title: Knee replacement

text: Many surgeons in the USA perform patella resurfacing routinely, while many surgeons in Asia and Europe do not. Patella resurfacing is performed by removing the cartilage from the surface of the knee and replacing it with polyethylene. Surgeons who do not routinely resurface the patella do not believe that it is a significant contribution to pain, when there is no evidence of arthritis to the patellofemoral joint. Some surgeons believe it is not cost-effective routinely to resurface the kneecap and that routine patella resurfacing may lead to increased complications such as patella fracture. Other surgeons are concerned that patients with an unresurfaced patella may have increased pain postoperatively. A meta-analysis evaluating outcomes following patella resurfacing found that routine resurfacing more reliably relieves patient's pain.


title: Knee replacement

text: Polyethylene is the plastic component that is inserted between the femoral and tibial components. There are several different polyethylene component designs that have been published,


title: Knee replacement

text: including posterior stabilized (PS), cruciate retaining (CR), bicruciate retaining (BCR), medial congruent (MC) and mobile bearing.


title: Knee replacement

text: The posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) is important to the stability of the knee by preventing posterior subluxation of the tibia, reducing shear stress, increasing flexion and lever arm of the extensor mechanism by inducing femoral rollback upon flexion, and thus minimizing polyethylene abrasion through reducing stress applied to the articular surface. The PS implant uses a post that is built into the implant to accommodate for the loss of PCL. Proponents of retaining the PCL advise that it is difficult to balance a CR knee and unnatural physiologic loads may increase wear of the polyethylene. Multiple studies have demonstrated minimal to no difference between the two designs.


title: Knee replacement

text: MC knee replacements attempt to mimic a more natural knee motion by decreasing motion on the medial aspect of the knee and allowing for increased motion on the lateral aspect of the joint. This mimics the external rotation and abduction of the tibia that is seen during normal ambulation. While several studies have shown improved gait profiles, long-term studies are needed to demonstrate improved results. Conversely, the BCR knee retains the Anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments to try to mimic the normal tension of the knee's ligaments. Concerns over increased revision frequency have led to some designs being pulled from the market.


title: Knee replacement

text: A mobile bearing design allows for free motion of the polyethylene within the tibial component. Other component designs have the polyethylene member fixed to the tibial component, and only articulate at the femur/polyethylene junction. There is no strong evidence that this approach improves knee function, mortality, adverse events, or amount of pain, compared with a fixed bearing approach for total knee replacement. Mobile bearing designs are important to ensuring decreased wear rates in hinged knee arthroplasty.


title: Knee replacement

text: Minimally invasive procedures have been developed in total knee replacement that do not cut the quadriceps tendon. There are different definitions of minimally invasive knee surgery, which may include a shorter incision length, retraction of the patella without eversion (rotating out), and specialized instruments. There are few randomized trials, with studies finding less postoperative pain, shorter hospital stays, and shorter recovery times. These studies studies have not shown long-term benefits.


title: Knee replacement

text: Unicompartmental arthroplasty (UKA), also called partial knee replacement, is an option for some people. The knee is generally divided into three "compartments": "medial", "lateral", and "patellofemoral". Most people with arthritis severe enough to consider knee replacement have significant wear in two or more of the above compartments, and are treated with total knee replacement (TKA). A minority of people with osteoarthritis have wear primarily in one compartment, usually the medial, and may be candidates for unicompartmental knee replacement. Advantages of UKA compared to TKA include smaller incision, easier post-op rehabilitation, better postoperative range of motion, shorter hospital stay, less blood loss, lower risk of infection, stiffness, and blood clots, but a harder revision if necessary. Persons with infectious or inflammatory arthritis (rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis), or marked deformity are not candidates for this procedure.


title: Knee replacement

text: Many studies demonstrate higher revision rates associated with partial knee replacements. There is significant variation in revision rates, depending on implant design and implantation technique.


title: Knee replacement

text: Standardized zones around the components are used for specifying, for example, signs of loosening on radiographic follow-up. There are various classification systems for specifying such zones, including by KS (Knee Society) zones published in 2015.


title: Knee replacement

text: Specific KS zones are as follows, with * meaning that the zone can be specified as "A" (anterior), "P" (posterior), "M" (medial) or "L" (lateral):


title: Knee replacement

text: Risks and complications in knee replacement are similar to those associated with all joint replacements. The most serious complication is infection of the joint, which occurs in <1% of patients. Risk factors for infection are related to both patient and surgical factors. Deep vein thrombosis occurs in up to 15% of patients, and is symptomatic in 2–3%. Nerve injuries occur in 1–2% of patients. Persistent pain or stiffness occurs in 8–23% of patients. Prosthesis failure occurs in approximately 2% of patients at 5 years.


title: Knee replacement

text: There is increased risk of complications for obese people going through total knee replacement. The morbidly obese should be advised to lose weight before surgery and, if medically eligible, would probably benefit from bariatric surgery.


title: Knee replacement

text: Smokers have a higher risk of surgical complications (deep wound infection, superficial wound infection, and wound dehiscence) compared with nonsmokers. They also have a higher risk of pneumonia after surgery.


title: Knee replacement

text: Fracturing or chipping of the polyethylene platform between the femoral and tibial components may be of concern. These fragments may become lodged in the knee and create pain or may move to other parts of the body. Advancements in implant design have greatly reduced these issues but the potential for such an event is still present over the life span of the knee replacement.


title: Knee replacement

text: According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS), deep vein thrombosis in the leg is "the most common complication of knee replacement surgery... prevention... may include periodic elevation of patient's legs, lower leg exercises to increase circulation, support stockings and medication to thin your blood." Some medications used to thin the blood to prevent thrombotic events include direct oral anticoagulants (i.e. rivaroxaban, dabigatran, and apixaban), low-molecular weight heparins (i.e. dalteparin, enoxaparin), and the antiplatelet agent aspirin. Although it is suggested that aspirin is non-inferior to rivaroxaban, it is unclear if aspirin is appropriate for all patients. This is specifically the case for those people who have additional risk factors for venous thromboembolisms, and those people who are at risk of aspirin resistance.


title: Knee replacement

text: Periprosthetic fractures are becoming more frequent with the aging patient population and can occur intraoperatively or postoperatively. Depending on the location of the fracture and the stability of the prosthesis, these can be treated surgically with open reduction and internal fixation or revision of the prosthesis.


title: Knee replacement

text: The knee at times may not recover its normal range of motion (0–135 degrees usually) after total knee replacement. Much of this is dependent on pre-operative function. Most patients can achieve 0–110 degrees, but stiffness of the joint can occur. In some situations, manipulation of the knee under anesthetic is used to reduce post operative stiffness. There are also many implants from manufacturers that are designed to be "high-flex" knees, offering a greater range of motion.


title: Knee replacement

text: In some patients, the kneecap dislocates to the outer side of the knee after surgery. This is painful and usually needs to be treated by surgery to realign the kneecap. However, this is quite rare.


title: Knee replacement

text: Loosening of the prosthesis can be indicated on X-ray by thin radiolucent spaces around the implant, or more obviously by implant displacement.


title: Knee replacement

text: While it is relatively rare, periprosthetic infection remains one of the most challenging complications of joint arthroplasty.


title: Knee replacement

text: A detailed clinical history and physical examination remain the most reliable tool to recognize a potential periprosthetic infection. In some cases the classic signs of fever, chills, painful joint, and a draining sinus may be present, and diagnostic studies are simply done to confirm the diagnosis. In reality though, most patients do not present with those clinical signs, and in fact the clinical presentation may overlap with other complications such as aseptic loosening and pain. In those cases diagnostic tests can be useful in confirming or excluding infection.


title: Knee replacement

text: Modern diagnosis of infection around a total knee replacement is based on the Musculoskeletal Infection Society (MSIS) criteria. They are:


title: Knee replacement

text: 2. A pathogen is isolated by culture from at least two separate tissue or fluid samples obtained from the affected prosthetic joint;


title: Knee replacement

text: 1.Elevated serum erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR>30mm/hr) and serum C-reactive protein (CRP>10 mg/L) concentration,


title: Knee replacement

text: 6. Greater than five neutrophils per high-power field in five high-power fields observed from histologic analysis of periprosthetic tissue at ×400 magnification.


title: Knee replacement

text: None of the above laboratory tests has 100% sensitivity or specificity for diagnosing infection. Specificity improves when the tests are performed in patients in whom clinical suspicion exists. ESR and CRP remain good 1st line tests for screening (high sensitivity, low specificity). Aspiration of the joint remains the test with the highest specificity for confirming infection.


title: Knee replacement

text: The length of post-operative hospitalization is 5 days on average depending on the health status of the patient and the amount of support available outside the hospital setting. Protected weight bearing on crutches or a walker is required until specified by the surgeon because of weakness in the quadriceps muscle.


title: Knee replacement

text: To increase the likelihood of a good outcome after surgery, multiple weeks of physical therapy is necessary. In these weeks, the therapist will help the patient return to normal activities, as well as prevent blood clots, improve circulation, increase range of motion, and eventually strengthen the surrounding muscles through specific exercises. Whether techniques such as neuromuscular electrical stimulation helps to regain quadriceps's strength. Two groups were examined where group A received standard physiotherapy with electrical muscle stimulation and group B with just physiotherapy for 6 weeks. Results showed group A was able to walk significantly faster than group B.


title: Knee replacement

text: Often range of motion (to the limits of the prosthesis) is recovered over the first two weeks (the earlier the better). Over time, patients are able to increase the amount of weight bearing on the operated leg, and eventually are able to tolerate full weight bearing with the guidance of the physical therapist. After about ten months, the patient should be able to return to normal daily activities, although the operated leg may be significantly weaker than the non-operated leg.


title: Knee replacement

text: For post-operative knee replacement patients, immobility is a factor precipitated by pain and other complications. Mobility is known as an important aspect of human biology that has many beneficial effects on the body system. It is well documented in literature that physical immobility affects every body system and contributes to functional complications of prolonged illness. In most medical-surgical hospital units that perform knee replacements, ambulation is a key aspect of nursing care that is promoted to patients. Early ambulation can decrease the risk of complications associated with immobilization such as pressure ulcers, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), impaired pulmonary function, and loss of functional mobility. Nurses’ promotion and execution of early ambulation on patients has found that it greatly reduces the complications listed above, as well as decreases length of stay and costs associated with further hospitalization. Nurses may also work with teams such as physical therapy and occupational therapy to accomplish ambulation goals and reduce complications.


title: Knee replacement

text: It is important to explore multiple rehabilitation protocols used for recovery of total knee arthroplasty. Continuous passive motion (CPM) is a postoperative therapy approach that uses a machine to move the knee continuously through a specific range of motion, with the goal of preventing joint stiffness and improving recovery. There is no evidence that CPM therapy leads to a clinically significant improvement in range of motion, pain, knee function, or quality of life. CPM is inexpensive, convenient, and assists patients in therapeutic compliance. However, CPM should be used in conjunction with traditional physical therapy. In unusual cases where the person has a problem which prevents standard mobilization treatment, then CPM may be useful.


title: Knee replacement

text: Sling therapy is a therapeutic modality used postoperative in order to decrease stiffness and improve range of motion following the procedure. In sling therapy, the patient's leg is placed in a standard tubular bandage that is suspended from a cross brace fixed to the bed while lying on their back . Unlike CPM, the use of sling therapy allows the patient to perform active knee flexion and extension with their leg suspended, minimizing gravity's resistance. By actively mobilizing the joint using their own muscular strength instead of outside forces like in CPM, studies show that there are clinically relevant benefits. The use of this modality is convenient and easy to set up in a hospital setting along with being less expensive than the CPM machine. This treatment should be incorporated with traditional physical therapy in the postoperative acute setting.


title: Knee replacement

text: Cryotherapy, also known as 'cold therapy' is recommended after surgery for pain relief and to limit swelling of the knee. Cryotherapy involves the application of ice bags or cooled water to the skin of the knee joint. For short term goals cryotherapy helps to reduce pain and also improves range of motion. Avoiding to keep pillow under the knee helps to improve extension range.


title: Knee replacement

text: Stretching helps to improve range of motion as well during initial rehabilitation. Post surgery the range of motion is limited due to the immobilization, which leads to increased muscle stiffness. Hence, stretching helps to extend the shortened muscle and gradually improving the range of motion.


title: Knee replacement

text: Some physicians and patients may consider having ultrasonography for deep venous thrombosis after knee replacement. However, this kind of screening should be done only when indicated.


title: Knee replacement

text: Neither gabapentin nor pregabalin have been found to be useful for pain following a knee replacement. A Cochrane review concluded that early multidisciplinary rehabilitation programs may produce better results at the rate of activity and participation.


title: Knee replacement

text: With 718,000 hospitalizations, knee arthroplasty accounted for 4.6% of all United States operating room procedures in 2011—making it one of the most common procedures performed during hospital stays. The number of knee arthroplasty procedures performed in U.S. hospitals increased 93% between 2001 and 2011. A study of United States community hospitals showed that in 2012, among hospitalizations that involved an OR procedure, knee arthroplasty was the OR procedure performed most frequently during hospital stays paid by Medicare (10.8 percent of stays) and by private insurance (9.1 percent). Knee arthroplasty was not among the top five most frequently performed OR procedures for stays paid by Medicaid or for uninsured stays.


title: Knee replacement

text: By 2030, the demand for primary total knee arthroplasty is projected to increase to 3.48 million surgeries performed annually in the U.S.


title: Knee replacement

text: With osteoarthritis (OA) being the number one reason for TKA surgery, it is important to understand that balance deficits significantly impact the quality of daily living in patients with knee OA and are also linked to greater risk of falling and poor mobility. Annually in the US, 40% of all patients with OA report a history of falls. TKA surgery has shown to decrease fall risk and fear of falling in pre-operative fallers with OA versus non-operative fallers by 54% following TKA.


title: Egyptian pound

text: The pound ( '; abbreviation: LE in Latin, in Arabic, historically also £E; ISO code: EGP"') is the official currency of Egypt. It is divided into 100 piastres, or ersh ( ; "plural" ; abbreviation: PT), or 1,000 milliemes (  ; , abbreviated to "m" or "mill").


title: Egyptian pound

text: In 1834, a khedival decree was issued, adopting an Egyptian currency based on a bimetallic standard (gold and silver) on the basis of the Maria Theresa thaler, a popular trade coin in the region. The Egyptian pound, known as the , was introduced, replacing the Egyptian piastre () as the chief unit of currency. The piastre continued to circulate as of a pound, with the piastre subdivided into 40 para. In 1885, the para ceased to be issued, and the piastre was divided into tenths ( ). These tenths were renamed milliemes () in 1916.


title: Egyptian pound

text: The legal exchange rates were fixed by force of law for important foreign currencies which became acceptable in the settlement of internal transactions. Eventually this led to Egypt using a "de facto" gold standard between 1885 and 1914, with LE 1 = 7.4375 grammes pure gold. At the outbreak of World War I, the Egyptian pound used a sterling peg of one pound and sixpence sterling to one Egyptian pound (£1 sterling = LE 0.975, or LE 1 = £1/–/6 stg).


title: Egyptian pound

text: Egypt remained part of the sterling area until 1962, when Egypt devalued slightly and switched to a peg to the United States dollar, at a rate of LE 1 = US$2.3. This peg was changed to LE 1 = US$2.55555 in 1973 when the dollar was devalued. The Egyptian pound floated in 1989. However, until 2001, the float was tightly managed by the Central Bank of Egypt and foreign exchange controls were in effect. After exhausting all of its policies to support the pound, the Central Bank of Egypt was forced to end the managed-float regime and allowed the currency to float freely on 3 November 2016; the bank also announced an end to foreign exchange controls that day. The official rate fell twofold.


title: Egyptian pound

text: The Egyptian pound was also used in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan between 1899 and 1956, and Cyrenaica when it was under British occupation and later an independent emirate between 1942 and 1951. It also circulated in Mandatory Palestine from 1918 to 1927, when the Palestine pound was introduced, equal in value to the pound sterling. The National Bank of Egypt issued banknotes for the first time on 3 April 1899. The Central Bank of Egypt and the National Bank of Egypt were unified into the Central Bank of Egypt in 1961.


title: Egyptian pound

text: The Egyptian pound has no formal or single widely adopted currency sign. Historically, Egyptian banknotes and postage stamps used the letters 'LE' in a script typeface () as a sign for the currency in the Latin alphabet. The style using the pound sign instead of a standard glyph has been used to varying degrees and may still be encountered, but the abbreviation "LE" (standing for in French) is the most commonly used to-day.


title: Egyptian pound

text: The piastre almost always uses the abbreviation "PT" (standing for in French, meaning "tariffed piastre" in English). When issued as a circulation coin the millieme was abbreviated to "m", "mill" or "mills".


title: Egyptian pound

text: Several unofficial popular names are used to refer to different denominations of Egyptian currency. These include (from the word "nickel") "nekla" () for 2 milliemes, "ta'rifa" () for 5 milliemes, () (i.e. a shilling) for 5 piastres, "bariza" () for 10 piastres, and "reyal" (ريال) (""real"") for 20 piastres. Since the piastre and millieme are no longer legal tender, the smallest denomination currently minted being the 25 PT. coin (functioning as one-quarter of LE 1), these terms have mostly fallen into disuse and survive as curios. A few have survived to refer to pound notes: "bariza" now refers to the LE 10 note and "reyal" can be used in reference to the LE 20 note.


title: Egyptian pound

text: Different sums of the Egyptian pound have nicknames in vernacular speech, for example: LE 1 " bolbol " meaning nightingale or " gondi " meaning soldier, LE 1,000 "bako" () "pack"; LE 1,000,000 "arnab" () "rabbit"; LE 1,000,000,000 "feel" () "elephant".


title: Egyptian pound

text: Between 1837 and 1900, copper 1 and 5 para*, silver 10 and 20 para, 1, 5, 10 and 20 piastre (PT), gold 5 PT, 10 PT. and 20 PT and LE 1 coins were introduced, with gold 50 PT coins issued in 1839.


title: Egyptian pound

text: Copper 10 para coins were introduced in 1853, although the silver coin continued to be issued. Copper 10 para coins were again introduced in 1862, followed by copper 4 para and 2 PT coins in 1863. Gold 25 PT coins were introduced in 1867.


title: Egyptian pound

text: In 1885, the para was replaced by the millieme in order to decimalise the currency and a new coinage was introduced. The issue consisted of bronze , , 1, 2 and 5 millieme (m), silver 1 PT, 2 PT, 5 PT, 10 PT and 20 PT coins. The gold coinage practically ceased, with only small numbers of 5 PT and 10 PT coins issued.


title: Egyptian pound

text: In 1916 and 1917, a new base metal coinage was introduced consisting of bronze m and holed, cupro-nickel 1m, 2m, 5m and 10m coins. Silver 2 PT, 5 PT, 10 PT and 20 PT coins continued to be issued, and a gold LE 1 coin was reintroduced. Between 1922 and 1923, the gold coinage was extended to include 20 PT and 50 PT and LE 1 and LE 5 coins. In 1924, bronze replaced cupro-nickel in the 1m coin and the holes were removed from the other cupro-nickel coins. In 1938, bronze 5m and 10m coins were introduced, followed in 1944 by silver, hexagonal 2 PT coins.


title: Egyptian pound

text: Between 1954 and 1956, a new coinage was introduced, consisting of aluminium-bronze 1m, 5m and 10m and silver 5 PT, 10 PT and 20 PT coins, with the size of the silver coinage significantly reduced. An aluminium-bronze 2m coin was introduced in 1962. In 1967 the silver coinage was abandoned and cupro-nickel 5 and 10 piastre coins were introduced.


title: Egyptian pound

text: Aluminium replaced aluminium-bronze in the 1m, 5m and 10m coins in 1972, followed by brass in the 5m and 10m coins in 1973. Aluminium-bronze 2 PT and cupro-nickel 20 PT coins were introduced in 1980, followed by aluminium-bronze 1 PT and 5 PT coins in 1984. In 1992, brass 5 and 10 piastre coins were introduced, followed by holed, cupro-nickel 25 piastre coins in 1993. The size of 5 PT coins was reduced in 2004, 10 PT and 25 PT coins - in 2008.


title: Egyptian pound

text: On the 1st of June, 2006, 50 PT and LE 1 coins dated 2005 were introduced, and its equivalent banknotes were temporarily phased out from circulation in 2010. The coins bear the face of Cleopatra VII and Tutankhamun's mask, and the LE 1 coin is bimetallic. The size and composition of 50 PT coins was reduced in 2007.


title: Egyptian pound

text: In 1899, the National Bank of Egypt introduced notes in denominations of 50 PT, LE 1, LE 5, LE 10, LE 50 and LE 100. Between 1916 and 1917, 25 PT notes were added, together with government currency notes for 5 PT and 10 PT issued by the Ministry of Finance.


title: Egyptian pound

text: In 1961, the Central Bank of Egypt took over from the National Bank and issued notes in denominations of 25 and 50 piastres, LE 1, LE 5, LE 10 and LE 20 notes were introduced in 1976, followed by LE 100 in 1978, LE 50 in 1993 and LE 200 in 2007.


title: Egyptian pound

text: All Egyptian banknotes are bilingual, with Arabic texts and Eastern Arabic numerals on the obverse, and English texts and Western Arabic numerals on the reverse. Obverse designs tend to feature an Islamic building with reverse designs featuring Ancient Egyptian motifs (buildings, statues and inscriptions). During December 2006, it was mentioned in articles in "Al Ahram" and "Al Akhbar" newspapers that there were plans to introduce LE 200 and LE 500 notes. As of 2019, there are LE 200 notes circulating but there are still no plans for issuing LE 500 notes. Starting from 2011 the 25 PT, 50 PT and LE 1 banknotes were phased out in favour of more extensive use of coins. However as of June 2016 the National Bank of Egypt reintroduced the LE 1 banknote into circulation as well as 25 PT and 50 PT notes in response to a shortage of small change.


title: Egyptian pound

text: The governor of the Central Bank of Egypt announced that the Central Bank of Egypt will issue polymer notes by the beginning of 2021. This change comes as the CBE moves its headquarters to the new administrative capital. On July 31, 2021, the President of Egypt reviewed the notes of LE 10 and LE 20, to be issued in November 2021. In August 2021, the Central Bank was forced to confirm that rainbow holograms on the new banknotes were a secure watermarking feature to prevent counterfeiting, after online critics suggested it was a covert message of support for LGBT rights.


title: Egyptian pound

text: This table shows the historical value of US$1 in Egyptian currency (piastres prior to 1834, pounds thenceforth):


title: Gyros

text: Gyros—in some regions, chiefly North America, anglicized as a gyro (; , )—is meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie, then sliced and served wrapped or stuffed in pita bread, along with ingredients such as tomato, onion, fried potatoes, and tzatziki. In Greece, it is normally made with pork or sometimes with chicken, whilst beef and lamb are also used in other countries.


title: Gyros

text: Grilling a vertical spit of stacked meat and slicing it off as it cooks was developed in Bursa in the 19th century in the Ottoman Empire, and called doner kebab (). Following World War II, doner kebab made with lamb was present in Athens, introduced by immigrants from Anatolia and the Middle East, possibly with the population exchange between Greece and Turkey. The Greek version is normally made with pork and served with tzatziki, and became known as gyros.


title: Gyros

text: By 1970, gyros wraps were already a popular fast food in Athens, as well as in Chicago and New York City. At that time, although vertical rotisseries were starting to be mass-produced in the US by Gyros Inc. of Chicago, the stacks of meat were still hand-made. There are several claimants to have introduced the first mass-produced gyros to the United States.


title: Gyros

text: The name comes from the Greek (, 'circle' or 'turn'), and is a calque of the Turkish word , from , also meaning "turn". It was originally called () in Greece. The word was criticized in mid-1970s Greece for being Turkish. The word "gyro" or "gyros" was already in use in American English by at least 1970, and along with in Greek, eventually came to replace "doner kebab" for the Greek version of the dish. Some Greek restaurants in the US, such as the Syntagma Square in New York City—which can be seen briefly in the 1976 film "Taxi Driver"—continued to use both "doner kebab" and "gyros" to refer to the same dish, in the 1970s.


title: Gyros

text: In Athens and other parts of southern Greece, the skewered meat dish elsewhere called "souvlaki", is known as "kalamaki", while "souvlaki" is a term used generally for gyros, and similar dishes.


title: Gyros

text: In Greek, "gyros" is a nominative singular noun, but the final 's' is often interpreted as an English plural, leading to the singular back-formation "gyro". The Greek pronunciation is , though some English speakers pronounce it .


title: Gyros

text: In Greece, gyros is normally made with pork, though other meats are used in other countries. Chicken is common, and lamb or beef may be found more rarely. Typical American mass-produced gyros are made with finely ground beef mixed with lamb.


title: Gyros

text: For hand-made gyros, meat is cut into approximately round, thin, flat slices, which are then stacked on a spit and seasoned. Fat trimmings are usually interspersed. Spices may include cumin, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and others. The pieces of meat, in the shape of an inverted cone, are placed on a tall vertical rotisserie, which turns slowly in front of a source of heat or broiler. As the cone cooks, lower parts are basted with the juices running off the upper parts. The outside of the meat is sliced vertically in thin, crisp shavings when done.


title: Gyros

text: The rate of roasting can be adjusted by varying the intensity of the heat, the distance between the heat and the meat, and the speed of spit rotation, thus allowing the cook to adjust for varying rates of consumption.


title: Gyros

text: In Greece, it is customarily served in an oiled, lightly grilled piece of pita, rolled up with sliced tomatoes, chopped onions, lettuce, and fried potatoes, sometimes topped with tzatziki, or, sometimes in northern Greece, ketchup or mustard.


title: Matter (standard)

text: Matter, formerly Project Connected Home over IP (CHIP), is a proprietary standard for home automation that is royalty-free, with manufacturers only incurring certification costs. Announced on 18 December 2019, Matter aims to reduce fragmentation across different vendors, and achieve interoperability among smart home devices and Internet of things (IoT) platforms from different providers. The project group was launched and introduced by Amazon, Apple, Google, Comcast and the Zigbee Alliance, now Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA). Subsequent members include IKEA, Huawei, and Schneider. Matter-compatible products and software updates for existing products


title: Matter (standard)

text: Version 1.0 of the specification was published on 4 October 2022. The Matter specification is provided at no charge upon request after providing full name, company name, email address and consenting to their privacy policy, but cannot be redistributed without permission from CSA. The Matter software development kit is open-source under the Apache license.


title: Matter (standard)

text: In December 2019, Amazon, Apple, Google, Samsung SmartThings and the Zigbee Alliance announced the collaboration and formation of the working group of Project Connected Home over IP. The goal of the project is to simplify development for smart home products brands and manufacturers, while increasing the compatibility of the products for consumers.


title: Matter (standard)

text: The standard is based on Internet Protocol (IP) and works through one or several compatible border routers, avoiding the use of multiple proprietary hubs. Matter products run locally and do not rely on an internet connection, although the standard is designed to talk to the cloud easily. It is intended to enable cross-platform of smart home devices, mobile apps, and cloud services, and defines a specific set of IP-based networking technologies for device certification.


title: Matter (standard)

text: The project group is also expected to be joined by some other board member companies of Zigbee Alliance.


title: Matter (standard)

text: Updates to the standard are planned to occur every six months, although the next version is expected to be published 18 months after the first version was published and include new features, devices, device types and certification methods.


title: Synsepalum dulcificum

text: Synsepalum dulcificum is a plant in the "Sapotaceae" family known for its berry that, when eaten, causes sour foods (such as lemons and limes) subsequently consumed to taste sweet. This effect is due to miraculin. Common names for this species and its berry include miracle fruit, miracle berry, miraculous berry, sweet berry, and in West Africa, where the species originates, "agbayun", "taami", "asaa", and "ledidi".


title: Synsepalum dulcificum

text: The berry itself has a low sugar content and a mildly sweet tang. It contains a glycoprotein molecule, with some trailing carbohydrate chains, called miraculin. When the fleshy part of the fruit is eaten, this molecule binds to the tongue's taste buds, causing sour foods to taste sweet. At neutral pH, miraculin binds and blocks the receptors, but at low pH (resulting from ingestion of sour foods) miraculin binds proteins and becomes able to activate the sweet receptors, resulting in the perception of sweet taste. This effect lasts until the protein is washed away by saliva (up to about 30 minutes).


title: Synsepalum dulcificum

text: The names miracle fruit and miracle berry are shared by "Gymnema sylvestre" and "Thaumatococcus daniellii", which are two other species used to alter the perceived sweetness of foods.


title: Synsepalum dulcificum

text: The berry has been used in West Africa since at least the 18th century, when a European explorer, the Chevalier des Marchais, provided an account of its use there. Des Marchais, who was searching West Africa for many different fruits in a 1725 excursion, noticed that local people picked the berry from shrubs and chewed it before meals.


title: Synsepalum dulcificum

text: In the 1980s in the United States, an attempt was made to commercialize the fruit for its ability to mask non-sweet foods as sweet without a caloric cost, but became compromised when the Food and Drug Administration classified the berry as a food additive and required evidence of safety. For a time in the 1970s, US dieters could purchase a pill form of miraculin. This interest had a revival in food-tasting events at which tasters consume sour and bitter foods, such as lemons, radishes, pickles, hot sauce, and beer, then experience the perceived change to sweetness with miraculin.


title: Synsepalum dulcificum

text: It is a shrub that grows in height and has dense foliage. Its leaves are long, wide, and glabrous below. They are clustered at the ends of the branchlets. The flowers are white. It carries red, long fruits. Each fruit contains one seed.


title: Synsepalum dulcificum

text: The plant grows best in soils with a pH as low as 4.5 to 5.8, in an environment free from frost and in partial shade with high humidity. It is tolerant of drought, full sunshine, and slopes.


title: Synsepalum dulcificum

text: The plants first bear fruit after growing about 3–4 years, and produce two crops per year, after the end of the rainy season. This evergreen plant produces small, red berries, while white flowers are produced for many months of the year.


title: Synsepalum dulcificum

text: In Africa, leaves are attacked by lepidopterous larvae, and fruits are infested with larvae of fruit flies. The fungus "Rigidoporus microporus" has been found on this plant.


title: Synsepalum dulcificum

text: In tropical West Africa, where this species originates, the fruit pulp is used to sweeten palm wine. Historically, it was also used to improve the flavor of soured cornbread, but has been used as a sweetener and flavoring agent for diverse beverages and foods, such as beer, cocktails, vinegar, and pickles.


title: Synsepalum dulcificum

text: Since 2011, the United States FDA has imposed a ban on importing "Synsepalum dulcificum" (specifying 'miraculin') from its origin in Taiwan, declaring it as an "illegal undeclared sweetener". In 2021, the company Baïa Food Co. in Spain was granted to put Dried Miracle Berry on the market in the EU.


title: 2005 in film

text: 2005 in film is an overview of events, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies, festivals, a list of country-specific lists of films released, notable deaths and film debuts.


title: 2005 in film

text: Renowned American film critic and professor Emanuel Levy stated on his website, "Despite films like “Crash,” which deals with racism in contemporary America, and geopolitical exposes like "Syriana" and "Munich", the 2005 movie year may go down in film history as the year of sexual diversity." He went on to emphasize, "It's hard to recall a year in which sex, sexuality, and gender have featured so prominently in American films, both mainstream Hollywood and independent cinema. I am deliberately using the concepts of sexual diversity and sexual orientation, rather than gay-themed movies, because the rather new phenomenon goes beyond homosexuality or lesbianism. For decades, American culture has been both puritanical and hypocritical as far as sexual matters are concerned. Hence, most American movies, such as Spielberg's "E.T." and others, have ignored the fact that children and adolescents have sexual urges, a libido. Compared with European cinema (particularly French and British), there's been discomfort to address directly sexual issues. Things began to change over the past decade, when gay characters became routine in Hollywood movies and TV soaps. Just witness the popularity of "Will and Grace" and "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy", and the fact that there are specifically targeted gay cable channels." In terms of the graphic portrayal of sex in movies, Levy stated, "In the past, Hollywood was afraid to depict homosexual love on screen (both gay and lesbian). Thirty years ago, audiences were shocked when Peter Finch kissed Murray in "Sunday Bloody Sunday". But no more. Though "Brokeback Mountain" is about repressed sexuality, the movie contains a graphic scene, an anal intercourse between Ennis Del Mar and Jake, never before seen on screen. In “Transamerica,” a key scene depicts the penis of one of the central characters and fellatio in the car. In "History of Violence", two of the strongest scenes involve sex between husband and wife Tom and Edie Stall (played by Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello). As writer-director and actor, Woody Allen has been obsessed with sex, or rather talks about sex, in his films. Yet arguably, he has never portrayed sex in a steamy and alluring way as he does in "Match Point". Just watch the passionate embrace between Scarlett Johnasson and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, when they are caught but undeterred by heavy rains, a visual clich in film noir that nonetheless works well for this movie." Levy also stated, "What's encouraging about the new movies is that, with few exceptions, the sexual orientation of the characters is not an issue, and they are not about the traumatic experience of coming out."


title: Guild Wars 2

text: Guild Wars 2 is a free-to-play, massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by ArenaNet and published by NCSoft. Set in the fantasy world of Tyria, the core game follows the re-emergence of Destiny's Edge, a disbanded guild dedicated to fighting Elder Dragons, colossal Lovecraftian-esque entities that have seized control of Tyria in the time since the original "Guild Wars" (2005)"," a plot line that was concluded in the latest expansion (2022). The game takes place in a persistent world with a story that progresses in instanced environments.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: "Guild Wars 2" is the fourth major entry in the "Guild Wars" series, and claims to be unique in the MMO genre by featuring a storyline that is responsive to player actions, something which is common in single player role-playing games but rarely seen in multiplayer ones. A dynamic event system replaces traditional questing, utilising the ripple effect to allow players to approach quests in different ways as part of a persistent world. Also of note is the combat system, which aims to be more dynamic than its predecessor by promoting synergy between professions and using the environment as a weapon, as well as reducing the complexity of the ""-style skill system of the original game.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: As a sequel to "Guild Wars", "Guild Wars 2" features the same lack of subscription fees that distinguished its predecessor from other commercially developed online games of the time, though until August 2015 a purchase was still required to install the game. The game sold over two million copies in its first two weeks. By August 2013, the peak player concurrency had reached 460,000. By August 2015, over 5 million copies had been sold, at which point the base game became free-to-play. By August 2021, over 16 million accounts have been created. On 16 August 2022, it was announced that Guild Wars 2 will be releasing on Steam as part of the game's 10th year anniversary celebration.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: Three major expansion packs have been released for the game thus far; "" (2015), "" (2017) and "" (2022), with a fourth expansion pack in development, announced on March 22, 2022. The expansion packs introduce new content, including new regions of the world to explore, masteries, professions, elite specializations, and seasons of "'Living World"'; live content updates that continue expansion storylines and bridge the gap between them.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: "Guild Wars 2" allows a player to create a character from a combination of five races and nine professions. The five races are the humans, the charr (introduced in "Prophecies"), the asura and the norn (introduced in "Eye of the North"), and the sylvari, a race exclusive to "Guild Wars 2". The professions are divided into armor classes: "scholars" with light armor, "adventurers" with medium armor, and "soldiers" with heavy armor — five of the professions make a reappearance from "Guild Wars". There is no dedicated healing class as the developers felt that making it necessary for every party to have a healer was restrictive.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: The race and profession of the player determines the skills they can access. "Guild Wars 2", like "Guild Wars", uses a skill-based combat system, whereby players must select only 10 skills from a much larger pool, introducing an element of strategy. However, unlike "Guild Wars", skill slots have predefined roles: the first five are determined by player's weapon and profession, the sixth is for healing, the seventh through ninth will be skills with no defined roles that are unlocked as the game progresses, and the tenth slot will be for an "elite" skill, which is also initially locked. In a departure from the high number of skills present in "Guild Wars", "Guild Wars 2" will focus on quality of skills over quantity and attempt to minimize skill splits across game modes to reduce balancing complexity — one of the most common issues present in MMORPGs.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: The low level cap of "Guild Wars" (20) was replaced with one at 80, which the developers stated struck the correct balance between allowing for character development and avoiding forcing players into the grind-based gameplay that too often accompanies a high level cap, the elimination of which was a core design principle of the original "Guild Wars". Player versus environment features a scaling system that lowers the players level and stats to reflect the levels of monsters, thereby maintaining a global level of difficulty. In player versus player, a player will have access to almost all skills and items, and compete at the fixed level 80, so that all players will be on a level playing field.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: In addition to a small-scale, tactical combat PvP, the game features "World versus World", large scale combat taking place in a persistent world independent of the main world. Players are able to drop in and out "on the fly" and possess the ability to construct siege weapons, with rewards commensurate with their success. "Guild Wars 2" offers eight crafting disciplines, allowing the player to practice two at a time, with a fee for switching. While there are basic recipes to follow, the player can experiment with different combinations of ingredients to discover new recipes. As the game is set 250 years after its predecessor, players are unable to carry over their characters. There are, however, a small number of achievements and honors earned in "Guild Wars" which are carried over to "Guild Wars 2". The accounts of both games must be linked in order to acquire these bonuses.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: The "Heart of Thorns" expansion introduced raids, more difficult endgame content that introduce bosses with several unique mechanics, testing a squad's coordination, damage output, positioning, as well as the player's builds. There have been several additional raid wings with multiple bosses, along with Strike Missions (raid-like encounters) and harder challenge mode encounters, released since.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: "Guild Wars 2" takes place in the high fantasy world of Tyria, 250 years after the players' defeat of the Great Destroyer in the "Eye of the North" expansion. Five 'Elder Dragons' sleeping beneath the continent have awoken in the time since "Guild Wars", causing widespread destruction to Tyria and corrupting its inhabitants. The once dominant humans of Tyria are in decline, supplanted from most of their land by natural disasters and war with the Charr, who have finally reclaimed the last vestiges of their ancestral homeland of Ascalon from the humans. To the north, the Norn, a proud race of Nordic hunters, have been forced south by the rise of Jormag, the elder dragon of ice. In the west, the technologically advanced Asura have been forced to establish permanent homes above-ground after the minions of the first dragon to awaken, Primordus, took control of the Depths of Tyria. Near the forests where the Asura make their home are the Sylvari, a new race who have appeared in Tyria in the last 25 years, unaffected by the difficulties that plague the other races but with some as yet unexplained connection to the Elder Dragons.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: To the south, the continent of Cantha has been cut off by an isolationist and xenophobic political climate, which is reinforced by Zhaitan's undead navy. The continent of Elona, too, has been cut off; the only hint of its continued prosperity being the ongoing battle between the lich Palawa Joko's Mordant Crescent and Kralkatorrik, the crystal dragon in the Crystal Desert, as well as occasional spy reports from the secretive Order of Whispers. The Battle Isles have been wiped off the map entirely by the tidal wave caused by the re-emergence of the fallen kingdom of Orr, which came with the awakening of Zhaitan.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: The advancement of time from "Guild Wars" is reflected in the changes in culture, including armor and clothing, as well as in the advancement of in-game technology and a unified common language.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: Guild Wars 2 features an overall on-going storyline that is added to through expansions and "'Living World"' seasons: replayable live content updates that continue storylines in an episodic format, bridging the gap between expansions.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: In the core game, the player character is tasked with reuniting the members of the disbanded "Destiny's Edge", a multi-racial adventuring guild whose members' struggles and eventual reunion serve as a microcosmic metaphor for the larger-scale unification of the playable races and their groups into "The Pact", whose combined strength is needed to effectively combat and defeat Zhaitan, the undead Elder Dragon.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: After the defeat of the Elder Dragon Zhaitan in the game's core story, the player character meets and forms together a new group of characters to battle the enigmatic and insane Sylvari, Scarlet Briar, as she creates strange enemy groups such as the "Molten Alliance" (a team-up between evil Charr and mole-like Dredge), the "Toxic Alliance" (a combination of lizard-like Krait and a splinter group from the "Nightmare Court", a group of evil Sylvari), and the "Aetherblades", a group of steampunk sky pirates. As the player and their new group of heroes, made up of characters from each race, battle Scarlet, they also learn about her past and investigate what she could be searching for. The season culminates with Scarlet attacking the main player city of Lion's Arch, landing a giant drill known as "The Breachmaker" in the center of the City. The player and their fellow heroes fight back and kill Scarlet, but not before Lion's Arch is left in ruins, and the Breachmaker pierces a magical Ley Line, awakening a previously unknown Elder Dragon, Mordremoth; the jungle dragon.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: Season 2 of the "Living World" picks up where Season 1 left off, sending the player towards the Maguuma Wastes to battle Mordremoth with the help of their fellow heroes and Destiny's Edge. The season begins with the unexpected explosion and crash landing of the "Zephyr Sanctum", a group of airships populated by the "Zephyrites", followers of Kralkatorrik's deceased dragon champion and daughter, Glint, who had escaped from his control and had tried to help Destiny's Edge kill him before the events of the game (see tie in novel, ""Guild Wars 2: Destiny's Edge""). The player and their allies follow Scarlet Briar's path into Dry Top, a region to the west, and learn about the Elder Dragons and the motivations for her destructive conquest in Season 1. The player also learns that Zephyrites were transporting an egg laid by Glint before her death and go in search of it. At the end of the season, the Pact prepare once again to battle an Elder Dragon. However, while the player continues to hunt down Glint's Egg and learns that the Sylvari race are in fact minions of the Jungle dragon, the Pact fleet is destroyed over the jungle by a devastating attack by Mordremoth.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: Following the events of Season 2, the entire pact fleet is in ruins and burning, strewn all over the heart of the Maguuma Jungle. The Jungle Dragon, Mordremoth begins to send its minions, the Mordrem, forth to establish its hold on Tyria—and to bring the Sylvari race under its control. The pact commander journeys through the jungle picking up the pieces, locating their missing allies, exploring and meeting different factions in the jungle and mastering new skills to use for their advantage. During the story the commander also continues their hunt for Glint's egg, which was taken by Caithe. Whilst doing so they discover a hidden golden city, Tarir, built after the events of to incubate and protect Glint's offspring. After catching up and reconciling with Caithe, the egg is then left there, guarded by the city's inhabitants, the "Exalted". At the end of the expansion, the pact commander enters Mordremoth's mind and destroys him from the inside, and as a result, his magic is dispersed across Tyria, some being absorbed by Glint's egg in Tarir.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: Heart of Thorns introduces raids, which together form their own optional side-story, leading into the story of Living World Season 3.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: Living World Season 3 is the third instalment of the Living World, picking up a year after th"e s"tory left off. The story deals with the aftermath of the expansion story, the effects of the death of two Elder dragon's on the planet, a political coup and Human civil war, and the return of Lazarus the Dire, a member of the thought-to-be-extinct antagonistic race, the Mursaat. During the season, Glint's Egg also hatches into a baby dragon, Aurene, Glint's daughter. It is revealed towards the end of the season that Lazarus is infact the humnan god, Balthazar, in disguise. He has turned rogue and returned to Tyria to destroy the rest of the Elder Dragons and take their power for his own; an act that would rip Tyria apart.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: Following the events of Living World Season 3, the pact commander has thwarted the first stage of Balthazar's catastrophic plan to destroy the Elder Dragons and absorb their power—but now he's raised a zealous army to cut a path of terror and destruction across the south, through the Crystal Desert. While humanity struggles with the sudden return of one of their patron gods, the Pact Commander travels to the desert, chasing after Balthazar to stop him before the god's ruthless crusade can upset the delicate balance of magic in Tyria and lead to the end of the world. Whilst doing so, the commander tricks the undead Lich, Palawa Joko trapping him in the underworld realm of the mists. Throughout the expansion the commander discovers more of Glint's secrets, such as Aurene's true purpose to replace the Elder Dragons and control their magic. At the end of the expansion, together Aurene and the Commander kill Balthazar.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: The death of the god causes a massive release of magical energy, most of which is absorbed by the Elder dragon Kralkatorrik, but Aurene receives some as well. Aurene then flies off, with Kralkatorrik closely following.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: After the events of Path of Fire, the Commander and their allies must contend with the empowered Elder Dragon, Kralkarorrik threatening Elona, which remains under the thrall of Palawa Joko's Awakened army generals. After Palawa Joko is freed from his captivity in the underworld, in retaliation he launches an all out assault on Tyria which is eventually thwarted by the pact commander. After receiving a prophecy from Aurene that only one of them can live, the commander decides that the damage Kralkatorrik is doing to the mists outweighs the potential threat to Tyria of destroying him. They then launch an offensive of the dragon, with the goal of replacing him with Aurene.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: At the end of the season, Kralkatorrik defeated, Aurene manages to ascend to become an Elder Dragon and flies off, as the rest of the crew fly back to Lion's Arch, having successfully defeating another Elder Dragon.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: The Icebrood Saga focuses on the norn and the charr, as they defend their homelands in the Far Shiverpeaks and the Blood Legion Homelands from the threat of Jormag, the Elder Dragon of Ice and Persuasion. The saga begins with the four charr High Legions gathering in Grothmar Valley to celebrate the death of Kralkatorrik, while Jormag begins to stir in the far north. Through its promises of power, the Elder Dragon has amassed a sizable army of Icebrood. After the Charr blood legion imperator, Bangar Ruinbringer launches a mass-offensive to capture Jormag, Rytlock Brimstone, Braham, and Jhavi Jorasdottir lead the venture into the inhospitable Far Shiverpeaks to stop him, where players face eldritch abominations, learn about the history of the Spirits of the Wild, and confront Jormag themself.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: During the season, Jormag tells the player of a prophecy that either they or the fire Elder Dragon Primordus must kill the other. Jormag takes Rytlock Brimstone's son, Ryland Steelcatcher, as their champion, and begins attacks all over Tyria. Braham and the spirits of the wild merge as Primordus' Champion in hopes of steering the dragon directly into battle with Jormag. With both dragons primed for a clash, they are lured out to a field so that their champions and minions can battle each other. The Commander and any allies willing and able meet them on the battlefield and ensure that one side doesn't overtake the other. Eventually, both Jormag and Primordus are weakened and enraged enough that the two lunge at each other, destroying each other in the process. In the aftermath of their crash, both Braham and Ryland lose their champion status and return to normal. However, while Braham is relieved to be free of the influence, Ryland still holds a lot of anger. After a long fight with him against the Commander and both his parents, Ryland is killed and dies in Rytlock's arms.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: After witnessing the clash between the two Elder Dragons, Taimi and Gorrik returned to the Eye of the North, setting up a laboratory near Aurene so they could study and investigate the dragon cycle and any changes to the world from the magical fallout


title: Guild Wars 2

text: End of Dragons opens with the reappearance of the Aetherblades, a group that have not been seen since Season 1. After capturing Gorrik, the commander leads chase through the mists with Aurene which ends with a crash landing in Cantha, a region of Tyria not visited since Guild Wars Factions.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: Since the events of "Guild Wars Factions", the Empire of the Dragon severed all bonds with central Tyria and Elona. Cantha has its own history of turmoil and triumph, reflected in ancient landmarks, enduring artistry, and modern life. The Jade Wind petrified everything it touched, devastating the southeastern coastal regions. A stone sea holds no food—but it's absorbed centuries of magic. Canthan innovators have long sought practical applications for the material now known as “dragonjade”, achieving solutions undreamed of elsewhere in the world. New innovations are on the horizon.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: The expansion story deals with the effects on the world due amount of magic that has been released upon the death of the five elder dragons, resolving many plot threads from the game's ongoing storyline. The players meet the sixth elder dragon, Soo-Won, the dragon of water, who has been cleansing and controlling the released magic, filtering it through her to create Dragonjade, and effectively stopping the planet from collapsing in on itself. The commander learns that the five other elder dragons were the offspring of Soo-won and used to be benevolent creatures; only becoming corrupt because of greed and the amount of magic they consumed. During an explosion caused by the Aetherblades, Soo-won leaves the reactor and becomes quickly corrupt with magic. The world then begins to fall apart with the combined magic of the Elder dragons, called the Draconic Void. The commander journeys through Cantha to extract the Void from Soo-won, and restart the dragon cycle.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: Upon the void's extraction, Soo-Won dissipates and Aurene absorbs her magic, replacing her as the filter of magic throughout the world. The cycle of the dragons finally ends and a new era begins: the Age of Aurene.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: The decision to start creating "Guild Wars 2" began in a design meeting for "Guild Wars Utopia", back when the company was releasing campaigns on a sixth-month development cycle. The team realised that they would not be able to do everything they wanted within the constraints of the scope that they had previously defined for campaigns and the limited amount of time available to them, and at the behest of Jeff Strain, found themselves discussing how the continued addition of features and content in stand-alone campaigns was leading to more bloated tutorials and difficulty in balancing the ever-increasing number of skills. Eventually, the discussion evolved into a blueprint for an entirely new game.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: Work on "Guild Wars 2" began in 2007. It was announced March 27, 2007 to coincide with the announcement of the final "Guild Wars" expansion, which was designed to act as a bridge, in both gameplay and story terms, to "Guild Wars 2". The development team abandoned the early open alpha and beta testing which they had used for the "Guild Wars" game. ArenaNet considered that player expectations for open beta tests of MMORPG had changed, and the beta was no longer used to test the game but to trial a nearly finished game prior to purchase. Beta tests scheduled for 2008 were cancelled to ensure "Guild Wars 2" had maximum impact and appeal to these players. "Guild Wars 2" uses a heavily modified version of the proprietary game engine developed for "Guild Wars" by ArenaNet. The modifications to the engine include real-time 3D environments, enhanced graphics and animations and the use of the Havok physics system. The developers say the engine now does justice to the game's critically acclaimed concept art, and that concept art will be integrated into the way the story is told to the player.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: In August 2009, two years after the game was first announced, ArenaNet decided the game had reached a state where they were happy to show it to the public. A trailer which mixed animated concept art and in-game footage was released at Gamescom, followed by interviews expanding on the lore of the game world and information about the player races.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: In November 2009, NCsoft CEO Jaeho Lee stated the game would most likely not release until 2011, but a closed beta would be made available in 2010. The Q4 2009 shareholders notes further supported this when the CEO stated that "the current development target was the end of 2010 but, "Guild Wars 2" likely won't be released until 2011." A playable demo of the game was made available at Gamescom (19–22 August 2010), Penny Arcade Expo (3–5 September 2010) and Paris Games Week (27 October-1 November 2010). The game was developed for Microsoft Windows with a "very small team" investigating the possibility of a console version.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: ArenaNet conducted small closed alpha and beta tests in 2011. On 23 January 2012 it was announced that "Guild Wars 2" will ship this year. In February, select press were invited to participate in beta testing. In March and April, the size of beta tests was increased significantly as the beta was made available to anyone who pre-purchased the game. On June 28, 2012, ArenaNet announced the game would be released on August 28, 2012, and those who prepurchased the game would be able to play on August 25.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: On September 18, 2012, a beta release for the Mac OS X client for "Guild Wars 2" was issued. Support for the Mac OS version of "Guild Wars 2" however was subsequently withdrawn in 2021, due to the discontinued support on the Mac OS for OpenGL rendering.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: "Guild Wars 2" originally received content updates every two weeks, but now plans large releases every few months, with smaller patches and bug fixes between these. Content updates regularly contain new items available for purchase in the gem store, as well as offering unique events for players to engage in. Some content updates introduce new mechanics to the game, such as the addition of new dungeons or the introduction of new combat options.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: In the "Lost Shores" content updates released on November 16, 2012, a new dungeon was added to the game. Called Fractals of the Mists, the new dungeon differs from other dungeons in the game by consisting of many smaller "mini-dungeons" called Fractals. Each fractal contains its own story and environment, and must be completed in order to move on to the next randomly chosen fractal. Once three fractals are completed, a new set of fractals is unlocked that offer a greater challenge than the last. This update also introduced a new rarity level for equipment called Ascended which can be acquired through various sources, though most easily through the Fractals of the Mists dungeon.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: The "Flame and Frost: Prelude" update released on January 28, 2013, introduced several new features to "Guild Wars" 2, including achievement laurels, guesting and new "living story" content. Achievement laurels are rewarded for earning daily and monthly achievements, and may be used by players to purchase items from certain vendors such as Ascended equipment and infusions for that equipment. Guesting was introduced to allow players to temporarily play on the same server as their friends, without having to transfer their home to a new server. In conjunction with this new feature, a gem fee was added for players wishing to transfer their home to another server. The final new feature added during this update was the introduction of Living Story content. The living story in "Guild Wars 2" consists of a series of events and other content that players must progress through within a certain amount of time. Once this time has passed, the story progresses and new content is unlocked while the previous content becomes unavailable, though the story's effect on the world remains. Living World content is intended to provide a continuing story thread for players to follow.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: The two following content updates, "Flame and Frost: The Gathering Storm" and "Flame and Frost: The Razing", released in February and March 2013 respectively added guild missions, introduced a new progression system for "Guild Wars 2"'s WvW game mode, progressed the Flame and Frost living story narrative and introduced content that set up story elements for future living story narratives. Guild missions introduced the ability for guilds to earn guild merits by engaging in bounties and group puzzles Guild leaders can use merits to unlock rewards for their guild. The new WvW progressions system introduced World XP and new WvW ranks, which can be used to unlock new titles and abilities exclusive to WvW. New WvW achievements were also introduced.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: The "Flame and Frost: Retribution" update released in April 2013 introduced a new limited availability dungeon, new guild missions, added further new WvW abilities and added new purchasable siege weapons and guild banners for WvW play. The new dungeon, Molten Weapons Facility, coincided with the final portion of the Flame and Frost living story narrative and was only available for thirteen days.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: Introduced in May 2013, the next content update for "Guild Wars 2" began a new living story narrative called "The Secret of Southsun", which would continue later in the month with a smaller update titled "Last Stand at Southsun". In addition to the new living story content, the update introduced another large set of changes to WvW, including the ability for players to set traps in WvW battlegrounds, improvements to the World XP system, improved rewards and new abilities, improvements to the matchup system and the ability for players to use special Ascended and infused equipment in WvW play.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: In June 2013, two new content updates titled "Dragon Bash" and "Sky Pirates of Tyria" introduced a new living story narrative as well as several new features. These features included improvements to the PvP leaderboards, the introduction of the Authorized Shoutcaster Program, the ability for players to purchase items from the gem store as gifts for other players, a large balance update to the game's skills and traits, custom arenas for structure PvP, a new spectator mode and a new ability for players to master in WvW play.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: The next update was released on July 9, 2013, titled "Bazaar of the Four Winds". The largest new feature added in the update was an account-wide achievement system that allows players to unlock rewards based on how many achievement points have been earned. In addition, the update overhauled the achievement interface, introduced a new structured PvP map, and introduced a new WvW mastery.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: Over the rest of 2013, the updates "Cutthroat Politics", "Queen's Jubilee", "Clockwork Chaos", "Super Adventure Box: Back to School". "Tequatl Rising", "Twilight Assault", "Blood and Madness", "Tower of Nightmares", "The Nightmares Within", "Fractured", and "A Very Merry Wintersday" were released, updating and changing many areas and game mechanics throughout the world. Many of these changes were permanent, leaving a mark on the world to show an event had occurred. Updates included redesigning a boss, adding new paths to Dungeons, and rebalancing playable classes over time.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: 2014 brought the end of "Season 1" of the Living Story content updates, "The Origins of Madness", "The Edge of the Mists", "Escape from Lion's Arch", "Battle for Lion's Arch", and the finale "Battle for Lion's Arch: Aftermath ". These updates released a new WvW map, and destroyed the core city of the game's world, Lion's Arch, while setting up the story for the eventual Season 2 of the Living Story.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: During the down time between Seasons 1 and 2, the April 2014 Feature Pack was released, overhauling the Trait system, the Dyes system, the Cosmetic Wardrobe system, PvP equipment, and the way server load was handled via a system called Megaservers. This created world instances for all players, regardless of their home "world", to allow the game to feel more populated. The feature pack also fixed numerous bugs and offered balance tweaks to many races and classes.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: On May 20, 2014, around the time of the Chinese servers release, the update "Festival of the Four Winds" was released, allowing players to access content from two prior patches, "Queen's Jubilee" and "Bazaar of the Four Winds", alongside new activities.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: On July 1, 2014, Season 2 of the Living World began with the "Gates of Maguuma" release, which added a portion of a new explorable area, Dry Top, and changed the way Living World releases worked, no longer making them time-gated to complete. This was followed by "Entanglement" on July 15, 2014, which added more explorable sections to Dry Top, and added more achievements, new weaponry for players, and a new story segment.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: On July 29, 2014, "The Dragon's Reach: Part 1" was released. This was the first in a two-part set of releases. This updated added a few more rewards to the Dry Top zone, added a few new items and achievements, and added some new events to various zones across the game's world. On August 12, 2014, the second part, "The Dragon's Reach: Part 2" was released, concluding part one of the second season of the Living Story and starting a several month hiatus on Living Story content. This update added the final new section to the Dry Top map, new rewards and events, new achievements, and game balances.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: On September 9, 2014, the second Feature Pack was released, significantly changing and improving the Combat Log, the Black Lion Trading Post, and the New Player Experience, while adding a new type of Achievement called collections, adding a number of changes to the World Versus World gametype, improving the Wardrobe and miniature pets displays, and making a number of rebalances and changes to the game's professions.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: On October 15, 2014, the previous year's Halloween event, "Blood and Madness" was re-released with a few new events and rewards.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: The Living World's second season continued on November 4 with the release "Echoes of the Past", which included a lengthy new story segment focusing on the story of Glint and her Dragon Egg among other things, an entire brand new map called The Silverwastes which added WvW mechanics in a PvE environment and including a number of new rewards and collections included an earnable Luminescent Shoulderguard armor piece. This was followed by "Tangled Paths" released on November 18, 2014, which added a new story segment, a few new rewards including another Luminscent armor piece, and an underground section to the Silverwastes map.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: On December 2, 2014, the seventh release in Season Two was released, called "Seeds of Truth", which contained a new story instance, a large underground addition to the Silverwastes map which nearly doubled the map's size, a number of improvements to PvP and associated matchmaking, and two new Luminescent armor pieces for players to earn. This was followed on January 13, 2015, by "Point of No Return", the final eighth and final episode in Season 2. This update included several new story instances, a brand new large group boss, two new Luminescent armor pieces for players to earn, and a number of new achievements, among other things. This episode serves to lead directly into the first expansion, "Heart of Thorns".


title: Guild Wars 2

text: On January 24, 2015, at PAX South held in San Antonio, ArenaNet announced the first expansion for the game titled "Heart of Thorns". The expansion introduced new group challenges, new profession specializations, a new profession, and an account-based "mastery" system for character progression through the new territories featured in it, as well as changes to current player versus player content. It was released on October 23, 2015, to positive reviews.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: With the second of the Living World seasons over, and an expansion on the way, releases were smaller as teasers for the expansion were released. On January 27, 2015, a number of bug fixes and balance improvements were released. Following that, a small scale Festival was released on February 10, 2015, called the "Lunar New Year". This update included a relaunch of an older activity called Dragon Ball, featuring reworked gameplay, as well as new Daily Lunar New Year achievements, and new rewards.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: On August 29, 2015, the base game was made free to download. The free version of the game includes some restrictions over the core game, such as fewer character slots and some chat limitations.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: The first episode of the 3rd season of the Living World was announced on 12 July 2016. Entitled "Out of the Shadows", it was released on July 26, 2016, containing a new story instance and map with related achievements, a new PvP map with related achievements, a new fractal, some tweaks to the PvP and WvW game modes, and a number of balance changes.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: "Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire" is the second expansion pack for "Guild Wars 2". It was made available for pre-purchase on August 1, 2017, and released on September 22, 2017. The expansion introduces new features such as mounts, additional elite specializations for each profession, a bounty system for defeating certain enemies, and access to the areas of the Crystal Desert and Elona (first seen in the first game's Guild Wars Nightfall expansion). It will also introduce new raids and season four of the living world storyline.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: Living World Season 4 refers to a schedule of content updates, beginning on the 28th of November, 2017. It continues the story of "Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire", picking up immediately where the story instance Small Victory (Epilogue) left off. It included six new open world zones, new mounts, raids, fractal dungeons, as well as new PvP arenas. The story tells the consequences of the "Path of Fire" events and a new threat from the Elder Dragon of Crystal and Fury.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: "The Icebrood Saga" is the fifth "Living World" series of content and story releases. It was announced at PAX West 2019 with a live presentation at Moore Theater in Seattle, Washington on August 30, 2019. Announced features included new playable zones with expansive meta-events, a new fractal dungeon, as well as new types of instanced content, "Strike Missions" and "Dragon Response Missions". The new story chapters focus on the norn and the charr as they defend their homelands from the threat of the Elder Dragon of Ice and Persuasion.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: The third expansion was announced on March 12, 2020. The name, "Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons", and a teaser trailer were revealed on August 25, 2020. It was made available for pre-purchase on July 27, 2021, and then released on February 28, 2022. It includes a story and maps set in the southern region of Cantha (first seen in the first game's "Guild Wars Factions" expansion), additional elite specializations for each profession, the first multiplayer mount, skiffs, fishing, challenging "Strike Missions", as well as additional mastery types. On March 22, it was announced that "End of Dragons" had outsold the previous expansion "Path of Fire," with the active player count more than doubling over the last three years.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: On 16 August 2022, it was announced that Guild Wars 2 will be releasing on Steam as part of the game's 10th year anniversary celebration. Steam players are able to experience the core Guild Wars 2 game for free (with the same restrictions applied to free accounts created on GuildWars2.com), with options to upgrade to Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns, Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire, and Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons from day one. A separate 'Complete Collection' bundle that includes all three expansions and Living World Seasons 2 through 5 for one price was also made available. The game was released on Steam on August 23, 2022.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: A fourth expansion alongside future 'post-End of Dragons story updates' was announced on March 22, 2022.


title: Guild Wars 2

text: "PC Gamer"s Chris Thursten gave the game a 94% rating, calling it "an accomplished and rewarding online RPG that does a great deal to reclaim the promise of its genre." IGN's Charles Onyett rated the game a 9/10, commenting that the game is "one of the most exhaustively detailed and rewarding MMOs in existence, one that never unfairly penalizes and fosters an incredible urge to explore through a generous reward system and achingly pretty environment design". GameSpot's Kevin VanOrd opened his review with ""Guild Wars 2" is a paradise for explorers and thrill-seekers alike, and the best online role-playing game in years" and gave the game a 9.0/10. Computer and Video Games Games Editor Andy Kelly gave a verdict of 8.9/10 closing with "An entertaining MMO that combats the dreaded grind with smart design. The lack of a monthly subscription fee only sweetens the deal." GamesRadar's Hollander Cooper wrote in his review, "Everything a massively-multiplayer online RPG should be. It's original, massive in scope, and wonderfully social, removing many of the gates that held back the genre in the past. Being able to play with friends regardless of level or class is a gigantic leap forward, and one that, when mixed in with all of the other innovations in the genre, make Guild Wars 2 one of the best MMOs currently available." and giving it 4.5/5 and GameSpy's Leif Johnson wrote, "To "Guild Wars 2"'s credit, its issues do little to detract from the immensely rewarding experience of the whole. It doesn't overthrow the conventions of the MMORPG, but it presents them in fresher and livelier packaging than its competitors."


title: Guild Wars 2

text: "Time" listed "Guild Wars 2" as the top video game of 2012. Editor Matt Peckham noted that ""Guild Wars 2" is one of those rare games that unexpectedly knocks your life off-kilter, like a meteoroid banging into a satellite"... [It has] the feel of a living world, and the sort of compulsive anywhere-you-go playability other MMOs only dream of."


title: Anne of Denmark

text: Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and Queen of England and Ireland from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until her death in 1619.


title: Anne of Denmark

text: The second daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark and Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, Anne married James at age 14. They had three children who survived infancy: Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, who predeceased his parents; Princess Elizabeth, who became Queen of Bohemia; and James's future successor, Charles I. Anne demonstrated an independent streak and a willingness to use factional Scottish politics in her conflicts with James over the custody of Prince Henry and his treatment of her friend Beatrix Ruthven. Anne appears to have loved James at first, but the couple gradually drifted and eventually lived apart, though mutual respect and a degree of affection survived.


title: Anne of Denmark

text: In England, Anne shifted her energies from factional politics to patronage of the arts and constructed her own magnificent court, hosting one of the richest cultural salons in Europe. After 1612, she had sustained bouts of ill health and gradually withdrew from the centre of court life. Though she was reported to have been a Protestant at the time of her death, she may have converted to Catholicism at some point in her life.


title: Anne of Denmark

text: Some historians have dismissed Anne as a lightweight queen, frivolous and self-indulgent. However, 18th-century writers including Thomas Birch and William Guthrie considered her a woman of "boundless intrigue". Recent reappraisals acknowledge Anne's assertive independence and, in particular, her dynamic significance as a patron of the arts during the Jacobean age.


title: Anne of Denmark

text: Anne was born on 12 December 1574 at the castle of Skanderborg on the Jutland Peninsula in the Kingdom of Denmark to Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow and King Frederick II of Denmark. In need of a male heir the King had been hoping for a son, and Sophie gave birth to a son, Christian IV of Denmark, three years later.


title: Anne of Denmark

text: With her older sister, Elizabeth, Anne was sent to be raised at Güstrow by her maternal grandparents, the Duke and Duchess of Mecklenburg. Christian was also sent to be brought up at Güstrow but two years later, in 1579, his father the King wrote to his parents-in-law, to request the return of his sons, Christian and Ulrich, (probably, at the urging of the Rigsråd, the Danish Privy Council), and Anne and Elizabeth returned with him.


title: Anne of Denmark

text: Anne enjoyed a close, happy family upbringing in Denmark, thanks largely to Queen Sophie, who nursed the children through their illnesses herself. Suitors from all over Europe sought the hands of Anne and Elizabeth in marriage, including James VI of Scotland, who favoured Denmark as a kingdom reformed in religion and a profitable trading partner.


title: Anne of Denmark

text: James's other serious possibility, though eight years his senior, was Catherine, sister of the Huguenot King Henry III of Navarre (future Henry IV of France), who was favoured by Elizabeth I of England. Scottish ambassadors in Denmark first concentrated their suit on the oldest daughter, but Frederick betrothed Elizabeth to Henry Julius, Duke of Brunswick, promising the Scots instead that "for the second [daughter] Anna, if the King did like her, he should have her."


title: Anne of Denmark

text: The constitutional position of Sophie, Anne's mother, became difficult after Frederick's death in 1588, when she found herself in a power struggle with the Rigsraad for control of her son King Christian. As a matchmaker, however, Sophie proved more diligent than Frederick and, overcoming sticking points on the amount of the dowry and the status of Orkney, she sealed the agreement by July 1589. Anne herself seems to have been thrilled with the match. On 28 July 1589, the English spy Thomas Fowler reported that Anne was "so far in love with the King's Majesty as it were death to her to have it broken off and hath made good proof divers ways of her affection which his Majestie is apt enough to requite." Fowler's insinuation, that James preferred men to women, would have been hidden from the fourteen-year-old Anne, who devotedly embroidered shirts for her fiancé while 300 tailors worked on her wedding dress.


title: Anne of Denmark

text: Whatever the truth of the rumours, James required a royal match to preserve the Stuart line. "God is my witness", he explained, "I could have abstained longer than the weal of my country could have permitted, [had not] my long delay bred in the breasts of many a great jealousy of my inability, as if I were a barren stock." On 20 August 1589, Anne was married by proxy to James at Kronborg Castle, the ceremony ending with James's representative, George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal, sitting next to Anne on the bridal bed.


title: Anne of Denmark

text: Anne set sail for Scotland within 10 days, but her fleet under the command of Admiral Peder Munk was beset by a series of misadventures, finally being forced back to the coast of Norway, from where she travelled by land to Oslo for refuge, accompanied by the Earl Marischal and others of the Scottish and Danish embassies.


title: Anne of Denmark

text: On 12 September, Lord Dingwall had landed at Leith, reporting that "he had come in company with the Queen's fleet three hundred miles, and was separated from them by a great storm: it was feared that the Queen was in danger upon the seas." Alarmed, James called for national fasting and public prayers, and kept watch on the Firth of Forth for Anne's arrival from Seton Palace, the home of his friend Lord Seton. He wrote several songs, one comparing the situation to the plight of Hero and Leander, and sent a search party out for Anne, carrying a letter he had written to her in French: "Only to one who knows me as well as his own reflection in a glass could I express, my dearest love, the fears which I have experienced because of the contrary winds and violent storms since you embarked ...". Anne's letters arrived in October explaining that she had abandoned the crossing. She wrote, in French; In what Willson calls "the one romantic episode of his life", James sailed from Leith with a three-hundred-strong retinue to fetch his wife personally. He arrived in Oslo on 19 November after travelling by land from Flekkefjord via Tønsberg. According to a Scottish account, he presented himself to Anne, "with boots and all", and, disarming her protests, gave her a kiss, in the Scottish fashion.


title: Anne of Denmark

text: Anne and James were formally married in hall of the Old Bishop's Palace in Oslo, then the house of Christen Mule, on 23 November 1589, "with all the splendour possible at that time and place." So that both bride and groom could understand, Leith minister David Lindsay conducted the ceremony in French, describing Anne as "a Princess both godly and beautiful ... she giveth great contentment to his Majesty." A month of celebrations followed; and on 22 December, cutting his entourage to 50, James visited his new relations at Kronborg Castle in Elsinore, where the newlyweds were greeted by Queen Sophie, 12 year-old King Christian IV, and Christian's four regents. The couple moved on to Copenhagen on 7 March and attended the wedding of Anne's older sister Elizabeth to Henry Julius, Duke of Brunswick on 19 April, sailing two days later for Scotland in a patched up "Gideon". They arrived in the Water of Leith on 1 May. After a welcoming speech in French by James Elphinstone, Anne stayed in the King's Wark and James went alone to hear a sermon by Patrick Galloway in the Parish Church. Five days later, Anne made her state entry into Edinburgh in a solid silver coach brought over from Denmark, James riding alongside on horseback.


title: Anne of Denmark

text: Anne was crowned on 17 May 1590 in the Abbey Church at Holyrood, the first Protestant coronation in Scotland. During the seven-hour ceremony, her gown was opened by the Countess of Mar for presiding minister Robert Bruce to pour "a bonny quantity of oil" on "parts of her breast and arm", so anointing her as queen. (Kirk ministers had objected vehemently to this element of the ceremony as a pagan and Jewish ritual, but James insisted that it dated from the Old Testament.) The king handed the crown to Chancellor Maitland, who placed it on Anne's head. She then affirmed an oath to defend the true religion and worship of God and to "withstand and despise all papistical superstitions, and whatsoever ceremonies and rites contrary to the word of God".


title: Anne of Denmark

text: Anne brought servants and courtiers from Denmark, including the ladies-in-waiting Katrine Skinkel, Anna Kaas, and Margaret Vinstarr, the preacher Johannes Sering, a page William Belo, and artisans such as goldsmith Jacob Kroger, the carpenter Frederick, her cooks Hans Poppilman and Marion, and her tailors. Her Danish secretary Calixtus Schein had two Scottish colleagues, William Fowler and John Geddie. The head of her first household was Wilhelm von der Wense. At first, observers like William Dundas thought the queen led a solitary life, with few Scottish companions. Later in 1590 more Scottish noblewomen were appointed to serve her, including Marie Stewart, a daughter of Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox, Margaret Wood, and members of the Ochiltree Stewart family.


title: Anne of Denmark

text: James invited Scottish lairds including Robert Mure of Caldwell to send gifts of hackney horses for the queen's ladies to ride. Anne bought her ladies and maidens of honour matching clothes and riding outfits, made by her Danish tailor Pål Rei and furrier Henrie Koss, and the Scottish tailors Peter Sanderson and Peter Rannald supervised by her master of Wardrobe, Søren Johnson. She had an African servant, noted in the accounts only as the "Moir", who was probably a "page of the equerry", attending her horse. He was dressed in orange velvet and Spanish taffeta. When he died at Falkland Palace in July 1591, James paid for his funeral.


title: Anne of Denmark

text: Two Danish favourites, Katrine Skinkel and Sofie Kass wore velvet hats with feathers to match the queen's, made by an older gentlewoman in the household, Elizabeth Gibb, the wife of the king's tutor Peter Young. Anne gave her ladies wedding gowns and trousseaux when they married, and even arranged a loan for the dowry of Jean, Lady Kennedy. When, in December 1592 the widower John Erskine, Earl of Mar married Marie Stewart, James VI and Anne of Denmark attended the celebrations at Alloa and there was a masque in costume in which Anne of Denmark performed. From 1594, the German physician Martin Schöner attended her when she was ill or in childbed. Her court musician in Scotland was John Norlie an English lutenist.


title: Anne of Denmark

text: In 1593, Anne told the English ambassador Robert Bowes that she would like to meet Queen Elizabeth, and wanted to have a young English gentleman or maiden of "good parentage" join her household. Bowes passed this request to Cecil to consider. She made another ouverture of friendship to Elizabeth I in May 1595, asking for her portrait. There was no response and Bowes had to reiterate her request. Finally, in February 1596 Elizabeth condescended to grant Anne's "earnest desire" and send her a picture.


title: Anne of Denmark

text: By all accounts, James was at first entranced by his bride, but his infatuation evaporated quickly and the couple often found themselves at loggerheads, though in the early years of their marriage James seems always to have treated Anne with patience and affection. James Melville of Halhill, a gentleman of her bedchamber, wrote that in Scotland Anne would intercede with James on behalf of honest courtiers, if she heard that he was stirred up against them by "wrong information" or slander.


title: Anne of Denmark

text: In their first years of marriage, James VI and Anne of Denmark personally dressed in costume and took part in masques at the weddings of courtiers. These performances typically involved music, dance, and disguise. Between 1593 and 1595, James was romantically linked with Anne Murray, later Lady Glamis. He addressed her in verse as "my mistress and my love". Anne of Denmark herself was also occasionally the subject of scandalous rumours. In the "Basilikon Doron", written 1597–1598, James described marriage as "the greatest earthly felicitie or miserie, that can come to a man".


title: Anne of Denmark

text: From the first moment of the marriage, Anne was under pressure to provide James and Scotland with an heir, but the passing of 1591 and 1592 with no sign of a pregnancy provoked renewed Presbyterian libels on the theme of James's fondness for male company and whispers against Anne "for that she proves not with child". When it was thought that she was pregnant, James tried to prevent her going horseriding but she refused. There was great public relief when on 19 February 1594 Anne gave birth to her first child, Henry Frederick.


title: Anne of Denmark

text: Anne soon learned that she would have no say in her son's care. James appointed as head of the nursery his former nurse Helen Little, who installed Henry in James's own oak cradle. Most distressingly for Anne, James insisted on placing Prince Henry in the custody of John Erskine, Earl of Mar at Stirling Castle, in keeping with Scottish royal tradition.


title: Anne of Denmark

text: In late 1594, she began a furious campaign for custody of Henry, recruiting a faction of supporters to her cause, including the chancellor, John Maitland of Thirlestane. Nervous of the lengths to which Anne might go, James formally charged Mar in writing never to surrender Henry to anyone except on orders from his own mouth, "because in the surety of my son consists my surety", nor to yield Henry to the Queen even in the event of his own death. Anne demanded the matter be referred to the Council, but James would not hear of it. After public scenes in which James reduced her to rage and tears over the issue, Anne became so bitterly upset that in July 1595 she suffered a miscarriage. Thereafter, she outwardly abandoned her campaign, but it was thought permanent damage had been done to the marriage. In August 1595, John Colville wrote: "There is nothing but lurking hatred disguised with cunning dissimulation betwixt the King and the Queen, each intending by slight to overcome the other." Despite these differences, Anne and James visited the Prince at Stirling in December 1595 and returned to Holyrood Palace to celebrate her 21st birthday. They had six more children. Anne extended and rebuilt Dunfermline Palace, in 1601 preparing a lodging for her daughter Princess Elizabeth, but the princess remained at Linlithgow Palace on the king's orders. Her younger sons Charles and Robert were allowed to stay with her at Dunfermline and Dalkeith Palace.


title: Anne of Denmark

text: In February 1603, the French ambassador in London, Christophe de Harlay, Count of Beaumont, reported a rumour spread by James's friends that Anne was cruel and ambitious, hoping to rule Scotland as Regent or Governor for her son after her husband's death. Anne saw a belated opportunity to gain custody of Henry in 1603 when James left for London with the Earl of Mar to assume the English throne following the death of Elizabeth I. Pregnant at the time, Anne descended on Stirling with a force of "well-supported" nobles, intent on removing the nine-year-old Henry, whom she had hardly seen for five years; but Mar's wife and his young son would allow her to bring no more than two attendants with her into the castle. The obduracy of Henry's keepers sent Anne into such a fury that she suffered another miscarriage: according to David Calderwood, she "went to bed in anger and parted with child the tenth of May."


title: Anne of Denmark

text: When the Earl of Mar returned with James's instructions that Anne join him in the Kingdom of England, she informed James by letter that she refused to do so unless allowed custody of Henry. This "forceful maternal action", as historian Pauline Croft describes it, obliged James to climb down at last, though he reproved Anne for "froward womanly apprehensions" and described her behaviour in a letter to Mar as "wilfulness".


title: Anne of Denmark

text: James wrote to Anne that he had not received accusations from Mar's supporters that her actions at Stirling were motivated by religious factionalism or "Spanish courses". He reminded her that she was "a king's daughter" but "whether ye a king's or a cook's daughter, ye must be must be all alike to me, being once my wife", and so she should have respected the confidence he, her husband, had placed in Mar. The French ambassador in London, Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully, heard that Anne would bring and exhibit her embalmed still-born male child in England in order to dispel false rumours about a plot.


title: Anne of Denmark

text: After a brief convalescence from the miscarriage, Anne travelled from Stirling to Edinburgh, where several English ladies had gathered, hoping to join her court, including Lucy, Countess of Bedford and Frances Howard, Countess of Kildare. Anne ordered a new gown of figured taffeta and had her white satin gown refashioned. New clothes were bought for her entourage, and her jester Tom Durie was given a green coat.


title: Anne of Denmark

text: Marmaduke Darrell was sent from London with money for the expenses of her journey and the group of ladies sent by the Privy Council to attend her. Anne duly travelled south with Prince Henry, their progress causing a sensation in England. Princess Elizabeth followed two days later and soon caught up, but Prince Charles was left at Dunfermline, being sickly.


title: Anne of Denmark

text: She was met at York on 11 June by Thomas Cecil, Lord Burghley. He wrote to Sir Robert Cecil, "she will prove, if I be not deceived, a magnifical prince, a kind wife and a constant mistress". Her large crowd of followers was disorderly and there were quarrels between the Earl of Argyll and the Earl of Sussex, and between Thomas Somerset and William Murray who argued about the role of Master of Horse. The Duke of Lennox and the Earls of Shrewsbury and Cumberland made a proclamation at Worksop Manor that her followers should put aside any private quarrels, and hangers-on without formal roles should leave.


title: Anne of Denmark

text: Courtiers and gentry made efforts to meet her on her journey.Lady Anne Clifford recorded that she and her mother killed three horses in their haste to see the Queen at Dingley. In the great hall at Windsor Castle, "there was such an infinite number of lords and ladies and so great a Court as I think I shall never see the like again."


title: Anne of Denmark

text: Anne and James were crowned at Westminster Abbey on 25 July 1603. The coronation prayers for Anne alluded to Esther, the Wise Virgins, and other Biblical heroines.