Early life and education.

Ban was born on 13 June 1944 in the small farming village of Haengchi, Wonnam Township ("-myeon"), in Eumseong County (Insei), North Chungcheong Province in what was then Japanese Korea. His family then moved to the nearby town of Chungju, where he grew up. During Ban's childhood, his father had a warehouse business, but the warehouse went bankrupt and the family lost its middle-class standard of living. When Ban was six, his family fled to a remote mountainside for much of the Korean War. After the war ended, his family returned to Chungju. Ban has said that, during this time, he met American soldiers.  In secondary school (Chungju High School), Ban became a star student, particularly in his studies of the English language. In 1962, Ban won an essay contest sponsored by the Red Cross and earned a trip to the United States where he lived in San Francisco with a host family for several months. As part of the trip, Ban met U.S. President John F. Kennedy. When a journalist

Career.

Diplomatic career.

After graduating from university, Ban received the top score on Korea's foreign service exam. He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in May 1970 and worked his way up the career ladder during the years of the Yusin Constitution.  Ban's first overseas posting was to New Delhi, India, where he served as vice consul and impressed many of his superiors in the foreign ministry with his competence. Ban reportedly accepted a posting to India rather than the United States, because in India he would be able to save more money to send to his family. In 1974 he received his first posting to the United Nations, as First Secretary of the South Permanent Observer Mission (South Korea became a full UN member-state on 17 September 1991). After Park Chung-hee's 1979 assassination, Ban assumed the post of Director of the United Nations Division.  In 1980 Ban became director of the United Nations' International Organizations and Treaties Bureau, headquartered in Seoul. He has been posted twice to the South Korean embassy in Washington, D.C. Between these two assignments he served

United Nations career.

Campaign for Secretary-General: 2007.

In February 2006, Ban declared his candidacy to replace Kofi Annan as UN Secretary-General at the end of 2006, becoming the first South Korean to run for the office. Though Ban was the first to announce a candidacy, he was not originally considered a serious contender.  Over the next eight months, Ban made ministerial visits to each of the 15 countries with a seat on the Security Council. Of the seven candidates, he topped each of the four straw polls conducted by the United Nations Security Council: on 24 July, 14 September, 28 September, and 2 October.  During the period in which these polls took place, Ban made major speeches to

First term as Secretary-General.

When Ban became Secretary-General, "The Economist" listed the major challenges facing him in 2007: "rising nuclear demons in Iran and North Korea, a haemorrhaging wound in Darfur, unending violence in the Middle East, looming environmental disaster, escalating international terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the spread of HIV/AIDS. And then the more parochial concerns, such as the largely unfinished business of the most sweeping attempt at reform in the UN's history". Before starting, Kofi Annan shared the story that when the first Secretary-General Trygve Lie left office, he told his successor, Dag Hammarskjöld, "You are about to take over the most impossible job on earth".  On 23 January 2007 Ban took office as the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Ban's term as Secretary-General opened with a flap. At his first encounter with the press as Secretary-General on 2 January 2007, he refused to condemn the death penalty imposed on Saddam Hussein by

Campaign for second term as Secretary-General: 2011.

On 6 June 2011, Ban Ki-moon formally announced his candidacy for a second consecutive term as Secretary-General of the United Nations. He announced his candidacy at a press conference, following

Second term as Secretary-General.

On 17 June 2011, he received the recommendation of the Security Council by a unanimous vote, and, on 21 June, his nomination was confirmed by a unanimous acclamation vote at the United Nations General Assembly. His new five-year term as Secretary-General commenced on 1 January 2012 and ended on 31 December 2016.

Criticism as UN Secretary-General.

According to "The Washington Post", "some UN employees and delegates" expressed resentment at Ban's perceived favoritism in the appointment of South Korean nationals in key posts. Previous UN chiefs such as Kurt Waldheim (Austria), Javier Pérez de Cuéllar (Peru), and Boutros Boutros-Ghali (Egypt) brought small teams of trusted aides or clerical workers from their country's Foreign Ministry, and South Korean nationals have been historically underrepresented at the United Nations. Nonetheless, according to "some officials" in the "Post" story, Ban had allegedly gone further, boosting South Korea's presence in UN ranks by more than 20 percent during his first year in office. In response, Ban and his aides stated that the allegations of favoritism are wrong, and that some of the harshest criticisms against him have undercurrents of racism. He said that the South Korean nationals he had appointed—including Choi Young-jin, who had already served as a high-ranking official in the United Nations' peacekeeping department—are highly qualified for their positions. Others such as Donald P. Gregg, a former U.S. ambassador to South Korea, said that the complaints were driven by envy: "I think being from South Korea, and people have growing respect for South Korea, that's a great enhancement for the secretary general. If he brings along talented people who he knows very well, I think that's also a plus." UN records show that South Korea, the organization's eleventh-largest financial contributor, had only 54 South Korean nationals assigned to its mission six months before Ban took over the top UN post. By contrast, the Philippines, a significantly poorer country, had 759 nationals in its mission.  Former UN Under Secretary General for Oversight Services Inga-Britt Ahlenius denounced Ban Ki-moon after resigning her post in 2010, calling him "reprehensible". Ahlenius claimed that the Secretary-General made efforts to undermine the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) mandate and challenge its operational independence. In particular, the two disputed Ahlenius's plans to hire a former

2017 presidential candidacy speculation.

Until the outbreak of the 2016 South Korean political scandal, Ban was the leading potential candidate for President of South Korea in 2017. However, recent polls showed Moon Jae-in of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea in the lead with a support rating of 32.8 percent, while Ban trailed in distant second with 15.4 percent. Moon was eventually elected president on 10 May. Although Ban repeatedly expressed his desires for running, a UN resolution in 1946 says "a Secretary-General should refrain from accepting" any Governmental position

Post-U.N. work.

In 2017, Ban and Heinz Fischer, former president of Austria, founded, and are co-chairs of, the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens in Vienna, Austria. The nonprofit group's mission is to support youth and

Personal life.

Family.

Ban Ki-moon met Yoo Soon-taek in 1962 when they were both in high school. Ban was 18 years old, and Yoo Soon-taek was his secondary school's student council president. Ban Ki-moon married Yoo Soon-taek in 1971.  They have three adult children: two daughters and a son. His elder daughter, Seon-yong, was born in 1972 and now works for the Korea Foundation in Seoul. Her spouse is a native of India. His son Woo-hyun was born in 1974 in India. He received an MBA from Anderson School of Management at University of California, Los Angeles, and works for an investment firm in New York. His younger daughter, Hyun-hee (born 1976), is a field officer for UNICEF in Nairobi.

Personality.

During his tenure at the South Korean Foreign Ministry, Ban's nickname was "jusa" (주사), meaning "the administrative clerk". The name was used as both positive and negative: complimenting Ban's attention to detail and administrative skill while deriding what was seen as a lack of charisma and subservience to

Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 2007 to December 2016. Before becoming the Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he graduated from university, accepting his first post in New Delhi, India.

Pan Ki-mun, Ban Ki-moon: [pɑn gi mun] (* 13. června 1944 Umsong) je jihokorejský diplomat a bývalý generální tajemník OSN, úřadující ve funkci mezi lety 2007–2016. Byl druhým Asiatem, který ve funkci generálního tajemníka OSN působil (po U Thantovi z Barmy).


Biography.

Early in his career, Brouwer proved a number of theorems in the emerging field of topology. The most important were his fixed point theorem, the topological invariance of degree, and the topological invariance of dimension. Among mathematicians generally, the best known is the first one, usually referred to now as the Brouwer Fixed Point Theorem. It is a simple corollary to the second, concerning the topological invariance of degree, which is the best known among algebraic topologists. The third theorem is perhaps the hardest.  Brouwer also proved the simplicial approximation theorem in the foundations of algebraic topology, which justifies the reduction to combinatorial terms, after sufficient subdivision of simplicial complexes, of the treatment of general continuous mappings. In 1912, at age 31, he was elected a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was an Invited Speaker of the ICM in 1908 at Rome and in 1912 at Cambridge, UK.  Brouwer founded intuitionism, a philosophy of mathematics that challenged the then-prevailing formalism of David Hilbert and his collaborators, who included Paul Bernays, Wilhelm Ackermann, and John von Neumann (cf. Kleene (1952), p. 46–59). A variety of constructive mathematics, intuitionism is a philosophy of the foundations of mathematics. It is sometimes and rather simplistically characterized by saying that its adherents refuse to use the law of excluded middle in mathematical reasoning.  Brouwer was a member of the Significs Group. It formed part of the early history of semiotics—the study of symbols—around Victoria, Lady Welby in particular. The original meaning of his intuitionism probably can not be completely disentangled from the intellectual milieu of that group.  In 1905, at the age of 24, Brouwer expressed his philosophy of life in a short tract "Life, Art and Mysticism", which has been described by the mathematician Martin Davis as "drenched in romantic pessimism" (Davis (2002), p. 94). Arthur Schopenhauer had a formative influence on Brouwer, not least because he insisted that all concepts be fundamentally based on sense intuitions. Brouwer then "embarked on a self-righteous campaign to reconstruct mathematical practice from the ground up so as to satisfy his philosophical convictions"; indeed his thesis advisor refused to accept his Chapter II "as it stands,... all interwoven with some kind of pessimism and mystical attitude to life which is not mathematics, nor has anything to do with the foundations of mathematics" (Davis, p. 94 quoting van Stigt, p. 41). Nevertheless, in 1908:  "After completing his dissertation, Brouwer made a conscious decision to temporarily keep his contentious ideas under wraps and to concentrate on demonstrating his mathematical prowess" (Davis (2000), p. 95); by 1910 he had published a number of important papers, in particular the Fixed Point Theorem. Hilbert—the formalist with whom the intuitionist Brouwer would ultimately spend years in conflict—admired the young man and helped him receive a regular academic appointment (1912) at the University of Amsterdam (Davis, p. 96). It was then that "Brouwer felt free to return to his revolutionary project which he was now calling "intuitionism" " (ibid).  He was combative as a young man. He was involved in a very public and eventually demeaning controversy in the later 1920s with Hilbert over editorial policy at "Mathematische Annalen", at that time a leading learned journal. He became relatively isolated; the development of intuitionism at its source was taken up by his student Arend Heyting.  Dutch mathematician and historian of mathematics, Bartel Leendert van der Waerden attended lectures given by Brouwer in later years, and commented: "Even though his most important research contributions were in topology, Brouwer never gave courses in topology, but always on—and only on—the foundations of his intuitionism. It seemed that he was no longer convinced of his results in topology because they were not correct from the point of view of intuitionism, and he judged everything he had done before, his greatest output, false according to his philosophy."  About his last years, Davis (2002) remarks:

Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer (; ; 27 February 1881 – 2 December 1966), usually cited as L. E. J. Brouwer but known to his friends as Bertus, was a Dutch mathematician and philosopher, who worked in topology, set theory, measure theory and complex analysis. He was the founder of the mathematical philosophy of intuitionism.

Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer (27. února 1881 – 2. prosince 1966), často také uváděný jako L.E.J.Brouwer nebo Jan Brouwer, byl nizozemský matematik a filosof pracující zejména v oborech teorie množin, topologie a komplexní analýzy.


Background.

After the moderate success of "Rebirth"s lead single "Get Right", "Hold You Down" was chosen as its second single. Critics and fans alike criticized this move, considering the general lukewarm reception of the song. "Hold You Down" was also included on Fat Joe's album "All or Nothing" (2005). A remix with Don Omar is included on his compilation album "Da Hitman Presents Reggaetón Latino" (2005).

Composition.

"Hold You Down" is a song with a length of four minutes and thirty-two seconds (4:32). The song samples Shirley Murdock's "As We Lay". According to Lopez, the track was a "last minute" add to "Rebirth". While listening to the song, she knew that "there's nobody" that she can do the song with "except Fat Joe". Lopez called Fat Joe up immediately and the next day, the song was recorded after he created his own rap verses.  Speaking of the lyrics for "Hold You Down", Fat Joe said, "It's more like a friendship record, you know what I mean? Growing up in the Bronx and how we became who we are, but we still keep it real with each other. We don't talk every day, but we got mad love for each other whenever we see each other. It's always crazy love." According to "Entertainment Weekly", the song is about "how true she's [Lopez] been to her hood." "Hold You Down" consists of a flat beat and "some tinkling" chimes in the background, which according to Sam Shepherd from musicOMH, "wouldn't be out of place on a Christmas single."

Critical response.

The song received most mixed reviews from music critics. musicOMH's Sam Shepherd wrote, "The lyrics are sweet but not sickly so, and Fat Joe's appearance doesn't sound like he's co-opted the track - instead he allows Lopez's voice room to breathe; and who would have guessed it, she may have an asset that is more impressive than her booty."  Mike Schiller from PopMatters called it "ill-fated" and "milquetoast". David Browne of "Entertainment Weekly" commented that "even with Fat Joe pitching in, the song is as colorless as Lopez's voice."

Music video.

Prior to the video's release, Lopez told MTV News that "I'll be very real". The music video for "Hold You Down" was directed by Diane Martel and edited by Paul Martínez. It was released on March 7, 2005. In The Bronx, New York City, Lopez is seen singing on top of a building and in a hallway, while Fat Joe is seen roaming the streets.

"Hold You Down" is a song recorded by American singer Jennifer Lopez, and American rapper Fat Joe for Lopez fourth studio album, "Rebirth" (2005). It was written by Gregory "Nyce Boy" Christopher, Gregory Bruno, Makeba Riddick, Joseph Cartagena, Cory Rooney, Larry Troutman and Billy Beck and produced by Christopher, Bruno and Rooney.

Hold You Down (Držet tě dole) je druhá a poslední píseň z alba Rebirth americké zpěvačky Jennifer López. S písní ji vypomohl rapper Fat Joe, který vydal na svém albu All Or Nothing remix této písně pod názvem Eliel Remix.


History.

The coin dates from 1999, when euro coins and banknotes were introduced in the 12-member eurozone and its related territories. The common side was designed by Luc Luycx, a Belgian artist who won a Europe-wide competition to design the new coins. The design of the 10- to 50-cent coins were intended to show separate states of the European Union (EU), as opposed to the one and two euro coins showing the 15 states as one and the 1- to 5-cent coins showing the EU's place in the world.  The national sides, then 15 (eurozone + Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican who could mint their own) were each designed according to national competitions, though to specifications which applied to all coins such as the requirement of including twelve stars (see euro coins for more). National designs were not allowed to change until the end of 2008, unless a monarch (whose portrait usually appears on the coins) dies or abdicates. This happened in Monaco and the Vatican City resulting in three new designs in circulation (the Vatican had an interim design until the new Pope was selected). National designs have seen some changes due to new rules stating that national designs should include the name of the issuing country (Finland and Belgium both do not show their name, and hence have made minor changes).  As the EU's membership has since expanded in 2004 and 2007, with further expansions envisaged, the common face of all euro coins from the value of 10 cent and above were redesigned in 2007 to show a new map. This map showed Europe, not just the EU, as one continuous landmass; however, Cyprus was moved west as the map cut off after the Bosporus (which was seen as excluding Turkey for political reasons). The redesign in 2007, rather than in 2004, was due to the fact that 2007 saw the first enlargement of the eurozone; the entry of Slovenia. Hence, the Slovenian design was added to the designs in circulation. Two more designs were added in 2008 with the entry of Cyprus and Malta and another one in 2009 with Slovakia, and three more for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in 2011, 2014 and 2015, respectively.

Design.

The coins are composed of an alloy called Nordic gold, with a diameter of 19.75 mm, a 1.93 mm thickness and a mass of 4.10 grams. The coins' edges have regular indentations. The coins have been used from 2002, though some are dated 1999 which is the year the euro was created as a currency, but not put into general circulation.

Reverse (common) side.

The reverse (used from 2007 onwards) was designed by Luc Luycx and displays a map of Europe on the left. The map does not include Iceland and cuts off on the right through Russia (exactly, at a line from the Kandalaksha Gulf to the Bosphorus (Cyprus is moved westward under Crete in order to include it and Malta is shown as disproportionally large so that it shows up). The map is flat and level with most of the coin and the sea is shown as an indentation. Six fine lines cut through the sea, breaking when passing through the map, and at their ends at the top and bottom are twelve stars (reflective of the flag of Europe). To the right, in raised lettering, is "10 Euro Cent" with the '10' being shown much larger than the words. The designers initials, LL, appear next to the 0 in 10.  Luc Luycx designed the original coin, which was much the same except the design was only of the then 15 members and shown with gaps between the states and raised rather than with an indented sea.

Obverse (national) sides.

The obverse side of the coin depends on the issuing country. All have to include twelve stars (in most cases a circle around the edge), the engraver's initials and the year of issue. New designs also have to include the name or initials of the issuing country. The side cannot repeat the denomination of the coin unless the issuing country uses an alphabet other than Latin (currently, Greece and Austria are the only such countries, hence they engrave "10 ΛΕΠΤΑ" and "10 EURO CENT" upon their coins respectively).

Potential designs.

Austria, Germany and Greece will also at some point need to update their designs to comply with guidelines stating they must include the issuing state's name or initial, and not repeat the denomination of the coin.  In addition, there are several EU states that have not yet adopted the euro. Some of them have already agreed upon their coin designs, but it is not known exactly when they will adopt the currency, and hence these are not yet minted. See Enlargement of the eurozone for expected entry dates of these countries.

Nicknames.

The coin has the nickname "dubbeltje" in the Netherlands, a term carried over from the previous currency.

The 10 euro cent coin (€0.10) has a value of one tenth of a euro and is composed of an alloy called Nordic gold. All coins have a common reverse side and country-specific national sides. The coin has been used since 2002, with the present common side design dating from 2007.

Mince 10 centů jsou vyrobeny ze severského zlata. Mají průměr 19,75 mm, sílu 1,93 mm a hmotnost 4,10 g. Hrana mince je profilovaná s jemnými zoubky. Všechny mince mají společnou lícovou stranu a rozdílnou národní rubovou stranu. Mince ražené mezi lety 1999 - 2006 měly na lícové straně vyobrazeny pouze státy Evropské unie před rozšířením v roce 2004. Nové mince ražené od roku 2007 reagují na rozšíření Evropské unie a zobrazují celou Evropu - nejenom 15 původních států EU.


Fermented drinks.

Beer.

Beer is a beverage fermented from grain mash. It is typically made from barley or a blend of several grains and flavored with hops. Most beer is naturally carbonated as part of the fermentation process. If the fermented mash is distilled, then the drink becomes a spirit. In the Andean region, the most common beer is chicha, made from grain or fruits. Beer is the most consumed alcoholic beverage in the world.

Wine.

Wine is a fermented beverage produced from grapes and sometimes other fruits. Wine involves a longer fermentation process than beer and a long aging process (months or years), resulting in an alcohol content of 9%–16% ABV.

Cider.

Cider or cyder ( ) is a fermented alcoholic drink made from any fruit juice; apple juice (traditional and most common), peaches, pears ("Perry" cider) or other fruit. Cider alcohol content varies from 1.2% ABV to 8.5% or more in traditional English ciders. In some regions, cider may be called "apple wine".

Fermented tea.

Fermented tea (also known as post-fermented tea or dark tea) is a class of tea that has undergone microbial fermentation, from several months to many years. The tea leaves and the liquor made from them become darker with oxidation. Thus, the various kinds of fermented teas produced across China are also referred to as dark tea, not be confused with black tea. The most famous fermented tea is kombucha which is often homebrewed, pu-erh, produced in Yunnan Province, and the Anhua dark tea produced in Anhua County of Hunan Province. The majority of kombucha on the market are under 0.5% ABV.

Mead.

Mead () is an alcoholic drink made by fermenting honey with water, sometimes with various fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alcoholic content of mead may range from about 8% ABV to more than 20%. The defining characteristic of mead is that the majority of the drink's fermentable sugar is derived from honey.

Pulque.

Pulque is the Mesoamerican fermented drink made from the "honey water" of maguey, "Agave americana". The drink distilled from pulque is tequila or mescal Mezcal.

Rice wine.

Sake, huangjiu and cheongju are popular examples of East Asian rice wine.

Others.

"Fruit wines" are made from fruits other than grapes, such as plums, cherries, or apples.  Sparkling wine like French Champagne, Catalan Cava or Italian Prosecco can be made by means of a secondary fermentation.

Distilled drinks.

A distilled drink or liquor is an alcoholic drink produced by distilling (i.e., concentrating by distillation) ethanol produced by means of fermenting grain, fruit, or vegetables. Unsweetened, distilled, alcoholic drinks that have an alcohol content of at least 20% ABV are called "spirits". For the most common distilled drinks, such as whiskey and vodka, the alcohol content is around 40%. The term "hard liquor" is used in North America to distinguish distilled drinks from undistilled ones (implicitly weaker). Vodka, gin, baijiu, shōchū, soju, tequila, whiskey, brandy and rum are examples of distilled drinks. Distilling concentrates the alcohol and eliminates some of the congeners. Freeze distillation concentrates ethanol along with methanol and fusel alcohols (fermentation by-products partially removed by distillation) in applejack.  Fortified wine is wine, such as port or sherry, to which a distilled beverage (usually brandy) has been added. Fortified wine is distinguished from spirits made from wine in that spirits are produced by means of distillation, while fortified wine is simply wine that has had a spirit added to it. Many different styles of fortified wine have been developed, including port, sherry, madeira, marsala, commandaria, and the aromatized wine vermouth.

Rectified spirit.

Rectified spirit, also called "neutral grain spirit", is alcohol which has been purified by means of "rectification" (i.e. repeated distillation). The term "neutral" refers to the spirit's lack of the flavor that would have been present if the mash ingredients had been distilled to a lower level of alcoholic purity. Rectified spirit also lacks any flavoring added to it after distillation (as is done, for example, with gin). Other kinds of spirits, such as whiskey, are distilled to a lower alcohol percentage to preserve the flavor of the mash.  Rectified spirit is a clear, colorless, flammable liquid that may contain as much as 95% ABV. It is often used for medicinal purposes. It may be a grain spirit or it may be made from other plants. It is used in mixed drinks, liqueurs, and tinctures, and also as a household solvent.

Congeners.

In the alcoholic drinks industry, congeners are substances produced during fermentation. These substances include small amounts of chemicals such as occasionally desired other alcohols, like propanol and 3-methyl-1-butanol, but also compounds that are never desired such as acetone, acetaldehyde and glycols. Congeners are responsible for most of the taste and aroma of distilled alcoholic drinks, and contribute to the taste of non-distilled drinks. It has been suggested that these substances contribute to the symptoms of a hangover. Tannins are congeners found in wine in the presence of phenolic compounds. Wine tannins add bitterness, have a drying sensation, taste herbaceous and are often described as astringent. Wine tannins adds balance, complexity, structure and makes a wine last longer, so they play an important role in the aging of wine.

Food energy.

Alcoholic drinks are a source of food energy. The USDA uses a figure of per gram of alcohol ( per ml) for calculating food energy. In addition to alcohol, many alcoholic drinks contain carbohydrates. For example, in of 5% ABV beer, along with approximately 18 ml of alcohol (), there are usually 10–15 g of carbohydrates (about ). Excessive daily calorie intake may contribute to an increase in body weight and "beer belly". In addition to the direct effect of its caloric content, alcohol is also known to potentiate the insulin response of the human body to glucose, which, in essence, "instructs" the body to convert consumed carbohydrates into fat and to suppress carbohydrate and fat oxidation. Ethanol is directly processed in the liver to acetyl CoA, the same intermediate product as in glucose metabolism. Because ethanol is mostly metabolized and consumed by the liver, chronic excessive use can lead to fatty liver. This leads to a chronic inflammation of the liver and eventually alcoholic liver disease.

Amount of use.

The average number of people who drink was 39% for males and 25% for females (2.4 billion people in total). Females on average drink 0.7 drinks per day while males drink 1.7 drinks per day. The rates of drinking varies significantly in different areas of the world.

Reasons for use.

Apéritifs and digestifs.

An apéritif is any alcoholic beverage usually served before a meal to stimulate the appetite, while a digestif is any alcoholic beverage served after a meal for the stated purpose of improving digestion. Fortified wine, liqueurs, and dry champagne are common apéritifs. Because apéritifs are served before dining, they are usually dry rather than sweet. One example is Cinzano, a brand of vermouth. Digestifs include brandy, fortified wines and herb-infused spirits (Drambuie).

Flavoring.

Pure ethanol tastes bitter to humans; some people also describe it as sweet. However, ethanol is also a moderately good solvent for many fatty substances and essential oils. This facilitates the use of flavoring and coloring compounds in alcoholic drinks as a taste mask, especially in distilled drinks. Some flavors may be naturally present in the beverage's raw material. Beer and wine may also be flavored before fermentation, and spirits may be flavored before, during, or after distillation. Sometimes flavor is obtained by allowing the beverage to stand for months or years in oak barrels, usually made of American or French oak. A few brands of spirits may also have fruit or herbs inserted into the bottle at the time of bottling.  Wine is important in cuisine not just for its value as an accompanying beverage, but as a flavor agent, primarily in stocks and braising, since its acidity lends balance to rich savory or sweet dishes. Wine sauce is an example of a culinary sauce that uses wine as a primary ingredient. Natural wines may exhibit a broad range of alcohol content, from below 9% to above 16% ABV, with most wines being in the 12.5–14.5% range. Fortified wines (usually with brandy) may contain 20% alcohol or more.

Alcohol measurement.

Alcohol concentration.

The concentration of alcohol in a beverage is usually stated as the percentage of alcohol by volume (ABV, the number of milliliters (ml) of pure ethanol in 100 ml of beverage) or as "proof". In the United States, "proof" is twice the percentage of alcohol by volume at 60 degrees Fahrenheit (e.g. 80 proof = 40% ABV). "Degrees proof" were formerly used in the United Kingdom, where 100 degrees proof was equivalent to 57.1% ABV. Historically, this was the most dilute spirit that would sustain the combustion of gunpowder.  Ordinary distillation cannot produce alcohol of more than 95.6% by weight, which is about 97.2% ABV (194.4 proof) because at that point alcohol is an azeotrope with water. A spirit which contains a very high level of alcohol and "does not contain any added flavoring" is commonly called a neutral spirit. Generally, any distilled alcoholic beverage of 170 US proof or higher is considered to be a neutral spirit.  Most yeasts cannot reproduce when the concentration of alcohol is higher than about 18%, so that is the practical limit for the strength of fermented drinks such as wine, beer, and sake. However, some strains of yeast have been developed that can reproduce in solutions of up to 25% ABV.

Serving measures.

Shot sizes.

Shot sizes vary significantly from country to country. In the United Kingdom, serving size in licensed premises is regulated under the Weights and Measures Act (1985). A single serving size of spirits (gin, whisky, rum, and vodka) are sold in 25 ml or 35 ml quantities or multiples thereof. Beer is typically served in pints (568 ml), but is also served in half-pints or third-pints. In Israel, a single serving size of spirits is about twice as much, 50 or 60 mL.  The shape of a glass can have a significant effect on how much one pours. A Cornell University study of students and bartenders' pouring showed both groups pour more into short, wide glasses than into tall, slender glasses. Aiming to pour one shot of alcohol (1.5 ounces or 44.3 ml), students on average poured 45.5 ml & 59.6 ml (30% more) respectively into the tall and short glasses. The bartenders scored similarly, on average pouring 20.5% more into the short glasses. More experienced bartenders were more accurate, pouring 10.3% less alcohol than less experienced bartenders. Practice reduced the tendency of both groups to over pour for tall, slender glasses but not for short, wide glasses. These misperceptions are attributed to two perceptual biases: (1) Estimating that tall, slender glasses have more volume than shorter, wider glasses; and (2) Over focusing on the height of the liquid and disregarding the width.

Standard drinks.

A standard drink is a notional drink that contains a specified amount of pure alcohol. The standard drink is used in many countries to quantify alcohol intake. It is usually expressed as a measure of beer, wine, or spirits. One standard drink always contains the same amount of alcohol regardless of serving size or the type of alcoholic beverage. The standard drink varies significantly from country to country. For example, it is 7.62 ml (6 grams) of alcohol in Austria, but in Japan it is 25 ml (19.75 grams).

Laws.

Alcohol laws regulate the manufacture, packaging, labelling, distribution, sale, consumption, blood alcohol content of motor vehicle drivers, open containers, and transportation of alcoholic drinks. Such laws generally seek to reduce the adverse health and social impacts of alcohol consumption. In particular, alcohol laws set the legal drinking age, which usually varies between 16 and 25 years, sometimes depending upon the type of drink (e.g., beer vs. hard liquor). Some countries do not have a legal drinking or purchasing age, but most countries set the minimum age at 18 years. Such laws may take the form of permitting distribution only to licensed stores, monopoly stores, or pubs and they are often combined with taxation, which serves to reduce the demand for alcohol (by raising its price) and it is a form of revenue for governments. These laws also often limit the hours or days (e.g., "blue laws") on which alcohol may be sold or served, as can also be seen in the "last call" ritual in US and Canadian bars, where bartenders and servers ask patrons to place their last orders for alcohol, due to serving hour cutoff laws. In some countries, alcohol cannot be sold to a person who is already intoxicated. Alcohol laws in many countries prohibit drunk driving.  In some jurisdictions, alcoholic drinks are totally prohibited for reasons of religion (e.g., Islamic countries with sharia law) or for reasons of local option, public health, and morals (e.g., Prohibition in the United States from 1920 to 1933). In jurisdictions which enforce sharia law, the consumption of alcoholic drinks is an illegal offense, although such laws may exempt non-Muslims.

An alcoholic drink (or alcoholic beverage) is a drink that contains the recreational drug ethanol, a type of alcohol produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The consumption of alcohol plays an important social role in many cultures. Most countries have laws regulating the production, sale, and consumption of alcoholic beverages. Some countries ban such activities entirely, but alcoholic drinks are legal in most parts of the world. The global alcoholic drink industry exceeded $1 trillion in 2018.

Alkoholické nápoje jsou nápoje, obsahující přes 0,75 objemových procent ethanolu. Legislativně je alkoholický nápoj definován jako „nápoj obsahující více než 0,5 % objemových ethanolu“. Jejich požití způsobuje opilost: v menších dávkách (v závislosti na metabolismu jedince) uvolnění a euforické stavy, nebo pocity napětí, ve větších dávkách útlum, nevolnost až otravu.


Rune poems.

Tiwaz is mentioned in all three rune poems. In the Icelandic and Norwegian poems, the rune is associated with the god Týr.

Usage.

Ancient.

Multiple Tiwaz runes.

Multiple Tiwaz runes either stacked atop one another to resemble a tree-like shape, or repeated after one another, appear several times in Germanic paganism:

Poetic Edda.

According to the runologist Lars Magnar Enoksen, the Tiwaz rune is referred to in a stanza in "Sigrdrífumál", a poem in the "Poetic Edda".  "Sigrdrífumál" tells that Sigurd has slain the dragon Fafnir and arrives at a fortress of shields on top of a mountain which is lit by great fires. In the fortress, he finds an enchanted sleeping valkyrie whom he wakes by cutting open her corslet with his sword. The grateful valkyrie, Sigrdrífa, offers him the secrets of the runes in return for delivering her from the sleep, on condition that he shows that he has no fear. She begins by teaching him that if he wants to achieve victory in battle, he is to carve "victory runes" on his sword and twice say the name "Týr" - the name of the Tiwaz rune.

Name in Futhorc.

Futhorc manuscripts give different names to the t-rune. Sangallensis 270 (9th century) and Vindobonensis 795 (9th century) call the rune "Ti", while Cotton MS Domitian A IX (10th century?) calls it "Tir", and the Byrhtferth's Manuscript (12th century) calls it "Tyr". Ti may be an uninflected form of the possessive "Tiwes" as found in "Tiwesdæg", which would make it the name of an English god. Similar spellings of this god's name (such as Tii) are attested to in Old English.  It is possible that Ti was an older name for the rune, but was changed to Tir/Tyr. If such a change occurred, it may have been due to Norse or Christian influence. Supporting the Norse hypothesis is the fact that the Norse called their t-rune "Tyr". Supporting the Christian hypothesis is the fact that the English rune poem seems to indicate that "Tir" is some kind of celestial body, implying that the rune's name may have been slightly altered so that it would no longer be the name of a heathen god. However, even if the Christian hypothesis were true, there is reason to believe this celestial body was the planet Mars, meaning the rune would still be indirectly named after the same god.

Modern.

Germanic neopaganism.

The Týr rune is commonly used by Germanic neopagans to symbolize veneration of the god Týr.

Usage in Nazism and Neo-Nazism.

The Týr rune in Guido von List's Armanen Futharkh was based on the version found in the Younger Futhark. List's runes were later adopted and modified by Karl Maria Wiligut, who was responsible for their adoption by the Nazis, and they were subsequently widely used on insignia and literature during the Third Reich. It was the badge of the Sturmabteilung training schools, the "Reichsführerschulen" in Nazi Germany.  In Neo-Nazism it has appeared, together with the Sowilo rune, in the emblem of the Kassel-based think tank Thule Seminar. It has also appeared as the former logo of the fashion label Thor Steinar, which was banned in Germany over resemblance to SS officer uniforms, and the Scandinavia-based Nordic Resistance Movement which uses the symbol onto a diamond with stripes (in the same shape as the Hitlerjugend flag) in green, white, and black. (It might also be noted that both these uses were technically incorrect, since both "Thor" and "Thule" would be spelled with a thurisaz, ᚦ, rune.) The symbol was one of the numerous Nazi/neo-Nazi and fascist symbols/slogans used by the perpetrator of the Christchurch mosque shootings Brenton Harrison Tarrant alongside the Black Sun, the Othala/Odal rune, the Celtic Cross, the Kolovrat swastika, the Fourteen Words, and the Archangel Michael's Cross of the pro-Nazi Romanian organization Iron Guard.

Olympics.

In 2018 the symbol was incorporated on the sweaters of the 2018 Norwegian Alpine ski team.

The "t"-rune is named after Týr, and was identified with this god. The reconstructed Proto-Germanic name is *Tîwaz or *Teiwaz. Tiwaz rune was a ideographic symbol for a spear.

Teiwaz je sedmnáctá runa germánského futharku prostého. Vyslovuje se jako české T. Její název odpovídá jednomu z Týrových jmen. Vztahuje se k boji, vítězství a ochraně. Dále symbolizuje rozhodnost, čest, sílu vůle a vitalitu. Používá se v amuletech. Pomáhá k vítězstvím – ve sportu, v obchodu, v životě... V Teiwazu někteří vidí tajemnou "geir's-odd" (oštěpovou runu), kterou si stárnoucí bojovníci vyřezávali do vlastního masa, aby se jim otevřela cesta do Valhally. Runa byla často nalezena na anglických pohřebních urnách. Na jedné z uren byla nalezena spolu se svastikou, prastarým germánským symbolem. Padne-li Teiwaz při věštění, signalizuje obecný úspěch a štěstí v legálních záležitostech. Tazateli zajišťuje čest, spravedlnost, vůdcovství a autoritu. Runa má vztah k Týrovi.


Geography.

Wolfsburg is located at the Southern edge of the ancient river valley of the Aller at the Mittellandkanal ("Midland Canal"). It is bordered by the districts of Gifhorn and Helmstedt.

Climate.

The total annual precipitation is about which is quite low as it belongs to the lowest tenth of the measured data in Germany. Only 7% of all observation stations of the Deutscher Wetterdienst ("German Weather Service") record lower measurements. The driest month is October, most precipitation is measured in June where observation stations measure 1.9 times more precipitation than in October. Precipitation hardly diversifies and is constantly distributed all over the year. Only 17% of observation stations measure lower annual deviation.

History.

The castle "Wolfsburg" was first mentioned in 1302 in a document as the domicile of the noble lineage of Bartensleben. Originally a keep next to the Aller, it was protected by a moat some centuries later. In 1372, the first documentary reference to the Burg Neuhaus ("castle of Neuhaus") near Wolfsburg appeared. After the extinction of the Bartensleben line in 1742, the property and its Schloss Wolfsburg ("Wolfsburg Castle") passed on to the Earls of the Schulenburg. The communal manor was an important employer for the nearby settlements "Rothenfelde" and "Heßlingen".  Some of today's urban districts, including "Heßlingen", belonged to the Duke of Magdeburg during the 18th century. In 1932, these districts were detached from the Prussian province Saxony and integrated in the administrative district of Lüneburg belonging to Hannover.  Other urban districts, like "Vorsfelde" and the villages transferred to Wolfsburg from the county of Helmstedt, belonged to the later Duke of Braunschweig ("Brunswick") for centuries. "Fallersleben" and other villages belonged to the Electorate of Braunschweig - Lüneburg or the Kingdom of Hanover.  Wolfsburg was founded on 1 July 1938 as the Stadt des KdF-Wagens bei Fallersleben (), a planned town centred around the village of Fallersleben, built to house workers of the Volkswagen ("people's car") factories erected to assemble the Volkswagen Beetle.  During World War II military cars, aeroplanes, and other military equipment were built there, mainly by forced workers and POWs.. In 1942, German authorities established the Arbeitsdorf concentration camp in the city for a few months. A minimum of six individuals died while working at this camp.  At the urging of the British occupying power, the city was renamed as Wolfsburg on 25 May 1945, after the eponymous castle located there. In 1951, Wolfsburg was separated from the District of Gifhorn, and became an urban district.  In 1955 the one-millionth VW Beetle was manufactured in Wolfsburg. Postwar Beetle production ended in Wolfsburg in 1974, though German Beetle production continued in Emden until 1978. The factories in Wolfsburg remain a key part of Volkswagen's production capacity.  During the German economic miracle Wolfsburg experienced a large influx of immigrant workers, especially from Italy.  In 1958 the city hall was built. In 1960 the Volkswagenwerk GmbH (limited partnership with a limited liability) was changed into an AG (public limited company).  In the course of a land reform in Lower Saxony in 1972, 20 localities were added to the city through the "Wolfsburg-Act". Wolfsburg gained the status of major city with nearly 131,000 inhabitants. The city's area grew from 35 to nearly 204 square kilometers. In 1973, the city's population peaked at 131,971.  In 1982 the A39, a side road of the A2 (Oberhausen - Hannover - Werder), was built as a direct freeway to Wolfsburg.  In 1988, the city became a university town with the establishment of the University of Applied Science Braunschweig/Wolfenbüttel. Today its name is Ostfalia University of Applied Science.  As a launch promotion for the 5th generation of the Volkswagen Golf the city of Wolfsburg welcomed visitors on the internet, on the official stationery, and on every city limit sign with the name "Golfsburg" from 25 August to 10 October 2003. This campaign gained the nationwide attention of press, radio, and TV broadcasting.  In the summer of 2009, Wolfsburg gained nationwide attention when their football team, VfL Wolfsburg, won the German football league. A party was held in the city centre with about 100,000 people, and was a first in the history of the city.

Culture and attractions.

The centre of Wolfsburg is unique in Germany. Instead of a medieval town center, Wolfsburg features a new and modern attraction called the Autostadt. The old part of the town Alt Wolfsburg shows some manor buildings in traditional framework style. Atop a hill by the River Aller is the Wolfsburg Castle.  The Autostadt is an open-air museum-theme park dedicated to automobiles owned and operated by Volkswagen. In the center of the park are the pavilions featuring Volkswagen's major brands: Volkswagen and Audi to the north, further south are SEAT, Škoda Auto, Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti and the Premium Clubhouse. Right next to the lagoon is the Porsche pavilion. The striking Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles pavilion is in the south-east of the park. The Autostadt also includes: a planetarium; a Ritz-Carlton hotel; the Phaeno Science Center, the largest hands-on science museum in Germany; a water skiing resort; and a private art museum (Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg) specialised in modern and contemporary art.  Another major attraction is the Wolfsburg Water Show, the world's largest water-flame-laser-video fountain show with its up to 70 meter high fountains.

Population development.

From about 1,000 inhabitants in 1938, the population of the city increased to 25,000 in 1950 and doubled to 50,000 until 1958. On 1 July 1972, the population of Wolfsburg first went beyond the mark of 100,000 because of the suburbanization of several villages which made Wolfsburg a major city. In 1973, the population reached its highest level: 131,971. At the end of December 2010, 121,451 people were registered with their principal residence in Wolfsburg. Until the end of 2012, this number climbed to 123,144.

Organization.

The city of Wolfsburg is organized into 40 districts. One or more districts make up one of the total of 16 localities which are represented by their own councils. Every council has a local official as its mayor.  First the councils were only established in the 11 localities suburbanized in 1972. They partly took over the functions of the former town councils of each of the districts. In 1991 and 2001 some of the localities were split into smaller areas so that today there are 16 localities, each with its own council which are directly voted by the citizens.  The only exception from this organization is the Allerpark ("Aller Park"), a local recreation area surrounding the Allersee lake, and the area of the Volkswagen factory which are both located in the central city area.  The administrative area of Wolfsburg includes six nature reserves. Five of them are located in the ancient Aller river valley.

Politics.

Head of the young "Stadt des KdF-Wagens" became the government assessor Karl Bock on enactment #145 of the chief president of the government of Lüneburg effective from 1 July 1938. His followers were also deployed by the government.  In 1946, the military government of the British zone of occupation established a communal constitution following the British example. After this, citizens voted for a council which elected a volunteer mayor/ lord mayor as the city's leader and representative. After 1946, the council elected a full-time director to lead the city council. In 2001, the city council's dual leadership was abolished. It is led by a full-time lord mayor who is also the city's representative, Klaus Mohrs. Since 2001, citizens directly elect the lord mayor. The council still has its own chairperson elected by the council's constitutive conference after every local election.  The city has been described as a “social democratic utopia”.

City council.

The city council is made up of the fractions of the different parties (47 seats) and the lord mayor with one seat. The lord mayor is head of administration, thus the superior of all employees of the city council. The lord mayor is supported by four departmental heads that are voted by the council on his proposal. Together, they make up the board of directors of the city administration where the most important decisions concerning administration are deliberated weekly.  Results of the local elections on 11 September 2011:  Voter participations: 49.4%.

Emblems.

Wolfsburg's emblem shows a silver two-tower castle with a closed gate on red ground over a green base with silver waved timbers. A golden wolf with a blue tongue paces over the castle's battlement. The city's flag is green and white.  Lower Saxony's Department of the Interior awarded the city of Wolfsburg's emblem in 1952 after it had been constituted in the association articles in 1947. In 1961, it was improved heraldically and newly awarded by the governmental executive committee of Lüneburg. The symbols of the wolf and the castle reflect the city's name (canting arm) and do not have a historical, directly conveyed reference. The flag was adopted in 1955.  Volkswagen used a modified version of the Wolfsburg coat of arms as its steering wheel emblem, (and occasionally as a hood ornament, on classic Beetles) until the early 1980s, when it was replaced by the VW roundel.

Regional authorities.

The city of Wolfsburg is a member of the association Braunschweigische Landschaft e.V. with a registered office in Braunschweig and in the Lüneburgischen Landschaftsverband e.V. with a registered office in Uelzen. These associations were founded to foster cultural establishments of the regions.

Sport.

The most famous professional sports club in the city is VfL Wolfsburg, established in 1945. The men's football team won the Bundesliga in 2009, the DFB Pokal in 2015 and the DFL-Supercup in 2015. The women's football team has been even more successful, winning the Bundesliga in 2013 and 2014 as well as the DFB-Pokal in 2013 and 2015. The women's team has also succeeded in winning the UEFA Women's Champions League in two consecutive years, 2013 and 2014.  Wolfsburg is also the home of the ice hockey team Grizzlys Wolfsburg, which since 2007 has made it to a leading position in the German ice-hockey league.  Also based in city is the tennis tournament Volkswagen Challenger, which has been held annually in Wolfsburg since 1993.

International relations.

Twin towns - sister cities.

Wolfsburg is twinned with:  Wolfsburg has relationships with:

Wolfsburg (,, ) is the fifth largest city in the German state of Lower Saxony, located on the Aller River. It lies about east of Hanover and west of Berlin.

Wolfsburg je město na východě spolkové země Dolní Sasko v Německu, které leží na řece Aller severovýchodně od Braunschweigu. Bylo založeno 26. května 1938 nedaleko zámku Wolfsburgu jako sídlo automobilky Volkswagen. Do roku 1945 neslo název "Stadt des KdF-Wagens bei Fallersleben" ("Město vozů KdF u Fallerslebenu"). V roce 1972 překonal Wolfsburg hranici 100 000 obyvatel a v současnosti se jedná o 61. největší město Německa a 5. největší město Dolního Saska.


Meaning.

Nagykörút is actually a colloquial name of its five parts which connect to each other: (from north to south) Szent István körút, Teréz körút, Erzsébet körút, József körút and Ferenc körút; these are the names the traveller will find on the map and the buildings. Nagykörút is usually meant to include its Pest part (i.e., the east side of the Danube), but it might be applied to its extension on the Buda side as well (in this latter sense, Margit körút will be its sixth part).

Location.

It consists of a 35- to 40-metre-wide, about 4.5-kilometre-long road (not counting the bridge and the Buda side) with a tram line in the middle. It crosses a few major squares such as Nyugati tér, Oktogon and Blaha Lujza tér, basic points of reference for the locals. The four major roads which cross it are Váci út (north), Andrássy Avenue (northeast; part of the World Heritage), Rákóczi út (east) and Üllői út (southeast).

Features, notable spots.

On the Nagykörút one can find (from north to south) the Comedy Theatre ("Vígszínház", 1896), Western Railway Station ("Nyugati pályaudvar", 1877, built by Gustave Eiffel's team), Radisson Blu Béke Hotel (1913), Corinthia Hotel Budapest (former Grand Hotel Royal, 1896), the New York Café, today Boscolo Budapest Hotel (1894), and the Art Nouveau palace of the Museum of Applied Arts (1896). Among the modern landmarks are the Skála Metró shopping centre (1984) and the WestEnd City Center, a shopping mall (1999). Beside them, there are many small and bigger shops, stores on its either side, and mostly turn-of-the-century residential buildings above them.

Transport.

Metros.

The four metro lines have five stations on Nagykörút, at the junctions of the above four roads: (from north to south) Nyugati pályaudvar (M3), Oktogon (M1), Blaha Lujza tér (M2), Rákóczi tér (M4) and Corvin-negyed (M3 again).

4 and 6 trams.

A characteristic vehicle of the Grand Boulevard is the tram no. 4 and 6, reaching Buda both in north (Széll Kálmán tér) and south Újbuda-központ (line 4) and Móricz Zsigmond körtér (line 6). The line dates back to 1887 and it has since extended to 8.5 km in length and 21 stations to become the busiest tram line of Europe, carrying 200,000 travellers a day. (The routes of tram lines 4 and 6 differ only in their last two stops in the south.)  Its trams (no. 4 and 6), a unique type in Budapest, have been replaced by low-floor Siemens Combino Supra vehicles, the longest in Europe (54 m), after July 1, 2006. Tram stations were elevated and in places widened and modernized, ramps added, the electric cables renovated and some rail sections replaced during the reconstruction, which cost altogether 3.4 billion forints.

Further ring roads in Budapest.

There are three further ring roads in Budapest:

Nagykörút or Grand Boulevard (sometimes "Great Boulevard", lit. "Big Ring Road") is one of the most central and busiest parts of Budapest, a major thoroughfare built by 1896, Hungary's Millennium. It forms a semicircle connecting two bridges of the Danube, Margaret Bridge on the north and Petőfi Bridge on the south. Usually the part inside and around this semicircle is counted as the city centre of Budapest (see Belváros).

Nagykörút, což je doslova v překladu do češtiny Velký bulvár, je významná třída v Budapešti. Nagykörút obchází historické centrum pešťské strany města, a to po půlkruhu. Je dlouhý 4,5 km, průměrná šířka ulice činí 35 až 40 m. Vznikl v roce 1896 na počest oslav tisíciletí od příchodu Maďarů do Uherské nížiny; v souvislosti s jeho budováním padlo mnoho domů. S Budínem je spojen na severu Markétiným mostem "(Margit híd)" a na jihu Petőfiho mostem "(Petőfi híd)". Obvykle je považován za hranici centra města.


Manuscript sources.

The poem in its various written forms was lost by the end of the 16th century, but manuscripts from as early as the 13th century were re-discovered during the 18th century. There are thirty-seven known manuscripts of the "Nibelungenlied" and its variant versions. Eleven of these manuscripts are essentially complete. The oldest version seems to be the one preserved in manuscript "B". Twenty-four manuscripts are in various fragmentary states of completion, including one version in Dutch (manuscript 'T').  The text contains approximately 2,400 stanzas in 39 "Aventiuren". The

Synopsis.

The famous opening of the "Nibelungenlied" is actually thought to be an addition by the editor of the "C" version of the "Nibelungenlied", as it does not appear in the oldest manuscripts. It may have been inspired by the prologue of the "Nibelungenklage".  The original version instead began with the introduction of Kriemhild, the protagonist of the work.  The epic is divided into two parts, the first dealing with the story of Siegfried and Kriemhild, the wooing of Brünhild and the death of Siegfried at the hands of Hagen, and Hagen's hiding of the Nibelung treasure in the Rhine (Chapters 1–19). The second part deals with Kriemhild's marriage to Etzel, her plans for revenge, the journey of the Burgundians to the court of Etzel, and their last stand in Etzel's hall (Chapters 20–39).

Siegfried and Kriemhild.

The first chapter introduces the court of Burgundy. Kriemhild (the virgin sister of King Gunther, and his brothers Gernot and Giselher) has a dream of a falcon that is killed by two eagles. Her mother interprets this to mean that Kriemhild's future husband will die a violent death, and Kriemhild consequently resolves to remain unmarried.  The second chapter tells of the background of Siegfried, crown prince of Xanten. His youth is narrated with little room for the adventures later attributed to him. In the third chapter, Siegfried arrives in Worms with the hopes of wooing Kriemhild. Upon his arrival, Hagen von Tronje, one of King Gunther's vassals, tells Gunther about Siegfried's youthful exploits that involved winning a treasure and lands from a pair of brothers, Nibelung and Schilbung, whom Siegfried had killed when he was unable to divide the treasure between them and, almost incidentally, the killing of a dragon. Siegfried leaves his treasure in the charge of a dwarf named Alberich.  After killing the dragon, Siegfried then bathed in its blood which rendered him invulnerable except

Kriemhild's revenge.

Kriemhild swears to take revenge for the murder of her husband and the theft of her treasure. Many years later, King Etzel of the Huns (Attila the Hun) proposes to Kriemhild, she journeys to the land of the Huns, and they are married. For the baptism of their son, she invites her brothers, the Burgundians, to a feast at Etzel's castle in Hungary. Hagen does not want to go, suspecting that it is a trick by Kriemhild in order to take revenge and kill them all, but is taunted until he does. As the Burgundians cross the Danube, this fate is confirmed by Nixes, who predict that all but one monk will die. Hagen tries to drown the monk in order to render the prophecy futile, but he survives.  The Burgundians arrive at Etzel's castle and are welcomed by Kriemhild "with lying smiles and graces." But the lord Dietrich of Bern, an ally of Etzel's, advises the Burgundians to keep their weapons with them at all times, which is normally not allowed. The tragedy unfolds as Kriemhild comes before Hagen, reproaching him for her husband Siegfried's death, and demands that he return her "Nibelungenschatz". Not only did Hagen humiliate

Authorship and dating.

The "Nibelunglied", like other Middle High German heroic epics, is anonymous. This anonymity extends to discussions of literature in other Middle High German works: although it is common practice to judge or praise the poems of others, no other poet refers to the author of the "Nibelungenlied". Attempts to identify the "Nibelungenlied"-poet with known authors, such as Bligger von Steinach, to whom a lost epic is attributed by Gottfried von Strassburg, have not found wide acceptance. The poem is nevertheless believed to have had a single author, possibly working in a "Nibelungen workshop" ("Nibelungenwerkstatt") together with the author of the "Nibelungenklage". The latter work identifies a "meister Konrad" as the author of an original Latin version of the "Nibelungenlied", but this is generally taken for a fiction. Although a single "Nibelungenlied"-poet is often posited, the degree of variance in the text and its background in an amorphous oral tradition mean that ideas of authorial intention must be applied with caution. It is also possible that there were several poets involved, perhaps under the direction of a single "leader" who could be considered the ""Nibelungenlied"-poet".  The "Nibelungenlied" is conventionally dated to around 1200: Wolfram von Eschenbach references the cook Rumolt, usually taken as an invention of the "Nibelungenlied"-poet, in his "Parzival" (c. 1204/5), giving a date by which the epic must have been composed. Additionally, the poem's rhyming technique most closely resembles that used between 1190 and 1205. Attempts to show that the poem alludes to various historical events have generally not

Form and style.

The language of the "Nibelungenlied" is characterized by its formulaic nature, a feature of oral poetry: this means that similar or identical words, epithets, phrases, even lines can be found in various positions throughout the poem. These elements can be used flexibly for different purposes in the poem. As the "Nibelungenlied" is generally thought to have been conceived as a written work, these elements are typically taken as signs of "fictive orality" ("fingierte Mündlichkeit") that underscore the connection of the poem to its traditionally oral subject matter.  The "Nibelungenlied" is written in four-line stanzas. Although no melody has survived for the text, melodies for similar stanzas in other German heroic poems have, so that it is certain that the text was meant to be sung. The stanza consists of three "Langzeilen" (long lines), which consist of three metrical feet, a caesura, and three metrical feet following the caesura. The fourth line adds an additional foot following the caesura, making it longer than the other three and marking the end of the stanza. The final word before the caesura is typically female (a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable), whereas the final word of a line is typical male (a stressed syllable). The lines rhyme in pairs, and occasionally there are internal rhymes between the words at the end of the caesura, as in the first stanza (see #Synopsis). Victor Millet prints the poem's sixth stanza as an example of the metrical form. An acute accent indicates the stressed beat of a metrical foot, and || indicates the caesura:  <poem> "Ze Wórmez bí dem Ríne" || "si wónten mít ir kráft." "in díente vón ir lánden" || "vil stólziu ríterscáft" "mit lóbelíchen éren" || "unz án ir éndes zít." "si stúrben sit jǽmerlíche" || "von zwéier édelen

Origins.

Historical origins and development of the saga.

Behind "Nibelungenlied" stands a large oral tradition, the so-called Nibelungen saga. This oral tradition, moreover, continued to exist following the composition of the "Nibelungenlied", as proven by the "Rosengarten zu Worms" and "Das Lied vom Hürnen Seyfrid", both of which were written later than the "Nibelungenlied" but contain elements of the saga that are absent in it. These oral traditions have, at least in some cases, a historical core. However, various historical events and figures have been melded together into a single plot in such a way that the original historical context has been lost. The epic, and presumably the oral traditions that provided its material, have transformed historical events into relatively simple narrative schemas that can be compared with other, similar (originally) oral narratives from other cultures. What

The "Nibelungenlied"-poet's reworking of the saga.

When composing the "Nibelungenlied", its poet was faced with setting an oral tradition down into a definitive version although that tradition was by its very nature amorphous. In choosing which elements of the saga to include in his version, the poet therefore often incorporated two versions of an event that were likely not combined in the oral tradition. An example is the beginning of the fighting in Etzel's hall, which is motivated both by 1) an attack on the Burgundians' supplies; 2) Hagen's killing of prince Ortlieb. The Old Norse "Thidrekssaga", which is based on German sources, contains only the second element, meaning that the two motivations were likely variants that were hardly ever combined in practice. Victor Millet concludes that the poet deliberately doubles the motivations or occurrences of various events, including Siegfried's wooing of Kriemhild, the deception of Brünhild, Hagen's humiliation of Kriemhild, and Kriemhild's demand for the return of Nibelungen treasure.  The poet also appears to have significantly altered various aspects of the saga. Most significantly, the poet has suppressed the mythological or fantastical elements of

Medieval influence and reception.

With 36 manuscripts, the "Nibelungenlied" appears to have been one of the most popular works of the German Middle Ages and seems to have found a very broad audience. The poem is quoted by Wolfram von Eschenbach in his "Parzival" and "Willehalm" and likely inspired his use of stanzas in his unfinished "Titurel". The manuscript witnesses and medieval references to the "Nibelungenlied" show that medieval recipients were most interested in the "Nibelungenlied" as the story of the destruction of the Burgundians; the first half of the poem was often shortened or otherwise summarized. The Ambraser Heldenbuch titles its copy of the "Nibelungenlied" with "Ditz Puech heysset Chrimhilt" (this book is named "Kriemhild"), showing that she was seen as the most important character.  The areas of medieval interest seem in particular to have been the inescapability of the slaughter at the end of the poem and Kriemhild and Hagen's culpability or innocence. The earliest attested reception of the "Nibelungenlied", the "Nibelungenklage", which was likely written only shortly afterwards, shows an attempt both to make sense of the horror of the destruction and to absolve Kriemhild of blame. The C version of the "Nibelungenlied", redacted around the same time as the "Klage", shows a similar strategy. The presence of the "Nibelungenklage" in all manuscripts of

Modern reception.

After having been forgotten for two hundred years, the "Nibelungenlied" manuscript C was rediscovered by Jacob Hermann Obereit in 1755. That same year, Johann Jacob Bodmer publicized the discovery, publishing excerpts and his own reworkings of the poem. Bodmer dubbed the "Nibelungenlied" the "German "Iliad"" ("deutsche Ilias"), a comparison that skewed the reception of the poem by comparing it to the poetics of classical epic. Bodmer attempted to make the "Nibelungenlied" conform more closely to these principles in his own reworkings of the poem, leaving off the first part in his edition, titled "Chriemhilden Rache", in order to imitate the "in medias res" technique of Homer. He later rewrote the second part in dactylic hexameter under the title "Die Rache der Schwester" (1767). Bodmer's placement of the "Nibelungenlied" in the tradition of classical epic had a detrimental effect on its early reception: when presented with a full edition of the medieval poem by Christoph Heinrich Myller, King Frederick II famously called the "Nibelungenlied" "not worth a shot of powder" ("nicht einen Schuß Pulver werth"). Goethe was similarly unimpressed, and Hegel compared the epic unfavorably to Homer. The epic nevertheless had its supporters, such as August Wilhelm Schlegel, who called it a "great tragedy" ("große Tragödie") in a series of lectures from 1802/3. Many early supporters sought to distance German literature from French Classicism and belonged to artistic movements such as "Sturm und Drang".  As a consequence of the comparison of the "Nibelungenlied" to the "Iliad", the "Nibelungenlied" came to be seen as the German national epic in the earlier nineteenth century, particularly in the context of the Napoleonic Wars. The "Nibelungenlied" was supposed to embody German bourgeois virtues that the French were seen as lacking. This interpretation of the epic continued during the Biedermeier period, during which the heroic elements of the poem were mostly ignored in favor of those that could more easily be integrated into a bourgeois understanding of German virtue. The translation of Karl Simrock into modern German in 1827 was especially influential in popularizing the epic and remains influential today. Also notable from this period is the three-part dramatic tragedy "Die Nibelungen" by Friedrich Hebbel.  Following the founding of the German Empire, recipients began to focus more on the heroic aspects of the poem, with the figure of Siegfried in particular becoming an identifying figure for German nationalism. Especially important for this new understanding of the poem was Richard Wagner's operatic cycle "Der Ring des Nibelungen", which, however, was based almost entirely on the Old Norse versions of the Nibelung saga. Wagner's preference for the Old Norse versions followed a popular judgment of the time period: the Nordic versions were seen as being more "original" than the courtly story portrayed in the German poem. In the First World War, the alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary came to be described as possessing "Nibelungen-Treue" (Nibelungen loyalty), referring to the loyalty to death between Hagen and the Burgundians. While militaristic, the use of imagery from the "Nibelungenlied" remained optimistic in this period rather than focusing on the doom at the end of the epic.  The interwar period saw the "Nibelungenlied" enter the world of cinema in Fritz Lang's two part film "Die Nibelungen" (1924/1925), which tells the entire story of the poem. At the same time, the "Nibelungenlied" was heavily employed in anti-democratic propaganda following the defeat of Germany and Austria-Hungary: the epic supposedly showed that the German people were more well suited to a heroic, aristocratic form of life than democracy. The betrayal and murder of Siegfried was explicitly compared to the "stab in the back" that the German army had supposedly received. At the same time, Hagen and his willingness to sacrifice himself and fight to the death made him into a central figure in the reception of the poem. During the Second World War, Hermann Göring would explicitly use this aspect of the "Nibelungenlied" to celebrate the sacrifice of the German army at Stalingrad and compare the Soviets to Etzel's Asiatic Huns.  Postwar reception and adaptation of the poem, reacting to its misuse by the Nazis, is often parodic. At the same time, the poem continues to play a role in regional culture and history, particularly in Worms and other places mentioned in the "Nibelungenlied". Much discussion has centered on whether and how the epic ought to be taught in schools. The material of the Nibelungen saga has continued to inspire new adaptations. These include "Die Nibelungen", a German remake of Fritz Lang's film from 1966/67, and the television film "" from 2004. However, the majority of popular adaptations of the material today in film, computer games, comic books, etc., are not based on the medieval epic directly.  Outside of Germany, most reception of the Nibelungen material has taken place via Wagner, although the epic has been translated into English numerous times.

The'( or '), translated as The Song of the Nibelungs, is an epic poem written around 1200 in Middle High German. Its anonymous poet was likely from the region of Passau. The is based on an oral tradition that has some of its origin in historic events and individuals of the 5th and 6th centuries and that spread throughout almost all of Germanic-speaking Europe. Parallels to the German poem from Scandinavia are found especially in the heroic lays of the "Poetic Edda" and in the "Völsunga saga".

Píseň o Nibelunzích () je dvoudílný středověký hrdinský epos, který vznikl ve 13. století a je napsán tehdejším lidovým jazykem – střední horní němčinou. Píseň o Nibelunzích je napsána ve zpěvných slokách rozdělených do čtyř řádků, jejich melodii však není možno s jistotou zrekonstruovat. Epos se skládá ze dvou částí: v první části stojí ve středu pozornosti Siegfriedova vražda, ve druhé pak pomsta jeho manželky Kriemhildy. Děj se odehrává v okolí Burgundské říše na Rýně a také (ve druhém díle) v jižním Německu a kolem Dunaje v dnešním Rakousku a Maďarsku. Obě části díla se k sobě mají jako příčina a následek. Historickým jádrem tohoto eposu je zničení Burgundské říše u Wormsu v pozdní antice.


Performance history.

It was first performed by the Paris Opéra at the Salle Le Peletier on 3 August 1829, but within three performances cuts were being made and after a year only three acts were performed. The opera's length, roughly four hours of music, and casting requirements, such as the high range required for the tenor part, have contributed to the difficulty of producing the work. When performed, the opera is often cut. Performances have been given in both French and Italian. Political concerns have also contributed to the varying fortunes of the work.  In Italy, because the work glorified a revolutionary figure against authority, the opera encountered difficulties with the Italian censors, and the number of productions in Italy was limited. The Teatro San Carlo produced the opera in 1833, but then did not give another production for around 50 years. The first Venice production, at the Teatro La Fenice, was not until 1856. By contrast, in Vienna, in spite of censorship problems there, the Vienna Court Opera gave 422 performances over the years 1830–1907. As "Hofer, or the Tell of the Tyrol", the opera was first performed at Drury Lane in London on 1 May 1830 (in English), with a production in Italian following in 1839 at Her Majesty's, and in French at Covent Garden in 1845. In New York, "William Tell" was first presented on 19 September 1831. It was revived at the Metropolitan Opera in 1923 with Ponselle and Martinelli, and there were revivals during the 1930s in Milan, Rome, Paris, Berlin and Florence. When the opera was performed at Gran Teatre del Liceu (Barcelona) in 1893, an anarchist threw two Orsini bombs in the theatre.  In the later 20th century there were major productions in Florence (1972), Geneva (1979, 1991), La Scala (1988), Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (1989), Covent Garden (1990), and then Opéra Bastille (2003) as well as at the Sportspalace in Pesaro (lasting over 5 hours, 1995). In 2010 there was an important revival of the opera, when it opened the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia's season, under Antonio Pappano. This performance was of the French version, with some cuts to particularly the fourth act (which Pappano noted had been approved by Rossini himself). A live recording of this concert performance was released in 2011, and the production was transferred to The Proms in July of that year, with taking on the title role, Patricia Bardon as Hedwige, Nicolas Courjal as Gessler, and Mark Stone as Leuthold. The performance was very well reviewed, and marked the first full performance of the work in the history of the Proms.  A co-production by the Dutch National Opera and the Metropolitan Opera New York of the opera in the original French opened at the Met in October 2016 with Gerald Finley in the title role.  According to an anecdote, when an admirer told the composer that he had heard his opera the previous night, Rossini replied "What? The whole of it?". Another version of the story refers only to Act II. In 1864 Offenbach quoted the patriotic trio from Act 2, "Lorsque la Grèce est un champ de carnage" in "La Belle Hélène".

Overture.

The famous overture to the opera is often heard independently of the complete work. Its high-energy finale, "March Of The Swiss Soldiers," is particularly familiar through its use in the American radio and television shows of "The Lone Ranger." Several portions of the overture were used prominently in the films "A Clockwork Orange" and "The Eagle Shooting Heroes;" in addition, Dmitri Shostakovich quotes the main theme of the finale in the first movement of his 15th symphony. The overture has four parts, each linked to the next:

Instrumentation.

The instrumentation is:

Synopsis.

Act 1.

"By the shore of Lake Lucerne, at Bürglen in the canton of Uri"  It is the day of the Shepherd Festival, in May, near Lake Lucerne. The action opens on an idyllic scene, with the local peasants busily preparing chalets for three newly wedded couples, singing as they work ("Quel jour serein le ciel présage" – "What a serene day the sky foretells"). The fisherman, Ruodi, sings a gentle love song from his boat (to orchestral accompaniment from the harps and flutes). William Tell stands apart from the general merriment, however: he is consumed with "ennui" at Switzerland's continued oppression ("Il chante, et l'Helvétie pleure sa liberté" – "He sings, and Helvetia mourns her liberty"). His wife and son add their own interpretation of Ruodi's song, presaging the coming nautical dramas.  The activities are interrupted by the "ranz des vaches" resounding from the hills (often performed by off-stage horns, and echoing in its theme the "ranz de vaches" in the opera's overture). The horns also signal the arrival of Melchthal, a respected elder of the canton. He is persuaded by Hedwige to bless the couples at the celebration. However, his son Arnold, though of marriageable age, is not participating and is evidently uncomfortable. The entire on-stage cast sings in celebration ("Célebrons tous en ce beau jour, le travail, l'hymen et l'amour" – "Let all celebrate, on this glorious day, work, marriage and love"). Tell invites Melchthal into his chalet; before they move off, Melchthal chides his son for his failure to marry.  His father's rebuke provokes an outpouring of despair from Arnold: in his recitative we learn of his previous service in the forces of the Austrian rulers, his rescue of Mathilde from an avalanche, and the conflict between his love for her and his shame at serving the "perfidious power". Horn fanfares herald the approach of Gesler, the Austrian governor, whom the Swiss detest, and his entourage. Arnold moves off to greet their arrival, as Mathilde will accompany them, but is stopped by Tell. Inquiring as to where Arnold is going, Tell persuades him to consider joining the planned rebellion against the governor. The expressive duet in which this takes place again shows the tension Arnold feels between his love for Mathilde and the "fatherland" ("Ah! Mathilde, idole de mon âme!...Ô ma patrie, mon cœur te sacrifie..." – "Ah, Mathilde, idol of my soul...O my fatherland, my heart sacrifices to you..."). By the end of the exchange, Arnold is prepared to confront Gesler the moment he arrives; Tell persuades him to at least let the festival pass in peace, but knows he has gained a convert to the cause of freedom.  The villagers then reassemble, and Melchthal blesses the couples. The blessing is followed by singing, dancing and an archery contest that Tell's young son Jemmy wins with his first shot – a result of his "paternal heritage". It is Jemmy who notices the hurried approach of the pale, trembling and wounded shepherd, Leuthold, who killed one of Gesler's soldiers to defend his daughter and is fleeing the governor's forces. He seeks to escape to the opposite shore, but the cowardly Ruodi refuses to take him in his boat, fearing that the current and the rocks make approaching the opposite bank impossible. Tell returns from searching for the departed Arnold just in time: even as the soldiers approach, calling for Leuthold's blood, Tell takes Leuthold into the boat and out onto the water. Gesler's guards arrive, led by Rodolphe, who is further incensed by the villagers' prayers and their evident joy at the escape. Melchthal urges the villagers not to tell Rodolphe who it was who aided Leuthold, and is taken prisoner by the guards. As Rodolphe and the soldiers promise retribution ("Que du ravage, que du pillage sur ce rivage pèse l'horreur!"), Tell's family and friends take comfort in Tell's skills as an archer, which will surely save them.

Act 2.

"On the heights of Rütli, overlooking the Lake and the Cantons"  A hunting party of ladies and gentlemen, accompanied by soldiers, hears the sound of the shepherds returning from the hills as night approaches. Hearing the Governor's horns, they too take their leave. Mathilde, however, lingers, believing she has glimpsed Arnold in the vicinity. She is, like Arnold, anguished by the love she feels for her rescuer, and contemplates it as she sings ("Sombre forêt, désert triste et sauvage" – "Somber forest, sad and savage wilderness"). Arnold appears, and each confesses to the other their desire for this meeting. In their duet ("Oui, vous l'arrachez à mon âme" – "Yes, you wring from my soul"), they recognise their mutual passion, but also the obstacles they face. Urging him to "return to the fields of glory", Mathilde assures him of the eventual acceptability of his suit, and leaves at the approach of Tell and Walter. They question Arnold as to why he loves Mathilde, a member of the oppressing Austrians. Arnold, offended by their spying, declares his intention to continue fighting for the Austrians, and thus gain glory, rather than liberty. However, when Walter tells him that Gesler has executed his father Melchthal, Arnold vows revenge ("Qu'entends-je? ô crime!" – "What do I hear? O crime!").  As the three men affirm their dedication – "to independence or death" – they hear the sound of someone else approaching. It is the men of the canton of Unterwalden coming to join the fight, and describing their journey in a rather gentle refrain ("Nous avons su braver"). In quick succession, they are joined by the men of Schwyz ("En ces temps de malheurs") and Uri ("Guillaume, tu le vois"). The gathering is complete, and the tone and tempo of the finale rises as the men of the three cantons affirm their willingness to fight or die for the freedom of Switzerland ("Jurons, jurons par nos dangers" – "Let us swear, let us swear by our dangers"). Plans are made to arm the cantons and to rise up when "the beacons of vengeance burn".

Act 3.

"Scene 1: A ruined/deserted chapel in the Altdorf palace grounds"  Arnold has come to tell Mathilde that, instead of leaving for battle, he is staying to avenge his father, and thereby renouncing both glory and Mathilde. When he tells her that it was Gesler who had his father executed, she denounces his crime, and recognises the impossibility of their love ("Pour notre amour, plus d'espérance" – "All hope for our love has gone"). Hearing preparations for the coming festival in the palace grounds, they bid a fond farewell to each other ("Sur la rive étrangère" – "Though upon a foreign shore").  "Scene 2: The main square at Altdorf"  The day is the hundredth anniversary of Austrian rule in Switzerland. Soldiers sing of the glories of Gesler and the Emperor. In commemoration, Gesler has had his hat placed on top of a pole and the Swiss are ordered and then forced to pay homage to the hat. Gesler commands that there should be dancing and singing to mark the century during which the empire has "deigned to sustain [Swiss] weakness", and a variety of dances and choruses follow. Soldiers have noticed Tell and his son in the crowd, refusing to pay homage to the hat, and drag him forward. Rodolphe recognises him as the man who assisted in Leuthold's escape, and Gesler orders his arrest. In a complex choir and quartet, the soldiers express their hesitation at arresting this famed archer ("C'est là cet archer redoutable" – "It's that redoubtable archer"), Gesler forces them to act, and Tell urges Jemmy to flee, but he prefers to stay with his father.  Gesler notices the affection Tell has for his son, and has Jemmy seized. Inspired, he devises his test: Tell must shoot an arrow through an apple balanced on Jemmy's head – should he refuse, both of them will die. The assembled Swiss are horrified at this cruelty, but Jemmy urges his father to courage, and refuses to be tied up for the challenge. Resigned, Tell retrieves his bow from the soldiers, but takes two arrows from his quiver and hides one of them. He sings an anguished aria to Jemmy, instructing him ("Sois immobile" – "Stay completely still"), and the two separate. Finally, Tell draws his bow, shoots, and drives the arrow through the apple and into the stake. The people acclaim his victory, and Gesler is enraged. Noticing the second arrow, he demands to know what Tell intended for it. Tell confesses his desire to kill Gesler with the second arrow, and both he and Jemmy are seized for execution.  Mathilde enters and claims Jemmy in the name of the emperor, refusing to let a child die ("Vous ne l'obtiendrez pas" – "You will not have him"). Gesler announces his intention to take Tell across Lake Lucerne to the fort at Kusnac/Küssnacht, and there to throw him to the reptiles in the lake. Rodolphe expresses concern at attempting a journey on the lake in the storm, but Gesler intends to force Tell, an expert boatman, to pilot the vessel. They leave, amid conflicting cries of "Anathema on Gesler" from the people, and "Long live Gesler" from the soldiers.

Act 4.

"Scene 1: Old Melchthal's house" Arnold, aware of Tell's arrest, is dispirited, but, set on revenge, draws strength from being in his father's former home and sings a moving lament ("Ne m'abandonne point, espoir de la vengeance... Asile héréditaire..." – "Do not abandon me, hope of vengeance... Home of my forefathers"). Would-be "confederates" arrive, sharing and reinforcing his hope of vengeance. Revived, Arnold points them to the weapons cache that his father and Tell had prepared. Seeing the men armed, Arnold launches into the hugely demanding ("Amis, amis, secondez ma vengeance" – "Friends, friends, assist my vengeance"), replete with multiple and sustained top Cs. Resolved, they leave to storm Altdorf and free Tell.  "Scene 2: The rocky shore of Lake Lucerne"  Hedwige is wandering by the lake, distraught. She tells the other women she intends to beg Gesler for Tell's life. In the distance, she hears Jemmy calling. Her son enters, along with Mathilde, whom Hedwige entreats for assistance. In some versions, Mathilde, Jemmy and Hedwige sing a moving trio ("Je rends a votre amour un fils digne de vous" – "I return to your love a son worthy of you"). Jemmy tells his mother that Tell is no longer in Altdorf, but on the lake, at which point Hedwige begins precipitously to mourn ("Sauve Guillaume! Il meurt victime de son amour pour son pays" – "Save William! He dies a victim of his love for his country"). Leuthold arrives, telling the assembled villagers that the boat carrying Tell, Gesler and the soldiers is being driven towards the rocks by a storm that has broken over the lake – Leuthold believes that the chains have been removed from Tell's hands, so that he might pilot the boat to safety.  The boat pulls into view, and Tell jumps ashore before pushing the boat back. He is amazed to see his house burning in the distance. Jemmy tells him that, for want of a beacon, he set fire to their home but, before doing so, he retrieved his father's bow and arrows. Gesler and the soldiers come into view, intent on recapturing Tell, who kills Gesler with a single shot and the cry, "Let Switzerland breathe!" Walter and a group of confederates arrive, having seen the burning house. Tell informs them of Gesler's death, but cautions that Altdorf still stands. Arnold and his band enter, and break the happy news: they have taken Altdorf. Arnold sees Mathilde, who declares herself "disabused of false grandeur" and ready to join the fight for liberty at his side.  The clouds break, and the sun shines on a pastoral scene of wild beauty. The gathered Swiss fighters and women sing a paean to the magnificence of nature and the return of freedom in a lyrical C major ("Tout change et grandit en ces lieux... Liberté, redescends des cieux" – "Everything is changing and growing grander in this place... Liberty, descend again from heaven") as the "ranz des vaches" motif returns once again and finally.  During the Crimean War John MacLeod transcribed "La Tua Danza Sì Leggiera", a chorus part in the third act, to create the tune "The Green Hills of Tyrol", a well-known retreat march in the Scottish bagpipe tradition. The musician Andy Stewart added lyrics and the song in 1961 became a hit under the name "Scottish Soldier".

In popular culture.

Characters and scenes from the opera William Tell are recognisable on the court cards and Aces of William Tell cards, playing cards that were designed in Hungary around 1835. These cards spread across the Austro-Hungarian Empire and are still the most common German-suited playing cards in that part of the world today. Characters portrayed on the Obers and Unters include: Hermann Geszler, Walter Fürst, Rudolf Harras and William Tell.

References.

Notes  Sources

William Tell (, ) is a French-language opera in four acts by Italian composer Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Victor-Joseph Étienne de Jouy and L. F. Bis, based on Friedrich Schiller's play "William Tell," which, in turn, drew on the William Tell legend. The opera was Rossini's last, although he lived for nearly 40 more years. Fabio Luisi said that Rossini planned for "William Tell" to be his last opera even as he composed it. The often-performed overture in four sections features a depiction of a storm and a vivacious finale, the "March of the Swiss Soldiers."

Vilém Tell (v originále "Guillaume Tell", italsky "Guglielmo Tell") je název poslední opery Gioacchina Rossiniho z roku 1829, určené k provedení v Paříži. Předlohou k opeře bylo drama "Wilhelm Tell" německého básníka Friedricha Schillera. Autory libreta sepsaného ve francouzštině byli Étienne de Jouy a Hippolyte Bis za pomoci Armanda Marrasta a Adolpha Crémieuxe.