title: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

text: Radio coverage is provided by Audacy's WINS (1010 AM) in New York City. It is one of the few times throughout the year in which that station breaks away from its all-news radio format.


title: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

text: From 2016 to 2019, Verizon produced a 360-degree virtual reality live telecast of the parade, with minimal commentary, made available through YouTube. The 2019 edition, produced in cooperation with NBC, had more extensive production, adding hosts Terry Crews, Lilly Singh and Ross Matthews, also adding "virtual balloons" generated through viewers' votes. Verizon's simulcast of the 2020 event ran in a traditional flat, single-perspective format, and was the very first to be broadcast internationally, not just in the United States, thru Verizon's and Macy's YouTube and Twitter handles. Verizon did not simulcast the 2021 event in either format.


title: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

text: The first ever live international broadcast of the parade occurred in 2020, when Philippine cable television channel TAP TV became the first foreign-based broadcaster to air the parade's live telecast. Before that, the broadcasts were delayed and aired on Black Friday on what is now CNN Philippines until 2013. In addition, delayed broadcasts are aired to United States military installations overseas thru American Forces Network hours following the original U.S. broadcast.


title: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

text: The Parade has always taken place in Manhattan. The parade originally started from 145th Street in Harlem and ended at Macy's flagship in Herald Square (at the intersection of Broadway, Sixth Avenue, and 34th Street), making a route.


title: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

text: In the 1930s, the balloons were inflated around 110th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, near the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The parade proceeded south on Amsterdam Avenue to 106th Street and turned east. At Columbus Avenue, the balloons had to be lowered to go under the Ninth Avenue El. Past the El tracks, the parade proceeded east on 106th Street to Central Park West and turned south to terminate at Macy's flagship.


title: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

text: A new route was established for the 2009 parade. From 77th Street and Central Park West, the route went south along Central Park to Columbus Circle, then east along Central Park South. The parade would then make a right turn at 7th Avenue and go south to Times Square. At 42nd Street, the parade turned left and went east, then at 6th Avenue turned right again at Bryant Park. Heading south on 6th Avenue, the parade turned right at 34th Street (at Herald Square) and proceeded west to the terminating point at 7th Avenue where the floats are taken down. The 2009 route change eliminated Broadway completely, where the parade has traveled down for decades. The City of New York said that the new route would provide more space for the parade, and more viewing space for spectators. Another reason for implementing the route change is the city's subsequent transformation of Broadway into a pedestrian-only zone at Times Square.


title: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

text: Another new route was introduced with the 2012 parade. This change is similar to the 2009 route, but eliminated Times Square altogether, instead going east from Columbus Circle along Central Park South, then south on Sixth Avenue to Herald Square.


title: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

text: Balloon teams race through Columbus Circle due to higher winds in this flat area, making it an unsuitable observation location. New York City officials preview the parade route and try to eliminate as many potential obstacles as possible, including rotating overhead traffic signals out of the way. Viewing is restricted from 38th Street through the end of the parade route, as this area is used for the NBC telecast.


title: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

text: On November 25, 1993, strong gusts of wind pushed the Sonic the Hedgehog balloon into a lamppost at Columbus Circle. The lamppost damaged the balloon and the top of the post broke off while inside the balloon, dragging it down, injuring a child and an off-duty police officer in the process.


title: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

text: On November 27, 1997, very high winds pushed the Cat in the Hat balloon into a lamppost. The falling debris struck a parade-goer, fracturing her skull and leaving her in a coma for a month. Balloon size regulations were implemented the next year, eliminating larger balloons such as the Cat in the Hat.


title: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

text: On November 24, 2005, the M&M's balloon collided with a streetlight in Times Square; parts of the light fell on two sisters, who suffered minor injuries. As a result, new safety rules were introduced. The M&M's balloon was retired in 2006.


title: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

text: Other American cities also have parades held on Thanksgiving, none of which are run by Macy's. The nation's oldest Thanksgiving parade (the Gimbels parade, which has had many sponsors over the years, and is now known as the 6abc Dunkin' Donuts Thanksgiving Day Parade) was first held in Philadelphia in 1920. Other cities with parades on the holiday include the McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade in Chicago, Illinois and parades in Plymouth, Massachusetts; Seattle, Washington; Houston, Texas; Detroit, Michigan; and Fountain Hills, Arizona. There is also a second Thanksgiving balloon parade within the New York metropolitan area, the UBS balloon parade in Stamford, Connecticut, located away; that parade is held the Sunday before Thanksgiving, so as not to compete with the parade in New York City. It usually does not duplicate any balloon characters. The Celebrate the Season Parade, held the last Saturday in November in Pittsburgh, was sponsored by Macy's from 2006 to 2013 after Macy's bought the Kaufmann's store chain that had sponsored that parade prior to 2006.


title: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

text: Since 2002, Macy's Studios has partnered with the Universal Orlando Resort (owned by NBC parent NBCUniversal) to bring balloons and floats from New York City to the theme park in Florida every holiday season in an event known as the Macy's Holiday Parade. The parade is performed daily and includes the iconic Santa Claus float. Performers from the Orlando area are cast as various clowns, and the park used to invite guests to be "balloon handlers" for the parade. In 2017, the Macy's Holiday Parade was renamed to Universal's Holiday Parade Featuring Macy's. In 2020, as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the parade could not be run. Instead, a walkthrough experience known as Universal's Holiday Experience Featuring Macy's Balloons took place throughout the holiday season, displaying various floats and balloons that would normally be seen in the parade.


title: Magnetar

text: A magnetar is a type of neutron star with an extremely powerful magnetic field (∼10 to 10 T, ∼10 to 10 G). The magnetic-field decay powers the emission of high-energy electromagnetic radiation, particularly X-rays and gamma rays.


title: Magnetar

text: The existence of magnetars was proposed in 1992 by Robert Duncan and . Their proposal sought to explain the properties of transient sources of gamma rays, now known as soft gamma repeaters (SGRs). Over the following decade, the magnetar hypothesis became widely accepted, and was extended to explain anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs). , 24 confirmed magnetars were known.


title: Magnetar

text: It has been suggested that magnetars are the source of fast radio bursts (FRB), in particular as a result of findings in 2020 by scientists using the Australian Square Kilometre Array.


title: Magnetar

text: Like other neutron stars, magnetars are around in diameter, and have a mass about 1.4 solar masses. They are formed by the collapse of a star with a mass 10–25 times that of the Sun. The density of the interior of a magnetar is such that a tablespoon of its substance would have a mass of over 100 million tons. Magnetars are differentiated from other neutron stars by having even stronger magnetic fields, and by rotating more slowly in comparison. Most magnetars rotate once every two to ten seconds, whereas typical neutron stars rotate one to ten times per second. A magnetar's magnetic field gives rise to very strong and characteristic bursts of X-rays and gamma rays. The active life of a magnetar is short compared to other celestial bodies. Their strong magnetic fields decay after about 10,000 years, after which activity and strong X-ray emission cease. Given the number of magnetars observable today, one estimate puts the number of inactive magnetars in the Milky Way at 30 million or more.


title: Magnetar

text: Starquakes triggered on the surface of the magnetar disturb the magnetic field which encompasses it, often leading to extremely powerful gamma-ray flare emissions which have been recorded on Earth in 1979, 1998 and 2004.


title: Magnetar

text: Magnetars are characterized by their extremely powerful magnetic fields of ∼10 to 10 T. These magnetic fields are a hundred million times stronger than any man-made magnet, and about a trillion times more powerful than the field surrounding Earth. Earth has a geomagnetic field of 30–60 microteslas, and a neodymium-based, rare-earth magnet has a field of about 1.25 tesla, with a magnetic energy density of 4.0 × 10 J/m. A magnetar's 10 tesla field, by contrast, has an energy density of , with an "E"/"c" mass density more than 10,000 times that of lead. The magnetic field of a magnetar would be lethal even at a distance of 1,000 km due to the strong magnetic field distorting the electron clouds of the subject's constituent atoms, rendering the chemistry of known lifeforms impossible. At a distance of halfway from Earth to the moon, an average distance between the Earth and the Moon being , a magnetar could wipe information from the magnetic stripes of all credit cards on Earth. , they are the most powerful magnetic objects detected throughout the universe.


title: Magnetar

text: As described in the February 2003 "Scientific American" cover story, remarkable things happen within a magnetic field of magnetar strength. "X-ray photons readily split in two or merge. The vacuum itself is polarized, becoming strongly birefringent, like a calcite crystal. Atoms are deformed into long cylinders thinner than the quantum-relativistic de Broglie wavelength of an electron." In a field of about 10 teslas atomic orbitals deform into rod shapes. At 10 teslas, a hydrogen atom becomes 200 times narrower than its normal diameter.


title: Magnetar

text: The dominant theory of the strong fields of magnetars is that it results from a magnetohydrodynamic dynamo process in the turbulent, extremely dense conducting fluid that exists before the neutron star settles into its equilibrium configuration. These fields then persist due to persistent currents in a proton-superconductor phase of matter that exists at an intermediate depth within the neutron star (where neutrons predominate by mass). A similar magnetohydrodynamic dynamo process produces even more intense transient fields during coalescence of pairs of neutron stars. But another theory is that they simply result from the collapse of stars with unusually strong magnetic fields.


title: Magnetar

text: In a supernova, a star collapses to a neutron star, and its magnetic field increases dramatically in strength through conservation of magnetic flux. Halving a linear dimension increases the magnetic field strength fourfold. Duncan and Thompson calculated that when the spin, temperature and magnetic field of a newly formed neutron star falls into the right ranges, a dynamo mechanism could act, converting heat and rotational energy into magnetic energy and increasing the magnetic field, normally an already enormous 10 teslas, to more than 10 teslas (or 10 gauss). The result is a "magnetar". It is estimated that about one in ten supernova explosions results in a magnetar rather than a more standard neutron star or pulsar.


title: Magnetar

text: On March 5, 1979, a few months after the successful dropping of satellites into the atmosphere of Venus, the two unmanned Soviet spaceprobes, Venera 11 and 12, were hit by a blast of gamma radiation at approximately 10:51 EST. This contact raised the radiation readings on both the probes from a normal 100 counts per second to over 200,000 counts a second, in only a fraction of a millisecond.


title: Magnetar

text: This burst of gamma rays quickly continued to spread. Eleven seconds later, Helios 2, a NASA probe, which was in orbit around the Sun, was saturated by the blast of radiation. It soon hit Venus, and the Pioneer Venus Orbiter's detectors were overcome by the wave. Seconds later, Earth received the wave of radiation, where the powerful output of gamma rays inundated the detectors of three U.S. Department of Defense Vela satellites, the Soviet Prognoz 7 satellite, and the Einstein Observatory. Just before the wave exited the Solar System, the blast also hit the International Sun–Earth Explorer. This extremely powerful blast of gamma radiation constituted the strongest wave of extra-solar gamma rays ever detected; it was over 100 times more intense than any known previous extra-solar burst. Because gamma rays travel at the speed of light and the time of the pulse was recorded by several distant spacecraft as well as on Earth, the source of the gamma radiation could be calculated to an accuracy of about 2 arcseconds. The direction of the source corresponded with the remnants of a star that had gone supernova around 3000 BCE. It was in the Large Magellanic Cloud and the source was named SGR 0525-66; the event itself was named GRB 790305b, the first-observed SGR megaflare.


title: Magnetar

text: On February 21, 2008, it was announced that NASA and researchers at McGill University had discovered a neutron star with the properties of a radio pulsar which emitted some magnetically powered bursts, like a magnetar. This suggests that magnetars are not merely a rare type of pulsar but may be a (possibly reversible) phase in the lives of some pulsars. On September 24, 2008, ESO announced what it ascertained was the first optically active magnetar-candidate yet discovered, using ESO's Very Large Telescope. The newly discovered object was designated SWIFT J195509+261406. On September 1, 2014, ESA released news of a magnetar close to supernova remnant Kesteven 79. Astronomers from Europe and China discovered this magnetar, named 3XMM J185246.6+003317, in 2013 by looking at images that had been taken in 2008 and 2009. In 2013, a magnetar PSR J1745−2900 was discovered, which orbits the black hole in the Sagittarius A* system. This object provides a valuable tool for studying the ionized interstellar medium toward the Galactic Center. In 2018, the temporary result of the merger of two neutron stars was determined to be a hypermassive magnetar, which shortly collapsed into a black hole.


title: Magnetar

text: In April 2020, a possible link between fast radio bursts (FRBs) and magnetars was suggested, based on observations of SGR 1935+2154, a likely magnetar located in the Milky Way galaxy.


title: Magnetar

text: , 24 magnetars are known, with six more candidates awaiting confirmation. A full listing is given in the McGill SGR/AXP Online Catalog. Examples of known magnetars include:


title: Magnetar

text: Unusually bright supernovae are thought to result from the death of very large stars as pair-instability supernovae (or pulsational pair-instability supernovae). However, recent research by astronomers has postulated that energy released from newly formed magnetars into the surrounding supernova remnants may be responsible for some of the brightest supernovae, such as SN 2005ap and SN 2008es.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: Eric Haraldsson ( , ; died 954), nicknamed Bloodaxe ( , ) and Brother-Slayer (), was a 10th-century Norwegian king. He ruled as King of Norway from 932 to 934, and twice as King of Northumbria: from 947 to 948, and again from 952 to 954.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: Historians have reconstructed a narrative of Eric's life and career from the scant available historical data. There is a distinction between contemporary or near contemporary sources for Eric's period as ruler of Northumbria, and the entirely saga-based sources that detail the life of Eric of Norway, a chieftain who ruled the Norwegian Westland in the 930s. Norse sources have identified the two as the same since the late 12th century, and while the subject is controversial, most historians have identified the two figures as the same since W. G. Collingwood's article in 1901. This identification has been rejected recently by the historian Clare Downham, who argued that later Norse writers synthesized the two Erics, possibly using English sources. This argument, though respected by other historians in the area, has not produced consensus.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: Contemporary or near-contemporary sources include different recensions of the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle", Eric's coinage, the "Life "of St Cathróe, and possibly skaldic poetry. Such sources reproduce only a hazy image of Eric's activities in Anglo-Saxon England.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: Strikingly, Eric's historical obscurity stands in sharp contrast to the wealth of legendary depictions in the kings' sagas, where he takes part in the sagas of his father Harald Fairhair and his younger half-brother Haakon the Good. These include the late 12th-century Norwegian synoptics – "Historia Norwegiæ "(perhaps "c". 1170), Theodoricus monachus' "Historia de antiquitate regum Norwagiensium" ("c". 1180), and "Ágrip af Nóregskonungasögum" ("c". 1190) – and the later Icelandic kings' sagas "Orkneyinga saga" ("c". 1200), "Fagrskinna" ("c". 1225), the "Heimskringla" ascribed to Snorri Sturluson ("c". 1230), "Egils saga" (1220–1240), and "Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta" ("c". 1300). Exactly in what sense the Eric of the sagas may have been based on the historical Eric of Northumbria, and conversely, to what extent later evidence might be called upon to shed light on the historical figure, are matters which have inspired a variety of approaches and suggestions among generations of historians. Current opinion veers towards a more critical attitude towards the use of sagas as historical sources for the period before the 11th century, but conclusive answers cannot be offered.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: Eric's soubriquet "blóðøx", ‘Bloodaxe’ or 'Bloody-axe', is of uncertain origin and context. It is arguable whether its preservation in two "lausavísur" by Egill Skallagrímsson and a contemporary skald genuinely dates to the 10th century or had been inserted at some stage when Eric was becoming the focus of legend. There is no guarantee that it significantly predates the 12th-century narrative tradition, where it is first attached to him in "Ágrip" and in Latin translation as "sanguinea securis" in the "Historia Norwegiæ." The sagas usually explain it as referring to Eric's slaying of his half-brothers in a ruthless struggle to monopolise his rule over Norway; Theodoricus gives the similar nickname "fratrum interfector" ("killer of brothers" or "brother-bane"). "Fagrskinna", on the other hand, ascribes it to Eric's violent reputation as a Viking raider.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: The "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" (MS E) describes Eric laconically as ‘Harold’s son’ ("Haroldes sunu"). In the early part of the 12th century, John of Worcester had reason to believe that Eric ("Yrcus") was of royal Scandinavian stock ("Danica stirpe progenitum", a phrase used earlier for the Hiberno-Norse ruler of Northumbria, Sihtric Cáech).


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: This appears to match with independent tradition from Norwegian synoptic histories and Icelandic sagas, which are explicit in identifying Eric of Northumbria as a son of the Norwegian king Harald (I) Fairhair. The skaldic poems ascribed to Egill Skallagrímsson may offer further reassurance that the sagas are on the right track, although doubts have been expressed about the date and integrity of the verses in the form in which they have survived. One of Egill's "lausavísur" speaks of an encounter in England with a man of "Harald's line" ("Haralds áttar"), while the "Arinbjarnarkviða" envisages a ruler at York (Jórvik) who is a descendant of Halfdán ("Halfdanar") and of the Yngling dynasty ("ynglings burar"). If genuine, the latter identification would form the only direct clue in the contemporary record which might link Eric with the Norwegian dynasty.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: Another Harald known from this period is Aralt mac Sitric (d. 940), king of Limerick, the probable father of Maccus and Gofraid. This may be relevant, since both these brothers and a certain Eric have been described as rulers of 'the Isles' (Hebrides) (see below). In a letter addressed to Pope Boniface VIII, King Edward I (r. 1272–1307) remembered a certain Eric ("Yricius") as having been a king of Scotland subject to the English king.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: In the 19th century, a case had also been made for Harald Bluetooth King of Denmark (d. 985) as being Eric's true father. J.M. Lappenberg and Charles Plummer, for instance, identified Eric with Harald's son Hiring. The only authority for this son's existence is Adam of Bremen, who in his "Gesta" ("c". 1070) claims to cite the otherwise unknown "Gesta Anglorum" for a remarkable anecdote about Hiring's foreign adventures: "Harald sent his son Hiring to England with an army. When the latter had subjugated the island, he was in the end betrayed and killed by the Northumbrians." Even if Eric's rise and fall had been the inspiration for the story, the names are not identical and Harald Bluetooth's "floruit" does not sit well with Eric's.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: In the account cited in the Latin text of the North Sagas entitled, "Morte Rex Eilricus" (The death of King Eirikr) which had been copied long ago from the annals of the lost York Chronicles, the author provides the details of the events leading to Eric (Eirikr or Eirik) Bloodaxe's death "fraudulently, treacherously betrayed by Earl Osulfi" (Osulf, Earl of Bamburg) "... was killed by Earl Maccus ... at the Battle of Steinmor ... and there fell Eirikr, with his sons and brothers and all his army ... and his brother Reginaldo [Latin for Ragnald or Ragnvald] ... His son was also known as: Henricus or Haericus [Latin form] and brother as Ragnald or Reginaldus [Latin form] ... together with his son Henrico" whom the commentator Michael Wood in a 1981 BBC documentary series identifies as 'Harékr' (from the Latin "Haeric" or "Henricus" or "Haericus") "and brother Ragnald" (from the Latin "Reginaldo" or "Reginaldus"). Historians have been struck by the correspondence with these names in "Fagrskinna", which says two of the kings who died with Eric in his final battle against Osulf (Olaf) were called Harékr and Ragnvald, although they are not identified as relatives there they certainly are identified as his son ("cum filio" – meaning: 'with his son') and his brother ( – meaning: 'and his brother') in the North Sagas.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: Further details on his family background are provided solely by the Icelandic and Norwegian sources of the 12th and 13th centuries, which are of limited and uncertain historical value and should therefore be treated with due circumspection. Harald 'Fairhair' is usually portrayed as a polygamous and fertile king, the number of his sons varying between 16 and 20. While Eric's mother remains anonymous in the synoptic histories ("Ágrip") and most of the Icelandic sagas, the "Heimskringla" ("c". 1230) claims that she was Ragnhildr, daughter of Eric, king of (South) Jutland. The possibility that Harald had married a Danish princess may find some support in a skaldic stanza which is usually assigned to Þorbjörn Hornklofi's "Hrafnsmál", a eulogy on Harald's deeds in the form of a conversation between a raven and valkyrie. It tells that Harald "chose the lady from Denmark ["konu danska"] / broke with his Rogaland loves / and his lemans of Horthaland, / the maidens of Hálogaland / and of Hathaland eke." In the "Flateyjarbók", it is preceded by another stanza which refers to the "handmaidens of Ragnhildr" ("ambáttir Ragnhildar") as witnesses of the event. However, it is uncertain whether her name was already in the original composition, as another manuscript reading has the metrically regular "ambáttir Danskar". The account of "Heimskringla", which claims that Harald had enjoyed the company of eleven consorts before Ragnhildr, and that of "Egils saga" are at variance with the suggestion elsewhere that Eric was one of the oldest ("Fagrskinna"), if not the eldest son of Harald ("Historia Norwegiæ", "Ágrip"). Whatever one makes of the discrepancy, the sagas – including "Heimskringla" – are unanimous in making Haakon Eric's younger half-brother and successor.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: According to "Heimskringla" and "Egils saga", Eric spent much of his childhood in fosterage with the "hersir" Thórir son of Hróald. Of his adolescent years, a remarkable picture is painted in "Heimskringla," which recounts that Eric, aged twelve and seemingly possessed of prodigious valour and strength, embarked on a career of international piracy: four years were spent harrying the Baltic coasts and those of Denmark, Frisia and Germany ('Saxland'); another four years those of Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France; and lastly, Lappland and Bjarmaland (in what is now northern Russia). Describing the last trip, "Egils saga" notes that Eric sailed up the Dvina River into the Russian hinterland of Permia, where he sacked the small trading port of Permina.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: The "Life of St Cathróe of Metz", written "c". 1000 at the latest and therefore of near contemporary value, has information about Eric and his wife. It relates that "after keeping him for some time", the King of the Cumbrians conducted Cathróe to "Loidam Civitatem", the boundary between the "Normanni" ("Scandinavians") and the "Cumbri" ("Britons"):


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: And there he was received by a certain nobleman, Gunderic, by whom he was led to king "Erichius" in the town of York, because this king had as wife a relative of the godly Cathróe


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: Given what is known of Cathróe's own background, this probably means that she was of British ("Cumbrian") or Scottish descent. This contradicts to some extent later saga tradition. According to the early 13th century "Egils saga", Eric's consort at York was Gunnhild, the famous "mother of kings". This account was constructed by the author of "Egils saga" using an earlier poem called "Arinbjarnarkviða" "Lay of Arinbjörn", and this poem does not mention Gunnhild by name, implying therefore that the name was introduced by the author of "Egils saga".


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: Saga tradition is, however, unanimous that Eric did cohabit with a woman named Gunnhild. Her name occurs in a handful of Egill's "lausavísur". The earliest saga, "Historia Norwegiæ", describes her as the daughter of Gorm inn Gamli (‘the Old’), king of Denmark (and hence a sister of Harald Bluetooth). Most subsequent accounts name her father Ozur, nicknamed either Toti "teat" ("Egils saga, Fagrskinna", "Heimskringla") or lafskegg "dangling beard" ("Ágrip", "Fagrskinna"), a man who hailed from the northern province of Hålogaland ("Egils saga", "Heimskringla"). Icelandic hostility towards Gunnhild has been cited as a possible source for her dissociation from the Danish royal house.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: There is no consensus on how to solve this problem. An early suggestion is that the name for the king in York in the "Life "of Cathróe has been erroneously supplanted for Eric's predecessor Amlaíb Cuarán (Olaf Sihtricsson), whose (second) wife Dúnflaith was an Irishwoman. Recently, Clare Downham has suggested that "Erichius", Eric of Northumbria, is not the same as Eric Bloodaxe. And there remains the possibility that he was not strictly monogamous, and the existence of two wives need not be mutually exclusive.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: The dominant theme of the sagas about Harald's numerous sons is the struggle for the Norwegian throne, in particular the way it manifests itself in the careers of Haakon and his foil Eric. According to "Heimskringla", Harald had appointed his sons as client kings over the various districts of the kingdom, and intended Eric, his favourite son, to inherit the throne after his death. At strife with his half-brothers, Eric brutally killed Ragnvald (Rögnvaldr), ruler of Hadeland on his father's orders, and Bjørn Farmann, ruler of Vestfold. Some texts maintain that towards the end of his life, Harald allowed Eric to reign together with him ("Heimskringla", "Ágrip", "Fagrskinna")"." When Harald died, Eric succeeded to the realm, slaughtered the combined forces of his half-brothers Olaf and Sigrød, and gained full control of Norway. At the time, however, Eric's younger and most famous half-brother Haakon, often nicknamed "Aðalsteinsfóstri", had been staying at the West-Saxon court, having been sent there to be reared as fosterson to King Æthelstan (r. 924–939). Eric's rule was reputedly harsh and despotic and so he fell rapidly out of favour with the Norwegian nobility. At this propitious time, Haakon returned to Norway, found a nobility eager to accept him as king instead and ousted Eric, who fled to Britain. "Heimskringla" specifies that Haakon owed his success in large part to Sigurd, earl of Lade.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: Determining the date and length of Eric's reign (before and after his father's death) is a challenging and perhaps impossible task based on the confused chronology of our late sources. It is also unfortunate that no contemporary or even near contemporary record survives for Eric's short-lived rule in Norway, if it is historical at all.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: The Norse sagas differ in the way they treat the manner and route by which Eric first came to Britain after he was forced out of Norway. The synoptic histories offer the most concise accounts. Theodoricus goes straight for Eric's arrival in England, his welcome there by King Æthelstan, his brief rule and his death soon afterwards. Similarly, the "Historia Norwegiæ" makes him flee directly to England, where he was received by his half-brother Haakon, baptised and given charge of Northumbria by Æthelstan. When Eric's rule became intolerable, he was driven out and slain on an expedition in Spain. "Ágrip" tells that he came to Denmark first. According to "Historia Norwegiæ", it would have been his wife's native country and hence a power base where he might have expected to muster some support, but the text makes no such claims.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: However, later sagas greatly expand upon Eric's activities in the interim between his reigns in Norway and Northumbria, claiming that he initially adopted a predatory lifestyle of raiding, whether or not he was aiming for a more political line of business in the longer run. The jarldom of Orkney, the former Viking base subjected and annexed by Eric's father, came to loom large in these stages of the literary development. "Fagrskinna" ("c". 1220) mentions his daughter Ragnhild and her marriage to an Orkney earl, here Hávard, but never describes Eric as actually stepping ashore. The "Orkneyinga saga", written "c". 1200, does speak of his presence in Orkney and his alliance with the joint jarls Arnkel and Erland, sons of Torf-Einarr, but not until his rule in Northumbria was challenged by Olaf (Amlaíb Cuarán). However, a number of later sagas such as the "Separate Saga of St. Olaf" ("c". 1225), "Heimskringla", "Egils saga" and "Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta" assert that he sailed directly to Orkney, where he took the joint jarls into vassalage, collected forces and so set up a base which enabled him to organise several expeditions in overseas territory. Named targets include Ireland, the Hebrides, Scotland and England. Eric sealed the alliance by giving his daughter Ragnhild in marriage to the future earl of Orkney, Arnfinn, son of Thorfinn Turf-Einarsson.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: It is when Eric gains the kingship in Northumbria that he finally steps more firmly into the historical limelight, even though the sources provide only scanty detail and present notorious problems of their own. The historical sources – e.g., versions A-F of the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle", "Historia regum" and Roger of Wendover's "Historia Anglorum –" tend to be reticent and the chronology is confused. However, the best chronological guideline appears to be that offered by the Worcester Chronicle, i.e., the D-text of the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle".


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: The Northumbria on which he set foot was one which had been bitterly fought over between the West-Saxon kings and the Hiberno-Norse line of descendants from Ímair, kings of Dublin. The Northumbrians' own position in the middle of the struggle may have been complex and the outcome was variable, leading an unsympathetic historian like Henry of Huntingdon to judge harshly "their usual faithlessness" ("solita infidelitas").


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: In 927, having ejected Gofraid ua Ímair from York, King Æthelstan brought Northumbria under English control. His victory in the Battle of Brunanburh in 937, in which he and his half-brother Edmund defeated Gofraid's son King Olaf (III) Guthfrithson of Dublin, seems to have had the effect of consolidating his power. This impression is borne out by royal charters issued towards the end of his reign, between 937 and 939, which style Æthelstan ruler over all Britain (e.g., or ).


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: However, Æthelstan died in 939 and his successor Edmund, only 18 years of age, was unable to retain control of Northumbria. In 939 or 940, almost as soon as Edmund had come to power, a new ruler of the Uí Ímair dynasty had made York his seat. From Irish annals it is known that Edmund's old rival Olaf Guthfrithson left Dublin in 939 ("Annals of the Four Masters"), that in 940 his cousin, known in Ireland as Amlaíb Cuarán and in England as Olaf Sihtricsson, joined him in York ("Annals of the Four Masters", "Annals of Clonmacnoise") and that Olaf Guthfrithson died in 941 ("Annals of Clonmacnoise"," Chronicon Scotorum"), while the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" (MS E) dates his death – incorrectly it seems – to 942. Amlaíb Cuarán succeeded him and did so with popular support, as the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" (MS D) reports that in 941, "the Northumbrians belied their pledges, and chose Olaf [i.e., Amlaíb Cuarán] from Ireland as their king." Amlaíb shared the throne with his nephew Ragnald (Rögnvaldr), son of Gofraid. There are indications that Wulfstan, Archbishop of York and a leading statesman in Northumbrian politics, played a key role in Amlaíb's support, although he would later change his mind (see below). In 942 Edmund struck back with a recapture of Mercia and the Five Boroughs of Danelaw, which so impressed contemporaries that a poem was written in honour of the achievement and included in the "Chronicle". In response, Amlaíb launched a successful raid on Tamworth (Mercia), probably sometime later that year. However, in 943, when Amlaíb had marched on to Leicester, one of the Boroughs, he and Wulfstan were besieged by Edmund and managed to escape only by a hair's breadth. Peace negotiations followed later that year to the effect that Edmund accepted Amlaíb as an ally and as two northern sources add, ceded to him Northumbria as far south as Watling Street. Later, Edmund stood sponsor to him at baptism and to Ragnall at confirmation. In 944, however, Northumbria passed into West-Saxon hands again as Edmund drove out both Viking rulers. The chronicler Æthelweard is clearer on the point of agency, writing that it was Wulfstan and the ealdorman () of the Mercians who deposed these 'deserters' – perhaps born again pagans – and forced them to submit to Edmund. The same year, Edmund raided Cumbria and entrusted it to Malcolm (I) of Scotland in exchange for support "both on sea and on land". The Irish annals report that in 945, Amlaíb was back in Dublin and an anonymous ruler at York, possibly Ragnald (Rögnvaldr), died. Edmund was described as in one of his charters, but did not live long enough to enjoy his renewed hold on the northern zone. He was killed in 946.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: When Eadred succeeded to the throne in 946, Northumbrian as well as Scottish loyalties had proved unstable, though nothing is known for certain of the ambitions of rival rulers at this stage. Eadred "reduced all the land of Northumbria to his control; and the Scots granted him oaths that they would do all that he wanted." Moreover, in 947 he convened Archbishop Wulfstan and the Northumbrian witan at Tanshelf (now in Pontefract, West Yorkshire), on the boundary of the Humber (near an old Roman road), where they pledged their obedience to him. What perceived threat was being countered remains unclear, but English rule does not seem to have been very warmly received.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: In any event, the "Chronicle" (MS D) notes that the Northumbrians soon violated their pledges and oaths (947) and records a definite outcome of their disloyalty in 948, by which time "they had taken Eirik ["Yryc"] for their king". That year, King Eadred harshly punished the northern defectors by launching a destructive raid on Northumbria, which notably included burning the Ripon minster founded by St Wilfrid. Although Eadred's forces had to sustain heavy losses in the Battle of Castleford ("Ceaster forda") – near Tanshelf – as they returned southwards, Eadred managed to check his rival by promising the latter's supporters even greater havoc if they did not desert Eric. The Northumbrians preferred to appease the English king, renounced Eric and paid compensation.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: The Chronicle of the Kings of Alba records that shortly thereafter, in 948 or 949, Malcolm (I) of Scotland and Cumbria, at Constantine's instigation, raided Northumbria as far south as the River Tees and returned with many cattle and captives. Marios Costambeys suggests that it "may have been directed against, or mounted in favour of, Eirik, though the protagonist could just as easily have been Óláf Sihtricson."


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: Eric's removal cleared the way for Amlaíb [Anlaf Cwiran], who having suffered defeat at Slane (Co. Meath, Ireland) in 947, returned to Northumbria and took the kingship, supposedly in 949, if the E-text is to be trusted. Eadred does not appear to have undertaken any significant action and may even have turned a blind eye on his brother's godson, or so at least the silence of the sources appears to suggest.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: The E-text reports, however, that in 952, "the Northumbrians drove out King Olaf and accepted Eric, son of Harold." The Annals of Ulster for the same year report a victory of the "foreigners", i.e., the Northmen or the Norse-Gaels, over "the men of Scotland and the Welsh ["Bretnu", i.e., Britons of Strathclyde] and the Saxons." Exactly what this succinct account may tell us of his second rise to power, if anything, is frustratingly unclear. He may have led the Viking forces in a second bid for the throne, or only returned from the sideline to exploit the ravages of defeat. His reign proved once again of a short duration, since in 954 (a date on which MSS D and E agree), the Northumbrians expelled him, too.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: Clare Downham notes the existence of an otherwise unrecorded "Eltangerht", whose coins were minted at York and date from about the same time, but nothing is known of him from other records.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: The nature of Eric's relationship with Archbishop Wulfstan, the leading Northumbrian churchman who played such a decisive role in Amlaíb's career in the early 940s, remains tantalisingly unclear. One might assume that Wulfstan, given his political eminence, headed the Northumbrian party which elected Eric. It has likewise been suggested that Eadred's punitive attack on the ancient minster of Ripon, which carried little military weight, was targeted at Wulfstan in particular. In what sense his deposition in 948 may have affected the relationship in later years is more open to speculation.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: The witness lists of Anglo-Saxon charters, which reveal when or not Wulfstan attended Eadred's court, in his own right or as a diplomat intermediating between two kings, have been used to provide a chronological framework for Wulfstan's swerving loyalties. Between 938 and 941, that is roughly between the Battle of Brunanburh (937) and the recovery of the Five Boroughs (942), the archbishop did not attest any royal charters, but he began to do so during or after the negotiations of 942. What the charters reveal for Eric's first reign is less clear-cut, but intermittent absence may explain gaps in the record for Wulfstan's attestations in the turbulent years 947–948. Unfortunately, the critical period between 950 and 954 has produced comparatively few charters (owing perhaps to Eadred's deteriorating health), but what little there is may be instructive. Wulfstan is still seen at court in 950, but of the five charters which were issued in 951, not one was attested by him, which once again may imply his backing of Amlaíb. Eric's reign (952–954) is more obscure. We do know, however, that in 952, the same year that Eric began his second term at York, Wulfstan was arrested and stood on trial in "Iudanbyrig" (unknown) on account of several unspecified allegations which had been repeatedly brought before Eadred. Of the few charters surviving for 953, Wulfstan attests one and by 955, after Eric's death, he was restored to office, but now with Dorchester rather than York as his episcopal seat. Clare Downham suggests that during this period, Wulfstan may have been pressured by King Eadred into relinquishing his support of Eric.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: Eric's Northumbrian rule is also corroborated by numismatic evidence. As of 3 February 2009, 31 coins minted at York had been found which bear the inscription of his name. These can be divided into two distinct types of issue: N549, in which the moneyer's name (reverse) is written horizontally and broken up in two, and N550, in which his name is inscribed around the edges and Eric's name (obverse) accompanied by a sword symbol (image above on the right). The two principal moneyers, Ingalger and Radulf, who had also minted coins for Amlaíb, occur on both types. The two types may correspond to his two reigns, but it is not out of the question that both were issued during a single reign.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: Eric's sudden appearance in the "Chronicle", first noted by the D-text, is a puzzling one, lacking any information as to how or why he emerged on the scene. As hinted above, the "Life" of the Scottish saint Cathróe of Metz, written by a cleric (Reimann) who claimed to have been a former pupil of the saint, may possibly shed some light on his background. St Cathróe, a Scottish saint with a Brythonic name, visited a certain King Eric ("Erichus") in York as he proceeded southwards from his native Strathclyde and Cumbria to "Loida civitas", sometimes identified as Leeds, on the boundary with Cumbria, ultimately intending to go to West France. This Eric was both settled and married, and may have been on good terms with his neighbours in the north-west, although the evidence is indirect and somewhat ambiguous: the saint claimed kinship not only with Eric's wife but also with Dyfnwal (III) (d. 975), king of Strathclyde and Cumbria ("Donevaldus, rex Cumbrorum"), which may point to an alliance of some kind between the two rulers. Based on internal evidence for the saint's itinerary, Cathróe's stay is to be dated between 940 x 943, when Constantine (II) left the kingdom of Scotland to Malcolm (I), and 946, when Edmund was slain. The greatest obstacle to an identification of the Erics lies in the problem that the account would be difficult to square with the version of events presented by the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" and the assertion in royal charters that in 946, Edmund was still king of all Britain. It may be noted that the text's chronology has likewise presented some difficulties concerning the political status of Dyfnwal in the story (see main article there).


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: A further glimpse may be offered by the mid-12th-century Irish saga entitled "Caithréim Chellacháin Chaisil", a text which was primarily designed to glorify the deeds of Cellachán mac Buadacháin (d. 954), king of Munster, and hence his descendants, the Clann Faílbe. In one of its poems, an "Eric, King of the Islands" ("Éiric Righ na n-Innse"), meaning ruler of the Hebrides, is described as having allied himself to Sitriuc mac Tuirgeis, king of Dublin. Although the "Caithréim" is hardly a work celebrated for its accuracy as a source of history, the distant memory of an Eric who ruled the Hebrides may not be fictitious. It may be a matter of coincidence that the next Vikings known to have ruled the Hebrides were also 'sons of Harold', Gofraid mac Arailt, "ri Innsi Gall" (d. 989), who was succeeded by his son Ragnall, "rí na n-innsi" (d. 1005), and probably Gofraid's brother Maccus mac Arailt, who is accorded the title "king of very many islands" ().


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: The "Chronicle" gives no explanation, but it seems as if the abdications of Amlaíb and Eric are described as essentially northern affairs, apparently without much (direct) West-Saxon intervention, let alone invasion. The historical accounts of Eric's death point to more complex circumstances, but Northumbrian politics are to the fore. Following a report on the invasion of Scotland by William I in 1072, the "Historia regum" attributed to Symeon of Durham recalls that Eric was driven out and slain by one Maccus son of Onlaf. The "Flores historiarum" (early 13th century) by Roger of Wendover is thought to have relied on a northern source now lost to us when it adds the following details:


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: Stainmore, traditionally in Westmorland and administratively in Cumbria, lies in the main pass through the northern Pennines, the Stainmore Pass or Gap, which marks the boundary between Cumbria in the west and modern Durham in the east. It is here that the mountains are traversed by an old Roman road – more or less followed by the A66 today – leading from York to Catterick and north-westwards from Catterick (via Bowes, Stainmore, Brough, Appleby and Penrith) to Carlisle. Eric may therefore have followed by and large the same route that St Cathroé had taken, except in the opposite direction, possibly with Strathclyde or the Hebrides as his intended destination.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: The "comes" Osulf who betrayed Eric was high-reeve of the northern half of Northumbria, centred on Bamburgh, roughly corresponding to the former kingdom of Bernicia. He clearly benefited from his murderous plot against Eric. The "Historia regum" says that the province of Northumbria was henceforward administered by earls and records the formal appointment of Osulf as earl of Northumbria the following year. Likewise, the early 12th century "De primo Saxonum adventu" notes that "[f]irst of the earls after Erik, the last king whom the Northumbrians had, Osulf administered under King Eadred all the provinces of the Northumbrians." By contrast, the identity of Eric's slayer, the "comes "Maccus son of Anlaf, is unclear. His name may point to origins in a Norse-Gaelic family based in the Border country. While Anlaf (Middle Irish: "Amlaíb", Old Norse: "Óláfr") is a common Scandinavian and Norse-Gaelic name, Maccus, a Norse-Gaelic name of Middle Irish origin, is geographically more restricted and is particularly well attested in southern Scottish place-names. Based on Eric's confrontation with his predecessor Óláfr in "Fagrskinna", attempts have been made to connect Onlaf to Amlaíb Cuarán, but this must remain in the realm of speculation.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: Eric's death receives a grander treatment in the synoptic histories and sagas. "Fagrskinna", apparently the "Eiríksmál" which it incorporates, and "Heimskringla" assert that Eric and five other kings died together in battle in an unnamed place in England. According to "Ágrip" and "Historia Norwegiæ", Eric died on a foray in Spain after being forced out of Northumbria. Somewhat in line with the former version, earlier generations of scholars have envisaged the occasion of Eric's death on Stainmore to have been a last stand in battle. The view was espoused by W.G. Collingwood and later still by Frank Stenton, who speculates that Eric might have attempted to regain the kingdom or was fighting off pursuers. Finnur Jónsson re-interprets the alternative tradition in a historical light by proposing that "Span-" "Spain" in "Ágrip" goes back to a scribal confusion for "Stan"-, which in turn would have referred to Stainmore (OE *"Stan"). Having thus ascribed a historical core to the body of Scandinavian material, he in turn interprets the event as a battle.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: However, scholars today are usually less prepared to colour the sober records with details from the sagas, preferring to take the view that Eric was assassinated in exile. In sum then, it looks as if Eric, expelled and heading in a north-westerly direction (possibly in search of support), was about to cross over into Cumbria, when in a bid for power, his official Osulf had him killed through the agency of Maccus. Exactly what made this a betrayal ("proditio") in the eyes of the 10th century chronicler or those of Roger of Wendover, is unclear. It is unknown whether Osulf was also behind Eric's expulsion, despite being the main beneficiary, and whether he was expected to grant Eric safe passage and perhaps an escort to guide him safely through that part of Northumbria over which he (Osulf) had jurisdiction. It is equally obscure whether Maccus ambushed his victims, or was part of the escort, betraying them ("fraudulenter") as soon as he saw the opportunity.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: Towards the end of its portrait of Eric, "Fagrskinna" cites the "Eiríksmál" ("Lay of Eric"), an anonymous panegyric written in commemoration of Eric's death and according to the saga's introduction, commissioned by his widow Gunnhild. Except for a single stanza in the Edda, the skaldic poem is preserved nowhere else and what has survived may represent only the opening stanzas.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: Cast as a dialogue between Bragi, Odin, and fallen heroes, it tells of Eric's arrival in Valhöll, accompanied by five other kings, and his splendid welcome there by Odin and his entourage. Odin had eagerly awaited his coming because "many lands [...] / with his sword he has reddened" and on being asked why he had deprived Eric of such earthly glory, answers that "the future is uncertain", since the grey wolf is always lying in wait. Eric is then greeted by the famous hero Sigmundr: "Hail now, Eiríkr [...] / here you shall be welcome; / brave hero, enter the hall."


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: Some have argued that the language of the poem shows influence from Old English. However, on recently examining the poem, John McKinnell could find little trace of this. The (original) date of composition remains a matter of some debate: some argue that it was written shortly after Eric's death, while others who regard the poem as an imitation of the "Hákonarmál" in honour of Haakon the Good prefer a date sometime after Haakon's death, "c". 961.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: In spite of the decidedly pagan contents of the poem, Eric may have died a Christian, as some of the sagas suggest. There is no evidence for his religious beliefs, but if ever Eric was to be accepted and consecrated as king, probably with Wulfstan as king-maker, acceptance of the Christian faith would have been set as a condition to royal office. The impression is borne out by Wulfstan's earlier removal of Amlaíb Cuarán and Ragnald on grounds that they had become, in Æthelweard's words, "deserti" "deserters" (see above).


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: In support of this view, it has sometimes been suggested that the name of one "Eiric rex Danorum", "Eric king of the Danes", written into the Durham "Liber Vitae", f. 55v., may represent Eric of York. However, this can now be safely rejected in favour of an identification with Eric Ejegod (r. 1095–1103), whose queen Bodil ("Botild") occurs by name after him.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: On the north side of the A66 in Stainmore today stands the so-called Rey cross, also known as Rere Cross, though what survives is little more than a stump consisting of the socket and a fragment of the shaft. Before it was temporarily housed at the Bowes Museum in 1990 and moved to its present location, it stood on a mound of rock a little further west on the south side of the road – coordinates: . The two sides of the shaft once seem to have borne carvings, if that much can be concluded from John Speed's supposed description in 1611. Based on stylistic observations made by W. G. Collingwood when certain features were apparently still visible, it has been described as an Anglo-Scandinavian cross, possibly of the 10th century. No burials have been found. All evidence seems to point to its use as a boundary marker (between Cumbria and Northumbria), much like the Legg's cross (County Durham) on Dere Street. The name has been explained as deriving from Old Norse "hreyrr", "cairn", or "boundary cairn". Towards the end of the 19th century, however, W. S. Calverley argued that whatever its function in later ages, crosses in those times were usually tombstones, whereas boundary crosses postdate the Conquest. In the absence of a churchyard, he tentatively links the erection of the Rey cross to the putative battle on Stainmore. Although he ultimately rejects the idea of a memorial stone for Eric as "mere romance", W. G. Collingwood was less prepared to dismiss it out of hand: "a romancer might be justified in fancying that the Rey cross was carved and set up by Northumbrian admirers of the once mighty and long famous last King of York." No further evidence has been adduced to support the suggestion.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: The figure that Eric became in the Norse sagas is a heady mix of history, folklore, and political propaganda. He is usually portrayed as a larger-than-life Viking hero, whose powerful and violent performances bring him many short-term successes, but ultimately make him flawed and unpopular as a ruler and statesman. The "Heimskringla" describes Eric as "a large and handsome man, strong and of great prowess, a great and victorious warrior", but also "violent of disposition, cruel, gruff, and taciturn". The synoptic histories (Theodoricus, the "Historia Norwegiae", and "Ágrip") to some degree seek to excuse Eric's cruelty and fall from favour with the Norwegian nobility by pointing out another weakness, that of his naive faith in the evil counsels of his wife.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: One of the richest sagas to deal with Eric Bloodaxe and his affairs in England is "Egils saga", which is also a rich if problematic source for skaldic poems surviving from the 10th century. It tells how at the instigation of his wife Gunnhild, King Eric became involved in a prolonged conflict with Egill Skallagrimsson, the well-known Icelander Viking and skald. The account seems designed to enhance Egill's abilities as a warrior, wizard, and poet. The story can be summarised as follows.


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: Egill had killed Bárðr of Atley, one of the king's retainers, thus making an enemy of Queen Gunnhild, who never forgave him and did everything within her power to take revenge. Gunnhild ordered her two brothers to kill Egil and Egill's older brother Þórólfr, who had been on good terms with both her and the king before. However, this plan did not go well, as Egill easily killed the pair when they confronted him, greatly increasing the Queen's thirst for revenge. All that happened shortly before the death of Harald Fairhair and King Eric's killing of his brothers to secure his place on the throne. He then declared Egill an outlaw in Norway. Berg-Önundr gathered a company of men to capture Egill but was killed in his attempt to do so. Escaping from Norway, Egill killed Ragnald (Rögnvaldr Eirikssen), the king's son, and then cursed his parents, setting a horse's head on a pole ("níðstöng" or "spite-post") and saying,


title: Eric Bloodaxe

text: He set up the pole of spite in the cliff-face and left it standing; he faced the horse's eyes on the land, and he rist runes upon the pole, and said all the formal words of the curse. ("níð" has been variously translated as "scorn", "spite" or "curse"). Gunnhild also put a spell on Egill, which made him feel restless and depressed until they met again. The last encounter happened when Erik and Gunnhild were living in England. Egill was shipwrecked on a nearby shore and came before Eric, who sentenced him to death. But Egill composed a drápa in Eric's praise in the dungeon during the night, and when he recited it in the morning, Eric gave him his freedom and forgave any vengeance or settlement for the killing of Ragnald.


title: Yarn

text: Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufactured sewing threads may be finished with wax or other lubricants to withstand the stresses involved in sewing. Embroidery threads are yarns specifically designed for needlework. Yarn can be made of a number of natural or synthetic materials, and comes in a variety of colors and thicknesses (referred to as "weights"). Although yarn may be dyed different colours, most yarns are solid coloured with a uniform hue.


title: Yarn

text: The word yarn comes from Middle English, from the Old English "gearn", akin to Old High German "garn", "yarn," Dutch "garen," Italian "chordē", "string," and Sanskrit "hira", "band."


title: Yarn

text: The human production of yarn is known to have existed since the Stone Age and earlier prehistory, with ancient fiber materials developing from animal hides, to reeds, to early fabrics. Cotton, wool, and silk were the first materials for yarn, and textile trade contributed immensely to the ancient global economy.


title: Yarn

text: Yarn can be made from a number of natural or synthetic fibers, or a blend of natural and synthetic fibers.


title: Yarn

text: The most common plant fiber is cotton, which is typically spun into fine yarn for mechanical weaving or knitting into cloth.


title: Yarn

text: Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by the larvae of the moth "Bombyx mori". Silk production is thought to have begun in China and silk thread and cloth manufacture was well-established by the Shang dynasty (1600-1050 BCE).


title: Yarn

text: Linen is another natural fiber with a long history of use for yarn and textiles. The linen fibers are derived from the flax plant.


title: Yarn

text: The most commonly spun animal fiber is wool harvested from sheep. Shearing sheep helps the sheep regulate their body temperature and avoid pests.


title: Yarn

text: Other animal fibers used include alpaca, angora, mohair, llama, cashmere, and silk. More rarely, yarn may be spun from camel, yak, possum, musk ox, vicuña, cat, dog, wolf, rabbit, bison, or chinchilla hair, as well as turkey or ostrich feathers. Natural fibers such as these have the advantage of being slightly elastic and very breathable while trapping a great deal of air, making for some of the warmest fabrics.


title: Yarn

text: Some examples of synthetic fibers that are used as yarn are nylon, acrylic fiber, rayon, and polyester. Synthetic fibers are generally extruded in continuous strands of gel-state materials. These strands are drawn (stretched), annealed (hardened), and cured to obtain properties desirable for later processing.


title: Yarn

text: Synthetic fibers come in three basic forms: staple, tow, and filament. Staple is cut fibers, generally sold in lengths up to 120 mm. Tow is a continuous "rope" of fibers consisting of many filaments loosely joined side-to-side. Filament is a continuous strand consisting of anything from 1 filament to many. Synthetic fiber is most often measured in a weight per linear measurement basis, along with cut length. Denier and Dtex are the most common weight to length measures. Cut-length only applies to staple fiber.


title: Yarn

text: Filament extrusion is sometimes referred to as "spinning" but most people equate spinning with spun yarn production.


title: Yarn

text: T-shirt yarn is a yarn made from the same fabric as is used in T-shirts and other wearables. It is often made from the remainder fabric of clothing manufacture, and therefore is considered a recycled and green product. It can also be made at home out of used clothing. The resulting yarn can be used in knitted or crocheted items.


title: Yarn

text: In general, natural fibers tend to require more careful handling than synthetics because they can shrink, felt, stain, shed, fade, stretch, wrinkle, or be eaten by moths more readily, unless special treatments such as mercerization or superwashing are performed to strengthen, fix color, or otherwise enhance the fiber's own properties.


title: Yarn

text: Some types of protein yarns (i.e., hair, silk, feathers) may feel irritating to some people, causing sensations of contact dermatitis, hives, wheezing reactions. These reactions are likely a sensitivity to thicker and coarser fiber diameter or fiber ends. In fact, contrary to popular belief, wool allergies are practically unknown. According to a study reviewing the evidence of wool as an allergen conducted by Acta Dermato-Venereologica, contemporary superfine or ultrafine Merino wool with their reduced fibre diameters do not provoke itch, are well tolerated and in fact benefit eczema management. Further studies suggest that known allergens applied during textile processing are minimally present in wool garments today given current industry practices and are unlikely to lead to allergic reactions.


title: Yarn

text: When natural hair-type fibers are burned, they tend to singe and have a smell of burnt hair; this is because many, as human hair, are protein-derived. Cotton and viscose (rayon) yarns burn as a wick. Synthetic yarns generally tend to melt though some synthetics are inherently flame-retardant. Noting how an unidentified fiber strand burns and smells can assist in determining if it is natural or synthetic, and what the fiber content is.


title: Yarn

text: Both synthetic and natural yarns can pill. Pilling is a function of fiber content, spinning method, twist, contiguous staple length, and fabric construction. Single ply yarns or using fibers like merino wool are known to pill more due to the fact that in the former, the single ply is not tight enough to securely retain all the fibers under abrasion, and the merino wool's short staple length allows the ends of the fibers to pop out of the twist more easily.


title: Yarn

text: Yarns combining synthetic and natural fibers inherit the properties of each parent, according to the proportional composition. Synthetics are added to lower cost, increase durability, add unusual color or visual effects, provide machine washability and stain resistance, reduce heat retention or lighten garment weight.


title: Yarn

text: Spun yarn is made by twisting staple fibres together to make a cohesive thread, or "single." Twisting fibres into yarn in the process called spinning can be dated back to the Upper Paleolithic, and yarn spinning was one of the first processes to be industrialized. Spun yarns are produced by placing a series of individual fibres or filaments together to form a continuous assembly of overlapping fibres, usually bound together by twist. Spun yarns may contain a single type of fibre, or be a blend of various types. Combining synthetic fibres (which can have high strength, lustre, and fire retardant qualities) with natural fibres (which have good water absorbency and skin comforting qualities) is very common. The most widely used blends are cotton-polyester and wool-acrylic fibre blends. Blends of different natural fibres are common too, especially with more expensive fibres such as alpaca, angora and cashmere.


title: Yarn

text: Yarn is selected for different textiles based on the characteristics of the yarn fibres, such as warmth (wool), light weight (cotton or rayon), durability (nylon is added to sock yarn, for example), or softness (cashmere, alpaca).


title: Yarn

text: Yarn is composed of twisted strands of fiber, which are known as plies when grouped together. These strands of yarn are twisted together (plied) in the opposite direction to make a thicker yarn. Depending on the direction of this final twist, the yarn will have either "s-twist" (the threads appear to go "up" to the left) or "z-twist" (to the right). For a single ply yarn, the direction of the final twist is the same as its original twist. The twist direction of yarn can affect the final properties of the fabric, and combined use of the two twist directions can nullify skewing in knitted fabric.


title: Yarn

text: The mechanical integrity of yarn is derived from frictional contacts between its composing fibers. The science behind this was first studied by Galileo.


title: Yarn

text: Combed yarns are produced by adding another step of yarn spinning, namely combing, which aligns the fibres and removes the short fibres carried over from the previous step of carding. Combed yarn results in superior-quality fabrics. In comparison to carded yarns, this particular yarn is slightly more expensive, because the weaving is a long, consuming process. Combining separates small fibres from elongated fibres, in which this procedure makes the yarn softer and smoother.


title: Yarn

text: Hosiery yarns are used in the manufacturing of knitted fabrics. Since the knitted materials are more delicate than woven materials; hence hosiery yarns are made 'softer' with fewer twists per inch than their woven counterparts. Hosiery yarn comes from a separate spinning process, and is used with circular knitting machines to form fabric.


title: Yarn

text: Open-end yarn is produced by open-end spinning without a spindle. The method of spinning is different from ring spinning. In open-end yarn, there is no roving frame stage. Sliver from the card goes into the rotor, is spun into yarn directly. Open-end yarn can be produced from shorter fibers. Open-end yarns are different from ring yarns. Open-end yarns are limited to coarser counts.


title: Yarn

text: Novelty yarns or complex yarns are yarns with special (fancy) effects introduced during spinning or plying. One example is slub yarns, yarn with thick or thin sections alternating regularly or irregularly. In a similar manner, creating deliberate unevenness, additions or injections of neps or metallic or synthetic fibers (along with natural fibers) in spinning creates novelty yarns.


title: Yarn

text: Filament yarn consists of filament fibres (very long continuous fibres) either twisted together or only grouped together. Thicker monofilaments are typically used for industrial purposes rather than fabric production or decoration. Silk is a natural filament, and synthetic filament yarns are used to produce silk-like effects.


title: Yarn

text: Texturized yarns are made by a process of air texturizing filament yarns (sometimes referred to as "taslanizing"), which combines multiple filament yarns into a yarn with some of the characteristics of spun yarns. They are synthetic continuous filaments that are modified to impart special texture and appearance. It was originally applied to synthetic fibers to reduce transparency, slipperiness and increase warmth, absorbency and makes the yarn more opaque. It was used to manufacture a variety of textile products: knitted underwear and outer wear, shape-retaining knitted suits, overcoats. They also were used in the production of artificial fur, carpets, blankets, etc.


title: Yarn

text: Yarn may be used undyed, or may be coloured with natural or artificial dyes. Most yarns have a single uniform hue, but there is also a wide selection of variegated yarns:


title: Yarn

text: Yarn quantities for handcrafts are usually measured and sold by weight in ounces (oz) or grams (g). Common sizes include 25g, 50g, and 100g skeins. Some companies also primarily measure in ounces with common sizes being three-ounce, four-ounce, six-ounce, and eight-ounce skeins. Textile measurements are taken at a standard temperature and humidity, because fibers can absorb moisture from the air. The actual length of the yarn contained in a ball or skein can vary due to the inherent heaviness of the fibre and the thickness of the strand; for instance, a 50 g skein of lace weight mohair may contain several hundred metres, while a 50 g skein of bulky wool may contain only 60 metres.


title: Yarn

text: There are several thicknesses of craft yarn, referred to as weight. This is not to be confused with the measurement and weight listed above. The Craft Yarn Council of America is making an effort to promote a standardized industry system for measuring this, numbering the weights from 0 (finest) to 7 (thickest). Each weight can be described by a number and name. Size 0 yarn is called Lace, size 1 is Super Fine, size 2 is Fine, size 3 is Light, size 4 is Medium, size 5 is Bulky, size 6 is Super Bulky, and size 7 is Jumbo.


title: Yarn

text: Each weight also has several common, unregulated terms associated with it. However, this naming convention is more descriptive than precise; fibre artists disagree about where on the continuum each lies, and the precise relationships between the sizes. These terms include: fingering, sport, double-knit (or DK), worsted, aran (or heavy worsted), bulky, super-bulky, and roving.


title: Yarn

text: Another measurement of yarn weight, often used by weavers, is wraps per inch (WPI). The yarn is wrapped snugly around a ruler and the number of wraps that fit in an inch are counted.


title: Yarn

text: Labels on yarn for handicrafts often include information on gauge, which can also help determine yarn weight. Gauge, known in the UK as tension, is a measurement of how many stitches and rows are produced per inch or per cm on a specified size of knitting needle or crochet hook. The proposed standardization uses a four-by-four inch/ten-by-ten cm knitted stockinette or single crocheted square, with the resultant number of stitches across and rows high made by the suggested tools on the label to determine the gauge.


title: Yarn

text: In Europe, textile engineers often use the unit tex, which is the weight in grams of a kilometre of yarn, or decitex, which is a finer measurement corresponding to the weight in grams of 10 km of yarn. Many other units have been used over time by different industries.


title: Yarn

text: There are many different ways in which yarn is wound, including hanks, skeins, donut balls, cakes, and cones.


title: Yarn

text: A hank of yarn is a looped bundle of yarn, similar to how wire is typically sold. The yarn is usually tied in 2 places directly opposite each other to keep the loops together and to keep them from tangling. Hanks are a preferred method of fastening yarn for many yarn sellers and yarn-dyers due to its ability to more widely display the qualities of the fiber. It is often wound using a swift, a standing contraption that holds a yarn hank without obstruction and spins on a central axis to facilitate yarn ball winding There are two subtypes of hanks: twisted and folded. A twisted hank is a hank that has been twisted into a rope braid. A folded hank is a hank that has been folded in half and wrapped in a label for retail purposes.


title: Yarn

text: Skeins are one of the most common types of yarn ball. Although skeins are technically described as yarn that has been wound into an oblong shape, the word "skein" is used generically to describe any ball of yarn. Many large-scale yarn retailers like Lion brand and parent companies like Yarnspirations sell their yarn in skeins. Unlike other types of yarn balls, a skein allows you to access both ends of the yarn. The yarn end in the inside of the skein is called a center pull. One major complaint of center pull bullet skeins is that the inside yarn end is not easily found, and often is pulled out of the skein in a jumble of tangled yarn called "yarn barf." There are two types of skeins: a pull skein, which is more rectangular in shape, and a bullet skein, which is rounder.


title: Yarn

text: Below are the images taken by a digital USB microscope. These show how the yarn looks in different kinds of clothes when magnified.


title: Arthur Darvill

text: Thomas Arthur Darvill (born 17 June 1982) is an English actor. He is known for portraying Rory Williams, a companion of the Eleventh Doctor in the television series "Doctor Who" (2010–2012), as well as Rip Hunter in "Legends of Tomorrow" (2016–2018 & 2021) and Rev. Paul Coates in "Broadchurch" (2013–2017). From 2013 to 2014, he appeared in the lead role in the theatre musical "Once" in the West End and on Broadway.


title: Arthur Darvill

text: Thomas Arthur Darvill was born in Birmingham on 17 June 1982. His mother, Ellie, is an actress; during his early childhood, she worked with masks, puppets, and live acting as a member of Cannon Hill Theatre at the Midlands Arts Centre, and toured the world. She is also known as the puppeteer and voice behind Why Bird from "Playdays". His father, Nigel, played the Hammond organ for artists including Edwin Starr, Ruby Turner, Fine Young Cannibals, and UB40. Darvill attended Bromsgrove School in Worcestershire from 1993 to 2000.


title: Arthur Darvill

text: Darvill joined Stage2 Youth Theatre Company at the age of 10. He was a member from 1991 to 2000, and had an early job on CITV in 2000, presenting the continuity links between the shows; during this time he was billed as Tom Darvill. He left in 2001, founded his own theatre company (called Fuego's Men), and performed in the Midlands. At the age of 21, Darvill moved to London with four friends from youth theatre, each having secured a place at a drama school. They moved into a house in White City together. Darvill trained in acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and is trained in stage combat.


title: Arthur Darvill

text: Darvill made his professional stage debut playing condemned criminal Harrison in Edmund White's "Terre Haute", which ran at the Assembly Rooms during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. His performance was praised by Nicholas de Jongh of the "Evening Standard" and Susannah Clapp of "The Observer". Darvill appeared in "Terre Haute"s transfer to Trafalgar Studios in 2007. His performance gained him a Best Newcomer nomination at the 2007 "Evening Standard" Theatre Awards.


title: Arthur Darvill

text: Darvill played Rob in the 2007 monologue "Stacy", in a performance "The Times" described as "compelling". Later that year, he appeared in the Vaudeville Theatre's production of "Swimming with Sharks" with Christian Slater, Helen Baxendale and Matt Smith (which gained him a London Newcomer Award nomination).


title: Arthur Darvill

text: In 2008, Darvill made his television acting debut in the ITV crime drama "He Kills Coppers". The same year, he played Edward "Tip" Dorrit in the BBC serial "Little Dorrit". Darvill began playing Rory Williams, companion to the Eleventh Doctor, in the fifth series of the BBC's science fiction show "Doctor Who" (reuniting with his "Swimming with Sharks" co-star Matt Smith). He became a regular character in the sixth series, and confirmed that he would be appearing in the seventh series; before he and his co-star Karen Gillan (on-screen wife Amy Pond) left in the fifth episode.


title: Arthur Darvill

text: Darvill had a minor role as a stable groom in Ridley Scott's "Robin Hood", and played Mick Gallagher in "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" (both 2010). In the summer of 2011, he played Mephistopheles "an agent of the Devil in human form" in "Doctor Faustus" at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London, a production which was subsequently issued as a DVD. After his departure from "Doctor Who" he was cast in the drama "Broadchurch" as vicar Paul Coates, alongside David Tennant and Olivia Colman.


title: Arthur Darvill

text: On 19 April 2013, he took over the lead male role of Guy from the musical "Once", on Broadway, New York, opposite new co-star Joanna Christie. The two performers also made an appearance on the 2013 Tony Awards to perform a number and to present the award for best scenery. Darvill continued the role in the West End production from 17 March 2014 until 10 May 2014.


title: Arthur Darvill

text: In March 2015, Darvill was cast as the time-traveller Rip Hunter in the series "Legends of Tomorrow". He was written out of the show in 2018, by the end of the third season. However, he returned in 2021 for the show's one hundredth episode. In 2019, Darvill took on the role of Oscar Lindquist in the West End revival of "Sweet Charity".


title: Arthur Darvill

text: Darvill is also a musician and a composer; he has written songs and music for the Bush Theatre, and composed the score for Che Walker's 2008 play "The Frontline" at Shakespeare's Globe. In June 2009, the musical "Been So Long", based on Ché Walker's 1998 play, opened at the Young Vic and in September 2013 another collaboration, "The Lightning Child", opened at the Globe. Darvill had worked with Walker for a number of years since they had first met at RADA, developing the songs and music for the show. The musical was performed at the Latitude Festival in July and had a run at the Traverse Theatre in August. Darvill received a Judge's Discretionary Award from MTM for his music. In 2010, Darvill helped promote the solo album of Fyfe Dangerfield, playing with him on sessions for Graham Norton's show and on Xfm.


title: Arthur Darvill

text: Darvill has undertaken a number of radio and voice projects, including "Doctor Who" audiobooks. In December 2011, he played Keith Moon for BBC Radio 4's "Burning Both Ends". In 2012, he voiced Gulliver in Radio 4's "Gulliver's Travels" and Sam in the short film "Penguin".


title: Arthur Darvill

text: He collaborated with playwright Sam Holcroft on a musical adaptation of Roald Dahl's "Fantastic Mr. Fox" which premiered at the Nuffield Theatre, Southampton, in November 2016.


title: Arthur Darvill

text: In 2018, Darvill started the new musical collective Paperlands with Ines De Clercq. The collective performed at St Pancras Old Church on 22 November 2018. They took some time to record in a studio in December of that year.


title: Arthur Darvill

text: In 2020, Darvill appeared on the concept album for Vikki Stone and Katie Mulgrew's musical "#ZoologicalSociety".


title: Arthur Darvill

text: Despite the concert being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the album featuring Darvill was released digitally on 27 March 2020.


title: Arthur Darvill

text: On 13 June 2020 it was confirmed that Darvill would reprise his role as Rory Williams with Big Finish Productions, in a multi-boxset series entitled "The Lone Centurion", chronicling the character's time between the episodes "The Pandorica Opens" and "The Big Bang".


title: Arthur Darvill

text: Darvill plays the guitar and keyboards, and formed an indie band called Edmund in his teenage years; it was named after Edmund Pevensie, his favourite character in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". He enjoys cooking and attending the theatre and concerts. He also collects taxidermy. He is close friends with his "Doctor Who" former co-stars Karen Gillan and Matt Smith.


title: Arthur Darvill

text: Darvill was one of the celebrities, along with Tom Hiddleston, Jo Brand, E. L. James, and Rachel Riley, to design and sign his own card for the UK-based charity Thomas Coram Foundation for Children. The campaign was launched by crafting company Stampin' Up! UK and the cards were auctioned off on eBay during May 2014.


title: Swing state

text: In American politics, the term swing state (also known as battleground state or purple state) refers to any state that could reasonably be won by either the Democratic or Republican candidate in a statewide election, most often referring to presidential elections, by a swing in votes. These states are usually targeted by both major-party campaigns, especially in competitive elections. Meanwhile, the states that regularly lean to a single party are known as safe states, as it is generally assumed that one candidate has a base of support from which they can draw a sufficient share of the electorate without significant investment or effort by their campaign.


title: Swing state

text: Due to the winner-take-all method most states use to determine their presidential electors, candidates often campaign only in competitive states, which is why a select group of states frequently receives a majority of the advertisements and candidate visits. The battlegrounds may change in certain election cycles and may be reflected in overall polling, demographics, and the ideological appeal of the nominees.


title: Swing state

text: In American presidential elections, each state is free to decide the method by which its electors to the Electoral College will be chosen. To increase its voting power in the Electoral College system, every state, with the exceptions of Maine and Nebraska, has adopted a winner-take-all system, where the candidate who wins the most popular votes in a state wins all of that state's electoral votes. The expectation was that the candidates would look after the interests of the states with the most electoral votes. However, in practice, most voters tend not to change party allegiance from one election to the next, leading presidential candidates to concentrate their limited time and resources campaigning in those states that they believe they can swing towards them or stop states from swinging away from them, and not to spend time or resources in states they expect to win or lose. Because of the electoral system, the campaigns are less concerned with increasing a candidate's national popular vote, tending instead to concentrate on the popular vote only in those states which will provide the electoral votes it needs to win the election, and it is far from unheard of for a candidate to secure sufficient electoral votes while not having won the national popular vote.


title: Swing state

text: In past electoral results, Republican candidates would have expected to easily win most of the mountain states and Great Plains, such as Idaho, Wyoming, the Dakotas, Montana, Utah, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska, most of the South, including Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and South Carolina, as well as Alaska. Democrats usually take the Mid-Atlantic states, including New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware, New England, particularly Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, the West Coast states of California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, and the Southwestern states of Colorado and New Mexico, as well as the Great Lakes states of Illinois and Minnesota.


title: Swing state

text: However, some states that consistently vote for one party at the presidential level occasionally elect a governor of the opposite party; this is currently the case in Vermont and Virginia which have Republican governors, as well as in Louisiana, Kentucky, and Kansas, which currently have Democratic governors. Even in presidential election years, voters may split presidential and gubernatorial tickets. In 2020, this occurred in Vermont and New Hampshire, which elected Republican governors even as Democrat Joe Biden won both states, while North Carolina elected a Democratic governor despite also voting for Republican Donald Trump.


title: Swing state

text: In Maine and Nebraska, the apportionment of electoral votes parallels that for U.S. senators and representatives. Two electoral votes go to the candidate who wins the plurality of the vote statewide, and a candidate gets an additional electoral vote for each congressional district in which they receive a plurality. Both of these states have relatively few electoral votes – a total of 4 and 5, respectively. Despite their rules, each state has split its electoral votes twice – in 2008, when Nebraska gave four votes to Republican John McCain, and one to Democrat Barack Obama, and in 2020, when Nebraska gave four votes to Donald Trump and one to Joe Biden; in 2016 and 2020, Donald Trump won one vote in Maine, while Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden both were awarded three, respectively.


title: Swing state

text: States where the election has a close result become less meaningful in landslide elections. Instead, states which vote similarly to the national vote proportions are more likely to appear as the closest states. For example, the states in the 1984 election with the tightest results were Minnesota, and Massachusetts. A campaign strategy centered on them, however, would not have been meaningful in the Electoral College, as Democratic nominee Walter Mondale required victories in many more states than Massachusetts, Republican Ronald Reagan still would have won by a large margin. Instead, the tipping-point state that year was Michigan, as it gave Reagan the decisive electoral vote. The difference in Michigan was nineteen percentage points, quite similar to Reagan's national margin of eighteen percent. Michigan would have been more relevant to the election results had the election been closer.


title: Swing state

text: Similarly, Barack Obama's narrow victory in Indiana in the 2008 election inaccurately portrays its status as a battleground. Obama lost Indiana by more than ten percentage points in the closer 2012 election, but triumphed anyway as Indiana's electoral votes were not directly needed for a coalition of 270 votes; the same scenario was with Missouri, where John McCain narrowly won by 4,000 votes in the 2008 election, but was won by Mitt Romney by nearly 10 points in 2012 election, indicating its GOP trend. Other lightly Republican leaning states such as North Carolina and Arizona were more plausible Democratic pick-ups in 2012. In 2012, the states of North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, and Virginia were decided by a margin of less than five percent. However, none of them were considered the tipping-point state, as Romney would not have been able to defeat Obama even if he had emerged victorious in all of them. Interestingly, Virginia was most in-step with the rest of the country. Virginians voted for Obama by just under 4 points, almost the exact same as the nation. Had the election come out closer, Romney's path to victory would probably have involved also winning Wisconsin, Nevada, New Hampshire, or Iowa, as these states had comparable margins to Colorado, and had been battlegrounds during the election.


title: Swing state

text: As many mathematical analysts have noted, however, the state voting in a fashion most similar to that of the nation as a whole is not necessarily the tipping-point. For example, if a candidate wins only a few states but does so by a wide margin, while the other candidate's victories are much closer, the popular vote would likely favor the former. However, although the vast majority of the states leaned to the latter candidate in comparison to the entire country, many of them would end up having voted for the loser in greater numbers than did the tipping-point state. The presidential election in 2016 was a notable example, as it featured one of the largest historical disparities between the Electoral College and popular vote. Additionally, this "split" in votes was much larger in both directions than in previous elections, such as the 2000 election. In that election, Vice President Al Gore won the popular vote by less than 1 percent, while incoming president George W. Bush won the Electoral College by only 5 votes. In contrast, 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by over 2 percentage points. This meant that Donald Trump would have picked up New Hampshire, Nevada, and Minnesota if the popular vote had been tied, assuming a uniform shift among the battleground states. On the other hand, Clinton would have had to win the popular vote by at least 3 points to win the Electoral College, as Trump, the Republican nominee, won the tipping-point state of Wisconsin by less than 1 percent. In 2020, Joe Biden won the popular vote by over 4 percentage points but won the tipping point state of Pennsylvania by only 1 percent. This shows Donald Trump could win the election even if he lost the popular vote by over 3 percent and would have picked up Georgia, Arizona, and Wisconsin with a uniform shift among the states.


title: Swing state

text: Swing states have generally changed over time. For instance, the swing states of Ohio, Connecticut, Indiana, New Jersey and New York were key to the outcome of the 1888 election. Likewise, Illinois and Texas were key to the outcome of the 1960 election, Florida and New Hampshire were key in deciding the 2000 election, and Ohio was important during the 2004 election. Ohio has gained its reputation as a regular swing state after 1980, and did not vote against the winner from 1960 to 2020. In fact, only three people have won the presidential election without winning Ohio since 1900: Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Joe Biden. Areas considered battlegrounds in the 2020 election were Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Maine's 2nd congressional district, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska's 2nd congressional district, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin, with Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin constituting the "Big Five" most likely to decide the electoral college. In the end, Joe Biden won Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, NE-02, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, while Donald Trump only won ME-02, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas.


title: Swing state

text: Campaign strategies are not universal in swing states. Statistical analytics website FiveThirtyEight notes that some swing states, such as New Hampshire, swing because they have many moderate, independent swing voters, and campaigning puts an emphasis on persuading voters. Contrasting this is Georgia, which is a swing state because it has large populations of Republican-leaning evangelical whites and Democratic-leaning Black voters and urban college-educated professionals, thus campaigns often concentrate on voter turnout.


title: Swing state

text: Presidential campaigns and pundits seek to keep track of the shifting electoral landscape. While swing states in past elections can be determined simply by looking at how close the vote was in each state, determining states likely to be swing states in future elections requires estimation and projection based on previous election results, opinion polling, political trends, recent developments since the previous election, and any strengths or weaknesses of the particular candidate involved. The swing-state "map" transforms between each election cycle, depending on the candidates and their policies, sometimes dramatically and sometimes subtly. For example, in the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton overperformed in educated, suburban states such as Virginia and Colorado compared to past Democratic candidates, while Donald J. Trump performed above standard Republican expectations in the Rust Belt, such as Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. In addition, gradual shifts can occur within states due to changes in demography, geography, or population patterns. For example, many currently Republican states, like Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and West Virginia, had been battlegrounds as recently as 2004.


title: Swing state

text: According to a pre-election 2016 analysis, the thirteen most competitive states were Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Arizona, Georgia, Virginia, Florida, Michigan, Nevada, Colorado, North Carolina, and Maine. Nebraska's 2nd congressional district was (and is still as of 2020) also considered competitive. However, this projection was not specific to any particular election cycle, and assumed similar levels of support for both parties.


title: Swing state

text: Ten weeks before the 2020 presidential election, statistical analytics website FiveThirtyEight noted that the electoral map is "undergoing a series of changes", with some states moving rightward, other states moving leftward, and two states (Florida, until the 2020 election, and North Carolina) described as "perennial" swing states. Likewise, an analysis of results of the 2018 midterms indicated that the "battleground states" are changing, with Colorado and Ohio becoming less competitive and more Democratic and Republican, respectively, while Georgia and Arizona were slowly turning into swing states.


title: Swing state

text: The electoral college encourages political campaigners to focus most of their efforts on courting voters in swing states. States in which polling shows no clear favorite are usually targeted at a higher rate with campaign visits, television advertising, and get out the vote efforts by party organizers and debates. According to Katrina vanden Heuvel, a journalist for "The Nation", "four out of five" voters in the national election are "absolutely ignored".


title: Swing state

text: Since most states use a winner-takes-all arrangement, in which the candidate with the most votes in that state receives all of the state's electoral votes, there is a clear incentive to focus almost exclusively on only a few undecided states. In contrast, many states with large populations such as California, Texas and New York have in recent elections been considered "safe" for a particular party, and therefore not a priority for campaign visits and money. Meanwhile, twelve of the thirteen smallest states are thought of as safe for either party – only New Hampshire is regularly a swing state. Additionally, campaigns stopped mounting nationwide electoral efforts in the last few months near/at the ends of the blowout 2008 election, but rather targeted only a handful of battlegrounds.


title: Swing state

text: This is a chart of swing states using the methodology of Nate Silver for determining tipping point states, but including the other states in close contention in recent elections, ranked by margin of victory. In this method, states and DC are ordered by margin of victory, then tabulating which states were required to get to 270+ electoral votes in margin order. The tipping point state, and the next 10 states with close margins on each side, are shown as the swing states in retrospect, along with the "bias" which is the difference between the final margin in the tipping point state and final popular vote margin. Note that this takes into account inherent electoral college advantages; for example, Michigan was the closest state in 2016 by end result, and Nevada was the closest state to the national popular vote result, but the tipping points that most mattered for assembling a 270 electoral vote coalition were Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.


title: Footprint Center

text: Footprint Center (formerly known as America West Arena, US Airways Center, Talking Stick Resort Arena and Phoenix Suns Arena) is a multi-purpose arena in Phoenix, Arizona.


title: Footprint Center

text: Built in the regional population center of the southwestern United States, the arena opened on June 6, 1992, at a construction cost of $89 million.


title: Footprint Center

text: It is currently the home arena for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the Indoor Football League's Arizona Rattlers. The ECHL's Phoenix RoadRunners also played there from 2005 until they ceased operations at the conclusion of the 2008–2009 season. Additionally, the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Phoenix Coyotes (now the Arizona Coyotes) played their first 7-plus seasons at the arena following their arrival in Phoenix on July 1, 1996.


title: Footprint Center

text: Located one block away from Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, the arena is in size on an site. These two major league sports venues are half of those used by Phoenix area professional teams, the other two being State Farm Stadium and Mullett Arena in the neighboring Phoenix suburbs of Glendale and Tempe.


title: Footprint Center

text: Footprint Center underwent its second significant renovation in its history. The Phoenix City Council approved the plan on January 23, 2019, involving the arena, with the Phoenix Suns paying up to $80 million alongside any overrun costs. The first renovation, completed in March 2003, had a air-conditioned glass-enclosed atrium built on the northwest side of the arena. That $67 million project was constructed to keep patrons cool while waiting in line for tickets or spending time inside the building before events. The arena upgrades have been done as part of the Suns' plan to keep it economically competitive after Gila River Arena opened. Former Suns owner Jerry Colangelo originally thought of the renovations after visiting Staples Center in Los Angeles and envisioned a similar entertainment district in Phoenix.


title: Footprint Center

text: The COVID-19 pandemic forced a pause to the Suns' 2019–20 season and allowed for an early start to the most recent renovations. Up to 80% of all planned work was completed in time for the 2020 preseason home opener, a 112–107 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on December 16, 2020. The Mercury originally planned to play their 2020 WNBA season home games at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, but relocated all of the season's games to the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. The Rattlers had their 2020 IFL season cancelled, but played their first home game of the 2021 season on June 12, 2021, against the Tucson Sugar Skulls.


title: Footprint Center

text: Basketball, arena football, concerts, ice shows and other events such as wrestling are held in the arena.


title: Footprint Center

text: The capacities are 17,071 for basketball, 16,210 for ice hockey and indoor football, 17,716 for in-the-round concerts, 12,565 for end stage concerts, and 4,379 for theater events.