same cast, as was done in those days, until 1911, and then became available for amateur use. The stage version starred Anna Laughlin as Dorothy Gale, alongside David C. Montgomery and Fred Stone as the Tin Woodman and Scarecrow respectively, which shot the pair to instant fame.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: The stage version differed quite a bit from the book, and was aimed primarily at adults. Toto was replaced with Imogene the Cow, and Tryxie Tryfle (a waitress) and Pastoria (a streetcar operator) were added as fellow cyclone victims. The Wicked Witch of the West was eliminated entirely in the script, and the plot became about how the four friends were allied with the usurping Wizard and were hunted as traitors to Pastoria II, the rightful King of Oz. It is unclear how much control or influence Baum had on the script; it appears that many of the changes were written by Baum against his wishes due to contractual requirements with Hamlin. Jokes in the script, mostly written by Glen MacDonough, called for explicit references to President Theodore Roosevelt, Senator Mark Hanna, Rev. Andrew Danquer, and oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller. Although use of the script was rather free-form, the line about Hanna was ordered dropped as soon as Hamlin got word of his death in 1904.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: Beginning with the success of the stage version, most subsequent versions of the story, including newer editions of the novel, have been titled "The Wizard of Oz", rather than using the full, original title. In more recent years, restoring the full title has become increasingly common, particularly to distinguish the novel from the Hollywood film.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: Baum wrote a new Oz book, "The Marvelous Land of Oz", with a view to making it into a stage production, which was titled "The Woggle-Bug", but Montgomery and Stone balked at appearing when the original was still running. The Scarecrow and Tin Woodman were then omitted from this adaptation, which was seen as a self-rip-off by critics and proved to be a major flop before it could reach Broadway. He also worked for years on a musical version of "Ozma of Oz", which eventually became "The Tik-Tok Man of Oz". This did fairly well in Los Angeles, but not well enough to convince producer Oliver Morosco to mount a production in New York. He also began a stage version of "The Patchwork Girl of Oz", but this was ultimately realized as a film".


title: L. Frank Baum

text: With the success of "Wizard" on page and stage, Baum and Denslow hoped for further success and published "Dot and Tot of Merryland" in 1901. The book was one of Baum's weakest, and its failure further strained his faltering relationship with Denslow. It was their last collaboration. Baum worked primarily with John R. Neill on his fantasy work beginning in 1904, but Baum met Neill few times (all before he moved to California) and often found Neill's art not humorous enough for his liking. He was particularly offended when Neill published "The Oz Toy Book: Cut-outs for the Kiddies" without authorization.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: Baum reportedly designed the chandeliers in the Crown Room of the Hotel del Coronado; however, that attribution has yet to be corroborated. Several times during the development of the Oz series, Baum declared that he had written his last Oz book and devoted himself to other works of fantasy fiction based in other magical lands, including "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus" and "Queen Zixi of Ix". However, he returned to the series each time, persuaded by popular demand, letters from children, and the failure of his new books. Even so, his other works remained very popular after his death, with "The Master Key" appearing on "St. Nicholas Magazine"'s survey of readers' favorite books well into the 1920s.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: In 1905, Baum declared plans for an Oz amusement park. In an interview, he mentioned buying “Pedloe Island” off the coast of California to turn it into an Oz park. However, there is no evidence that he purchased such an island, and no one has ever been able to find any island whose name even resembles Pedloe in that area. Nevertheless, Baum stated to the press that he had discovered a Pedloe Island off the coast of California and that he had purchased it to be "the Marvelous Land of Oz," intending it to be "a fairy paradise for children." Eleven year old Dorothy Talbot of San Francisco was reported to be ascendant to the throne on March 1, 1906, when the Palace of Oz was expected to be completed. Baum planned to live on the island, with administrative duties handled by the princess and her all-child advisers. Plans included statues of the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, Jack Pumpkinhead, and H.M. Woggle-Bug, T.E. Baum abandoned his Oz park project after the failure of "The Woggle-Bug", which was playing at the Garrick Theatre in 1905.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: Because of his lifelong love of theatre, he financed elaborate musicals, often to his financial detriment. One of Baum's worst financial endeavors was his "The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays" (1908), which combined a slideshow, film, and live actors with a lecture by Baum as if he were giving a travelogue to Oz. However, Baum ran into trouble and could not pay his debts to the company who produced the films. He did not get back to a stable financial situation for several years, after he sold the royalty rights to many of his earlier works, including "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". This resulted in the M.A. Donahue Company publishing cheap editions of his early works with advertising which purported that Baum's newer output was inferior to the less expensive books that they were releasing. He claimed bankruptcy in August 1911. However, Baum had shrewdly transferred most of his property into Maud's name, except for his clothing, his typewriter, and his library (mostly of children's books, such as the fairy tales of Andrew Lang, whose portrait he kept in his study)—all of which, he successfully argued, were essential to his occupation. Maud handled the finances anyway, and thus Baum lost much less than he could have.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: Baum also anonymously wrote "The Last Egyptian: A Romance of the Nile". He continued theatrical work with Harry Marston Haldeman's men's social group The Uplifters, for which he wrote several plays for various celebrations. He also wrote the group's parodic by-laws. The group also included Will Rogers, but was proud to have had Baum as a member and posthumously revived many of his works despite their ephemeral intent. Many of these play's titles are known, but only "The Uplift of Lucifer" is known to survive (it was published in a limited edition in the 1960s). Prior to that, his last produced play was "The Tik-Tok Man of Oz" (based on "Ozma of Oz" and the basis for "Tik-Tok of Oz"), a modest success in Hollywood that producer Oliver Morosco decided did not do well enough to take to Broadway. Morosco, incidentally, quickly turned to film production, as did Baum.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: In 1914, Baum started his own film production company The Oz Film Manufacturing Company, which came as an outgrowth of the Uplifters. He served as its president and principal producer and screenwriter. The rest of the board consisted of Louis F. Gottschalk, Harry Marston Haldeman, and Clarence R. Rundel. The films were directed by J. Farrell MacDonald, with casts that included Violet MacMillan, Vivian Reed, Mildred Harris, Juanita Hansen, Pierre Couderc, Mai Welles, Louise Emmons, J. Charles Haydon, and early appearances by Harold Lloyd and Hal Roach. Silent film actor Richard Rosson appeared in one of the films (Rosson's younger brother Harold Rosson was the cinematographer on "The Wizard of Oz", released in 1939). After little success probing the unrealized children's film market, Baum acknowledged his authorship of "The Last Egyptian" and made a film of it (portions of which are included in "Decasia"), but the Oz name had become box office poison for the time being, and even a name change to Dramatic Feature Films and transfer of ownership to Frank Joslyn Baum did not help. Baum invested none of his own money in the venture, unlike "The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays", but the stress probably took its toll on his health.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: On May 5, 1919, Baum suffered a stroke, slipped into a coma and died the following day, at the age of 62. His last words were spoken to his wife during a brief period of lucidity: "Now we can cross the Shifting Sands." He was buried in Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: His final Oz book, "Glinda of Oz", was published on July 10, 1920, a year after his death. The Oz series was continued long after his death by other authors, notably Ruth Plumly Thompson, who wrote an additional twenty-one Oz books.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: Baum's avowed intentions with the Oz books and his other fairy tales was to retell tales such as those which are found in the works of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen, remake them in an American vein, update them, omit stereotypical characters such as dwarfs or genies, and remove the association of violence and moral teachings. His first Oz books contained a fair amount of violence, but the amount of it decreased as the series progressed; in "The Emerald City of Oz", Ozma objects to the use of violence, even to the use of violence against the Nomes who threaten Oz with invasion. His introduction is often cited as the beginning of the sanitization of children's stories, although he did not do a great deal more than eliminate harsh moral lessons.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: Another traditional element that Baum intentionally omitted was the emphasis on romance. He considered romantic love to be uninteresting to young children, as well as largely incomprehensible. In "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", the only elements of romance lay in the background of the Tin Woodman and his love for Nimmie Amee, which explains his condition but does not affect the tale in any other way, and the background of Gayelette and the enchantment of the Winged monkeys. The only other stories with such elements were "The Scarecrow of Oz" and "Tik-Tok of Oz", both of them were based on dramatizations, which Baum regarded warily until his readers accepted them.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: When Baum lived in Aberdeen, South Dakota, where he was secretary of its Equal Suffrage Club, much of the politics in the Republican "Aberdeen Saturday Pioneer" dealt with trying to convince the populace to vote for women's suffrage. Susan B. Anthony visited Aberdeen and stayed with the Baums. Nancy Tystad Koupal notes an apparent loss of interest in editorializing after Aberdeen failed to pass the bill for women's enfranchisement.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: Sally Roesch Wagner of The Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation published "The Wonderful Mother of Oz", describing how Matilda Gage's feminist politics were sympathetically channeled by Baum into his Oz books. Some of Baum's contacts with suffragists of his day seem to have inspired much of "The Marvelous Land of Oz". In this story, General Jinjur leads the girls and women of Oz in a revolt, armed with knitting needles; they succeed and make the men do the household chores. Jinjur proves to be an incompetent ruler, but Princess Ozma, who advocates gender equality, is ultimately placed on the throne. Charlotte Perkins Gilman's 1915 classic of feminist science fiction, "Herland", bears strong similarities to "The Emerald City of Oz" (1910); the link between Baum and Gilman is considered to be Gage. Baum's stories outside of Oz also contain feminist or egalitarian themes. His Edith Van Dyne stories depict girls and young women engaging in traditionally masculine activities, including "Aunt Jane's Nieces" and "The Flying Girl" and its sequel. The Bluebird Books feature a girl sleuth.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: During the period surrounding the 1890 Ghost Dance movement and Wounded Knee Massacre, Baum wrote two editorials asserting that the safety of white settlers depended on the wholesale genocide of American Indians. These editorials were re-published in 1990 by sociologist Robert Venables of Cornell University, who argues that Baum was not using sarcasm.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: The first piece was published on December 20, 1890, five days after the killing of the Lakota Sioux holy man, Sitting Bull. The piece opined that with Sitting Bull's death, "the nobility of the Redskin" had been extinguished, and the safety of the frontier would not be established until there was "total annihilation" of the remaining Native Americans, who, he claimed, lived as "miserable wretches." Baum said that their extermination should not be regretted, and their elimination would "do justice to the manly characteristics" of their ancestors.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: The Wounded Knee Massacre occurred nine days later; the second editorial was published on January 3, 1891. Baum alleged that General Nelson A. Miles' weak rule of the Native Americans had caused American soldiers to suffer a "terrible loss of blood", in a "battle" which had been a disgrace to the Department of War. He found that the "disaster" could have easily been prevented with proper preparations. Baum reiterated that he believed, due to the history of mistreatment of Native Americans, that the extermination of the "untamed and untamable" tribes was necessary to protect American settlers. Baum ended the editorial with the following anecdote: "An eastern contemporary, with a grain of wisdom in its wit, says that 'when the whites win a fight, it is a victory, and when the Indians win it, it is a massacre.'"


title: L. Frank Baum

text: In 2006, two descendants of Baum apologized to the Sioux nation for any hurt that their ancestor had caused.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: The short story "The Enchanted Buffalo" claims to be a legend about a tribe of bison, and it states that a key element of it made it into the legends of Native American tribes. Baum mentions his characters' distaste for a Hopi snake dance in "Aunt Jane's Nieces and Uncle John", but he also deplores the horrible situation which exists on Indian reservations. "Aunt Jane's Nieces on the Ranch" features a hard-working Mexican in order to disprove Anglo stereotypes which portray Mexicans as lazy. Baum's mother-in-law and woman's suffrage leader Matilda Joslyn Gage strongly influenced his views. Gage was initiated into the Wolf Clan and admitted into the Iroquois Council of Matrons in recognition of her outspoken respect and sympathy for Native American people.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: Numerous political references to the "Wizard" appeared early in the 20th century. Henry Littlefield, an upstate New York high school history teacher, wrote a scholarly article in 1964, the first full-fledged interpretation of the novel as an extended metaphor of the politics and characters of the 1890s. He paid special attention to the Populist metaphors and debates over silver and gold. Baum was a Republican and avid supporter of women's suffrage, and it is thought that he did not support the political ideals of either the Populist movement of 1890–1892 or the Bryanite silver crusade of 1896–1900. He published a poem in support of William McKinley.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: Since 1964, many scholars, economists, and historians have expanded on Littlefield's interpretation, pointing to multiple similarities between the characters (especially as depicted in Denslow's illustrations) and stock figures from editorial cartoons of the period. Littlefield wrote to "The New York Times" letters to the editor section spelling out that his theory had no basis in fact, but that his original point was "not to label Baum, or to lessen any of his magic, but rather, as a history teacher at Mount Vernon High School, to invest turn-of-the-century America with the imagery and wonder I have always found in his stories."


title: L. Frank Baum

text: Baum's newspaper had addressed politics in the 1890s, and Denslow was an editorial cartoonist as well as an illustrator of children's books. A series of political references is included in the 1902 stage version, such as references to the President, to a powerful senator, and to John D. Rockefeller for providing the oil needed by the Tin Woodman. Scholars have found few political references in Baum's Oz books after 1902. Baum was asked whether his stories had hidden meanings, but he always replied that they were written to "please children".


title: L. Frank Baum

text: Baum was originally a Methodist, but he joined the Episcopal Church in Aberdeen in order to participate in community theatricals. Later, he and his wife were encouraged to become members of the Theosophical Society in 1892 by Matilda Joslyn Gage. Baum's beliefs are frequently reflected in his writings; however, the only mention of a church in his Oz books is the porcelain one which the Cowardly Lion breaks in the Dainty China Country in "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". The Baums sent their older sons to "Ethical Culture Sunday School" in Chicago, which taught morality, not religion.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: Writers including Evan I. Schwartz among others have suggested that Baum intentionally used allegory and symbolism in "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" to convey concepts that are central to spiritual teachings such as Theosophy and Buddhism. They postulate that the main characters’ experiences in Oz represent the soul’s journey toward enlightenment. Schwartz specifically states that key plot elements of the book take “the reader on a journey guided by Eastern philosophy” (Schwartz, p. 265). An article in BBC Culture lists several allegorical interpretations of the book including that it may be viewed as a parable of Theosophy. The article cites various symbols and their possible meanings, for example the Yellow Brick Road representing the ‘Golden Path’ in Buddhism, along which the soul travels to a state of spiritual realization.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: Baum’s own writing suggests he believed the story may have been divinely inspired: “It was pure inspiration. It came to me right out of the blue. I think that sometimes the Great Author had a message to get across and He was to use the instrument at hand”.


title: L. Frank Baum

text: 1921's "The Royal Book of Oz" was posthumously attributed to Baum but was entirely the work of Ruth Plumly Thompson.


title: Sefirot

text: Sefirot (; , Tiberian: ""), meaning "emanations", are the 10 attributes/emanations in Kabbalah, through which Ein Sof (The Infinite) reveals itself and continuously creates both the physical realm and the chain of higher metaphysical realms ("Seder hishtalshelus"). The term is alternatively transliterated into English as "sephirot/sephiroth", singular "sefirah/sephirah", etc.


title: Sefirot

text: Alternative configurations of the sefirot are interpreted by various schools in the historical evolution of Kabbalah, with each articulating differing spiritual aspects. The tradition of enumerating 10 is stated in the "Sefer Yetzirah", "Ten sefirot of nothingness, ten and not nine, ten and not eleven". As altogether 11 sefirot are listed across the various schemes, two (Keter and Da'at) are seen as unconscious and conscious manifestations of the same principle, conserving the 10 categories. The sefirot are described as channels of divine creative life force or consciousness through which the unknowable divine essence is revealed to mankind.


title: Sefirot

text: The first sefirah, Keter, describes the divine superconscious Will that is beyond conscious intellect. The next three sefirot (Chokhmah, Binah and Da'at) describe three levels of conscious divine intellect. In particular, Da'at represents Keter in its knowable form, the concept of knowledge. Will and knowledge are corresponding somewhat dependent opposites. The seven subsequent sefirot (Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod and Malkuth) describe the primary and secondary conscious divine emotions. The sefirot of the left side and the sefira of Malkuth are feminine, as the female principle in Kabbalah describes a vessel that receives the outward male light, then inwardly nurtures and gives birth to the sefirot below them. Kabbalah sees the human soul as mirroring the divine (after Genesis 1:27, "God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them"), and more widely, all creations as reflections of their life source in the sefirot. Therefore, the sefirot also describe the spiritual life of man, break down man's psychological processes, and constitute the conceptual paradigm in Kabbalah for understanding everything. This relationship between the soul of man and the divine gives Kabbalah one of its two central metaphors in describing divinity, alongside the other Ohr (light) metaphor. However, Kabbalah repeatedly stresses the need to avoid all corporeal interpretation. Through this, the sefirot are related to the structure of the body and are reformed into "partzufim" (personas). Underlying the structural purpose of each sefirah is a hidden motivational force which is understood best by comparison with a corresponding psychological state in human spiritual experience.


title: Sefirot

text: In Hasidic philosophy, which has sought to internalise the experience of Jewish mysticism into daily inspiration ("devekut"), this inner life of the sefirot is explored, and the role they play in man's service of God in this world.


title: Sefirot

text: The Ein Sof (lit: without end) is an important concept in Jewish Kabbalah. Generally translated as "infinity" and "endless", the Ein Sof represents the formless state of the universe before the self-materialization of God. In other words, the Ein Sof is God before he decided to become God as we now know him.


title: Sefirot

text: The sefirot are divine emanations that come from the Ein Sof in a manner often described as a flame. The sefirot emanate from above to below. As the first Sefira is closest to Ein Sof, it is the least comprehensible to the human mind, while in turn the last is the best understood because it is closest to the material world that humanity dwells on.


title: Sefirot

text: "Sefirot" (, "sfirot", singular sfira), literally means "counting, enumeration", but early Kabbalists presented a number of other etymological possibilities from the same Hebrew root including: "sefer" ("text" - ספר), "sippur" ("recounting a story" - סיפור), "sappir" ("sapphire" - ספיר, "brilliance", "luminary"), "sfar" ("boundary" - ספר), and "sofer", or "safra" ("scribe" - ספרא, סופר). The term sefirah thus has complex connotations within Kabbalah.


title: Sefirot

text: The original reference to the sefirot is found in the ancient Kabbalistic text of "Sefer Yetzirah", "The Book of Formation", attributed to the first Jewish patriarch, Abraham. However, the names of the sefirot as given in later Kabbalah are not specified there, but rather are only identified by their attributes "forward", "backward", "right", "left", "down", "up", "light", "darkness", "good" and "evil". Further references to the sefirot, now with their later-accepted names, are elaborated on in the medieval Kabbalistic text of the "Zohar", which is one of the core texts of Kabbalah.


title: Sefirot

text: The sefirot are 10 emanations, or illuminations of God's infinite light as it manifests in creation. As revelations of the creator's will ( "rɔṣon"), the sefirot should not be understood as 10 different "gods", but rather as 10 different channels through which the one God reveals His will. In later Jewish literature, the 10 sefirot refer either to the 10 manifestations of God; the 10 powers or faculties of the soul; or the 10 structural forces of nature.


title: Sefirot

text: In Cordoveran Kabbalah, the forces of creation are considered as autonomous forces that evolve independently of one another. By contrast, in Lurean or Lurianic Kabbalah (the Kabbalah of Isaac Luria), the sefirot are perceived as a constellation of forces in active dialogue with one another at every stage of that evolution. Luria described the sefirot as complex and dynamically interacting entities known as "partzufim", or faces, each with its own symbolically human-like persona.


title: Sefirot

text: Keter, the Crown, is the first sefirah. It is the superconscious intermediary between God and the other, conscious sefirot. Three different levels, or "heads", are identified within Keter. In some contexts, the highest level of Keter is called "The unknowable head", The second level is "the head of nothingness" ("reisha d'ayin") and the third level is "the long head" ("reisha d'arich"). These three heads correspond to the superconscious levels of faith, pleasure and will in the soul.


title: Sefirot

text: In its early 12th-century dissemination, Kabbalah garnered criticism from some rabbis who adhered to Jewish philosophy, for its alleged introduction of multiplicity into Jewish monotheism. The seeming plurality of the One God is a result of the spiritual evolution of God's light, which introduced a multiplicity of emanations from the one infinite divine essence. This was necessary due to the inability of mankind to exist in God's infinite presence. God does not change; rather, it is our ability to perceive his emanations that is modified. This is stressed in Kabbalah to avoid heretical notions of any plurality in the Godhead. One parable to explain this is the difference between the "Ma'Ohr" ("Luminary"-divine essence) and the "Ohr" ("Light") he emanates, like the difference between the single body of the sun and the multiple rays of sunlight that illuminate a room.


title: Sefirot

text: In Kabbalah, there is a direct correspondence between the Hebrew name of any spiritual or physical phenomenon and its manifestations in the mundane world. The Hebrew name represents the unique essence of the object. This reflects the belief that the universe is created through the metaphorical speech of God, as stated in the first chapter of Genesis. Kabbalah expounds on the names of the sefirot and their nuances, including their gematria (numerical values), in order to reach an understanding of these emanations of God's essence.


title: Sefirot

text: In the 16th-century rational synthesis of Moses ben Jacob Cordovero (Cordoveran Kabbalah), the first complete systemisation of Kabbalah, the sefirot are listed from highest to lowest:


title: Sefirot

text: Kabbalah uses subtle anthropomorphic analogies and metaphors to describe God in Judaism, both the God-world relationship, and the inner nature of the divine. These include the metaphor of the soul-body relationship, the functions of human soul-powers, the configuration of human bodily form, and female-male influences in the divine. Kabbalists repeatedly warn and stress the need to divorce their notions from any corporality, dualism, plurality, or spatial and temporal connotations. As "the Torah speaks in the language of Man", the empirical terms are necessarily imposed upon human experience in this world. Once the analogy is described, its limitations are then related to stripping the kernel of its husk to arrive at a truer conception. Nonetheless, Kabbalists carefully chose their terminology to denote subtle connotations and profound relationships in the divine spiritual influences. More accurately, as they see the emanation of the material world from the spiritual realms, the analogous anthropomorphisms and material metaphors themselves derive through cause and effect from their precise root analogies on High.


title: Sefirot

text: Describing the material world below in general, and humans in particular, as created in the "image" of the world above is not restricted in Rabbinic Judaism to Kabbalah, but abounds more widely in Biblical, Midrashic, Talmudic and philosophical literature. Kabbalah extends the Man-metaphor more radically to anthropomorphise particular divine manifestations on high, while repeatedly stressing the need to divest analogies from impure materialistic corporality. Classical proof texts on which it bases its approach include, "From my flesh I envisage God", and the rabbinic analogy "As the soul permeates the whole body...sees but is not seen...sustains the whole body...is pure...abides in the innermost precincts...is unique in the body...does not eat and drink...no man knows where its place is...so the Holy One, Blessed is He..." Together with the metaphor of light, the Man-metaphor is central in Kabbalah. Nonetheless, it too has its limitations, needs qualification, and breaks down if taken as a literal, corporeal comparison. Its limitations include the effect of the body on the soul, while the World effects no change in God; and the distinct, separate origins of the soul and the body, while in relation to God's omnipresence, especially in its acosmic Hasidic development, all creation is nullified in its source.


title: Sefirot

text: Despite the particular geometric depiction of the "Yosher" scheme, through each soul faculty in the body, physical human organs also reflect the supernal divine forces on high, as the scheme of "Yosher" underscores the inter-relationship of the sefirot as a unit or body. In this context, the physical upright standing of humans contrasts with the horizontal forms of animals. The correspondence of the sefirot with the physical organs of a human:


title: Sefirot

text: As all levels of Creation are constructed around the 10 sefirot, their names in Kabbalah describe the particular role each plays in forming reality. These are the external dimensions of the sefirot, describing their functional roles in channelling the divine, creative "Ohr" (Light) to all levels. As the sefirot are viewed to comprise both metaphorical "lights" and "vessels", their structural role describes the particular identity each sefirah possesses from its characteristic vessel. Underlying this functional structure of the sefirot, each one possesses a hidden, inner spiritual motivation that inspires its activity. This forms the particular characteristic of inner light within each sefirah.


title: Sefirot

text: Understanding the sefirot throughout Jewish mysticism is achieved by their correspondence to the human soul. This applies to the outer, Kabbalistic structure of the sefirot. It applies even more to their inner dimensions, which correspond to inner psychological qualities in human perception. Identifying the essential spiritual properties of the soul gives the best insight into their divine source, and in the process reveals the spiritual beauty of the soul. In Hasidic thought these inner dimensions of the sefirot are called the Powers of the Soul (). Hasidism sought the internalisation of the abstract ideas of Kabbalah, both outwardly in joyful sincerity of dveikus in daily life, acts of loving-kindness and prayer; and inwardly in its profound new articulation of Jewish mystical thought, by relating it to the inner life of man. Articulation of the sefirot in Hasidic philosophy is primarily concerned with their inner dimensions, and exploring the direct, enlivening contribution of each in man's spiritual worship of God. Kabbalah focuses on the esoteric manifestations of God in creation, the vessels of divinity. Hasidut looks at the lights that fill these vessels, how the structures reveal the divine essence, and how this inwardness can be perceived. This difference can be seen in the names of these two stages of Jewish mysticism. "Kabbalah" in Hebrew is derived from "kabal" (to "receive" as a vessel). "Hasidut" is from "chesed" ("loving-kindness"), considered the first and greatest sefirah, also called "Greatness", the wish to reveal and share. The names of the sefirot come from Kabbalah, and describe the Divine effect that each has upon Creation, but not their inner qualities. Hasidic thought uses new descriptive terms for the inner dimensions of the sefirot:


title: Sefirot

text: These ten levels are associated with Kabbalah's four different "Worlds" or planes of existence, the main part from the perspective of the descending "chain of progression" ("Seder hishtalshelut"), that links the infinite divine "Ein Sof" with the finite, physical realm. In all Worlds, the 10 sefirot radiate, and are the divine channels through which every level is continuously created from nothing. Since they are the attributes through which the unknowable, infinite divine essence becomes revealed to the creations, all ten emanate in each World. Nonetheless, the structure of the Four Worlds arises because in each one, certain sefirot predominate. Each World is spiritual, apart from the lower aspect of the final World, which is the "Asiyah Gashmi" ("Physical Asiyah"), the physical Universe. Each World is progressively grosser and further removed from consciousness of the Divine, until in this World it is possible to be unaware of or to deny God. In descending order:


title: Sefirot

text: In the Zohar and elsewhere, there are these four Worlds or planes of existence. In the Lurianic system of Kabbalah, five Worlds are counted, comprising these and a higher, fifth plane, Adam Kadmon-manifest Godhead level, that mediates between the Ein Sof and the four lower Worlds.


title: Sefirot

text: As the four Worlds link the Infinite with this realm, they also enable the soul to ascend in devotion or mystical states, towards the Divine. Each World can be understood as descriptive of dimensional levels of intentionality related to the natural human "desire to receive", and a method for the soul's progress upward toward unity with or return to the Creator. (The terminology of this formulation is based on the exposition of Lurianic Kabbalah by the 20th century Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag).


title: February

text: February is the second month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The month has 28 days in common years or 29 in leap years, with the 29th day being called the "leap day". It is the first of five months not to have 31 days (the other four being April, June, September, and November) and the only one to have fewer than 30 days.


title: February

text: February is the third and last month of meteorological winter in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, February is the third and last month of meteorological summer (being the seasonal equivalent of what is August in the Northern Hemisphere).


title: February

text: "February" is pronounced in several different ways. The beginning of the word is commonly pronounced either as or ; many people drop the first "r", replacing it with , as if it were spelled "Febuary". This comes about by analogy with "January" (), as well as by a dissimilation effect whereby having two "r"s close to each other causes one to change. The ending of the word is pronounced in the US and in the UK.


title: February

text: Derived from the Latin word, the Roman month was named after the Latin term , which means "purification", via the purification ritual held on February 15 (full moon) in the old lunar Roman calendar. January and February were the last two months to be added to the Roman calendar, since the Romans originally considered winter a monthless period. They were added by Numa Pompilius about 713 BC. February remained the last month of the calendar year until the time of the decemvirs (c. 450 BC), when it became the second month. At certain times February was truncated to 23 or 24 days, and a 27-day intercalary month, Intercalaris, was occasionally inserted immediately after February to realign the year with the seasons.


title: February

text: February observances in Ancient Rome included Amburbium (precise date unknown), Sementivae (February 2), Februa (February 13–15), Lupercalia (February 13–15), Parentalia (February 13–22), Quirinalia (February 17), Feralia (February 21), Caristia (February 22), Terminalia (February 23), Regifugium (February 24), and Agonium Martiale (February 27). These days do not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar.


title: February

text: Under the reforms that instituted the Julian calendar, Intercalaris was abolished, leap years occurred regularly every fourth year, and in leap years February gained a 29th day. Thereafter, it remained the second month of the calendar year, meaning the order that months are displayed (January, February, March, ..., December) within a year-at-a-glance calendar. Even during the Middle Ages, when the numbered Anno Domini year began on March 25 or December 25, the second month was February whenever all twelve months were displayed in order. The Gregorian calendar reforms made slight changes to the system for determining which years were leap years, but also contained a 29-day February.


title: February

text: Historical names for February include the Old English terms Solmonath (mud month) and Kale-monath (named for cabbage) as well as Charlemagne's designation Hornung. In Finnish, the month is called , meaning "month of the pearl"; when snow melts on tree branches, it forms droplets, and as these freeze again, they are like pearls of ice. In Polish and Ukrainian, respectively, the month is called or (), meaning the month of ice or hard frost. In Macedonian the month is (), meaning month of cutting (wood). In Czech, it is called , meaning month of submerging (of river ice).


title: February

text: In Slovene, February is traditionally called , related to icicles or Candlemas. This name originates from , written as in the "New Carniolan Almanac" from 1775 and changed to its final form by Franc Metelko in his "New Almanac" from 1824. The name was also spelled , meaning "the month of cutting down of trees".


title: February

text: In 1848, a proposal was put forward in "Kmetijske in rokodelske novice" by the Slovene Society of Ljubljana to call this month (related to ice melting), but it did not stick. The idea was proposed by a priest, Blaž Potočnik. Another name of February in Slovene was , after the mythological character Vesna.


title: February

text: Having only 28 days in common years, February is the only month of the year that can pass without a single full moon. Using Coordinated Universal Time as the basis for determining the date and time of a full moon, this last happened in 2018 and will next happen in 2037. The same is true regarding a new moon: again using Coordinated Universal Time as the basis, this last happened in 2014 and will next happen in 2033.


title: February

text: February is also the only month of the calendar that, at intervals alternating between one of six years and two of eleven years, has exactly four full 7-day weeks. In countries that start their week on a Monday, it occurs as part of a common year starting on Friday, in which February 1st is a Monday and the 28th is a Sunday; the most recent occurrence was 2021, and the next one will be 2027. In countries that start their week on a Sunday, it occurs in a common year starting on Thursday; the most recent occurrence was 2015 and the next occurrence will be 2026. The pattern is broken by a skipped leap year, but no leap year has been skipped since 1900 and no others will be skipped until 2100.


title: February

text: February meteor showers include the Alpha Centaurids (appearing in early February), the March Virginids (lasting from February 14 to April 25, peaking around March 20), the Delta Cancrids (appearing December 14 to February 14, peaking on January 17), the Omicron Centaurids (late January through February, peaking in mid-February), Theta Centaurids (January 23 – March 12, only visible in the southern hemisphere), Eta Virginids (February 24 and March 27, peaking around March 18), and Pi Virginids (February 13 and April 8, peaking between March 3 and March 9).


title: February

text: "(All Baha'i, Islamic, and Jewish observances begin at the sundown prior to the date listed, and end at sundown of the date in question unless otherwise noted.)"


title: Neverland Ranch

text: Sycamore Valley Ranch, formerly Neverland Ranch or Neverland, is a developed property in Santa Barbara County, California, located at 5225 Figueroa Mountain Road, Los Olivos, California, on the edge of Los Padres National Forest. It was the home and private amusement park of American entertainer Michael Jackson from 1988 until 2005.


title: Neverland Ranch

text: The ranch is about 5 miles (8 km) north of unincorporated Los Olivos, and about eight miles (13 km) north of the town of Santa Ynez. The Chamberlin Ranch is to the west, and the rugged La Laguna Ranch, is to the north. The Santa Barbara County Assessor's office says the ranch is approximately 2,700 acres (1,100 hectares).


title: Neverland Ranch

text: Originally named Zaca Laderas Ranch, the estate was renamed Sycamore Valley Ranch shortly after it was purchased by property developer William Bone in 1981. In 1988, the ranch was sold to Michael Jackson, who renamed it after Neverland, the fantasy island in the story of Peter Pan, a boy who never grows up. Jackson first went to the ranch when he visited Paul McCartney, who was staying there during their filming of the "Say Say Say" video in 1983. According to Jackson's sister La Toya, he expressed interest in someday owning the property at that time.


title: Neverland Ranch

text: Jackson left the property in 2005 shortly after his acquittal on child molestation charges and never returned; he owned it until his death in 2009. The property was put up for sale in 2015. After several price drops, American billionaire businessman Ronald Burkle, a close family friend of Jackson's, purchased it in 2020 for $22 million.


title: Neverland Ranch

text: The estate was originally known as the Zaca Laderas Ranch at the time of its purchase by the property developer William Bone in 1981. Bone renamed the estate the Sycamore Valley Ranch and moved there with his family. Bone commissioned the architect Robert Altevers to design the principal buildings on the ranch, and the pair spent two and a half years researching potential designs and ideas. The main house was completed in 1982, based on a design by Altevers, with formal gardens, a stone bridge, and a lake with a waterfall. Bone later said that in building the house he had "...a desire to express everything I had learned in 15 years of home building...I achieved here all the things I wanted to do in my business but could not". He had considered converting the property to a country club but did not do so.


title: Neverland Ranch

text: Jackson purchased the estate from Bone in March 1988 for an unknown amount but did not live in it until 1992. Some sources indicate $19.5 million while others suggest it was closer to $30 million. The property was initially purchased by a trust with Jackson's lawyer, John Branca, and his accountant, Marshall Gelfand, as trustees, for reasons of privacy. The arrangement was later rescinded by Jackson in April 1988 and he became the ultimate owner of the property. It was Jackson's home as well as his private amusement park, with numerous artistic garden statues and a petting zoo.


title: Neverland Ranch

text: The property included three railroads: one narrow gauge named "Neverland Valley Railroad", with a steam locomotive named "Katherine" after his mother (Crown (2B), built-in 1973), and two coaches. The other was a narrow gauge, with a C. P. Huntington replica locomotive made by Chance Rides. There was also a custom-made private electric train that was purchased by Jackson for his own children, Michael Jr, Paris, and Michael II. The train was manufactured in 2001 by a German company Elektro-Mobiltechnik. The train was set up in the yard at Neverland behind the main house and had 100 feet of track.


title: Neverland Ranch

text: There was also a Ferris wheel, Carousel, Zipper, Octopus, Pirate Ship, Wave Swinger, Super Slide, roller coaster, bumper cars, and an amusement arcade. The master closet also contained a secret safe room for security.


title: Neverland Ranch

text: Some of the events that took place at the Ranch included the wedding of Elizabeth Taylor and Larry Fortensky in 1991 and the live Oprah Winfrey interview of Jackson in the year 1993. In 1995, Jackson and his then-wife Lisa Marie Presley-Jackson hosted children from around the world for a three-day World Children's Congress, a series of seminars and workshops on issues facing kids around the globe, as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the United Nations.


title: Neverland Ranch

text: Neverland Ranch was searched extensively by police officers in connection with the "People v. Jackson" trial after he was charged with multiple counts of molesting a minor in 2003. Jackson was acquitted of all charges. However, Jackson stated he would never live at the property again as he no longer considered the ranch a home and did not return to Neverland. Jackson's sister, La Toya, wrote of her experience staying at the ranch during her brother's trial in her 2012 memoir "Starting Over". The main house at Neverland Ranch was closed as a cost-cutting measure, while Jackson lived in Bahrain at the hospitality of Sheik Abdullah, the ruler's son.


title: Neverland Ranch

text: Neverland Ranch had a central role in the allegations against Jackson of child sexual abuse; it is one of the main sites where Jackson's accusers have said the sexual abuse took place. The ranch's association with sexual abuse allegations was described as a possible reason for a significant decrease in value.


title: Neverland Ranch

text: Reports of foreclosure proceedings against Neverland Ranch were published in 2007. A spokesperson for Jackson said that the loan was merely being refinanced and Jackson (later his estate) remained the majority stake holder, with a legal retention of 87.5% of the ranch.


title: Neverland Ranch

text: On February 25, 2008, Jackson received word from Financial Title Company, the trustee, that unless he paid off $24,525,906.61 by March 19, a public auction would go forward of the land, buildings, and other items such as the rides, trains, and art. On March 13, 2008, Jackson's lawyer L. Londell McMillan announced that a private agreement had been reached with the private investment group, Fortress Investment, to save Jackson's ownership of the ranch. Before the agreement, Jackson owed three months' arrears on the property. McMillan did not reveal the details of the deal.


title: Neverland Ranch

text: On May 12, 2008, a foreclosure auction for the ranch was canceled after Colony Capital, an investment company run by billionaire Tom Barrack, purchased the loan, which was in default. The selling price was $22.5 million. In a press release, Jackson stated, "I am pleased with recent developments involving Neverland Ranch and I am in discussions with Colony and Tom Barrack with regard to the Ranch and other matters that would allow me to focus on the future."


title: Neverland Ranch

text: On November 10, 2008, Jackson transferred the title to Sycamore Valley Ranch Company, LLC, and neighbors reported immediate activity on the property, including the amusement rides being trucked along the highway. Jackson still owned an unknown stake in the property, since Sycamore Valley Ranch was a joint venture between Jackson (represented by McMillan) and an affiliate of Colony Capital. The Santa Barbara County Assessor's Office stated Jackson sold an unknown proportion of his property rights for $35 million. Subsequent news reports however, indicated that Colony Capital had invested only $22.5 million in the property. In any event, reliable sources indicate that Colony is the majority owner.


title: Neverland Ranch

text: Kyle Forsyth, Colony's project manager, described the estate's Tudor-style buildings and savanna-like grasslands as "English country manor meets Kenya." Colony hoped to sell the ranch, located in Santa Barbara County, in its entirety. Subdividing it, says Forsyth, "would destroy it".


title: Neverland Ranch

text: The Zipper, Lolli Swing and Spider rides were purchased by Helm and Sons Amusements which also purchased rides for Jackson while Neverland's private amusement park was in operation. Butler Amusements, of Fairfield, California purchased six of the rides. Since their sale, these rides have appeared at county and state fairs across California, Oregon and Washington, sometimes with signs describing their Neverland origin. Archway Amusements Corp of Imperial, Missouri purchased the ferris wheel which was originally custom made for Jackson in 1990 for $215,000 by the manufacturer Eli Bridge Company of Jacksonville, Illinois.


title: Neverland Ranch

text: Some rides were more permanently installed. The Dragon Wagon kiddie coaster is in operation at Coney Island, New York City. The Sea Dragon swinging ship ride was purchased in 2008 by Beech Bend Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The bumper cars were permanently installed at CalExpo, site of the California State Fair.


title: Neverland Ranch

text: In 2013, billionaire British heir and businessman Jo Bamford made plans to buy the ranch, but never finished the deal.


title: Neverland Ranch

text: Following Jackson's death, press reports during June 28–29, 2009, claimed that his family intended to bury him at the Neverland Ranch, eventually turning it into a place of pilgrimage for his fans, similar to how Graceland has become a destination for fans of Elvis Presley. Jackson's father Joseph Jackson later denied the reports. Construction equipment and gardeners entered the grounds on July 1, prompting speculation that preparations were being made for something related to Jackson's death, but local officials stated that a burial there would be only allowed if the owners of the ranch would go through a permitting process with county and state government before establishing a cemetery at the site. Jackson's 2002 will gives his entire estate to a family trust.


title: Neverland Ranch

text: The ranch was the setting for two media appearances on July 2, 2009. Jermaine Jackson took "The Today Show"'s Matt Lauer on a tour of the main house, and he was interviewed on the grounds of the house by Larry King for his show.


title: Neverland Ranch

text: In January 2013, singer Lady Gaga announced her willingness to help Jackson's children in keeping the ranch by investing in the property.


title: Neverland Ranch

text: The amusement rides and animals were gone by 2009, replaced with a meditative zen garden and a section decorated with Peter Pan, Michael Jackson's favorite fictional hero.


title: Neverland Ranch

text: In May 2015, it was announced that the Neverland Ranch, renamed Sycamore Valley Ranch, would be put up for sale with an initial price tag of $100 million. By that time, Colony NorthStar had completed extensive renovations to the property. Many people, including fans, protested and disagreed with the decision. Jermaine Jackson, elder brother of Michael, wrote an open letter to Colony NorthStar expressing his disagreement with their decision.


title: Neverland Ranch

text: As of May 2016, the 2,698-acre ranch, jointly owned by the Jackson estate and Colony NorthStar, was put up for sale by Sotheby's International Realty with an asking price of $100 million. The price included the 12,598 square foot six bedroom Normandy-style mansion, the four-acre lake with waterfall, a pool house, three guest houses, a tennis court, and a 5,500-square-foot movie theater and stage. The train station and railway tracks were also included. According to "Time", the owners were seeking a buyer who did not plan to turn the ranch into a Jackson museum.


title: Neverland Ranch

text: Due to lack of interest, the asking price of the ranch had fallen to $67 million by February 2017. The property was still on the market in early 2018, at the same price, with Coldwell Banker. In February 2019, the asking price was reduced to $31 million. The listing agent for the ranch said nothing had changed except the price. The structures and landscaping are still maintained.


title: Neverland Ranch

text: In December 2020, billionaire Ron Burkle, a former family friend of Jackson, purchased the property for $22 million as a "land banking opportunity".


title: Forbes Celebrity 100

text: Celebrity 100 is an annual list compiled and published by "Forbes" magazine since 1999, preceding by the "Forbes" Top 40 entertainers list. Until 2014, the rankings were made based on a complex combination of factors, including earnings, social media following, magazine covers and a range of qualitative metrics, with the aim of "measuring power". Since 2015, "Forbes" has solely factored pretax earnings (from June of the previous year through June of the publishing year), before deducting fees for managers, lawyers and agents.


title: Courtesan

text: Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other powerful person.


title: Courtesan

text: In European feudal society, the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together. Prior to the Renaissance, courtesans served to convey information to visiting dignitaries, when servants could not be trusted. In Renaissance Europe, courtiers played an extremely important role in upper-class society. As it was customary during this time for royal couples to lead separate lives—commonly marrying simply to preserve bloodlines and to secure political alliances—men and women would often seek gratification and companionship from people living at court. In fact, the verb 'to court' originally meant "to be or reside at court", and later came to mean "to behave as a courtier" and then 'courtship', or "to pay amorous attention to somebody". The most intimate companion of a ruler was called the "favourite".


title: Courtesan

text: In Renaissance usage, the Italian word "cortigiana", feminine of "cortigiano" ("courtier") came to refer to a person who attends the court, and then to a well-educated and independent woman, eventually a trained artist or artisan of dance and singing, especially one associated with wealthy, powerful, or upper-class society who was given luxuries and status in exchange for entertainment and companionship. The word was borrowed by English from Italian through the French form "courtisane" during the 16th century, especially associated to the meaning of "donna di palazzo".


title: Courtesan

text: A male figure comparable to the courtesan was the Italian "cicisbeo", the French "chevalier servant", the Spanish "cortejo" or "estrecho".


title: Courtesan

text: The courtesans of East Asia, particularly those of the Japanese empire, held a different social role than that of their European counterparts. Examples of Japanese courtesans included the oiran class, who were more focused on the aspect of entertainment than European courtesans.


title: Courtesan

text: Courtesans of ancient India known as ganikas were the center of city life. According to historian Sanjay K. Gautam, the courtesan in India was "a symbol of both sexual-erotic and aesthetic pleasure".


title: Courtesan

text: One type of courtesan was known (in Italy) as the "cortigiana onesta", or the honest courtesan, who was cast as an intellectual. Another was the "cortigiana di lume", a lower class of courtesan. The former was the sort most often romanticized and treated more-or-less equal to women of the nobility. It is with this type of courtesan that the art of "courtisanerie" is best associated.


title: Courtesan

text: The "cortigiane oneste" were usually well-educated and worldly (sometimes even more so than the average upper-class woman), and often held simultaneous careers as performers or artists. They were typically chosen on the basis of their "breeding"—social and conversational skills, intelligence, common sense, and companionship—as well as their physical attributes. It was usually their wit and personality that set them apart from regular women. Sex constituted only a facet of the courtesan's array of services. For example, they were well-dressed and ready to engage and participate in a variety of topics ranging from art to music to politics.


title: Courtesan

text: In some cases, courtesans were from well-to-do backgrounds, and were even married—but to husbands lower on the social ladder than their clients. In these cases, their relationships with those of high social status had the potential to improve their spouses' status—and so, more often than not, the husband was aware of his wife's profession and dealings.


title: Courtesan

text: Courtesans from non-wealthy backgrounds provided charming companionship for extended periods, no matter what their own feelings or commitments might have been at the time, and sometimes had to be prepared to do so on short notice. They were also subject to lower social status, and often religious disapproval, because of the perceived immoral aspects of their profession and their reliance upon courtisanerie as a primary source of income. In cases like this, a courtesan was solely dependent on her benefactor or benefactors financially, making her vulnerable; Cora Pearl is a good example.


title: Courtesan

text: Often, courtesans serving in this capacity began their career as a prostitute, although many came to the profession by other means. It was not uncommon for a courtesan to enter into an arranged long-term liaison by contract with a wealthy benefactor. These contracts were written up by and witnessed by lawyers, and were binding. Most included some provision for the financial welfare of the courtesan beyond the end of the relationship in the form of an annuity. Many such women became so powerful socially and financially that they could be particular about the men they associated with; in other words they chose their paramour as would any other mistress, not the other way around. Wealthy benefactors would go to great lengths to court a courtesan as a prize, the ultimate goal being a long-term contract as a mistress.


title: Courtesan

text: Occasionally courtesans were passed from one benefactor to another, thereby resulting in them being viewed in society circles as lower than both their benefactor and those of wealth and power with whom they would socialise. Often, in instances of this sort, if the courtesan had satisfactorily served a benefactor, that benefactor would, when ending the affair, pass her on to another benefactor of wealth as a favour to the courtesan, or set her up in an arranged marriage to a semi-wealthy benefactor. If the courtesan had angered or dissatisfied a benefactor, then she would often find herself cast out of wealthy circles, returning more often than not to street prostitution.


title: Courtesan

text: Those from wealthy backgrounds, either by birth or marriage, and who were acting as courtesans only for the social or political advancement of themselves and/or their spouses were generally treated as equals. They were more respected by their extramarital companions, both placing one another's family obligations ahead of the relationship and planning their own liaisons or social engagements around the lovers' marital obligations.


title: Courtesan

text: Affairs of this sort would often be short-lived, ending when either the courtesan or the courtesan's spouse received the status or political position desired, or when the benefactor chose the company of another courtesan, and compensated the former companion financially. In instances like this, it was often viewed simply as a business agreement by both parties involved. The benefactor was aware of the political or social favors expected by the courtesan, the courtesan was aware of the price expected from them for those favors being carried out, and the two met one another's demands.


title: Courtesan

text: This was generally a safe affair, as both the benefactor's spouse and the courtesan's spouse usually were fully aware of the arrangement, and the courtesan was not solely dependent on the benefactor. It, rather, was simply an affair of benefits gained for both those involved. Publicly and socially, affairs of this sort were common during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, as well as the early 20th century, and were generally accepted in wealthy circles.


title: Courtesan

text: In later centuries, from the mid-18th century on, courtesans would often find themselves cast aside by their benefactors, but the days of public execution or imprisonment based on their promiscuous lifestyle were over. There are many examples of courtesans who, by remaining discreet and respectful to their benefactors, were able to extend their careers into or past middle age and retire financially secure; Catherine Walters is a good example. By the late 19th century, and for a brief period in the early 20th century, courtesans had reached a level of social acceptance in many circles and settings, often even to the extent of becoming a friend and confidant to the wife of their benefactor.


title: Courtesan

text: More often than not, a woman serving as a courtesan would last in that field only as long as she could prove herself useful to her companion, or companions. This, of course, excludes those who served as courtesans but who were already married into high society. When referring to those who made their service as a courtesan as their main source of income, success was based solely on financial management and longevity. Many climbed through the ranks of royalty, serving as mistress to lesser nobles first, eventually reaching the role of (unofficial) mistress to a king or prince.


title: Courtesan

text: Pietro Aretino, an Italian Renaissance writer, wrote a series of dialogues ("Capricciosi ragionamenti") in which a mother teaches her daughter what options are available to women and how to be an effective courtesan. The French novelist Balzac wrote about a courtesan in his "Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes" (1838–47). Émile Zola likewise wrote a novel, "Nana" (1880), about a courtesan in nineteenth-century France.


title: Courtesan

text: This is a list of some professional courtesans. They are not royal mistresses, unless a professional courtesan was also a royal mistress.