title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: The album reached number 6 on the UK Charts. In the United States, it was released as "Pink Floyd" in October on Tower Records with an altered track listing that omitted three songs and included "See Emily Play". In the UK, no singles were released from the album, but in the US, "Flaming" was offered as a single. Two of its songs, "Astronomy Dominé" and "Interstellar Overdrive", became long-term mainstays of the band's live setlist, while other songs were performed live only a handful of times. In 1973, "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" was packaged with the band's second album "A Saucerful of Secrets" (1968) and released as "A Nice Pair", to introduce the band's early work to new fans gained with the success of "The Dark Side of the Moon" (1973).


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: The album has been hailed as a pivotal psychedelic music recording. Special limited editions of "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" were issued to mark its thirtieth, fortieth, and fiftieth anniversaries, with the former two releases containing bonus tracks. In 2012, "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" was placed at number 347 on "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and number 253 in the 2020 edition.


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: Architecture students Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Richard Wright and art student Syd Barrett had performed under various group names since 1962, and began touring as "The Pink Floyd Sound" in 1965. Around 1966, the group began to achieve underground success for their influential performances at London's UFO Club. They turned professional on 1 February 1967 when they signed with EMI, with an advance fee of £5,000. Their first single, a song about a kleptomaniac transvestite titled "Arnold Layne", was released on 11 March to mild controversy, as Radio London refused to air it.


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: About three weeks later, the band were introduced to the mainstream media. EMI's press release claimed that the band were "musical spokesmen for a new movement which involves experimentation in all the arts", but EMI attempted to put some distance between them and the underground scene from which the band originated by stating that "the Pink Floyd does not know what people mean by psychedelic pop and are not trying to create hallucinatory effects on their audiences." The band returned to Sound Techniques studio to record their next single, "See Emily Play", on 18 May. The single was released almost a month later, on 16 June, and reached number six in the charts.


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: Pink Floyd picked up a tabloid reputation for making music for LSD users. The popular broadsheet "News of the World" printed a story nine days before the album's recording sessions began, saying that "The Pink Floyd group specialise in 'psychedelic music', which is designed to illustrate LSD experiences." Contrary to this image, only Barrett was known to be taking LSD; authors Ray B. Browne and Pat Browne contend that he was the "only real drug user in the band".


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: The band's record deal: a £5,000 advance over five years, low royalties and no free studio time (poor by today's standards, but typical for the time), did include album development, which was very unusual; EMI, unsure of exactly what kind of band they had signed, gave them free rein to record whatever they wanted.


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: They were obliged to record their first album at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London, overseen by producer Norman Smith, a central figure in Pink Floyd's negotiations with EMI. Balance engineer Pete Bown, who had mentored Smith, helped ensure that the album had a unique sound, through his experimentation with equipment and recording techniques. Bown, assisted by studio manager David Harris, set up microphones an hour before the sessions began. Bown's microphone choices were mostly different from those used by Smith to record the Beatles' EMI sessions. Because of the quietness of Barrett's singing, he was placed in a vocal isolation booth to sing his parts. Automatic double tracking (ADT) was used to add layers of echo to the vocals and to some instruments. The album features an unusually heavy use of echo and reverb to create a unique sound. Much of the reverb came from a set of Elektro-Mess-Technik plate reverberators – customised EMT 140s containing thin metal plates under tension – and the studio's tiled echo chamber built in 1931.


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: The album is made up of two different classes of songs: lengthy improvisations from the band's live performances and shorter songs that Barrett had written. Barrett's LSD intake escalated part-way through the album's recording sessions. Although in his 2005 autobiography Mason recalled the sessions as relatively trouble-free, Smith disagreed and claimed that Barrett was unresponsive to his suggestions and constructive criticism. In an attempt to build a relationship with the band, Smith played jazz on the piano while the band joined in. These jam sessions worked well with Waters, who was apparently helpful, and Wright, who was "laid-back". Smith's attempts to connect with Barrett were less productive: "With Syd, I eventually realised I was wasting my time." Smith later admitted that his traditional ideas of music were somewhat at odds with the psychedelic background from which Pink Floyd had come. Nevertheless, he managed to "discourage the live ramble", as band manager Peter Jenner called it, guiding the band toward producing songs with a more manageable length.


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: Barrett would end up writing eight of the album's songs and contributing to two instrumentals credited to the whole band, with Waters creating the sole remaining composition "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk". Mason recalled how the album "was recorded in what one might call the old-fashioned way: rather quickly. As time went by we started spending longer and longer."


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: Recording started on 21 February with six takes of "Matilda Mother", then called "Matilda's Mother". The following week, on the 27th, the band recorded five takes of "Interstellar Overdrive", and "Chapter 24". On 16 March, the band had another go at recording "Interstellar Overdrive", in an attempt to create a shorter version, and "Flaming" (originally titled "Snowing"), which was recorded in a single take with one vocal overdub. On 19 March, six takes of "The Gnome" were recorded. The following day, the band recorded Waters' "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk". On 21 March, the band were invited to watch the Beatles record "Lovely Rita". The following day, they recorded "The Scarecrow" in one take. The next three tracks – "Astronomy Dominé", "Interstellar Overdrive" and "Pow R. Toc H." – were worked on extensively between 21 March and 12 April, having originally been lengthy instrumentals. Between 12 and 18 April, the band recorded "Percy the Rat Catcher" and a currently unreleased track called "She Was a Millionaire".


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: "Percy the Rat Catcher" received overdubs across five studio sessions and then was mixed in late June, eventually being given the name "Lucifer Sam". Songwriting for the majority of the album is credited solely to Barrett, with tracks such as "Bike" having been written in late 1966 before the album was started. "Bike" was recorded on 21 May 1967 and originally entitled "The Bike Song". By June, Barrett's increasing LSD use during the recording project left him looking visibly debilitated.


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: In June 1967 before the album was released, the single "See Emily Play" was sold as a 7-inch 45 rpm record, with "The Scarecrow" on the B-side, listed as "Scarecrow". The full album was released on 5 August 1967, including "The Scarecrow".


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: Pink Floyd continued to perform at the UFO Club, drawing huge crowds, but Barrett's deterioration caused them serious concern. The band initially hoped that his erratic behavior was a phase that would pass, but others, including manager Peter Jenner and his secretary June Child, were more realistic:


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: To the band's consternation, they were forced to cancel their appearance at the prestigious National Jazz and Blues Festival, informing the music press that Barrett was suffering from nervous exhaustion. Jenner and Waters arranged for Barrett to see a psychiatrist – a meeting he did not attend. He was sent to relax in the sun on the Spanish island of Formentera with Waters and Sam Hutt (a doctor well-established in the underground music scene), but this led to no visible improvement.


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: The original UK LP was released on 5 August 1967 in both monaural and stereophonic mixes. It reached number six on the UK charts. The original US album appeared on the Tower division of Capitol on 21 October 1967. This version was officially titled simply "Pink Floyd", though the original album title did appear on the back cover as on the UK issue, and Dick Clark referred to the record by its original title when the group appeared on his "American Bandstand" television program on 18 November. The US album featured an abbreviated track listing, and reached number 131 on the "Billboard" charts. The UK single, "See Emily Play", was substituted for "Astronomy Dominé", "Flaming" and "Bike". Released in time for the band's US tour, "Flaming" was released as a single, backed with "The Gnome". The Tower issue of the album also faded out "Interstellar Overdrive" and broke up the segue into "The Gnome" to fit the re-sequencing of the songs. Later US issues on compact disc had the same title and track list as the UK version. The album was certified Gold in the US as a part of "A Nice Pair" with "A Saucerful of Secrets" on 11 March 1994.


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: About being handled on Tower Records, Jenner commented that: "In terms of the U.K. and Europe it was always fine. America was always difficult. Capitol couldn't see it. You know, 'What is this latest bit of rubbish from England? Oh Christ, it'll give us more grief, so we'll put it out on Tower Records', which was a subsidiary of Capitol Records [...] It was a very cheapskate operation and it was the beginning of endless problems The Floyd had with Capitol. It started off bad and went on being bad."


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: Up-and-coming society photographer Vic Singh was hired to photograph the band for the album cover. Singh shared a studio with photographer David Bailey, and he was friends with Beatles guitarist George Harrison. Singh asked Jenner and King to dress the band in the brightest clothes they could find. Singh then shot them with a prism lens that Harrison had given him. The cover was meant to resemble an LSD trip, a style that was favoured at the time. In 2017, the lens was displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum, as part of the "" exhibition.


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: Barrett came up with the album title "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn"; the album was originally titled "Projection" up to as late as July 1967. The title was taken from that of chapter seven of Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows" which contains a visionary encounter with the god Pan, who plays his pan pipe at dawn. It was one of Barrett's favourite books, and he often gave friends the impression that he was the embodiment of Pan. The moniker was later used in the song "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", in which Barrett is called "you Piper". The cover for the album was one of several Pink Floyd album covers used on a series of Royal Mail stamps issued in May 2016 to commemorate 50 years of Pink Floyd.


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: In 2018, the album was reissued in its mono mix. With this version came with a new packaging box with the original record cover inside. This new design was done by Hipgnosis' Aubrey Powell and Peter Curzon and includes a gold-embossed version of the graphic by Syd Barrett which features on the back cover of the original LP.


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: At the time of release, both "Record Mirror" and "NME" gave the album four stars out of five. "Record Mirror" commented that "[t]he psychedelic image of the group really comes to life, record wise, on this LP which is a fine showcase for both their talent and the recording technique. Plenty of mind blowing sound, both blatant and subtle here, and the whole thing is extremely well performed." "Cash Box" called it "a particularly striking collection of driving, up-to-date rock ventures". Paul McCartney and Pink Floyd's previous producer Joe Boyd both rated the album highly. Some voiced the opinion of the underground fans, by suggesting that the album did not reflect the band's live performances.


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: In recent years, "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" has gained even more recognition. The album is hailed not only as a psychedelic masterpiece but LSD is named as a direct influence. In 1999, "Rolling Stone" magazine gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5, calling it "the golden achievement of Syd Barrett". "Q" magazine described the album as "indispensable" and included it in their list of the best psychedelic albums ever. It was also ranked 40th in "Mojo" magazine's "The 50 Most Out There Albums of All Time" list. In 2000, "Q" magazine placed "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" at number 55 in its list of the 100 greatest British albums ever. In 2003, "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" was ranked number 347 on "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", maintaining that rank in the 2012 update and climbing to number 253 in the 2020 reboot of the list. AllMusic called it one of the greatest psychedelic albums of all-time, and described it as "full of colorful, childlike, distinctly British whimsy, albeit filtered through the perceptive lens of LSD," adding that "Barrett's catchy, melodic acid pop songs are balanced with longer, more experimental pieces showcasing the group's instrumental freak-outs."


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: James E. Perone says that "Piper" became known as a concept album in later years, because listeners wanted to play it all the way through rather than pick out a favourite song. While Beatles biographer Philip Norman agrees that "Piper" is a concept album, other authors contend that Pink Floyd did not start making concept albums until 1973's "The Dark Side of the Moon". Author George Reisch called Pink Floyd the "undisputed" kings of the concept album, but only starting from "Dark Side". In July 2006, "Billboard" described "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" as "one of the best psychedelic rock albums ever, driven by Barrett's oddball narratives and the band's skill with both long jams and perfect pop nuggets".


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" was reissued in the UK in 1979 as a stereo vinyl album, and on CD in the UK and US in 1985. A digitally remastered stereo CD, with new artwork, was released in the US in 1994, and in 1997 limited edition 30th anniversary mono editions were released in the UK, on CD and vinyl. The latter included a selection of art prints, and a six-track bonus CD, "".


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: In 1973, the album, along with "A Saucerful of Secrets", was released as a two-disc set on Capitol/EMI's Harvest Records label, titled "A Nice Pair" to introduce fans to the band's early work after the success of "The Dark Side of the Moon". (On the US release, the original four-minute studio version of "Astronomy Dominé" was replaced with the eight-minute live version found on "Ummagumma".)


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: For the 40th anniversary, a two-disc edition was released on 4 September 2007, and a three-disc set was released on 11 September. The packaging – designed by Storm Thorgerson – resembles a cloth-covered book, along with a twelve-page reproduction of a Syd Barrett notebook. Discs one and two contain the full album in its original mono mix (disc one), as well as the alternative stereo version (disc two). Both have been newly remastered by James Guthrie. The third disc includes several "Piper"-era outtakes from the Abbey Road vaults, along with the band's first three mono singles. Unreleased material includes an alternative, shorter take of "Interstellar Overdrive" that was previously thought lost, the pre-overdubbed abridged mix of "Interstellar Overdrive" previously only available on an EP in France, an alternative mix of "Matilda Mother" as it appeared early in the sessions and also the 1967 stereo mix of "Apples and Oranges", which features extra untrimmed material at the beginning and end.


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" was remastered and re-released on 26 September 2011 as part of the "Why Pink Floyd...?" reissue campaign. It is available in this format as either a stand-alone album, or as part of the "Why Pink Floyd ... ?" "Discovery" box set, along with the 13 other studio albums and a new colour booklet. Then the album was re-released on the band's own Pink Floyd Records label on 3 June 2016 for the world outside Europe.


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: For Record Store Day 2018, "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" was reissued in its mono mix with a bespoke envelope package containing the original cover art.


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: The band promoted the album with a series of concerts. They played dates in Ireland and Scandinavia, and in late October the band was to embark on their first tour of the United States. It was unsuccessful, mainly because of the mental breakdown of Barrett. In his capacity as tour manager, Andrew King travelled to New York to begin preparations, but he ran into serious problems. Visas had not arrived, prompting the cancellation of the first six dates. The band finally flew across the Atlantic on 1 November, but work permits were not yet obtained, so they settled into a hotel in Sausalito, California, just north of San Francisco. After a number of cancellations, the first US performance was given 4 November at Winterland Ballroom, following Janis Joplin fronting Big Brother and the Holding Company.


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: For the American tour, many numbers such as "Flaming" and "The Gnome" were dropped, while others such as "Astronomy Dominé" and "Interstellar Overdrive" remained, and were central to the band's set list during this period, often performed as encores until around 1971. "Astronomy Dominé" was later included on the live disc of "Ummagumma", and adopted by the post-Waters Pink Floyd during the 1994 "Division Bell" tour, with a version included on the 1995 live album "Pulse". David Gilmour, though not a member of Pink Floyd at the time the song was originally recorded, resurrected "Astronomy Dominé" for his "On an Island" and "Rattle That Lock" tours.


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: Communication between record company and band was almost non-existent, and Pink Floyd's relationship with Tower and Capitol was therefore poor. Barrett's mental condition mirrored the problems that King encountered; when the band performed at Winterland, he detuned his guitar during "Interstellar Overdrive" until the strings fell off. His odd behaviour grew worse in subsequent performances, and during a television recording for "The Pat Boone Show" he confounded the director by lip-syncing "Apples and Oranges" perfectly during the rehearsal, and then standing motionless during the take. King quickly curtailed the band's US visit, sending them home on the next flight.


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: Shortly after their return from the US, beginning 14 November, the band supported Jimi Hendrix on a tour of England, but on one occasion Barrett failed to turn up and they were forced to replace him with singer/guitarist David O'List borrowed from the opening band the Nice. Barrett's depression worsened the longer the tour continued. Longtime Pink Floyd psychedelic lighting designer Peter Wynne-Willson left at the end of the Hendrix tour, though he sympathized with Barrett, whose position as frontman was increasingly insecure. Wynne-Willson, who had worked for a percentage, was replaced by his assistant John Marsh, who collected a lesser wage. Pink Floyd released "Apples and Oranges" (recorded prior to the US tour on 26 and 27 October) but, for the rest of the band, Barrett's condition had reached a crisis point, and they responded by adding David Gilmour to their line-up, initially to cover for Syd's lapses during live performances.


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: Tracks 8–11 on the UK album edition were played the least during live performances. The success of "See Emily Play" and "Arnold Layne" meant that the band was forced to perform some of their singles for a limited period in 1967, but they were eventually dropped after Barrett left the band. "Flaming" and "Pow R. Toc H." were also played regularly by the post-Barrett Pink Floyd in 1968, even though these songs were in complete contrast to the band's other works at this time. Some of the songs from "Piper" would be reworked and rearranged for "The Man and The Journey" live show in 1969 ("The Pink Jungle" was taken from "Pow R. Toc H.", and part of "Interstellar Overdrive" was used for "The Labyrinths of Auximines").


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: Beginning in September 1967, the band played several new compositions. These included "One in a Million", "Scream Thy Last Scream", "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" and "Reaction in G", the last of which was a song created by the band in response to crowds asking for their hit singles "See Emily Play" and "Arnold Layne".


title: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

text: Released in 2007, some releases have 2 CDs (first CD in mono and second CD with same tracks in stereo) and some releases include the third CD.


title: Comedy Central

text: Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming in the form of both original, licensed, and syndicated series, stand-up comedy specials, and feature films. It is available to approximately 86.723 million households in the United States as of September 2018.


title: Comedy Central

text: Since the early 2000s, Comedy Central has expanded globally with localized channels in Europe (including the UK), India, Southeast Asia, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand, Middle East, and Africa. The international channels are operated by Paramount International Networks.


title: Comedy Central

text: On November 15, 1989, Time-Life, the owners of HBO, launched The Comedy Channel as the first cable channel devoted exclusively to comedy-based programming. On April 1, 1990, Viacom (who owned MTV, VH1, and Nickelodeon) launched a rival channel called Ha! that featured reruns of situation comedies and some original sketch comedy.


title: Comedy Central

text: The Comedy Channel's programs were broadcast from the HBO Downtown Studios at 120 East 23rd Street in Manhattan. The format prior to the merger with Ha! included several original and unconventional programs such as "Onion World" with Rich Hall and "Mystery Science Theater 3000", as well as laid-back variety/talk shows hosted by comedians, including "The Sweet Life" with Rachel Sweet, "Night After Night with Allan Havey", "Sports Monster", and "The Higgins Boys and Gruber", the latter of whom performed sketches in between showings of vintage television series like "Supercar", "Clutch Cargo", and "Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp".


title: Comedy Central

text: The standard format for The Comedy Channel's shows usually involved the various hosts introducing clips culled from the acts of stand-up comedians as well as classic comedies of the 1970s and 1980s, such as "Young Frankenstein" and "Kentucky Fried Movie", presented in a style similar to music videos. In the early days, certain hours of the day when clips were shown without "host segments" were dubbed "Short Attention Span Theater". In 1990, hosts under this title, Jon Stewart and Patty Rosborough, were introduced. Comedian Marc Maron also hosted the series.


title: Comedy Central

text: While The Comedy Channel broadcast mostly low-budget original programming, Ha!'s schedule featured sitcom and sketch comedy reruns (many of which had been previously licensed for sister network Nick at Nite) as well as complete 90-minute reruns of "Saturday Night Live" from the sixth through 16th seasons.


title: Comedy Central

text: After two years of limited distribution, the two channels merged into one, relaunching on April 1, 1991, as CTV: The Comedy Network. On June 1, 1991, the network changed its name to Comedy Central to prevent issues with the Canadian broadcast television network CTV, which would eventually be its Canadian content partner through The Comedy Network when that channel started operations six years later. Comedy Partners was originally a partnership of Home Box Office, Inc., the subsidiary of Time Warner that owned The Comedy Channel and HBO's half and Viacom Hearty Ha! Ha! LLC, the subsidiary that owned Ha! and Viacom's half of the network during its first years on air. Viacom bought out AOL Time Warner's half in April 2003 for $1.23 billion. Despite HBO's exit from the venture, the Viacom Media Networks division in charge of Comedy Central is still called Comedy Partners, currently being a partnership of Viacom International, the operating subsidiary of Paramount of which Paramount Media Networks is a division and Viacom Hearty Ha! Ha! LLC, the subsidiary that owned Ha! and Viacom's original half of the network.


title: Comedy Central

text: From the late 1980s through the mid-1990s, much of the programming on Comedy Central and its predecessors consisted of comedy films, sitcom reruns, half-hour specials, and clip shows featuring comedians. Except for the cult favorite "Mystery Science Theater 3000", the channel had a relatively small viewership. A notable early success was "Politically Incorrect" with Bill Maher, which after showing promise on Comedy Central was quickly snapped up by ABC. Additionally, "The Daily Show" had got its start with original host Craig Kilborn, although it would take a few more years for the show to reach high popularity (and a shift toward a focus on political humor) with the introduction of Jon Stewart in 1999 (who was former co-host of "Short Attention Span Theater" from 1991). The channel was first launched as a joint venture between Time Warner and Viacom, while Warner Home Video distributed the home media rights to the network's shows until 2003.


title: Comedy Central

text: "Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist" was also a notable original program from this era, as well as the game show "Win Ben Stein's Money". Successful non-original programming included Canadian comedy group "The Kids in the Hall" and British shows such as the UK edition of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (the predecessor of the U.S. version, featuring much of the same American cast as would later be seen in the U.S.) and the sitcom "Absolutely Fabulous". Some later seasons of "AbFab", as it was informally known, were partially financed by Comedy Central. Comedy Central also had the national rights to broadcast reruns of Seattle's "Almost Live!" between 1992 and 1993.


title: Comedy Central

text: The channel made a breakthrough when "South Park" premiered in 1997. Being one of the first major basic cable shows to carry the TV-MA rating for mature audiences, the show was considered too controversial to be picked up by any mainstream network; the Fox Broadcasting Company (known for "The Simpsons") for example refused to pick up the series due to the over-the-top offensive content at the time. As word of mouth spread, the number of people who requested that Comedy Central should be added to their cable providers increased, and the channel became available in over 50% of American homes by 1998. But, by 1999, with the cancellation of "Mystery Science Theater 3000", the channel was hemorrhaging viewers.


title: Comedy Central

text: On November 13, 2000, Comedy Central introduced a modernized version of its globe logo, by straightening the buildings and removing the transmitter and marquee. The management of the network said that the transmitter of the 1992 and 1997 logos was said to "communicate the 1950s broadcast era". It also began to use a "seriously" styled-Baby Einstein graphics, and a new slogan "This is Comedy Central!". In 2002, Comedy Central Records was formed as a means of releasing albums by comedians that have appeared on the network.


title: Comedy Central

text: By 2003, Viacom gained full ownership of Comedy Central, and since 2003, Comedy Central has created a tradition of roasting comedians in the style of the New York Friars' Club roasts. During these roasts, friends of the roastee, along with other comedians, take turns making fun of the roastee, the other roasters, and occasionally audience members. So far, the roastees have included Denis Leary, Jeff Foxworthy, Pamela Anderson, William Shatner, Flavor Flav, Bob Saget, Larry the Cable Guy, Joan Rivers, Rob Reiner, David Hasselhoff, Donald Trump, Charlie Sheen, Roseanne Barr, James Franco, Justin Bieber, Rob Lowe, Bruce Willis, and Alec Baldwin.


title: Comedy Central

text: The success of "South Park", despite its mature content, encouraged the network to continue to push the limits on adult language. Every late Friday (early Saturday morning) and Saturday night (early Sunday morning) at 1 am. ET, a movie, comedy special, or animated program is shown unedited for language as part of a block called the "Secret Stash". It premiered on July 4, 2003, with the unedited cable television debut of "". Though no language is censored on the Secret Stash, most nudity in the programs is still edited out, except for limited nudity allowed in animated programs such as "Drawn Together", and rear nudity.


title: Comedy Central

text: In late 2004, it was reported that the four highest-rated shows on Comedy Central were, in descending order, "South Park", "Chappelle's Show", "The Daily Show" and "Reno 911!". Shortly thereafter, Dave Chappelle backed out of the much-anticipated third season of "Chappelle's Show". Meanwhile, "The Daily Show" continued to climb in the ratings. In October 2005, on the occasion of a new three-year contract for "South Park" and the launch of "Daily Show" spin-off "The Colbert Report", it was reported that "South Park" and "The Daily Show" were the two highest-rated shows on Comedy Central. Comedy Central chief Doug Herzog was reported as saying that he hoped to continue to air new seasons of "South Park" forever, and that "The Colbert Report" fulfilled a long-held plan to extend the "Daily Show" brand.


title: Comedy Central

text: On April 5, 2006, in a controversial two-part episode arc titled "Cartoon Wars Part I" and "Cartoon Wars Part II", "South Park" touched the issue of the recent protest over the Danish cartoon drawings depicting the Muslim prophet Muhammad. The image of Muhammad did not appear in the episode. The episode also mocked fellow cartoon "Family Guy". On April 13, 2006, Comedy Central issued a statement which appears to confirm that the network prohibited the show's creators from airing an image of Muhammad. The statement reads, ""In light of recent world events, we feel we made the right decision."" An anonymous source close to the show indicated that "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone were informed of the policy several weeks earlier and wrote this story arc in protest. This was a change of policy for Comedy Central, having allowed "South Park" to portray an image of Muhammad in an earlier episode, "Super Best Friends". Oddly enough, an image of Muhammad was still briefly visible in the opening credits of the "Cartoon Wars" episodes (the image had been there as a call-back to "Super Best Friends").


title: Comedy Central

text: On January 15, 2007, MTV Networks International launched Comedy Central in Germany which is available for free throughout Europe. The channel airs 33 shows either dubbed in German or subtitled while also airing locally produced shows. On April 30, Dutch channel The Box was relaunched as the Dutch version of Comedy Central during the primetime and overnight hours timesharing with Nickelodeon. On May 1, 2007, Comedy Central expanded to Italy, replacing Paramount Comedy.


title: Comedy Central

text: On June 27, 2007, CTVglobemedia-owned networks CTV and The Comedy Network obtained the exclusive Canadian rights to the entire Comedy Central library of past and current programs on all electronic platforms, under a multi-year agreement with Viacom, expanding on past programming agreements between the two channels. Canadian users attempting to visit Comedy Central websites were redirected to The Comedy Network's website. The Canadian channel retains its brand name, but the agreement is otherwise very similar to the earlier CTV–Viacom deal for MTV in Canada. As of 2011, this geocaching no longer applies and both the Comedy Central and The Comedy Network websites can be accessed worldwide, except for videos which remain only accessible within each respective country.


title: Comedy Central

text: In December 2007, Comedy Central picked up a show hosted by Lewis Black called "Lewis Black's Root of All Evil", which debuted in March 2008. On January 9, 2008, it was announced the Comedy Central and MTV would allow the streaming its programs online for free starting in February that year. On January 24, Scott Landsman became the Vice President of Original Programming and Development at the network.


title: Comedy Central

text: On March 27, 2008, the Swedish Radio and TV Authority approved an application from Comedy Central regarding being allowed to air television programs in Sweden. The grant allows Comedy Central to broadcast on the terrestrial television network between January 1, 2009, and March 31, 2014, after which a new request must be submitted to continue broadcasting. Comedy Central's U.S. flagship network picked up a remake of "The Gong Show" hosted by Dave Attell, star of his former self-titled Comedy Central series "Insomniac", which debuted in July 2008. Another new show called "Reality Bites Back" premiered after "The Gong Show with Dave Attell".


title: Comedy Central

text: In June 2008, Comedy Central picked up the sketch comedy show "Important Things with Demetri Martin", which began airing in February 2009. On April 1, 2009, Comedy Central began airing in New Zealand as channel 010 on SKY Digital. On April 6, Paramount Comedy in the UK and Ireland rebranded as Comedy Central. On April 7, 2009, it was announced Comedy Central would air new stand-up comedy specials starring Christopher Titus, Gabriel Iglesias, Pablo Francisco, Jim Breuer, Mitch Fatel and Pete Correale, and ventriloquist Jeff Dunham. An animated show entitled "Ugly Americans" was also picked up by the network. In 2009, "The Goode Family" premiered. Also in 2009, Thomas Lennon announced via Twitter that "Reno 911!" had been canceled after six seasons, much to fan disapproval. The network also played a role in the revival of the animated series "Futurama", which Fox had canceled in 2003. New episodes began airing on Comedy Central in 2010. But in May 2013, Comedy Central released a statement saying that the contract between Futurama and Comedy Central would not be renewed and that the summer of 2013 would be Futurama's final season on the air. However, episodes continue to run weekly on Comedy Central.


title: Comedy Central

text: In 2009, Comedy Central introduced an Internet viral video reaction show hosted by comedian Daniel Tosh called Tosh.0. During its second year in the summer of 2010, it was the most viewed show, overtaking the Daily Show and The Colbert Report for male audiences aged 18–49. Many of the segments in Tosh.0's past seasons have received more views on Comedy Central's YouTube channel than any other show.


title: Comedy Central

text: "South Park" episodes "200" and "201" aired in April 2010, revisiting the issue of the Islamic religious figure Muhammad's perceived immunity to parody, for fear of violent retaliation. The Super Best Friends returned, but Muhammad was entirely covered by a black bar reading "CENSORED" through all of his screen time. By the second episode of the two-parter, Comedy Central decided to censor every instance of his name, as well as three entire monologues, from the end of the show. The monologues dealt with the subjects of censorship and intimidation but did not use Muhammad's name. Parker and Stone have since issued a statement to the press, confirming that the "bleeps" were added weeks after the show was finished and that Comedy Central has refused to let them post the original version of South Park, in addition to retroactively removing the original "Super Best Friends" episode. Parker threatened to quit the show after this incident.


title: Comedy Central

text: On December 9, 2010, Comedy Central introduced a new logo for the network that launched on January 1, 2011, which left behind the previous theme of a world-sized "tower" broadcasting the network/skyscrapers, in favor of an image of two "C"'s, with one of them and the word "Central" turned upside-down within the new logomark. The new logo was designed to represent the network's unique brand of comedy (with some drawing comparisons to the copyright symbol as inspiration for its design and use), and to provide the network with a logo that could be easily used across different platforms, such as social media. However, the "bars" version of the logo used from 2000 to 2011 was intended to be Comedy Central's new logo as part of a planned rebranding in 2010, and the network used it short-lived until the network started a logo nicknamed the "Comedymark". The logo's resemblance to the one used by the Federal Communications Commission was also pointed out. It went on to win several industry awards.


title: Comedy Central

text: The Polish version of the channel was the first international Comedy Central channel to switch to the new logo on February 20, 2011; followed by the Hungarian version on April 1, 2011. Versions of the channel in Germany and the Netherlands soon followed on October 1, 2011. Comedy Central New Zealand rebranded in April 2012. Viacom 18 launched the channel in India on January 23, 2012. StarHub launched Comedy Central Asia in Singapore on November 1, 2012; the channel was added to its Basic Entertainment Upsize group.


title: Comedy Central

text: On April 1, 2012, Comedy Central launched a Russian-language version of Comedy Central branded as Paramount Comedy in Russia.


title: Comedy Central

text: On October 21, 2013, the network premiered a nightly comedy-game show series "@midnight" hosted by Chris Hardwick. "@midnight" served as an expansion to the network's nightly late-night programming. Due to low ratings, it was canceled on August 4, 2017, with the show airing its 600th and final episode as an hour-long special.


title: Comedy Central

text: In 2014, it was announced that Stephen Colbert would leave Comedy Central to host "The Late Show" on CBS, following the retirement of David Letterman, the first host of "Late Show". The final episode of "The Colbert Report" aired on Comedy Central on December 18, 2014, after nine years and a total of 1,447 episodes. The final episode of "The Colbert Report" was watched by 2.481 million viewers, making it the most-watched episode ever in the show's history. The finale was the most-watched cable program of the night in its time slot, beating "The Daily Show" which was seen by 2.032 million viewers. "The Colbert Report" was replaced on Comedy Central by Larry Wilmore from "The Daily Show", who began hosting his series "The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore" on January 19, 2015. The show aired until August 18, 2016, when it was canceled due to low ratings. On February 10, 2015, Jon Stewart also announced his retirement and that he would also leave the network and "The Daily Show" after 16 years. Stewart's final episode aired on August 6, 2015, and Trevor Noah succeeded Stewart as new host on September 28, 2015.


title: Comedy Central

text: On January 5, 2017, the Finnish Government granted television programming licenses in the UHF band. The grant applied by Nickelodeon International Ltd allows Comedy Central to broadcast from May 17, 2017, to January 10, 2027.


title: Comedy Central

text: On November 16, 2017, Comedy Central launched a Ukrainian-language version of Comedy Central branded as Paramount Comedy in Ukraine. Ukrainian-language version of the channel is operated under the license purchased.


title: Comedy Central

text: In July 2018, Comedy Central refreshed its branding, maintaining the existing double-C logomark, but introducing a new in-house typeface, and changing the network's corporate color to amber (while also using other colors to denote flagship programs).


title: Comedy Central

text: On February 11, 2019, Jimmy Kimmel announced on his talk show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" that former show "Crank Yankers" will be revived on Comedy Central for a fifth 20-episode season. The new season will include pranks on social media and other platforms. Kimmel's brother Jonathan Kimmel will serve as showrunner and executive producer.


title: Comedy Central

text: On May 1, 2019, the Viacom-owned Pluto TV launched two Comedy Central networks titled "Comedy Central Pluto" and "Comedy Central Stand Up". The former airs classic Comedy Central original series such as "Reno 911!", "Crank Yankers" and more, while the latter airs the network's stand up specials. Later on December 15, 2020, the "Comedy Central Stand Up" channel was removed and a new "Comedy Central Animation" channel was added.


title: Comedy Central

text: In 2020, Comedy Central began shifting its programming towards adult animation, with series pickups of "Beavis and Butt-Head", a reboot of "The Ren & Stimpy Show", and "Daria" spin-off "Jodie". The first title of these was shifted to Paramount+. The network also launched a new weekday animation block initially branded as "Animation Contamination," featuring reruns of "South Park", "Futurama" and "The Cleveland Show". In turn, Comedy Central has decreased its live-action slate, announcing the cancellations of "Drunk History" and "Tosh.0", as well as the migrations of "South Side" and "The Other Two" to HBO Max and "Alternatino with Arturo Castro" to Quibi, which did not materialize after the platform folded. Reruns of licensed programming take up the majority of the schedule, with The majority of original programming reduced to television movies to meet requirements to cable operators regarding original programming at a lower cost than regular series. The network also has a host of podcast shows distributed on audio platforms.


title: Comedy Central

text: The 1080i high definition simulcast feed of Comedy Central launched in 2009 and is available on all major cable and satellite providers. The standard definition Comedy Central downscales the HD feed and broadcasts in 16:9 letterboxed to fit the 4:3 ratio.


title: Comedy Central

text: Comedy Central has been a target of criticism from some advocacy groups, including the Parents Television and Media Council. The PTC criticizes their programming not merely for mature content, but also for what they perceive as bigotry and blasphemy, The PTC has used their criticisms against Comedy Central for their support of the Family and Consumer Choice Act of 2007, which would allow American cable television subscribers to choose which channels they subscribe to and impose the same decency standards that are already in place on broadcast TV. The PTC has also persuaded some advertisers to lower their interest for the channel. PTC founder and former president L. Brent Bozell III said the channel has managed "to reach the top of its field in spite of – or, better put, because of – the network's sheer lack of comedic talent" by its "extensive reliance on shocking or disgusting humor."


title: Comedy Central

text: On November 5, 2007, an open letter was written by VideoSift to protest the blocking of Comedy Central's embedded video content for non-American viewers.


title: Comedy Central

text: On April 21, 2010, Comedy Central censored the "South Park" episode "201" in response to a death threat issued by users of a radical Muslim website over the episode's planned depiction of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, which led several newspaper columnists to condemn the network's actions as tantamount to abetting terrorism. As a rare result in the series' history, "201" and the episode that preceded it were heavily edited and are never aired as reruns.


title: Javed Iqbal (serial killer)

text: Javed Iqbal Mughal (1961 – 8 October 2001) was a Pakistani serial killer and pederast who confessed to the sexual abuse and murder of 100 young boys, ranging in age from 6 to 16. Iqbal strangled the victims, dismembered the corpses and dissolved them in acid as a way to conceal the evidence. He was found guilty and sentenced to death in the same manner that he killed the boys, being strangled first, then cut into a hundred pieces, in front of the parents of the victims, one piece for each victim, then be dissolved into acid; Interior Minister, Moinuddin Haider, stated that such a punishment would not be allowed. Iqbal died by suicide before any sentence could be carried out.


title: Javed Iqbal (serial killer)

text: Iqbal was born to a Muslim Punjabi Rajput family, and he was the sixth of eight children of his businessman father. He attended Government Islamia College, Railway Road Lahore as an intermediate student. In 1978, while still a student, he started a steel recasting business. Iqbal lived, along with boys, in a villa in Shadbagh which his father had purchased for him.


title: Javed Iqbal (serial killer)

text: In December 1999, Iqbal sent a letter to police and a Lahore newspaper chief news editor Khawar Naeem Hashmi confessing to the rape and murder of 100 runaway boys, all aged between 6 and 16. In the letter, he claimed to have strangled and dismembered the victims, mostly runaways and orphans living on the streets of Lahore and disposed of their bodies using vats of hydrochloric acid. He then dumped the remains in a local river.


title: Javed Iqbal (serial killer)

text: Inside Iqbal's house, police and reporters found bloodstains on the walls and floor, along with the chain with which Iqbal claimed to have strangled his victims and photographs of many of his victims in plastic bags. These items were neatly labelled with handwritten pamphlets. Two vats of acid with partially dissolved human remains were also left in the open for police to find, with a note claiming the bodies in the house have deliberately not been disposed of so that authorities will find them.


title: Javed Iqbal (serial killer)

text: Iqbal confessed in his letter that he planned to drown himself in the Ravi River following his crimes, but, after unsuccessfully dragging the river with nets, police launched the largest manhunt in Pakistani history. Four accomplices, teenage boys who had shared Iqbal's three-bedroom flat, were arrested in Sohawa. Within days, one of them died in police custody, with a post-mortem suggesting that force had been used against him; allegedly, he jumped from a window.


title: Javed Iqbal (serial killer)

text: Iqbal's motive for committing his murders was his infuriation at a perceived injustice at the hands of Lahore police who had arrested him on charges relating to an act of sodomy against a young runaway boy in the 1990s. No charges were brought in relation to this offence. His mother had "been forced to watch [his] decline" before suffering a fatal heart attack. He had therefore resolved to make 100 mothers cry for their sons as his mother had been forced to do for him before her death.


title: Javed Iqbal (serial killer)

text: It was a month before Iqbal turned himself in at the offices of the "Daily Jang" on 30 December 1999. He was subsequently arrested. He stated that he had surrendered to the newspaper because he feared for his life and was concerned that the police would kill him.


title: Javed Iqbal (serial killer)

text: Iqbal was sentenced to death; the judge passed sentence saying, "You will be strangled to death in front of the parents whose children you killed, your body will then be cut into 100 pieces and put in acid, the same way you killed the children." The Interior Minister, Moinuddin Haider, contradicted the sentence by stating that Pakistan is a signatory of the Human Rights Commission, so "such punishments are not allowed."


title: Javed Iqbal (serial killer)

text: On October 9, 2001, Iqbal and Sajid Ahmad, one of his accomplices, were found dead in their respective cells at the Kot Lakhpat Jail. Despite indications that both had been murdered, the deaths were officially ruled as suicides. Iqbal's body went unclaimed.


title: Javed Iqbal (serial killer)

text: "" is a 2022 Pakistani film that was set to be released on 28 January, 2022. The film was, however, banned by the Punjab government and the Central Board of Film Censors and pulled out of the theatres a day before its release. The film is directed by Abu Aleeha with Yasir Hussain in the role of the notorious serial killer.


title: Nobility

text: Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristics associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles or simply formal functions (e.g., precedence), and vary by country and by era. Membership in the nobility, including rights and responsibilities, is typically hereditary and patrilineal.


title: Nobility

text: Membership in the nobility has historically been granted by a monarch or government, and acquisition of sufficient power, wealth, ownerships, or royal favour has occasionally enabled commoners to ascend into the nobility.


title: Nobility

text: There are often a variety of ranks within the noble class. Legal recognition of nobility has been much more common in monarchies, but nobility also existed in such regimes as the Dutch Republic (1581–1795), the Republic of Genoa (1005–1815), the Republic of Venice (697–1797), and the Old Swiss Confederacy (1300–1798), and remains part of the legal social structure of some small non-hereditary regimes, e.g., San Marino, and the Vatican City in Europe. In Classical Antiquity, the ' (nobles) of the Roman Republic were families descended from persons who had achieved the consulship. Those who belonged to the hereditary patrician families were nobles, but plebeians whose ancestors were consuls were also considered '. In the Roman Empire, the nobility were descendants of this Republican aristocracy. While ancestry of contemporary noble families from ancient Roman nobility might technically be possible, no well-researched, historically-documented generation-by-generation genealogical descents from ancient Roman times are known to exist in Europe.


title: Nobility

text: Hereditary titles and styles added to names (such as "Prince", "Lord", or "Lady"), as well as honorifics, often distinguish nobles from non-nobles in conversation and written speech. In many nations, most of the nobility have been untitled, and some hereditary titles do not indicate nobility (e.g., vidame). Some countries have had non-hereditary nobility, such as the Empire of Brazil or life peers in the United Kingdom.


title: Nobility

text: The term derives from Latin ', the abstract noun of the adjective ' ("noble but also secondarily well-known, famous, notable"). In ancient Roman society, originated as an informal designation for the political governing class who had allied interests, including both patricians and plebeian families "("")" with an ancestor who had risen to the consulship through his own merit (see , "new man").


title: Nobility

text: In modern usage, "nobility" is applied to the highest social class in pre-modern societies. In the feudal system (in Europe and elsewhere), the nobility were generally those who held a fief, often land or office, under vassalage, i.e., in exchange for allegiance and various, mainly military, services to a suzerain, who might be a higher-ranking nobleman or a monarch. It rapidly became a hereditary caste, sometimes associated with a right to bear a hereditary title and, for example in pre-revolutionary France, enjoying fiscal and other privileges.


title: Nobility

text: While noble status formerly conferred significant privileges in most jurisdictions, by the 21st century it had become a largely honorary dignity in most societies, although a few, residual privileges may still be preserved legally (e.g., Netherlands, Spain, UK) and some Asian, Pacific and African cultures continue to attach considerable significance to formal hereditary rank or titles. (Compare the entrenched position and leadership expectations of the nobility of the Kingdom of Tonga.) More than a third of British land is in the hands of aristocrats and traditional landed gentry.


title: Nobility

text: Nobility is a historical, social and often legal notion, differing from high socio-economic status in that the latter is mainly based on income, possessions or lifestyle. Being wealthy or influential cannot make one noble, nor are all nobles wealthy or influential (aristocratic families have lost their fortunes in various ways, and the concept of the 'poor nobleman' is almost as old as nobility itself).


title: Nobility

text: Although many societies have a privileged upper class with substantial wealth and power, the status is not necessarily hereditary and does not entail a distinct legal status, nor differentiated forms of address. Various republics, including European countries such as Greece, Turkey, Austria and former Iron Curtain countries and places in the Americas such as Mexico and the United States, have expressly abolished the conferral and use of titles of nobility for their citizens. This is distinct from countries which have not abolished the right to inherit titles, but which do not grant legal recognition or protection to them, such as Germany and Italy, although Germany recognizes their use as part of the legal surname. Still other countries and authorities allow their use, but forbid attachment of any privilege thereto, e.g., Finland, Norway and the European Union, while French law also protects lawful titles against usurpation.


title: Nobility

text: Not all of the benefits of nobility derived from noble status . Usually privileges were granted or recognized by the monarch in association with possession of a specific title, office or estate. Most nobles' wealth derived from one or more estates, large or small, that might include fields, pasture, orchards, timberland, hunting grounds, streams, etc. It also included infrastructure such as castle, well and mill to which local peasants were allowed some access, although often at a price. Nobles were expected to live "nobly", that is, from the proceeds of these possessions. Work involving manual labor or subordination to those of lower rank (with specific exceptions, such as in military or ecclesiastic service) was either forbidden (as derogation from noble status) or frowned upon socially. On the other hand, membership in the nobility was usually a prerequisite for holding offices of trust in the realm and for career promotion, especially in the military, at court and often the higher functions in the government, judiciary and church.


title: Nobility

text: Prior to the French Revolution, European nobles typically commanded tribute in the form of entitlement to cash rents or usage taxes, labor or a portion of the annual crop yield from commoners or nobles of lower rank who lived or worked on the noble's manor or within his "seigneurial" domain. In some countries, the local lord could impose restrictions on such a commoner's movements, religion or legal undertakings. Nobles exclusively enjoyed the privilege of hunting. In France, nobles were exempt from paying the "taille", the major direct tax. Peasants were not only bound to the nobility by dues and services, but the exercise of their rights was often also subject to the jurisdiction of courts and police from whose authority the actions of nobles were entirely or partially exempt. In some parts of Europe the right of private war long remained the privilege of every noble.


title: Nobility

text: During the early Renaissance, duelling established the status of a respectable gentleman, and was an accepted manner of resolving disputes.


title: Nobility

text: Since the end of World War I the hereditary nobility entitled to special rights has largely been abolished in the Western World as intrinsically discriminatory, and discredited as inferior in efficiency to individual meritocracy in the allocation of societal resources. Nobility came to be associated with social rather than legal privilege, expressed in a general expectation of deference from those of lower rank. By the 21st century even that deference had become increasingly minimized. In general, the present nobility present in the European monarchies has no more privileges than the citizens decorated in republics.


title: Nobility

text: In France, a (lordship) might include one or more manors surrounded by land and villages subject to a noble's prerogatives and disposition. could be bought, sold or mortgaged. If erected by the crown into, e.g., a barony or countship, it became legally entailed for a specific family, which could use it as their title. Yet most French nobles were untitled ("seigneur of Montagne" simply meant ownership of that lordship but not, if one was not otherwise noble, the right to use a title of nobility, as commoners often purchased lordships). Only a member of the nobility who owned a countship was allowed, , to style himself as its , although this restriction came to be increasingly ignored as the drew to its close.


title: Nobility

text: In other parts of Europe, sovereign rulers arrogated to themselves the exclusive prerogative to act as within their realms. For example, in the United Kingdom royal letters patent are necessary to obtain a title of the peerage, which also carries nobility and formerly a seat in the House of Lords, but never came with automatic entail of land nor rights to the local peasants' output.


title: Nobility

text: Nobility might be either inherited or conferred by a "fons honorum". It is usually an acknowledged preeminence that is hereditary, i.e. the status descends exclusively to some or all of the legitimate, and usually male-line, descendants of a nobleman. In this respect, the nobility as a class has always been much more extensive than the primogeniture-based titled nobility, which included peerages in France and in the United Kingdom, "grandezas" in Portugal and Spain, and some noble titles in Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Prussia and Scandinavia. In Russia, Scandinavia and non-Prussian Germany, titles usually descended to all male-line descendants of the original titleholder, including females. In Spain, noble titles are now equally heritable by females and males alike. Noble estates, on the other hand, gradually came to descend by primogeniture in much of western Europe aside from Germany. In Eastern Europe, by contrast, with the exception of a few Hungarian estates, they usually descended to all sons or even all children.


title: Nobility

text: In France, some wealthy "bourgeois", most particularly the members of the various "parlements", were ennobled by the king, constituting the "noblesse de robe". The old nobility of landed or knightly origin, the "noblesse d'épée", increasingly resented the influence and pretensions of this "parvenu" nobility. In the last years of the "ancien régime" the old nobility pushed for restrictions of certain offices and orders of chivalry to noblemen who could demonstrate that their lineage had extended "quarterings", i.e. several generations of noble ancestry, to be eligible for offices and favours at court along with nobles of medieval descent, although historians such as William Doyle have disputed this so-called "Aristocratic Reaction". Various court and military positions were reserved by tradition for nobles who could "prove" an ancestry of at least "seize quartiers" (16 quarterings), indicating exclusively noble descent (as displayed, ideally, in the family's coat of arms) extending back five generations (all 16 great-great grandparents).


title: Nobility

text: This illustrates the traditional link in many countries between heraldry and nobility; in those countries where heraldry is used, nobles have almost always been armigerous, and have used heraldry to demonstrate their ancestry and family history. However, heraldry has never been restricted to the noble classes in most countries, and being armigerous does not necessarily demonstrate nobility. Scotland, however, is an exception. In a number of recent cases in Scotland the Lord Lyon King of Arms has controversially ( Scotland's Salic law) granted the arms and allocated the chiefships of medieval noble families to female-line descendants of lords, even when they were not of noble lineage in the male line, while persons of legitimate male-line descent may still survive (e.g. the modern Chiefs of Clan MacLeod).


title: Nobility

text: In some nations, hereditary titles, as distinct from noble rank, were not always recognised in law, e.g., Poland's "Szlachta". European ranks of nobility lower than baron or its equivalent, are commonly referred to as the petty nobility, although baronets of the British Isles are deemed titled gentry. Most nations traditionally had an untitled lower nobility in addition to titled nobles. An example is the landed gentry of the British Isles. Unlike England's gentry, the "Junkers" of Germany, the "noblesse de robe" of France, the "hidalgos" of Spain and the "nobili" of Italy were explicitly acknowledged by the monarchs of those countries as members of the nobility, although untitled. In Scandinavia, the Benelux nations and Spain there are still untitled as well as titled families recognised in law as noble.


title: Nobility

text: In Hungary members of the nobility always theoretically enjoyed the same rights. In practice, however, a noble family's financial assets largely defined its significance. Medieval Hungary's concept of nobility originated in the notion that nobles were "free men", eligible to own land. This basic standard explains why the noble population was relatively large, although the economic status of its members varied widely. Untitled nobles were not infrequently wealthier than titled families, while considerable differences in wealth were also to be found within the titled nobility. The custom of granting titles was introduced to Hungary in the 16th century by the House of Habsburg. Historically, once nobility was granted, if a nobleman served the monarch well he might obtain the title of baron, and might later be elevated to the rank of count. As in other countries of post-medieval central Europe, hereditary titles were not attached to a particular land or estate but to the noble family itself, so that all patrilineal descendants shared a title of baron or count (cf. peerage). Neither nobility nor titles could be transmitted through women.


title: Nobility

text: Some con artists sell fake titles of nobility, often with impressive-looking documentation. This may be illegal, depending on local law. They are more often illegal in countries that actually have nobilities, such as European monarchies. In the United States, such commerce may constitute actionable fraud rather than criminal usurpation of an exclusive right to use of any given title by an established class.


title: Nobility

text: "Aristocrat" and "aristocracy", in modern usage, refer colloquially and broadly to persons who inherit elevated social status, whether due to membership in the (formerly) official nobility or the monied upper class.


title: Nobility

text: "Blue blood" is an English idiom recorded since 1811 in the Annual Register and in 1834 for noble birth or descent; it is also known as a translation of the Spanish phrase "sangre azul", which described the Spanish royal family and high nobility who claimed to be of Visigothic descent, in contrast to the Moors. The idiom originates from ancient and medieval societies of Europe and distinguishes an upper class (whose superficial veins appeared blue through their untanned skin) from a working class of the time. The latter consisted mainly of agricultural peasants who spent most of their time working outdoors and thus had tanned skin, through which superficial veins appear less prominently.


title: Nobility

text: It was the Spaniards who gave the world the notion that an aristocrat's blood is not red but blue. The Spanish nobility started taking shape around the ninth century in classic military fashion, occupying land as warriors on horseback. They were to continue the process for more than five hundred years, clawing back sections of the peninsula from its Moorish occupiers, and a nobleman demonstrated his pedigree by holding up his sword arm to display the filigree of blue-blooded veins beneath his pale skin—proof that his birth had not been contaminated by the dark-skinned enemy.


title: Nobility

text: Africa has a plethora of ancient lineages in its various constituent nations. Some, such as the numerous "sharifian" families of North Africa, the Keita dynasty of Mali, the Solomonic dynasty of Ethiopia, the De Souza family of Benin and the Sherbro Tucker clan of Sierra Leone, claim descent from notables from outside of the continent. Most, such as those composed of the descendants of Shaka and Moshoeshoe of Southern Africa, belong to peoples that have been resident in the continent for millennia. Generally their royal or noble status is recognized by and derived from the authority of traditional custom. A number of them also enjoy either a constitutional or a statutory recognition of their high social positions.


title: Nobility

text: Ethiopia has a nobility that is almost as old as the country itself. Throughout the history of the Ethiopian Empire most of the titles of nobility have been tribal or military in nature. However the Ethiopian nobility resembled its European counterparts in some respects; until 1855, when Tewodros II ended the "Zemene Mesafint" its aristocracy was organised similarly to the feudal system in Europe during the Middle Ages. For more than seven centuries, Ethiopia (or Abyssinia, as it was then known) was made up of many small kingdoms, principalities, emirates and imamates, which owed their allegiance to the "nəgusä nägäst" (literally "King of Kings"). Despite its being a Christian monarchy, various Muslim states paid tribute to the emperors of Ethiopia for centuries: including the Adal Sultanate, the Emirate of Harar, and the Awsa sultanate.


title: Nobility

text: Ethiopian nobility were divided into two different categories: "Mesafint" ("prince"), the hereditary nobility that formed the upper echelon of the ruling class; and the "Mekwanin" ("governor") who were appointed nobles, often of humble birth, who formed the bulk of the nobility ("cf." the "Ministerialis" of the Holy Roman Empire). In Ethiopia there were titles of nobility among the "Mesafint" borne by those at the apex of medieval Ethiopian society. The highest royal title (after that of emperor) was "Negus" ("king") which was held by hereditary governors of the provinces of Begemder, Shewa, Gojjam, and Wollo. The next highest seven titles were "Ras", "Dejazmach", "Fit'awrari", "Grazmach", "Qenyazmach", "Azmach" and "Balambaras". The title of "Le'ul Ras" was accorded to the heads of various noble families and cadet branches of the Solomonic dynasty, such as the princes of Gojjam, Tigray, and Selalle. The heirs of the "Le'ul Rases" were titled "Le'ul Dejazmach", indicative of the higher status they enjoyed relative to "Dejazmaches" who were not of the blood imperial. There were various hereditary titles in Ethiopia: including that of "Jantirar", reserved for males of the family of Empress Menen Asfaw who ruled over the mountain fortress of Ambassel in Wollo; "Wagshum", a title created for the descendants of the deposed Zagwe dynasty; and "Shum Agame", held by the descendants of "Dejazmach" Sabagadis, who ruled over the Agame district of Tigray. The vast majority of titles borne by nobles were not, however, hereditary.


title: Nobility

text: Despite being largely dominated by Christian elements, some Muslims obtained "entrée" into the Ethiopian nobility as part of their quest for aggrandizement during the 1800s. To do so they were generally obliged to abandon their faith and some are believed to have feigned conversion to Christianity for the sake of acceptance by the old Christian aristocratic families. One such family, the Wara Seh (more commonly called the "Yejju dynasty") converted to Christianity and eventually wielded power for over a century, ruling with the sanction of the Solomonic emperors. The last such Muslim noble to join the ranks of Ethiopian society was Mikael of Wollo who converted, was made "Negus" of Wollo, and later King of Zion, and even married into the Imperial family. He lived to see his son, Lij Iyasu, inherit the throne in 1913—only to be deposed in 1916 because of his conversion to Islam.


title: Nobility

text: The nobility in Madagascar are known as the "Andriana". In much of Madagascar, before French colonization of the island, the Malagasy people were organised into a rigid social caste system, within which the "Andriana" exercised both spiritual and political leadership. The word "Andriana" has been used to denote nobility in various ethnicities in Madagascar: including the "Merina", the "Betsileo", the "Betsimisaraka", the "Tsimihety", the "Bezanozano", the "Antambahoaka" and the "Antemoro".


title: Nobility

text: The word "Andriana" has often formed part of the names of Malagasy kings, princes and nobles. Linguistic evidence suggests that the origin of the title "Andriana" is traceable back to an ancient Javanese title of nobility. Before the colonization by France in the 1890s, the "Andriana" held various privileges, including land ownership, preferment for senior government posts, free labor from members of lower classes, the right to have their tombs constructed within town limits, etc. The "Andriana" rarely married outside their caste: a high-ranking woman who married a lower-ranking man took on her husband's lower rank, but a high-ranking man marrying a woman of lower rank did not forfeit his status, although his children could not inherit his rank or property ("cf." morganatic marriage).


title: Nobility

text: In 2011, the Council of Kings and Princes of Madagascar endorsed the revival of a Christian "Andriana" monarchy that would blend modernity and tradition.


title: Nobility

text: Contemporary Nigeria has a class of traditional notables which is led by its reigning monarchs, the Nigerian traditional rulers. Though their functions are largely ceremonial, the titles of the country's noblemen and women are often centuries old and are usually vested in the membership of historically prominent families in the various subnational kingdoms of the country.


title: Nobility

text: Membership of initiatory societies that have inalienable functions within the kingdoms is also a common feature of Nigerian nobility, particularly among the southern tribes, where such figures as the "Ogboni" of the "Yoruba", the "Nze na Ozo" of the "Igbo" and the "Ekpe" of the "Efik" are some of the most famous examples. Although many of their traditional functions have become dormant due to the advent of modern governance, their members retain precedence of a traditional nature and are especially prominent during festivals.


title: Nobility

text: Outside of this, many of the traditional nobles of Nigeria continue to serve as privy counsellors and viceroys in the service of their traditional sovereigns in a symbolic continuation of the way that their titled ancestors and predecessors did during the pre-colonial and colonial periods. Many of them are also members of the country's political elite due to their not being covered by the prohibition from involvement in politics that governs the activities of the traditional rulers.


title: Nobility

text: Holding a chieftaincy title, either of the traditional variety (which involves taking part in ritual re-enactments of your title's history during annual festivals, roughly akin to a British peerage) or the honorary variety (which does not involve the said re-enactments, roughly akin to a knighthood), grants an individual the right to use the word "chief" as a pre-nominal honorific while in Nigeria.


title: Nobility

text: In the Indian subcontinent during the British Raj, many members of the nobility were elevated to royalty as they became the monarchs of their princely states and vice versa as many princely state rulers were reduced from royals to noble zamindars. Hence, many nobles in the subcontinent had royal titles of Raja, Rai, Rana, Rao, etc. In Nepal, Kaji () was a title and position used by nobility of Gorkha Kingdom (1559–1768) and Kingdom of Nepal (1768–1846). Historian Mahesh Chandra Regmi suggests that "Kaji" is derived from Sanskrit word "Karyi" which meant functionary.


title: Nobility

text: Other noble and aristocratic titles were Thakur, Sardar, Jagirdar, Mankari, Dewan, Pradhan, Kaji etc.


title: Nobility

text: In East Asia the system was often modelled on imperial China, the leading culture. Emperors conferred titles of nobility. Imperial descendants formed the highest class of ancient Chinese nobility, their status based upon the rank of the empress or concubine from which they descend maternally (as emperors were polygamous). Numerous titles such as "Taizi" (crown prince), and equivalents of "prince" were accorded, and due to complexities in dynastic rules, rules were introduced for Imperial descendants. The titles of the junior princes were gradually lowered in rank by each generation while the senior heir continued to inherit their father's titles.


title: Nobility

text: It was a custom in China for the new dynasty to ennoble and enfeoff a member of the dynasty which they overthrew with a title of nobility and a fief of land so that they could offer sacrifices to their ancestors, in addition to members of other preceding dynasties.


title: Nobility

text: China had a feudal system in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, which gradually gave way to a more bureaucratic one beginning in the Qin dynasty (221 BC). This continued through the Song dynasty, and by its peak power shifted from nobility to bureaucrats.


title: Nobility

text: This development was gradual and generally only completed in full by the Song dynasty. In the Han dynasty, for example, even though noble titles were no longer given to those other than the Emperor's relatives, the fact that the process of selecting officials was mostly based on a vouching system by current officials as officials usually vouched for their own sons or those of other officials meant that a de facto aristocracy continued to exist. This process was further deepened during the Three Kingdoms period with the introduction of the Nine-rank system.


title: Nobility

text: By the Sui dynasty, however, the institution of the Imperial examination system marked the transformation of a power shift towards a full bureaucracy, though the process would not be truly completed until the Song dynasty.


title: Nobility

text: Titles of nobility became symbolic along with a stipend while governance of the country shifted to scholar officials.


title: Nobility

text: In the Qing dynasty titles of nobility were still granted by the emperor, but served merely as honorifics based on a loose system of favours to the Qing emperor.


title: Nobility

text: Under a centralized system, the empire's governance was the responsibility of the Confucian-educated scholar-officials and the local gentry, while the literati were accorded gentry status. For male citizens, advancement in status was possible via garnering the top three positions in imperial examinations.


title: Nobility

text: The oldest held continuous noble title in Chinese history was that held by the descendants of Confucius, as Duke Yansheng, which was renamed as the Sacrificial Official to Confucius in 1935 by the Republic of China. The title is held by Kung Tsui-chang. There is also a "Sacrificial Official to Mencius" for a descendant of Mencius, a "Sacrificial Official to Zengzi" for a descendant of Zengzi, and a "Sacrificial Official to Yan Hui" for a descendant of Yan Hui.


title: Nobility

text: The bestowal of titles was abolished upon the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, as part of a larger effort to remove feudal influences and practises from Chinese society.


title: Nobility

text: In some Islamic countries, there are no definite noble titles (titles of hereditary rulers being distinct from those of hereditary intermediaries between monarchs and commoners). Persons who can trace legitimate descent from Muhammad or the clans of Quraysh, as can members of several present or formerly reigning dynasties, are widely regarded as belonging to the ancient, hereditary Islamic nobility. In some Islamic countries they inherit (through mother or father) hereditary titles, although without any other associated privilege, e.g., variations of the title "Sayyid" and "Sharif". Regarded as more religious than the general population, many people turn to them for clarification or guidance in religious matters.


title: Nobility

text: In Iran, historical titles of the nobility including "Mirza", "Khan", "ed-Dowleh" and "Shahzada" ("Son of a Shah), are now no longer recognised. An aristocratic family is now recognised by their family name, often derived from the post held by their ancestors, considering the fact that family names in Iran only appeared in the beginning of the 20th century.


title: Nobility

text: During the Ottoman Empire in the Imperial Court and the provinces there were many Ottoman titles and appellations forming a somewhat unusual and complex system in comparison with the other Islamic countries. The bestowal of noble and aristocratic titles was widespread across the empire even after its fall by independent monarchs. One of the most elaborate examples is that of the Egyptian aristocracy's largest clan, the Abaza family.


title: Nobility

text: Medieval Japan developed a feudal system similar to the European system, where land was held in exchange for military service. The "daimyō" class, or hereditary landowning nobles, held great socio-political power. As in Europe, they commanded private armies made up of "samurai", an elite warrior class; for long periods, these held the real power without a real central government, and often plunged the country into a state of civil war. The "daimyō" class can be compared to European peers, and the samurai to European knights, but important differences exist.


title: Nobility

text: Feudal title and rank were abolished during the Meiji Restoration in 1868, and was replaced by the "kazoku", a five-rank peerage system after the British example, which granted seats in the upper house of the Imperial Diet; this ended in 1947 following Japan's defeat in World War II.


title: Nobility

text: Like other Southeast Asian countries, many regions in the Philippines have indigenous nobility, partially influenced by Hindu, Chinese, and Islamic custom. Since ancient times, "Datu" was the common title of a chief or monarch of the many pre-colonial principalities and sovereign dominions throughout the isles; in some areas the term "Apo" was also used. With the titles "Sultan" and "Rajah", "Datu" (and its Malay cognate, "Datok") are currently used in some parts of the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. These titles are the rough equivalents of European titles, albeit dependent on the actual wealth and prestige of the bearer.


title: Nobility

text: European nobility originated in the feudal/seignorial system that arose in Europe during the Middle Ages. Originally, knights or nobles were mounted warriors who swore allegiance to their sovereign and promised to fight for him in exchange for an allocation of land (usually together with serfs living thereon). During the period known as the Military Revolution, nobles gradually lost their role in raising and commanding private armies, as many nations created cohesive national armies.


title: Nobility

text: This was coupled with a loss of the socio-economic power of the nobility, owing to the economic changes of the Renaissance and the growing economic importance of the merchant classes, which increased still further during the Industrial Revolution. In countries where the nobility was the dominant class, the "bourgeoisie" gradually grew in power; a rich city merchant came to be more influential than a nobleman, and the latter sometimes sought inter-marriage with families of the former to maintain their noble lifestyles.


title: Nobility

text: However, in many countries at this time, the nobility retained substantial political importance and social influence: for instance, the United Kingdom's government was dominated by the (unusually small) nobility until the middle of the 19th century. Thereafter the powers of the nobility were progressively reduced by legislation. However, until 1999, all hereditary peers were entitled to sit and vote in the House of Lords. Since then, only 92 of them have this entitlement, of whom 90 are elected by the hereditary peers as a whole to represent the peerage.


title: Nobility

text: The countries with the highest proportion of nobles were Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (15% of an 18th-century population of 800,000), Castile (probably 10%), Spain (722,000 in 1768 which was 7–8% of the entire population) and other countries with lower percentages, such as Russia in 1760 with 500,000–600,000 nobles (2–3% of the entire population), and pre-revolutionary France where there were no more than 300,000 prior to 1789, which was 1% of the population (although some scholars believe this figure is an overestimate). In 1718 Sweden had between 10,000 and 15,000 nobles, which was 0.5% of the population. In Germany it was 0.01%.


title: Nobility

text: In the Kingdom of Hungary nobles made up 5% of the population. All the nobles in 18th-century Europe numbered perhaps 3–4 million out of a total of 170–190 million inhabitants. By contrast, in 1707, when England and Scotland united into Great Britain, there were only 168 English peers, and 154 Scottish ones, though their immediate families were recognised as noble.


title: Nobility

text: Apart from the hierarchy of noble titles, in England rising through baron, viscount, earl, and marquess to duke, many countries had categories at the top or bottom of the nobility. The gentry, relatively small landowners with perhaps one or two villages, were mostly noble in most countries, for example the Polish landed gentry. At the top, Poland had a far smaller class of "magnates", who were hugely rich and politically powerful. In other countries the small groups of Spanish Grandee or Peer of France had great prestige but little additional power.


title: Nobility

text: In addition to the nobility of a variety of native populations in what is now Latin America (such as the "Aymara", "Aztecs", "Maya", and "Quechua") who had long traditions of being led by monarchs and nobles, peerage traditions dating to the colonial (and post-colonial imperial periods in the case of such countries as Mexico and Brazil), have left noble families in each of them that have ancestral ties to those nations' Indigenous and European families, especially the Spanish but also the Portuguese and French nobility.


title: Nobility

text: From the many historical native chiefs and rulera of pre-Columbian Bolivia to the "Criollo" upper class that dates to the era of Colonial Bolivia and that has ancestral ties to the Spanish nobility, Bolivia has several groups that may fit into the category of nobility.


title: Nobility

text: The country also has a ceremonial monarchy that is recognized as part of the Plurinational State of Bolivia and that is led by a titular ruler who is known as the "Afro-Bolivian king". The members of the royal house that he belongs to are the direct descendants of an old African tribal monarchy that were brought to Bolivia as slaves. They have provided leadership to the Afro-Bolivian community ever since that event and have been officially recognized by Bolivia's government since 2007.


title: Nobility

text: The nobility in Brazil began during the colonial era with the Portuguese nobility. When Brazil became a united kingdom with Portugal in 1815, the first Brazilian titles of nobility were granted by the King of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves.


title: Nobility

text: With the independence of Brazil in 1822 as a constitutional monarchy, the titles of nobility initiated by the King of Portugal were continued and new titles of nobility were created by the Emperor of Brazil. However, according to the Brazilian Constitution of 1824, the Emperor conferred titles of nobility, which were personal and therefore non-hereditary, unlike the earlier Portuguese and Portuguese-Brazilian titles, being inherited exclusively to the royal titles of the Brazilian Imperial Family.


title: Nobility

text: During the existence of the Empire of Brazil, 1,211 noble titles were acknowledged. With the proclamation of the First Brazilian Republic, in 1889, the Brazilian nobility was extinguished. It was also prohibited, under penalty of accusation of high treason and the suspension of political rights, to accept noble titles and foreign decorations without the proper permission of the State. In particular, the nobles of greater distinction, by respect and tradition, were allowed to use their titles during the republican regime. The Imperial Family also could not return to the Brazilian soil until 1921, when the Banishment Law was repealed.


title: Nobility

text: The Mexican nobility were a hereditary nobility of Mexico, with specific privileges and obligations determined in the various political systems that historically ruled over the Mexican territory.


title: Nobility

text: The term is used in reference to various groups throughout the entirety of Mexican history, from formerly ruling indigenous families of the pre-Columbian states of present-day Mexico, to noble Mexican families of Spanish, mestizo, and other European descent, which include conquistadors and their descendants (ennobled by King Philip II in 1573), untitled noble families of Mexico, and holders of titles of nobility acquired during the Viceroyalty of the New Spain (1521–1821), the First Mexican Empire (1821–1823), and the Second Mexican Empire (1862–1867); as well as bearers of titles and other noble prerogatives granted by foreign powers who have settled in Mexico.


title: Nobility

text: The Political Constitution of Mexico has prohibited the State from recognizing any titles of nobility since 1917. The present United Mexican States does not issue or recognize titles of nobility or any hereditary prerogatives and honors. Informally, however, a Mexican aristocracy remains a part of Mexican culture and its hierarchical society.


title: Cremation

text: Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre is an ancient tradition. Starting in the 19th century, cremation was introduced or reintroduced into other parts of the world. In modern times, cremation is commonly carried out with a closed furnace (cremator), at a crematorium.


title: Cremation

text: Cremation leaves behind an average of 2.4 kg (5.3 lbs) of remains known as "ashes" or "cremains". This is not all ash but includes unburnt fragments of bone mineral, which are commonly ground into powder. They do not constitute a health risk and may be buried, interred in a memorial site, retained by relatives or scattered in various ways.


title: Cremation

text: Cremation dates from at least 17,000 years ago in the archaeological record, with the Mungo Lady, the remains of a partly cremated body found at Lake Mungo, Australia.


title: Cremation

text: Alternative death rituals which emphasize one method of disposal – burial, cremation, or exposure – have gone through periods of preference throughout history.


title: Cremation

text: In the Middle East and Europe, both burial and cremation are evident in the archaeological record in the Neolithic era. Cultural groups had their own preferences and prohibitions. The ancient Egyptians developed an intricate transmigration-of-soul theology, which prohibited cremation. This was also widely adopted by Semitic peoples. The Babylonians, according to Herodotus, embalmed their dead. Phoenicians practiced both cremation and burial. From the Cycladic civilization in 3000 BCE until the Sub-Mycenaean era in 1200–1100 BCE, Greeks practiced burial. Cremation appeared around the 12th century BCE, probably influenced by Anatolia. Until the Christian era, when inhumation again became the only burial practice, both combustion and inhumation had been practiced, depending on the era and location. In Rome's earliest history, both inhumation and cremation were in common use among all classes. Around the mid-Republic inhumation was almost exclusively replaced by cremation, with some notable exceptions, and remained the most common funerary practice until the middle of the Empire, when it was almost entirely replaced by inhumation.


title: Cremation

text: In Europe, there are traces of cremation dating to the Early Bronze Age (c. 2000 BCE) in the Pannonian Plain and along the middle Danube. The custom became dominant throughout Bronze Age Europe with the Urnfield culture (from c. 1300 BCE). In the Iron Age, inhumation again becomes more common, but cremation persisted in the Villanovan culture and elsewhere. Homer's account of Patroclus' burial describes cremation with subsequent burial in a tumulus, similar to Urnfield burials, and qualifying as the earliest description of cremation rites. This may be an anachronism, as during Mycenaean times burial was generally preferred, and Homer may have been reflecting the more common use of cremation at the time the Iliad was written, centuries later.


title: Cremation

text: Criticism of burial rites is a common aspersion by competing religions and cultures, including the association of cremation with fire sacrifice or human sacrifice.


title: Cremation

text: Hinduism and Jainism are notable for not only allowing but prescribing cremation. Cremation in India is first attested in the Cemetery H culture (from c. 1900 BCE), considered the last phase of Indus Valley Civilisation and beginning of the Vedic civilization. The Rigveda contains a reference to the emerging practice, in RV 10.15.14, where the forefathers "both cremated ("agnidagdhá-") and uncremated ("ánagnidagdha-")" are invoked.


title: Cremation

text: Cremation remained common but not universal, in both ancient Greece and ancient Rome. According to Cicero, burial was considered the more archaic rite in Rome.


title: Cremation

text: The rise of Christianity saw an end to cremation in Europe, though it may have already been in decline.


title: Cremation

text: In early Roman Britain, cremation was usual but diminished by the 4th century. It then reappeared in the 5th and 6th centuries during the migration era, when sacrificed animals were sometimes included on the pyre, and the dead were dressed in costume and with ornaments for the burning. That custom was also very widespread among the Germanic peoples of the northern continental lands from which the Anglo-Saxon migrants are supposed to have been derived, during the same period. These ashes were usually thereafter deposited in a vessel of clay or bronze in an "urn cemetery". The custom again died out with the Christian conversion of the Anglo-Saxons or Early English during the 7th century, when Christian burial became general.


title: Cremation

text: In parts of Europe, cremation was forbidden by law, and even punishable by death if combined with Heathen rites. Cremation was sometimes used by Catholic authorities as part of punishment for accused heretics, which included burning at the stake. For example, the body of John Wycliff was exhumed years after his death and burned to ashes, with the ashes thrown in a river, explicitly as a posthumous punishment for his denial of the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation.


title: Cremation

text: The first to advocate for the use of cremation was the physician Sir Thomas Browne in 1658. Honoretta Brooks Pratt became the first recorded cremated European individual in modern times when she died on 26 September 1769 and was illegally cremated at the burial ground on Hanover Square in London.


title: Cremation

text: In Europe, a movement to reintroduce cremation as a viable method for body disposal began in the 1870s. This was made possible by the invention of new furnace technology and contact with eastern cultures that practiced it. At the time, many proponents believed in the miasma theory, and that cremation would reduce the "bad air" that caused diseases. These movements were associated with secularism and gained a following in cultural and intellectual circles. In Italy, the movement was associated with anti-clericalism and Freemasonry, whereas these were not major themes of the movement in Britain.


title: Cremation

text: In 1869, the idea was presented to the Medical International Congress of Florence by Professors Coletti and Castiglioni "in the name of public health and civilization". In 1873, Professor Paolo Gorini of Lodi and Professor Ludovico Brunetti of Padua published reports of practical work they had conducted. A model of Brunetti's cremating apparatus, together with the resulting ashes, was exhibited at the Vienna Exposition in 1873 and attracted great attention Meanwhile, Sir Charles William Siemens had developed his regenerative furnace in the 1850s. His furnace operated at a high temperature by using regenerative preheating of fuel and air for combustion. In regenerative preheating, the exhaust gases from the furnace are pumped into a chamber containing bricks, where heat is transferred from the gases to the bricks. The flow of the furnace is then reversed so that fuel and air pass through the chamber and are heated by the bricks. Through this method, an open-hearth furnace can reach temperatures high enough to melt steel, and this process made cremation an efficient and practical proposal. Charles's nephew, Carl Friedrich von Siemens perfected the use of this furnace for the incineration of organic material at his factory in Dresden. The radical politician, Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke, took the corpse of his dead wife there to be cremated in 1874. The efficient and cheap process brought about the quick and complete incineration of the body and was a fundamental technical breakthrough that finally made industrial cremation a practical possibility.


title: Cremation

text: The first crematorium in the Western World opened in Milan in 1876. Milan's "Crematorium Temple" was built in the Monumental Cemetery. The building still stands but ceased to be operational in 1992.


title: Cremation

text: Sir Henry Thompson, 1st Baronet, a surgeon and Physician to the Queen Victoria, had seen Gorini's cremator at the Vienna Exhibition and had returned home to become the first and chief promoter of cremation in England. His main reason for supporting cremation was that "it was becoming a necessary sanitary precaution against the propagation of disease among a population daily growing larger in relation to the area it occupied". In addition, he believed, cremation would prevent premature burial, reduce the expense of funerals, spare mourners the necessity of standing exposed to the weather during interment, and urns would be safe from vandalism. He joined with other proponents to form the "Cremation Society of Great Britain" in 1874." They founded the United Kingdom's first crematorium in Woking, with Gorini travelling to England to assist the installation of a cremator. They first tested it on 17 March 1879 with the body of a horse. After protests and an intervention by the Home Secretary, Sir Richard Cross, their plans were put on hold. In 1884, the Welsh Neo-Druidic priest William Price was arrested and put on trial for attempting to cremate his son's body. Price successfully argued in court that while the law did not state that cremation was legal, it also did not state that it was illegal. The case set a precedent that allowed the Cremation Society to proceed.


title: Cremation

text: In 1885, the first official cremation in the United Kingdom took place in Woking. The deceased was Jeanette Pickersgill, a well-known figure in literary and scientific circles. By the end of the year, the Cremation Society of Great Britain had overseen 2 more cremations, a total of 3 out of 597,357 deaths in the UK that year. In 1888, 28 cremations took place at the venue. In 1891, Woking Crematorium added a chapel, pioneering the concept of a crematorium being a venue for funerals as well as cremation.


title: Cremation

text: Other early crematoria in Europe were built in 1878 in the town of Gotha in Germany and later in Heidelberg in 1891. The first modern crematory in the U.S. was built in 1876 by Francis Julius LeMoyne after hearing about its use in Europe. Like many early proponents, he was motivated by a belief it would be beneficial for public health. Before LeMoyne's crematory closed in 1901, it had performed 42 cremations. Other countries that opened their first crematorium included Sweden (1887 in Stockholm), Switzerland (1889 in Zurich) and France (1889 in Père Lachaise, Paris).