Description.

The stones are glacial erratic boulders composed of volcanic rock from the Borrowdale Volcanic Group. Both andesitic lavas and tuffs (volcanic ashes) are represented. Castle Rigg sits on a deposit of glacial till, and it is likely that the boulders were originally part of this deposit. The stones are set in a flattened circle, measuring 32.6 m (107 ft) at its widest and 29.5 m (97 ft) at its narrowest. The heaviest stone has been estimated to weigh around 16 tons and the tallest stone measures approximately 2.3m high. There is a 3.3m wide gap in its northern edge, which may have been an entrance. Within the circle, abutting its eastern quadrant, is a roughly rectangular setting of a further 10 stones. The circle was probably constructed around 3200 BC (Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age), making it one of the earliest stone circles in Britain and possibly in Europe. It is important to archaeoastronomers who have noted that the sunrise during the Autumn equinox appears over the top of Threlkeld Knott, a hill 3.5 km to the east. Some stones in the circle have been aligned with the midwinter sunrise and various lunar positions.  There is a tradition that it is impossible to count the number of stones within Castlerigg; every attempt will result in a different answer. This tradition, however, may not be far from the truth. Due to erosion of the soil around the stones, caused by the large number of visitors to the monument, several smaller stones have ‘appeared’ next to some of the larger stones. Because these stones are so small, they are likely to have been packing stones used to support the larger stones when the circle was constructed and would originally have been buried. Differences in opinion as to the exact number of stones within Castlerigg are usually down to whether the observer counts these small packing stones, or not; some count 38 and others, 42. The ‘official’ number of stones, as represented on the National Trust information board at the monument, is 40.  In the early 20th century, a single outlying stone was erected by a farmer approximately 90m to the south west of Castlerigg. This stone has many linear ‘scars’ along its side from being repeatedly struck by a plough, suggesting that it was once buried below the surface and also why the farmer dug it up. It is not possible to say whether this stone was originally part of the circle, or just a naturally deposited boulder.

Archaeological speculation.

The original motives behind the construction of Castlerigg, its subsequent uses, and how these may have changed over time are not known. Current thinking has linked Castlerigg with the Neolithic Langdale axe industry in the nearby Langdale fells: the circle may have been a meeting place where these axes were traded or exchanged. Ritually deposited stone axes have been found all over Britain, suggesting that their uses went far beyond their practical capabilities. Exchange or trading of stone axes may not have been possible without first taking part in a ritual or ceremony.

Antiquarian study of Castlerigg.

Two of Britain's earliest antiquarians, John Aubrey (1626–97) and William Camden (1551–1623), visited Cumbria with an interest in studying the area's megalithic monuments. Both described Long Meg and Her Daughters, another large stone circle, and recounted local legend and folklore associated with this monument, but neither writers mentions a visit to Castlerigg or the area around Keswick. John Aubrey was also the first writer to erroneously connect Neolithic and Bronze Age megalithic monuments with the Iron Age Druids.  It was not until the early 18th century that Castlerigg came to the attention of the wider public, when William Stukeley (1687–1765) visited the site, in 1725.  Stukeley's account of his visit to Castlerigg is brief and was published in his "Itinerarium Curiosum" in 1776, 11 years after his death. Stukeley's visit is important, as it is the earliest written record of the stone circle at Castlerigg:...for a mile before we came to Keswick, on an eminence in the middle of a great concavity of those rude hills, and not far from the banks of the river Greata, I observed another Celtic work, very intire: it is 100 foot in diameter, and consists of forty stones, some very large. At the east end of it is a grave, made of such other stones, in number about ten: this is placed in the very east point of the circle, and within it: there is not a stone wanting, though some are removed a little out of their first station: they call it the Carsles, and, corruptly I suppose, Castle-rig. There seemed to be another larger circle in the next pasture toward the town. (Stukeley 1969 Vol. II, 48). Stukeley could be describing the circle as it stands today, as it has changed little in the three centuries since his visit. The rectangular enclosure within the circle, that Stukeley took to be a grave, still consists of 10 stones. It is not clear, however, why Stukeley believed the circle was not missing a single stone. Today there are several large gaps in the circle, suggesting that a number of stones may have indeed been either moved into a different position (possibly after the stone had fallen or been removed completely). Of course, there is no certainty today as to the original appearance of the circle, or how much it may have changed in the preceding millennia, prior to Stukeley's visit. It is believed, however, that the circle survives today in a relatively intact state, changed certainly, but not so far from its original design.  Stukeley's observation of a second circle in the next field is a great revelation that places the stones at Castlerigg in a whole new light; that he fails to deliver a description demonstrates well the frustration felt by modern researchers when dealing with the works of antiquarians. This account could easily be dismissed today as pure fancy or it could be thought that he had mistakenly described a natural feature, as there is no evidence of it today, either above ground or in the observations of later scholars.

The 19th century.

The apparently unspoilt and seemingly timeless landscape setting of Castlerigg stone circle provided inspiration for the poets, painters and writers of the 19th century Romantic movement. In John Keats’ Hyperion the passage "“Scarce images of life, one here, one there,/Lay vast and edgeways; like a dismal cirque/Of Druid stones, upon a forlorn moor...“" is alleged to have been inspired by his visit to the stones; a visit, it seems, with which he was less than impressed. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in 1799, visited Castlerigg with William Wordsworth and wrote of it, that a mile and a half from Keswick stands "“...a Druidical circle" [where] "the mountains stand one behind the other, in orderly array as if evoked by and attentive to the assembly of white-vested wizards”".  An early description of Castlerigg stone circle can be found in the 1843 book The Wonders of the World in Nature, Art and Mind, by Robert Sears. In the passage quoted below, Sears also quotes an earlier description of the circle by Ann Radcliffe (Mrs. Radcliffe). The Druidical Circle, represented in the accompanying plate, is to be found on the summit of a bold and commanding eminence called Castle-Rigg, about a mile and a half on the old road, leading from Keswick, over the hills to Penrith,—a situation so wild, vast, and beautiful, that one cannot, perhaps, find better terms to convey an idea of it than by adopting the language of a celebrated female writer, (Mrs. Radclifle,) who, travelling over the same ground years ago, thus described the scene: ""Whether our judgment,"" she says, "" was influenced by the authority of a Druid's choice, or that the place itself commanded the opinion, we thought this situation the most severely grand of any hitherto passed. There is, perhaps, not a single object in the scene that interrupts the solemn tone of feeling impressed by its general character of profound solitude, greatness, and awful wildness. Castle-Rigg is the centre point of three valleys that dart immediately under it from the eye, and whose mountains form part of an amphitheatre, which is completed by those of Borrowdale on the west, and by the precipices of Skiddaw and Saddleback, close on the north. The hue which pervades all these mountains is that of dark heath or rock; they are thrown into every form and direction that fancy would suggest, and are at that distance which allows all their grandeur to prevail. Such seclusion and sublimity were indeed well suited to the dark and wild mysteries of the Druids."" Sears then continues his description: The one here represented is of the first, or simple class, and consists, at present, of about forty stones of different sizes, all, or most of them, of dark granite,— the highest about seven feet, several about four, and others considerably less ; the few fir-trees in the centre are, of course, of very modern growth. The form may, with more propriety, be called an oval, being thirty-five yards in one direction, and thirty-three yards in another, in which respect it assimilates exactly to that of Rollrich; but what distinguishes this from all other Druidical remains of a similar nature, is the rectangular enclosure on the eastward side of the circle, including a space of about eight feet by four. The object of this is a matter of conjecture ;—by some it is supposed to have been a sort of Holy of Holies where the Druids met, separated from the vulgar, to perform their rites, their divinations, or sit in council to determine controversies ; others consider it to have been for the purposes of burial; probably it might have been intended for both. The later 19th century saw an increase in research into Castlerigg stone circle. C W Dymond visited the circle in 1878 and 1881, from which visits he produced the first accurate plan of the stones. He marked the position of one of the internal cairns, showing that it was clearly visible at that time, but missed the other two cairns observed by Benjamin Williams in 1856 showing that these two features have never been clearly defined.  The only known archaeological excavation at Castlerigg was carried out by W K Dover in 1882, one year before the site was scheduled. His excavation targeted the internal rectangular enclosure at the eastern side of the circle and his account of his excavation is brief and hidden within details of a day trip to the circle on 5 October 1882, by members of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, which was published in 1883: Prior to the visit of the Society some excavations had been made under the superintendence of Mr. W Kinsey Dover, with the view of finding whether the subsoil would disclose anything that might lead to some conclusion as to the age or object of the circle. The following is Mr. Dover’s report: Length of inclosure within the Keswick stone circle, 22 feet, east and west; breadth, 11 feet, north and south. Length opened out, 18 feet to 19 feet; breadth, 3 feet 3 inches, with two cross cuts of about 2 feet. Depth of dark superficial soil to where the yellow undisturbed soil appears, 14 inches, with the exception of a small portion at the west end where the black soil mixed with stones continued to a depth of 3 feet. Near the bottom here, I found what I think to be a few small pieces of burned wood or charcoal, also some dark unctuous sort of earth, a sample of both I brought away. (Dover 1883, 505). What subsequently happened to the samples of ‘burned wood or charcoal’ and the ‘dark unctuous sort of earth’ is unknown, other than they are now likely to be lost or, if not, too contaminated to be worth modern scientific analysis. Nevertheless, Dover's excavation is the only one to have been carried out at Castlerigg. It is, however, believed by some, based on the dimensions given by Dover, that if any stratigraphy exists within the rectangular enclosure it would not have been completely destroyed and the potential to create a relative sequence between the circle and the enclosure should still be possible. It is unlikely that further excavation around the stones would be permitted today as it is neither threatened by farming or development and erosion of the ground surface by the many visitors to the site is kept in check and is not sufficient to affect the integrity of the stones.

Recent research.

Much of our knowledge and understanding of Castlerigg stone circle has been passed down to us by the work of 18th century antiquarians and 19th century amateurs. Considering that the stone circles of Cumbria in general are of such antiquity, being the earliest stone circles in the whole of Europe, it is surprising that so little work has been carried out here under modern conditions and that none of the stone circles of Cumbria have so far been scientifically dated.  Since the 1960s, the names Aubrey Burl and Alexander Thom have become synonymous with stone circles and both men have contributed significantly to the literature on this subject, whilst taking opposing sides regarding their purpose and significance. The works of Burl strongly support the idea that any geometry within the circle, or astronomical alignments, are either purely coincidental or symbolic in nature. Thom, on the other hand, is a proponent of the circle builders being adept astronomers and mathematicians and suggests that these skills can be seen in all stone circles, everywhere. While neither Burl's nor Thom's works deal with Castlerigg exclusively, they do attempt to place all the stone circles of Britain in context to each other and to explain their purpose.  English Heritage subjected the scheduled area and the field to its immediate west to a geophysical survey in 1985 in order to improve our understanding of the stone circle and to provide a better interpretation for visitors. A full report of the findings from 1985 has still to be published.  In 2004, Dr Margarita Díaz-Andreu, of the Department of Archaeology at Durham University, commissioned a survey of the stones at Castlerigg in response to claims that prehistoric rock art had been discovered there. A pioneering survey technique that used a laser to record three-dimensional images of the stones was employed. Unfortunately, only graffiti from more recent times was discovered and no trace of the alleged prehistoric carvings was found.

Pagan connections.

Castlerigg has a solar alignment and is used in solstice celebrations.

Conservation history.

Castlerigg stone circle was one of the monuments included in the Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882, which included a 'Schedule' of 68 sites in Great Britain and Ireland. It thus became one of the first scheduled ancient monuments. The following year the stone circle was 'taken in to state care'. Under the 1882 act a deed of guardianship could be entered into by a landowner, in which the monument, but not the land it stands on, becomes the property of the state. As one of the first such sites to enter into such an agreement it occupies a small place in the history of archaeological conservation. In 1913, Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley, one of the founders of the National Trust, was among the prime organisers of a public subscription which bought the field in which the stone circle stands, which he then donated to the National Trust. Responsibility for the stone circle remains with English Heritage, the successor body to the Ministry of Works, whilst ownership of the site is retained by the National Trust.

The stone circle at Castlerigg (alternatively Keswick Carles, Carles, Carsles, Castle-rig or Druids' Circle) is situated near Keswick in Cumbria, North West England. One of around 1,300 stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany, it was constructed as a part of a megalithic tradition that lasted from 3,300 to 900 BC, during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Ages.

Der Steinkreis von Castlerigg () ist einer der größten Steinkreise in England. Er liegt auf 229 m Höhe im Allerdale (Gemeinde St. Johns Castlerigg and Wythburn) östlich von Keswick in Cumbria im Lake District auf einem nordöstlichen Ausläufer des Castlerigg Fell. Der Untergrund besteht aus Skiddaw-Schiefer. Der Steinkreis steht unter Denkmalschutz (Scheduled Ancient Monument Nr. 22565).


Icesave.

Icesave was an online savings account brand owned and operated by the private Landsbanki bank from 2006 to 2008 that offered savings accounts. It operated in two countries the United Kingdom (from October 2006) and the Netherlands (from May 2008). The bank intended to roll the brand out to additional territories in 2008 and 2009.  In the UK, Icesave's marketing slogan was "clear difference", and it offered three types of savings accounts: an immediate-access savings account, cash ISA (Individual Savings Account), and a range of fixed-rate bonds. Interest rates on these accounts were over 6 per cent, among the

Kaupthing Edge.

Kaupthing Edge was an online savings brand owned and operated by Kaupthing Bank and its subsidiaries from 2007 to 2008. It offered savings accounts only to personal savers and operated in ten countries. One major difference between Kaupthing Edge and Icesave was that Kaupthing Edge accounts were usually held not with branches but with subsidiaries. This means responsibility for regulation of the subsidiaries and provision of deposit guarantees rested with the host countries.  In four cases

Collapse of Landsbanki.

There had been concern about possible weakness of the Icelandic banking system throughout 2008, especially following the decline in value of the ISK, Icelandic króna, (35 per cent from January to September 2008). Iceland's three major banks: Kaupthing, Landsbanki and Glitnir were all highly leveraged by international standards, and their combined foreign debt was more than five times Iceland's gross domestic product (GDP). With the financial crisis of 2007–08, this debt was becoming increasingly difficult to refinance, especially after the collapse in mid-September of U.S. financial-services firm Lehman Brothers. Matters came to a head during the weekend of 4–5 October, with numerous comments in the British press and on discussion forums questioning the solvency of Icelandic banks. This prompted a run on deposits in the UK (and possibly in other markets).  On 6 October, the Icelandic government pushed an emergency law through Iceland's parliament, the Althing, in response to the "unusual financial market circumstances". In a separate measure, the government also guaranteed "that deposits in domestic commercial and savings banks and their branches in Iceland will be fully covered." That evening, the Guernsey subsidiary of Landsbanki went into voluntary administration with the approval of the Guernsey Financial Services Commission. The administrators later said that "The main reason for the Bank’s difficulties has been the placing of funds with its

Freezing of assets in the UK.

Once the Icesave dispute had got underway, it became clear that there had been several high-level contacts between the British and Icelandic governments in the weeks (and even months) before Landsbanki's collapse. On 12 February 2008, at an International meeting in London, the Central Bank of Iceland (CBI) received the first warning sign by representatives from foreign banks and credit rating agencies, who concluded that the Icelandic banks were in a serious situation and that immediate action was needed to manage the current situation. CBI was advised to make a request towards Landsbanki, that they should prepare for a transfer of the Icesave accounts from their foreign branch into a UK subsidiary, so that it could be subject to UK law for bank supervision and the UK minimum deposit guarantee scheme. Landsbanki indeed sought legal advice for such a move on 22 February, but for unknown reasons dropped the idea in April, and despite of the fact that the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) in July 2008 directly had insisted such a transfer into a subsidiary should happen, Landsbanki continued to run Icesave as a foreign branch straight until it went bankrupt.  When British Prime Minister Gordon Brown met with his Icelandic counterpart Geir Haarde in London on 24 April 2008, this was the first event where Iceland's problems with its banking sector was discussed at the highest level.  On 2 September 2008, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, had met with Icelandic Minister of Trade, Björgvin G. Sigurðsson, to discuss how the recently increased financial problems for Icelandic-owned banks operating in the UK should be handled. It was later claimed by Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson, son of Landsbanki's chairman of the board, that the UK FSA had agreed to takeover the liability for minimum Icesave deposit guarantees under the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in return for a liquidity deposit (most likely in the form of an external bank guarantee) of £200 million (€240 million). British newspaper "The Independent" however reported, that the requested liquidity deposit in order

Reaction.

Also on 8 October, the Prime Minister Geir Haarde issued a statement saying "The Icelandic government appreciates that the British authorities are willing to step in and respond to the immediate concerns of depositors of "Landsbankinn Icesave" accounts" and that "There is a good probability that the total assets of Landsbankinn will be sufficient to cover the deposits in IceSave." Later that day, he said that the Icelandic government was in no way running away from its obligations and suggested that Brown's remarks were grounded in a misunderstanding.  On the following day Haarde said at a press conference that the Icelandic government was outraged that the UK government applied provisions of "anti-terrorism legislation" to it in a move they dubbed a "very unfriendly act". In a statement to the Althing on 15 October, Haarde again criticized the British government, saying that its actions "had nothing to do with salvaging British interests" and were "absolutely unacceptable". He also reiterated that Iceland was considering legal action against the UK.  The next day, the Central Bank of Iceland stated that problems with international payments to and from Iceland were "directly attributable to the extremely harmful actions taken by the British authorities" a claim that was repeated on 21 October. The allegations were reiterated by Davíð Oddsson, chairman of the governors of the central bank, on 18 November:  Haarde, before the Althing again on 30 October, criticized the UK's "absurd decision to invoke the Terrorism Act against Icelandic interests in Britain", which became "the virulent measures of the UK authorities" in front of the Federation of Icelandic Fishing Vessel Owners the following day. The President of Iceland Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, who normally has only a figurehead role in Icelandic politics, made comments about Britain at an informal lunch with foreign diplomats on 7 November: his comments about Britain were described as "directly insulting" by a Norwegian diplomat present.  Angered

Legal arguments.

The arguments of the British and Dutch governments are based on their interpretation of the law of the European Economic Area (EEA), and around two positions in particular:  The Icelandic government disputes these positions.

Deposit insurance.

Within the EEA, the requirement for deposit insurance is regulated by European Union directive 94/19/EC, which was incorporated into EEA law by decision 18/94 of the EEA Joint Committee. Iceland transposed the directive into national law in 1999, setting up the Depositors' and Investors' Guarantee Fund ("Tryggingarsjóður") funded by 1 per cent of insured deposits. At the time of Landsbanki's collapse, the "Tryggingarsjóður" had equity of only ISK 10.8 billion, about €68 million at the exchange rates of the time and far from sufficient to cover the Dutch and British claims.  As pointed out by the European Court of Justice in the "Peter Paul and Others" case, "Directive 94/19 seeks to introduce cover for depositors, wherever deposits are located in the Community, in the event of the unavailability of deposits made with a credit institution which is a member of a deposit guarantee-scheme". The directive does not specify how the Member States

Non-discrimination.

The second, if not primary claim of the British and Dutch governments is that Iceland is in breach of its obligations under Article 4 of the EEA Agreement which prohibits "any discrimination on grounds of nationality", echoing Article 7 of the Treaty of Rome. The contention is that, by guaranteeing deposits at Icelandic branches but not at overseas branches, the Icelandic government is unfairly (or "illegally") favouring Icelanders, be they individuals or corporations. Iceland roundly denies the charge of discrimination.  The jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice is summarized in the "García Avello" case:  Iceland contends that its actions are "based on objective considerations independent of the nationality of the persons concerned" (the consideration being the location of the branches of the collapsed banks) and are "proportionate to the objective being legitimately pursued" (the legitimate objective being the survival of a banking system and hence a non-barter economy in Iceland).  The situation is complicated by the

EFTA evaluation.

In their evaluation of the ongoing IceSave dispute, the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) decided on 26 May 2010, that the Icelandic government was bound to pay the (minimum) deposit guarantee to all Icesave customers. As the

Attempts at solution.

Early attempts.

The first attempts at resolving the Icesave dispute came the very weekend after the collapse of Landsbanki, when British and Dutch officials travelled to Reykjavík to meet separately with their Icelandic counterparts, in talks which all sides described as "constructive" and "in a friendly atmosphere". An agreement with the Netherlands was announced on 11 October, while the negotiations for an agreement with UK was described as being in "significant progress". The Icelandic prime minister Geir Haarde however a few days later announced, that the agreement with the Netherlands would first need the approval of the Althing, before being declared to be a final and settled agreement.  The Dutch agreement in its first version to be presented for the Althing, would mean in case of being approved, that Netherlands would lend Iceland €1.1 billion earmarked for repayment of the estimated liabilities for the Icelandic Depositors' and Investors' Guarantee Fund "(Tryggingarsjóður)" to the Dutch depositors in the Icesave branch of Landsbanki. The reason behind the loan was that the liquidation of Landsbanki was expected to drag on for up till seven years, and without a loan it was highly unlikely the "Tryggingarsjóður" would be able to raise the necessary money within the time limits of Directive 94/19/EC, because the guarantee

Icesave bill 1.

A final repayment agreement was reached between UK, Netherlands and Icelandic negotiators, and a bill formally entitled "Act 96/2009" was presented to the Icelandic parliament in June 2009. However, the Althing debate revealed wide opposition -even within the government- about the repayment conditions, and thus the parliament unilaterally added an amendment to the bill which set a maximum ceiling on the yearly repayments based on the country's Gross Domestic Product. On 28 August 2009, Iceland's parliament voted 34–15 (with 14 abstentions) to approve this amended bill (commonly referred to as the "Icesave bill 1"), which covered the conditions for the repayment to

Icesave bill 2.

In December 2009, the Althing, voting almost strictly by party lines (with two defections from the governing parties to the opposition), narrowly (33-30) passed a new version of the Icesave bill formally entitled "Act 1/2010" being an amendment of the former "Act 96/2009", to agree with British and Dutch demands in the Icesave dispute. The bill would make it possible for Britain and the Netherlands to recoup the €4bn of minimum deposit guarantees, which they had paid on behalf of the money drained Icelandic minimum deposit guarantee fund to the British and UK Icesave customers who had lost all their savings with the bankruptcy of Landsbanki in October 2008. The two governments would receive payments over the next 14 years after compensating the losses of more than 320,000 of the bank's customers. In the UK, deposits of up to £50,000 per account holder had been guaranteed by the British government under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. The British and Dutch governments had in fact at this point of time already repaid in full, all the lost €6.7bn of deposits belonging to UK and Dutch retail customers, which was beyond the liability stipulated by their minimum deposit guarantee schemes, and now with Icesave bill 2 only requested the Icelandic state to guarantee, that the British and Dutch government over a 15-year period at least would receive a repayment equal to the applying Icelandic minimum deposit guarantees, which totaled €4bn.  A few days after "Icesave bill 2" had been passed by the Althing, a highly respected judge of the Icelandic supreme court, Ragnar Hall, went public with a strong criticism on the repayment agreement, as it had been outlined with the same legal design flaw both in "Icesave bill 1" and "Icesave bill 2", and thus he recommended the president not to enact the passed bill and if a referendum subsequently was called on the issue he also recommended the Icelandic electorate to turn it down. The legal design flaw he had pointed out, was that the repayment agreement had a paragraph which had interfered and changed the usual creditor priority order, compared to how it normally worked according to the Icelandic law. He stated to have repeatedly pointed this important detail out to the Icelandic negotiatiers already in June 2009, then again in his article published 22 July 2009, and on several other occasions; but now he could see the issue unfortunately and somewhat surprisingly had not been fixed in either "Icesave bill 1" nor in "Icesave bill 2".  According to Ragnar Hall, any enactment of the current version of "Icesave bill 2", would mean that the highest creditor priority would no longer be held solely by the Icelandic Depositors' and Investors' Guarantee Fund, as would have been the case if only the standard Icelandic receivership/bankruptcy law had applied, but instead the Icesave bills had now relegated its priority order to be equal with all other "priority claims"

Referendum on "Icesave bill 3".

After the referendum, new negotiations commenced. On 16 February 2011, the Icelandic parliament agreed to a repayment deal with the votes 44 for and 16 against, formally entitled "Act 13/2011" but more commonly referred to as the "Icesave bill 3". The third version of the Icesave bill entailed new terms and conditions for repayment of the full and remaining Icesave debt to UK and Netherlands, throughout a period stretching from one to 30 years starting from 2016 (with the length depending on how much time Iceland would need to repay its remaining obligations), to the sound of a fixed constant interest rate at 3.2% for 2009–15, which then ultimately would be substituted by a variable interest rate for

EFTA Court clears Iceland of all charges.

After the results of the 2011 referendum became known, The EFTA Surveillance Authority released the following statement:  On 2 May 2011, the Icelandic Ministry of Economic Affairs published a response to the EFTA Surveillance Authority's letter of 20 May 2010, maintaining that Iceland "did not fail to comply with its obligations under Directive 94/19/EC." On 10 June 2011, the EFTA Surveillance Authority ruled that Iceland should take steps towards paying the full amount to the UK and the Netherlands within three months after the ruling. The Icelandic Minister of Economic Affairs Árni Páll Árnason made a statement to the Icelandic Parliament

Landsbanki liquidation and repayment of claims.

On 28 January 2013, the EFTA Court cleared Iceland of all charges, meaning that no loan agreement will be settled between the Icelandic state and the UK and the Netherlands, to guarantee their claim for repayment of Icelandic minimum deposit guarantees worth €4.0bn (ISK 674bn) plus accrued interests. This claim will however still exist towards the "Landsbanki receivership" as a so-called "First priority claim", and will be met in full if the receivership succeeds to liquidate assets with a value equal to or in excess of this first priority liability.  The combined deposit repayment claims from retail Icesave customers in Netherlands and Great Britain (including both the minimum depositor guarantees, and the deposit values in excess of the Icelandic guarantee), were at first hand covered respectively by the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), due to the inability/unwillingness for other Icelandic stakeholders to step in and ensure/guarantee immediate coverage for these claims. On 28 October 2011, the Supreme Court of Iceland ruled, that the UK FSCS and the Dutch DNB combined deposit repayments of respectively ISK 852.1bn (£4.459bn) and ISK 282.3bn (€1.668bn) should be repaid by the "Landsbanki receivership" as "priority claims" pursuant to Article 112 of "Act No.21/1991 on Bankruptcy", and noted these mentioned figures included contractual interest rates for the UK part and some extra penalty interest rates (6%) for the Dutch part for the period from 8 October 2008 until 22 April 2009. Together these two claims amounts to ISK 1134.4bn (€6.704bn), which is equal to 86% of all "priority claims" towards the Landsbanki receivership. Among the other priority claims are also ISK 145.4bn deposit repayment claims (equal to 11% of all "priority claims"), submitted directly by more than 200 wholesale Icesave customers in Netherlands and Great Britain, who initially received no repayment from their national authorities, but will now get a repayment on equal terms with equal priority status from the "Landsbanki receivership".  As of 30 June 2013, the total value of the assets in the "Landsbanki receivership" (including the already repaid part of the claims) covered ISK 1531bn (€9.1bn), which was above the total amount of the priority claims at ISK 1325bn (€7.8bn). The final overall value for the assets is however still subject to change, as the receivership for various reasons has been granted extra time to liquidate all remaining assets until 2018, at a pace equal to approximately ISK 100bn per year. Repayment to the creditors happen step by step at the same pace as liquidation of assets happen. The repayments so far happened through four tranches in 2011–13, which already included a full repayment of all minimum deposit guarantees, due to their first priority status within the "priority claims". As of 12 September 2013, the "Landsbanki receivership" had through liquidation of the first half of its assets, managed to repay the first 53.9% (ISK 715.2bn) of all the priority claims.  According to the latest evaluation of the planned recovery of asset values, it is expected all "Priority claims" will have been fully repaid by the end of 2017. Any additional claims for accrued interests after 22 April 2009 due to the delayed repayment of priority claims, will only be treated as secondary "general claims", and thus only be repaid once all of the "Priority claims" have been repaid in full, and then only to the extent it is possible on an equal footing together with all the other remaining ISK 1677bn (€9.9bn) of "General claims" towards the "Landsbanki receivership".  According to the Landsbanki receivership's initial interpretation of the Icelandic law, the creditor claims in foreign currency towards a liquidated Icelandic financial company in receivership, should only be repaid by an ISK-equivalent amount as per the currency exchange rate registered on the date when winding-up proceedings were initiated; which was as per 22 April 2009 for the Landsbanki receivership. Moreover, it was believed the creditors had no legal right to claim compensation towards the Landsbanki receivership for any potential losses they may suffer, because of exchange rate fluctuations after 22 April 2009. On 26 September 2013, the Icelandic Supreme Court however ruled against this initial law interpretation of the Landsbanki receivership, concluding all creditors should be fully repaid with currency amounts equal to the denoted local currency of their claim; meaning that when repaid with other currencies, then valuation of this amount should be calculated by converting it to the claim's denoted currency, according to the foreign currency exchange rates registered by the Icelandic Central Bank on the repayment date. Thus ensuring that all creditors bare no currency exchange risks, with these risks and potential financial burdens instead to be upheld solely by the receivership.  As the receivership mainly holds bank assets valuated in foreign currencies, the repayment of claims is likewise expected to be conducted through partial repayments mainly in foreign currencies, equal to the available cash currency basket stemming from liquidated assets on the payment day. Because of the currency mix being more or less equal when comparing the claims with the held assets, the risk for currency exchange losses are expected to be relatively low for the receivership. The table below provides an overview of the currency composition of the first three partial repayments and how currency exchange rates were at the time compared to 22 April 2009.  As of 12 September 2013, the "Landsbanki receivership" had, through liquidation of the first half of its assets, managed to repay the first 53.9% (ISK 715bn, €4.23bn) of all the priority claims, and expected the remaining part would be fully repaid by the end of 2017. The claims for accrued interests after 22 April 2009, related to the delayed repayment of priority claims, will however only be treated as secondary general claims; and the estimated value of the receivership's liquidated assets will not be sufficient to meet these additional claims in full.

How capital controls impact creditor repayment.

Iceland elected a new government in April 2013, which as one of their top priorities wanted to negotiate a debt haircut towards foreign creditors of the three failed Icelandic banks now in receivership, as part of a deal to lift the long enforced (since November 2008) capital controls. As the current capital controls only ban a swap/exchange of ISK denominated assets to foreign currency, and as 97% of the Landsbanki receivership total assets are held only in foreign currency, this new Icelandic initiative will however most likely not affect the repayment scheme for the priority claim creditors in the Landsbanki receivership who at the moment are forecasted to be fully repaid by the first 91.2% of the receivership assets. So even if the current capital controls remain in force at an indefinite time horizon, it will only be the last 3.2% of the assets (ISK 49/1531bn) which remain to be frozen or trapped in Iceland and can not be directly repaid, which then only would negatively impact the return rate for the creditors with general claims.  The only minor risk for the receivership's "priority claim creditors" seems to be, that the receivership might face political demands to extend the maturity of its owned "Glacier bonds" towards the New Landsbanki, as part of the Icelandic government's overall capital control abolition initiative, which would then delay liquidation of this specific asset. The nicknamed "Glacier bonds", concern two bonds with a total value of ISK 297bn (€1.76bn), that currently are due for

New creditor repayment restrictions.

On 12 March 2012, the Icelandic government amended by Act No 17/2012 the existing Act No 87/1992 on Foreign Exchange, so that its paragraph five of Article 13n now represents new currency restrictions for repayment of foreign currency to creditors in any receivership estates. In that regard, it shall be noted that all of the first four repayment tranches repaid by the "Landsbanki receivership" were exempted from this amended law, because it only involved available cash stemming from liquidation conducted ahead of 12 March 2012. All future repayment tranches will however be impacted by the amended law, which stipulates that the Icelandic minister of finance and minister of banking have to agree on exemptions granted by the Icelandic Central Bank for all future claim repayments stemming from companies with a larger balance sheet than ISK 400bn, even if

The Icesave dispute was a diplomatic dispute that began after the privately owned Icelandic bank Landsbanki was placed in receivership on 7 October 2008. As "Landsbanki" was one of three systemically important financial institutions in Iceland to go bankrupt within a few days, the Icelandic Depositors' and Investors' Guarantee Fund ("Tryggingarsjóður") had no remaining funds to make good on deposit guarantees to foreign "Landsbanki" depositors who held savings in the Icesave branch of the bank.

Icesave war eine isländische Online-Bank mit Sparangeboten in Großbritannien und den Niederlanden. Sie musste aufgrund der isländischen Finanzkrise am 7. Oktober 2008 Insolvenz anmelden und wurde unter die Insolvenzverwaltung der isländischen Finanzaufsicht gestellt. Icesave gehörte zur größten isländischen Bank Landsbanki.


Biography.

Having been a basketball player with good level in Cus Cagliari (which also called the national), Marisa Sannia began her musical career in the early sixties, winning a competition for new items that allowed her to get a record deal with the Cetra Fonit.  Her talent was spotted by Sergio Endrigo and Luis Enriquez Bacalov that sought to tap into composing a piece for her debut recording "All or nothing" and promoting its participation in 1967, on television as "Scala Reale" and "Settevoci".  The recognition received by the television appearances allowed her to participate the same year two musicarelli: "Kids of yellow flag", "Stasera mi butto", alongside Giancarlo Giannini.  After a few small successes (A postcard, Be proud of me - award of record criticism), and participation in Festivalbar 1967 where she ranked in the third round for young artists, Sannia achieved wide popularity in 1968 when she finished second in the Sanremo Music Festival with the song "Casa Bianca", written by Don Backy and sung along with Ornella Vanoni, who became a great success, so as to be inserted in the soundtrack of the film "Alfredo Alfredo", by Pietro Germi.  After the success Sanremo, Sannia published her first album. Followed by several successful songs: "A tear", "the company" (composed by Carlo Donida and Mogol and resumed in 1976 by Lucio Battisti and then in 2007 by Vasco Rossi), "Love is a dove", "How sweet the evening tonight" and "my land".  Sannia also worked in film and participated in various events such as singing Canzonissima (1972, inter alia with a song by Nino Tristan, "A Kite"), the International Festival of Light Music of Venice, A Song for Europe in Switzerland and again in 1970 in San Remo in 1971 and 1984.  In the early seventies she devoted herself to theater by participating in two musicals (Cain and Abel and stories suburbs) very successful alongside Tony Cucchiara and in some work directed by Giorgio Albertazzi. Still under the wing of Sergio Endrigo, she also participated in the album The Ark, a collection of songs by Vinicius de Moraes dedicated to children. In 1973 she published a disc with songs taken from the Walt Disney movie entitled Sannia Wonderland.  In 1976 her first songwriting collection was published with the interesting title "The pasta sheet".  In the early eighties Sannia also appeared in television drama "George Sand" with Albertazzi, Anna Proclemer and Paola Borboni and participated in the film by Pupi Avati "Help me to dream". In 1984 she returned to Sanremo with "love Love" that followed a long period of isolation from the scene.  In 1993 she returned with a disc in the Sardinian language in which the verses of music Antioco Casula, Sardinian poet active in the first half of the twentieth century, entitled. Sannia later returned to the theater with Albertazzi in "memories of Adriano" - Portrait of an entry of 1995.  In 1997 recorded the new disc Melagranàda in collaboration with the contemporary poet writer Francesco Masala in a collection from the Poesias in duas limbas. In 2002 she participated in "songs for you", a tribute to Sergio Endrigo, interpreting "Hands holes".  In 2003 she published a third collection in the Sardinian language, and "Nanas and Janas", with new words and music written by herself. This research is poetic and musical recital summarized in "Songs between two languages on the way of poetry" presented in important exhibitions in Italy and abroad as The Night of the Poets all'anfiteatro Nora Roman, at Taormina Film Festival and as part of the exhibition Rome Meets the World. In January 2006 she took part in the concert tribute to Sergio Endrigo, entitled "Hello Poet" and collected in a CD / DVD, which interprets "The White Rose" and "How ever tonight."  Her last work, posthumously published and distributed (Felmay - Egea distributions) in November 2008 (preview Premio Tenco) and Sannia "Rosa de papel" is dedicated to the life and poetry of Federico García Lorca. This is a collection of 12 songs, and is particularly dear to the singer/Songwriter who has put to music the poems of the great poet of youth. Among the songs are some real musical gems as: "El nino mudo", "Rosa de papel", "Laberytos y espeyos", "Hi cerrado my balcon".  She also won the Festival della Canzone d'Autore for Children. Sannia was interested in the work of other artists. And some of her own compositions have been covered also in Spain by the singer Ester Formosa.  Due to a sudden and serious illness Sannia died April 14, 2008. In August 2008, the "Maria Carta" award was established in her memory. In January 2009, the artist Maria Lai dedicated Sannia an exhibition of her works to Sannia.

External links.

Official website www.sannia.it

Marisa Sannia (February 15, 1947 Iglesias, Sardinia, Italy – April 14, 2008 Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy) was an Italian singer from the island of Sardinia. She started her career with success in pop music in the sixties. She later became an interpreter of songs, composer, an actress and then finally an artistic researcher. She is primarily noted for being a singer in the Sardinian language, her native tongue.

Marisa Sannia (* 15. Februar 1947 in Iglesias; † 14. April 2008 in Cagliari) war eine sardische Sängerin, Komponistin und Schauspielerin.


Education and career.

Quandt graduated with a master's degree in Communication Studies from the University of Bochum. He began teaching in 1998 at the Technical University of Ilmenau, where he received his doctoral degree in 2004. From 2003 to 2007, he worked as a senior researcher at the Ludwig-Maximilians University (LMU) in Munich. In 2007 and 2008, he was an assistant professor at the Free University Berlin, and he received his habilitation from the LMU in 2008. In 2009, he obtained the chair of Interactive Media and Online Communication from the University of Hohenheim, where he also served as the Director of the Institute of Communication Studies. Since 2012, he has been the chair for online communication at the University of Münster, Germany. Quandt has given lectures at various other universities, and was a visiting professor at Stanford University, the University of Oxford, the University of California, Santa Barbara and a visiting researcher at the Indiana University, Bloomington.  Quandt is the founding chair of the “Digital Games Research” section of the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA), and a member of the Executive Board of ECREA. He is currently an Associate Editor of the Journal of Communication, and a board member of the journals Communication Theory and Digital Journalism. He has been the secretary of the Journalism Studies Division in the International Communication Association (ICA), and the chairman of the Journalism Studies Division in the German Communication Association.  Quandt has been a member of various boards and committees, including committees of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), the European Research Council, the Academy of Finland, the Helsingin Sanomat Foundation, ECREA, the German Communication Association DGPuK, and he worked as a reviewer for numerous scientific journals. He received several international and national research awards, as well as an ERC grant (European excellency programme). He was nominated twice on the top list of „40 most significant young scientists in Germany“ by the national trade journal Capital.

Research fields.

Quandt's work is focusing the impact and social aspects of digital games use, participatory journalism, and risk factors of online communication, like online and video game addiction, media induced aggression and cyberbullying. While Quandt's work is also focusing the problematic side of digital media use, he asks for a neutral and balanced perspective on media use, including positive aspects of use. Quandt argues that research on digital media has to ‘normalize’ and move beyond a state of repeating moral panics. He is one of the authors of an open debate paper to the WHO, criticizing the introduction of Gaming Disorder as a "disorder due to addictive behaviors" in the 11th edition of the International Classification of Diseases, which they see as a result of a "moral panic around the harm of video gaming". The authors mention several "fundamental issues" of Gaming Disorder in their paper, which triggered a public debate. Quandt's large-scale, representative survey studies on online gamers were widely cited, as they did not support the popular notion of notable differences between gamers and non-gamers. This is especially true for his analyses on digital games addiction that showed a relatively low level of stable problematic behavior. His team's work on sexism among gamers was picked up by the international press and gamers alike, as the measured differences between gamers and non-gamers in the study were marginal. The research was also discussed in relation to the gamergate controversy. However, Quandt and colleagues pointed out that their research does not necessarily prove the non-existence of sexism in specific gamer groups or the content itself, but that it rather supports the notion that gaming has become mainstream entertainment in modern societies thus approaching an average level of sexism.  In an interdisciplinary project on the analysis of social bots and their use in online propaganda, Quandt and colleagues develop computer-supported and automatic identification methods. During the project, they observed the German elections 2017. The team identified attempts at manipulating the public, including an unsuccessful Twitter attack on the electoral debate between chancellor Merkel and the social-democrat Schulz. The attackers were identified by journalists as a right-wing extremist group called Reconquista Germanica.

Selected books.

Selected journal publications

Thorsten Quandt is the professor of online communication at the University of Münster, Germany. He has a particular interest in online communication, digital games and (online) journalism. He (co)authored more than 150 scientific articles and several books, including" Participatory Journalism," which was influential in establishing the citizen journalism model. He has edited numerous books, primarily in the field of online media and digital games research, including the books "Multiplayer" and "The Video Game Debate". His work was awarded with several scientific prizes, including international Top Paper Awards, the dissertation award of the German Communication Association, and an ERC grant (European Excellency Programme).

Thorsten Quandt (* 1971) ist ein deutscher Kommunikationswissenschaftler und Onlineforscher. Er ist seit 2012 als Professor am Institut für Kommunikationswissenschaft der Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität Münster tätig. Zu seinen Arbeitsschwerpunkten gehören Digitale Spiele, Online-Journalismus und Risiken der Online-Nutzung. Quandt hat mehr als 100 wissenschaftliche Artikel und mehrere Bücher veröffentlicht u. a. Participatory Journalism, welches als zentrale Arbeit für das namensgleiche Konzept gilt, sowie Multiplayer und The Video Game Debate. Quandt erhielt für seine Arbeiten unter anderem den Dissertationspreis der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Publizistik und Kommunikationswissenschaft (DGPuK), mehrere internationale Top Paper Awards, sowie ein ERC (European Research Council) grant. 2009 und 2010 wurde er von der Zeitschrift Capital in die Top 40 der deutschen „Spitzenforscher unter 40“ gewählt.


Youth and education.

Frommer was born in New York City. Interested in astronomy from an early age, he changed his college major from astrophysics to math, graduating from the University of Rochester with a bachelor of arts in mathematics in 1965. He soon taught English and math in Malaysia in the Malay language with the Peace Corps. He had studied languages earlier, but this experience switched his focus to linguistics. He began a doctoral program in linguistics at the University of Southern California (USC). During the program, he taught English in Iran for a year in the mid-1970s and studied Persian. He earned his master's degree and doctorate in linguistics at USC in 1981 under Bernard Comrie; his doctorate was on aspects of Persian syntax and entitled "Post-verbal Phenomena in Colloquial Persian Syntax".

Work.

Frommer taught for several years and then moved into business, becoming a Vice President, Special Projects Coordinator, Strategic Planner, and Writer-Researcher at Bentley Industries in Los Angeles. Frommer was also a writer for the 1989 film "Step Into the Third Dimension". In 1996, he returned to USC as a full professor of clinical management communication at the Marshall School of Business. In 1999, he co-authored a linguistics workbook called "Looking at Languages: A Workbook in Elementary Linguistics". From 2005 to 2008, he served as Director of the Center for Management Communication at Marshall School of Business.  After a search by James Cameron, writer and director of the 2009 film "Avatar", Frommer was chosen to create a language for the Na'vi, the film's fictional alien race of sentient blue humanoid inhabitants of the moon Pandora. Frommer says that his process for creating the language began with phonetics and phonology: "The sound system has to be all nailed down first, so that there is consistency in the language". The morphology, syntax and vocabulary followed. Cameron had already created several dozen words that he wanted to incorporate into the new language. That gave Frommer "a sense of what kinds of sounds he had in mind". Cameron also told Frommer that he "wanted the language to be pleasant sounding and appealing to the audience." "When you create a language, you experience the joy of rolling sounds around in your mouth, hearing unusual sounds, playing with the sounds and structural properties of language – it's a process that took about six months for the basics".  Frommer based some Na'vi grammar on Polynesian languages and used consonants such as ejectives and word-initial velar nasals that do not occur in Western languages, while omitting common Western sounds like "b", "d" and "g". He placed verb modifiers in the middle of words, instead of at the beginning or end of them. Cameron wrote some songs for the Na'vi characters that Frommer translated into a poetic form of Na'vi language, and he then coached the singers on pronunciation. He then worked personally with the actors who needed to speak the Na'vi language in the film and created MP3 files for them to use to study it. The actors' voices were not altered in the film, as Cameron wanted the Na'vi characters to have human-sounding voices. Since the film opened, Frommer has received numerous e-mails from fans with suggestions for expanding the language and websites have grown up devoted to the study and use of the language.  Frommer also created the Barsoomian language for the Disney film "John Carter".

Paul R. Frommer (; born September 17, 1944) is an American communications professor at the University of Southern California (USC) and a linguistics consultant. He is the former Vice President, Special Projects Coordinator, Strategic Planner, and Writer-Researcher at Bentley Industries in Los Angeles, California. From 2005 to 2008, he served as Director of the Center for Management Communication at the USC Marshall School of Business.

Paul Robert Frommer (* 17. September 1944 in New York City, New York, Vereinigte Staaten) ist ein US-amerikanischer Sprachwissenschaftler. Er ist Professor für "Clinical Management Communication" an der "Marshall School of Business" der University of Southern California (USC) und sprachwissenschaftlicher Berater für Lightstorm Entertainment, die Produktionsfirma des Regisseurs James Cameron.


Institut für Technikfolgenabschätzung und Systemanalyse

Aims and objectives.

The Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS) investigates scientific and technological developments with a focus on their impacts and possible systemic and unintended effects. It produces analytical knowledge and assessments of socio-technical developments in order to provide policy and design options for decision-makers. The research covers ethical, ecological, economic, social, political-institutional, and cultural questions. Major goals are advice for research and technology policy, provision of knowledge for the design of socio-technical systems, and the organization and observation of discursive processes on open and controversial questions of technology policy.

Co-operation.

ITAS is a member of several international networks. It is one of the initiators of "Netzwerk TA" (NTA), a network of German, Austrian and Swiss TA institutions. It is also member of the European Parliamentary Technology Assessment (EPTA) Network and of the UNEP-SETAC Life Cycle Initiative. In addition, the institute is committed in the Society for the Study of Nanoscience and Emerging Technologies (S.NET) since its foundation, and maintains institutional relationships with the New University of Lisbon, the Lomonossow University in Moscow as well as with the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU).

History.

The history of ITAS and its preceding institutions dates back to the 1950s. In 1958 the Study Group for Systems Research (SfS) was founded in Heidelberg by Helmut Krauch. In 1975, a part of the SfS was integrated in the Institute for Applied Systems Engineering and Nuclear Physics (IASR) of Nuclear Research Center Karlsruhe led by Wolf Häfele. In 1977 the division of Applied Systems Analysis (AFAS) is established as an independently operating off-spring of the IASR, which is headed by Herbert Paschen. On 1 July 1995 this unit was upgraded becoming the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS).

The Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS) is a research facility of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Karlsruhe, Germany. It was founded on 1 July 1995 as successor of different institutions. ITAS came into being after a merger of the University of Karlsruhe (TH) and Research Center Karlsruhe on 1 October 2009. The institute is also a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres (HGF).

Das Institut für Technikfolgen-Abschätzung und Systemanalyse (ITAS) befasst sich in Theorie und Praxis mit Technikfolgenabschätzung (TA) und Systemanalyse und wurde am 1. Juli 1995 nach einer längeren institutionellen Vorgeschichte eingerichtet. Mit dem Zusammenschluss von Universität Karlsruhe (TH) und Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe am 1. Oktober 2009 zum Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT) wurde das ITAS institutionell eine Forschungseinrichtung des KIT, die zugleich der Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren (HGF) angehört.


Plot overview.

The main story arc charts the adventures of two fifteen-year-old Americans, named Sophie and Josh Newman, whose regular lives working at their summer jobs (Sophie works in a coffee shop, Josh in a bookstore) are turned upside down by the arrival of Dr. John Dee. Dr. Dee engages the bookstore owner, Nick Fleming, in a battle of magic in an attempt to steal an ancient book, "The Book of Abraham the Mage" (a.k.a. the Codex) from him. Dr. John Dee snatches the book from Josh's grasp, but Josh manages to retain two pages. Dr. John Dee also kidnaps Nick's wife Perry Fleming and imprisons her on Alcatraz Island.  After the battle, Nick Fleming confesses to Josh and Sophie that his real name is Nicholas Flamel, that he is the French alchemist from history, that he is also immortal, and that the twins, himself, and Perry (his immortal wife, Perenelle Flamel), are in grave danger. Nicholas tells the twins that he believes them to be mentioned in a prophecy within the Codex, and that the fate of the world as they know it could depend on his success in getting their dormant, latent magical abilities fully awakened. He also tells them that without the Codex, both he and Perry will die within a month, as their immortality, prolonged youth, and longevity depend on a recipe for a special elixir found only within its pages. This elixir changes monthly and cannot be memorised.  Meanwhile, Dr. John Dee has found out that he is missing two vital pages from the Codex. The pages are the Final Summoning, needed by him to return his masters, the Dark Elders, to earth... and so begins a fast-paced race as Dee pursues the twins and Nicholas for the pages of the Codex, whilst Nicholas, aided by Scáthach and others, race to get the twins' latent magical auras awakened, to get them schooled in the use of the elemental magics – Water, Fire, Earth, Air, and Aether – and to rescue his wife, Perry.  The stories criss-cross the globe, featuring well-known places and sights, such as San Francisco, London, the Eiffel Tower, Stonehenge, and the Golden Gate Bridge. Many characters from history and mythology help both sides pursue their goals. In the first four books alone, Scáthach, Hekate, Prometheus, the Witch of Endor, Gilgamesh, Niccolò Machiavelli, Bastet, Odin, William Shakespeare, Joan of Arc, Billy the Kid, Virginia Dare, the Count of St. Germain, and Mars Ultor enter the series.

Development.

The idea for the series as a whole began in May 1997. Initially, the series had Dr. Dee in the leading role, and was going to be called "The Secrets of John Dee", a historical character who Scott knew well, having featured him in three of his other titles: "Image", "Reflection", and "The Merchant Prince". He wanted to bring Dr. Dee into the 21st Century and introduce him to a young audience that may not have heard of the historical doctor before, but he decided that Dr. Dee was too sinister and had dubious motivation. Inspiration struck one night in 2000, when Scott took a wrong turn whilst wandering around Paris and happened upon Nicholas Flamel's house in the Rue du Montmorency. Having decided that he had found the perfect mentor for the twins, Scott began plotting the series in earnest, planning the storyline of each chapter. He soon decided that it would be a six-book series, which would allow him to introduce many figures from history and mythology. In the six books, readers have been introduced to characters from the Greco-Roman, Egyptian, Norse, and Celtic mythologies and historical characters from the Elizabethan, Renaissance, Egyptian, and Gilded eras. He plotted the whole series to such an intricate level that his plot script is currently in excess of 80,000 words, equivalent to a book itself, and that he knew in 2009 what the last words to the series would be.

Main characters.

Nicholas Flamel – The title character, an alchemyst. Along with his wife, Perenelle, he has lived for nearly 700 years searching for Josh and Sophie Newman, the Gold and Silver twins of legend, who can save the Shadowrealm of Earth from the mad Dr. John Dee and the Dark Elders who seek to destroy it. Flamel is a legend who built his fortune through alchemy, which he uses to amazing effect to combat the horrors Dee sends after the twins and himself. Despite good intentions, however, he is not without flaws,like being selfish and not learning from his mistakes and seeks glory for training Josh and Sophie.  Josh Newman – The Gold twin of legend. Awakened by Mars Ultor, Josh is a lover of history and a natural strategist. However, he is suspicious of Nicholas Flamel, due to his not telling them of the previous twins' demise, a fact that causes Josh to ultimately shift alliances, though he remains cautious of Dee. Eventually, he sides with Flamel.  Sophie Newman – The Silver twin of legend. Awakened by Hekate (the Goddess of Three Faces), and later trained by The Witch of Endor, who infuses her memories and experiences into her. Sophie is protective of Josh and more patient, though she is also horrified by the twins' fates. She decides to side with the Flamels to save Earth, but seeks out her brother eventually.  Dr. John Dee – The main antagonist. An English magician and necromancer who formerly advised Queen Elizabeth I, he seeks to bring back to Earth the Dark Elders, who wish to destroy and rebuild it. However, after he is declared "utlaga", or outlaw, for failing them, he decides to use the four swords of power – Excalibur, Clarent, Joyeuse and Durendal – to go back in time to Danu Talis and destroy them, convincing Josh to join his side with the promise of a renewed Earth. Eventually he sides with the Flamels but by then it is too late.  Perenelle Flamel – The wife of Nicholas, and a powerful sorceress. Being the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, she can contact ghosts and has a long-standing feud with Machiavelli. Many have suggested, correctly, that she is much more powerful than Nicholas, as she has proven as she tries to save San Francisco from the horrors on nearby Alcatraz.  Niccolò Machiavelli – A renowned Italian philosopher and eventual warlock, or "waerlaga", who is tasked with releasing an army from Alcatraz after helping Dee in Paris. He and Josh have an understanding, as they are both human in spirit, a trait which he later shares with Billy the Kid. This trait causes Machiavelli to re-evaluate his opinions of the Dark Elders and reform and break his oaths to them, choosing not to release the monsters on the humani.  Scathach - The Celtic goddess of the war. She has a grey aura. She is an Elder of the 2nd generation and a vegetarian vampire. She is approximately 10000 years old but looks 17 and claims to be 2000. She will accompany the alchemist and the twins in their adventures but will be taken by Dagon in the Seine. It is the great friend of Joan of Arc, that she educated. She was the creator of most of the martial arts and formed the biggest Heroes of the History. To have helped the human beings during the Fall of Danu Talis, she was rejected by her family before saving their life a few years later. She speaks few his parents and her brother. She has a twin sister ( Aifé) but they would have long ago become muddled because of a boy, they do not speak to each other any more. Scathach is also called "the Shadow", the "Goddess Warrior", "the King Maker", "the Warrior Maiden" "the Daemon Slayer" and Scatty. Her grandmother is the Witch of Endor, her presumed grandfather being Mars Ultor.

Titles' significance.

On 1 July 2012 Michael Scott issued this statement incontrovertibly naming the title characters so far.

Special editions and cover variations.

On 5 August 2010 in the UK "Necromancer" was released featuring a new-style cover; it was joined by "The Alchemyst", "The Magician" and "The Sorceress" which were re-released with new covers in the same style.  "The Alchemyst", "The Magician" and "The Sorceress" were released as a special edition boxed set called "The First Codex" in the USA on 28 September 2010.

Series chronology.

In published order:

Online games.

"The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel" series has spawned online games. The first related online game to be launched was "The Codex Master" The game is to guess a secret code consisting of a sequence of coloured orbs by inputting various sequences and using logic. When a sequence is entered, indicators show when the player has the right colour and also when a colour is in the right or wrong position to enable them to apply logic and guess the correct sequence.  An online game was created to celebrate the release of "The Sorceress". It was called "The Challenges of the Elder" and launched on 21 April 2009. Players are guided through the game, which is a set of four challenges, by video scenes featuring Michael Scott. The first task, the Alchemyst's challenge, required players to assemble a moving jigsaw of the series' logo against a countdown clock. The second task, the Magician's challenge, required players to turn over two books from a series of books and find matching symbols; when a matching pair was found both books burst into flames and disappeared. The task was complete when all the books had been matched. The third task, the Sorceress' challenge, was a colour sequencing game where players chose coloured flasks and would have to repeat the sequence that they were shown in. Players then advanced to meet The Elder, who asked them a set of knowledge questions about the books, and were given a 'coloured aura ranking' calculated from their scores and time taken to complete the tasks.  To promote the USA release of "The Necromancer", Random House released an online game called "The Quest for the Codex". Players were presented with a grid containing numbered squares and had to click on the squares to uncover hidden rewards, playing pieces and mini-games. When they completed the game they received online access to the first 6 chapters of "The Necromancer".

Awards and nominations.

The Alchemyst  The Magician  The Sorceress

Audiobooks.

The six titles have all been recorded as unabridged audiobooks. "The Alchemyst" was narrated by Denis O'Hare. "The Magician" was narrated by Erik Singer. "The Sorceress", "The Necromancer", "The Warlock" and "The Enchantress" were narrated by Paul Boehmer.

Film adaptation.

Film rights were initially sold in 2006 to New Line Cinema and Mark Burnett Productions with Mark Burnett being named as the producer and Eric Bress as the script writer. The film was listed as in pre-production and reported at IMDb. Mention of the deal can still be found in the BBC archives. The rights reverted to Michael Scott and on 19 November 2009 it was announced in "Variety" that Lorenzo di Bonaventura had bought the film rights to the series. Michael Scott and Barry Krost were to be executive producers.  On 21 June 2012, it was announced that AMPCO Films had acquired the film rights. Production is set to begin in February 2013 in Australia and New Zealand. Michael Scott will write the screenplay, saying he would like it to be true to the books.

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel is a series of six fantasy novels written by Irish author Michael Scott, completed in 2012. The first book in the series, "", was released in 2007, and the sequels were released at the rate of one per year, concluding with "The Enchantress" in 2012. The cover artist for the series is Michael Wagner.

Die Geheimnisse des Nicholas Flamel (Original: "The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel", „Die Geheimnisse des unsterblichen/Unsterblichen Nicholas Flamel“) ist eine sechsbändige Fantasyreihe des irischen Autors Michael Scott. Die Bücher sind im Original von 2007 bis 2012 erschienen, auf Deutsch von 2008 bis 2013. Nahezu alle in dieser Serie vorkommenden Personen basieren auf historischen Persönlichkeiten bzw. mythologischen Figuren, wie die Hauptperson Nicholas Flamel. Die Serie erzählt vom Kampf zwischen den „Dunklen Älteren“ (aus dem „Älteren Geschlecht“) und verschiedenen Unsterblichen bzw. mythologischen Figuren um den unsterblichen Alchemisten Nicholas Flamel.


General idea.

The goal is to construct the right ring of fractions "R"["S"] with respect to multiplicative subset "S". In other words, we want to work with elements of the form "as" and have a ring structure on the set "R"["S"]. The problem is that there is no obvious interpretation of the product ("as")("bt"); indeed, we need a method to "move" "s" past "b". This means that we need to be able to rewrite "s""b" as a product "b""s". Suppose then multiplying on the left by "s" and on the right by "s", we get. Hence we see the necessity, for a given "a" and "s", of the existence of "a" and "s" with and such that.

Application.

Since it is well known that each integral domain is a subring of a field of fractions (via an embedding) in such a way that every element is of the form "rs" with "s" nonzero, it is natural to ask if the same construction can take a noncommutative domain and associate a division ring (a noncommutative field) with the same property. It turns out that the answer is sometimes "no", that is, there are domains which do not have an analogous "right division ring of fractions".  For every right Ore domain "R", there is a unique (up to natural "R"-isomorphism) division ring "D" containing "R" as a subring such that every element of "D" is of the form "rs" for "r" in "R" and "s" nonzero in "R". Such a division ring "D" is called a ring of right fractions of "R", and "R" is called a right order in "D". The notion of a ring of left fractions and left order are defined analogously, with elements of "D" being of the form "s""r".  It is important to remember that the definition of "R" being a right order in "D" includes the condition that "D" must consist entirely of elements of the form "rs". Any domain satisfying one of the Ore conditions can be considered a subring of a division ring, however this does not automatically mean "R" is a left order in "D", since it is possible "D" has an element which is not of the form "s""r". Thus it is possible for "R" to be a right-not-left Ore domain. Intuitively, the condition that all elements of "D" be of the form "rs" says that "R" is a "big" "R"-submodule of "D". In fact the condition ensures "R" is an essential submodule of "D". Lastly, there is even an example of a domain in a division ring which satisfies "neither" Ore condition (see examples below).  Another natural question is: "When is a subring of a division ring right Ore?" One characterization is that a subring "R" of a division ring "D" is a right Ore domain if and only if "D" is a flat left "R"-module.  A different, stronger version of the Ore conditions is usually given for the case where "R" is not a domain, namely that there should be a common multiple  with "u", "v" not zero divisors. In this case, Ore's theorem guarantees the existence of an over-ring called the (right or left) classical ring of quotients.

Examples.

Commutative domains are automatically Ore domains, since for nonzero "a" and "b", "ab" is nonzero in. Right Noetherian domains, such as right principal ideal domains, are also known to be right Ore domains. Even more generally, Alfred Goldie proved that a domain "R" is right Ore if and only if "R" has finite uniform dimension. It is also true that right Bézout domains are right Ore.  A subdomain of a division ring which is not right or left Ore: If "F" is any field, and formula_1 is the free monoid on two symbols "x" and "y", then the monoid ring formula_2 does not satisfy any Ore condition, but it is a free ideal ring and thus indeed a subring of a division ring, by.

Multiplicative sets.

The Ore condition can be generalized to other multiplicative subsets, and is presented in textbook form in and. A subset "S" of a ring "R" is called a right denominator set if it satisfies the following three conditions for every "a", "b" in "R", and "s", "t" in "S": If "S" is a right denominator set, then one can construct the ring of right fractions "RS" similarly to the commutative case. If "S" is taken to be the set of regular elements (those elements "a" in "R" such that if "b" in "R" is nonzero, then "ab" and "ba" are nonzero), then the right Ore condition is simply the requirement that "S" be a right denominator set.  Many properties of commutative localization hold in this more general setting. If "S" is a right denominator set for a ring "R", then the left "R"-module "RS" is flat. Furthermore, if "M" is a right "R"-module, then the "S"-torsion, is an "R"-submodule isomorphic to, and the module is naturally isomorphic to a module "MS" consisting of "fractions" as in the commutative case.

In mathematics, especially in the area of algebra known as ring theory, the Ore condition is a condition introduced by Øystein Ore, in connection with the question of extending beyond commutative rings the construction of a field of fractions, or more generally localization of a ring. The "right Ore condition" for a multiplicative subset "S" of a ring "R" is that for and, the intersection. A (non-commutative) domain for which the set of non-zero elements satisfies the right Ore condition is called a right Ore domain. The left case is defined similarly.

Die (Links- bzw. Rechts-)Ore-Bedingungen sind in der Ringtheorie, einem Teilgebiet der Algebra, ein Kriterium, welches es erlaubt, die Bildung von Quotientenkörpern oder allgemeiner Lokalisierungen auch auf den Fall zu verallgemeinern, in dem der zugrundeliegende Ring nicht kommutativ ist. Sie sind benannt nach ihrem Entdecker Øystein Ore. Ringe, die sie erfüllen, werden (Links- bzw. Rechts-)Ore-Ringe genannt.


Career.

Early career.

Chisnall was brought up in St Helens and played for a local football team until he was 17 when he broke his foot. He switched to darts and first played in a friend's bedroom, throwing 100 in his first ever visit to the board. His nickname actually originates from his work as a carpenter rather than his surname His debut in BDO events came at the 2004 Welsh Open, losing in the last 32 to Alan Tabern. In 2007, he won the 2007 BDO Gold Cup, beating Scotland captain Mike Veitch in the semi-finals and Welshman Matthew Quinlan in the final. Chisnall then fell two games short of qualifying for the 2008 BDO World Championship, losing to Robert Thornton. A few days later Chisnall was again beaten by Thornton in the Winmau World Masters.  In 2008, Chisnall won the Isle of Man Open, beating Ted Hankey in the quarter-finals and Gary Robson in the semis before defeating Robert Hughes in the final. After his match against Hankey, the 2000 BDO World Champion advised Chisnall to turn professional. He later went on to win the England National Championship.  Chisnall won one of five qualification spots for the 2009 BDO World Championship, beating Stewart Rattray to qualify. The next day he took part in the 2008 Winmau World Masters but lost in the first round to fellow Lakeside qualifier Daryl Gurney of Northern Ireland. In the World Championship, Chisnall gave Martin Adams a tough match, losing 3–5 in the deciding set to the number three seed.

BDO Breakthrough.

In September 2009, Chisnall won back-to-back titles claiming the Welsh Masters with a 5–1 victory over Tony O'Shea, and the British Open, knocking out BDO World Champion Ted Hankey in the earlier rounds before beating Martin Atkins 2–0 in the final. These successes helped him finish top of the BDO International Grand Prix Series.  He competed in the qualifying rounds for the 2010 BDO World Championship but was beaten by Stuart Kellett. He did, however, qualify through the BDO Invitational Rankings (ironically, Kellett himself failed to qualify).  He produced an outstanding run to reach the final of the 2010 World Championship beating number four seed Darryl Fitton in the opening round and Tony West in the second round. Having been 4–1 down to defending champion and number five seed Ted Hankey, Chisnall produced a comeback to reach the semi finals 5–4. After losing the first two sets in the semi-final against top seed Tony O'Shea, he came back again to win 6–3 and reached his first World Championship final, where he was defeated 7–5 by number three seed, and Masters champion, Martin Adams.  Chisnall qualified for the 2010 Grand Slam of Darts as a result of his World Championship final, winning his first match against Simon Whitlock before subsequent defeats by Robert Thornton and Colin Osborne saw him exit the tournament. In the 2011 BDO World Darts Championship he lost 4–1 in sets in the second round to Gary Robson.

PDC career.

Chisnall entered the Professional Darts Corporation Q School in January 2011. He won a PDC tour card on the first day by defeating Terry Temple 6–2 in his final match. He played in his first PDC event in Halle, Germany and hit a nine-dart finish but went on to lose to Vincent van der Voort 6–5 in the last 64. In the Derby Pro Tour events he reached the quarter-finals on both days of the weekend but was defeated by Jamie Caven 6–3 and Wes Newton 6–4 respectively. A month later at the second UK Open Qualifier of the year Chisnall reached his first PDC final where he was edged out 6–5 by Michael Smith in the final, but the result did ensure him spot at the UK Open. He hit his second nine-darter of the season in the seventh UK open qualifier. In the Eddie Cox memorial Players Championship in Barnsley he reached the semi-finals after defeating Dennis Ovens, Mark Walsh and John Part before a subsequent defeat by Paul Nicholson 6–5 after missing five darts for the match. The following day in the Bobby Bourn Memorial Players Championship he got to the final before being beaten by Andy Smith by 6 legs to 2. Despite the loss he had done enough to qualify for the World Matchplay in his debut season on the tour.  At the UK Open he entered the competition in the third round and defeated Richard North 9–2 and Ronnie Baxter 9–7 whilst hitting a 102 average. He went on to defeat John Bowles in the fifth round 9–4, before losing to eventual runner-up Wes Newton 10–8 in the quarter-finals. Chisnall lost in the first round of the 2011 World Matchplay 10–3 against Mark Walsh, but still broke into the top 50 in the order of merit for the first time. He defeated Jelle Klaasen in the first round of the European Championship, but then lost 10–5 against Adrian Lewis in a match where both players averaged over 100. In September, Chisnall reached the final of the fourth Dutch Players Championship of the year and lost 6–4 to Richie Burnett. Chisnall was defeated 2–1 in the first round of the 2011 Grand Prix by Alan Tabern after missing 13 darts at doubles to win the match, a television record which stood until 2013.  He won his first PDC title at a Players Championship event in Crawley by defeating Justin Pipe 6–4 in the final. He then reached the quarter-finals of the Players Championship Finals after avenging his loss to Alan Tabern at the World Grand Prix, beating Co Stompé before losing 9–8 to Mark Webster in a tight game.

2012.

Chisnall defeated Mark Dudbridge 3–0 to make the perfect start to his first PDC World Championship in the 2012 playing of the event. He played 15-time World Champion Phil Taylor in the second round and produced a stunning performance to win 4–1 and set up a last 16 meeting with Andy Hamilton. The only other players to have beaten Taylor in the PDC World Championship outside of the final, Wayne Mardle and Mark Webster both went on to lose their following matches, and Chisnall joined this club as he was whitewashed 4–0 by Hamilton. His exploits in 2011 and in the World Championship saw him named PDC Best Newcomer at the annual awards ceremony on 3 January.  He began the year with an exceptional start on the tour reaching the final of the second UK Open qualifier, where he lost 6–1 to Michael van Gerwen who hit a nine-dart finish during the match. He then reached the final of the fourth Players Championship after whitewashing Andy Hamilton in the quarter-finals and defeating Steve Beaton in the semi to face Phil Taylor in a repeat of their World Championship clash. He defeated him 6–5 to maintain his 100% record against Taylor and claimed his second professional PDC title. He won the next Players Championship too, defeating the likes of Raymond van Barneveld and Terry Jenkins, before sealing the title with a 6–2 win over Ian White. The very next day, Chisnall won the third title of his season at the sixth Players Championship event with a 6–4 success over Justin Pipe in the final. During the European Tour Event 1 in Austria, Chisnall scored eight maximums, and four 140's to hit a 113.09 average in a 6–3 win over Kevin Painter, before losing to James Wade in the semi-finals.  Chisnall enjoyed comfortable wins over Mark Layton, Dennis Smith, Simon Whitlock and Raymond van Barneveld to reach his first PDC major event semi-final at the UK Open. He faced Robert Thornton, but with the scores level at 2–2 early on Chisnall lost seven of the next eight legs and would bow out of the event with a 10–4 defeat. In the second European Tour event of the season Chisnall reached the final having earlier posted a 108.35 average in his second round match against Michael Rosenauer. He also beat Terry Jenkins, Mervyn King and Whitlock to play Taylor in the final. There Chisnall suffered his first defeat by Taylor, losing 6–2. The performance saw him break into the top 16 on the PDC Order of Merit for the first time, meaning he gained automatic qualification into the World Matchplay. He then won his fourth Players Championship of the year in Crawley with a 6–4 victory over Ronnie Baxter. Chisnall lost his second successive European Tour final at Event 3 in Düsseldorf following a 6–4 defeat by van Barneveld. His average of 82.16 in the final was the lowest of his tournament by over 10 points. Chisnall then suffered a 10–7 first round defeat by Baxter in the first round of the World Matchplay, and lost 3–1 in sets in the second round of the World Grand Prix to Mervyn King. Chisnall qualified from Group 6 of the Championship League and finished fourth in the Winners Group to reach the play-offs on leg difference over Justin Pipe and Baxter who, like Chisnall, had won three of their seven league games. In the semi-finals he faced Taylor and was whitewashed 6–0 with his opponent averaging 112.73. But he then beat Taylor 6–3 in the final of the 19th Players Championship, with Chisnall this time scoring the higher average of 111.80 to Taylor's 105.57. He also beat the in-form Michael van Gerwen in the semi-finals, with the title securing his place atop the ProTour Order of Merit and therefore he was the number one seed for the Players Championship Finals, where he was surprisingly whitewashed 6–0 by Wayne Jones in the first round. Chisnall was later named the Best PDC Pro Tour Player for his five tournament victories in 2012.

2013.

Chisnall lost in the last 16 of the World Championship for the second successive year in 2013. He came from a set down three times against Simon Whitlock to force a deciding set which he led 3–2, before Whitlock took out a crucial 152 finish and then won two successive legs to knock Chisnall out. He reached the final of the first UK Open Qualifier of the year, but lost 6–2 to Michael van Gerwen. At the UK Open itself he lost 9–2 to James Wade in the fourth round, and at the European Championship he was whitewashed 6–0 by Jamie Caven in the first round who averaged 106. At the World Matchplay he saw off Paul Nicholson 10–8 and gained revenge over Caven by defeating him 13–10 to reach the quarter-finals of the event for the first time. He played Michael van Gerwen and had chances to move 7–3 ahead but missed and even though he took out a finish of 144 and had an 11 dart leg he was beaten 16–11. In September, Chisnall won his first title since November last year at the German Darts Championship. He required deciding legs to advance through each of his first four matches, before beating Steve Beaton 6–4 in the semi-finals with an average of 106.30 and Peter Wright 6–2 in the final. He called the title the highlight of his career to date and moved up to a career high seventh on the Order of Merit. Chisnall faced Wright in a final for the second consecutive tournament at the seventh Players Championship of the season in Barnsley and won again, this time by a 6–5 scoreline.  At the World Grand Prix Chisnall reached his first PDC major final in the event where every leg must be started and finished by hitting a double. He beat Ian White 2–1 and Wayne Jones 3–1 in the first two rounds. In the quarter-finals Chisnall produced the match of his career to date against Michael van Gerwen. He led the Dutchman 2–0 and missed a dart to win 3–1 as the match was levelled at 2–2. However, Chisnall kept his composure to win the deciding set with a match total of ten 180s to Van Gerwen's two. Chisnall played the slow-paced Justin Pipe in the semi-finals and struggled for rhythm early on as he trailed 2–1. From there he only conceded two more legs as he won 5–2 and faced ten-time winner of the event Taylor in the final. Chisnall had a disaster as he lost each of the five opening sets without winning a leg. He finally won his first leg of the match at the start of the sixth set when Taylor could not hit an opening double. The usually prolific 180 hitter Chisnall scored his first two legs later but it was not enough as Taylor won the match 6–0. Afterwards Chisnall called it the best and worst night of his career. His run did earn him a spot in the Grand Slam of Darts, but he lost all three of his games against Michael Smith, Ted Hankey and Scott Waites to finish bottom of Group H. Later in the month, Chisnall won his third title of the year at the 15th Players Championship by beating Robert Thornton 6–3.

2014.

Chisnall fought back from 2–0 down in the first round of the 2014 World Championship against John Henderson to level at 2–2. However, he missed a total of four darts to win the match during the deciding set to suffer a shock defeat. Despite his early exit, Chisnall played in his first Premier League this year as he was awarded a PDC wildcard for the event. He won his opening night's match 7–5 against Robert Thornton, but only won a total of two more after this and finished the season with five successive losses to be placed seventh in the table. At the World Matchplay Chisnall defeated Dean Winstanley 10–4 and Andy Hamilton 13–10 to set up a quarter-final clash with Michael van Gerwen which he led 3–0, however he lost 16–12 in a tight game. At the Singapore Darts Masters, Chisnall beat Phil Taylor 10–6, before losing 11–6 to Simon Whitlock in the semi-finals. Chisnall was knocked out in the quarter-finals of successive major events the European Championship and the Masters by Van Gerwen.  At the Grand Slam, Chisnall topped his group to earn a place in the knockout stages where he beat former roommate Robbie Green 10–3 and youngster Keegan Brown 16–14 having been 8–2 and 12–6 behind to set up a semi-final clash with Kim Huybrechts. In a match which Chisnall led 4–1 and trailed 14–12, he won four of the last five legs to play in his second major PDC final. He faced the same opponent as the first in Phil Taylor and got off to a bad start as he lost each of the opening five legs. Chisnall fought back to level at 10–10, but Taylor pulled away again to lead 15–10 and went on to win 16–13. Chisnall played in the final of the 19th Players Championship a week later and lost 6–2 against Ian White.

2015.

Chisnall was beaten by a lower ranked player at the World Championship for the second year in a row as world number 50 Benito van de Pas eliminated him 4–2 in round two, with Chisnall missing one dart to level at 3–3. At the UK Open he fell 7–0 behind Stephen Bunting in the fourth round, before pulling the gap back to 8–6. Chisnall missed one dart to further reduce the deficit in the next leg and would lose 9–6.  In successive Premier League weeks, Chisnall averaged 107.01 in beating Kim Huybrechts 7–4 and then set his highest televised average of 110.78 during a 7–2 win over Gary Anderson. He then went on to smash his own personal record by defeating James Wade 7–1 with an average of 114.17 in week 10. Chisnall went into the final round of fixtures needing a win over Michael van Gerwen to top the table, but drew 6–6. He had a 7–4 advantage over Gary Anderson in the semi-finals, but the match went into a deciding leg in which Chisnall missed three match darts to be beaten 10–9. Chisnall lost in the final of the 10th Players Championship 6–4 to Joe Murnan. He won his first title in 18 months in the next event by beating Ian White 6–1. Chisnall was knocked out in the quarter-finals of the World Matchplay for the third year in a row, this time 16–8 to Taylor. He reached the final of the European Darts Matchplay, but lost 6–4 to Van Gerwen. Chisnall forced a deciding leg against White from 5–1 down in the final of the 17th Players Championship but lost it to be edged out 6–5. Wins over Mensur Suljović and Stephen Bunting saw Chisnall reach the quarter-finals of the European Championship for the second year in a row, but he was beaten 10–4 by Van Gerwen. He hit his first televised nine-dart finish during a group stage match 5–2 victory over Peter Wright at the Grand Slam. Chisnall went on to be eliminated in the second round of the event 10–7 by Michael Smith. His fifth major quarter-final of the year followed at the Players Championship Finals with Van Gerwen again beating him, this time 10–7 despite Chisnall averaging 105.51.

2016.

Chisnall's third round 2016 World Championship game with Peter Wright went to a deciding set. Chisnall missed one match dart, but then took out a 130 checkout to save the game after Wright had missed a match dart of his own. However, Wright broke once more and, after Chisnall missed double top to complete a 125 finish, he won the match 4–3. The defeat meant that Chisnall is yet to reach a quarter-final in a PDC World Championship. Chisnall recovered from an 8–0 deficit in the first round of the Masters to beat Robert Thornton 10–9 and then came past Kim Huybrechts 10–5 and James Wade 11–6 to reach the final. However, he would lose his third PDC major final 11–6 to Michael van Gerwen. He lost 9–7 to Gary Anderson in the third round of the UK Open after being 7–5 up. After whitewashing Thornton 7–0 on the opening night of the Premier League, Chisnall could not pick another win from his next eight matches to finish 9th in the table and be relegated from the competition.  Chisnall was beaten in the final of back-to-back European Tour events, 6–2 by Van Gerwen at the Gibraltar Darts Trophy and 6–5 by James Wade at the European Matchplay (missed one match dart after coming back from 4–1 down). His first title of the year came at the 10th Players Championship courtesy of defeating Steve Beaton 6–2. Chisnall was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the World Matchplay for the fourth year in a row this time 16–9 to Van Gerwen and the world number one was also the victor when they met in the final of the Perth Darts Masters, overcoming Chisnall 11–4. Another meeting with Van Gerwen came in the semi-finals of the World Grand Prix and, with Chisnall 2–1 up in sets, the fourth set went to a deciding leg in which Van Gerwen threw a double start 10-darter and went on to win 4–2. He lost in the final of the last Players Championship 6–1 to Benito van de Pas. After not getting out of his group at the Grand Slam, Chisnall won through to the final of the Players Championship Finals, surviving three match darts from Jelle Klaasen along the way. It was his fourth defeat in a major final as Michael van Gerwen triumphed 11–3.

2017.

Jelle Klaasen was 3–1 down to Chisnall in the third round of the 2017 World Championship, before winning the next set and the first two legs of the sixth. Chisnall then took three legs in a row to win 4–2 and reach the quarter-finals of a PDC World Championship for the first time, where he faced reigning two-time champion Gary Anderson. Chisnall took the first two legs of the seventh set with the match at 3–3, but missed four darts to win it and Anderson would go on to triumph 5–3. Chisnall threw 21 180s, the joint highest ever in a PDC match and 33 were hit in total, one short of the record. Chisnall lost 6–3 in the final of the fifth Players Championship to Adrian Lewis. Chisnall made his first appearance at the 2017 World Cup as he was the second highest English player on the Order of Merit behind Lewis. They made it through to the semi-finals, but were unable to win either of their singles matches against the Dutch team of Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld.

Personal life.

He met his wife Michaela who also plays darts at the St. Anne's Open in 2008. They married on Saturday 14 January 2017 in Morecambe. In September 2011, she gave birth to their first daughter, Lexie Rose. He is good friends with professional player Stephen Bunting. Chisnall is originally from St Helens but now lives in Morecambe.

Performance timeline.

BDO  PDC

David Chisnall (born 12 September 1980) is an English professional darts player from St Helens who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He began his career participating in the British Darts Organisation (BDO) and was the runner-up in their World Championship in 2010. He switched to the PDC a year later. He has won 15 Pro Tour events. Since his switch to the PDC, Chisnall is probably best known for defeating Phil Taylor in the 2012 World Championship, for reaching the final of the 2013 World Grand Prix where he was beaten 6–0 by Taylor and for reaching the final of the 2014 Grand Slam of Darts, losing a much closer match 16–13, again to Phil Taylor. He is yet to win a major title. He hit his only televised nine-dart finish in the 2015 Grand Slam of Darts against Peter Wright. He has won 15 PDC ranking events. Chisnall's manager is Roger Schena, who often tours with him during tournaments.

David „Dave“ Chisnall (* 12. September 1980 in St Helens, England) ist ein britischer Dartspieler. 2017 und 2019 erreichte er das Viertelfinale der PDC-Weltmeisterschaft.