title: Moda Center

text: Claiming the local economy was responsible for reduced revenues which made it unable to make payments on the loans used to finance construction, the Oregon Arena Corporation filed for bankruptcy on February 27, 2004. After negotiations concurrent with the bankruptcy failed to produce a settlement, the United States Bankruptcy Court ordered on November 8 of that year that the Oregon Arena Corporation transfer the facility to the creditors. A new corporation owned by the creditors, Portland Arena Management (PAM) took over operation of the arena. PAM in turn hired Global Spectrum to operate the arena. For several years, the Trail Blazers (still owned by Allen) and the Portland Arena Management had a highly hostile relationship, with the two entities competing for ticket sales.


title: Moda Center

text: The team made numerous complaints about a "broken economic model", and there was much speculation that the Trail Blazers might leave. The team was put up for sale in the summer of 2006, only to be taken off the market again several months later. Speculation intensified as to what would happen, and the team and Paul Allen were roundly criticized in the media. Despite the criticism and the team's poor finances the team insisted that bankruptcy was the right move.


title: Moda Center

text: Early in 2007, Allen and the creditors reached an agreement for Allen to repurchase the arena, and the team and the building were united under common ownership once more. After much speculation that Allen would hire Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) to replace Global Spectrum, arena management elected to extend Global Spectrum's management contract by one year in the summer of 2007. In September 2007, Global Spectrum announced that the arena would undergo $13 million in renovations.


title: Moda Center

text: While Moda Center has never hosted the NBA Finals (Portland's last appearance in the Finals was in 1992, three years before the arena opened), it has hosted three NBA Western Conference Finals series: in 1999 vs. the San Antonio Spurs; in 2000 vs. the Los Angeles Lakers; and in 2019 vs. the Golden State Warriors. One NBA-related event Moda Center—and for that matter, the Trail Blazers franchise—has never hosted is the NBA All-Star Game. The Trail Blazers are one of several franchises to never host an All-Star game; the Blazers' All-Star drought of 42 years is second only to the Boston Celtics, who last hosted the game in 1964. According to the Oregon Sports Authority, the main issue is hotel space close to the arena; the city of Portland lacks the large "headquarters" hotel needed to host the NBA and media entourage which accompanies the game.


title: Moda Center

text: Moda Center has also hosted PBR Built Ford Tough Series bull riding events, has hosted editions of Monday Night Raw, Smackdown, Unforgiven (2004), No Mercy (2008) and , and UFC 102 in 2009.


title: Moda Center

text: In 2004, Portland was selected as one of five cities in the U.S. to host the Dew Action Sports Tour, a new extreme sports franchise to start in 2005. Titled the Vans Invitational, the event was held at the Rose Quarter from August 17 to 21. The Rose Quarter hosted BMX: Dirt and Freestyle Motocross. The Dew Action Sports returned to Portland for a third year.


title: Moda Center

text: In the winter of 2005, the Rose Quarter hosted the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, an event attended by over 100,000 spectators. The arena would later host the 2007 NLL All Star Game on March 10, 2007.


title: Moda Center

text: In 2009, the arena hosted first- and second-round games of the NCAA men's basketball tournament as well as in 2015 and 2022. It was the first time NCAA men's tournament games were played in the state of Oregon since 1983, though the arena did host the finals of the 2008 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament. The state had been under an NCAA-imposed tournament embargo due to sports betting being legal in the state (specifically, the Oregon Lottery's "Sports Action" game, a parlay game which allowed bettors to wager on NFL games), but was awarded 2009 tournament games when the state Legislature eliminated Sports Action from the lottery's lineup.


title: Moda Center

text: In addition to sports, the arena regularly hosts numerous other types of events, including concerts, circuses, ice shows, and conventions. Portland State University holds its spring commencement ceremonies at the arena.


title: Moda Center

text: Notable non-sports related events include the 1998 Portland State commencement ceremony, where the keynote speaker was then U.S. President Bill Clinton. The President, speaking before a packed house in the Garden (including a graduating class of 2000), gave a speech embracing immigration to the United States, and was also awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the university.


title: Moda Center

text: On June 27, 2000, a concert by former Pink Floyd member Roger Waters at the arena became the basis for the concert video "".


title: Moda Center

text: Lady Gaga performed at the arena on January 15, 2013, as part of her Born This Way Ball tour trek through North America. This was one of the few shows the singer completed in the United States before she was forced to cancel the remainder of the tour due to a labral tear of the hip.


title: Moda Center

text: On Sunday, August 9, 2015, Bernie Sanders held a campaign rally at the Moda Center that was attended by over 28,000 people.


title: Moda Center

text: On October 2, 2016, British rock band Coldplay has performed during their A Head Full of Dreams Tour.


title: Moda Center

text: On April 9, 2017, Radiohead performed at the arena for the first time during their A Moon Shaped Pool tour. It was also their first concert in Portland since 1996.


title: Moda Center

text: The exterior of the Moda Center was featured in How I Met Your Mother's 2011 episode, Tick Tick Tick; again in the 2013 episode Platonish, and the series finale episode, Last Forever.


title: Bahay kubo

text: The bahay kubo, also known as payag (Nipon) in the Visayan languages and, is a type of stilt house indigenous to the Philippines. It often serves as an icon of Philippine culture. The house is exclusive to the lowland population of unified Spanish conquered territories. Its design heavily influenced the colonial-era "bahay na bato" architecture.


title: Bahay kubo

text: The Filipino term "báhay kúbo" roughly means "country house", from Tagalog. The term "báhay" ("house") is derived from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *balay, "public building" or "community house"; while the term "kúbo" ("hut" or "[one-room] country hut") is from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kubu, "field hut [in rice fields]".


title: Bahay kubo

text: The term "nipa hut", introduced during the Philippines' American colonial era, refers to the Hut version of Bahay kubo. Nipa or anahaw thatching materials are often used for the roofs. However, not all bahay kubo are huts or used nipa materials.


title: Bahay kubo

text: Distinction between each tribes and cultures' style may have been more visible during the pre-hispanic period. Different architectural designs are present among each ethnolinguistic group in what is now the Philippines and throughout the Southeast Asia and Pacific as part of the whole Austronesian Architecture. They were designed to endure the climate and environment of the Philippines. These structures were temporary, made from plant materials like bamboo. The accessibility of the materials made it easier to rebuild when damaged by a storm or earthquake.


title: Bahay kubo

text: The advent of the Spanish Colonial era introduced the idea of building more permanent communities with the church and government center as focal points. Christianized people such as the Tagalogs, Visayans, Ilocanos, Kapampangans, Bicolanos, Cagayanons, Mestizos, Criollos, Chinese and Japanese etc. were made to live lowland, this newly formed culture, with most population coming from Austronesian origin, each having their own distinct traditions of Austronesian architecture, dating back even before the Hispanic period, collectively evolved a certain style of construction that has become synonymous to the lowland culture based on the Austronesian architecture. These houses, are now known as the Bahay kubo. Appearance varies from simple huts, later known by the Americans as Nipa huts, to mansions like Bahay na bato. Architectural Designs and ornamentations varies from From standard, Chinese, Americas, European to eclectic . The new community also setup made construction using heavier, more permanent materials desirable. Some of these materials included bricks, mortar, tiles and stone. Finding European construction styles impractical in local conditions, Spanish and Filipino builders quickly adapted the characteristics of the "bahay kubo" and combined it with the Hispano-American Antillean (Caribbean) architectural style, resulting in the indigenous "bahay na bato" ("stone house") or "bahay luma" ("old house" or "traditional house").


title: Bahay kubo

text: Bahay na bato or Casa Filipino is a noble version of bahay kubo with mainly Spanish and Chinese influence. Its design evolved throughout the ages but maintained its nipa hut architectural roots. Its most common appearance is like that of stilt nipa hut that stands on Spanish style stone blocks or bricks as a foundation instead of wood or bamboo stilts.


title: Bahay kubo

text: The "bahay na bato", followed the nipa hut's arrangements such as open ventilation and elevated apartments. It was popular among the elite or middle class and integrated the characteristics of the nipa hut with the style, culture, and technology of Spanish architecture. The most obvious difference between the two houses would be the materials that was used to build them. The "bahay na bato" was constructed out of brick and stone rather than the traditional bamboo materials. It is a mixture of native Filipino, Spanish and Chinese influences. During the 19th century, wealthy Filipinos built some fine houses, usually with solid stone foundations or brick lower walls, and overhanging, wooden upper story/stories with balustrades Ventanillas and capiz shell sliding windows, and a Chinese tiled roof or sometimes Nipa roof which are today being replaced by galvanized roof. Bahay na bato had a rectangular plan that reflected the Hispano-American Antillean architectural style integrated with traditional Philippine style. Today these houses are more commonly called ancestral houses.


title: Bahay kubo

text: It is originally and is still typical for Bahay kubo to be mostly organic in material and be elevated, mainly for vernacular and superstitious reasons and because of floods during wet season and the hot dry land during summer can cause a lot of problems for the inhabitants. Similar conditions in Philippine lowland areas have led to characteristics "typical" of examples of Bahay Kubo.


title: Bahay kubo

text: With few exceptions arising only in modern times, most Bahay Kubo are on stilts: the living area is accessed by ladder. This naturally divides the house into three areas: the living area in the middle, the area beneath it (referred to in Tagalog as the "silong"), and the roof space ("bubungan"), which may or may not be separated from the living area by a ceiling ("atip").


title: Bahay kubo

text: The traditional roof shape of the "Bahay Kubo" is tall and steeply pitched, ending in long eaves. A tall roof creates space above the living area through which warm air could rise, giving the "Bahay Kubo" a natural cooling effect even during the hot summer season. The steep pitch allows water to flow down quickly at the height of the monsoon season while the long eaves give people a limited space to move about around the house's exterior when it rains. The steep pitch of the roofs are often used to explain why many "Bahay Kubo" survived the ash fall from the Mt. Pinatubo eruption, when more ’modern’ houses collapsed from the weight of the ash.


title: Bahay kubo

text: Raised up on hardwood stilts which serve as the main posts of the house, "Bahay Kubo" have a "silong" (the Tagalog word also means "shadow") area under the living space for a number of reasons, the most important of which are to create a buffer area for rising waters during floods and to prevent pests such as rats from getting up to the living area. This section of the house is often used for storage, and sometimes for raising farm animals, and thus may or may not be fenced off.


title: Bahay kubo

text: The main living area is designed to let in as much fresh air and natural light as possible. Smaller "Bahay Kubo" will often have bamboo slat floors which allow cool air to flow into the living space from the "silong" below (in which case the "silong" is not usually used for items which produce strong smells) A "Bahay Kubo" may be built without an "atip" (ceiling) so that hot air can rise straight into the large area just beneath the roof and out through strategically placed vents.


title: Bahay kubo

text: The walls are always of light material such as wood, bamboo rods, or bamboo mats called "amakan" (or "sawali"). As such, they tend to let some coolness flow naturally through them during hot times and keep warmth in during the cold wet season.


title: Bahay kubo

text: The cube shape distinctive of the "Bahay Kubo" arises from the fact that it is easiest to pre-build the walls and then attach them to the wooden stilt-posts that serve as the corners of the house. The construction of a "Bahay Kubo" is therefore usually modular, with the wooden stilts established first, a floor frame built next, then wall frames, and finally, the roof.


title: Bahay kubo

text: "Bahay kubo" are typically built with large windows, to let in more air and natural light. The most traditional are large awning windows, held open by a wooden rod. Sliding windows are also common, made either with plain wood or with wooden Capiz shell frames which allow some light to enter the living area even with the windows closed. In more recent decades inexpensive jalousie windows became common.


title: Bahay kubo

text: In larger examples, the large upper windows may be augmented with smaller windows called "ventanillas" (Spanish for "little window") underneath, which can be opened for ventilation to let in additional air on especially hot days.


title: Bahay kubo

text: Some "Bahay Kubo", especially those built for long-term residences, feature a "batalan" ("wet area") distinct from other sections of the house — usually jutting out somewhat from one of the walls. Sometimes at the same level as the living area and sometimes at ground level, the "batalan" can contain any combination of cooking and dishwashing area, bathing area and, in some cases, a lavatory.


title: Bahay kubo

text: "Batalan" used for cooking and washing dishes were known as "banggéra" in Philippine Spanish (also "banggerahan" or "pinganan"). It is named after the banga earthen water-jars which are placed on a jutting structure of spaced bamboo or wooden slats.


title: Bahay kubo

text: The walls of the living area are made of light materials. Posts, walls, and floors are typically made of wood or bamboo and other light materials. The thatched roof is often made of nipa, anahaw or some other locally plentiful plant. Thus, making it easier for the nipa huts to be moved if needed.


title: Bahay kubo

text: A nipa hut is an icon of Philippine culture as it represents the Filipino value of "bayanihan", which refers to a spirit of communal unity or effort to achieve an objective.


title: Bahay kubo

text: A famous folk song "Bahay Kubo" often sung in schools which mentions a small house surrounded by vegetables goes like this:


title: Bahay kubo

text: It is a very cultural but misleading song as not all Bahay kubo are small and surrounded by vegetables. Some early and original variants are even palace or mansion like and used by native royalties or in the colonial era used by Captains and governors. Some original mosque and churches in the Philippines are even in Nipa hut style.


title: Bahay kubo

text: American architect and engineer William Le Baron Jenney visited the Philippines for three months in 1850. He noticed that during a storm, the Nipa Hut structures are very "light and flexible". It only dances and sways through the storm. This inspired him to copy the flexibility of the frame of the Nipa hut. In 1879, he built the first lighter building. And in 1884, he built the Home Insurance Building in Chicago, the first metal-framed skyscraper in United States. Because of this, he became known as "The Father of Modern American Skyscrapers", which became the model of all the modern skyscrapers in the world.


title: Bahay kubo

text: The bahay kubo inspired architects such as Francisco Mañosa and Leandro Locsin by incorporating elements of the bahay na bato into their own designs e.g. Cultural Center of the Philippines, National Arts Center, Coconut Palace, and Light Rail Transit stations.


title: Bahay kubo

text: "Bahay kubo" is an example of Austronesian architecture. Other examples of native Austronesian architecture in the Philippines also include structures like the "fayu" and "katyufong" of Bontoc; "bale" and "abong" of Ifugao; "binayon" of Kalinga; "binangiyan" of Kankanai; "jin-jin" of Ivatan; "baley" of the Matigsalug; "binanwa" of Ata; "bolloy" of Klata; "baoy" of Ovu-Manuvo; "bale" of the Bagobo Tagabawa; "bong-gumne" of Blaan; "uyaanan" of Mansaka; "gunu-bong" of T'boli; "lawig," "mala-a-walai," "langgal", "lamin" and "torogan" of the Maranao; "bay-sinug" of Tausug; "lumah" of Yakan; and others.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics) is a fictional criminal organization appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. In most versions, it is depicted as a think tank of brilliant scientists dedicated to overthrowing the world's governments through technological means. The organization started out as a branch of HYDRA, created by Baron Strucker. Its most notable creations include the Cosmic Cube, Super-Adaptoid, and MODOK; the latter has been depicted as a prominent member of A.I.M., and in some incarnations is the organization's leader.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: A.I.M. has been featured in several media adaptations, including television series and video games. The organization made its cinematic debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film "Iron Man 3" (2013), in this universe headed by Aldrich Killian.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: The organization known as A.I.M. first appeared in "Strange Tales" #146 (July 1966), and was revealed to be a branch of the organization known as THEM in "Strange Tales" #147 (Aug. 1966), a larger organization mentioned in "Strange Tales" #142 (March 1966), and depicted in "Tales of Suspense" #78 (June 1966) a few months earlier. It was later revealed that THEM was also a parent organization to the Secret Empire and that it was, in fact, a new incarnation of the previously dissolved organization HYDRA in "Strange Tales" #149 (October 1966).


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: A.I.M. is an organization of scientists and their hirelings dedicated to the acquisition of power and to overthrow all the world's governments through science and technology. Its leadership traditionally consisted of the seven-member Board of Directors (formerly known as the Imperial Council) with a rotating chairperson. Under the Directors are various division supervisors, and under them are the technicians and salesmen/dealers.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: The organization supplies arms and technology to various terrorist and subversive organizations both to foster a violent technological revolution in addition to profit. A.I.M. operatives are usually involved in research, development, manufacturing, and sales of high technology. Members of A.I.M. are required to at least have a master's degree, if not a PhD, in some area of science, mathematics, or business.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: A.I.M.'s reach is worldwide, including various front organizations such as Targo Corporation, International Data Integration and Control, Cadenza Industries, Koenig and Strey, Pacific Vista Laboratories, Allen's Department Store, and Omnitech. It also did have a number of bases of operations, including a nuclear submarine mobile in the Atlantic Ocean; bases in the Bronx, New York; Black Mesa, Colorado; West Caldwell, New Jersey; Asia, Canada, Europe, Haiti, India, Sudan and Boca Caliente (also known as A.I.M. Island), an island republic in the Caribbean.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: A.I.M. has produced three major implements of deadly potential which stand far above the rest of their accomplishments. The greatest of these was the Cosmic Cube, a device capable of altering reality. However, A.I.M. did not realize that the cube was merely a containment device, in which the real power was an entity accidentally drawn into this dimension. The Cosmic Cube eventually evolved into Kubik. Their second achievement was the Super-Adaptoid, an android capable of mimicking the appearance and superpowers of other beings, which was made possible by incorporating a sliver of the Cosmic Cube into its form. When Kubik repossessed the sliver after defeating the Adaptoid, the android was rendered inanimate. A.I.M.'s third and final major achievement was the creation of MODOK (Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing), an artificially mutated human with an enormous head accompanied by a massive computational brain and psionic abilities. MODOK was originally an A.I.M. scientist named George Tarleton, who was selected by A.I.M.'s leader at the time, the Scientist Supreme, to be the subject of the bionic and genetic experiments that turned him into MODOK. After his transformation, MODOK killed the Scientist Supreme and took control of A.I.M., and later took advantage of the chaos in HYDRA's organization following HYDRA Island's destruction and the deaths of Baron Strucker and most of HYDRA's leading members to sever all of A.I.M.'s ties with HYDRA. A.I.M. has remained independent ever since.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: A.I.M.'s level of technology is as highly advanced as any on Earth. Its scientists have also built various cyborgs, robots, and androids; its agents utilize a variety of submarines, hovercraft, jets, etc. A.I.M. has also attempted to recreate versions of MODOK, including transforming Dr. Katherine Waynesboro into Ms. MODOK and creating SODAM (later revamped as MODAM). Since A.I.M's redirection as an exotic arms dealer, members have access to whatever exotic weaponry available in its warehouses.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: A.I.M.'s leaders traditionally wear yellow three-piece business suits. Technical supervisors wear yellow jumpsuits, skull-caps, and goggles. However, the organization is renowned for the 'beekeeper'-looking helmets and NBC suit uniform of its underlings since the first appearance.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: However, as a result of the "Scorpion: Poison Tomorrow" arc of "Amazing Fantasy", A.I.M. has gained a new costume, which tends towards insectoid armor and large guns.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: The Livewires member named Cornfed wears an A.I.M. uniform. He also wears a button referencing "The Real A.I.M".


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: A.I.M.'s origins began late in World War II with Baron Wolfgang von Strucker's creation of his subversive organization HYDRA. Under the code name of THEM, he created two HYDRA branches called Advanced Idea Mechanics and the Secret Empire. A.I.M.'s purpose was to develop advanced weaponry for HYDRA. They were close to developing and attaining nuclear weapons when HYDRA Island was invaded by American and Japanese troops. Although HYDRA suffered a major setback, it survived and grew in secret over the following decades.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: A.I.M. has had numerous encounters with various superheroes and supervillains, and is the subject of ongoing undercover investigations by S.H.I.E.L.D. It was responsible for reviving the Red Skull from suspended animation. An A.I.M. android factory in a Florida swamp was once raided by S.H.I.E.L.D., which also involved Count Bornag Royale in a weapons deal negotiation with S.H.I.E.L.D. A.I.M. then raided S.H.I.E.L.D.'s New York City headquarters. As a result of these events, Royale was discredited, and A.I.M.'s headquarters was destroyed.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: A.I.M. employed Batroc the Leaper to recover an explosive compound called Inferno 42 and dispatched a chemical android against Nick Fury and Captain America. A.I.M. also dispatched their special agent, the Cyborg, against Captain America. A.I.M. was involved in a skirmish with the Maggia and its "Big M". A.I.M. has also captured Iron Man in an attempt to analyze and replicate his armor. MODOK and A.I.M. were responsible for transforming Betty Ross briefly into the gamma-irradiated bird-woman called the Harpy. A.I.M. dispatched their special agent the Destructor to capture Ms. Marvel.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: For a time, a schism developed within A.I.M., causing it to split into Blue and Yellow factions (the former loyal to MODOK, the latter independent from him). These factions battled each other, with MODOK and the Blue faction once employing Deathbird as an operative. A.I.M. captured the Thing and Namor to test Virus X on them. The Blue faction later made an attempt to recapture the Cosmic Cube. A second battle occurred between the rival factions, but factions no longer seem to be active within A.I.M. since then.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: A.I.M. eventually hired the Serpent Society to kill MODOK, which they did. A.I.M. was responsible for a jet attack on the West Coast Avengers compound and then took over Boca Caliente and unleashed a microbe aboard the Stark space satellite. A.I.M. also sent an agent to attempt to confiscate the quantum-bands given to Quasar.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: The organization was revealed to have become a 'techno-anarchist' group, with no connection to HYDRA, and even a hatred for fascism. With the introduction of the Death's Head 3.0 character, a pacifist future version of the organization is promised, with a surprise character as leader.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: A.I.M. was revealed to be behind the pocket dimension of Earth-13584 by using a sliver of time they obtained to alter certain events so they can obtain the technology and science from various individuals. They did this by exploiting the fluid nature of time brought on by the manipulations of Kang the Conqueror traveling back to alter the past. This lasted until the Dark Avengers ended up in this reality causing it to collapse. The Dark Avengers were able to get out before the pocket dimension collapsed.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: After the Secret Avengers recruited Taskmaster after freeing him from Bagalia, they send him to infiltrate the new High Council of A.I.M. which consists of Andrew Forson, Graviton, Jude the Entropic Man, Mentallo, Superia, and Yelena Belova. Andrew Forson then leads A.I.M. into attending a weapons expo which led to A.I.M. fighting against the Secret Avengers. During the battle, Andrew Forson takes the opportunity to steal the Iron Patriot armor.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: Daisy Johnson launched an unsanctioned operation to send the Secret Avengers to A.I.M. Island to assassinate Forson, and they seemingly killed him. Johnson ended up suspended for breaking protocol and Maria Hill is put in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D. again. As Forson was revealed to be alive all along, the news of A.I.M. being a new permanent member of the Security Council is known.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: Using an as-yet-unidentified device in the pages of "Avengers World", Andrew Forson and A.I.M. accelerate the flow of time within the limits of A.I.M. Island, creating in a matter of hours for the real world year of progress and transforming A.I.M. into a technologically advanced empire.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: A.I.M. has a more violent offshoot, Advanced Ideas of Destruction (A.I.D.); the two competing organizations were major antagonists of Captain America in the mid-2000s.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: As part of the "All-New, All-Different Marvel", it was revealed that the A.I.M. members that fled when Sunspot bought out A.I.M. had been taken in by Maker where they work for his organization W.H.I.S.P.E.R. (short for World Headquarters for International Scientific Philosophical Experimentation and Research) as his personal tool to reshape the world.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: After Sunspot left the American Intelligence Mechanics, Toni Ho succeeded him and allowed the rogue A.I.M. cells to regain their acronym, as Toni had her organization rebranded as R.E.S.C.U.E.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: During the "Time Runs Out" storyline which takes place eight months in the future, Sunspot reveals that he bought A.I.M and used their resources to investigate the incursions. Heroes working as part of Avengers Idea Mechanics include Hawkeye, Squirrel Girl, Songbird, Wiccan, Hulkling, White Tiger, Power Man and Pod. Sunspot reveals the group was much easier to deal with after much of higher management had been fired. Many heroes working in the primary Avengers team such as Thor and Hyperion, also find themselves working side by side with A.I.M. Once they managed to create a machine to propel individuals across the Multiverse some of the heroes who were helping A.I.M. offered themselves to participate in a one-way trip to find the origin of the Incursions threatening all reality.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: Following the fight against Maker, Sunspot meets with the government and they make plans to merge Avengers Idea Mechanics into the U.S. government. At the same time, the Avengers Idea Mechanics defeats A.I.M's splinter groups.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: The merger between the U.S. government and the Avengers Idea Mechanics resulted in the formation of the American Intelligence Mechanics. Since Da Costa had turned the organization into weapon for good, rogue cells existed fighting for A.I.M.'s original goals on behalf of their former leaders, Andrew Forson and Monica Rappaccini. In order to tackle the nuisance by these cells, Da Costa's successor Toni Ho decided to let them reclaim the organization's acronym, while rebranding her own organization into a new one called R.E.S.C.U.E.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: A.I.M. has outposts active in several other universes in the Marvel Multiverse, including the universes for Ultimate Marvel, Marvel 1602, and Age of Apocalypse.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: In the "Heroes Reborn" reality, A.I.M. is led by Baron Zemo and MODOK as they take on Captain America and the new Bucky, Rebecca Barnes.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: A future (2020) version of A.I.M was featured heavily in the Marvel UK limited series "Death's Head II". This future organisation created the cyborg Minion, which was later taken over by the personality of Death's Head. A.I.M's representative Evelyn Necker became a popular character in the ongoing series that followed.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: In "Amazing Fantasy" #16–20, set further in the same future, A.I.M is on the point of making peace with the UN, when a renegade A.I.M. scientist unleashes Death's Head 3.0 on the peace conference.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: In the "House of M" reality, A.I.M. is re-imagined as a human resistance movement led by Monica Rappacini to oppose Exodus, ruler of Australia and his cohorts.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: In the "Marvel Adventures" version of Iron Man, A.I.M., through the use of dummy companies, acquired Stark International's hover platform and uni-beam technology in their invasion of Madripoor, a third world country. Gia-Bao Yinsen tried to tell the world about A.I.M.'s terrorist attacks on his country. However, his message is dismissed. During Tony Stark's test of his new solar-powered glider, A.I.M. causes Tony to crash on their artificial island. Tony's heart is damaged, and A.I.M. forces him to build an EMP weapon to allow A.I.M.'s forces to finish their conquest of Madripoor. In exchange, A.I.M. will repair his heart. Tony learns that Yinsen was also kidnapped, as A.I.M. wanted to prevent him from telling the world about their attacks on his country and to use his intellect to build technology for A.I.M.. Similar to Iron Man's main Marvel Universe origin, Yinsen and Tony both build armor to escape. However, Yinsen destroys the generator powering the island in order to save his homeland. The explosion kills Yinsen, but Tony Stark lives. Tony becomes Iron Man to prevent people like A.I.M. from committing evil against innocents. Here, the Supreme Scientist is a black-haired woman who is extremely brilliant. In addition, the uniforms that A.I.M. uses are basically NBC orange suits. However, the Supreme Scientist wears black clothing in a style similar to Darth Vader.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: In the Ultimate Marvel reality, A.I.M. commissioned Mad Thinker to steal Cerebro from the X-Men and frame the Fantastic Four, as seen in the "Ultimate X4" mini-series. Ultimate A.I.M.'s full purpose and function has yet to be revealed. The miniseries "Ultimate Vision" introduces A.I.M. as composed of several directorates spread across the globe, with George Tarleton as an A.I.M. leader on an orbital research facility. Tarleton and his team attempted to take control of a Gah Lak Tus module that was left behind in orbit after the swarm was driven away. Being unable to do so on their own, they lured Vision to the station to help them by claiming they would use the knowledge to order the Gah Lak Tus swarm to self-destruct. Once the cyborg Tarleton had connected to the module using Vision, he had the module fire an energy beam at her. Tarleton then incorporated the Gah Lak Tus' circuitry into his own body, but it has seemingly taken him over, transforming him more into a machine, with a monstrous appearance. He has since taken over the entire station remotely and has set it to plummet out of orbit, along with the Gah Lak Tus module, which he says has "unfinished business on Earth." Ultimately, Tarleton was broken free of the module's control and helped the Vision and the Falcon a.k.a. Dr. Samuel Wilson in destroying the module.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: In "", a group of A.I.M. terrorists stole advanced technology (revealed to be blueprints for a Cosmic Cube) from the Baxter Building and have some associations with the Red Skull.


title: Advanced Idea Mechanics

text: Both A.I.M. and Hydra first appeared in the 1960s as analogues for the threat of Communism, but are also associated with Nazism and resemble organizations fought by Captain America in World War II; political science professor Matthew J. Costello has pointed out that this conflation of Communist and Nazi totalitarianism removes ambiguity from the threat and thus from America's moral superiority in the comics. In contrast, in the post-9/11 context of "Iron Man 3", Pepper says of Extremis' war profiteering, "That's exactly what [Stark Industries] used to do". Whereas immediately after 9/11 Captain America was concerned with Islamic terrorism, by 2005–2007 he was primarily engaged with homegrown terrorists: A.I.M. and A.I.D.


title: Swordsman (character)

text: Swordsman (Jacques Duquesne) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. His first appearance was in "The Avengers" #19 (August 1965) and was created by Stan Lee and Don Heck. Although he was first introduced as an enemy of Hawkeye and the Avengers, the character has since appeared as both a supervillain and a superhero.


title: Swordsman (character)

text: Tony Dalton portrays a variation of the character, renamed Jack Duquesne, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe / Disney+ series "Hawkeye" (2021).


title: Swordsman (character)

text: The Swordsman first appeared as a supervillain in "The Avengers" #19 (1965). He went on to appear in "The Avengers" #20, 30, 38, 65, 78 and 79 (1965–1970). The Swordsman changed his ways and became a superhero in "The Avengers" #100 (1972) and later became a member of the Avengers in "The Avengers" #112–130 (1973–1974), "Defenders" #9–11 (1973), "Captain Marvel" #32–33 (1974), "Fantastic Four" #150 (1974), "Giant-Size Avengers" #2 (1974) and "Avengers Spotlight" #22 (1989). Later, the Cotati-possessed Swordsman appeared in "The Avengers" #134, 135, 157, 160 (1975–1977), "Giant-Size Avengers" #4 (1975) and "West Coast Avengers" (vol. 2) #39 (1988).


title: Swordsman (character)

text: The Swordsman has been a member of various supervillain groups, including the Lethal Legion in "The Avengers" #78–79 (1970) and "Iron Man" Annual #7 (1984), the Emissaries of Evil in "Alpha Flight Special" (vol. 2) #1 (1992), and the Legion of the Unliving in "The Avengers" Annual #16 (1987), "Avengers West Coast" #61 (1990) and "Avengers" (vol. 3) #10–11 (1998).


title: Swordsman (character)

text: Introduced as a villainous counterpart to Hawkeye in the pages of "The Avengers", the Swordsman went on to appear in "Hawkeye" #1 (1983), "Solo Avengers" #2 (1988), "Hawkeye" (vol. 3) #3 (2004) and "" #1 (2011) as part of Hawkeye's origins. The Swordsman also battled Captain America in "Tales of Suspense" #88 (1967) and "Captain America" #105 (1968).


title: Swordsman (character)

text: The 2010–2011 crossover storyline Chaos War saw the return of the Swordsman. He was one of the central characters in the tie-in series "Chaos War: Dead Avengers" (2010–2011). The Swordsman also featured in "Chaos War" #2 & 4–5 (2010–2011) and "Chaos War: Ares" #1 (2010).


title: Swordsman (character)

text: Jacques Duquesne grew up as a privileged youth in the (fictional) Southeast Asian nation of Siancong, then under French rule. Unlike his father and other European residents, Duquesne held no prejudice against the Siancongese natives, and after performing an act of kindness for a native servant, he was invited to join a communist rebellion against French rule. As the costumed Swordsman, Duquesne, fancying himself a swashbuckling freedom fighter, helped liberate Siancong, only to learn the rebel leader Wong Chu had killed Duquesne's father. Devastated and disillusioned, Duquesne departed Siancong to seek adventure. Nothing else is known of Duquesne's early career, but he eventually joined the Carson Carnival of Traveling Wonders; although his swordplay made him one of the carnival's star attractions, he gradually descended into gambling and drunkenness, his youthful idealism long behind him.


title: Swordsman (character)

text: Eventually Duquesne, by now in his thirties or older, took a young runaway named Clint Barton under his wing and taught him how to use bladed weapons, while another performer, Trick Shot, taught Barton archery, at which he proved to be a master. The young Clint stumbled upon Duquesne stealing money from the carnival's paymaster to pay a gambling debt. Clint attempted to turn his mentor over to the law, but he was pursued by Duquesne and badly beaten. Before Duquesne could deliver the fatal blow, Trick Shot stepped in to save the young boy. Duquesne then fled the carnival and adapted his swordsplay act to become a costumed supervillain.


title: Swordsman (character)

text: Years later, the Swordsman attempted to join the Avengers (whose members included Clint Barton, now known as the superhero Hawkeye) in order to take advantage of the benefits that go with an Avenger ID. He was refused entry into the team, largely due to Hawkeye's protests and the fact he was wanted in different states, and threatened to kill Captain America after capturing him, but the rest were able to rescue him. After failing the first time around, he was accepted into the Avengers. However, he was secretly an agent of the Mandarin, who had teleported him to his castle before the Avengers could capture him, and created a pseudo-image of Iron Man to recommend the Swordsman to the Avengers. The Mandarin also fitted the Swordsman's sword with extra powers, such as firing artificial lightning bolts, though he warned the Swordsman if they were ever pointed at him they would reverse. Soon after joining the Avengers, the Swordsman revealed his true intentions and betrayed the team, planting a bomb on the control panels which could be activated by remote-control. He soon had a change of heart and betrayed the Mandarin to save the Avengers. Despite his heroics, the Swordsman left the ranks of the Avengers, knowing the Mandarin would now be against him.


title: Swordsman (character)

text: The Swordsman went back to being a supervillain for hire and battled the Avengers on numerous occasions. Under Black Widow's leadership, the Swordsman teamed with the original Power Man and fought the superhero team, capturing nearly all of its members. With Power Man, he fought against Captain America as agents of the Red Skull. The Swordsman also participated in the Mandarin's attempt at world conquest, along with other villains. He later battled Captain America again, as a member of Batroc's Brigade, was employed by Egghead where he battled Hawkeye (in his Goliath persona). Along with Power Man, the Swordsman joined the supervillain group the Lethal Legion and battled the Avengers. Eventually, the Swordsman briefly rejoined the Avengers in a war against Ares in Olympus. Later, he met with Mantis, an ally of the Avengers, and then rejoined the Avengers after he secretly fell in love with her. He subsequently participated in the Avengers/Defenders war.


title: Swordsman (character)

text: In his last mission, Duquesne aided the Avengers in the conflict that involved Kang's quest for the "Celestial Madonna". In order to facilitate his plans, Kang had captured the Avengers present at the time – Vision, Thor, Iron Man, Mantis, The Scarlet Witch, and their guest Agatha Harkness – but left Swordsman behind because he considered him useless. Humiliated but determined to show Kang his true worth, Swordsman tracked the captive Avengers to Kang's pyramid base in Gizeh, where he encountered Rama-Tut, Kang's chronological alter ego. With his help and the assistance of Hawkeye, who had just returned from a leave of absence, Swordsman managed to free his fellow Avengers. It was later revealed that Mantis was in fact the "Celestial Madonna". After Kang's plans were foiled and he decided not to leave the Madonna to anyone else, the Swordsman sacrificed his life by intercepting Kang's energy blast which was meant for Mantis.


title: Swordsman (character)

text: Mantis soon after married the eldest of Earth's alien Cotati, who had resurrected and possessed the Swordsman's corpse and infused a portion of its own consciousness into it. Mantis and Swordsman went on to have a son together called Sequoia who became the Celestial Messiah. After battling the Avengers, the Cotati-possessed Swordsman crumbled to dust.


title: Swordsman (character)

text: During the "Chaos War" storyline, Swordsman is among the deceased heroes released by Pluto in order to defend the Underworld from Amatsu-Mikaboshi. Returning to Earth, the Swordsman joins a team of "dead" Avengers, led by Captain Mar-Vell, who take it upon themselves to protect their unconscious teammates from the Grim Reaper. After the battle only the Swordsman and the Rita DeMara Yellowjacket remained.


title: Swordsman (character)

text: In the "Road to Empyre," the eldest of Earth's Cotati still using the Swordsman's body and Sequoia have reappeared on the Blue Area of the Moon after the oxygen-rich area was revitalized. They request the Avengers help to avoid another Cotati massacre by the Kree/Skrull Alliance. However, it quickly transpires that the Cotati are deceiving the Avengers and seek to exterminate all 'meat'-based life, starting with humanity. The Swordsman is confronted in Wakanda by the Black Panther who destroys him.


title: Swordsman (character)

text: The Swordsman is an Olympic level athlete with no superhuman powers, and is a cunning strategist with phenomenal reflexes and highly adept at unarmed combat. The Swordsman is a master in the uses of bladed weapons, especially swords and knives, and his main weapon is a sword modified by the super-villain Mandarin from Makluan technology. By pressing one of the buttons on the sword's hilt, the Swordsman can project a concussive force beam, a disintegrating ray, a large jet of flame, electrical energy in a form resembling lightning, or a stream of nerve gas that induced temporary unconsciousness. He also carries various throwing knives and daggers as needed.


title: Swordsman (character)

text: Philip Javert, a Swordsman from an alternate universe, was a member of the Gatherers. The Gatherers were brought together by Proctor (an alternate version of the Black Knight) to hunt down every Sersi throughout the multiverse. Proctor and the Gatherers travelled to the mainstream Marvel Universe (Earth-616) to kill its version of Sersi. The Swordsman, along with fellow Gatherers member Magdalene, turned against Proctor and briefly joined the mainstream version of the Avengers. Some years later, they would team with the Avengers and the Squadron Supreme and leave Earth-616 for parts unknown.


title: Swordsman (character)

text: A new heroine named Swordswoman later appears as a member of the European superhero team known as Euroforce. She is later revealed to be Marjorie, the Swordsman's illegitimate teenage daughter from Paris.


title: Swordsman (character)

text: A new Swordsman later appears, wielding a vibranium alloy katana and claiming to have inherited the mantle of Jacques Duquesne. He attempts to extort money from the town of Sauga River by threatening to flood it, but is defeated by Captain America.


title: Swordsman (character)

text: A zombified Swordsman is seen attacking and devouring Magneto. After Magneto's defeat, Swordsman otherwise made a cameo appearance. He then attempted, unsuccessfully, to slay the Ultimate Universe's Fantastic Four, ending with him temporarily blinded by Ultimate Invisible Woman. And he also attempted to slay the Silver Surfer, though that was unsuccessful, too; he was killed when he is literally torn apart by the Power Cosmic energy.


title: Swordsman (character)

text: A version of the Swordsman appears as a native of the "Heroes Reborn" world, which was created by Franklin Richards. He and his world were created after the Avengers "died" battling Onslaught. This version of Swordsman wielded Black Knight's Ebony Blade. When the Avengers encountered and fought against Kang and Mantis, Swordsman appeared to remember his previous life despite being a construct created by Franklin. This version later adopted the guise of Deadpool.


title: Swordsman (character)

text: In the House of M reality, the Swordsman was a member of Shang-Chi's Dragons criminal organization, alongside Colleen Wing, Mantis, Zaran and Machete. He was killed by Bullseye when the Dragons are ambushed by the Kingpin's assassins.


title: Supernumerary nipple

text: A supernumerary nipple is an additional instance of nipple occurring in mammals, including humans. They are often mistaken for moles. Studies variously report the prevalence of supernumerary nipples as approximately 1 in 18 and 1 in 40.


title: Supernumerary nipple

text: The nipples appear along the two vertical "milk lines", which start in the armpit on each side, run down through the typical nipples and end at the groin. They are classified into eight levels of completeness from a simple patch of hair to a milk-bearing breast in miniature.


title: Supernumerary nipple

text: "Polythelia" refers to the presence of an additional nipple alone while "polymastia" denotes the much rarer presence of additional mammary glands.


title: Supernumerary nipple

text: May remain undetected. Occasionally, the supernumerary nipple is noticed when hormonal changes during adolescence, menstruation, or pregnancy cause increased pigmentation, fluctuating swelling, tenderness, or even lactation.


title: Supernumerary nipple

text: Most often no treatment is required; however, a protruding embarrassing supernumerary nipple can be removed surgically, if desired. Removal using liquid nitrogen cryotherapy has also been described.


title: Supernumerary nipple

text: "The Triple Nipple Club" is a documentary shown on Channel 4 which explored the biological mystery of the supernumerary nipple. First broadcast on 2 January 2008, it was directed and produced by Dan Louw and commissioned as part of Channel 4's "First Cut" series. The film focuses on Louw's attempts to understand why he was born with extra nipples, a condition he shares with the likes of Mark Wahlberg, Lily Allen, and Tilda Swinton, as well as well known TV and film characters such as the Bond villain Scaramanga and Chandler Bing. Fascinated and confused by this seemingly pointless mutation, Louw sets off on a personal journey of discovery to try and unwrap "the riddle of the triple nipple". He starts out by consulting the man in the street and even a renowned teratologist, an expert in physical mutations. After testing the notion that extra nipples could be a sign of fertility, he discovers that they are actually an atavism, or evolutionary 'holdover' – a sign of how humans evolved.


title: Milady de Winter

text: Milady Laurence de Winter, often referred to as simply Milady, is a fictional character in the novel "The Three Musketeers" (1844) by Alexandre Dumas, père, set in 1625 France. She is a spy for Cardinal Richelieu and is one of the dominant antagonists of the story. Her role in the first part of the book is to seduce the English prime minister, the duke of Buckingham, who is also the secret lover of Queen Anne of France. Hoping to blackmail the queen, Richelieu orders Milady to steal two diamonds from a set of matched studs given to Buckingham by the queen, which were a gift to her from her husband, King Louis XIII. Thwarted by d'Artagnan and the other musketeers, Milady's conflict with d'Artagnan carries much of the second half of the novel.


title: Milady de Winter

text: She is described as being 22 years old, tall, fair-haired and uncommonly beautiful, with brilliant blue eyes and black lashes and brows, Milady possesses a voice that can seduce and bewitch.


title: Milady de Winter

text: A capable and intelligent French spy who effortlessly can pass as a native Englishwoman, Milady's beautiful exterior hides a diabolically cunning, manipulative, ruthless and cruel interior; she is remorseless and unrepentant for her countless "misdeeds" and often described as appearing demonic and frighteningly ugly in the instant when she is thwarted in her aims. She is a classic example of a femme fatale.


title: Milady de Winter

text: Milady later is revealed to be the wife of Athos, originally the Comte de la Fère, one of the three musketeers of the novel's title.


title: Milady de Winter

text: Like Athos, who sheds his true identity as the Comte de la Fère when he joins the musketeers, Milady goes by numerous aliases, so that her identity is concealed for a good part of the novel. Athos first knows her as an adolescent Anne de Breuil, but because she already was concealing a scandalous and criminal past at that time, it was probably not her real name.


title: Milady de Winter

text: As a young Benedictine nun of 16, she seduced the convent's trusting priest. Urging him to steal the church's sacred vessels to finance a new life in another part of the country, they fled together and quickly were apprehended. Milady then seduced the jailer's son and escaped, leaving behind her first lover to be branded for theft. The executioner who had to brand the priest happened to be his brother, and blaming Milady for leading his brother astray, tracked her down on his own and branded her on the shoulder with the same fleur-de-lis symbol, marking her as a convicted criminal. The priest in turn escaped, and the lovers fled to a small town, where they posed as a country curate and his sister.


title: Milady de Winter

text: The village where they lived was part of Athos's lands, and he became captivated both by her beauty and her intellect. As seigneur of the county, he could have seduced her or taken her by force, but despite the opposition of his family and her obscure origins, he married her, giving her his wealth and title, and raising her to the nobility. While the pair were hunting in the forest one day, Milady fell from her horse and fainted. Cutting away her clothes so she could breathe, Athos discovered the convict brand on her shoulder. Dishonored, and having the right to dispense justice on his estates, Athos immediately hanged her from a tree. His wife's "brother", who had married the pair, fled before any retribution could be taken; Athos believes he only pretended to be a curate for the purpose of getting his mistress married in a secure position. For most of the novel, Athos assumes his deceitful wife is dead by his own hand, not knowing she survived the hanging and that she and Milady are the same person. Because the Comte de la Fère effectively ceases to exist when he becomes Athos, Milady makes the same mistake in presuming her first husband is dead.


title: Milady de Winter

text: When d'Artagnan first spies Milady in Paris, she has married into English nobility some time previously by wedding Baron Sheffield, the younger brother of Lord de Winter. After she was made her husband's heir, he died violently and mysteriously within a matter of hours, leaving her a widow with a young child, who is Lord de Winter's only heir. Discovering that Milady is infatuated with Comte des Wardes, an equally infatuated d'Artagnan forges the count's reply to a love letter from Milady and arranges a nighttime rendezvous, where he impersonates des Wardes. During the assignation, Milady gives him, as des Wardes, a sapphire and diamond ring and swears to have d'Artagnan killed because he wounded the real des Wardes in a duel. She also reveals that she detests d'Artagnan for having spared her brother-in-law's life in another duel which lost her the income from her son's potential inheritance.


title: Milady de Winter

text: When d'Artagnan later reveals to Milady that the tryst has been with him, not des Wardes, she attempts to kill him. In the struggle, her nightgown is torn, revealing the fleur-de-lis brand. Knowing that her terrible secret has been revealed to her enemy, Milady becomes resolved that d'Artagnan must die. Her attempts to secure his assassination leads to her eventual downfall. D'Artagnan escapes and immediately reports to Athos that Milady has a brand on her shoulder identical to one he discovered on his wife's body. When Athos hears this and identifies the ring Milady gave to d'Artagnan as his mother's, the former Comte de la Fère realizes that his wife is not dead after all.


title: Milady de Winter

text: Milady tries many methods to murder d'Artagnan; while eavesdropping on a meeting between Richelieu and Milady, the musketeers hear that, in exchange for her assassination of Buckingham, Richelieu will undertake the task. Milady bargains with the cardinal and obtains a pardon that absolves her of future (unnamed) actions. It is not until Athos confronts her and forces her at pistol to relinquish the pardon that a horrified Milady realizes that the musketeer Athos is her first husband, the Comte de la Fère. Athos refrains from killing her, instead leaving her with no choice but to be escorted to England on her murderous mission, but without the cardinal's pardon.


title: Milady de Winter

text: The musketeers then warn Lord de Winter that not only has his sister-in-law made previous attempts on his life, but that her first husband is still alive, invalidating her marriage to his late brother. They also attempt to foil Milady's plot against Buckingham by having de Winter warn him. Upon arriving in England, Milady is arrested and imprisoned in a house by de Winter, who has suspected that she poisoned his younger brother. He chooses for her jailer a man he thinks will be impervious to her charms, the straitlaced Puritan John Felton. However, Milady manipulates Felton that she is actually a Puritan as well, and that Buckingham is persecuting her because she refused his advances. Felton has his own grievances against Buckingham, whom he blames for his lack of promotion in the army, and succumbs to her manipulation. He then proceeds to murder the duke (an actual historical event), but then is aghast to see Milady's ship sailing away without him. He later is hanged for the crime.


title: Milady de Winter

text: Returning to France, Milady murders d'Artagnan's lover, then flees. The musketeers and Lord de Winter hunt Milady and track her to Lille, where they try her among themselves for her numerous crimes, including the poisoning of de Winter's brother. Athos finally charges her with deceiving him, hiding the fact that she was a convicted criminal when he married her. Milady defies anyone to produce any proof that she ever was sentenced for a crime. To her horror, the executioner of Lille steps forward to reveal himself as the man who branded her.


title: Milady de Winter

text: When his priest brother escaped from jail to follow Milady, the executioner was condemned to serve his brother's sentence for him. On learning this later, the disgraced priest returned and surrendered himself, only to hang himself in his cell that same night. The executioner reveals that, rather than having schemed to marry her to a count, his brother was abandoned when Milady left him to marry Athos. (This seems to be at odds with Athos' earlier assertion that her "brother" married the pair.)


title: Milady de Winter

text: As the true identity of the Comte de la Fère is concealed by the name Athos, Milady's true identity is hidden by various names throughout the novel:


title: Milady de Winter

text: In the 1845 sequel "Twenty Years After", Milady's son Mordaunt, now 23, takes her role as one of the chief antagonists. As twisted and as deceitful as his mother, he sets about avenging her death, posing as a monk and murdering the executioner of Lille while taking his confession. He also murders Lord de Winter, Milady's brother-in-law, who raised him after the death of his mother.


title: Milady de Winter

text: Mordaunt later becomes involved in the English Civil War and commits regicide, executing King Charles I, in spite of the efforts of d'Artagnan and the three former musketeers to prevent it. D'Artagnan and his friends later confront Mordaunt at Cromwell's London residence, but in the course of a duel, he escapes through a secret passage.


title: Milady de Winter

text: The musketeers and their menservants leave England by ship, but Mordaunt sneaks aboard and blows it up. As the survivors escape in a rowboat, Mordaunt pleads for them to help him aboard, accusing them of killing him as they killed his mother. With the exception of Athos, they contemptuously reject his appeals. Athos insists on saving him, but as he helps him into the boat, Mordaunt deliberately drags him back into the water where they struggle, and Mordaunt is killed.


title: Milady de Winter

text: The character of Milady previously appeared in the "Mémoires de M. d'Artagnan" (1700), a historical novel by Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras, which Dumas discovered during his research for his history of Louis XIV. In Courtilz's novel (one of the literary sources for the more famous novel by Dumas), Milady is one of the exiled English Queen Henrietta Maria's ladies-in-waiting. Dumas changed Milady's background significantly; from another Courtilz novel ("Mémoires de M. le Comte de Rochforte", 1687) Dumas partly derived the idea of the branded woman, which he applied to his version of Milady.


title: Milady de Winter

text: There appears to be a possible historical precedent for the character of Milady: The memoirs of François de La Rochefoucauld and Hubert de Brienne, Comte de Conflans as well as Volume I of "Chroniques de l'Œil de Bœuf" by Touchard-Lafosse describe Milady's antagonistic role in the diamond studs plot which Dumas reworked in "The Three Musketeers." In La Rochefoucauld's volume, Milady is the Countess of Carlisle, in de Brienne's version she is Lady Clarick de Winter, and in Touchard-Lafosse's history she is Lady de Clarick. Milady - or rather, her historical/literary precursors - play relatively minor roles in Courtilz's novel and the other memoirs and pseudo-memoirs. While her theft of the diamond studs and other activities in the first half of "The Three Musketeers" are accounted for in the earlier works that Dumas borrowed, her machinations in the second half of the book are largely Dumas' invention.


title: Milady de Winter

text: Others think that the character of Milady Laurence de Winter may be based on Lucy Hay, Countess of Carlisle (née Percy; 1599 – 5 November 1660). François de La Rochefoucauld mentioned in his "Memoirs" an anecdote he was told by Marie de Rohan, in which Lucy Hay stole some diamond studs (a present of the king of France to Anne of Austria) the queen had given to George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham from the duke as revenge because he had loved her before he loved the queen of France. The king of France then wanted to see the studs and somehow the queen was able to recover them. Alexandre Dumas later used this entire story, and therefore he probably based Milady Laurence de Winter on Lucy Carlisle in his 1844 novel "The Three Musketeers".


title: Milady de Winter

text: In the cartoon version "Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds", Milady (voice of Eiko Masuyama) is a female cat while most of the characters are dogs. With the exception of her real name (Countess de Winter), her origins never were revealed. It was hinted that 'only one man' knows of her past.


title: Milady de Winter

text: In the movie "The Return of the Musketeers", Kim Cattrall plays Milady's daughter Justine de Winter as a female version of Mordaunt.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: The Williamite War in Ireland (1688–1691; , "war of the two kings"), was a conflict between Jacobite supporters of deposed monarch James II and Williamite supporters of his successor, William III. It is also called the Jacobite War in Ireland, Williamite Conquest of Ireland, or the Williamite–Jacobite War in Ireland.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: The proximate cause of the war was the Glorious Revolution of 1688, in which James, a Catholic, was overthrown as king of England, Ireland and Scotland and replaced by his Protestant daughter Mary and nephew and son-in-law William, ruling as joint monarchs. James's supporters initially retained control of Ireland, which he hoped to use as a base for a campaign to reclaim all three kingdoms. The conflict in Ireland also involved long-standing domestic issues of land ownership, religion and civic rights; most Irish Catholics supported James in the hope he would address their grievances. A small number of English and Scottish Catholics, and Protestants of the Anglican established Church in Ireland, also fought on the Jacobite side, while most Irish Protestants supported or actively fought for William's regime.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: While the war's Irish name emphasises its aspect as a domestic conflict between James and William, some contemporaries and many modern commentators have viewed it as part of a wider European conflict known as the Nine Years' War or War of the Grand Alliance in which William, as Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, led a multi-national coalition against France under Louis XIV. William's deposition of James was partly driven by his need to control and mobilise English military and commercial power, while Louis provided limited material support to the Jacobites: both sides were aware of the Irish war's potential to divert military resources from the Continent.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: The war began with a series of skirmishes between James's Irish Army, which had stayed loyal in 1688, and militia forces raised by Irish Protestants: they culminated in the siege of Derry, where the Jacobites failed to regain control of one of the north's key towns. William landed a force including English, Scottish, Dutch, Danish and other troops to put down Jacobite resistance. James left Ireland after a reverse at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, as did William after a successful Jacobite defence of Limerick; the remaining Jacobite forces were decisively defeated at the Battle of Aughrim in 1691, and negotiated terms in the Treaty of Limerick.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: A contemporary witness, George Story, calculated that the war had claimed 100,000 lives through sickness, famine, and in battle. Subsequent Jacobite risings were confined to Scotland and England, but the war was to have a lasting effect on the political and cultural landscape of Ireland, confirming British and Protestant rule over the country for over two centuries. While the Treaty of Limerick had offered a series of guarantees to Catholics, subsequent extension of the Penal Laws, particularly during the War of the Spanish Succession, would further erode their civic rights.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: The Williamite victories at Derry and the Boyne are still celebrated by some, mostly Ulster Protestant unionists in Ireland today.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: The war began in March 1689 when James II & VII landed in Ireland seeking to reverse the November 1688 Glorious Revolution, which had replaced him with his nephew William III and daughter Mary. The conflict was part of the 1688 to 1697 Nine Years' War between Louis XIV of France and the Grand Alliance, a coalition led by William as Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic. Both Louis and William viewed Ireland as a subsidiary theatre, as did James, whose primary objective was to regain England.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: Ireland was selected because some 75% of the population shared James' Catholicism, with Protestants concentrated in Ulster, where they comprised nearly 50% of the population. It also possessed a large Catholic army, built up by the Earl of Tyrconnell since 1687; although the majority were poorly equipped, unpaid recruits, James brought weapons and French regulars with him to provide training. However, the concessions demanded by Irish Catholics in return for their backing undermined Jacobite support in England and Scotland, which were overwhelmingly Protestant. This also applied to Ulster, without which James could not support the rising in Scotland, invade England or prevent William bringing in troops and supplies.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: Their major demands included reversal of land confiscations which had reduced Catholic land ownership from 90% in 1600 to 22% by 1685. This was opposed both by Protestants and those members of the Irish Catholic elite who benefitted from previous settlements, among them Tyrconnell and James himself. Another was the autonomy of the Parliament of Ireland, an idea that clashed with Stuart ideology, which was strongly Unionist. These differing external and internal objectives undermined the Jacobite campaign.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: Prior to November 1688, James was so confident of Ireland that he ordered 2,500 troops, or around 40% of the Irish army, transferred to England. This deprived Tyrconnell of vital trained personnel, while their presence led to near mutiny in several of James' most reliable English units. Many of the Irish rank and file were arrested after William's landing and later sent to serve under Emperor Leopold in the Austrian–Ottoman War.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: Apparently shaken by the speed of James's fall, Tyrconnell opened negotiations with William, although this may have been a delaying tactic. His wife, Frances Talbot, was the elder sister of Sarah Churchill, whose husband Marlborough was a key member of the English military conspiracy against James. One of those transferred to England in September was Richard Hamilton, an Irish Catholic professional soldier. Confined in the Tower of London after James' flight, in January William sent him to negotiate with Tyrconnell: once back in Ireland, however, he was widely thought to have convinced Tyrconnell to abandon negotiations.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: In January, Tyrconnell issued warrants for the recruitment of another 40,000 levies, almost entirely Catholic and organised along standard regimental lines. By spring 1689, the army theoretically had around 36,000 men, although experienced officers remained in short supply. Paying, equipping and training this number was impossible and many were organised as Rapparees or irregulars, largely beyond Tyrconnell's control. Despite assurances of protection, the easiest way to obtain supplies or money was to confiscate it from Protestants; many fled to the North or England, spreading "predictions of impending catastrophe".


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: Fears grew as areas outside the towns became increasingly lawless, exacerbated when Dublin Castle ordered Protestant militia to be disarmed. This caused an exodus from the countryside; the population of Derry grew from 2,500 in December to over 30,000 by April. Doubts over the ability of Tyrconnell's regime to ensure law and order was not confined to Protestants; many Catholics also sought security abroad or in large towns.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: James landed in Kinsale on 12 March, accompanied by French regulars under Conrad von Rosen, along with English, Scottish and Irish volunteers. The news sparked pro-Williamite demonstrations in Belfast, offset by a more cautious response elsewhere. Arthur Rawdon, who later organised the Army of the North, had offered to fight for James against Monmouth in 1685 and did not commit to William until March 1689. Protestants were concentrated in Ulster and urban centres such as Sligo and Dublin, which Tyrconnell sought to secure with Catholic units of the Irish army. Catholic troops were refused entry to Derry on 7 December, although the Protestant town council simultaneously declared their "duty and loyalty to our sovereign lord, (James)".


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: William viewed it as a French proxy invasion, best dealt with by attacking France and agreed to divert resources only because "abandoning" beleaguered Irish Protestants was politically unacceptable in England and Scotland. On 8 March, the English Parliament approved funding for an Irish expeditionary force of 22,230 men, composed of new levies and European mercenaries. In return, Parliament agreed to join the Grand Alliance and become part of the wider Nine Years' War.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: Hamilton had been appointed Jacobite commander in the North, and on 14 March he secured eastern Ulster by routing a Williamite militia at Dromore. On 11 April, Viscount Dundee launched a Jacobite rising in Scotland; on 18th, James joined the siege of Derry and on 29th, the French landed another 1,500–3,000 Jacobites at Bantry Bay. When reinforcements from England reached Derry in mid-April, governor Robert Lundy advised them to return, claiming the city was indefensible. Their commanders, Richards and Cunningham, were later dismissed by William for cowardice and Lundy fled the town in disguise.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: The Jacobite focus on western Ulster, specifically Derry and Enniskillen, has been described as a strategic error. The eastern region was of greater significance, since it allowed mutual support between Irish and Scots Jacobites and, if it had been captured, resupply from England would have been made far more difficult. By mid May, the Williamite position had improved; on 16th, government forces retained control of Kintyre, cutting direct links between Scotland and Ireland. The main Jacobite army was stuck outside Derry, its French contingent proving more unpopular with their Irish colleagues than their opponents. On 11 June, four battalions of Williamite reinforcements under the tough and experienced Percy Kirke arrived on the Foyle, north of Derry.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: The war in the North turned on three events in the last week of July. Dundee's victory at Killiecrankie on 27th was offset by his own death and heavy losses among his troops, ending the Scottish rising as a serious threat. On the 28th, Kirke's forces broke the Jacobite blockade with naval support and raised the siege of Derry; the besiegers fired the surrounding countryside and retreated south. On the 31st, a Jacobite attack on Enniskillen was defeated at Newtownbutler; over 1,500 men were killed and its leader Mountcashel captured. From a position of virtual domination, the Jacobites lost their hold on Ulster within a week.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: On 13 August, Schomberg landed in Belfast Lough with the main Williamite army; by the end of the month, he had more than 20,000 men. Carrickfergus fell on 27 August; James insisted on holding Dundalk, against the advice of his French advisors who wanted to retreat beyond the Shannon. Tyrconnell was pessimistic about their chances but an opportunity for Schomberg to end the war by taking Dundalk was missed, largely due to a complete failure of logistics.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: Ireland was a relatively poor country with a small population, obliging both armies to depend on external support. While this ultimately proved a greater problem for the Jacobites, Schomberg's men lacked tents, coal, food and clothing, largely because his inexperienced commissary agent in Chester could not charter enough ships. This was worsened by choosing a campsite on low, marshy ground, which autumn rains and lack of hygiene quickly turned into a stinking swamp. Nearly 6,000 men died from disease before Schomberg ordered a withdrawal into winter quarters in November. Inspecting the abandoned camp, John Stevens, an English Catholic serving with the Grand Prior's Regiment, recorded that "a vast number of dead bodies was found there unburied, and not a few yet breathing but almost devoured with lice and other vermin".


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: The Jacobites were undermined by differing political and strategic objectives, reflected in the Irish Parliament that sat from May to July. Since no elections were held in Fermanagh and Donegal, the Commons was 70 members short and largely composed of Catholics; of these, a minority were members of the old Gaelic gentry or 'Old Irish', the majority being so-called 'Old English' of Anglo-Norman descent. Five Protestant peers and four Church of Ireland bishops sat in the Lords, with Anthony Dopping, Bishop of Meath acting as leader of the opposition.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: Dubbed the "Patriot Parliament" by 19th century nationalist historian Charles Duffy, in reality it was deeply divided. James viewed the English throne as his main objective and every concession made in Ireland potentially weakened his position in England and Scotland. In the early stages of the war, Protestant Jacobite support was more significant than often appreciated and included many members of the established Church of Ireland, the most prominent being Viscount Mountjoy. His opposition to Irish autonomy meant James made concessions with great reluctance and despite his own Catholicism, insisted on the rights of the established church.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: While personally loyal to James, Tyrconnell viewed his restoration as secondary to preservation of Catholic rights, although there is little evidence to support suggestions he held talks with Louis XIV on a French-backed satellite state. He represented the minority of Catholics who benefited from the 1662 Land Settlement and had no desire to change it; led by the Earl of Limerick, this faction urged a compromise settlement with William in January. This placed them in opposition to the 'Old Irish', whose main demand was a reversal of land confiscations following the Cromwellian conquest, when many of them had lost estates.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: Significant factions within the Irish Parliament preferred to negotiate, which meant avoiding combat to preserve the army and retain as much territory as possible. Since England was his main objective, James saw Ireland as a distraction; a cross-Channel invasion was the only viable option and the French suggestion of doing so via the Irish Sea ignored reality. First, history showed involving Ireland was the best way to strengthen English opposition; this meant victory might actually weaken his chances, although as James pointed out, the French provided only enough to keep the war going, not win it. Second, the French navy could neither save Ulster or even supply their own forces, making it unlikely they could control the Irish Sea long enough to land troops in the face of a hostile population.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: Peripheral rebellions in Ireland and Scotland were a cost-effective way for France to divert British resources from Europe. This meant prolonging the war was more useful than winning it, although potentially devastating for the local populace, a dilemma that resurfaced in the 1745 Scottish Rising. In 1689, the French envoy d'Avaux urged the Jacobites to withdraw beyond the Shannon, first destroying everything in between, including Dublin. Unsurprisingly, this suggestion was rejected, while the Irish were united in their dislike of the French in general and d'Avaux in particular. The feeling was mutual; when replaced in April 1690, d'Avaux told his successor Lauzun the Irish were 'a poor-spirited and cowardly people, whose soldiers never fight and whose officers will never obey orders.'


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: In April 1690, an additional 6,000 French regulars arrived, in exchange for Mountcashel and 5,387 of the Irish army's best troops, who were sent to France. To retain as much territory as possible, the Jacobites held a line along the River Boyne, first destroying or removing crops and livestock to the north. This reduced the local population to utter misery; a French official recorded his horror at seeing them "eating grass like horses" or lying dead at the roadside. It took over fifty years for the area around Drogheda to recover from this devastation.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: Faced by English demands to resolve the position in Ireland, William decided to take personal command and commit the majority of his available forces there, irrespective of the military situation in Flanders. On 14 June 1690, 300 ships arrived in Belfast Lough carrying nearly 31,000 men, a combination of Dutch, English and Danish regiments. Parliament backed him with increased funding and the issues faced by Schomberg were remedied, transportation costs alone rising from £15,000 in 1689 to over £100,000 in 1690.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: The Jacobites established defensive positions on the south bank of the Boyne at Oldbridge, outside Drogheda. On 1 July, William crossed the river in several places, forcing them to retreat but the battle was not decisive. Total dead on both sides was under 2,000, one being Schomberg; weakened by desertion, the Jacobite army retreated to Limerick and William entered Dublin unopposed.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: Elsewhere, victory at Fleurus on 1 July gave the French control of Flanders; on the same day as the Boyne, they defeated a combined Anglo-Dutch fleet at Beachy Head, causing panic in England. As a former English naval commander, James recognised control of the Channel was a rare opportunity and returned to France to urge an immediate invasion. However, the French failed to follow up their victory and by August, the Anglo-Dutch fleet had regained command of the sea.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: Tyrconnell had spent the winter of 1689 to 1690 urging Louis XIV to support a "descent on England" and avoid fighting on Irish soil. His requests were rejected; an invasion required enormous expenditure and Louis trusted neither James nor his English supporters. While there were sound strategic reasons for his hurried departure, which were backed by his senior commanders, James has gone down in Irish history as or "James the beshitten/coward".


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: An opportunity to end the war was missed when William overestimated the strength of his position. The Declaration of Finglas of 17 July excluded Jacobite officers and the Catholic landed class from a general pardon, encouraging them to continue fighting. Shortly afterwards, James Douglas and 7,500 men tried to break the Jacobite defensive line along the Shannon by taking Athlone; they lacked siege artillery and were forced to withdraw.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: Limerick, strategic key to the west of Ireland, became William's next objective, the Jacobites concentrating the bulk of their forces in the city. A detachment under Marlborough captured Cork and Kinsale but Limerick repulsed a series of assaults, inflicting heavy casualties. Cavalry raids led by Patrick Sarsfield destroyed William's artillery train and heavy rain prevented replacements. Faced by multiple threats in mainland Europe, William withdrew and left Ireland in late 1690, the Jacobites retaining large parts of western Ireland.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: Dutch general de Ginkell assumed command, based at Kilkenny, with Douglas in Ulster and the Danes under Württemberg at Waterford. Protestant administration was re-established in the counties held by Williamites, with arrests and confiscation of Jacobite estates, intended to reward William's supporters. Ginkel pointed out doing so in cash, not land, was cheaper than a month of war and urged more generous terms.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: On 24 July, a letter from James confirmed ships were on their way to evacuate the French brigade and any others who wanted to leave; he also released his Irish officers from their oaths, allowing them to seek a negotiated end to the war. Tyrconnell and the French troops sailed from Galway in early September; James's inexperienced illegitimate son Berwick was left in command, supported by a council of officers composed of Thomas Maxwell, Dominic Sheldon, John Hamilton and Sarsfield.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: Tyrconnell hoped to obtain sufficient French support to extend the conflict and gain better terms, which he told Louis could be done with limited numbers of French troops. A negotiated peace also required him to reduce the influence of the pro-war party, led by Sarsfield, who was increasingly popular with the army. He told James the pro-war group wanted Irish autonomy or even independence, while he wished to see Ireland linked firmly to England; to do so, he needed arms, money and an 'experienced' French general to replace Sarsfield and Berwick.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: By late 1690, divisions between the Jacobite "Peace Party" and "War Party" had widened. Those who supported Tyrconnell's efforts to negotiate with William included senior officers Thomas Maxwell and John Hamilton, in addition to political figures such as Lord Riverston and Denis Daly. Sarsfield's "War Party" argued William could still be defeated; while once characterised as representing the 'Old Irish' interest, its leaders included the English officer Dorrington and 'Old English' Purcell and Luttrell.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: Encouraged by William's failure to take Limerick and looking to reduce Tyrconnell's influence, Sarsfield's faction appealed directly to Louis XIV requesting that Tyrconnell and Berwick were removed from office. They also asked for substantial French military aid, although this was unlikely as the French regime saw Flanders, the Rhine, and Italy as greater strategic priorities. Ginkell had finally obtained William's permission to offer the Jacobites moderate terms of surrender, including a guarantee of religious toleration, but when in December the "Peace Party" made moves to accept, Sarsfield demanded that Berwick have Hamilton, Riverston and Daly arrested. Berwick complied, although likely with the tacit approval of Tyrconnell, who returned from France to try to regain control by offering Sarsfield concessions.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: Deeply alarmed by the rift between his Irish supporters, James was persuaded to request further military support directly from Louis. Louis dispatched general Charles Chalmot, Marquis de Saint-Ruhe, to replace Berwick as commander of the Irish Army, with secret instructions to assess the situation and help Louis make a decision on whether to send additional military aid. Saint-Ruhe, accompanied by lieutenant-generals de Tessé and d'Usson, arrived at Limerick on 9 May; they brought sufficient arms, corn and meal to sustain the army until the autumn, but no troops or money.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: By late spring, concerned that a French convoy could land further reinforcements at Galway or Limerick, Ginkell began making preparations to enter the field as quickly as possible. During May, both sides began assembling their forces for a summer campaign, the Jacobites at Limerick and the Williamites at Mullingar, while low-level skirmishing continued.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: On 16 June, Ginkell's cavalry began reconnoitring from Ballymore towards Athlone. Saint-Ruhe had initially strung out his forces behind the line of the Shannon, but by 19 June he realised Athlone was the target and began concentrating his troops west of the town. Ginkell breached the Jacobite lines of defence and took Athlone on 30 June after a short but bloody siege, taking Maxwell prisoner; Saint-Ruhe failed in his attempts to relieve the garrison and fell back to the west.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: Athlone was seen as a significant victory for William's forces, as it was believed that Saint-Ruhe's army would probably collapse if the Shannon was crossed. The Lords Justice in Dublin issued a proclamation offering generous terms for Jacobites who surrendered, including a free pardon, restoration of forfeited estates, and the offer of similar or higher rank and pay if they wished to join William's army. The Jacobite command fell apart in mutual recriminations: Sarsfield's faction accused Maxwell, a follower of Tyrconnell, of treachery, while Saint-Ruhe's subordinate d'Usson sided with Tyrconnell, who appointed him governor of Galway.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: Unaware of the location of Saint-Ruhe's main army and assuming he was outnumbered, on 10 July Ginkell continued a cautious advance through Ballinasloe down the main Limerick and Galway road. Saint-Ruhe's initial plan, endorsed by Tyrconnell, had been to fall back on Limerick and force the Williamites into another year of campaigning, but wishing to redeem his errors at Athlone he appears to have instead decided to force a decisive battle. Ginkell, with 20,000 men, found his way blocked by Saint-Ruhe's similarly sized army at Aughrim on the early morning of 12 July. Despite a brave and tenacious defence by the inexperienced Irish infantry, the Battle of Aughrim would see Saint-Ruhe dead, many senior Jacobite officers captured or killed, and the Jacobite army shattered.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: D'Usson succeeded as overall commander: he surrendered Galway on 21 July, on advantageous terms. Following Aughrim the remnants of Saint-Ruhe's army retreated to the mountains before regrouping under Sarsfield's command at Limerick, where the defences were still in the process of being repaired: many of the Jacobite infantry regiments were seriously depleted, although some stragglers arrived later. Tyrconnell, who had been sick for some time, died at Limerick shortly afterwards, depriving the Jacobites of their main negotiator. Sarsfield and the Jacobites' main army surrendered at Limerick in October after a short siege.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: Sarsfield, now the senior Jacobite commander, and Ginkell signed the Treaty of Limerick on 3 October 1691. It promised that Catholics would remain free to practice their religion and gave legal protection to any Jacobites willing to stay in Ireland and give an oath of loyalty to William and Mary, although the estates of those killed prior to the treaty were still liable to forfeiture.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: The treaty also agreed to Sarsfield's demand that those still serving in the Jacobite army could leave for France. Popularly known in Ireland as the "Flight of the Wild Geese", the process began almost immediately, using English ships sailing from Cork; French ships completed it by December. Modern estimates suggest that around 19,000 soldiers and rapparees departed: women and children brought the figure to slightly over 20,000, or about one per cent of Ireland's population. Story alleged that some of the soldiers had to be forced on board the ships when they learned they would be joining the French. Most were unable to bring or to contact their families and many appear to have deserted en route from Limerick to Cork.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: The "Wild Geese" were initially formed into James II's army in exile. After James's death, they were merged into France's Irish Brigade, which had been set up in 1689 using the 6,000 troops accompanying Mountcashel. Disbanded Jacobites still presented a considerable risk to security in Ireland and despite resistance from the English and Irish parliaments, William continued to encourage them to join his own army; by the end of 1693 a further 3,650 former Jacobites had joined William's forces fighting on the Continent. The Lord Lieutenant Viscount Sidney eventually restricted enlistment to "known Protestants", upon which the last remnants of the Jacobite army still in Ireland were sent home with a financial inducement to keep the peace.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: In the interim the English legislature, possibly acting under pressure from Irish Protestant refugees in London, passed a 1691 Act "for the Abrogating the Oath of Supremacy in Ireland and Appointing other Oaths". This required anyone taking the Oath of Supremacy, such as when practising law, as a physician, or when taking a seat in the Irish Parliament, to deny transubstantiation; it effectively barred all Catholics, although included a clause exempting beneficiaries of the articles of Limerick in some circumstances. Despite this, many Protestants were initially outraged by their perception that the treaty had left the Jacobites "immune to the penalties of defeat". The fact that the administration chose to forbid searches for Jacobite arms and horses in order to prevent the settling of private scores was taken as evidence of pro-Catholic bias, and it was even rumoured that the Lord Chancellor Sir Charles Porter was a "secret Jacobite".


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: Continuing fears over Catholics' potential support of a French invasion and the appointment in 1695 of Capell as Lord Deputy saw a change of attitude. The same year, the Irish Parliament passed the Disarming Act, forbidding Catholics other than the Limerick and Galway 'articlemen' to own a weapon or a horse worth more than £5. A second 1695 bill, designed to deter Irish Catholics "from their foreign correspondency and dependency" and aimed particularly at the country's "English ancient families", restrained Catholics from educating their children abroad. Catholic gentry saw such actions as a serious breach of faith, summed up by the phrase ("remember Limerick and Saxon perfidy") supposedly used in later years by the exiles of the Irish Brigade. However, despite later extension of the penal laws, the 'articlemen' of Limerick, Galway, Drogheda and other garrisons subject to Williamite articles of surrender generally stayed exempt for the remainder of their lives.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: The Williamite victory in the war in Ireland had two main long-term results. The first was that it ensured James II would not regain his thrones in England, Ireland and Scotland by military means. The second was that it ensured closer British and Protestant dominance over Ireland. Until the nineteenth century, Ireland was ruled by what became known as the "Protestant Ascendancy", the mostly Protestant ruling class. The majority Irish Catholic community and the Ulster-Scots Presbyterian community were systematically excluded from power, which was based on land ownership.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: For over a century after the war, Irish Catholics maintained a sentimental attachment to the Jacobite cause, portraying James and the Stuarts as the rightful monarchs who would have given a just settlement to Ireland, including self-government, restoration of confiscated lands and tolerance for Catholicism. Thousands of Irish soldiers left the country to serve the Stuart monarchs in the Spanish and French armies. Until 1766, France and the Papacy remained committed to restoring the Stuarts to their British Kingdoms at least one composite Irish battalion (500 men) drawn from Irish soldiers in the French service, fought on the Jacobite side in the Scottish Jacobite uprisings up to the Battle of Culloden in 1746.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: The war also began the penetration of the Irish Protestant gentry into the British army's officer corps; by the 1770s, Irish Protestants made up about one third of the officer corps as a whole, a number hugely disproportionate to their population.


title: Williamite War in Ireland

text: Protestants portrayed the Williamite victory as a triumph for religious and civil liberty. Triumphant murals of King William still controversially adorn gable walls in Ulster, and the defeat of the Catholics in the Williamite war are still commemorated by Protestant Unionists, by the Orange Order on the Twelfth of July.


title: Angels of Mons

text: The Angels of Mons is one of several stories of the reputed appearance of a variety of supernatural entities which protected the British Army from defeat by the invading forces of the German Empire at the beginning of World War I during the Battle of Mons in Belgium on 23 August 1914.


title: Angels of Mons

text: On 22–23 August 1914, the first major engagement of the British Expeditionary Force in the First World War occurred at the Battle of Mons. Advancing German forces were thrown back by heavily outnumbered British troops, who suffered heavy casualties and, being outflanked, were forced into rapid retreat the next day. The retreat and the battle were rapidly perceived by the British public as being a key moment in the war.


title: Angels of Mons

text: On 29 September 1914, the Welsh author Arthur Machen published a short story entitled "The Bowmen" in "The Evening News", inspired by accounts that he had read of the fighting at Mons and an idea he had had soon after the battle. Machen, who had already written some factual articles on the conflict for the paper, set his story at the time of the retreat from the Battle of Mons in August 1914. The story described phantom bowmen from the Battle of Agincourt summoned by a soldier calling on St. George, destroying a German host. Machen's story was not, however, labelled as fiction, and the same edition of "The" "Evening News" ran a story by a different author under the heading "Our Short Story". Machen's story was written from a first-hand perspective and was a kind of false document, a technique Machen knew well. The unintended result was that Machen had a number of requests to provide evidence for his sources for the story soon after its publication, from readers who thought it was true, to which he responded that it was completely imaginary, as he had no desire to create a hoax.


title: Angels of Mons

text: A month or two later Machen received requests from the editors of parish magazines to reprint the story, which were granted. In the introduction to "The Bowmen and Other Legends of the War" (1915) Machen relates that an unnamed priest, the editor of one of these magazines, subsequently wrote to him asking if he would allow the story to be reprinted in pamphlet form, and if he would write a short preface giving sources for the story. Machen replied that they were welcome to reprint but he could not give any sources for the story since he had none. The priest replied that Machen must be mistaken, that the "facts" of the story must be true, and that Machen had just elaborated on a true account. As Machen later said:


title: Angels of Mons

text: Around that time variations of the story began to appear, told as authentic histories, including an account that told how the corpses of German soldiers had been found on the battlefield with arrow wounds.


title: Angels of Mons

text: In "The Bowmen" Machen's soldier saw "a long line of shapes, with a shining about them." A Mr. A. P. Sinnett, writing in "The Occult Review", stated that "those who could see said they saw 'a row of shining beings' between the two armies." This led Machen to suggest that the bowmen of his story had become the Angels of Mons. This last point was challenged by Harold Begbie in his book: "On the Side of the Angels: A Reply to Arthur Machen", London 1915.


title: Angels of Mons

text: On 24 April 1915, an account was published in the British "Spiritualist" magazine telling of visions of a supernatural force that miraculously intervened to help the British at the decisive moment of the battle. This was rapidly followed by a flurry of similar accounts and the spread of wild rumours. Descriptions of this force varied from it being medieval longbow archers alongside St. George to a strange luminous cloud, though eventually the dominant version came to be angelic warriors. Similar tales of such battlefield visions occurred in medieval and ancient warfare. Atrocity reports like the Rape of Belgium and that of the Crucified Soldier paved the way for a belief that the Christian God would intervene directly against such an evil enemy. However, there are strong similarities between many of these accounts of visions and Machen's story published six months earlier.