title: Nightwish

text: In the June 2009 edition of the Finnish magazine "Soundi", Holopainen stated that he had started work on a new Nightwish album. In October 2009, rumors about the new album's name were going around with the title "Wind Embraced", but lead vocalist Anette Olzon listed the rumors as "not true" and said that the songs for the new album had not yet been completed apart from three songs written before May 2009. Holopainen said in a 2010 interview that "[...]I can't reveal to you any more but there is going to be a big twist so to say, on the next album." In an interview with Uilleann piper Troy Donockley (who recorded with the band on "Dark Passion Play"), when asked about his involvement in the new album, he stated "Oh yes, I "will" be playing on the next album and from what Tuomas has told me, it is going to be something extraordinary..."


title: Nightwish

text: On February 1, 2010, Olzon stated on her blog that Holopainen had nine songs ready for the new album. In April 2010, Holopainen revealed on the Nightwish homepage that he had finished writing the songs, and on June 2, it was announced that he had finished recording the pre-production demo.


title: Nightwish

text: The band announced in late 2010 that more information on the album's actual content would be released in late January, but on February 1, the official website bore a statement written by Holopainen that because of the schedule changes he can't yet give away as many details as he would have wanted, but more information will be out after a couple of months. He added, however, that "it still is the Burton-Gaiman-Dalí – amusement park we are about to enter". In the same statement, it was revealed that the album would be a theme album and "mood changes seem to be more present than ever before", and the orchestration demos he had received from Pip Williams were described as "beautiful, twisted, tribal and cinematic stuff". In the Finnish version of the statement, it was also revealed that a few songs will not get any orchestrations at all, differing from their latest album on which all songs had the background orchestra.


title: Nightwish

text: Announcements continued throughout 2011. On February 10, Nightwish announced on their website that the new album title would be "Imaginaerum". They also declared that the band had been preparing a movie based on the album, which would be released in 2012 and directed by Stobe Harju, who previously directed the music video for "The Islander". On August 22, 2011, it was announced on the band's official website that the album of "Imaginaerum" would be released at the end of the year. On August 31, Nightwish announced on its website the decision to change Imaginarium title to Imaginaerum "to avoid mix-ups with various things named 'Imaginarium'". On September 2, the group announced on its website that the new single called "Storytime" would be released on Friday, November 11, and on September 9, Nightwish revealed the cover and tracklist.


title: Nightwish

text: On January 11, 2012, Nightwish announced on its website that the second single, "The Crow, the Owl and the Dove", would be released on February 29. Roadrunner Records announced that Nightwish would be releasing a 10-inch LP titled "Trials of Imaginaerum" in conjunction with Record Store Day (April 21, 2012). The 10-inch LP is a two-sided picture disk that contains four early demos of "Storytime", "The Crow, The Owl and The Dove", "I Want My Tears Back" and "Slow, Love, Slow".


title: Nightwish

text: On October 1, 2012, Nightwish announced via its Facebook page that they were parting ways with Olzon. According to the press statement, "it has become increasingly obvious that the direction and the needs of the band were in conflict, and this has led to a division from which we cannot recover". This announcement came days after Olzon fell ill at a show in Denver, Colorado, and was unable to perform. Nightwish used replacement singers from the opening band, Kamelot, and Olzon later expressed her disappointment, saying "I was never asked if it was okay that they used Elize and Alissa in the show [Friday] night [...] I don't think it's a good decision they made and I'm sorry for those of you who came to see the whole band but got something else. But I was very ill and this decision wasn't mine." According to the statement, Dutch singer Floor Jansen (ex-After Forever, ReVamp) would sing for the remainder of the Imaginaerum World Tour.


title: Nightwish

text: On January 11, 2013, Olzon announced on her official blog that she was pregnant with her third child, due in spring 2013, which she claimed was a contributing factor to her being dismissed. The band then released a statement on its website counterclaiming that the reason Olzon gave for her dismissal and other statements she made were untrue and that Olzon herself had agreed to help find a replacement while she was on maternity leave. Later on, Olzon gave several interviews in which she said she never agreed with a replacement, even when she was pregnant, and proposed to the band to postpone the tour, which culminated in her firing. She also added that she was against Jansen joining the band in her period of maternity, mainly because of the difference in their vocal styles.


title: Nightwish

text: In a 2015 interview, Holopainen said the band "emerged stronger" from the line-up changes it went through.


title: Nightwish

text: In an interview with "Metal Hammer" in November 2012, Tuomas Holopainen stated that they already had a rehearsal place booked from July 2014 to September 2014, but before they began rehearsing the band members would be taking a break from Nightwish for several months.


title: Nightwish

text: On October 9, 2013, Nightwish announced Floor Jansen as the permanent replacement for Olzon. Troy Donockley was also announced as a full-time member, making the band a sextet for the first time. In a later interview, Tuomas said that Donockley's previous work with Nightwish had already made him "much a band member", so the band just "made it official". According to the band's webpage, the band would enter the studio in 2014 to record its eighth full-length album for a 2015 release. At that time, the band had already announced that it would contain Nightwish's longest song to date.


title: Nightwish

text: At the end of November, the band released the live album "Showtime, Storytime". Despite the recording happening when they were only four members, it is the first Nightwish release to feature Jansen and to have her and Donockley credited as band members. The album also carries a documentary containing the behind-the-scenes of Jansen's first days in the band and the process of replacing Olzon.


title: Nightwish

text: In May 2014, Holopainen updated his official website, stating that he and producer Tero "TeeCee" Kinnunen had been recording 12 demos (and possibly three bonus tracks) for the new album in Hattula, Finland. The band expected to start rehearsing in July in Eno, Finland, to complete recording by January 2015, and to release the album in spring of that year, "If everything goes as scheduled". Commenting on the music, Tuomas said:


title: Nightwish

text: On August 6, the band announced that founding member and drummer Jukka Nevalainen would not be part of the upcoming album due to his debilitating insomnia. Kai Hahto (Wintersun) would be taking his place on the album and the upcoming tour.


title: Nightwish

text: Evolutionary biologist and author Richard Dawkins was announced as a guest star on the album, with Holopainen stating that he had "been so enthusiastic about this kind of literature for the past few months, and will be for the upcoming months, that it's going to come out somehow."


title: Nightwish

text: In November, the band filmed a music video for "Élan", one of the tracks of the album. On December 8, the band announced that it would be the first single from the album, which would be released on February 13, 2015.


title: Nightwish

text: The new album's cover art and its title, "Endless Forms Most Beautiful", were revealed on December 22, and the album was released on March 27, 2015, produced by Tero "TeeCee" Kinnunen. The title for Endless Forms Most Beautiful was taken from the writings of English naturalist Charles Darwin. The album features the participation of London's The Metro Voices choir group, London's Young Musicians Children's Choir, and the Orchestre De Grandeur, led by the esteemed orchestral arranger Pip Williams, who teaches music and music technology at the London College of Music. Professor Richard Dawkins not only narrates the introduction to the album's opener, "Shudder Before the Beautiful", but also the album's closer, "The Greatest Show on Earth", which takes its name from his 2009 book on evolution. In its first week, the album sold 18,342 copies in the US and debuted at 34 on the Billboard 200, making it Nightwish's third album (after "Dark Passion Play" and "Imaginaerum") to chart in this category. In the Czech Republic, the album debuted atop the charts and received gold-status after just two days. The album charted in the top 10 in other countries as well, including Finland, Netherlands, Poland, Austria, and Mexico. To promote the album's release, the band embarked on an Endless Forms Most Beautiful World Tour, which started on April 9, 2015, in New York City and ended on October 9, 2016, in Saitama, Japan.


title: Nightwish

text: In July 2015, it was announced that Sonata Arctica's vocalist Tony Kakko would replace Jukka Nevalainen as the band's special guest at the 2015 edition of Rock in Rio. In December 2015, Nightwish became the first Finnish band to headline a show at the Wembley Arena, in London. The sold-out show featured guest performer Richard Dawkins, who spoke his parts on stage. The Tampere and London shows were filmed for a live album release known as "Vehicle of Spirit".


title: Nightwish

text: On August 20, 2016, the band played a special 20th-anniversary show at Himos Areena in Finland. The show featured original bassist Sami Vänskä on the song "Stargazers" and drummer Jukka Nevalainen on the song "Last Ride of the Day". The band took a break in 2017, during which Jansen was focusing on her first child. Holopainen said that the band would continue between the years of 2018 and 2020, with another album that would continue the themes explored in "Endless Forms Most Beautiful".


title: Nightwish

text: On June 9, 2017, the band announced that March 9, 2018, would mark not only the debut of a nine-month world tour titled "", which had concluded in December that same year, but also the release of a new compilation album, titled "Decades". The tour featured "rarely heard material" and a special set for fans; on the North American leg of the tour, every audience member was offered the "Decades" album for free. During the Latin American leg of the tour, the Buenos Aires show was filmed for a live DVD known as "" which was released on December 6, 2019.


title: Nightwish

text: In July 2018, Holopainen stated that he had written "80 or 90%" of the material for Nightwish's next album, which would consist of ten or eleven songs. He stated that the inspiration for the new album came from the completion of the 2018 self-titled debut album of Auri, a band he created with Donockley and Johanna Kurkela the previous year. Recording would start in July 2019, with a planned spring 2020 release. The band would "use the [orchestral] instrumentation in a different way than before", with Holopainen stating, "You want to search for some new ways of using it so that it doesn't end up sounding the same as before". Jansen stated in November that she believed the recording process would be similar to "Endless Forms Most Beautiful"s, for which the band went through lengthy rehearsals before starting to record.


title: Nightwish

text: On July 15, 2019, it was announced by the band that Kai Hahto would be permanently taking over for Jukka Nevalainen as the band's drummer. In a statement, Nevalainen explained that while he was managing his insomnia very well and having few issues, he did not want to 'push his luck' by returning to the band as a full-time member. He did confirm, however, that he would continue in his role of taking care of band-related business behind the scenes.


title: Nightwish

text: On October 31, 2019, Floor Jansen confirmed that recording for the new album had been completed. On December 18, 2019, it was confirmed that Tuomas Holopainen was at Finnvox Studios mixing Nightwish's upcoming studio album, set for release in the first quarter of 2020. Holopainen later confirmed on January 10, 2020, that mixing and mastering for the album had finished and was ready for release, with the album title and other details to be released soon.


title: Nightwish

text: The new album's cover and tracklist, along with its title, "", were revealed on January 16, 2020, and the album was released on April 10, 2020. The first single of the album, titled "Noise" was released on February 7, 2020, with an accompanying music video. The second single from the album, "Harvest", was released on March 6, 2020, with a lyric video to accompany its release. On the day the album was released, Nightwish released lyric videos for all of the songs on the album. The album debuted in the top 10 charts as number one in Finland, Spain, Switzerland and Germany, as well as being charted in other countries including Canada, Austria, Hungary, Poland and the United States.


title: Nightwish

text: Nightwish announced on March 11, 2020, that they had joined a partnership with an international conservation charity organization named World Land Trust. With their announcement was a video that promoted the organization, which in turn features the song "Ad Astra" from their ninth album. When asked about the partnership with the organization in an interview, Floor commented:


title: Nightwish

text: On July 10, 2020, a new crab species, the "Tanidromites nightwishorum", which was discovered by curator of palaentology Dr. Adiel A. Klompmaker of the Alabama Museum of Natural History, was named in honor of the band, in particular for their 2015 album "Endless Forms Most Beautiful". On August 12, 2020, a prehistoric rockshelter called the "Alpenglow Rockshelter", that was discovered in Pennsylvania, USA was, too, named for Nightwish, particularly in honor of their ninth track, "Alpenglow", from their 2015 album.


title: Nightwish

text: On January 12, 2021, Marko Hietala announced his departure from the band, citing his struggles with chronic depression and his disillusionment with the music scene in general. The band released another statement, that there will be a temporary live member to fill in for bass for the tour. In his statement, Hietala wrote:


title: Nightwish

text: The band began their in support of the album in May 2021 with an interactive livestream experience in a virtual reality built tavern which featured songs from the album, as well as revealed the identity of the session bass player, Jukka Koskinen via VIP virtual session. Both of the performances had broken records with the first drawing 150,000 viewers and setting it as the most viewed virtual performance in Finland, with the box office exceeding one million in euros. Holopainen and Donockley later confirmed that the virtual performances were recorded, which were later released on DVD on March 11, 2022. The band resumed their tour in Finland in late July 2021 with a "secret" performance in Oulu. The tour was originally scheduled to begin in spring 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the band postponed the tour to the next year. The tour is set to conclude in June 2023.


title: Nightwish

text: On January 21, 2021, the band were nominated by the Finnish Emma Awards for the categories of Album of the Year, Band of the Year and Viewer's Choice of the Year, winning the category of Metal Album of the Year. The awards ceremony in which they were nominated was held on May 14, 2021, at the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki.


title: Nightwish

text: Following a number of summer festivals in Europe, the band announced the addition of Jukka Koskinen as the band's permanent bass player on August 21, 2022.


title: Nightwish

text: In April 2021, Holopainen had said in an interview that he has already started sketching drafts for the next Nightwish album. He stated in May 2021 that he had been working on new material for "the past month or two" while he was busy with his side projects Auri and the reunited Darkwoods My Betrothed in which he became a full-time member. He confirmed that the band booked a studio for the next album, which is set to happen in 2023. On March 2, 2022, it was confirmed that Holopainen was in the studio, writing demos for the next Nightwish album, which were later finished in June 2022. Jansen, who is also working on a solo album to be released in 2023, stated on June 10, 2022 that the sound of the upcoming new album will be put in a heavier direction, but will not lose the band's sound while she also wanted to keep the concept for the album a secret. Holopainen confirmed in an interview before the band's performance at Knotfest in Turku, Finland on August 12, 2022, that the band had listened to the demos. Holopainen later confirmed that the next album will be both a follow-up to "Human. :II: Nature." and both the third and final part of a trilogy which was started from "Endless Forms Most Beautiful", as well as stating that the album will come out around early 2024.


title: Nightwish

text: Nightwish performs goth-influenced symphonic metal with soaring female operatic vocals. Their music has been described as "bombastic heavy, symphonic and cinematic, with keyboards and strings creating a gothic atmosphere". They have also been known to play power metal, folk metal and gothic metal.


title: Nightwish

text: The band's music is also known to be complex and layered. Their approach is epic, theatrical and operatic. Critic Chad Bowar notes that the music is "always very melodic with memorable choruses and a lot of hooks."


title: Nightwish

text: The usage of a female vocalist has become a sort of trademark, though less so since the outbreak of new female fronted metal bands in the mid-2000s with the popularization of bands such as Evanescence and Within Temptation as well as several gothic metal bands mixing female and male vocals, such as Lacuna Coil, Tristania, Epica and After Forever.


title: Nightwish

text: Former bassist and vocalist Marko Hietala describes the style of the band's music as "melodic symphonic metal;" though this is not a view shared by all members of the group, including band composer Tuomas Holopainen, who describes the band as simply symphonic metal. Some critics find that the band had a gothic sound since their debut. The music of Nightwish had been "distinguished by the operatic voice" of soprano Tarja Turunen, a "charismatic frontwoman with a powerful voice". Critics observed that her vocals became less operatic with the release of "Once". Following the departure of Tarja Turunen from the group, Nightwish left behind the "signature operatic vocals" of their earlier albums, though the band somewhat reintroduced this style when Floor Jansen became lead singer.


title: Nightwish

text: While the music of Nightwish is centered around a female lead singer, the band has also featured some male vocals on their albums ever since their debut release "Angels Fall First". This debut album also included "elements of folk music and ambience" that were discarded on their subsequent album "Oceanborn". However, the song "Creek Mary's Blood" from the album "Once" featured some use of folk-oriented Native American melodies, and their 2007 release "Dark Passion Play" featured folk music elements on the songs "The Islander" and "Last of the Wilds".


title: Nightwish

text: In the beginning, Holopainen mainly wrote about mythological and fantasy themes, and often used references to "metaphysics and nature". Fantasy novels especially are a big influence on Nightwish's lyrics. Songs such as "Wishmaster," "Elvenpath," and "Wanderlust" make fairly clear references to fantasy novels, in this case the "Dragonlance" series and J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings". "FantasMic" from "Wishmaster" is a direct tribute to Walt Disney and Disney animated films, which Holopainen has said are among his influences.<ref name="powermetal/00"></ref> "Dark Passion Play" featured the return to the fantasy theme with songs such as "Sahara", "Whoever Brings the Night" and "7 Days to the Wolves", which is loosely based on Stephen King's novel "", the fifth book in the Dark Tower series.<ref name="pm 7/07"></ref> The song "The Poet and the Pendulum's" first section is called "The White Lands of Empathica", which is a reference to in the Dark Tower series.


title: Nightwish

text: Through the years, the lyrics became more personal. "Dead Boy's Poem" from "Wishmaster" is a very emotional piece, which Holopainen calls his "legacy and [...] testament for the whole world. [...] I wanted to do this song before I die because I wanted to tell the whole world what I think and feel. It expresses a lot of myself." The personal development became even more obvious on the "Wishmaster"-successor "Century Child". Turunen thinks that the lyrics do not anymore deal "with the dreamland we were used to, but with the brutal reality of life."


title: Nightwish

text: "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan" (in English, "Death Makes an Artist") from "Once" describes the experience of loss and its impact on art, "Nemo" deals with the feeling of being lost,<ref name="u-empire/holo"></ref> while "Dead Gardens" deals with a bout of artist's block Holopainen suffered from. "Creek Mary's Blood" is based on Dee Brown's story of the same name, which presents the situation of Native Americans at the end of the 19th century.


title: Nightwish

text: 2007's "Dark Passion Play" included an unusual number of personal songs, including "The Poet and the Pendulum" which has been described as Holopainen's life story, and about being a composer and musician. Another song, "Meadows of Heaven" is a depiction of Holopainen's childhood and the feeling that it'll never return. Two songs, "Bye Bye Beautiful" and "Master Passion Greed" are about ex-member Tarja Turunen and her husband Marcelo Cabuli. Another song on the album, "Cadence of Her Last Breath", is a "very personal song" about running away. The album also contains many references to authors such as Edgar Allan Poe and Walt Whitman.


title: Nightwish

text: "Imaginaerum" tracks has different lyrical themes. For example, the song "Ghost River" themes "a duel between the Devil and Mother Gaia", while "Scaretale" themes "childhood nightmares and monsters".


title: Nightwish

text: On "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" lyrical themes included songs about the beauty of the world and everything it has to offer ("Shudder Before The Beautiful"), critic about how some religions restrict people's lives ("Weak Fantasy"), and the meaning of life, which can be something different for all of us ("Élan").


title: Nightwish

text: The first disc of "" continues the theme of Nightwish's previous album, with the album's theme being based on human nature and how they are as a species, with songs about modern society ("Noise"), life ("Harvest"), the human imagination ("Pan"), and an ode to human empathy ("How's the Heart?").


title: Nightwish

text: Although the lyrics of Nightwish generally are serious with dark meanings, they have also produced several less serious songs, including the bonus track "Nightquest", which talks about the band members' (the three original members as well as Nevalainen) connection as musicians, and the "quest" of Nightwish.


title: Nightwish

text: Nightwish's debut album "Angels Fall First" had one song in the Finnish language, but since then the band has only written songs in English, with the only exceptions being "Kuolema tekee taiteilijan" from the "Once" album (2004), the single "Erämaan viimeinen" (2007), which is a vocal version of the instrumental "Last of the Wilds", and "Taikatalvi" ("Magic Winter") from "Imaginaerum" (2011). Holopainen thought that he was very uncertain about the lyrics of "Erämaan viimeinen", because he is of the opinion that writing in Finnish is rather hard, and has said that "Finnish [could] quickly sound really cheesy."


title: Nightwish

text: Tuomas Holopainen, writer of most of the band's lyrics and music, says that he gets most of the inspiration for Nightwish's songs from film music. Songs like "Beauty of the Beast" (from "Century Child"), "Ghost Love Score" (from "Once") and "The Poet and the Pendulum" (from "Dark Passion Play") are examples of this influence. Holopainen has also said that film music is the music he listens to for leisure. He likes, for example, the musical scores to "The Village", "Van Helsing", "" and "Crimson Tide", and practically everything written by Hans Zimmer. Other songs, such as "Bye Bye Beautiful" (from "Dark Passion Play"), and "Wish I Had an Angel" (from "Once") have elements of industrial metal, and some others, like "The Islander" and "Last of the Wilds" (from "Dark Passion Play"), "Creek Mary's Blood" (from "Once"), and the "Angels Fall First" album have elements of folk music. Bands stated as an influence on Nightwish include Children of Bodom, Theatre of Tragedy, The Gathering, My Dying Bride, Tiamat and The 3rd and the Mortal.


title: Nightwish

text: Nightwish has also been noted as a source of inspiration for other bands. Simone Simons, lead singer of Dutch symphonic/gothic metal band Epica, stated that she began singing in a classical style because of Nightwish's 1998 "Oceanborn" album. Sander Gommans of After Forever said that Nightwish "will certainly influence us in creating new songs". Power metal band Sonata Arctica's lead singer Tony Kakko has explained how much of an influence Nightwish is to him. In December 2015, "Metal Hammer" Dave Everley described them as "mainland Europe's most successful metal band, give or take a Rammstein".


title: Daryl Sabara

text: Daryl Christopher Sabara (born June 14, 1992) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Juni Cortez in the "Spy Kids" film series and for a variety of television and film appearances, including "The Polar Express", "Wizards of Waverly Place", "Father of the Pride", "Keeping Up with the Steins", "Halloween", "Green Inferno", "World's Greatest Dad", "Grimm", "America's Most Talented Kid" (as a judge), and "Weeds".


title: Daryl Sabara

text: He graduated from West Torrance High School in 2010. He has a fraternal twin sister, Eve, who is also a voice actor. He is of Russian-Jewish descent from his mother and Polish descent from his father, and had a Bar Mitzvah ceremony. Sabara began performing with the regional ballet company, South Bay Ballet.


title: Daryl Sabara

text: Sabara began acting during the mid-1990s, appearing on episodes of "Murphy Brown", "Life's Work", "Friends" and "Will and Grace" before being cast as Juni Cortez in the "Spy Kids" series of family films, which became popular among pre-teen audiences.


title: Daryl Sabara

text: Sabara provided the voice of Hunter in "Father of the Pride". He has appeared in episodes of the television series "Weeds", "House", "Dr. Vegas", and was one of the judges on "America's Most Talented Kid". Sabara also voiced the main character, Hero Boy, in the 2004 animated version of "The Polar Express". He then played a young Jewish boy trying to have a nice Bar Mitzvah in "Keeping Up with the Steins" (formerly known as "Lucky 13"), which received a limited release on May 12, 2006. He also guest starred in the "Criminal Minds" episode, "P911" where he played a sexually molested child. He also provided the voice for the titular character in "Generator Rex".


title: Daryl Sabara

text: He next appeared in the films "Her Best Movie" and the interactive DVD "Choose Your Own Adventure", played Ben on "The Last Chance Detectives" radio dramas by "Adventures in Odyssey" and "Focus on the Family", and also appeared as school bully Wesley Rhoades in Rob Zombie's "Halloween". He then played Irwin in the theater play "The Catskills Sonata", about a young Jewish busboy in the late 1950s.


title: Daryl Sabara

text: In 2003, Sabara made a guest appearance as the character Owen on an episode of "Friends", during which Matthew Perry's character Chandler accidentally reveals to Owen that he is adopted. He also gained a recurring role in the Disney Channel sitcom "Wizards of Waverly Place" as T.J. Taylor, a wizard who ignores the rules and uses magic the way he wants, often getting him into trouble. He was also in "The Boondocks" as the voice of Butch Magnus Milosevic in the episode "Shinin'". He appeared in two episodes of "The Batman": first as Harris, a middle schooler; then as Scorn, the sidekick of the villain Wrath. Both roles were opposite his brother, who played "Robin".


title: Daryl Sabara

text: He costarred in the 2009 film "April Showers", a movie written and directed by a survivor of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre. He played Kyle, a misanthropic teenager in "World's Greatest Dad", with Robin Williams, and Peter Cratchit in the 2009 film adaptation of "A Christmas Carol". He appeared in the comedy series "Easy To Assemble", where he played a character named George. In 2010, he appeared in the movie "Machete", and the MTV movie "Worst. Prom. Ever." which premiered May 10. In 2012, he co-starred in "John Carter" as Edgar Rice Burroughs.


title: Daryl Sabara

text: He portrayed the recurring role of Tim Scottson in seven episodes (spanning from 2005 to 2012) of "Weeds".


title: Daryl Sabara

text: In 2014 he starred alongside Chloë Grace Moretz in the off-Broadway play "The Library" directed by Steven Soderbergh.


title: Daryl Sabara

text: Sabara started dating singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor in July 2016. They became engaged on December 21, 2017, and married on December 22, 2018, Trainor's 25th birthday. On October 7, 2020, Trainor and Sabara announced they were expecting their first child together, a boy. In February 2021, Trainor gave birth to their son.


title: 2020–21 Premier League

text: The 2020–21 Premier League was the 29th season of the Premier League, the top English professional league for association football clubs since its establishment in 1992 and the 122nd season of top-flight English football overall. The season was initially scheduled to start on 8 August 2020 and end on 16 May 2021, but this was delayed until 12 September as a consequence of the postponement of the previous season's conclusion due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Liverpool were the defending champions, having won their first Premier League and nineteenth English league title the previous season.


title: 2020–21 Premier League

text: In a season largely played behind closed doors, Manchester City secured a fifth Premier League title and seventh English league title overall with three matches to spare; it was also the club's third title in the last four seasons.


title: 2020–21 Premier League

text: At the start of this season, as was the case at the end of the previous season, there was limited or no attendance at matches besides each team's staff and personnel. On 23 November 2020, it was announced that some fans would be allowed to return to stadiums in low-risk areas at the end of the second national lockdown on 2 December 2020. The announcement of a third national lockdown on 4 January 2021, though, signalled a return to matches being played behind closed doors.


title: 2020–21 Premier League

text: On 22 February 2021, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced as the third step of recovery from the lockdown imposed on 4 January, that subject to certain criteria being met on vaccines, infection rates and new coronavirus variants, large football stadiums would be allowed to reopen on 17 May with a maximum of 10,000 spectators or 25% capacity, whichever was higher. This meant that the final round of fixtures scheduled for the 23 May would see spectators return to the stadium. To ensure all clubs played their final home game in front of fans, the penultimate round of fixtures were rearranged to take place on 18–19 May. No away fans were permitted for these matches.


title: 2020–21 Premier League

text: The 2020–21 season began on Saturday 12 September, just seven weeks after the conclusion of the 2019–20 season. Liverpool were the defending champions, having won their nineteenth league title the previous season, their first in the Premier League era. As originally planned, the 2020–21 season was to be the second Premier League season with a mid-season break in February, whereby five games of a normal round of ten would be played on one weekend and the remaining five the following weekend. However, due to the late start of the league and fixture congestion, the winter break was scrapped. It is also the second Premier League season to use VAR (Video Assistant Referee).


title: 2020–21 Premier League

text: The top of the table was tight for the first months of the season, with Arsenal, Leicester City, Everton, Liverpool, Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur all having occupied first position by late November. The top six were separated by only five points at that stage. Liverpool overtook Tottenham again in mid-December, following a meeting between the two clubs at Anfield which resulted in a win to Liverpool. By Christmas, Liverpool had opened up a five-point gap following a away win against Crystal Palace.


title: 2020–21 Premier League

text: In the new year, Liverpool suffered from a significant slump in form. They suffered their first home defeat in 69 games with a defeat to Burnley, which began a run of six consecutive losses at Anfield, following losses to Brighton & Hove Albion, Manchester City, Everton, Chelsea and Fulham, dropping to eighth place by early March. Manchester United took the lead at the top of the table in mid-January with a away win against Burnley, but they were in turn replaced by Manchester City at the end of the month as a Manchester City win over West Bromwich Albion was followed by a home defeat for Manchester United against Sheffield United.


title: 2020–21 Premier League

text: This was to prove the final change of team at the top, as Manchester City went on a 15-match winning streak which saw them 15 points clear of second-place Manchester United after a win against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 2 March. They went on to secure the title on 12 May 2021 with three matches to spare, following a home defeat for Manchester United against Leicester. It was the club's fifth Premier League title and seventh English league title overall, as well as their third title in the past four seasons.


title: 2020–21 Premier League

text: The remaining two slots for Champions League qualification were taken by Liverpool and Chelsea. Although Liverpool were 8th with ten games remaining, a run of eight wins from their final ten games, including a 95th-minute winner scored by goalkeeper Alisson against West Bromwich Albion, saw them recover their position to finish 3rd and qualify for a fifth straight season. Chelsea endured a difficult start to the season under Frank Lampard, who was sacked in January with the club in 9th position and replaced by Thomas Tuchel. The club's form improved under Tuchel to secure a second consecutive finish in 4th place, despite a final day defeat to Aston Villa. They won in that season's Champions League final the next week, in the competition's third all-English final against champions Manchester City.


title: 2020–21 Premier League

text: Leicester enjoyed a successful season, spending more time in the top four places than any other club; however, three defeats in their final four games, including a home defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on the final day, saw them narrowly finish in 5th for a second consecutive season. Having narrowly avoiding relegation the previous season, West Ham United surprised many by finishing 6th, their highest finish since 1998–99. Both these clubs earned qualification to the Europa League for the following season.


title: 2020–21 Premier League

text: Despite leading the table in November, Tottenham suffered a string of poor results from December onwards. Manager Jose Mourinho was sacked in April with the club in 7th place, with Ryan Mason taking over as interim manager for the rest of the season. Mason was unable to improve the club's position and they finished 7th, their lowest finish since the 2008–09 season, but still good enough to qualify for the brand new third tier Europa Conference League competition. Meanwhile, their traditional North London rivals Arsenal endured an even worse campaign; eight defeats in their first 14 games left them in 15th just before Christmas and seemingly in danger of being sucked into a relegation battle. Whilst they would pick up enough points thereafter to pull away from the bottom half of the table, the Gunners could only finish 8th for a second successive season; they failed to qualify for European competition for the first time since the 1994–95 season.


title: 2020–21 Premier League

text: On 17 April 2021, Sheffield United were confirmed to be the first team to be relegated to the Championship following a defeat away to Wolverhampton Wanderers with six games remaining, ending their two-year top flight tenure. On 9 May 2021, West Bromwich Albion became the second team to be relegated following a defeat away to Arsenal, with three games remaining, immediately returning to the Championship after a season's presence in the top flight. On 10 May 2021, Fulham were the third and final team to be relegated following a 2–0 defeat at home against Burnley with three games remaining, also immediately returning to the Championship after a season's presence in the top flight. This also marked the first time in the Premier League era that all three teams have been relegated with more than two games to spare. In contrast, the final promoted team, Leeds United, finished in 9th with 59 points, the highest points tally for a newly promoted side since Ipswich Town in 2000–01 (66 points).


title: 2020–21 Premier League

text: Twenty teams compete in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the Championship. The promoted teams are Leeds United, West Bromwich Albion and Fulham, after respective top flight absences of sixteen, two and one year(s). They replaced Bournemouth, Watford (both teams relegated after five years in the top flight), and Norwich City (relegated after a year back in the top flight).


title: Samael

text: Samael (, "Sammāʾēl", "Venom/Poison of God"; , "Samsama'il" or , "Samail"; alternatively Smal, Smil, Samil, or Samiel) is an archangel in Talmudic and post-Talmudic lore; a figure who is the accuser or adversary (Satan as mentioned in the Book of Job), seducer, and destroyer (Mashhit as mentioned in the Book of Exodus).


title: Samael

text: Although many of his functions resemble the Christian notion of Satan, to the point of being sometimes identified as a fallen angel, he is not necessarily evil, since his functions are also regarded as resulting in good, such as destroying sinners.


title: Samael

text: He is considered in Midrashic texts to be a member of the heavenly host with often grim and destructive duties. One of Samael's greatest roles in Jewish lore is that of the main angel of death and the head of "satans". Although he condones the sins of man, he remains one of God's servants. He appears frequently in the story of the Garden of Eden and engineered the fall of Adam and Eve with a snake in writings during the Second Temple period. However, the serpent is not a form of Samael, but a beast he rode like a camel. In a single account he is also believed to be the father of Cain, as well as the partner of Lilith. In early Talmudic and Midrashic literature he is not identified with Satan yet. Only in later Midrashim he is entitled "head of all the satans".


title: Samael

text: As guardian angel and prince of Rome, he is the archenemy of Israel. By the beginning of Jewish culture in Europe, Samael had been established as a representative of Christianity, due to his identification with Rome.


title: Samael

text: In some Gnostic cosmologies, Samael's role as source of evil became identified with the Demiurge, the creator of the material world. Although probably both accounts originate from the same source, the Gnostic development differs from the Jewish development of Samael, in which Samael is merely an angel and servant of God.


title: Samael

text: Samael was first mentioned during the Second Temple Period and immediately after its destruction. He is apparently first mentioned in the Book of Enoch along with other rebellious angels. In "Enoch 1" he is one of the Watchers who descended to Earth to copulate with human women, although he is not their leader, this being Semyaza.


title: Samael

text: In the Greek Apocalypse of Baruch, he is the dominant evil figure. Samael plants the Tree of knowledge, thereupon he is banished and cursed by God. To take revenge, he tempts Adam and Eve into sin by taking the form of the serpent.


title: Samael

text: The names Belial and Satan are also applied to him and he gains control of King Manasseh in order to accuse Isaiah of treason.


title: Samael

text: In Talmudic-Midrashic literature, Samael's role as an agent of evil is rather marginal, but from the fifth or sixth century onward, this name again becomes one of the most prominent among the demonic entities. Samael has not been identified with the angel of death in the Talmud.


title: Samael

text: In the Exodus Rabbah, Samael is depicted as the accuser in the heavenly court and tempting to sin, while Michael defends Israel's actions. Here, Samael is identified with Satan. While "Satan" describes his function as an "accuser," "Samael" is considered to be his proper name. He also fulfills the role of the Angel of Death, when he comes to take the soul of Moses and is called the leader of "satans".


title: Samael

text: The title of "satan" is also applied to him in the midrash Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer, where he is the chief of the fallen angels, and a twelve-winged seraph. According to the text, Samael opposed the creation of Adam and descended to Earth to tempt him into evil. Riding the serpent, he convinces Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. His role here might be similar to the Islamic idea of Iblis, who refused to prostrate himself before Adam because he consists of fire and Adam merely from dust. The midrash also reveals Samael fathered Cain with Eve.


title: Samael

text: In the Midrash Konen, he is the ruler of the third hell. Several sources, such as Yalkut Shimoni (I, 110) describe him as the guardian angel of Esau relating him to Rome, the one who wrestled with Jacob, the angel who ordered Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, and a patron of Edom.


title: Samael

text: In Kabbalah (A. E. Waite, 255), Samael is described as the "severity of God," and is listed as fifth of the archangels of the world of Briah. Among his portions are Esau, the people who inherent the sword and bring war; the goats and se'irim (demons); and the destroyer angels.


title: Samael

text: Although both Samael and Lilith are major demons in earlier Jewish traditions, they do not appear paired until the second half of the thirteenth century, when they are introduced together. Lilith is a demon created alongside Adam, originally created for the role Eve would fill, who then becomes Samael's bride. With her, Samael created a host of demon children, including a son, the "Sword of Samael" (or of Asmodai).


title: Samael

text: In the Kabbalistic work "Treatise on the Left Emanation", Samael is part of the Qliphoth, prince of all demons, and spouse of Lilith. The two are said to parallel Adam and Eve, being emanated together from the Throne of Glory as a counterpart. Asmodeus is also mentioned to be subservient to Samael and married to a younger, lesser Lilith. According to the treatise, God castrated Samael in order not to fill the world with their demonic offspring, this being the reason why Lilith seeks to fornicate with men.


title: Samael

text: In the Zohar, one of Kabbalah's main works, Samael is described as a leader of the divine forces of destruction, being part of the Qliphoth. He is mentioned again as the serpent's rider, and is described as having mated with Eisheth Zenunim, Na'amah, and Agrat bat Mahlat, all being "angels" of sacred prostitution. Notably, the same work later calls him Azazel, which might be a case of mistaken identity, as Azazel may be himself in Zoharistic lore a combination of the angels Aza and Azrael.


title: Samael

text: Samael is also depicted as the angel of death and one of the seven archangels, the ruler over the Fifth Heaven and commander of two million angels such as the chief of other destroying angels.


title: Samael

text: According to apocryphal "Gedulat Moshe" ("The Apocalypse of Moses", "The Ascension of Moses" in "The Legends of the Jews" by Louis Ginzberg) Samael is also mentioned as being in 7th Heaven:


title: Samael

text: In the "Apocryphon of John", "On the Origin of the World", and "Hypostasis of the Archons", found in the Nag Hammadi library, "Samael" is one of three names of the demiurge, whose other names are "Yaldabaoth", "Saklas" and "Yahweh".


title: Samael

text: After Yaldabaoth claims sole divinity for himself, the voice of Sophia comes forth calling him "Samael", due to his ignorance. In "On the Origin of the World", his name is explained as "blind god" and his fellow Archons are said to be blind, too. This reflecting the characteristics of the Christian devil, making people blind, as does the devil in 2 Corinthians 4. Also Samael is the first sinner in the "Hypostasis of the Archons" and the First Epistle of John calls the devil as sinner from the beginning. These characteristics combined with his boasting conflates the Jewish god with the devil. His appearance is that of a lion-faced serpent. Although the Gnostics and Jewish originally used the same source, both depictions of Samael developed independently.


title: Samael

text: Samael is sometimes confused in some books with Camael, who appears in the Coptic Gospel of the Egyptians also as an evil power, whose name is similar to words meaning "like God" (but Camael with a waw missing). The name might be explained, because in Jewish traditions, the snake had the form of a camel, before it was banished by God.


title: Samael

text: To anthroposophists, Samael is known as one of the seven archangels: Saint Gregory gives the seven archangels as Anael, Gabriel, Michael, Oriphiel, Raphael, Samael, and Zerachiel. They are all imagined to have a special assignment to act as a global "zeitgeist" ('time-spirit'), each for periods of about 360 years.


title: Samael

text: According to the Quranic retelling of the story of the Exodus in the 20th chapter (sūrah), a figure called "Samiri" is blamed for tempting the Hebrews into worshipping the Golden calf. While "mufassirs" (exegetes) remain undecided about the identity of the Samiri, Abraham Geiger proposed that "Samiri" is a corruption of the Talmudic accuser angel Samael. The same function is applied to Samael in the Midrash Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer. The Arabic letter "rāʾ" is supposed to have entered through a nickname for Samael; "Somron".


title: Patrick Vieira

text: Patrick Vieira (born 23 June 1976) is a French professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Crystal Palace. He is widely considered as one of the greatest midfielders of his generation. Vieira began his career at Cannes, where several standout performances garnered him a move to Serie A club Milan, though he had limited first-team playing time. In 1996, he relocated to England to join fellow countryman Arsène Wenger at Arsenal for a fee of £3.5 million.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: During his nine-year stint in the Premier League, Vieira established himself as a dominating box-to-box midfielder, noted for his aggressive and highly competitive style of play, an attitude that also helped him excel as captain of the club from 2002 until his departure in 2005. He was named in the Premier League PFA Team of the Year for six consecutive years from 1999 to 2004. He helped Arsenal achieve a sustained period of success during his time at the club, where he lifted four FA Cups and three league titles, including one unbeaten. He then returned to Italy, playing for Juventus, but quickly departed after the club was relegated as punishment for its part in the Calciopoli scandal. He then signed for Inter Milan, where he consecutively won four league titles, before featuring for Manchester City, where he won another FA Cup before retiring in 2011.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: Vieira featured at senior level for much of his international career, representing France over a period of 12 years, where he also spent some part as captain. He played in the final in his nation's victorious campaign at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, and featured heavily as the team also won Euro 2000. He also appeared for France at the 2002 World Cup, Euro 2004, in the side that finished runners-up in the 2006 World Cup, and at Euro 2008. Vieira was used sparingly by France in the latter stages of his career, and he retired from international competition in 2010, after amassing 107 appearances for the side.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: Following retirement, Vieira transitioned into coaching, and took charge of the academy at Manchester City in 2013. He departed two years later to sign for Major League Soccer (MLS) club New York City FC. He subsequently returned to France to manage Ligue 1 club Nice in 2018, but was dismissed in 2020 after a string of poor results. He was then appointed manager of Crystal Palace in July 2021.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: Vieira's family moved from Senegal to Dreux, France, when he was eight, and he did not return to Senegal until 2003. His parents divorced when Vieira was young, and he never met his father again. His grandfather served in the French Army, making him eligible for French nationality at birth. His surname Vieira, which is Portuguese, is the maiden name of his mother, who is from Cape Verde.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: Vieira first played for FC Tours U19 in the early 90s, before moving to Cannes, where he made his debut at the age of 17, in 1993, and captained the team at just 19 years old. In the summer of 1995, he was signed by Italian giants Milan, although he made just two first-team appearances for the club.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: On 10 August 1996, the "Daily Mirror" reported that Vieira was subject to a move to English club Arsenal, given personal terms with original suitors Ajax were not reached. He joined Arsenal four days later in a £3.5 million move. The peculiarity of Vieira and fellow Frenchman Rémi Garde arriving at the club, coupled with manager Bruce Rioch's dismissal before the season had begun, suggested that Arsenal was managed by exterior influence. Vieira later revealed he signed for Arsenal because his compatriot Arsène Wenger was going to be the club's next manager: "I am delighted to be joining Arsenal at the same time as Mr Wenger becomes their coach. Being able to speak French to him will make life a lot easier for me." Wenger was officially in command of managerial affairs at Arsenal by the start of October, but Vieira had already made his mark, coming on as a substitute against Sheffield Wednesday on 16 September 1996; "The Times" described him as a "thinking man's Carlton Palmer … who, at last, gives the Arsenal midfield some variety."


title: Patrick Vieira

text: Vieira made his full debut against Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium, three days after. He scored his first goal for the club against Derby County on 8 December 1996 – a late equaliser in a 2–2 draw. His performances for Arsenal in the subsequent months made him a fans’ favourite and was lauded as "…the playmaker Arsenal have sought since Paul Davis pulled the strings in the 1991 championship-winning team." Davis himself noted that in the matches Vieira was suspended during the Christmas period, Arsenal struggled to win. He ended his first season with 38 appearances in total and Arsenal finished in third place, missing out on a spot in the UEFA Champions League via goal difference.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: Vieira's partnership with international teammate Emmanuel Petit the following season was instrumental in helping Arsenal complete a domestic league and cup double. Vieira scored his first goal of the campaign against Manchester United in a 3–2 victory on 9 November 1997. Vieira, however, twisted his knee during the match and was ruled out from playing for a month. He returned for the trip at Wimbledon on 22 December 1997, which was postponed due to floodlight problems. In a game against Coventry City on 17 January 1998, Vieira received his first red card for using "foul and abusive language" at referee Stephen Lodge. Vieira was again dismissed a month later, this time in a League Cup semi-final against Chelsea, a decision which Wenger described as "absolutely ridiculous." Towards the finishing straight of the campaign, Vieira helped Arsenal make ground on league leaders Manchester United and his card record had improved, "…with only one booking in the latter stages of the season". After a successful World Cup campaign with the national team, Vieira had another productive season at Arsenal in 1998–99. Although Arsenal failed to retain the Premier League, Vieira's endeavour was rewarded – he was named in the PFA Team of the Year alongside Petit.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: Against West Ham United on 2 October 1999, Vieira was sent off for a second booking, after fouling striker Paolo Di Canio. Moments after, he spat at Neil Ruddock, who walked into him and was dragged off the pitch by officials. Vieira was subsequently charged, banned for six matches and fined a record £45,000 by The Football Association (FA). The season ended in disappointment for both Vieira and Arsenal, as the team finished 18 points behind champions Manchester United, in second place. Arsenal reached the 2000 UEFA Cup Final, which Vieira played but the team lost the match on penalties; Vieira's spot kick hit the post.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: Disciplinary problems continued to beset Vieira in the 2000–01 season. He was sent off on the opening day against Sunderland and for the second time in 72 hours at home to Liverpool. Vieira scored two goals, the following match against Charlton Athletic, in what was his final appearance before a five-match suspension. It was feared that Vieira was prepared to turn his back on English football as he felt victimised – Wenger, several Arsenal players and fans supported him publicly. Vieira himself, after the ban, expressed his desire to remain at Arsenal, but noted he could never alter his style of play: "...because, basically, I don't want to change. I really enjoy English football and the life in England. I am happy here."


title: Patrick Vieira

text: After a group stage match against Lazio in October 2000, Vieira claimed he was the target of racial abuse from Siniša Mihajlović, to which UEFA subsequently launched an investigation into. Mihajlović later admitted he made reference to Vieira's colour, but added that he was provoked. The player was then handed a two-match ban for "unsporting actions". Given Arsenal finished behind Manchester United in the league for a third consecutive season, Vieira was reluctant to commit himself to the club and described the season, up until April 2001, as "average". Despite how mature his performances had become since Petit left, he criticised Arsenal's decision to sell him and Marc Overmars to Barcelona: "Of course it was good business but it was a big disappointment for me. If we still had the same team now and put Overmars and Petit in it, we would be even better and stronger. It's not that I miss Petit – the team needs him."


title: Patrick Vieira

text: In May 2001, "The Daily Telegraph" reported that Manchester United was planning an "audacious" attempt to sign Vieira; manager Sir Alex Ferguson, a long-term admirer of the player, was given the green light by his board to make a bid. In the summer period, Vieira disparaged Arsenal's transfer activity and was adamant the club would not finish "in the top five in the league – and forget the Champions League," saying about his future: "As far as I'm concerned, the matter is resolved. I am leaving Arsenal and I have made that perfectly clear." The club refused to respond to his comments, but vice-chairman David Dein was privately irked at Vieira's agent, Marc Roger, for letting the situation become unsettling. Wenger attributed the saga at the hands of Manchester United: "[They] made an approach to Patrick without contacting us, and that does not really respect the rules." Vieira turned up for pre-season training in July 2001 as normal and was later named the club vice-captain, to ensure he would succeed Tony Adams as captain. Success finally came for Vieira in the 2001–02 season; Arsenal regained the league and beat Chelsea in the 2002 FA Cup Final to complete a second double.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: Adams' retirement in May 2002 meant Vieira became club captain. He described the feeling as "daunting", but it was something he looked forward to: "Taking the responsibility on my shoulders is something I relish. It will make me a better, more mature footballer and a more mature person as well." Against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in September 2002, Vieira was sent off for a late tackle on Gianfranco Zola; Arsenal's persistence nevertheless earnt them a point. In an interview with "L'Équipe" soon after, Vieira spoke of his desire to rest, as he felt "burned out": "I can hardly stand. My back aches, my legs hurt, it hurts all over. I'm going to see Arsène. He must give me time off to relax." He featured in 66 games the previous campaign for Arsenal, but Wenger rejected the player's need for special treatment: "I looked at the statistics for Tuesday's game and, physically, Patrick was outstanding. He pushed himself very hard and that explains why he was so tired."


title: Patrick Vieira

text: Vieira's performance against Charlton on 14 September 2002 – incidentally his 200th league appearance for Arsenal – "justified Wenger's faith in his captain's fitness". Two months later, he was lauded by "The Guardian" correspondent David Lacey for his show against Newcastle United – "the Arsenal captain dominated the afternoon with a demonstration of tackling, control, awareness and movement that was exceptional even by his standards." Vieira sustained a groin injury against Valencia in December 2002, returning on Boxing Day to face West Bromwich Albion. In May 2003, Vieira was fined £2,300 by UEFA, having criticised the organisation for not doing enough on racism – the player was subject to racist abuse against Valencia. Vieira missed Arsenal's title run-in, which saw Manchester United overtake them in first place, due to sustaining a knee injury. Vieira was also ruled out of the 2003 FA Cup Final which Arsenal won.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: In spite of growing interest to sign Vieira, not least from Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Chelsea in summer 2003, he agreed to stay at Arsenal and signed a deal that ran until 2007. The 2003–04 season was a successful one for Arsenal, as they reclaimed the league title and became the first English team in more than a century to go through the entire league season unbeaten. Vieira endured a troubling start to the campaign, as he was sent off against Manchester United in September 2003, banned for one match, and later fined £20,000 "for improper conduct in failing to leave the field of play following his sending-off". He went off with a thigh strain during the match against Newcastle United, which commenced a period of being in and out of the side for two months. He scored his first goal of the season against Chelsea on 21 February 2004; Arsenal afterwards opened up a seven-point gap at the top of the league. Two months later, Vieira scored the opening goal away to Tottenham Hotspur, in what ended a 2–2 draw – enough for Arsenal to regain the title. Against Leicester City in the final league match of the campaign, with the score tied at 1–1, Dennis Bergkamp set up Vieira with a pass, to which he rounded the goalkeeper and scored. Arsenal ended the campaign as league champions without a single defeat – a record of 26 wins and 12 draws.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: The re-election of Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez in July 2004 prompted him to declare the club's ambition to sign Vieira: "I must repeat that my policy is to try to sign the best player in the world in every position where we do not already have that. Patrick Vieira is, in my opinion, the best in the world in his position." Vieira's advisors met with officials from Real Madrid, before it was speculated a bid of £18 million had been put on the table. Following an ultimatum set by Wenger, who was "likely" to make an offer for West Ham midfielder Michael Carrick as his replacement, Vieira chose to stay at Arsenal. In a statement, he said: "I'm staying at the club. I'm proud to be captain of the club and I'm looking forward to achieving my ambitions."


title: Patrick Vieira

text: Vieira scored his first goal of the 2004–05 season in a nine-goal North London derby, which Arsenal won 5–4 on 13 November 2004. His second goal came in a fortnight at Liverpool, "lift[ing] a lazy, delicate finish away from Chris Kirkland" after a one-touch move. Arsenal lost the match late on and Vieira, booked in the match, was suspended for the December clash against league leaders Chelsea; he scored the only goal for the team against Newcastle in the Christmas period. Vieira was involved in a tunnel bust up with Manchester United captain Roy Keane in February 2005 and was confronted about an incident involving Gary Neville. Arsenal fell to third as a result of losing 4–2 to United, but a 12 league match unbeaten run, culminating in a 7–0 home win against Everton, meant they ended the season in second place. In the 2005 FA Cup Final, he scored the winning penalty in a penalty shoot-out after a 0–0 draw with Manchester United, which proved to be his final kick of a ball for Arsenal. Vieira returned for the opening match of Emirates Stadium, in a testimonial for Bergkamp on 22 July 2006, as one of the Arsenal legends against Ajax.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: In July 2005, representatives of Juventus met with Arsenal with a view to signing Vieira. The player, according to "The Guardian", accepted that Arsenal were "ready to let him go" before agreeing in principle to join Juventus. On 15 August 2005, Vieira signed a five-year contract, in a deal worth £13.75 million.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: Vieira was reunited with Fabio Capello, who had signed him at Milan, as a teenager. Capello described him as a "very important player", adding "…his presence is felt not only for his technical value but for his physical quality." Capello deployed Vieira in a midfield alongside Brazilian Emerson and Czech Pavel Nedvěd. Vieira made his debut for Juventus in their 1–0 win against Chievo on 28 August 2005. On 14 September 2005, he was sent off against Club Brugge, in Juventus' first matchday of the Champions League. Vieira scored his first goal for the club – a 37th-minute winner against Udinese a week after, which contributed towards Juventus' impressive start to the league season. Having picked up a groin injury through international duty for France, Vieira missed Juventus' Champions League match away to Bayern Munich in October 2005. Despite his performances dipping as the result of a persistent groin injury and a reported training ground bust-up with teammate Zlatan Ibrahimović, Vieira helped Juventus retain the "Scudetto", which was later stripped.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: In a twist of fate, Vieira returned to Highbury on 28 March 2006 to play against Arsenal in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Champions League. During that game, he was the subject of a strong tackle by former club and national teammate Robert Pires. Vieira was left crestfallen as Pires regained possession and Arsenal attacked, scoring the first goal of the tie through Cesc Fàbregas. Pires humorously quipped that it was the first time in 13 years he had got the better of Vieira physically. Vieira also received a yellow card during that leg, which Arsenal won 2–0, and was suspended for the return leg on 5 April 2006 which ended 0–0 and eliminated Juventus. Arsenal ended up reaching the Champions League final.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: Juventus were stripped of their 2004–05 and 2005–06 titles after it was revealed they were involved in the Calciopoli scandal. Juventus were relegated to Serie B and deducted 17 points by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) for their involvement, prompting many of the club's major stars to move elsewhere. After press speculation linking him to various clubs, including a move back to Arsenal, on 2 August 2006, Vieira officially signed a four-year deal with Inter Milan in a deal to be worth €9.5 million, less than half of the €20 million fee Juventus had paid just 12 months prior. Vieira declared he wanted to continue to play at the highest level at the presentation conference, which is his reason to leave Juve.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: On his Inter debut on 26 August, Vieira scored twice as the team won 4–3 against A.S. Roma in the 2006 Supercoppa Italiana at the San Siro. He later won the 2006–07, 2007–08, and 2008–09 Serie A titles. But due to injury, he failed to become a regular starter. Olivier Dacourt, initially a backup player, became manager Roberto Mancini's first choice player in the 2006–07 season. After the club signed Sulley Muntari and Thiago Motta, Vieira became of lesser and lesser importance in the team.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: In response to extensive media speculation regarding a possible return by Vieira to his former club in 2009, Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger admitted that he would contemplate re-signing Vieira. The move never happened, however, and Vieira remained at Inter. On 6 January 2010, Vieira unusually played as starter against Chievo, which was his eighth league start of the season. Before the match commenced, Inter had lost Esteban Cambiasso and Muntari due to injury, with Dejan Stanković and Motta suspended. José Mourinho stated that Vieira had played his last game at Inter after the match.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: On 8 January 2010, it was confirmed that Vieira was having a medical at Manchester City and he would sign a six-month deal, where he would link up with former Arsenal colleagues Kolo Touré and Sylvinho and former Inter manager Roberto Mancini. The contract also included an option for a 12-month extension. Mancini described Vieira as an excellent midfielder with a winner's mentality and that he would fit into Manchester City's squad very well.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: He made his debut on 6 February in the 2–1 defeat away to Hull City, replacing Craig Bellamy after an hour. Three days later, he made his first start against Bolton Wanderers, where he assisted Emmanuel Adebayor through a long ball in the 2–0 victory. Later in the month, he was given a three-match retrospective ban for a kick at Stoke City's Glenn Whelan. He scored his first goal for the club against Burnley in a 6–1 win on 3 April 2010. On 9 June, Vieira agreed to a one-year extension to his contract, which kept him at Eastlands until the summer of 2011.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: On 22 February 2011, Vieira scored the first two City goals in a 5–0 win in the FA Cup Fourth round replay against Notts County, and was awarded Man of the Match honours. He scored in the Premier League on 3 April against Sunderland, a minute after having come on as a substitute for Adam Johnson in the 5–0 win. He made an added-time substitute appearance in place of David Silva on 14 May, as Manchester City won the 2011 FA Cup Final with a 1–0 win over Stoke at Wembley Stadium. On 14 July, he retired at the age of 35, immediately becoming a development executive at City.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: Vieira made his debut for France in 1997 against the Netherlands. He was part of the France squad in the 1998 FIFA World Cup. He came on as a substitute in the final against Brazil, and set up Arsenal teammate Emmanuel Petit for France's third goal in a 3–0 win. He, with the rest of the squad, was appointed a Knight of the Legion of Honour in 1998.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: He subsequently played as a first choice midfield player in France's successful campaign at UEFA Euro 2000, which they won, beating Italy in the final. He helped France to victory in the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup, ending the tournament as joint top scorer with two goals, including the winner, a header, in the final against Japan. He also played in all three games in the 2002 World Cup, in which France were eliminated in the group stage, failing to score a goal.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: Vieira was injured and missed France's defeat to Greece, the eventual winners, at Euro 2004. After the tournament in Portugal, he became captain upon Zinedine Zidane's retirement from international football. In August 2005, he returned the armband as Zidane returned to the team.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: On 23 June 2006, his 30th birthday, Vieira took the captain's armband for the match in place of the suspended Zidane, and scored the first goal as France beat Togo 2–0 in the group stages of the 2006 World Cup; he also assisted Thierry Henry for the second. This win helped France advance to the knockout stages in second behind Switzerland. In the round of 16, Vieira assisted the equaliser by Franck Ribéry and scored the second goal in a 3–1 win over Spain. Spain. Vieira started the final, but was substituted injured for Alou Diarra as Italy won 5–3 on penalties after a 1–1 draw.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: On 5 August 2006, Vieira was reappointed captain of the French national team for the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign following Zidane's full retirement. He became the fifth Frenchman to earn 100 caps on 15 November, in a 1–0 win over Greece at the Stade de France. He played no part in the group games at Euro 2008 for a struggling France due to a niggling knee injury. His last cap with the national team was on 2 June 2009 in a friendly match against Nigeria, and was not included by coach Raymond Domenech in France's squad for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: On 7 July 2010, Vieira confirmed that he was no longer interested in playing for France and would devote his time to Manchester City. Altogether, he won 107 caps for France, scoring six goals.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: Regarded by pundits as one of the best players ever in his position, Vieira was a complete, powerful, tenacious and aggressive footballer, with outstanding physical, athletic and technical attributes, who was also known for his grace on the pitch when in possession of the ball. Usually deployed as a defensive, central, or box-to-box midfielder, he was a competent tackler, and a tactically intelligent midfielder, who was known for his ability to anticipate his opponents, and was gifted with good ball skills, distribution and vision, which enabled him to start attacking plays in midfield after winning back possession; he also excelled in the air, and was known for his surging forward runs from midfield, which enabled him to contribute to his team's offensive play. These attributes, in addition to his pace, strength, pressing ability and stamina, allowed him to link up the defence with the attack effectively, and made him capable of playing anywhere in midfield. In 2007, "The Times" placed him at number 33 in their list of the 50 hardest footballers in history. In addition to his abilities as a footballer, he also stood out for his leadership throughout his career.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: On 14 July 2011, Vieira announced his retirement from playing and accepted a training and youth development role at Premier League club Manchester City, with the title of "Football Development Executive". In this role, he forged a strong, close working relationship with City Football Group's Brian Marwood. In May 2013, Vieira was appointed as the manager of the club's new reserve team: the Elite Development Squad (EDS).


title: Patrick Vieira

text: In May 2015, Vieira was interviewed to be the next manager of fellow Premier League club Newcastle United, an opportunity which both parties rejected due to difference of policies.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: On 9 November 2015, Vieira was announced as the new head coach of New York City FC - who share owners with Manchester City, in City Football Group - from 1 January 2016, replacing inaugural head coach Jason Kreis. He was selected for the role by Director of Football Claudio Reyna due to his familiarity with the structure of operations within the group, as well as his tactical knowledge, which was previously utilized by Jason Kreis on his scholar period in Manchester.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: Vieira's first signing at the club was Jack Harrison, the first pick of the 2016 MLS SuperDraft. He took charge of his first Major League Soccer game on the road versus Chicago Fire on 6 March 2016, in which his squad claimed a 4–3 victory. He led New York City to their first ever playoff appearance after finishing second in the Eastern Conference. Despite losing in the conference semi-finals to Toronto, 2016 was considered a successful first season for Vieira by nearly all pundits.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: New York City improved its position in the combined MLS standings in each of his years with the club, improving from 17th in 2015 to 4th in Vieira's first season in 2016 and then to 2nd in 2017.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: On 11 June 2018, Vieira was appointed as the manager of Ligue 1 side Nice. In his first season in charge, he led the club to a seventh-placed finish in the league, one place ahead of the club's position the previous season. Elsewhere in the French domestic circuit, Nice had a disappointing run in the Coupe de France, being eliminated by Toulouse in the round of 64, whereas they were defeated by EA Guingamp in the round of 16 during their Coupe de la Ligue campaign. On 4 December 2020, OGC Nice announced Patrick Vieira was no longer the manager of the club after a run of 5 losses in a row in all competitions and elimination from the group stage of the Europa League.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: On 4 July 2021, Vieira was appointed as manager of Premier League club Crystal Palace on a three-year contract following the departure of their previous manager, Roy Hodgson, who served the club since 2017. He lost 3–0 away to Chelsea on his debut on 14 August. In his first season, he earned points away to his two former Premier League teams: a 2–2 draw with Arsenal on 18 October, and a 2–0 win at Manchester City. He reached the semi-finals of the 2021–22 FA Cup, losing to Chelsea.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: Vieira was involved in an altercation with pitch-invading Everton fans on 19 May 2022 at Goodison Park. Vieira refused to comment on the event, while opposing manager Frank Lampard sympathised with him. Neither Vieira or the fan decided to press charges against the other when they were questioned by Merseyside Police.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: Vieira has been known for implementing a methodical, possession-based football in all his teams. He has shown a tendency to become more defensive when his side are in a tight spot. His spell at Crystal Palace saw a shift to a proactive style of gameplay from the reactive counterattack-based gameplay prominent under the management of Roy Hodgson.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: Vieira and his Trinidadian wife, Cheryl, first met in England while he was playing for Arsenal. They have a daughter. The family were burgled in May 2006 when a gas was pumped into their home near Cannes, but suffered no long-term effects.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: In 2003, Vieira returned to Senegal for the first time since his childhood, to lay the foundation stone of the Diambars football academy in Saly. The academy produced nine of the players in Senegal's squad at the 2012 Olympic football tournament.


title: Patrick Vieira

text: Vieira features in EA Sports "FIFA" video game series; he was on the cover of FIFA 2005, and was named in the Ultimate Team Legends in "FIFA 14".


title: Patrick Vieira

text: Vieira was sponsored by sportswear company Nike and appeared in Nike commercials. In a global Nike advertising campaign in the run-up to the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, he starred in a "Secret Tournament" commercial (branded "Scorpion KO") directed by Terry Gilliam, appearing alongside football players such as Thierry Henry, Ronaldo, Edgar Davids, Fabio Cannavaro, Francesco Totti, Ronaldinho, Luís Figo and Hidetoshi Nakata, with former player Eric Cantona the tournament "referee".


title: Surrey

text: Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. With a population of approximately 1.2 million people, Surrey is the 12th-most populous county in England. The most populated town in Surrey is Woking, followed by Guildford.


title: Surrey

text: The county is divided into eleven districts with borough status. Between 1893 and 2020, Surrey County Council was headquartered at County Hall, Kingston-upon-Thames (now part of Greater London) but is now based at Woodhatch Place, Reigate. In the 20th century several alterations were made to Surrey's borders, with territory ceded to Greater London upon its creation and some gained from the abolition of Middlesex.


title: Surrey

text: Surrey is bordered by Greater London to the north east, Kent to the east, Berkshire to the north west, West Sussex to the south, East Sussex to the south east, and Hampshire to the west.


title: Surrey

text: Surrey is divided in two by the chalk ridge of the North Downs, running east–west. The ridge is pierced by the rivers Wey and Mole, tributaries of the Thames, which formed the northern border of the county before modern redrawing of county boundaries, which has left part of its north bank within the county. To the north of the Downs the land is mostly flat, forming part of the basin of the Thames. The geology of this area is dominated by London Clay in the east, Bagshot Sands in the west and alluvial deposits along the rivers.


title: Surrey

text: To the south of the Downs in the western part of the county are the sandstone Surrey Hills, while further east is the plain of the Low Weald, rising in the extreme southeast to the edge of the hills of the High Weald. The Downs and the area to the south form part of a concentric pattern of geological deposits which also extends across southern Kent and most of Sussex, predominantly composed of Wealden Clay, Lower Greensand and the chalk of the Downs.


title: Surrey

text: Much of Surrey is in the Metropolitan Green Belt. It contains valued reserves of mature woodland (reflected in the official logo of Surrey County Council, a pair of interlocking oak leaves). Among its many notable beauty spots are Box Hill, Leith Hill, Frensham Ponds, Newlands Corner and Puttenham & Crooksbury Commons.


title: Surrey

text: Surrey is the most wooded county in England, with 22.4% coverage compared to a national average of 11.8% and as such is one of the few counties not to recommend new woodlands in the subordinate planning authorities' plans. Box Hill has the oldest untouched area of natural box woodland in the UK, one of the oldest in Europe. In 2020 the Surrey Heath district had the highest proportion of tree cover in England at 41%. Surrey also contains England's principal concentration of lowland heath, on sandy soils in the west of the county.


title: Surrey

text: Agriculture not being intensive, there are many commons and access lands, together with an extensive network of footpaths and bridleways including the North Downs Way, a scenic long-distance path. Accordingly, Surrey provides many rural and semi-rural leisure activities, with a large horse population in modern terms.


title: Surrey

text: The highest elevation in Surrey is Leith Hill near Dorking. It is above sea level and is the second highest point in southeastern England after Walbury Hill in West Berkshire which is .


title: Surrey

text: The longest river to enter Surrey is the Thames, which historically formed the boundary between the county and Middlesex. As a result of the 1965 boundary changes, many of the Surrey boroughs on the south bank of the river were transferred to Greater London, shortening the length associated with the county. The Thames now forms the Surrey-Berkshire border between Runnymede and Staines-upon-Thames, before flowing wholly within Surrey to Sunbury, from which point it marks the Surrey-Greater London border as far as Surbiton.


title: Surrey

text: The River Wey is the longest tributary of the Thames above London. Other tributaries of the Thames with their courses partially in Surrey include the Mole, the Addlestone branch and Chertsey branch of the River Bourne (which merge shortly before joining the Thames), and the Hogsmill River, which drains Epsom and Ewell.


title: Surrey

text: The upper reaches of the River Eden, a tributary of the Medway, are in Tandridge District, in east Surrey.


title: Surrey

text: The River Colne and its anabranch, the Wraysbury River, make a brief appearance in the north of the county to join the Thames at Staines.


title: Surrey

text: Like the rest of the British Isles, Surrey has a maritime climate with warm summers and cool winters. The Met Office weather station at Wisley, about 6.5 miles (10 km) to the north-east of Guildford, has recorded temperatures between (August 2003) and (January 1982). From 2006 until 2015, the Wisley weather station held the UK July record high of .


title: Surrey

text: Surrey has a population of approximately 1.1 million people. Its largest town is Woking with a population of 105,367, followed by Guildford with 77,057, and Walton-on-Thames with 66,566. Towns of between 30,000 and 50,000 inhabitants include Ewell, Esher, and Camberley.


title: Surrey

text: Much of the north of the county, extending to Guildford, is within the Greater London Built-up Area. This is an area of continuous urban sprawl linked without significant interruption of rural area to Greater London. In the west, there is a developing conurbation straddling the Hampshire/Surrey border, including the Surrey towns of Camberley and Farnham.


title: Surrey

text: Guildford is often regarded as the historic county town, although the county administration was moved to Newington in 1791 and to Kingston upon Thames in 1893. The county council's headquarters have been outside the county's boundaries since 1 April 1965, when Kingston and other areas were included within Greater London by the London Government Act 1963. The administration moved to Reigate at the start of 2021.


title: Surrey

text: Before Roman times the area today known as Surrey was probably largely occupied by the Atrebates tribe, centred at Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester), in the modern county of Hampshire, but eastern parts of it may have been held by the Cantiaci, based largely in Kent. The Atrebates are known to have controlled the southern bank of the Thames from Roman texts describing the tribal relations between them and the powerful Catuvellauni on the north bank.


title: Surrey

text: In about AD 42 King Cunobelinus (in Welsh legend Cynfelin ap Tegfan) of the Catuvellauni died and war broke out between his sons and King Verica of the Atrebates. The Atrebates were defeated, their capital captured and their lands made subject to Togodumnus, king of the Catuvellauni, ruling from Camulodunum (Colchester). Verica fled to Gaul and appealed for Roman aid. The Atrebates were allied with Rome during the invasion of Britain in AD 43.


title: Surrey

text: During the Roman era, the only important settlement within the historic area of Surrey was the London suburb of Southwark (now part of Greater London), but there were small towns at Staines, Ewell, Dorking, Croydon and Kingston upon Thames. Remains of Roman rural temples have been excavated on Farley Heath and near Wanborough and Titsey, and possible temple sites at Chiddingfold, Betchworth and Godstone. The area was traversed by Stane Street and other Roman roads.


title: Surrey

text: During the 5th and 6th centuries Surrey was conquered and settled by Saxons. The names of possible tribes inhabiting the area have been conjectured on the basis of place names. These include the (around Godalming) and (between Woking and Wokingham in Berkshire). It has also been speculated that the entries for the and peoples in the Tribal Hidage may refer to two groups living in the vicinity of Surrey. Together their lands were assessed at a total of 7,000 hides, equal to the assessment for Sussex or Essex.


title: Surrey

text: Surrey may have formed part of a larger Middle Saxon kingdom or confederacy, also including areas north of the Thames. The name Surrey is derived from (or ), meaning "southern region", and this may originate in its status as the southern portion of the Middle Saxon territory.


title: Surrey

text: If it ever existed, the Middle Saxon kingdom had disappeared by the 7th century, and Surrey became a frontier area disputed between the kingdoms of Kent, Essex, Sussex, Wessex and Mercia, until its permanent absorption by Wessex in 825. Despite this fluctuating situation it retained its identity as an enduring territorial unit. During the 7th century Surrey became Christian and initially formed part of the East Saxon diocese of London, indicating that it was under East Saxon rule at that time, but was later transferred to the West Saxon diocese of Winchester. Its most important religious institution throughout the Anglo-Saxon period and beyond was Chertsey Abbey, founded in 666. At this point Surrey was evidently under Kentish domination, as the abbey was founded under the patronage of King Ecgberht of Kent. However, a few years later at least part of it was subject to Mercia, since in 673–675 further lands were given to Chertsey Abbey by Frithuwald, a local sub-king () ruling under the sovereignty of Wulfhere of Mercia. A decade later Surrey passed into the hands of King Caedwalla of Wessex, who also conquered Kent and Sussex, and founded a monastery at Farnham in 686.


title: Surrey

text: The region remained under the control of Caedwalla's successor Ine in the early 8th century. Its political history for most of the 8th century is unclear, although West Saxon control may have broken down around 722, but by 784–785 it had passed into the hands of King Offa of Mercia. Mercian rule continued until 825, when following his victory over the Mercians at the Battle of Ellandun, King Egbert of Wessex seized control of Surrey, along with Sussex, Kent and Essex. It was incorporated into Wessex as a shire and continued thereafter under the rule of the West Saxon kings, who eventually became kings of all of England.


title: Surrey

text: In the 9th century England was afflicted, along with the rest of northwestern Europe, by the attacks of Scandinavian Vikings. Surrey's inland position shielded it from coastal raiding, so that it was not normally troubled except by the largest and most ambitious Scandinavian armies.


title: Surrey

text: In 851 an exceptionally large invasion force of Danes arrived at the mouth of the Thames in a fleet of about 350 ships, which would have carried over 15,000 men. Having sacked Canterbury and London and defeated King Beorhtwulf of Mercia in battle, the Danes crossed the Thames into Surrey, but were slaughtered by a West Saxon army led by King Æthelwulf in the Battle of Aclea, bringing the invasion to an end.


title: Surrey

text: Two years later the men of Surrey marched into Kent to help their Kentish neighbours fight a raiding force at Thanet, but suffered heavy losses including their ealdorman, Huda. In 892 Surrey was the scene of another major battle when a large Danish army, variously reported at 200, 250 and 350 ship-loads, moved west from its encampment in Kent and raided in Hampshire and Berkshire. Withdrawing with their loot, the Danes were intercepted and defeated at Farnham by an army led by Alfred the Great's son Edward, the future King Edward the Elder, and fled across the Thames towards Essex.


title: Surrey

text: Surrey remained safe from attack for over a century thereafter, due to its location and to the growing power of the West Saxon, later English, kingdom. Kingston was the scene for the coronations of Æthelstan in 924 and of Æthelred the Unready in 978, and, according to later tradition, also of other 10th-century Kings of England. The renewed Danish attacks during the disastrous reign of Æthelred led to the devastation of Surrey by the army of Thorkell the Tall, which ravaged all of southeastern England in 1009–1011. The climax of this wave of attacks came in 1016, which saw prolonged fighting between the forces of King Edmund Ironside and the Danish king Cnut, including an English victory over the Danes somewhere in northeastern Surrey, but ended with the conquest of England by Cnut.


title: Surrey

text: Cnut's death in 1035 was followed by a period of political uncertainty, as the succession was disputed between his sons. In 1036 Alfred, son of King Æthelred, returned from Normandy, where he had been taken for safety as a child at the time of Cnut's conquest of England. It is uncertain what his intentions were, but after landing with a small retinue in Sussex he was met by Godwin, Earl of Wessex, who escorted him in apparently friendly fashion to Guildford. Having taken lodgings there, Alfred's men were attacked as they slept and killed, mutilated or enslaved by Godwin's followers, while the prince himself was blinded and imprisoned, dying shortly afterwards. This must have contributed to the antipathy between Godwin and Alfred's brother Edward the Confessor, who came to the throne in 1042.


title: Surrey

text: This hostility peaked in 1051, when Godwin and his sons were driven into exile; returning the following year, the men of Surrey rose to support them, along with those of Sussex, Kent, Essex and elsewhere, helping them secure their reinstatement and the banishment of the king's Norman entourage. The repercussions of this antagonism helped bring about the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.


title: Surrey

text: Domesday Book records that the largest landowners in Surrey at the end of Edward's reign were Chertsey Abbey and Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex and later king, followed by the estates of King Edward himself. Apart from the abbey, most of whose lands were within the shire, Surrey was not the principal focus of any major landowner's holdings, a tendency which was to persist in later periods. Given the vast and widespread landed interests and the national and international preoccupations of the monarchy and the earldom of Wessex, the Abbot of Chertsey was therefore probably the most important figure in the local elite.


title: Surrey

text: The Anglo-Saxon period saw the emergence of the shire's internal division into 14 hundreds, which continued until Victorian times. These were the hundreds of Blackheath, Brixton, Copthorne, Effingham Half-Hundred, Elmbridge, Farnham, Godalming, Godley, Kingston, Reigate, Tandridge, Wallington, Woking and Wotton.


title: Surrey

text: After the Battle of Hastings, the Norman army advanced through Kent into Surrey, where they defeated an English force which attacked them at Southwark and then burned that suburb. Rather than try to attack London across the river, the Normans continued west through Surrey, crossed the Thames at Wallingford in Berkshire and descended on London from the north-west. As was the case across England, the native ruling class of Surrey was virtually eliminated by Norman seizure of land. Only one significant English landowner, the brother of the last English Abbot of Chertsey, remained by the time the Domesday survey was conducted in 1086. At that time the largest landholding in Surrey, as in many other parts of the country, was the expanded royal estate, while the next largest holding belonged to Richard fitz Gilbert, founder of the de Clare family.


title: Surrey

text: In 1088, King William II granted William de Warenne the title of Earl of Surrey as a reward for Warenne's loyalty during the rebellion that followed the death of William I. When the male line of the Warennes became extinct in the 14th century, the earldom was inherited by the Fitzalan Earls of Arundel. The Fitzalan line of Earls of Surrey died out in 1415, but after other short-lived revivals in the 15th century the title was conferred in 1483 on the Howard family, who still hold it. However, Surrey was not a major focus of any of these families' interests.


title: Surrey

text: Guildford Castle, one of many fortresses originally established by the Normans to help them subdue the country, was rebuilt in stone and developed as a royal palace in the 12th century. Farnham Castle was built during the 12th century as a residence for the Bishop of Winchester, while other stone castles were constructed in the same period at Bletchingley by the de Clares and at Reigate by the Warennes.


title: Surrey

text: During King John's struggle with the barons, Magna Carta was issued in June 1215 at Runnymede near Egham. John's efforts to reverse this concession reignited the war, and in 1216 the barons invited Prince Louis of France to take the throne. Having landed in Kent and been welcomed in London, he advanced across Surrey to attack John, then at Winchester, occupying Reigate and Guildford castles along the way.


title: Surrey

text: Guildford Castle later became one of the favourite residences of King Henry III, who considerably expanded the palace there. During the baronial revolt against Henry, in 1264 the rebel army of Simon de Montfort passed southwards through Surrey on their way to the Battle of Lewes in Sussex. Although the rebels were victorious, soon after the battle royal forces captured and destroyed Bletchingley Castle, whose owner Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Hertford and Gloucester, was de Montfort's most powerful ally.


title: Surrey

text: By the 14th century, castles were of dwindling military importance, but remained a mark of social prestige, leading to the construction of castles at Starborough near Lingfield by Lord Cobham, and at Betchworth by John Fitzalan, whose father had recently inherited the Earldom of Surrey. Though Reigate and Bletchingley remained modest settlements, the role of their castles as local centres for the two leading aristocratic interests in Surrey had enabled them to gain borough status by the early 13th century. As a result, they gained representation in Parliament when it became established towards the end of that century, alongside the more substantial urban settlements of Guildford and Southwark. Surrey's third sizeable town, Kingston, despite its size, borough status and historical association with the monarchy, did not gain parliamentary representation until 1832.


title: Surrey

text: Surrey had little political or economic significance in the Middle Ages. Its agricultural wealth was limited by the infertility of most of its soils, and it was not the main power-base of any important aristocratic family, nor the seat of a bishopric. The London suburb of Southwark was a major urban settlement, and the proximity of the capital boosted the wealth and population of the surrounding area, but urban development elsewhere was sapped by the overshadowing predominance of London and by the lack of direct access to the sea. Population pressure in the 12th and 13th centuries initiated the gradual clearing of the Weald, the forest spanning the borders of Surrey, Sussex and Kent, which had hitherto been left undeveloped due to the difficulty of farming on its heavy clay soil.


title: Surrey

text: Surrey's most significant source of prosperity in the later Middle Ages was the production of woollen cloth, which emerged during that period as England's main export industry. The county was an early centre of English textile manufacturing, benefiting from the presence of deposits of fuller's earth, the rare mineral composite important in the process of finishing cloth, around Reigate and Nutfield. The industry in Surrey was focused on Guildford, which gave its name to a variety of cloth, "gilforte", which was exported widely across Europe and the Middle East and imitated by manufacturers elsewhere in Europe. However, as the English cloth industry expanded, Surrey was outstripped by other growing regions of production.


title: Surrey

text: Though Surrey was not the scene of serious fighting in the various rebellions and civil wars of the period, armies from Kent heading for London via Southwark passed through what were then the extreme north-eastern fringes of Surrey during the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 and Cade's Rebellion in 1450, and at various stages of the Wars of the Roses in 1460, 1469 and 1471. The upheaval of 1381 also involved widespread local unrest in Surrey, as was the case all across south-eastern England, and some recruits from Surrey joined the Kentish rebel army.


title: Surrey

text: In 1082 a Cluniac abbey was founded at Bermondsey by Alwine, a wealthy English citizen of London. Waverley Abbey near Farnham, founded in 1128, was the first Cistercian monastery in England. Over the next quarter-century monks spread out from here to found new houses, creating a network of twelve monasteries descended from Waverley across southern and central England. The 12th and early 13th centuries also saw the establishment of Augustinian priories at Merton, Newark, Tandridge, Southwark and Reigate. A Dominican friary was established at Guildford by Henry III's widow Eleanor of Provence, in memory of her grandson who had died at Guildford in 1274. In the 15th century a Carthusian priory was founded by King Henry V at Sheen. These would all perish, along with the still important Benedictine abbey of Chertsey, in the 16th-century Dissolution of the Monasteries.


title: Surrey

text: Now fallen into disuse, some English counties had nicknames for those raised there such as a 'tyke' from Yorkshire, or a 'yellowbelly' from Lincolnshire. In the case of Surrey, the term was a 'Surrey capon', from Surrey's role in the later Middle Ages as the county where chickens were fattened up for the London meat markets.