title: Peasants' Revolt

text: The revolt of 1381 broke out in Essex, following the arrival of John Bampton to investigate non-payment of the poll tax on 30 May. Bampton was a Member of Parliament, a Justice of the Peace and well-connected with royal circles. He based himself in Brentwood and summoned representatives from the neighbouring villages of Corringham, Fobbing and Stanford-le-Hope to explain and make good the shortfalls on 1 June. The villagers appear to have arrived well-organised, and armed with old bows and sticks. Bampton first interrogated the people of Fobbing, whose representative, Thomas Baker, declared that his village had already paid their taxes, and that no more money would be forthcoming. When Bampton and two sergeants attempted to arrest Baker, violence broke out. Bampton escaped and retreated to London, but three of his clerks and several of the Brentwood townsfolk who had agreed to act as jurors were killed. Robert Bealknap, the Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, who was probably already holding court in the area, was empowered to arrest and deal with the perpetrators.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: By the next day, the revolt was rapidly growing. The villagers spread the news across the region, and John Geoffrey, a local bailiff, rode between Brentwood and Chelmsford, rallying support. On 4 June, the rebels gathered at Bocking, where their future plans seem to have been discussed. The Essex rebels, possibly a few thousand strong, advanced towards London, some probably travelling directly and others via Kent. One group, under the leadership of John Wrawe, a former chaplain, marched north towards the neighbouring county of Suffolk, with the intention of raising a revolt there.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: Revolt also flared in neighbouring Kent. Sir Simon de Burley, a close associate of both Edward III and the young Richard, had claimed that a man in Kent, called Robert Belling, was an escaped serf from one of his estates. Burley sent two sergeants to Gravesend, where Belling was living, to reclaim him. Gravesend's local bailiffs and Belling tried to negotiate a solution under which Burley would accept a sum of money in return for dropping his case, but this failed and Belling was taken away to be imprisoned at Rochester Castle. A furious group of local people gathered at Dartford, possibly on 5 June, to discuss the matter. From there the rebels travelled to Maidstone, where they stormed the gaol, and then on to Rochester on 6 June. Faced by the angry crowds, the constable in charge of Rochester Castle surrendered it without a fight and Belling was freed.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: Some of the Kentish crowds now dispersed, but others continued. From this point, they appear to have been led by Wat Tyler, whom the "Anonimalle Chronicle" suggests was elected their leader at a large gathering at Maidstone on 7 June. Relatively little is known about Tyler's former life; chroniclers suggest that he was from Essex, had served in France as an archer and was a charismatic and capable leader. Several chroniclers believe that he was responsible for shaping the political aims of the revolt. Some also mention a Jack Straw as a leader among the Kentish rebels during this phase in the revolt, but it is uncertain if this was a real person, or a pseudonym for Wat Tyler or John Wrawe.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: Tyler and the Kentish men advanced to Canterbury, entering the walled city and castle without resistance on 10 June. The rebels deposed the absent Archbishop of Canterbury, Sudbury, and made the cathedral monks swear loyalty to their cause. They attacked properties in the city with links to the hated royal council, and searched the city for suspected enemies, dragging the suspects out of their houses and executing them. The city gaol was opened and the prisoners freed. Tyler then persuaded a few thousand of the rebels to leave Canterbury and advance with him on London the next morning.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: The Kentish advance on London appears to have been coordinated with the movement of the rebels in Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk. Their forces were armed with weapons including sticks, battle axes, old swords and bows. Along their way, they encountered Lady Joan, the King's mother, who was travelling back to the capital to avoid being caught up in the revolt; she was mocked but otherwise left unharmed. The Kentish rebels reached Blackheath, just south-east of the capital, on 12 June.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: Word of the revolt reached the King at Windsor Castle on the night of 10 June. He travelled by boat down the River Thames to London the next day, taking up residence in the powerful fortress of the Tower of London for safety, where he was joined by his mother, Archbishop Sudbury, the Lord High Treasurer Sir Robert Hales, the Earls of Arundel, Salisbury and Warwick and several other senior nobles. A delegation, headed by Thomas Brinton, the Bishop of Rochester, was sent out from London to negotiate with the rebels and persuade them to return home.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: At Blackheath, John Ball gave a famous sermon to the assembled Kentishmen. Ball was a well-known priest and radical preacher from Kent, who was by now closely associated with Tyler. Chroniclers' accounts vary as to how he came to be involved in the revolt; he may have been released from Maidstone gaol by the crowds, or might have been already at liberty when the revolt broke out. Ball rhetorically asked the crowds "When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then a gentleman?" and promoted the rebel slogan "With King Richard and the true commons of England". The phrases emphasised the rebel opposition to the continuation of serfdom and to the hierarchies of the Church and State that separated the subject from the King, while stressing that they were loyal to the monarchy and, unlike the King's advisers, were "true" to Richard. The rebels rejected proposals from the Bishop of Rochester that they should return home, and instead prepared to march on.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: Discussions took place in the Tower of London about how to deal with the revolt. The King had only a few troops at hand, in the form of the castle's garrison, his immediate bodyguard and, at most, several hundred soldiers. Many of the more experienced military commanders were in France, Ireland and Germany, and the nearest major military force was in the north of England, guarding against a potential Scottish invasion. Resistance in the provinces was also complicated by English law, which stated that only the King could summon local militias or lawfully execute rebels and criminals, leaving many local lords unwilling to attempt to suppress the uprisings on their own authority.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: Since the Blackheath negotiations had failed, the decision was taken that the King himself should meet the rebels, at Greenwich, on the south side of the Thames. Guarded by four barges of soldiers, Richard sailed from the Tower on the morning of 13 June, where he was met on the other side by the rebel crowds. The negotiations failed, as Richard was unwilling to come ashore and the rebels refused to enter discussions until he did. Richard returned across the river to the Tower.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: The rebels began to cross from Southwark onto London Bridge on the afternoon of 13 June. The defences on London Bridge were opened from the inside, either in sympathy for the rebel cause or out of fear, and the rebels advanced into the city. At the same time, the rebel force from Essex made its way towards Aldgate on the north side of the city. The rebels swept west through the centre of the city, and Aldgate was opened to let the rest of the rebels in.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: The Kentish rebels had assembled a wide-ranging list of people whom they wanted the King to hand over for execution. It included national figures, such as John of Gaunt, Archbishop Sudbury and Hales; other key members of the royal council; officials, such as Belknap and Bampton who had intervened in Kent; and other hated members of the wider royal circle. When they reached the Marshalsea Prison in Southwark, they tore it apart. By now the Kent and Essex rebels had been joined by many rebellious Londoners. The Fleet and Newgate Prisons were attacked by the crowds, and the rebels also targeted houses belonging to Flemish immigrants.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: On the north side of London, the rebels approached Smithfield and Clerkenwell Priory, the headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller which was headed by Hales. The priory was destroyed, along with the nearby manor. Heading west along Fleet Street, the rebels attacked the Temple, a complex of legal buildings and offices owned by the Hospitallers. The contents, books and paperwork were brought out and burned in the street, and the buildings systematically demolished. Meanwhile, John Fordham, the Keeper of the Privy Seal and one of the men on the rebels' execution list, narrowly escaped when the crowds ransacked his accommodation but failed to notice he was still in the building.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: Next to be attacked along Fleet Street was the Savoy Palace, a huge, luxurious building belonging to John of Gaunt. According to the chronicler Henry Knighton it contained "such quantities of vessels and silver plate, without counting the parcel-gilt and solid gold, that five carts would hardly suffice to carry them"; official estimates placed the value of the contents at around £10,000. The interior was systematically destroyed by the rebels, who burnt the soft furnishings, smashed the precious metal work, crushed the gems, set fire to the Duke's records and threw the remains into the Thames and the city drains. Almost nothing was stolen by the rebels, who declared themselves to be "zealots for truth and justice, not thieves and robbers". The remains of the building were then set alight. In the evening, rebel forces gathered outside the Tower of London, from where the King watched the fires burning across the city.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: On the morning of 14 June, the crowd continued west along the Thames, burning the houses of officials around Westminster and opening the Westminster gaol. They then moved back into central London, setting fire to more buildings and storming Newgate Prison. The hunt for Flemings continued, and those with Flemish-sounding accents were killed, including the royal adviser, Richard Lyons. In one city ward, the bodies of 40 executed Flemings were piled up in the street, and at the Church of St Martin Vintry, popular with the Flemish, 35 of the community were killed. Historian Rodney Hilton argues that these attacks may have been coordinated by the weavers' guilds of London, who were commercial competitors of the Flemish weavers.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: Isolated inside the Tower, the royal government was in a state of shock at the turn of events. The King left the castle that morning and made his way to negotiate with the rebels at Mile End in east London, taking only a very small bodyguard with him. The King left Sudbury and Hales behind in the Tower, either for their own safety or because Richard had decided it would be safer to distance himself from his unpopular ministers. Along the way, several Londoners accosted the King to complain about alleged injustices.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: It is uncertain who spoke for the rebels at Mile End, and Wat Tyler may not have been present on this occasion, but they appear to have put forward their various demands to the King, including the surrender of the hated officials on their lists for execution; the abolition of serfdom and unfree tenure; "that there should be no law within the realm save the law of Winchester", and a general amnesty for the rebels. It is unclear precisely what was meant by the law of Winchester, but it probably referred to the rebel ideal of self-regulating village communities. Richard issued charters announcing the abolition of serfdom, which immediately began to be disseminated around the country. He declined to hand over any of his officials, apparently instead promising that he would personally implement any justice that was required.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: While Richard was at Mile End, the Tower was taken by the rebels. This force, separate from those operating under Tyler at Mile End, approached the castle, possibly in the late morning. The gates were open to receive Richard on his return and a crowd of around 400 rebels entered the fortress, encountering no resistance, possibly because the guards were terrified by them.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: Once inside, the rebels began to hunt down their key targets, and found Archbishop Sudbury and Robert Hales in the chapel of the White Tower. Along with William Appleton, John of Gaunt's physician, and John Legge, a royal sergeant, they were taken out to Tower Hill and beheaded. Their heads were paraded around the city, before being affixed to London Bridge. The rebels found John of Gaunt's son, the future Henry IV, and were about to execute him as well, when John Ferrour, one of the royal guards, successfully interceded on his behalf. The rebels also discovered Lady Joan and Joan Holland, Richard's sister, in the castle but let them go unharmed after making fun of them. The castle was thoroughly looted of armour and royal paraphernalia.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: In the aftermath of the attack, Richard did not return to the Tower but instead travelled from Mile End to the Great Wardrobe, one of his royal houses in Blackfriars, part of south-west London. There he appointed the military commander Richard FitzAlan, the Earl of Arundel, to replace Sudbury as Chancellor, and began to make plans to regain an advantage over the rebels the following day. Many of the Essex rebels now began to disperse, content with the King's promises, leaving Tyler and the Kentish forces the most significant faction in London. Tyler's men moved around the city that evening, seeking out and killing John of Gaunt's employees, foreigners and anyone associated with the legal system.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: On 15 June the royal government and the remaining rebels, who were unsatisfied with the charters granted the previous day, agreed to meet at Smithfield, just outside the city walls. London remained in confusion, with various bands of rebels roaming the city independently. Richard prayed at Westminster Abbey, before setting out for the meeting in the late afternoon. The chroniclers' accounts of the encounter all vary on matters of detail, but agree on the broad sequence of events. The King and his party, at least 200 strong and including men-at-arms, positioned themselves outside St Bartholomew's Priory to the east of Smithfield, and the thousands of rebels massed along the western end.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: Richard probably called Tyler forwards from the crowd to meet him, and Tyler greeted the King with what the royal party considered excessive familiarity, terming Richard his "brother" and promising him his friendship. Richard queried why Tyler and the rebels had not yet left London following the signing of the charters the previous day, but this brought an angry rebuke from Tyler, who requested that a further charter be drawn up. The rebel leader rudely demanded refreshment and, once this had been provided, attempted to leave.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: An argument then broke out between Tyler and some of the royal servants. The Lord Mayor of London, William Walworth, stepped forward to intervene, Tyler made some motion towards the King, and the royal soldiers leapt in. Either Walworth or Richard ordered Tyler to be arrested, Tyler attempted to attack the Mayor, and Walworth responded by stabbing Tyler. Ralph Standish, a royal squire, then repeatedly stabbed Tyler with his sword, mortally injuring him.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: The situation was now precarious and violence appeared likely as the rebels prepared to unleash a volley of arrows. Richard rode forward towards the crowd and persuaded them to follow him away from Smithfield, to Clerkenwell Fields, defusing the situation. Walworth meanwhile began to regain control of the situation, backed by reinforcements from the city. Tyler's head was cut off and displayed on a pole and, with their leader dead and the royal government now backed by the London militia, the rebel movement began to collapse. Richard promptly knighted Walworth and his leading supporters for their services.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: While the revolt was unfolding in London, John Wrawe led his force into Suffolk. Wrawe had considerable influence over the development of the revolt across eastern England, where there may have been almost as many rebels as in the London revolt. The authorities put up very little resistance to the revolt: the major nobles failed to organise defences, key fortifications fell easily to the rebels and the local militias were not mobilised. As in London and the south-east, this was in part due to the absence of key military leaders and the nature of English law, but any locally recruited men might also have proved unreliable in the face of a popular uprising.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: On 12 June, Wrawe attacked Sir Richard Lyons' property at Overhall, advancing on to Cavendish and Bury St Edmunds in west Suffolk the next day, gathering further support as they went. John Cambridge, the Prior of the wealthy Bury St Edmunds Abbey, was disliked in the town, and Wrawe allied himself with the townspeople and stormed the abbey. The Prior escaped, but was found two days later and beheaded. A small band of rebels marched north to Thetford to extort protection money from the town, and another group tracked down Sir John Cavendish, the Chief Justice of the King's Bench and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. Cavendish was caught in Lakenheath and killed. John Battisford and Thomas Sampson independently led a revolt near Ipswich on 14 June. They took the town without opposition and looted the properties of the archdeacon and local tax officials. The violence spread out further, with attacks on many properties and the burning of the local court records. One official, Edmund Lakenheath, was forced to flee from the Suffolk coast by boat.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: Revolt began to stir in St Albans in Hertfordshire late on 13 June, when news broke of the events in London. There had been long-running disagreements in St Albans between the town and the local abbey, which had extensive privileges in the region. On 14 June, protesters met with the Abbot, Thomas de la Mare, and demanded their freedom from the abbey. A group of townsmen under the leadership of William Grindecobbe travelled to London, where they appealed to the King for the rights of the abbey to be abolished. Wat Tyler, then still in control of the city, granted them authority in the meantime to take direct action against the abbey. Grindecobbe and the rebels returned to St Albans, where they found the Prior had already fled. The rebels broke open the abbey gaol, destroyed the fences marking out the abbey lands and burnt the abbey records in the town square. They then forced Thomas de la Mare to surrender the abbey's rights in a charter on 16 June. The revolt against the abbey spread out over the next few days, with abbey property and financial records being destroyed across the county.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: On 15 June, revolt broke out in Cambridgeshire, led by elements of Wrawe's Suffolk rebellion and some local men, such as John Greyston, who had been involved in the events in London and had returned to his home county to spread the revolt, and Geoffrey Cobbe and John Hanchach, members of the local gentry. The University of Cambridge, staffed by priests and enjoying special royal privileges, was widely hated by the other inhabitants of the town. A revolt backed by the Mayor of Cambridge broke out with the university as its main target. The rebels ransacked Corpus Christi College, which had connections to John of Gaunt, and the University's church, and attempted to execute the University bedel, who escaped. The university's library and archives were burnt in the centre of the town, with one Margery Starre leading the mob in a dance to the rallying cry ""Away with the learning of clerks, away with it!"" while the documents burned. The next day, the university was forced to negotiate a new charter, giving up its royal privileges. Revolt then spread north from Cambridge toward Ely, where the gaol was opened and the local Justice of the Peace executed.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: In Norfolk, the revolt was led by Geoffrey Litster, a weaver, and Sir Roger Bacon, a local lord with ties to the Suffolk rebels. Litster began sending out messengers across the county in a call to arms on 14 June, and isolated outbreaks of violence occurred. The rebels assembled on 17 June outside Norwich and killed Sir Robert Salle, who was in charge of the city defences and had attempted to negotiate a settlement. The people of the town then opened the gates to let the rebels in. They began looting buildings and killed Reginald Eccles, a local official. William de Ufford, the Earl of Suffolk fled his estates and travelled in disguise to London. The other leading members of the local gentry were captured and forced to play out the roles of a royal household, working for Litster. Violence spread out across the county, as gaols were opened, Flemish immigrants killed, court records burned, and property looted and destroyed.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: Revolts also occurred across the rest of England, particularly in the cities of the north, traditionally centres of political unrest. In the town of Beverley, violence broke out between the richer mercantile elite and the poorer townspeople during May. By the end of the month the rebels had taken power and replaced the former town administration with their own. The rebels attempted to enlist the support of Alexander Neville, the Archbishop of York, and in June forced the former town government to agree to arbitration through Neville. Peace was restored in June 1382 but tensions continued to simmer for many years.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: Word of the troubles in the south-east spread north, slowed by the poor communication links of medieval England. In Leicester, where John of Gaunt had a substantial castle, warnings arrived of a force of rebels advancing on the city from Lincolnshire, who were intent on destroying the castle and its contents. The mayor and the town mobilised their defences, including a local militia, but the rebels never arrived. John of Gaunt was in Berwick when word reached him on 17 June of the revolt. Not knowing that Wat Tyler had by now been killed, John of Gaunt placed his castles in Yorkshire and Wales on alert. Fresh rumours, many of them incorrect, continued to arrive in Berwick, suggesting widespread rebellions across the west and east of England and the looting of the ducal household in Leicester; rebel units were even said to be hunting for the Duke himself. Gaunt began to march to Bamburgh Castle, but then changed course and diverted north into Scotland, only returning south once the fighting was over.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: News of the initial events in London also reached York around 17 June, and attacks at once broke out on the properties of the Dominican friars, the Franciscan friaries and other religious institutions. Violence continued over the coming weeks, and on 1 July a group of armed men, under the command of John de Gisbourne, forced their way into the city and attempted to seize control. The mayor, Simon de Quixlay, gradually began to reclaim authority, but order was not properly restored until 1382. The news of the southern revolt reached Scarborough where riots broke out against the ruling elite on 23 June, with the rebels dressed in white hoods with a red tail at the back. Members of the local government were deposed from office, and one tax collector was nearly lynched. By 1382 the elite had re-established power.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: In the Somerset town of Bridgwater, revolt broke out on 19 June, led by Thomas Ingleby and Adam Brugge. The crowds attacked the local Augustine house and forced their master to give up his local privileges and pay a ransom. The rebels then turned on the properties of John Sydenham, a local merchant and official, looting his manor and burning paperwork, before executing Walter Baron, a local man. The Ilchester gaol was stormed, and one unpopular prisoner executed.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: The royal suppression of the revolt began shortly after the death of Wat Tyler on 15 June. Sir Robert Knolles, Sir Nicholas Brembre and Sir Robert Launde were appointed to restore control in the capital. A summons was put out for soldiers, probably around 4,000 men were mustered in London, and expeditions to the other troubled parts of the country soon followed.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: The revolt in East Anglia was independently suppressed by Henry Despenser, the Bishop of Norwich. Henry was in Stamford in Lincolnshire when the revolt broke out, and when he found out about it he marched south with eight men-at-arms and a small force of archers, gathering more forces as he went. He marched first to Peterborough, where he routed the local rebels and executed any he could capture, including some who had taken shelter in the local abbey. He then headed south-east via Huntingdon and Ely, reached Cambridge on 19 June, and then headed further into the rebel-controlled areas of Norfolk. Henry reclaimed Norwich on 24 June, before heading out with a company of men to track down the rebel leader, Geoffrey Litster. The two forces met at the Battle of North Walsham on 25 or 26 June; the Bishop's forces triumphed and Litster was captured and executed. Henry's quick action was essential to the suppression of the revolt in East Anglia, but he was very unusual in taking matters into his own hands in this way, and his execution of the rebels without royal sanction was illegal.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: On 17 June, the King dispatched his half-brother Thomas Holland and Sir Thomas Trivet to Kent with a small force to restore order. They held courts at Maidstone and Rochester. William de Ufford, the Earl of Suffolk, returned to his county on 23 June, accompanied by a force of 500 men. He quickly subdued the area and was soon holding court in Mildenhall, where many of the accused were sentenced to death. He moved on into Norfolk on 6 July, holding court in Norwich, Great Yarmouth and Hacking. Hugh, Lord la Zouche, led the legal proceedings against the rebels in Cambridgeshire. In St Albans, the Abbot arrested William Grindecobbe and his main supporters.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: On 20 June, the King's uncle, Thomas of Woodstock, and Robert Tresilian, the replacement Chief Justice, were given special commissions across the whole of England. Thomas oversaw court cases in Essex, backed up by a substantial military force as resistance was continuing and the county was still in a state of unrest. Richard himself visited Essex, where he met with a rebel delegation seeking confirmation of the grants the King had given at Mile End. Richard rejected them, allegedly telling them that "rustics you were and rustics you are still. You will remain in bondage, not as before, but incomparably harsher". Tresilian soon joined Thomas, and carried out 31 executions in Chelmsford, then travelled to St Albans in July for further court trials, which appear to have utilised dubious techniques to ensure convictions. Thomas went on to Gloucester with 200 soldiers to suppress the unrest there. Henry Percy, the Earl of Northumberland, was tasked to restore order to Yorkshire.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: A wide range of laws were invoked in the process of the suppression, from general treason to charges of book burning or demolishing houses, a process complicated by the relatively narrow definition of treason at the time. The use of informants and denunciations became common, causing fear to spread across the country; by November at least 1,500 people had been executed or killed in battle. Many of those who had lost property in the revolt attempted to seek legal compensation, and John of Gaunt made particular efforts to track down those responsible for destroying his Savoy Palace. Most had only limited success, as the defendants were rarely willing to attend court. The last of these cases was resolved in 1387.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: The rebel leaders were quickly rounded up. A rebel leader by the name of Jack Straw was captured in London and executed. John Ball was caught in Coventry, tried in St Albans, and executed on 15 July. Grindecobbe was also tried and executed in St Albans. John Wrawe was tried in London; he probably gave evidence against 24 of his colleagues in the hope of a pardon, but was sentenced to be executed by being hanged, drawn and quartered on 6 May 1382. Sir Roger Bacon was probably arrested before the final battle in Norfolk, and was tried and imprisoned in the Tower of London before finally being pardoned by the Crown. As of September 1381, Thomas Ingleby of Bridgwater had successfully evaded the authorities.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: Although women such as Johanna Ferrour played a prominent role in the revolt, no evidence has been found of women being executed or punished as harshly as their male counterparts.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: The royal government and Parliament began to re-establish the normal processes of government after the revolt; as the historian Michael Postan describes, the uprising was in many ways a "passing episode". On 30 June, the King ordered England's serfs to return to their previous conditions of service, and on 2 July the royal charters signed under duress during the rising were formally revoked. Parliament met in November to discuss the events of the year and how best to respond to their challenges. The revolt was blamed on the misconduct of royal officials, who, it was argued, had been excessively greedy and overbearing. The Commons stood behind the existing labour laws, but requested changes in the royal council, which Richard granted. Richard also granted general pardons to those who had executed rebels without due process, to all men who had remained loyal, and to all those who had rebelled – with the exception of the men of Bury St Edmunds, any men who had been involved in the killing of the King's advisers, and those who were still on the run from prison.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: Despite the violence of the suppression, the government and local lords were relatively circumspect in restoring order after the revolt, and continued to be worried about fresh revolts for several decades. Few lords took revenge on their peasants except through the legal processes of the courts. Low-level unrest continued for several more years. In September 1382 there was trouble in Norfolk, involving an apparent plot against the Bishop of Norwich, and in March the following year there was an investigation into a plot to kill the sheriff of Devon. When negotiating rents with their landlords, peasants alluded to the memory of the revolt and the threat of violence.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: There were no further attempts by Parliament to impose a poll tax or to reform England's fiscal system. The Commons instead concluded at the end of 1381 that the military effort on the Continent should be "carefully but substantially reduced". Unable to raise fresh taxes, the government had to curtail its foreign policy and military expeditions and began to examine the options for peace. The institution of serfdom declined after 1381, but primarily for economic rather than political reasons. Rural wages continued to increase, and lords increasingly sold their serfs' freedom in exchange for cash, or converted traditional forms of tenure to new leasehold arrangements. During the 15th century serfdom vanished in England.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: Chroniclers primarily described the rebels as rural serfs, using broad, derogatory Latin terms such as "serviles rustici", "servile genus" and "rusticitas". Some chroniclers, including Knighton, also noted the presence of runaway apprentices, artisans and others, sometimes terming them the "lesser commons". The evidence from the court records following the revolt, albeit biased in various ways, similarly shows the involvement of a much broader community, and the earlier perception that the rebels were only constituted of unfree serfs is now rejected.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: The rural rebels came from a wide range of backgrounds, but typically they were, as the historian Christopher Dyer describes, "people well below the ranks of the gentry, but who mainly held some land and goods", and not the very poorest in society, who formed a minority of the rebel movement. Many had held positions of authority in local village governance, and these seem to have provided leadership to the revolt. Some were artisans, including, as the historian Rodney Hilton lists, "carpenters, sawyers, masons, cobblers, tailors, weavers, fullers, glovers, hosiers, skinners, bakers, butchers, innkeepers, cooks and a lime-burner". They were predominantly male, but with some women in their ranks. The rebels were typically illiterate; only between 5 and 15 per cent of England could read during this period. They also came from a broad range of local communities, including at least 330 south-eastern villages.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: Many of the rebels had urban backgrounds, and the majority of those involved in the events of London were probably local townsfolk rather than peasants. In some cases, the townsfolk who joined the revolt were the urban poor, attempting to gain at the expense of the local elites. In London, for example, the urban rebels appear to have largely been the poor and unskilled. Other urban rebels were part of the elite, such as at York where the protesters were typically prosperous members of the local community, while in some instances, townsfolk allied themselves with the rural population, as at Bury St Edmunds. In other cases, such as Canterbury, the influx of population from the villages following the Black Death made any distinction between urban and rural less meaningful. With the Peasant’s Revolt marking the revolution of the freedom fight, labor had become so expensive that the feudal system was ultimately coming to an end. The rebels of the Peasant’s Revolt were represented by various writers since they did not represent themselves in historical records. The distortion of written records implied that these rebels were illiterate, or otherwise incoherent. Some of these distortions made by countless authors were also interpretative and favored their own positions, making the job of historians more difficult as they try to uncover a more truthful representation of the rebels. Author and medievalist Steven Justice exemplifies that the rebels were, in fact, capable of speech and language at its most developed. Examples of this included cultural forms of expression such as rituals, performances, and literary texts.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: The vast majority of those involved in the revolt of 1381 were not represented in Parliament and were excluded from its decision-making. In a few cases the rebels were led or joined by relatively prosperous members of the gentry, such as Sir Roger Bacon in Norfolk. Some of them later claimed to have been forced to join the revolt by the rebels. Clergy also formed part of the revolt; as well as the more prominent leaders, such as John Ball or John Wrawe, nearly 20 are mentioned in the records of the revolt in the south-east. Some were pursuing local grievances, some were disadvantaged and suffering relative poverty, and others appear to have been motivated by strong radical beliefs.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: Many of those involved in the revolt used pseudonyms, particularly in the letters sent around the country to encourage support and fresh uprisings. They were used both to avoid incriminating particular individuals and to allude to popular values and stories. One popular assumed name was Piers Plowman, taken from the main character in William Langland's poem. Jack was also a widely used rebel pseudonym, and historians Steven Justice and Carter Revard suggest that this may have been because it resonated with the Jacques of the French Jacquerie revolt several decades earlier.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: Contemporary chroniclers of the events in the revolt have formed an important source for historians. The chroniclers were biased against the rebel cause and typically portrayed the rebels, in the words of the historian Susan Crane, as "beasts, monstrosities or misguided fools". London chroniclers were also unwilling to admit the role of ordinary Londoners in the revolt, preferring to place the blame entirely on rural peasants from the south-east. Among the key accounts was the anonymous "Anonimalle Chronicle", whose author appears to have been part of the royal court and an eye-witness to many of the events in London. The chronicler Thomas Walsingham was present for much of the revolt, but focused his account on the terror of the social unrest and was extremely biased against the rebels. The events were recorded in France by Jean Froissart, the author of the "Chronicles". He had well-placed sources close to the revolt, but was inclined to elaborate the known facts with colourful stories. No sympathetic accounts of the rebels survive.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: For four centuries, chroniclers and historians of the revolt were overwhelmingly negative but attitudes started to change in the 18th century as serfdom was long rejected and in the aftermath of the radicalism associated with the French Revolution. At the end of the 19th century there was a surge in historical interest in the Peasants' Revolt, spurred by the contemporary growth of the labour and socialist movements. Work by Charles Oman, Edgar Powell, André Réville and G. M. Trevelyan established the course of the revolt. By 1907 the accounts of the chroniclers were all widely available in print and the main public records concerning the events had been identified. Réville began to use the legal indictments that had been used against suspected rebels after the revolt as a fresh source of historical information, and over the next century extensive research was carried out into the local economic and social history of the revolt, using scattered local sources across south-east England.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: Interpretations of the revolt have changed over the years. 17th-century historians, such as John Smyth, established the idea that the revolt had marked the end of unfree labour and serfdom in England. 19th-century historians such as William Stubbs and Thorold Rogers reinforced this conclusion, Stubbs describing it as "one of the most portentous events in the whole of our history". In the 20th century, this interpretation was increasingly challenged by historians such as May McKisack, Michael Postan and Richard Dobson, who revised the impact of the revolt on further political and economic events in England. Mid-20th century Marxist historians were both interested in, and generally sympathetic to, the rebel cause, a trend culminating in Hilton's 1973 account of the uprising, set against the wider context of peasant revolts across Europe during the period. The Peasants' Revolt has received more academic attention than any other medieval revolt, and this research has been interdisciplinary, involving historians, literary scholars and international collaboration.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: The name "the Peasants' Revolt" emerged in the 18th and early 19th centuries, and its first recorded use by historians was in John Richard Green's "Short History of the English People" in 1874. Contemporary chronicles did not give the revolt a specific title, and the term "peasant" did not appear in the English language until the 15th century. The title has been critiqued by modern historians such as Miri Rubin and Paul Strohm, both on the grounds that many in the movements were not peasants, and that the events more closely resemble a prolonged protest or rising, rather than a revolt or rebellion.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: A large slate memorial to 'The Great Rising' was commissioned by Matthew Bell and carved by Emily Hoffnung. It was unveiled by the film director Ken Loach in Smithfield on 15 July 2015.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: The Peasants' Revolt became a popular literary subject. The poet John Gower, who had close ties to officials involved in the suppression of the revolt, amended his famous poem "Vox Clamantis" after the revolt, inserting a section condemning the rebels and likening them to wild animals. Geoffrey Chaucer, who lived in Aldgate and may have been in London during the revolt, used the rebel killing of Flemings as a metaphor for wider disorder in "The Nun's Priest's Tale" part of "The Canterbury Tales", parodying Gower's poem. Although the Peasant’s Revolt was only ever mentioned sparingly in Geoffrey Chaucer’s "The Canterbury Tales," the Peasant’s Revolt was one of the many historical incidents that occurred in Chaucer’s life prior to his popular works. With other events such as The Black Death, the devastation that followed after the plague incited the peasants that survived to seek a better quality of life. Evidence of the impression that the revolt made on Chaucer can be seen in the Miller’s Prologue of "The Canterbury Tales." Chaucer portrays the Miller as someone who is not entirely satisfied with the typical idea of what a peasant is and how they should live, and he uses metaphors in order to make this implication in the Miller’s Prologue. The notion that the Miller is able to tell a tale that can match, or is even better than one of the highest-ranking Knights in the pilgrimage shows the rebellion and persistence in bettering one’s status, which is similar to what was seen in the attitudes of the peasants in their revolt. Chaucer otherwise made no reference to the revolt in his work, possibly because as he was a client of the King it would have been politically unwise to discuss it. William Langland, the author of the poem "Piers Plowman", which had been widely used by the rebels, made various changes to its text after the revolt in order to distance himself from their cause.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: The revolt formed the basis for the late 16th-century play, "The Life and Death of Jack Straw", possibly written by George Peele and probably originally designed for production in the city's guild pageants. It portrays Jack Straw as a tragic figure, being led into wrongful rebellion by John Ball, making clear political links between the instability of late-Elizabethan England and the 14th century. The story of the revolt was used in pamphlets during the English Civil War of the 17th century, and formed part of John Cleveland's early history of the war. It was deployed as a cautionary account in political speeches during the 18th century, and a chapbook entitled "The History of Wat Tyler and Jack Strawe" proved popular during the Jacobite risings and American War of Independence. The historian James Crossley argues that after the French Revolution, the Peasants' Revolt was seen more positively, especially among radicals and revolutionaries. Thomas Paine and Edmund Burke argued over the lessons to be drawn from the revolt, Paine expressing sympathy for the rebels and Burke condemning the violence. The Romantic poet Robert Southey based his 1794 play "Wat Tyler" on the events, taking a radical and pro-rebel perspective.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: As the historian Michael Postan describes, the revolt became famous "as a landmark in social development and [as] a typical instance of working-class revolt against oppression", and was widely used in 19th and 20th century socialist literature. William Morris built on Chaucer in his novel "A Dream of John Ball", published in 1888, creating a narrator who was openly sympathetic to the peasant cause, albeit a 19th-century persona taken back to the 14th century by a dream. The story ends with a prophecy that socialist ideals will one day be successful. In turn, this representation of the revolt influenced Morris's utopian socialist "News from Nowhere". Florence Converse used the revolt in her novel "Long Will" in 1903. Later 20th century socialists continued to draw parallels between the revolt and contemporary political struggles, including during the arguments over the introduction of the Community Charge in the United Kingdom during the 1980s.


title: Peasants' Revolt

text: Conspiracy theorists, including writer John Robinson, have attempted to explain alleged flaws in mainstream historical accounts of the events of 1381, such as the speed with which the rebellion was coordinated. Theories include that the revolt was led by a secret, occult organisation called "the Great Society", said to be an offshoot of the order of the Knights Templar destroyed in 1312, or that the fraternity of the Freemasons was covertly involved in organising the revolt.


title: Jazmine Sullivan

text: Jazmine Marie Sullivan (born April 9, 1987) is an American R&B and soul singer. Born and raised in Philadelphia, her debut album, "Fearless" was released in 2008 to commercial and critical success. The record topped "Billboard"'s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It spawned four singles, including "Need U Bad" and "Bust Your Windows", both of which were in the top 40 of the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart; the former became Sullivan's first and only number one on the "Billboard" Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.


title: Jazmine Sullivan

text: Sullivan followed this with her second studio album, "Love Me Back", in 2010, which was received favorably by critics. After taking a three-year break, Sullivan signed with RCA Records and released her first studio album under the label, "Reality Show", in 2015, and it became her second album to peak at number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. In 2021, she released her critically acclaimed first EP, "Heaux Tales" which has the single "Pick Up Your Feelings".


title: Jazmine Sullivan

text: Sullivan has received two Grammy Awards, a "Billboard" Women in Music Award, two Soul Train Music Awards, three NAACP Image Awards, and two BET Awards over the course of her career. In 2022, "Time" placed her on their list of the 100 Most Influential People.


title: Jazmine Sullivan

text: Jazmine Sullivan's parents are Don and Pam Sullivan. Her mother is a former backup singer for Philadelphia International Records. When she was five years old, her father landed a position as a curator for the city's Historic Strawberry Mansion in the Strawberry Mansion section and her family moved into the historical landmark.


title: Jazmine Sullivan

text: Sullivan is a 2005 graduate of the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts where she was a vocal music major. Sullivan began singing as a contralto in the children's choir, and later in the adult choir. Sullivan's exposure to secular music was initially limited.


title: Jazmine Sullivan

text: At fifteen, Sullivan signed to Jive Records. She recorded an album, which was never released and she was eventually dropped from the label. Sullivan provided vocals for Kindred the Family Soul's song, "I Am", as well as background vocals on the song "Party's Over", and the title track to their 2003 debut "Surrender to Love." She first met rapper Missy Elliott during the session; Elliott went on to produce both the majority of her debut album, "Fearless" and tracks on "Love Me Back." Sullivan wrote and recorded with producers Cool & Dre a song titled "Say I" with producers Cool & Dre; it was given to Dre's then-girlfriend Christina Milian for her third album, "So Amazin'". The song became the lead single, peaking at number 13 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs as well as reaching number 21 on the Hot 100 chart. Sullivan's breakthrough song, "Need U Bad" was released in May 2008. The song featured additional vocals by Missy Elliott and Sandy "Pepa" Denton of Salt-n-Pepa, later debuted at number 37 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was on top of the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs for 34 weeks.


title: Jazmine Sullivan

text: Sullivan's debut album "Fearless" was released on September 23, 2008. At the time, she wrote and composed many of its songs and served as the album's executive producer alongside Missy Elliott, Salaam Remi, and Peter Edge. The album received production from Elliott, Remi, Stargate, Carvin & Ivan, Jack Splash, and Fisticuffs. "Fearless" debuted at number 1 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums and at number 6 on the "Billboard" 200. Sullivan followed her début single with the release of the second single from "Fearless", "Bust Your Windows", which reached number 4 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her most successful single on that chart to date. "Bust Your Windows" appeared on the first season of the Fox hit television show "Glee" and was also nominated for a Grammy for Best R&B Song. In 2014, Stevie Wonder claimed he considered "Bust Your Windows" a classic song. "Lions, Tigers & Bears" was released as the album's third single in December 2008. It scored her third consecutive top ten on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, reaching number 10, and garnered some mainstream success by reaching number 74 on the Billboard Hot 100. Sullivan later pursued success in the United Kingdom and she first released "Dream Big" as a single in the UK in February 2009. The song was released as the fourth and final single from the album in April 2009. The album has a platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America and has sold more than 510,000 copies in the United States.


title: Jazmine Sullivan

text: Sullivan was featured on a song entitled "Smoking Gun" with Jadakiss on his third studio album "The Last Kiss". The song was influenced by a family friend, Devonte Wongwai, from New York City, who wanted to hear the duo on a record. She was also a supporting act for fellow American R&B singer Maxwell on his 2008 US tour and was the opening act for Ne-Yo's 2009 "Year of the Gentleman Tour". She additionally appeared on Ace Hood's second studio album, "Ruthless", on the song "Champion". She went on to headline a few dates with Ryan Leslie, before participating in the Essence Music Festival in June 2009. In the same year Sullivan appeared in commercials for Cotton Incorporated. Additionally Sullivan made a guest appearance on Snoop Dogg's tenth studio album "Malice n Wonderland" on the song "Different Languages".


title: Jazmine Sullivan

text: Sullivan began working on her second album, "Love Me Back", in 2009. Producers contributing to the album included Missy Elliott, Lamb, Ne-Yo, Anthony Bell, Los da Mystro, Ryan Leslie, and Salaam Remi, who was also a major contributor to "Fearless". Songs recorded for the album include "Love You Long Time", "Don't Make Me Wait" (a tribute to Prince), "Redemption", "Excuse Me", "Good Enough", and the reported sequel to "Bust Your Windows" titled "You Get On My Nerves", which was co-written by Ne-Yo. The album was completed in June 2010 and released on November 30, 2010. The album debuted at number 17 on the "Billboard" 200 and sold 57,000 copies in its first week.


title: Jazmine Sullivan

text: In an interview with National Public Radio Sullivan explained that the album was about her personal experiences, stating:


title: Jazmine Sullivan

text: The album's lead single, "Holding You Down (Goin' in Circles)", was released on July 10, 2010. The song debuted at number 60 on the Billboard Hot 100. The music video for the song premiered on August 30, 2010. The song would later be nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance in 2011. The album's second single, "10 Seconds", was released to radio airplay in late September, and debuted at number 15 the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The song was later released for digital download on October 25, 2010. An accompanying music video was later filmed and was released on November 12, 2010.


title: Jazmine Sullivan

text: In early December 2010, "Billboard" honoured Sullivan as the 'Rising Star' for 2010. Later she announced that she was working on her third studio album.


title: Jazmine Sullivan

text: In January 2011, Sullivan announced via Twitter that she was indefinitely leaving the music industry saying, "I promised myself when it wasn't fun anymore I wouldn't do it. And, here I am. I'm not saying I won't ever sing again in my life because I don't believe that. But in this moment… right now… [I] got some things to figure out". On October 7, RCA Records announced it was disbanding J Records along with Arista Records and Jive Records. With the shutdown Sullivan (along with all of the artists previously signed to the three labels) were removed from the label and later redirected to RCA; they are on the RCA roster.


title: Jazmine Sullivan

text: In 2014, she returned to music with the announcement of her new album, "Reality Show". In an interview with "Billboard", Sullivan described her return as inevitable saying she "...can't escape [her] calling". She based her song "Reality Show" on watching reality shows during her hiatus which inspired the namesake. The album consists of 14 songs, and features production from Key Wane and Salaam Remi. The lead single "Dumb" featuring American rapper Meek Mill, was released on May 12, 2014. The song debuted at number 45 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay. The second single "Forever Don't Last" was released on September 16, 2014. It peaked at number 10 on the Adult R&B Songs chart.


title: Jazmine Sullivan

text: On January 13, 2015, Jazmine Sullivan released "Reality Show" to widespread critical acclaim, with the album reaching number one on the "Billboard" R&B Albums and number two on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. "Reality Show" sold 30,000 copies in its first week. Slant Magazine commented, "Despite what the rasp in her voice might suggest, Sullivan clearly sees herself as something other than R&B's next great queen of pain. Her central themes—love and self-image—don't stray far from genre convention, but her musical versatility and keenly observed characters make her one of the most captivating artists in R&B today." The album earned Sullivan three Grammy Award nominations for Best R&B Album and Best Traditional R&B Performance ("Let It Burn").


title: Jazmine Sullivan

text: In 2016, Sullivan was featured in the visual album "Endless" by Frank Ocean. Sullivan lent her vocals to four songs from the album: "Alabama", "Wither", "Hublots", and "Rushes". Sullivan was the lead writer for these four songs on Mary J. Blige's album "Strength of a Woman", and sang backup vocals on the first three of them: "Thick of It", "Set Me Free", "Glow Up", and "Thank You." ("Strength of a Woman" album liner notes). She in partnership with fellow American singer Bryson Tiller released "Insecure" for the soundtrack for the second season of the HBO series of the same title. Also in 2016 she performed the national anthem at the first game of the 2016 NHL Stadium Series at TCF Bank Stadium featuring the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild. In 2019, Sullivan was featured on Pentatonix's Christmas collection "The Best of Pentatonix Christmas" on the group's cover of "Joyful, Joyful".


title: Jazmine Sullivan

text: On August 27, 2020, Sullivan announced the release of a new song titled "Lost One", marking her return to music. Within hours of the announcement, the phrase "New Jazmine" trended on Twitter across the United States. The song was released the next day along with the confirmation of her extended play (EP), "Heaux Tales". Sullivan released the second single "Pick Up Your Feelings" on November 20, 2020. "Heaux Tales" was released on January 8, 2021. With first-week sales of 42,000 copies the EP debuted at number four on the US "Billboard" 200 chart and earning Sullivan her highest-peaking album on the chart.


title: Jazmine Sullivan

text: In February 2021, it was announced that Sullivan was nominated for the 52nd NAACP Image Awards, which took place on March 27, 2021. She competed with artists such as Beyoncé, H.E.R., Ledisi, and Alicia Keys for the Outstanding Female Artist category. On February 7, she performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" alongside country artist Eric Church at Super Bowl LV. In May, she earned the first single gold certification of Heaux Tales with "Pick Up Your Feelings".


title: Jazmine Sullivan

text: On June 24, 2021, Sullivan released "Tragic". On June 27, she performed "Tragic" at the 2021 BET Awards along with "On It" (featuring Ari Lennox). She was awarded the BET Award for Album of the Year that night.


title: Jazmine Sullivan

text: Sonically, Sullivan's voice alternates between "modern productions" and a "1980s-influenced sound" which music critics say gives her "old-school hip hop sound". Her voice type is contralto. Her voice has a solid agility in all registers and is well connected between an A2 and a G5. InStyle said that she has a "raspy voice". She describes her writing style as "flashbacks", in reference to her songs about failed relationships that were both physically and emotionally abusive. Her music displays her responses to these relationships famously with her song "Bust Your Windows". She likes to write about how she is feeling, which in turn, taking a day or up to a month to complete. During the recording of the album Reality Show, Sullivan spent so much time revising and re-recording, that the producers had to force her to release the album to prevent a delayed release. Sullivan is well known for writing her own songs which amplifies her substantial popularity from both critics and fans.


title: Jazmine Sullivan

text: Sullivan's song "Bust Your Windows" was listed at number 137 on National Public Radio's list of The 200 Greatest Songs By 21st Century Women.


title: Jazmine Sullivan

text: On May 11, 2020, Sullivan announced that her mother Pam had been diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer in October 2019. In her Instagram post she wrote: "If being your daughter has taught me one thing it is how to work with something ugly, painful even, and make it a work of art".


title: Charter Communications

text: Charter Communications, Inc., is an American telecommunications and mass media company with services branded as Spectrum. With over 32 million customers in 41 states, it is the second-largest cable operator in the United States by subscribers, just behind Comcast, and the third-largest pay TV operator behind Comcast and AT&T. Charter is the fifth-largest telephone provider based on number of residential lines.


title: Charter Communications

text: In late 2012, with longtime Cablevision executive Thomas Rutledge named as their CEO, Charter relocated its corporate headquarters from St. Louis, Missouri, to Stamford, Connecticut, though kept many of its operations in St. Louis. On May 18, 2016, Charter finalized acquisition of Time Warner Cable and its sister company Bright House Networks, making it the third-largest pay television service in the United States. Charter ranked No. 70 in the 2019 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.


title: Charter Communications

text: Charter Communications CATV systems was founded in 1980 by Charles H. Leonard in Barry County, Michigan. The original Charter system headquarters and offices were located at 1001 Payne Lake Road, Yankee Springs Township, Michigan. Leonard began a corporate partnership with Gary Wilcox and Gerry Kazma, both from Naperville, Illinois, during which Spectrum Communications (Kazma) merged with Charter Systems (1981–1983).


title: Charter Communications

text: Through continued mergers and acquisition, Charter was consolidated in 1993 by Barry Babcock, Jerald Kent and Howard Wood, who had been former executives at Cencom Cable Television in St. Louis, Missouri. It was also incorporated in the state of Missouri in 1993.


title: Charter Communications

text: In 1995, Charter paid about $300 million for a controlling interest in the cable television systems owned by Crown Media Holdings and acquired Cable South.


title: Charter Communications

text: In 1997, Charter and EarthLink worked together to deliver high-speed Internet access through cable modems to Charter's customers in Los Angeles and Riverside, California.


title: Charter Communications

text: In 1998, Paul Allen bought a controlling interest. The company paid $2.8 billion to acquire Dallas-based cable company Marcus Cable. Charter Communications had 1 million customers in 1998.


title: Charter Communications

text: In November 1999, the company went public, trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange. At the time, it had 3.9 million customers.


title: Charter Communications

text: Charter also began swapping customers with other systems to improve the geographic clustering of its systems. In December 1999, it signed a letter of intent with AT&T Corporation to swap 1.3 million cable subscribers in St. Louis as well as in Alabama, Georgia, and Missouri. In 2000, Charter Communications bought select AT&T cable markets, including Reno, Nevada, and the City of St. Louis.


title: Charter Communications

text: In 2001, MSN and Charter signed an agreement to offer MSN content and services to Charter's broadband customers. In the same year, Charter received awards, including the Outstanding Corporate Growth Award from the Association for Corporate Growth, the R.E. "Ted" Turner Innovator of the Year Award from the Southern Cable Telecommunications Association, and the Fast 50 Award for Growth from the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association.


title: Charter Communications

text: In 2008, Charter stock failed to meet NASDAQ standards and was given warning to comply by October 13 or request an extension.


title: Charter Communications

text: Also in 2008, it acquired the cable-television franchise and service for the Cerritos and Ventura, California, areas from Wave Broadband.


title: Charter Communications

text: In February 2009, Charter Communications announced that it planned to file for Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code on or before April 1, 2009. The action would allow Charter to pay its debt obligations, and cancel its obligations to shareholders. Private equity firm Apollo Management expected to own most of Charter's shares after the bankruptcy. Charter filed for a prearranged bankruptcy on March 28, 2009. The company expected the financial restructuring to reduce its debt by $8 billion, as well as adding $3 billion of new investment, and refinancing other debt.


title: Charter Communications

text: On November 30, 2009, its bankruptcy plan was approved, which extinguished its stock and cut approximately $8 billion in debt. That day, Charter emerged from bankruptcy despite many of its creditors' objections over its bankruptcy plan.


title: Charter Communications

text: In 2011, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen stepped down as chairman and from the board of directors' seat, but at the time remained the largest single shareholder. Also in that year, Charter signed a multi-year deal with TiVo to deliver content via its platform.


title: Charter Communications

text: Thomas M. Rutledge was appointed as a director and president and chief executive officer effective February 13, 2012.


title: Charter Communications

text: The same year, Charter priced $1.25 billion senior debt, offering to pay down short- and long-term debt.


title: Charter Communications

text: On February 8, 2013, Charter announced an agreement to acquire some former Bresnan Communications systems from Cablevision in a transaction worth US$1.63 billion. The deal brought Charter cable systems to 375,000 customers in Colorado's mountains and Western Slope, as well as in Utah, Wyoming and Montana.


title: Charter Communications

text: Approximately one month later, on March 19, 2013, Charter announced that Liberty Media, a company controlled by former TCI CEO John C. Malone, would be acquiring a 27.3% ownership interest in the company, making it the company's largest single shareholder, largely through the purchase of interests held by investment funds following Charter's 2009 restructuring. In November 2014, Liberty's holdings in Charter as well as a small minority interest in Time Warner Cable were spun off as a separate holding company named Liberty Broadband Corporation, which as of early 2015 was 47.1% controlled by Malone.


title: Charter Communications

text: On January 13, 2014, Charter Communications said it was interested in buying its larger rival Time Warner Cable. After three previous attempts to buy and merge with the company, all of which failed, Charter's chief executive officer Thomas Rutledge wrote in an open letter to Time Warner Cable's chief executive officer Robert Marcus stating, "I believe we have a significant opportunity to put our companies together in a way that will create maximum, long-term value for shareholders and employees of both companies". The $132.50 per share offer, just above TWC's closing price at $132.40 on January 13, was rejected.


title: Charter Communications

text: On February 13, 2014, Time Warner Cable accepted an offer of $158.82 per share from Comcast, avoiding a hostile takeover situation from Charter.


title: Charter Communications

text: On April 28, 2014, Comcast and Charter announced that, assuming Comcast's merger with Time Warner Cable was successful, Charter would acquire 1.4 million Comcast/Time Warner Cable customers, bringing Charter's subscriber total to 30 million and making Charter, by its own count, the second-largest cable operator in the country. In addition to the 1.4 million divested subscribers, Comcast also agreed to swap 1.6 million subscribers with Charter in an even, tax-efficient exchange whose intent is to improve the geographic spread of both companies. In a third part of the agreement, Comcast would spin off 2.5 million subscribers into a new publicly traded company in which Charter would hold a 33% stake – with an option to eventually own the whole company – and former Time Warner Cable shareholders would hold a 67% stake.


title: Charter Communications

text: In late March 2015, Charter announced plans to purchase Bright House Networks from Advance/Newhouse for $10.4 billion in a combination of cash and equities convertible to Charter stock. The deal was contingent on, among other approvals, the completion of Charter's transactions with Comcast, and the expiration of Time Warner Cable's right of first offer to buy Bright House itself (which was not expected to be exercised in light of the merger with Comcast). However, facing potential difficulties in reaching regulatory approval, Comcast called off its merger with Time Warner Cable in April 2015.


title: Charter Communications

text: On May 26, 2015, Charter and Time Warner Cable announced that they had entered into a definitive agreement for Charter to merge with Time Warner Cable in a deal valued at $78.7 billion. Charter also confirmed that it would continue with its proposed acquisition of Bright House Networks under slightly modified terms. The deal was subject to regulatory approval, although the deal was expected to face less scrutiny from the FCC than the Comcast/TWC deal, as the companies were relatively smaller, and their media holdings are not as extensive as those of Comcast. The TWC and Bright House systems were to be migrated to Charter's Spectrum brand following the conclusion of the merger.


title: Charter Communications

text: Liberty Broadband will invest a further $5 billion in Charter and will ultimately hold about 20% ownership in the combined entity. Advance/Newhouse will own about 14%, and other current Time Warner Cable shareholders are expected to hold a combined 44% stake. The merger was approved by the Department of Justice and FCC on April 25, 2016; it is subject to conditions, including a requirement that Charter must not implement usage-based billing, nor use its dominant position in the market to impact the online video industry – which includes a prohibition on charging for interconnections. Charter was also required to expand its services to 2 million new households, with at least 1 million being in markets where competing providers operate.


title: Charter Communications

text: The merger was completed on May 18, 2016. The purchase made Charter the third-largest pay television company in the United States, behind AT&T and Comcast (the former having completed its merger with DirecTV in mid-2015).


title: Charter Communications

text: On January 26, 2017, it was reported that Verizon Communications was in talks with Charter to discuss a possible buyout. President and CEO of Liberty Media, Greg Maffei said that they were not interested in the deal. The deal was rejected around the end of May 2017. Charter claimed that the deal was too low for them to accept, and Charter's largest shareholder Liberty Media stated that they were not ready to sell.


title: Charter Communications

text: In March 2017 under new FCC leadership, Charter's regulatory conditions were changed to require that Charter expand its services to 2 million households that are not currently served by any broadband provider, as opposed to requiring one million of these households to be in areas served by a competitor. The decision was made under goals by new chairman Ajit Pai to increase the availability of broadband in rural areas not served by high-speed Internet, but was criticized for maintaining oligopolies rather than encouraging wider competition.


title: Charter Communications

text: In May 2017, it was reported that Charter and Comcast had entered into an agreement to "explore working together in a number of potential operational areas in the wireless space" in respect to mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs); both providers have agreements with Verizon Wireless to re-sell its services, and Comcast announced that it would begin to do so under the brand Xfinity Mobile later in the year. The agreement includes a provision, lasting for one year, that requires the companies to receive consent from each other before performing wireless-related acquisitions or mergers.


title: Charter Communications

text: On March 28, 2017, IBEW Local 3 went on strike, representing 1,800 employees. The company has proposed moving independently managed health and pension benefits to its own company plans, which union members consider would include drastic cuts for them and their families and loss of job security. No significant progress has been made, and the strike continues as of late December 2018.


title: Charter Communications

text: On March 12, 2018, it was reported that Softbank had purchased 5% of Charter's stock on the open market.


title: Charter Communications

text: In June 2018, the New York Public Service Commission fined Charter $2 million for failing to meet obligations it agreed to as conditions of its acquisition of Time Warner Cable. Charter was required to expand broadband service to at least 145,000 unserved or underserved residential units over 4 years, with a minimum of 36,250 new units per-year. The company was accused of making false statements in its progress reports, with an audit finding that Charter fraudulently declared at least 14,000 addresses already served by the company as being "new" deployments. The commission threatened the possibility of further regulatory remedies, including revocation of its cable franchises.


title: Charter Communications

text: On July 27, 2018, the NYPSC voted to retroactively reverse its approval of Charter's acquisition of TWC, thus revoking its franchises in the state of New York. The commission cited Charter's repeated failures to meet deadlines on expansion promised as part of the TWC purchase, "attempts to skirt obligations to serve rural communities", and "purposeful obfuscation of its performance and compliance obligations to the Commission and its customers." Within 60 days, Charter was to submit a plan to divest and migrate its New York state cable operations (which serve around 2 million customers) to new owners.


title: Charter Communications

text: Charter CEO Tom Rutledge threatened legal action against the commission. The company was later granted repeated extensions of its deadline.


title: Charter Communications

text: In April 2019, Charter agreed to new conditions, under which it must complete its expansion of 145,000 new premises by September 30, 2021 (being credited for 64,827 premises up until December 2018), all of which must be outside of New York City, and are subject to milestone requirements. Charter must also contribute $12 million to a fund "for broadband expansion projects at locations to be selected by the Department and the Broadband Program Office", with half of this funding to be provided to either Charter or a competitor via a competitive bidding process.


title: Charter Communications

text: In April 2022, Charter and Comcast announced plans for a 50/50 venture to develop a streaming platform. As part of this effort, Comcast would license its Flex streaming platform and offer up the XClass TVs and the Xumo streaming service.


title: Charter Communications

text: Charter Communications offers service to an estimated 32 million people in 41 states with significant coverage in 48 states.


title: Charter Communications

text: In November 2013, the company announced the re-branding of its residential services to Charter Spectrum which encompassed an upgrade to an all-digital network for its video, voice and broadband services. The company relied heavily on a predominantly coaxial cable-based network. The newer fiber-optic service-delivery system provides higher bandwidth speeds than are available with its coaxial cable infrastructure.


title: Charter Communications

text: On May 2, 2006, the company announced it would restructure seven of its call centers in the United States in the following locations:


title: Charter Communications

text: Orders completed online or through retail partners with Charter Communications are directed to a call center located in Tempe, Arizona, operated by Teletech (Direct Alliance). This call center has inbound/outbound sales agents, as well as online chat agents. Outsourced call centers were implemented in 2006 and are located in Canada, Honduras and the Philippines.


title: Charter Communications

text: Charter-owned call centers are located in St. Louis, Missouri (telephone service support center); Billings, Montana; Greenville, South Carolina; Vancouver, Washington; Fond du Lac, Wisconsin; Walker, Michigan; Rochester, Minnesota; Worcester, Massachusetts, and Louisville, Kentucky (the largest call center across the company), with Heathrow, Florida, handling the bulk of video, high-speed data, and telephone billing and customer service contacts.


title: Charter Communications

text: In 2016, Charter announced that it would be adding 20,000 United States-based jobs, with many of these jobs being call center jobs.


title: Charter Communications

text: On March 27, 2006, Charter announced that it would sell cable systems serving approximately 43,000 customers in Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah to Orange Broadband Holding Company (since renamed Baja Broadband).


title: Charter Communications

text: Charter also sold cable systems in West Virginia and Virginia to Cebridge Connections (later Suddenlink Communications and now known as Altice USA) and cable systems in Kentucky and Illinois to New Wave Communications. The company eventually returned to those areas (excluding Illinois) in 2016 when it acquired Time Warner Cable.


title: Charter Communications

text: On October 14, 2008, the "Fairmont Sentinel" reported that Charter was selling parts of their system to Midcontinent Communications, including Charter's offices in Bemidji and International Falls, Minnesota. Starting February 1, 2009, Midcontinent took over some of Charter's cable system in Minnesota including Balaton, Bemidji, Canby, Ely, Fairmont, International Falls, Littlefork, Sherburn, and surrounding communities. Other areas in Minnesota would have sold to Comcast, but the deal fell through.


title: Charter Communications

text: On October 22, 2010, Charter sold 32 head-ends serving 65,000 customers in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Missouri, and Texas to Cobridge Communications.


title: Charter Communications

text: In 2007, "PC World" ranked Charter's cable Internet service as the worst among 14 major Internet service providers. In addition, Charter High-Speed was rated 19th out of 22 cable ISPs on dslreports.com, and "Consumer Reports" indicated in its February 2008 issue that Charter's television/Internet/telephone bundle collectively was the worst of all major national carriers.


title: Charter Communications

text: It was reported by Tony Bradle on about.com that Charter Communications redirected error pages and Windows Live Search results to a Charter search page without notifying customers. Users may opt out of redirection by clicking a link from the Charter search page; however, the opt-out link saves a cookie on the customer's computer, so deleting cookies will require the user to opt out again. Other providers such as Cox and AT&T have a similar page as well.


title: Charter Communications

text: It was reported that on January 21, 2008, during a routine sweep of inactive accounts, Charter accidentally and irretrievably deleted the email accounts of approximately 14,000 customers. The company since decided to give a $150 account credit to each affected user. In May 2008, Charter announced that it planned to monitor web sites visited by its high-speed Internet customers via a partnership with targeted advertising firm NebuAd. Charter dropped the program in June following public backlash.


title: Charter Communications

text: In 2002, the United States Department of Justice investigated the company, leading to the indictment of four former executives in 2005 for improper financial reporting related primarily to the inflation of cable subscriber numbers to improve financial figures.


title: Charter Communications

text: In 2004, Charter settled a class-action lawsuit concerning the questionable financial reporting associated with the U.S. Department of Justice's 2002 investigation and subsequent indictment of four former executives. Current and former shareholders (and their attorneys) were awarded $144 million as well as an agreement from Charter to maintain and implement proper corporate governance measures.


title: Charter Communications

text: In June 2010, Charter settled a class-action lawsuit for $18 million concerning wage and overtime claims for current and former field technicians in California, Missouri, Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, Nevada, Washington, Oregon and Nebraska.


title: Charter Communications

text: In December 2013, a complaint was filed by Steelhead Licensing LLC for patent infringement of U.S. Patent 8082318; it is described as "Controlling service requests transmitted from a client to a server".


title: Charter Communications

text: In January 2016, the National Association of African-American Owned Media and Byron Allen's Entertainment Studios filed a $10 billion civil rights lawsuit against Charter, claiming discrimination for Charter's refusal to pick up Allen's eight-channel suite of networks (which mainly carry ES content already syndicated through local television stations and paid programming); Allen and the NAAAOM (which has an Entertainment Studios executive as its head) have already filed the same type of suit against several other providers.


title: Charter Communications

text: In May 2016, Charter reached a settlement with the FCC regarding allegations by Zoom Telephonics that, in 2012, following the introduction of new rate plans and the introduction of DOCSIS 3.0, it had begun to bar new subscribers or those switching to the new plans from utilizing customer-purchased modems. Although Charter ended this practice in 2014 and began to allow certain certified modems to be used, Zoom argued that the company was still deliberately limiting options by requiring the modems to undergo a testing protocol concerning factors beyond whether they cause interference or unauthorized receipt of service (the only two factors which providers may use to restrict allowable modems under FCC policy). Charter paid a $640,000 fine, and agreed to use a shorter testing process allowing the use of any DOCSIS 3.0-compatible modem, and send compliance reports to the FCC every six months and whenever a modem is blacklisted.


title: Charter Communications

text: On February 1, 2017, Charter was sued by the Attorney General of New York for failing to provide its advertised Internet speeds to customers in areas that Charter acquired by the purchase of Time Warner Cable. The company agreed to a $174.2 million settlement, including both refunds of $75 to affected subscribers (with an additional $75 to those who rented the defective modem hardware for at least 24 months), and offers of complimentary subscriptions to services such as HBO (3 months) or Showtime (6 months) to all subscribers with an internet and television bundle.


title: Charter Communications

text: On August 28, 2017, Charter agreed to a $225,000 settlement in the state of Missouri over violations of telemarketing and No-call list laws.


title: Charter Communications

text: In July 2022, a jury in Dallas County, Texas ordered Charter to pay $375 million in compensatory damages plus $7 billion in punitive damages to the family of a woman who was murdered by a Spectrum technician. Defense lawyers contended that "systemic safety failures" at Spectrum led to the murder, and that Spectrum forged documents to force the case into arbitration instead of a jury trial, a claim that Charter denies. , Charter plans to appeal the ruling.


title: Anemoi

text: In ancient Greek religion and myth, the Anemoi (Greek: , 'Winds') were wind gods who were each ascribed a cardinal direction from which their respective winds came (see Classical compass winds), and were each associated with various seasons and weather conditions. They were the progeny of the goddess of the dawn Eos and her husband Astraeus.


title: Anemoi

text: The earliest attestation of the word in Greek and of the worship of the winds by the Greeks, are perhaps the Mycenaean Greek word-forms , , , , i.e. 'priestess of the winds'. These words, written in Linear B, are found on the KN Fp 1 and KN Fp 13 tablets.


title: Anemoi

text: The Anemoi are minor gods and are subject to the god Aeolus. They were sometimes represented as gusts of wind, and at other times were personified as winged men. They were also sometimes depicted as horses kept in the stables of the storm god Aeolus, who provided Odysseus with the Anemoi in the "Odyssey". The Spartans were reported to sacrifice a horse to the winds on Mount Taygetus. Astraeus, the astrological deity (sometimes associated with Aeolus), and Eos/Aurora, the goddess of the dawn, were the parents of the Anemoi, according to the Greek poet Hesiod.


title: Anemoi

text: Of the four chief Anemoi, Boreas (Aquilo in Roman mythology) is the north wind and bringer of cold winter air, Zephyrus (Favonius in Latin) is the west wind and bringer of light spring and early-summer breezes, and Notus (Auster in Latin) is the south wind and bringer of the storms of late summer and autumn; Eurus, the southeast (or according to some, the east) wind, was not associated with any of the three Greek seasons, and is the only one of these four Anemoi not mentioned in Hesiod's "Theogony" or in the Orphic hymns.


title: Anemoi

text: The deities equivalent to the Anemoi in Roman mythology were the Venti (Latin, 'winds'). These gods had different names, but were otherwise very similar to their Greek counterparts, borrowing their attributes and being frequently conflated with them. Ptolomy's world map listed 12 winds: Septentrio (N), Aquilo (NNE), Vulturnus (NE), Subsolanus (E), Eurus (SE), Euroauster (SSE), Austerulnotus (S), Euronotus (SSW), Affricus (SW), Ephirus (W), Eurus (NW), Circius (NNW).


title: Anemoi

text: "Boreas" (, , , , ; also , ) is the Greek god of the cold north wind, storms and winter. Although he was normally taken as the north wind, the Roman writers Aulus Gellius and Pliny the Elder both took Boreas as a northeast wind, equivalent to the Roman Aquilo, similar to Nor'easter winter storms. Boreas is depicted as being very strong, with a violent temper to match. He was frequently shown as a winged old man or sometimes as a young man with shaggy hair and beard, holding a conch shell and wearing a billowing cloak. Pausanias wrote that Boreas had snakes instead of feet, though in art he was usually depicted with winged human feet.


title: Anemoi

text: Boreas was closely associated with horses, storms and winter. He was said to have fathered twelve colts after taking the form of a stallion, to the mares of Erichthonius, king of Dardania. These were said to be able to run across a field of grain without trampling the plants. Pliny the Elder ("Natural History" iv.35 and viii.67) thought that mares might stand with their hindquarters to the North Wind and bear foals without a stallion. The Greeks believed that his home was in Thrace, and Herodotus and Pliny both describe a northern land known as Hyperborea "Beyond the North Wind" where people lived in complete happiness and had extraordinarily long lifespans. He is said to have fathered three giant Hyperborean priests of Apollo by Chione.


title: Anemoi

text: When the goddess Leto, pregnant with Artemis and Apollo, was due, Boreas was ordered by Zeus to bring her to Poseidon, who in turn led her to the island of Ogygia where she could give birth to the twins, as Zeus' wife Hera had ordered all places and land to shun Leto.


title: Anemoi

text: Boreas was also said to have kidnapped Orithyia, an Athenian princess, from the Ilisos. Boreas had taken a fancy to Orithyia and had initially pleaded for her favours, hoping to persuade her. When this failed, he reverted to his usual temper and abducted her as she danced on the banks of the Ilisos. Boreas wrapped Orithyia up in a cloud, raped her, and with her, Boreas fathered two sons—the Boreads, Zethes and Calais, who were part of the crew of the "Argo" as Argonauts.—and two daughters—Chione, goddess of snow, and Cleopatra.


title: Anemoi

text: From then on, the Athenians saw Boreas as a relative by marriage. When Athens was threatened by Xerxes, the people prayed to Boreas, who was said to have then caused winds to sink 400 Persian ships. A cult was established in Athens in 480 B. C. E. in gratitude to the Boreas for destroying the approaching Persian fleet. A similar event had occurred twelve years earlier, and Herodotus writes:


title: Anemoi

text: Two other cases of Boreas being honored by Greek states for similar assistance have been described, in Megalopolis (against Laconia) and in Thurii (against Syracuse). The latter case had Boreas being granted citizenship and a land plot.


title: Anemoi

text: The abduction of Orithyia was popular in Athens before and after the Persian War, and was frequently depicted on vase paintings. In these paintings, Boreas was portrayed as a bearded man in a tunic, with shaggy hair that is sometimes frosted and spiked. The abduction was also dramatized in Aeschylus's lost play "Oreithyia".


title: Anemoi

text: In other accounts, Boreas was the father of Butes (by another woman) and the lover of the nymph Pitys. In one story, both Pan and Boreas vied for Pitys's affections, and tried to make her choose between them. To impress her, Boreas uprooted all the trees with his might. But Pan only laughed, and Pitys choose him instead of Boreas. Angry, Boreas chased Pitys down and threw her off a cliff, killing her. Gaia, pitying the girl, changed her dead body into a pine tree.


title: Anemoi

text: In an Aesop fable, Boreas and his uncle Helios the sun god argued about which one between them was the strongest god. They agreed that whoever was able to make a passing traveller remove his cloak would be declared the winner. Boreas was the one to try his luck first; but no matter how hard he blew, he could not remove the man's cloak, instead making him wrap his cloak around him even tighter. Helios shone bright then, and the traveller, overcome with the heat, removed his cloak, giving him the victory; the moral is that persuasion is better than force.


title: Anemoi

text: The Roman equivalent of Boreas was Aquilo. This north (and slightly east) wind was associated with winter. The poet Virgil writes:


title: Anemoi

text: For the wind which came directly from the north the Romans sometimes used the name Septentrio, which refers to the seven () stars of the Plow or Big Dipper constellation. The name "Septentrio" gave rise to the pre-modern compass point "Septentrionalis".


title: Anemoi

text: "Zephyrus" (Gk. []), sometimes shortened in English to "Zephyr", is the Greek god of the west wind or continental tropical air mass (cT). The gentlest of the winds, Zephyrus is known as the fructifying wind, the messenger of spring. It was thought that Zephyrus lived in a cave in Thrace.


title: Anemoi

text: Zephyrus was reported as having several wives in different stories. He was said to be the husband of Iris, goddess of the rainbow. He abducted the goddess Chloris, and gave her the domain of flowers. With Chloris, he fathered Karpos ('fruit'). He is said to have vied for Chloris's love with his brother Boreas, eventually winning her devotion. Additionally, with yet another sister and lover, the harpy Podarge (also known as Celaeno), Zephyrus was said to be the father of Balius and Xanthus, Achilles' horses.


title: Anemoi

text: In the story of Eros and Psyche, Zephyrus served Eros (or Cupid) by transporting Psyche to his abode.


title: Anemoi

text: Zephyrus was also claimed to have killed one of Apollo's many male lovers Hyacinth out of jealousy. Hyacinth was killed by a discus thrown by Apollo. Though according to some sources, his death was said to be an accident, others said that Zephyrus was the true culprit, having blown the discus off course.


title: Anemoi

text: Zephyrus' Roman equivalent was Favonius (the 'favouring') who held dominion over plants and flowers. The Roman poet Horace writes:


title: Anemoi

text: "Notus" (, ) was the Greek god of the south wind or marine tropical air mass (mT). He was associated with the desiccating hot wind of the rise of Sirius after midsummer, was thought to bring the storms of late summer and early autumn, and was feared as a destroyer of crops.


title: Anemoi

text: Notus' equivalent in Roman mythology was Auster, the embodiment of the sirocco wind, a southerly wind which brings cloudy weather, powerful winds and rain to southern Europe. ("Auster" named the compass point "Australis" and the country's name "Australia".) The Auster winds are mentioned in Virgil's Aeneid Book II, lines 304–307:


title: Anemoi

text: Another Roman poet, Tibullus 1.1, lines 47–48, speaks of the pleasure of lying in bed on rainy winter days:


title: Anemoi

text: "Eurus" (, ) according to some was the southeast wind, but according to others the east wind. On the Tower of the Winds in Athens, Eurus occupies the southeast side, while Apeliotes is in the east. However, it is widely accepted that Eurus is the east wind, while Apeliotes is the southeast wind.


title: Anemoi

text: Eurus' Roman counterpart is Vulturnus, according to Pliny the Elder; but for Aulus Gellius Volturnus was the equivalent of the southeast wind Euronotus. Generally in the Latin poets the name Eurus is used for the east or southeast wind, as in Greek.


title: Anemoi

text: Eurus is a wind of storm, described as a turbulent wind during storms and tossing ships on the sea. He is referred to as the "savior of Sparta" in a Homeric paean, or poem. Eurus is also called the "hot wind" by Nonnus in Dionysiaca. Eurus is closely related to Helios in passages of the Dionysiaca, being called from his place near Helios’ palace, Phaethon, where the sun rose in the east.


title: Anemoi

text: Four lesser wind deities appear in a few ancient sources, such as at the Tower of the Winds in Athens:


title: Anemoi

text: Kaikias (or Caecius) is the Greek deity of the northeast wind. He is shown on the monument as a bearded man with a shield full of hailstones.


title: Anemoi

text: Apeliotes (or Apheliotes; the name means 'from the (rising) sun') is the Greek deity of the southeast wind. As this wind was thought to cause a refreshing rain particularly beneficial to farmers, he is often depicted wearing high boots and carrying fruit, draped in a light cloth concealing some flowers or grain. He is clean-shaven, with curly hair and a friendly expression. Because Apeliotes is a minor god, he was often syncretized with Eurus, the east wind. The Roman counterpart of Apeliotes is Subsolanus.


title: Anemoi

text: Skiron was the name used in Athens for the wind which blew from the Scironian rocks (a geographical feature near Kineta to the west of Athens). On the Tower of the Winds, however, he appears on the northwest side. His name is related to "Skirophorion", the last of the three months of spring in the Attic calendar. He is depicted as a bearded man tilting a cauldron, representing the onset of winter. His Roman counterpart is Caurus or Corus. Caurus is also one of the oldest Roman wind-deities, and numbered among the "di indigetes" ('indigenous gods'), a group of abstract and largely minor numinous entities. The Roman poet Virgil writes when describing steppe winter weather near the Sea of Azov:


title: Anemoi

text: Lips is the Greek deity of the southwest wind, often depicted holding the stern of a ship. His Roman equivalent was Africus, due to the Roman province Africa being to the southwest of Italy. This name is thought to be derived from the name of a North African tribe, the Afri.


title: System software

text: System software is software designed to provide a platform for other software. Examples of system software include operating systems (OS) like macOS, Linux, Android and Microsoft Windows, computational science software, game engines, search engines, industrial automation, and software as a service applications.


title: System software

text: Application software is software that allows users to do user-oriented tasks such as create text documents, play or develop games, create presentations, listen to music, draw pictures or browse the web.


title: System software

text: In the late 1940s, the early days of computing, most application software was custom-written by computer users to fit their specific hardware and requirements. System software was usually supplied by the manufacturer of the computer hardware and was intended to be used by most or all users of that system.


title: System software

text: Many operating systems come pre-packaged with basic application software. Such software is not considered system software when it can be uninstalled without affecting the functioning of other software. Examples of such software are games and simple editing tools supplied with Microsoft Windows, or software development toolchains supplied with many Linux distributions.


title: System software

text: Some of the grayer areas between system and application software are web browsers integrated deeply into the operating system such as Internet Explorer in some versions of Microsoft Windows, or ChromeOS and Firefox OS where the browser functions as the only user interface and the only way to run programs (and other web browsers can not be installed in their place).


title: System software

text: Cloud-based software is another example of systems software, providing services to a software client (usually a web browser or a JavaScript application running in the web browser), not to the user directly. It is developed using system programming methodologies and systems programming languages.


title: System software

text: The operating system (prominent examples being Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, and z/OS), allows the parts of a computer to work together by performing tasks like transferring data between memory and disks or rendering output onto a display device. It provides a platform (hardware abstraction layer) to run high-level system software and application software.


title: System software

text: A kernel is the core part of the operating system that defines an API for applications programs (including some system software) and an interface to device drivers.


title: System software

text: Device drivers and devices firmware, including computer BIOS, provide basic functionality to operate and control the hardware connected to or built into the computer.


title: System software

text: A user interface "allows users to interact with a computer." Either a command-line interface (CLI) or, since the 1980s a graphical user interface (GUI). This is the part of the operating system the user directly interacts with, it is considered an application and not system software.


title: System software

text: Some organizations use the term systems programmer to describe a job function that is more accurately termed systems administrator. Software tools these employees use are then called system software. This utility software helps to analyze, configure, optimize and maintain the computer, such as virus protection. The term system software can also include software development tools (like a compiler, linker, or debugger).


title: Tony Mendez

text: Antonio Joseph Mendez (November 15, 1940 – January 19, 2019) was an American technical operations officer for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), who specialized in support of clandestine and covert CIA operations. He wrote four memoirs about his CIA experiences.


title: Tony Mendez

text: Mendez was decorated, and is now widely known, for his on-the-scene management of the "Canadian Caper" during the Iran hostage crisis. He exfiltrated six American diplomats from Iran in January 1980 by arranging to have them pose as a Canadian film crew. As part of their cover, the diplomats carried passports issued by the Canadian government to document them as Canadian citizens.


title: Tony Mendez

text: After declassification of records, the full details of the operation were reported in a 2007 article by Joshuah Bearman in "Wired" magazine. This was loosely adapted for the screenplay and development of the 2012 Academy Award-winning film "Argo", directed by Ben Affleck, who also starred as Mendez. Mendez attended the 70th Golden Globe Awards to give a speech about the film, where it was nominated for (and later won) Best Motion Picture – Drama.