title: Battle of Clontarf

text: From the time of the seventh century and the reign of Domnall mac Áedo, the kingship of Tara was a title which was strongly associated with the high kingship of Ireland and was held by members of the Uí Néill dynasty, who controlled the northern half of Ireland. In the tenth century, the Dál gCais, until then a small kingdom in what is now County Clare, began to expand. By the time of his death in 951, Cennétig mac Lorcáin had become King of Thomond. His son, Mathgamain mac Cennétig, was King of Munster when he died in 976. Mathgamain's brother, Brian Boru, quickly asserted his claim to the kingship of Munster, then invaded Leinster and gained its submission. In 998 he attacked the Uí Néill stronghold of Meath. Máel Sechnaill responded by attacking Munster in 999, and over the following years the two kings struggled for supremacy in Ireland. In 997, Brian and Máel Sechnaill met in Clonfert and reached an agreement where they recognised each other's reign over their respective halves of the country—Máel Sechnaill in the north and Brian in the south. Brian received the hostages of Leinster and Dublin from Máel Seachnaill, and surrendered the hostages of Connacht to him. The peace was short-lived. After they had jointly defeated the Vikings at Glenmama, Brian resumed his attacks on Máel Seachnaill. He marched on Tara in 1000 with the combined armies of Munster, Osraige, Leinster, and Dublin, but after an advance party consisting of the latter two groups was destroyed by Máel Sechnaill, Brian Boru withdrew from the area without giving battle. In 1002 he marched with the same army to Athlone, and took the hostages of Connacht and Meath. He was now the undisputed High King of Ireland.


title: Battle of Clontarf

text: Brian consolidated his hold on Ireland by eventually obtaining the submission of the northern territories of Cenél nEógain, Cenél Conaill, and Ulaid, following a series of circuits of the northern part of the island. He completed the task when, following "a great hosting...by land and sea" into the Uí Néill territory of Cenél Conaill in 1011, the King was brought south to Dál gCais territory to submit to Brian Boru in person at his royal site of Cenn Corad. It was not long, however, before fighting was renewed. Flaithbertach Ua Néill, King of the Cenél nEógain, resented the rise of Brian Boru. Had the old political order persisted, Flaithbertach would have been in line to succeed to the high-kingship. He attacked his Cenél Conaill neighbours in 1012 but, while doing so, Máel Seachnaill attacked the Cenél nEógain inauguration site of Tullahoge. Flaithbertach in turn raided Meath the following year and Máel Sechnaill was forced to back down. Sigtrygg and Máel Mórda took advantage, and themselves raided Meath. Máel Sechnaill sent his army to raid the hinterland north of Dublin as far as Howth but he was defeated. He lost two hundred men including his son Flann. Sigtrygg then sent a fleet along the coast to attack the Munster town of Cork, but that was defeated, and Sigtrygg's nephew was killed. A full-scale conflict was inevitable. Brian brought his army to Leinster in 1013, and camped outside Dublin from September until the end of the year.


title: Battle of Clontarf

text: Sigtrygg went overseas in search of Viking support and enlisted the help of Sigurd Hlodvirsson, the Earl of Orkney and Brodir, a warrior of the Isle of Man. According to the Icelandic "Njáls saga", Sigtrygg promised both men the kingship of Ireland if they defeated Brian. In early 1014, Sveinn Forkbeard, King of Denmark, had invaded and become the first Norse king of England.


title: Battle of Clontarf

text: The Viking fleets of Orkney and Mann sailed into Dublin in Holy Week 1014. Brian mustered the army of Munster, which was joined by Máel Sechnaill and two Connacht kings, Mael Ruanaidh Ua hEidhin, King of Uí Fiachrach Aidhne, and Tadhg Ua Cellaigh, King of Uí Maine, and they marched on Dublin.


title: Battle of Clontarf

text: No order of battle is given in the contemporary sources; the only leaders named are those who died in the battle. The nearest contemporary accounts are the Annals of Inisfallen and the Annals of Ulster. Among the fallen on Brian's side, they name the High King himself, his son Murchad, and his grandson Toirdelbach, as well as his nephew Conaing, Domnall mac Diarmata of Corcu Baiscind (County Clare), Mac Bethad mac Muiredaig of Ciarraige Luachra (County Kerry), Mael Ruanaidh Ua hEidhin of Uí Fiachrach Aidhne, and Tadhg Ua Cellaigh of Uí Maine (both in south Connacht). On the opposing side are named Máel Morda, Dubgall mac Amlaíb (brother of Sigtrygg), Gilla Ciaráin mac Glún Iairn (probably a nephew of Sigtrygg), Sigurd Hlodvirsson of Orkney, and Brodir, commander of the Viking fleet. No notables from Meath are recorded among the slain; leading to the suggestion that, if present, Máel Sechnaill kept himself and his forces out of harm's way. But the Annals of Ulster say that Máel Sechnaill and Brian rode together to Dublin, and the Annals of the Four Masters go so far as to say that it was Máel Sechnaill who won the day, and completed the rout after the death of Brian. On the other hand, "Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib" ("The War of the Irish with the Foreigners"), says that the men of Meath came to the muster with Brian, but "were not faithful to him".


title: Battle of Clontarf

text: According to the "Cogad", after his arrival at Dublin, Brian sent his forces north across the river to plunder the area known as "Fine Gall", and they torched the country as far as Howth. Brian, now in his seventies, did not go with them but stayed behind to pray. The Dublin forces set out by land, and were joined at Clontarf at high tide by the Viking fleet that was in Dublin Bay.


title: Battle of Clontarf

text: The front line of the Dublin-Leinster forces were the foreign Vikings, led by Brodir, Sigurd, and a man called Plait, described as "the bravest knight of all the foreigners". Behind them were the men of Dublin, commanded by Dubgall mac Amlaíb and Gilla Ciaráin mac Glún Iairn. Behind them again came the Leinstermen, headed by Máel Mórda. Sigtrygg remained in Dublin with enough men to defend it should the battle go against them. He watched the battle from the walls with his wife Sláine, the daughter of Brian.


title: Battle of Clontarf

text: At the front of Brian's forces were the Dál gCais, led by Brian's son Murchad, Murchad's fifteen-year-old son Toirdelbach, Brian's brother Cudulligh, and Domnall mac Diarmata of Corcu Baiscind. Behind them were the other forces of Munster, commanded by Mothla mac Domnaill mic Fáeláin, King of the Déisi Muman, and Magnus mac Amchada, King of Uí Liatháin. Next came the Connachta, led by Mael Ruanaidh Ua hEidhin and Tadhg Ua Cellaigh. Also alongside was Ó Fearghail lords of Annaly. To one side of them were Brian's Viking allies; Fergal ua Ruairc, with the Uí Briúin and the Conmhaícne was placed on the left flank. After the Connachta came Máel Sechnaill and the men of Meath, but (the "Cogad" says) he had made an agreement with the men of Dublin that if he would not attack them, they would not attack him.


title: Battle of Clontarf

text: The battle opened with Plait taunting Domnall mac Eimín, a Scottish ally of Brian. The two men marched out into the middle of the field and fought, and both died, "with the sword of each through the heart of the other, and the hair of each in the clenched hand of the other."


title: Battle of Clontarf

text: Then the battle proper got under way. It is described in the "Cogad" as remarkably loud and bloody. The men of Connacht fought the men of Dublin, and the fighting was so fierce that only 100 Connachtmen and twenty Dublinmen survived. The last casualties occurred at "Dubgall's Bridge", which Seán Duffy suggests was a bridge over the River Tolka, on the road back to Dublin. Brian's son Murchad, at the head of the Dál gCais army, took on the foreign Vikings and, according to the "Cogad", he himself killed 100 of the enemy—fifty with the sword in his right hand and fifty with the sword in his left. The Vikings wore mail; the Irish did not. Yet the Irish gained the advantage, partly through the use of small spears, which they hurled at the enemy, and partly through numerical superiority.


title: Battle of Clontarf

text: The battle, which had begun at first light, lasted all day. Eventually, the Dublin-Leinster forces broke, and some withdrew towards their ships, while others made for a nearby wood. However, the tide had come in again, cutting off the passage to the wood, but also carrying off the Viking ships. With no way out, they were killed in large numbers, many of them by drowning. Samuel Haughton, in 1860, calculated that the tide at Clontarf would have been high at 5:30 am and again at 5:55 pm, which is consistent with the account in the "Cogad". It was at this point that Brian's grandson Toirdelbach was killed. He pursued the enemy into the sea, but was hit by a wave and thrown up against the weir, and drowned. Murchad killed Sigurd, the earl of Orkney, but shortly afterwards he himself was killed. Brian was in his tent praying when Brodir found him, and killed him. Brodir himself was then killed, possibly by Ulf the Quarrelsome.


title: Battle of Clontarf

text: Brian's body was brought to Swords, north of Dublin. There it was met by the coarb of Patrick, the traditional head of the church in Ireland, who brought the body back with him to Armagh, where it was interred after twelve days of mourning. Along with Brian were the body of Murchad and the heads of Conaing, Brian's nephew, and Mothla, King of the Déisi Muman. Máel Sechnaill was restored as High King of Ireland, and remained secure in his position until his death in 1022.


title: Battle of Clontarf

text: Though the Annals imply that life was not much changed after the death of Brian Boru, it created a succession crisis, as Brian's son and heir Murchad had died as well. Brian had two remaining sons who could challenge for the kingship: Donnchad mac Briain, his son with Gormflaith and Tadc mac Briain, his son with Echrad. According to the annals, Donnchad rallied the forces of the Dál gCais at Clontarf and led them home to Cenn Corad.


title: Battle of Clontarf

text: Within weeks the Dál gCais, under the new leadership of Donnchad, were battling their old masters in Munster, the Eóganacht Raithlind. Tadc initially joined his brother against the Eóganacht, but Donnchad ordered his killing in 1023.


title: Battle of Clontarf

text: Sigtrygg remained King of Dublin until 1036, and was apparently secure enough to go on pilgrimage to Rome in 1028. However, after Clontarf, Dublin had been reduced to a lesser power. In 1052, Diarmait mac Máel na mBó, King of Leinster, captured Dublin and "Fine Gall", for the first time asserting Irish overlordship over the Norse of Ireland.


title: Battle of Clontarf

text: In modern times there has been a long-running debate among historians, which is now 250 years old, about Ireland's Viking age and the Battle of Clontarf. The standard view, and the "popular" view, is that the battle ended a war between the Irish and Vikings by which Brian Boru broke Viking power in Ireland. However revisionist historians see it as an Irish civil war in which Brian Boru's Munster and its allies defeated Leinster and Dublin, and that there were Vikings fighting on both sides. In January 2018, researchers from the Universities of Coventry, Oxford and Sheffield, led by Coventry University theoretical physicist Professor Ralph Kenna, published a paper in the journal "Royal Society Open Science", that used network science to mathematically analyse a medieval text, "Cogadh Gáedhel re Gallaibh" (The War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill, meaning invasions of Ireland by the Danes and other Norsemen), that listed over 1000 relationships between about 300 characters, and concluded that the standard and popular view was broadly correct, but that the picture was nevertheless more complex than "a fully 'clear-cut' Irish versus Viking conflict". However one of the paper's co-authors, PhD student Joseph Yose, added that "Our statistical analysis ... cannot decisively resolve the debate".


title: Oisín

text: Oisín ( ), Osian, Ossian ( ), or anglicized as Osheen ( ) was regarded in legend as the greatest poet of Ireland, a warrior of the Fianna in the Ossianic or Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. He is the demigod son of Fionn mac Cumhaill and of Sadhbh (daughter of Bodb Dearg), and is the narrator of much of the cycle and composition of the poems are attributed to him.


title: Oisín

text: His name literally means "young deer" or fawn, and the story is told that his mother, Sadhbh, was turned into a deer by a druid, Fear Doirche (or Fer Doirich). A young hunter named Fionn caught Sadhbh, but did not kill her, and she returned to human form. Fionn gave up hunting and fighting to settle down with Sadhbh, and she was soon pregnant, but Fer Doirich turned her back into a deer and she returned to the wild. Seven years later Fionn found his child, naked, on Benbulbin. Other stories have Oisín meet Fionn for the first time as an adult and contend over a roasting pig before they recognise each other.


title: Oisín

text: In "Oisín in Tir na nÓg", his most famous "echtra" or adventure tale, he is visited by a fairy woman called Niamh Chinn Óir (Niamh of the Golden Hair or Head, one of the daughters of Manannán mac Lir, a god of the sea). Niamh's father turned her head into a pig's head because of a prophecy. She tells this to Oisín and informs him she would return to her original form if he marries her. He agrees and they return to Tir na nÓg ("the land of the young", also referred to as Tir Tairngire, "the land of promise") where Oisín becomes king. Their union produces Oisín's famous son, Oscar, and a daughter, Plor na mBan ("Flower of Women"), as well as a second son, Finn. After what seems to him to be three years but in fact was 300 years, Oisín decides to return to Ireland to see his old comrades the Fianna. One tale describes him coming to Ballinskelligs Bay, not far from Ballaghisheen, where he fell off his horse while trying to help move a large stone. Niamh had given him her white horse Embarr and warned him not to dismount because if his feet touched the ground, those 300 years would catch up with him and he would become old and withered. Another legend has Oisín returning to the hill of Almu, Fionn's home, abandoned and in disrepair. Later, while trying to help some men who were building a road in Gleann na Smól lift a stone out of the way onto a wagon, his girth breaks and he falls to the ground, becoming an old man just as Niamh had forewarned. The horse returns to Tir na nÓg. In some versions of the story, just before he dies Oisín is visited by Saint Patrick. Oisín tells Saint Patrick the stories of the Fianna and shortly after he dies.


title: Oisín

text: The interaction between St. Patrick and Oisín has also been said to be more complicated. It is said that they were both angered by their differences. St. Patrick attempted to convert Oisín, but Oisín hated St. Patrick's teachings. One of the stories of the two involves Oisín fighting a bull for St. Patrick. Oisín kills the bull and when St. Patrick comes to see how the results of the fight, Oisín is asleep in the bull's hide. In return for killing the bull, Oisín asks to be buried facing the east on Slieve Gullion, Co. Armagh. It is said that he was buried in the bull's hide on Curran Mountain near Manorhamiltion.


title: Oisín

text: In the tale "Acallam na Senórach" ("Tales of the Elders"), Oisín and his comrade Caílte mac Rónáin survived to the time of Saint Patrick and told the saint the stories of the Fianna. This is the source of William Butler Yeats's poem "The Wanderings of Oisin". In different versions of the story Oisín either defends the Druid faith, or converts to Christianity.


title: Oisín

text: The location of the grave site of Oisín is disputed. It is rumoured to be in Glenalmond in Perth, Scotland. Wordsworth wrote a poem on the subject entitled "Glen-Almain, the Narrow Glen". Others say it is located in the Nine Glens of Antrim at a site that has been known for generations as "Oisín's Grave". The megalithic court cairn is located on a hillside in Lubitavish, near the Glenann River, outside the village of Cushendall on the North Antrim Coast, and is believed to be the ancient burial place of Oísín.


title: Oisín

text: Ossian, the narrator and purported author of a series of poems published by James Macpherson in the 1760s, is based on Oisín. Macpherson claimed to have translated his poems from ancient sources in the Scottish Gaelic language. Macpherson's poems had widespread influence on many writers including Goethe and the young Walter Scott, although their authenticity was widely disputed. Modern scholars have demonstrated that Macpherson based his poems on authentic Gaelic ballads, but had adapted them to contemporary sensibilities by altering the original characters and ideas and introduced a great deal of his own.


title: Post-tribulation rapture

text: The post-tribulation rapture doctrine is the belief in a combined resurrection and gathering of the saints (Post-tribulation believers believe the "rapture" for the event) coming is after the Great Tribulation.


title: Post-tribulation rapture

text: The post-tribulation gathering of the saints position believes that there is a resurrection of both dead and living believers in Jesus Christ at the end of the age (or the "end time"). Post-tribulationists believe that Christians will remain on the Earth throughout the 7-year tribulation period which includes the last three and a half years, which some call the "Great Tribulation". The distinguishing feature of the post-tribulation view is that it believes the gathering of the saints will occur after a 7-year tribulation period and not before as in the pre-tribulation view. They also believe that it is a blessing to be beheaded for the testimony of Jesus.


title: Post-tribulation rapture

text: This period starts with the appearing of the abomination of desolation (Matthew ) and ends at the Battle of Armageddon (Revelation ). Believers in Jesus Christ will be taken up (or raptured) to meet Christ in the air at the Second Coming of Christ immediately after the Great Tribulation, just before the Battle of Armageddon and then return with him as Christ descends to the Earth, to usher in the Millennium—the 1,000-year reign of Christ on Earth. This is usually understood as being in line with historic premillennialism.


title: Post-tribulation rapture

text: Evidence for a post-tribulation rapture includes Revelation , which calls the resurrection of tribulation martyrs after the Second Advent in the previous chapter "the first resurrection" in verse 5. The resurrection of believers at the gathering of the saints is "the first resurrection" and therefore the gathering of the saints must be after the Great Tribulation.


title: Post-tribulation rapture

text: For additional references, see also the parallel passages from Mark 13:24-27 and Luke 21:20-28. While the passages in Luke 21 parallels Matthew and Mark, it offers a couple of interesting clarifications. This passage in Luke offers interesting references to some of the major events which are greatly elaborated on in the Book of Revelation. Reading all three books of the Bible in parallel, it would appear that Luke elaborates on the "abomination of desolation" describing Jerusalem being surrounded by the armies of the world and of Jerusalem's imminent destruction (Luke 21:20).


title: Post-tribulation rapture

text: Paul's statement "the dead in Christ will rise first" (1 Thessalonians 4:16) can be seen as having its fulfillment (according to a literalist reading of the letter of the biblical text) only after the end of the tribulation (Revelation chapters 6–19) after Satan has been bound (Revelation 20:1-3), and at the beginning of the millennial reign, when


title: Post-tribulation rapture

text: Another account which lends support to the idea of a post-tribulation rapture is in 2 Peter 3:10-13, where the idea of "The Day of the Lord" coming as a "thief in the night" comes from. This idea of imminence, according to the post-tribulation view, only applies to the wicked and the spiritually unprepared people that are still alive before the return of Christ. Therefore, only God's elect will fully have a clear understanding of the timing of the second coming, and Christ's coming will not catch the believers by surprise, but only those who are spiritually ignorant regarding the truth. In the passage of 2 Peter 3:10-13, Christ's return is equated with the "elements being melted", and "the earth also and the works therein shall be burned up". Two opposing views, pre-tribulationism and mid-tribulationism, see the rapture and the Second Coming (or Greek, "parousia") of Christ as separate events; while in post-tribulationism the two events are identical or simultaneous.


title: Post-tribulation rapture

text: Another key difference between the pre-, mid-, and post-tribulationism is the number of times that Jesus Christ must return. Although it is not directly referenced, in both the pre- and mid-tribulation raptures, Christ must then return a third time, at the end of the tribulation period.


title: Post-tribulation rapture

text: The belief is that God's elect from all ages will be translated from mortal bodies into immortal glorified bodies at the second coming of Christ and that this will be at the end of the age. This event, it is believed, will come at the conclusion of what is termed the 70th week of Daniel, the final seven years of this present age. This view was held by the early Church Fathers and has been held by Christians since that time. The doctrine of the post-tribulation rapture is today held by a growing number of evangelical Christians. For post-tribulationists concerned about the recent decline of Christian faith, doctrine, and morals in the western church, an important reason to advance the post-tribulation rapture doctrine relates to the importance of preparation of believers for "witness under trial".


title: Post-tribulation rapture

text: Another idea is that following the Great Tribulation, the False Prophet, or the "beast out of the earth" and the Antichrist or the "beast out of the sea" will be condemned upon Jesus Christ's return, and all those who endured or died for Christ's return will be raptured to heaven and, following the Millennium, Satan will be condemned and the remaining dead believers will be raised and raptured into the new heaven.


title: Post-tribulation rapture

text: Post-tribulationists broadly base their doctrine on the complementary concepts that a two-phase pre-tribulation rapture is never mentioned explicitly in the Bible, and that the "whole counsel of Scripture" seems to clearly teach that the resurrection and rapture of the Church will be the result of the visible, physical second coming of Jesus Christ to Earth and that Christians are to look and watch for that event.


title: Post-tribulation rapture

text: Contrasting opinion maintains that the passages are not talking about the same event despite some similarities because of details that are absent between the two passages and that the rapture event was a "mystery" until it was revealed in First Corinthians which the Thessalonian recipients would have been unaware.


title: Post-tribulation rapture

text: Post-tribulationists respond to the opposing views of pre-tribulationists in a variety of ways. Some post-tribulationalists see the rapture and the second coming of Christ as part of one main event. Support for this claim is found in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 in part because of the way Paul introduces his topic, ""Now concerning" the coming of our Lord and our gathering together with him." This was an ancient way of introducing your topic of discussion and later Paul refers back to the two nouns at least twice as "the Day of the Lord" or "that day." Thus, "the coming" and "gathering" seem to be two ways of referring to one event, "the day of the Lord."


title: Post-tribulation rapture

text: It seems impractical for Paul to go to great lengths describing the coming of the Antichrist (and the falling away) to the Thessalonians in order to calm them down that the day of Christ's reign on earth had not happened yet if they were not going to be there for it as maintained by the pre-tribulational position. He would be more comforting by reminding them that they wouldn't be present for it than to precisely detail his recognition and say "Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction".


title: Post-tribulation rapture

text: The most common passage used in defending a pre-tribulational position is . This passage alone does not mention where the gathered ones finally end up but that those who are alive will be caught up to meet Christ in the air and always be with the Lord. Rather it mentions the dead rising, Christ's coming, angels, the trumpet of God along with the gathering of the elect and all of these participants are present in , which is clearly a second coming passage even agreed to by pre-tribulationalists. The author, the Apostle Paul says the rapture will occur "at the "last" trumpet". To be consistent with this trumpet call must occur after the tribulation. In the same way, mentions the "first" resurrection "after" the second coming in . By definition, there can be no trumpet call after the last one, and no resurrection before the first.


title: Post-tribulation rapture

text: Linguistic support for a one-event second coming are in the words "meet" and "coming" in . The "meet" in and in (a second coming parable) refers to the custom of people going out to meet a dignitary as he was approaching their city before he got there, and accompanying or welcoming him back to where they came from. This is also the usage in of those going out to meet Paul as he headed toward them in Rome. Also, the Greek term "parousia" has the idea of a grand dignitary making his arrival to a certain location. The rest of the passage supports this grand arrival with his coming being heralded with trumpet, angels, and a surging 'city' of gathered believers going out to meet him. Who more grand than the Lord Jesus Christ at his coming to reign on earth? This passage lends more weight to the post-tribulational position.


title: Post-tribulation rapture

text: Another strength for this position is Paul saying when the church would receive rest for its suffering. It would take place at the revealing of Jesus Christ with fire and judgment and at this time those who were afflicting the church at Thessalonica would be repaid for such treatment. No mention is made of a pre-tribulational removal but that rest comes at his coming and so does judgment.


title: Post-tribulation rapture

text: A passage much debated regarding the timing of the rapture is , which speaks of the Philadelphian church being "kept from the hour of trial which is about to come upon the whole earth to test those who dwell on the earth." The debate centers around the phrase "kept from" which could be taken to mean "physical removal from" (Pre-trib) or "preservation from or in the midst of" (Post-trib). However, the verse denotes that the testing is for "those who dwell on the earth." This is a common phrase referring to unbelievers. Later in Revelation, on at least 3 occasions, the saints are "sealed" and kept out of harm's way when God pours out specific judgments which only affect his unbelieving enemies.


title: Post-tribulation rapture

text: John highlights the idea that Christians are preserved by God through tribulation rather than removed:


title: Post-tribulation rapture

text: This passage is one of the most blunt verses, showing that Jesus himself did not want the Christians taken out of the world in order to protect them from evil but had the intention of preservation in the midst of it. This is a place where pre-tribulationism lacks linguistic favor because this verse and are the only places where the exact phrase "tereo ek" translated from Greek into "keep from" are found and that by the same author, the disciple John.


title: Post-tribulation rapture

text: The pretribulational argument that there are 'two phases' to Christ's coming (a rapture and a later second advent) runs into difficulties with , which nearly equates Christ's ascension to heaven with his second coming. Logically, the second coming cannot have two phases if the ascension only had one. This eliminates two phases of his coming with a 7-year interval. Likewise, heaven must "receive" or contain Jesus "until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from ancient time". Most scholars see this "restoration of all things" as the one-thousand year reign of Christ on earth (as prophesied in the Old Testament) which begins just after the second advent. If Christ is to remain in heaven until this coming rule of his according to these verses (see also Hebrews 9:27,28), it would seem the next main prophetic event would be the second coming rather than him coming 7 years prior to get the church, bring them back to heaven, and then leaving heaven for earth again as the pre-tribulational rapture position indicates.


title: Post-tribulation rapture

text: Pre-tribulational usage of can also be counterbalanced. In this eschatological scenario, explains what happens to the people that are "taken": the eagles gather together at their [dead] bodies. Do they eat them? "Taken" may also have the idea of judgment and that is referring to the unmistakable visual nature of the second coming. Even the disciples are warned not to believe reports that Christ has come if they have not seen it "for just as the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day. Many take the fact that vultures hovering over a dead body is clearly visible from a great distance away to mean that the second coming will be clearly visible and will not be hidden. It seems that can be compared to , which reads that the fowls are invited to a feast—on the flesh of men, small and great, at the Lord's coming.


title: Post-tribulation rapture

text: The parable in explains that the unsaved ("tares") are destroyed "first" before the saved (wheat) are addressed. This parable describes what the kingdom of heaven is like and it uses agricultural metaphor to explain that believers and unbelievers will remain together until the harvest. When is the harvest? Well, when Jesus explains the parable. he says the harvest is the "end of the age" in verse 39. At that time he sends his angels to destroy the tares while the wheat (believers) remain and shine forth as the sun in his father's kingdom. This seems to fit better with the rapture and the second coming being one event rather than a time gap of 7 years.


title: Post-tribulation rapture

text: , speaks of the "Day of the Lord" and that "On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives" This exactly parallels the angel's statement in , "that as He left so shall He return." Tying this with , we see all the living and dead Christians are gathered to Jesus at that time. Going back to we read, "Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him." This inexorably links the return of Jesus to the glorification and "rapture" of Christians to him.


title: Post-tribulation rapture

text: In Jesus says to the faithful at Thyatira, "Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come." In other words, 'hold onto the truth of the Christian faith and its obedience amidst the false teaching of Jezebel and her sins, until My coming again.' Pre-trib commentators agree this could be talking about the second coming of Christ (John MacArthur, Robert L. Thomas). Would Jesus say hold on to the faith until I come again if they were not going to be there when he returned, but would have already been raptured? Expositor's Bible Commentary also makes this assertion.


title: Post-tribulation rapture

text: They are to be patient amidst persecution until when? Until the coming ("parousia") of the Lord. Parousia is well known to mean "presence" and refers to his second coming many times in the New Testament. The farming analogy seems to indicate that the farmer is aware of the coming rains just as the believer is aware of coming end time events. For example, Jesus warned "when you see these things begin to take place [end time signs in the sun, moon, and stars / world chaos], straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." This manner of expectancy is objected to on the grounds that it destroys the idea of Christ's rapture of the church being imminent, or able to occur at any moment. But imminent probably doesn't mean 'at any moment' in the New Testament. Many New Testament passages implicitly rule out an "any second" imminency (Matthew 24:45-51...25:5,19;Luke 19:11-27;John 21:18-19...Acts 9:15...). At the very least apostles Peter and Paul could not have believed in this kind of imminency because Peter was told by Jesus what manner of death he was to die and that it would take place many years later. Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself, and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands [be crucified], and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go." Could Peter think the rapture was at any moment with this enduring prediction by Jesus? Also, it was told of Paul that he would bear Christ's name "before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel" and that God would "show him how much he is to suffer for My name's sake." Does an any-moment rapture fit with such a massive missionary plan revealed by God for Paul's life which took decades to complete? Jesus encouraged the first disciples and all Christians, to look for certain events which would indicate his coming was "at the doors." This coupled with other passages like , seems to indicate moral watchfulness, waiting in expectancy, and sobriety ("be sober") and that the wrath of that day will overtake those in darkness (unbelievers) like a thief "but you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief." Thus a different concept of imminency emerges.


title: Post-tribulation rapture

text: Jesus, speaking chronologically in the Olivet Discourse regarding end time events, goes from the escalation of troubling times beginning in the 1st century and the present age (highlighting the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome in A.D. 70) to the time of tribulation and then to his second coming without any mention of a prior removal of the church 7 or 3.5 years before it. One author sees Jesus as advocating a "delay" between the destruction of Jerusalem and his second advent. On the contrary, he states that "immediately after the tribulation of those days…they [the world] shall see the son of Man coming…and He shall send His angels, and they shall gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Therefore, Jesus seems to put the rapture just before his second coming or on his way to earth. The phrase "gathering together" describes the rapture in using the noun form of the same Greek word.


title: Post-tribulation rapture

text: Paul says: "we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep." Then he points out that the Lord's coming with angels and the trumpet call will invite those already dead in Christ to rise from the dead before the ones on earth participate in the event. Then Paul states: "Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord." Some commentators note that because Paul used the plural ""we"" when referring to those who "are alive and remain" indicates that Paul believed that he and all believers on earth might witness and be a part of the second coming of Christ from earth. This would indicate that he would be on earth just prior to the coming of the Lord and the rapture. This is also the usage when he speaks of the same event saying: "Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." This passage adds the fact that believers will receive glorified bodies which is missing from the Thessalonian passage]." If believers were raptured before the tribulation then why would Paul use "we" and consider himself with all Christians to possibly be those who would be "alive and remaining [on earth] until the coming of the Lord?" They wouldn't be alive and remaining on the earth at His coming in a pre-tribulational scenario but would already be with Jesus in clouds along with the other believers who had died in Christ.


title: Sai Bhonsale

text: Saibai Bhonsale ("née" Nimbalkar) ( 1633 – 5 September 1659) was the first wife and chief consort of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire. She was the mother of her husband's successor Sambhaji.


title: Sai Bhonsale

text: Saibai was a member of the prominent Nimbalkar family, whose members were the rulers of Phaltan from the era of the Pawar dynasty and served the Deccan sultanates and the Mughal Empire. She was a daughter of the fifteenth Raja of Phaltan, Mudhojirao Naik Nimbalkar and a sister of sixteenth Raja, Bajaji Rao Naik Nimbalkar. Saibai's mother Reubai was from the Shirke family. Ravali from Andhra Pradesh being the current last grand daughter of Shivaji and Saibai.


title: Sai Bhonsale

text: Saibai and Shivaji were married while still in their childhood on 16 May 1640 at Lal Mahal, Pune. The marriage was arranged by his mother, Jijabai; but was evidently not attended by his father, Shahaji nor his brothers, Sambhaji and Ekoji. Thus, Shahaji soon summoned his new daughter-in-law, son and his mother, Jijabai, to Bangalore, where he lived with his second wife, Tukabai. Shahaji held a grand wedding ceremony at Bangalore.


title: Sai Bhonsale

text: Saibai and Shivaji shared a close relationship with each other. She is said to have been a wise woman and a loyal consort to him. By all accounts, Saibai was a beautiful, good-natured and an affectionate woman. She is described as having been a "gentle and selfless person."


title: Sai Bhonsale

text: All of her endearing personal qualities, however, were a sharp contrast to Shivaji‘s second wife, Soyarabai, who was an intriguing lady. She also had significant influence over her husband and the royal family as well. Saibai is reported to have acted as a counsel to Shivaji when he was invited by Mohammed Adil Shah, the king of Bijapur, for a personal interview. During Saibai's life time, the entire household of Shivaji bore a homogeneous atmosphere despite the fact that most of his marriages were performed due to political considerations.


title: Sai Bhonsale

text: After Saibai's untimely death in 1659 followed by Jijabai's death in 1674, Shivaji's private life became clouded with anxiety and unhappiness. Although Soyarabai had gained prominence in the royal household following their deaths, she was not an affectionate consort like Saibai, whom Shivaji had dearly loved.


title: Sai Bhonsale

text: Saibai remained Shivaji's favourite till he died. A great source of inspiration to him, legend has it that "Sai" was the last word he uttered on his deathbed.


title: Sai Bhonsale

text: During the course of their nineteen years of marriage, Saibai and Shivaji became parents of four children: Sakavarbai (nicknamed "Sakhubai"), Ranubai, Ambikabai and Sambhaji. Sakhubai was married to her first-cousin, Mahadji, the son of Saibai's brother, Bajaji Rao Naik Nimbalkar. Ranubai married into the Jadhav family. Ambikabai married Harji Raje Mahadik in 1668. Saibai's fourth issue was her only son, Sambhaji, who was born in 1657 and was Shivaji's eldest son and thus, his heir-apparent. The birth of Sambhaji was an occasion of great joy and significance in the royal household for many different reasons.


title: Sai Bhonsale

text: Saibai died in 1659 in Rajgad Fort while Shivaji Maharaj was making preparations for his meeting with Afzal Khan at Pratapgad. She was ill from the time she gave birth to Sambhaji and her illness became serious preceding her death. Sambhaji was taken care by her trustworthy Dhaarau. Sambhaji was two years old at the time of his mother's death and was brought up by his paternal grandmother, Jijabai. Saibai's samadhi is situated at Rajgad Fort.


The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham () is a London borough in West London and which also forms part of Inner London. The borough was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan Boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham. The borough borders Brent to the north, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to the east, Wandsworth to the south, Richmond upon Thames to the south west, and Hounslow and Ealing to the west.


title: London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham

text: Traversed by the east–west main roads of the A4 Great West Road and the A40 Westway, many international corporations have offices in the borough. The local council is Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council. The borough is amongst the four most expensive boroughs for residential properties in the United Kingdom, along with Kensington and Chelsea, the City of Westminster and Camden.


text: The borough is unique in London in having three professional football clubs: Chelsea, Fulham and Queens Park Rangers.


text: The borough origins are in the Ancient Parish of Fulham which goes back to at least the early 12th-century. Hammersmith was a chapelry within Fulham until it became an independent parish in 1631. The manor (estate) of Fulham can be traced back to the seventh century when it was granted to the Bishop of London.


text: The borough was formed in 1965 by merging the Metropolitan Borough of Hammersmith and the much more ancient Metropolitan Borough of Fulham. It was known as the "London Borough of Hammersmith" until its name was changed on 1 January 1979 by the borough council. The two had been joined together previously in the parish of Fulham until 1834 as the hamlet of Hammersmith had no church until much later. They were joined together again under the Fulham District from 1855 to 1886.


text: Fulham saw industrialisation and urbanisation from the start of the 19th-century, with the establishment of the world's first energy utility company, at Sands End in 1824, followed by road and rail transport development to the east of the borough. Vacant land by the new railway sidings on the boundary with Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council led to the development of the Earls Court Exhibition Centre, visited by Queen Victoria in 1879 when she attended Bill Cody's Wild West Show at West Brompton. There followed numerous international fairs and exhibitions for a century until the construction of Earls Court II in the borough in the 1980s. This was dismantled by developers in 2015.


text: At the other end of today's borough, in 1908, the Franco-British Exhibition and Olympic Games were hosted in Hammersmith, at White City, but the site then took many decades to be redeveloped. In 1960, the BBC opened the BBC Television Centre, and in 2008, Westfield London, a large development with new transport links and a shopping centre.


text: According to the 2001 census Hammersmith and Fulham has a population of 165,242. 60% of the borough's population is White British, 20% white non-British (among which are large French, Polish, Portuguese and Irish communities), 5% black Caribbean, 8% black African with various other ethnicities (including Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Chinese) making up the remaining 11 percent.


text: The borough has the second-highest proportion of single adults of any borough in England and Wales (55%), and a higher than average proportion for the London area of young adults aged 20–29 (24%).


text: Around 50% of households are owner–occupiers, and 22% of households were listed as ""other"" – that is, not single persons living alone or families. These are generally two or more unrelated adults living together, such as students or cohabiting couples.


text: The borough comprises a patchwork of extremely affluent as well as some less affluent neighbourhoods; The areas of Fulham, Parsons Green, Brackenbury Village, Brook Green, Ravenscourt Park and the Riverside compose of highly expensive Victorian and Edwardian houses, contrasting to the areas of White City and Shepherd's Bush. The unemployment rate is well below average at under 5%, although of these, 29% were listed as long-term unemployed.


text: The following shows the religious identity of residents residing in Hammersmith and Fulham according to the 2001, 2011 and the 2021 censuses.


text: Iberia operates the Iberia House in the borough. All Nippon Airways operates the London Office on the fourth floor of Hythe House. South African Airways has its United Kingdom office in the South African Airways House. CE Europe, a subsidiary of Capcom, has its head office in the George House in Hammersmith in the borough. As of May 2011 it will be relocating to the Metro Building in Hammersmith. Iran Air's London offices are also located in the borough. The airline moved there by Wednesday 4 January 2012.Disney and L'Oréal also all have UK headquarters in Hammersmith, as well as a number of other major businesses.


text: For a 15-year period Air France had its UK and Ireland office in Hammersmith. In 2006 the UK and Ireland office was moved to Hatton Cross, London Borough of Hounslow.


text: Until 2013, Virgin Group Ltd. had its corporate headquarters at The School House, Brook Green. The office was moved to the Battleship Building, near the Westway in Paddington, in the City of Westminster.


text: Hammersmith & Fulham is administered by 46 councillors. The Labour Party won control of the borough at the 2014 council elections held on 22 May with 26 councilors to the Conservative Party's 20 councilors, following Conservative control of the council since the 2006 council election. The council leader is Stephen Cowan.


text: The borough is divided into 16 electoral wards, all bar two electing three councillors apiece. These are:


text: Former councillors for Hammersmith and Fulham who are current members of parliament include Greg Hands MP (Con), Lisa Nandy MP (Lab) and Andrew Slaughter MP (Lab).


text: The borough has a proud sporting heritage going back to at least the second half of the 19th-century when the fledgeling Amateur Athletic Association of England came to the Lillie Bridge Grounds, followed there by football, boxing and First-class cricket. The borough is home to the world-governing body of Polo at The Hurlingham Club in Fulham and upholds the traditions of racketts and championship tennis at the Queen's Club, also in Fulham.


text: Chelsea Football Club is based in the borough and plays Premier League football having won the English national championship on six occasions (1955, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2015 and 2017) as well as the UEFA Champions League in 2012 and 2021. London's oldest professional football club, Fulham F.C. playing in the Premier League and Queens Park Rangers (playing in the Championship) are also based in the borough.


text: Hammersmith & Fulham RFC have been playing in the borough at Hurlingham Park for over 30 years. They boast four senior men's sides and one Ladies XV. The men's 1st XV currently compete in London's NE2 League with the remainder of the sides participating in the Middlesex Merit Tables.


text: Lower Mall hosted several rowing clubs at the end of the 19th century, of which there are two survivors and one founded slightly later. Among those who moved elsewhere or were disbanded were those in the headquarters of the national governing body, British Rowing, The Priory.


text: The first half of the Boat Race course, which is known as the Championship Course, hosting hundreds of eights the weekend before and many other races, is on the borough's most obvious boundary: its section of the Tideway – the upper estuary of the Thames.


text: The London Overground line now connects the borough with the North London Line via Willesden Junction station and direct services to Watford station to the north and services to East Croydon station to the south, via Clapham Junction railway station.


text: Hammersmith bus station at Hammersmith Broadway, above the District and Piccadilly lines tube station, is an important bus hub to most parts of London.


text: In March 2011, the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were: underground, metro, light rail, tram, 26.8% of all residents aged 16–74; bus, minibus or coach, 8.8%; on foot, 8.8%; driving a car or van, 8.2%; bicycle, 5.1%; work mainly at or from home, 4.2%; train, 3.1%.


text: The See of London has occupied the Fulham Palace riverside grounds for close on 900 years. The Palace is leased to the borough since 1977 and is now a museum.


text: The borough has four theatres (Riverside Studios, Bush Theatre, the Lyric Hammersmith and Curtains Up). LAMDA is based in the borough. There are several cinema complexes. Studio 106 Art Gallery holds regular exhibitions and workshops.


text: The Lyric Hammersmith, on Lyric Square off King Street, is considered one of the most notable theatres outside the West End in London.


text: The borough is also home to the Hammersmith Apollo and O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire, which play hosts to major concerts and stand-up comedy performances.


text: Public libraries in the borough include Askew Road Library, Avonmore Library, Fulham Library, Hammersmith Library, Sands End Library, and Shepherds Bush Library. The Borough Archives, open to the public Mondays and Tuesdays, staffed mainly by volunteers, are accessed in Hammersmith Library.


text: The borough is the home of an 1893 establishment, the Sacred Heart High School, Hammersmith on Hammersmith Broadway, and of Lady Margaret School (LMS) on Parsons Green, a school that welcomes girls of all academic abilities aged 11–17 years. It has been at the forefront of girls' education for over 95 years and has its origins in Whitelands College School which was founded in 1842. When that school was threatened with closure Lady Margaret was established in September 1917 by the redoubtable Miss Enid Moberly Bell. The borough is also home to two prestigious independent girls' schools – St Paul's Girls' School in Brook Green (often ranked in first place in the country in league tables, with nearly 50% of each year group gaining entry to Oxbridge), and the Godolphin and Latymer School, situated a few minutes' walk from Hammersmith Broadway.


text: Latymer Upper School, an independent co-educational school, is also in the borough, on King Street in Hammersmith.


text: There are two notable independent French language primary schools: Ecole Jacques Prevert in Brook Green and the Ecole Marie d'Orliac in Hurlingham.


text: The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.


title: James Carnegie, 3rd Duke of Fife

text: James George Alexander Bannerman Carnegie, 3rd Duke of Fife (23 September 1929 – 22 June 2015) was a British landowner, farmer and peer. He was the grandson of Louise, Princess Royal, a daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. As a female-line great-grandson of a British sovereign, he did not carry out royal or official duties or receive any funds from the Civil List. He was the second cousin of Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, and King Harald V of Norway. Through his maternal grandfather, he was also a descendant of William IV and Dorothea Jordan.


title: James Carnegie, 3rd Duke of Fife

text: The Duke was the only son of the 11th Earl of Southesk (1893–1992) and his wife, Princess Maud (1893–1945), the younger daughter of the 1st Duke of Fife and Louise, Princess Royal. One of his godparents was George V, his mother's maternal uncle, who was represented at the christening by his eldest son and heir, the Prince of Wales.


title: James Carnegie, 3rd Duke of Fife

text: The Duke was educated at Ludgrove, Gordonstoun School, and at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester. He served with the Scots Guards in Malaya in 1948–50. He served as vice patron of the Braemar Royal Highland Society and of the British Olympic Association.


title: James Carnegie, 3rd Duke of Fife

text: The Dukedom of Fife was first granted in 1889 to the Duke's grandfather, the 6th Earl of Fife, by Queen Victoria on his marriage to Princess Louise of Wales, the eldest daughter of the Prince of Wales. In April 1900, the first Duke received a new patent as Duke of Fife and Earl of Macduff in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, this time with a special remainder to his daughters by Princess Louise and their male issue. As the only surviving children of the Duke and Princess Louise were two daughters, the dukedom passed to Princess Alexandra of Fife, who became Princess Arthur of Connaught.


title: James Carnegie, 3rd Duke of Fife

text: On 26 February 1959, the duke succeeded his maternal aunt, Princess Arthur of Connaught, Duchess of Fife, as Duke of Fife and Earl of Macduff, because her only child, Alastair, 2nd Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, had predeceased her. On 16 February 1992 the third Duke also succeeded his father as Earl of Southesk and as chief of the Clan Carnegie.


title: James Carnegie, 3rd Duke of Fife

text: He lived at Elsick House, on his estate near Stonehaven in Kincardineshire and also farmed the family estate around Kinnaird Castle, Brechin. His interests included sports cars, driving a Ford Zephyr 6 in the 1955 Monte Carlo Rally.


title: James Carnegie, 3rd Duke of Fife

text: In the 1990s, Fife's mitochondrial DNA (mDNA) was used to help identify bones recovered in Siberia in 1979 as the remains of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, who was executed in 1918 along with his wife and children. Queen Alexandra, the Duke of Fife's maternal great-grandmother, was the older sister of Nicholas II's mother, Dagmar. The test required a female line descendant, as mDNA is passed unchanged from mother to child, unless there is a mutation. In Fife's case, mDNA from Queen Alexandra passed to his grandmother, Louise, Princess Royal, and then to his mother, Princess Maud, and then to him. Fife's mDNA was a 98.5% match with the bones, a rare imperfect match that scientists suspected was caused by a genetic mutation on the Russian side called a heteroplasmy. In 1994, the remains of Nicholas's younger brother, Grand Duke Georgy Alexandrovich, were exhumed in Saint Petersburg. The mDNA from Grand Duke Georgy also revealed the heteroplasmy, confirming the theory of the mutation and conclusive proof that the bones indeed belonged to the last tsar of Russia.


title: James Carnegie, 3rd Duke of Fife

text: As a young man, the Duke's name was variously linked with Princess Margaret, ballerina Mary Drage, and sportswoman Divina Galica.


title: James Carnegie, 3rd Duke of Fife

text: On 11 September 1956, the then Lord Carnegie married The Hon. Caroline Dewar (born 12 February 1934), the elder daughter of the 3rd Baron Forteviot at St Ninian's Cathedral, Perth, Scotland. Guests at the wedding included Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. The reception was held at the Dewar family residence, Dupplin Castle.


title: XO (song)

text: "XO" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé from her self-titled fifth studio album in 2013. Columbia Records released the song as the lead contemporary hit radio single from the album in the US and Italy on December 16, 2013. Ryan Tedder composed and co-wrote and co-produced "XO" with Terius "The-Dream" Nash and Beyoncé, with additional production handled by Chauncey "Hit-Boy" Hollis and HazeBanga Music. A pure midtempo power pop and R&B love song with electronic influences, "XO" is complete with electronic musical instrumentation, synthesizers and drums. Musically, it was compared to Beyoncé's own song "Halo" and was noted for having several music hooks including its call and response chorus.


title: XO (song)

text: The usage of an audio sample from Space Shuttle "Challenger" disaster at the beginning of the song was criticized by the families of the lost crew, NASA, and some media. Beyoncé released a statement saying that the song was intended to help people who have lost loved people in their lives and that the sample was included as a tribute to the "Challenger" crew. "XO" managed to appear on many music charts across Europe and Oceania and it peaked at number 45 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100.


title: XO (song)

text: A music video for the song directed by Terry Richardson was filmed in Coney Island in late August 2013. It was made available on iTunes with the release of the album on December 13, 2013 and was released online three days later. Beyoncé performed the song during the last stops of the North American leg of The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour in December 2013 and later during the tour's second European leg in early 2014. To further promote "XO", she performed it at the 2014 BRIT Awards and later at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards. Haim and John Mayer covered the song in 2014, with the latter releasing it as a single.


title: XO (song)

text: "XO" was written by Beyoncé, Terius "The-Dream" Nash and Ryan Tedder while the production was helmed by the aforementioned group as well as Chauncey "Hit-Boy" Hollis and HazeBanga. Ramon Rivas engineered the song, with assistance from Justin Hergett. Beyoncé's vocals were recorded by Stuart White and Bart Schoudel while all instrumentation and programming was carried out by Tedder. The song was finally mixed by Andrew Scheps. "XO" was recorded in four studios: Jungle City Studios and Oven Studios, both in New York City, Trackdown Studios in Sydney and Tritonus Studios in Berlin.


title: XO (song)

text: During an interview with Australian radio station Nova in November 2013, Tedder revealed that he had collaborated with Beyoncé on a song for her then-upcoming album along with The-Dream, further saying, "Personally the song we did I like more than 'Halo'. I think it's a bigger, better song". However, he acknowledged that he did not know when the singer planned to release new material for her fifth album. The previous month, it was reported by a source to the "Daily News" that Beyoncé planned to release a new single and video on December 3, 2013. The publication further speculated that the single was expected to be the song whose music video was filmed in August of the same year – "XO". Later, when "Beyoncé" was released, "Billboard" reported that "Blow" would be released as the contemporary hit radio single both in the US and worldwide, and "Drunk in Love" would be sent to urban radio in the US only; "XO" was scheduled to be released as the second worldwide radio single in 2014. However, radio programmers reportedly pushed back against the release of "Blow" to mainstream stations, finding its lyrics to be very explicit for the format and proposing that "XO" be released in its place. The release of "Blow" was therefore scrapped and "XO" impacted contemporary hit radio in Italy and adult contemporary radio in the US on December 16, 2013. It was also sent to US mainstream, urban and rhythmic radio on December 17.


title: XO (song)

text: "XO" is a midtempo pop, electropop and R&B love power ballad that bears resemblance to Beyoncé's own 2008 song "Halo", which was also produced by Tedder. Influences of electronic rock and reggaeton genres were also found in the song. The sheet music for "XO" was published in common time in the key of C major, with a tempo of 85 beats per minute. It carries a "celebratory, bumping Caribbean" groove and a marching-drum beat with shuffling dancehall influences. The instrumentation includes jittery keyboards, synthesizers, percussion and electronic musical instruments. The song also consists of electronic flourishes and looped riff patterns brought about by an organ instrument. "XO" was also noted for being a departure from the minimalistic sexual nature of the album, due to its pure pop sound. Jordan Sargent of "Complex" magazine wrote that "XO" contains influences of Jamaican singer Tanya Stephens. Chris Bosman from Consequence of Sound described the song as a blend of "cinematic reach of modern Top 40 pop with the patience and melancholy of post-"808s & Heartbreaks" hip-hop." Kevin Fallon from "The Daily Beast" compared the song's stadium sound to tracks by the band U2.


title: XO (song)

text: Beyoncé's vocals in the song span from the note of A to the note of C. When asked about her raw vocals in the song previously unheard on her material and the song's less polished sound, Beyoncé revealed that "XO" was recorded when she had a bad sinus infection. She further revealed it was recorded as a demo in several minutes. The original demo vocals were kept for a year without being rerecorded as the singer "really loved the imperfections" and wanted to focus on the album's music instead of the vocals.


title: XO (song)

text: The lyrics of "XO" express a cheerful celebration of love and life as Beyoncé attempts "to create light from darkness". It has been described as a universal love song which talks about different types of relationships. The singer lays emphasis on the importance of living the present with a person's loved one as life is unpredictable. She further sings about the tragedy and magnificence that life can hold. Throughout the song, the singer adopts a hopeful attitude and seems to have gone in trance with love, a state which is further augmented by the fact that she employs a generally low register. Caitlin White from the website The 405 interpreted the song's lyrics in depth:


title: XO (song)

text: In the darkest night of hate and intolerance we see impossible love stories conquering what our governments and societies declare is legally 'allowed' to be love... It is for love that transcends the romantic conception of man and woman and stretches out into the impossibilities of the cosmos. It leaves room for failure but hopes for success.


title: XO (song)

text: The opening lines of "XO" are echo-laden and in contrast to other songs on "Beyoncé", the ballad contains several hooks. Beyoncé starts the song by asking a loved one to kiss her. Some of the ascending chorus lines are call and response; Beyoncé is backed by a sing-along crowd as she sings about how her "darkest nights" are enlightened by the lover's face: "In the darkest night hour / I search through the crowd / Your face is all that I see / I give you everything". The chorus ends with the singer adding, "Baby love me, lights out", with a croak in her voice.


title: XO (song)

text: The song begins with a six second-long sample of former NASA public affairs officer Steve Nesbitt, recorded moments after Space Shuttle "Challenger" disaster on January 28, 1986: "Flight controllers here looking very carefully at the situation. Obviously a major malfunction." The use of the sample has been criticized in the media, including Hardeep Phull of the "New York Post", who described its presence in the song as "tasteless". Former NASA astronauts and families were also dismayed and labeled the use of the sample as "insensitive". Keith Cowing of NASA Watch suggested that the use of the clip ranged from negligence to repugnance.


title: XO (song)

text: On December 30, 2013, NASA criticized the use of the sample, stating: "The "Challenger" accident is an important part of our history; a tragic reminder that space exploration is risky and should never be trivialized. NASA works every day to honor the legacy of our fallen astronauts as we carry out our mission to reach for new heights and explore the universe." Earlier on the same date, Beyoncé had issued a statement to ABC News in response to the families, explaining why she and her co-songwriters decided to include the audio sample in "XO":


title: XO (song)

text: My heart goes out to the families of those lost in the "Challenger" disaster. The song 'XO' was recorded with the sincerest intention to help heal those who have lost loved ones and to remind us that unexpected things happen, so love and appreciate every minute that you have with those who mean the most to you. The songwriters included the audio in tribute to the unselfish work of the "Challenger" crew with hope that they will never be forgotten.


title: XO (song)

text: Forrest Wickman of "Slate" magazine defended Beyoncé's choice to use the sample, and criticized the media reports for their "dismissive" interpretation of the song's "vague" lyrics as being about "a girl in a relationship". According to Wickman, the lyrics of the song refer to mortality and "the urgency of spending time with the ones you love before you lose them, because you never know when that could be"; this is shown in the hook lines, "Baby kiss me / Before they turn the lights out / You better kiss me / Before our time has run out." A similar interpretation was voiced by Douglas Wolk of "Wired", who challenged the notion of the sample being simply a "trivialization", instead describing it as "a swift, understated and brutal reminder that everything can go horribly wrong before anyone understands what's happening, and that the light could be extinguished at any moment". Wickman concluded, "If there's anything anyone should know by now about Beyoncé Knowles, it's that there's nothing in her self-presentation that isn't carefully chosen."


title: XO (song)

text: Caitlin White from the website The 405 noted that there was a reason for the song being "couched in warnings" of malfunction and tragedy elaborating, "As far controversy, denying Beyonce the ability to embrace the intertextuality of incorporating a historical recording like the Challenger explosion is an attempt to relegate her art to a lower form of political discourse, one that's not 'worthy' of interacting with an event of cultural significance like this. But this is not just a 'pop album,' it's a woman holding forth on the role of women in our society, how they should approach the nuances of their life and most importantly, how they can choose to value relationships... That isn't just the work of a diva, that is the work of a political figure."


title: XO (song)

text: Mike Wass of the website Idolator described it as a "radio-ready anthem... [which] is impossible to beat". "Vanity Fair" writer Michelle Collins described it as "the most upbeat and catchiest song of the lot" on the album. Ryan Dennehy from the website AbsolutePunk opined that "XO" was a guaranteed, triumphant hit. Andrew Hampp and Erika Ramirez of "Billboard" magazine described "XO" as "magical" further calling it the most radio-friendly song on the entire album with its traditional pop structure. Peter Tabakis from the website Pretty Much Amazing listed the "magnificent power ballad" as one of the "potential chart-toppers" of the album. Michael Cragg of "The Guardian" called the track a "joyous, echo-laden heart burst," and an immediate choice for a single. Stereogum's Tom Breihan found "an immediately apparent "hit" [in "Beyoncé" is]... the incandescent 'XO'". Rob Harvilla from "Spin" found "monster-single potential" in "XO". Marc Hogan of the same publication described the song as a potential radio hit "that looms largest" from the album. He further went on to praise its "grandly swaying hook that makes the one from Jessie Ware's 'Wildest Moments' sound understated". Lindsay Zoladz of Pitchfork Media praised the song's "big, boundary-obliterating" pop appeal and hailed it as a future blockbuster and hit. She went on to praise the singer's vocal performance in the song concluding "all of the flawlessness here is brilliantly undercut by that gravelly croak".


title: XO (song)

text: The song's pop and sing-along sound and production received praise by critics. Greg Kot from the "Chicago Tribune" described the song's production as "predictable" and opined that the audience sing-along chorus sounded like it was created specifically for being performed during an arena encore. Similarly, Nathan S. of the website DJ Booth wrote that the song was suitable for "ecstatic" fans to sing along without efforts during a stadium concert: "This is the kind of chorus that's going to be sung at full force in traffic jams for months to come, and while XO may be relatively more subdued, that call and response is destined to be a monster when performed live, right down to the way her voice shows a little wear, just like it would at the end of a show." Jody Rosen writing for Vulture found a "cavernous widescreen" anthemic pop sound in the song further saying that its chorus sounded like it was specifically made for an Olympics opening ceremony. Carrie Battan of Pitchfork described the song as a "stadium-filling" one and classified it as one of "Beyoncé"s "decorous moments". Joe Lynch from Fuse described "XO" as the "most uplifting" pop song since Florence and the Machine's "Shake It Out" (2011). He praised the electronic flourishes, saying that they managed to "keep the music from veering into banal territory" and concluded that the song has a "quirky" sound previously unheard on other material by Beyoncé. Philip Sherburne of "Spin" found "zero-G bounce... which, purely in terms of sonics, makes the most compelling argument for space tourism I have yet to come across".


title: XO (song)

text: Many critics considered "XO" to be a highlight on the album. Drowned in Sound's Robert Leedham opined in his review of the album, "Most glorious of all is 'XO', a supermassive, dumbstruck ode to being in love and caring about fuck all else. It's the one album track that's linear enough to withstand a drunken singalong." Lavanya Ramanthatan of "The Washington Post" described the song as a "swelling anthem" and one of the highlights of "Beyoncé". Caitlin White from the website The 405, hailed "XO" as "the album's crowning track... [it] feels like even more of a triumph". Philip Cosores from "Paste" magazine noted that the song, along with several others in the closing portion of the album, was "probably the best of her career". Jordan Sargent from "Complex" magazine described "XO" as the "purest love song" on "Beyoncé". However, a more mixed review came from Claire Lobenfeld of the same publication who felt that it was the only skippable track of the album due to its "mawkish" feel. Similarly, Chris Kelly of "Fact" magazine wrote that the song "reeks of Ryan Tedder's paint-by-number hitmaking".


title: XO (song)

text: "Under the Radar"s Ryan E.C. Hamm argued that "XO" made "a strong case" for being included as song of the year on several year-end lists; however he noted that this was not possible as the lists had already been compiled and published when the song was released. However, Rob Sheffield of "Rolling Stone" placed "XO" at number 8 in his year-end list of the 25 best songs of 2013. The song was further ranked at number 72 in the annual Pazz and Jop mass critics poll of the year's best in music. In 2014, Vultures writer Jody Rosen listed the song at number 52 on his list of "The 150 Greatest Schlock Songs Ever" calling it "an instant classic": "The grand, sparkly production screams 2013; the theme — how love bears out to the edge of doom and all that — is timeless." The same year, he further included the song in his list of the best songs by Beyoncé published in "The New York Times". In 2019, "Pitchfork" listed "XO" at number 182 on their greatest songs of the decade (2010s) list. "XO" is nominated in the category for Best Song at the 2014 World Music Awards.


title: XO (song)

text: Toyota featured the song, along with Beyoncé, in their 2014 commercial as part of the "Get Going" campaign.


title: XO (song)

text: "XO" debuted at number 66 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 for the week ending January 4, 2014. The song gradually ascended the chart and in its fifth week, on the chart issue dated February 1, 2014, it peaked at number 45. It spent five additional weeks on the "Billboard" Hot 100, being placed at number 83 in its last week before falling out of the chart. On the Mainstream Top 40 airplay chart it debuted at number 32 for the week ending January 11, 2014. The next week, "XO" moved to number 24 on that chart and it eventually peaked at number 18 spending a total of eight weeks on the Mainstream Top 40. On the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, the single reached number 12 in its total of eighteen weeks spent on the chart. As of June 6, 2014, "XO" has sold 356,000 downloads in the US. In Canada, "XO" has peaked at number 36 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart and was certified gold by Music Canada for sales of 40,000 copies in that country.


title: XO (song)

text: In the UK, "XO" debuted at number 23 on the UK R&B Chart on December 28, 2013 and number 84 on the UK Singles Chart on January 11, 2014. Following Beyoncé's performance of "XO" at the 2014 BRIT Awards in February 2014, sales of the song in the country increased by 96% within the first two hours, and were up by 252% the following day. Following the performance, the song moved ten positions up on the UK R&B Chart at number 5 the next week, and on March 8, 2014 it moved to a peak position of 4. It also peaked at number 22 on the singles chart on the same date and spent 13 weeks in total. On October 17, 2014, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) certified it silver for sales of 200,000 copies. On the Irish Singles Chart, "XO" debuted at 70 for the week ending December 26, 2013. It set a peak of 15 on the chart for the week ending January 30, 2014 and further remained on the chart until April 3.


title: XO (song)

text: For the week ending December 21, 2013, "XO" debuted at number five on the South Korea Gaon International Chart with digital sales of 13,731 copies and later peaked at number four. For the week of December 30, 2013, "XO" debuted at number 44 on the Australian Singles Chart and number 5 on the Australian Urban Singles Chart. On January 26, 2014, it set a peak of number 16 on the singles chart and was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipment of 35,000 copies. On the New Zealand Singles Chart, "XO" debuted at number at number 38 on January 6, 2014 and it moved to 19 the following week. It peaked at number 10 on the chart issue dated January 20, 2014 and gradually descended the chart before falling off on March 17, 2014 after last being seen at 33.


title: XO (song)

text: The music video for "XO" was directed by Terry Richardson. It was filmed on August 29, 2013 on Coney Island's Cyclone roller coaster. On that same day, Beyoncé was spotted at that location. It was later confirmed by several publications that Beyoncé was filming a video for a then-upcoming song titled "XO" from her upcoming fifth album. "The Daily Telegraph" further reported that fashion models Jourdan Dunn, Jessica White and Diandra Forrest were present during the filming of the video. Several scenes for the video were also filmed during Beyoncé's concert at the Brazilian festival Rock in Rio at Rio de Janeiro in 2013 where the singer asked the crowd to make X and O shapes with their hands; the hand movement choreography was created by Lee Anne Callahan-Longo, the general manager at Parkwood Entertainment. During a behind-the-scenes video, Richardson described the process for the filming of the clip for "XO",


title: XO (song)

text: "You know, it's amazing cause in one point we were like in the arcade and I said to Beyoncé let's just do this. You wanna open the door and you're gonna perform and we're just gonna walk out and see what happens and she was like 'Yeah, let's go for it'. And literally we came out the door and it was like just hundreds of people sort of coming around us. People everywhere, cameras, people yelling her name. It was incredible, I have never experienced anything like that. It was really reportage, loose, not planned, we went with feeling, we went with instinct... It's a beautiful cycle of energy."


title: XO (song)

text: Beyoncé further described the filming of the video as "insanely chaotic" before adding that it captured "raw, fun and being in the moment". In order to prevent snippets of the song being leaked online, the singer wore earbuds during the filming of the video instead of playing the music loud and lip synced the lyrics. The music video for "XO" was first released on the iTunes Store on the visual album itself on December 13, 2013, which contained a previously filmed music video for every song. It was later released to Vevo on December 16, 2013 along with the video for "Drunk in Love".


title: XO (song)

text: The video opens with scenes of Beyoncé standing in front of a wall made of flashing multi-coloured light bulbs. Several scenes of people riding bumper cars follow as Beyoncé also goes riding one. She then continues playing carnival games and rides the Cyclone roller coaster with her stylist Ty Hunter while wearing a baseball cap emblazoned with Notorious B.I.G.'s face and white tank top with jeans. Several scenes show Beyoncé walking along the boardwalk, while paparazzi take pictures of her; during one scene a TMZ cameraman Adam Glyn makes a cameo appearance. Several other scenes show the singer dancing with fans and street performers while sporting a light bow on her head. Beyoncé also dances a choreographed dance with several female background dancers on a skee ball game. Scenes of love couples and instances of various iconic establishments are also featured throughout. Footage of Beyoncé leading a crowd for the choreography at a concert is also featured as well as the singer appearing with a bat made of money.


title: XO (song)

text: A writer of "Rap-Up" magazine wrote Beyoncé was "spread[ing] the love" with the "feel-good clip". Idolator's Mike Wass said "Happily [it] is as gorgeous as the song with Terry Richardson simply filming Bey living it up at Coney Island. It's almost too perfect." In another review, he also hailed it as "carefree, neon-drenched" and one of the best clips on the whole album adding that it looked more like a home movie than a music video which was "part of its immense appeal". Rob Harvilla from "Spin" magazine described it as "the sweetest" video on the album. Chris Martins from the same publication wrote that the video is "all pretty huge and heartwarming". Neil McCormick from "The Daily Telegraph" found "happy innocence" in the clip. Kory Grow from "Rolling Stone" noted that the clip was a "fun video for a likewise song" further saying that the hand choreography was Beyoncé's version of a similar dance from the song "Y.M.C.A." (1978) by Village People.


title: XO (song)

text: Lindsay Zoladz from Pitchfork praised the appeal of the hand-movement choreography from the video, predicting "There will be a supercut of people all over the world lip-syncing and doing cute hand motions to 'XO'".


title: XO (song)

text: Rachel Brodsky of MTV described the video as charmingly DIY-styled and praised Beyoncé's look and the dance choreography. Hardeep Phull from the "New York Post" commented that the video "captures the spirit of the song in a way that's sweet if not exactly original". Malene Arpe from "Toronto Star" described the video as a "happy-party-at-the-fair romp". Jordan Sargent of "Complex" magazine wrote in his review of the video that it recalls and showcases "the joyous adrenaline rush" of falling in love. He described the tone as "appropriate" and different from the rest of the videos on the album and noted that its director used pink and blue colors in the scenes to capture the feel of "budding romance". Tyler Hanan from the website Under the Gun Review wrote that the video has "all lights on blast and all ages included" and added that it was complete with "smiles, joy, and good-natured silliness".


title: XO (song)

text: Melinda Newman from the website HitFix described Beyoncé's look in the video as "sultry, slightly euphoric" and noted its main theme being about comparing love to a carnival. She concluded that the video for "XO" is "interesting... almost as if we're seeing her in some state of heightened reality enhanced by some mood-altering substance-- or maybe that's just what love does to Beyoncé." Joe Lynch from Fuse commented that the shots of Beyoncé's smiles, children dancing and roller coaster throughout the video made it "the most joyous music video of 2013". The same writer in another review said that the video shows Beyoncé "at her most flippant, casual best". Michelle Collins from the "Vanity Fair" described the singer's look as "young, carefree" further describing the video as "FOMO to the max". However, Whitney Phaneuf of the website HitFix gave a mixed review, comparing the video to Mariah Carey's "Fantasy" (1995) saying that the latter's clip made "the roller coaster look better". The video was nominated in the category for Best Video at the 2014 World Music Awards.


title: XO (song)

text: Beyoncé performed "XO" live for the first time on December 13, 2013, during a concert in Chicago as part of her The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour. Prior to the performance she revealed that the song was written for her fans and added, "This is the first time, something I'll never forget". She then performed the song as a call and response with the crowd. Molly Wardlaw of Fuse described the performance as "glorious" and a "heavenly thing to behold". Later, Beyoncé also performed the song during the remaining stops of the North American leg of the tour as a part of the encore dedicating it to her fans. While reviewing Beyoncé's performance in Washington, Lavanya Ramanthatan of "The Washington Post" noted that "XO" was one of the "most thrilling songs" of the concert. Stacey Anderson from "Rolling Stone" wrote that the song "was delivered with visible emotion, and seemingly with a spontaneity absent from the rest of the precise operation". "XO" was added to the set list and performed live during the second European leg of The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour in 2014 from February to March. Graeme Virtue of "The Guardian" reviewed the performances of "XO" and "Halo" positively, saying that she managed to transform "[the] monumental songs... into intimate miniatures through sheer force of will" while dancing and interacting with the crowd alone onstage.


title: XO (song)

text: The song's first televised performance was at the 2014 BRIT Awards on February 19, 2014, marking her first performance at the ceremony since the one held in 2004. The performance was confirmed by James Corden on BBC Radio 2 several hours prior to the ceremony, following rumours that circulated for several weeks. Beyoncé appeared on stage wearing a shimmering, floor-length sequin blue gown designed by Vrettos Vrettakos containing 140,000 blue zircon crystals and big earrings. The singer performed in front of a simple set of flashing neon lights along with fireworks and lasers on a screen as well as smoke surrounding her dedicating the performance to her fans. Sam Lansky of "Time" magazine praised the simplicity of the performance as "classy and spare" and wrote that the singer "more than did it justice" with her "pretty much peerless" vocals. MTV News' Emily Blake favorably reviewed the performance as more "subdued" in comparison with the other live shows by Beyoncé. "Daily News" Kirthana Ramisetti said that the singer managed to stun at the awards show with the impassioned performance only with the "power of her voice". "Vanity Fair" writer Josh Duboff described the performance as "powerful and fairly straightforward, sedate even". E! Online's Bruna Nessif wrote that the singer "absolutely stunned as she belted the sweet ballad, giving the audience a memorable show. There was no extra glitz or glamour (not really necessary with a dress like that) or backup dancers and crazy antics. The singer's main focus were her powerhouse vocals". Mark Savage of BBC News opined, "[the] unbilled, stripped-back performance of XO was undoubtedly the night's most flawless vocal". Alexis Petridis of "The Guardian" described her as "clearly the star of the show". However, Mark Sutherland of the "Rolling Stone" gave a mixed review about the performance saying it was "a bit... dull". At the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards on August 25, Beyoncé performed "XO" live during a medley consisting of songs from her self-titled album. She performed the song dressed in a bejeweled bodysuit and dedicated it to her fans as the closing track of her performance, stating "This one is for my incredible fans. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be on this stage". Nadeska Alexis from MTV News felt that the singer kept the audience "lifted" with the performance of the song.


title: XO (song)

text: Beyoncé also performed the song along with "Halo" during the memorial service for Kobe Bryant on February 24, 2020. "XO" is reported to be Kobe's favorite song from Beyoncé.


title: XO (song)

text: On April 15, 2014, John Mayer covered "XO" during a concert in Adelaide, Australia. Three days prior to the performance, he used his Twitter account to praise the song, writing, "The best thing about Beyoncé? The break in her voice on the first 'baby, love me lights out' in XO. Real and raw." One month later, on May 22, he released a studio version of the song on his SoundCloud account. It was made available for digital download by Columbia Records on May 27, 2014 through the iTunes Store.


title: XO (song)

text: Mayer's version is an acoustic stripped-down rendition complete with guitar and accentuated by piano and harmonica. Kelcey Shipley from MTV News praised his version for its "simplicity" while Killian Young of "Rolling Stone" shortly described it as "sweet". "Spin"s Marc Hogan noted that "XO" was a "perfect song for him" and described it as "a person-to-person romantic exchange, transferred over to acoustic instruments but no less stadium-sized – or pop – for it." Lauren Nostro writing for "Complex" deemed Mayer's live rendition of the song "impressive" before adding that the harmonica, "will tug at your heart strings almost as much as the original song".


title: XO (song)

text: For the week ending June 1, 2014, Mayer's version debuted at number 90 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 chart and number 13 on the US Hot Rock Songs chart, selling 46,000 copies. On the Canadian Hot 100, "XO" peaked at a position of 76. The single also debuted and peaked at number 81 on the Australian Singles Chart on June 7, 2014. On June 28, 2014, "XO" peaked at number 95 on the Dutch Singles Chart and it fell off the following week. In the UK, it peaked at 115 on the UK Singles Chart on June 7, 2014.


title: XO (song)

text: The song was covered for the first time by the American band Haim on February 24, 2014 during a Live Lounge at BBC Radio 1. Their cover version featured vocals by Este Haim and was musically similar to the original version complete with a slow beat, synthesizer flourishes, guitar rift, drum-kick and callback harmonies during the song's chorus. The rendition was noted for containing elements of vintage soft rock and its stripped-down sound was praised highlighting the melody and lyricism of the original "with sincerety" as stated by Whitney Phanuef from HitFix. "Billboard" writer Jason Lipshutz described their rendition as a "highly unique presentation". "Time" magazine's Melisa Locker described the cover as "stellar" and "unsurprisingly awesome". Stereogum's Chris DeVille hailed it as a "reverent take" noting that the band managed to "capture the grandeur" of the original by using less musical layers. "Slate"s Aisha Harris commented that the vocals featured in the cover were not "quite so flawless" as in the original version but praised their version for being pleasant to listen to. Later, the song was added to the band's set list as part of the encore during their tour in 2014. They also performed it at the 2014 Glastonbury Festival with a writer from "The Daily Telegraph" describing their cover as "reflective".


title: XO (song)

text: On April 8, 2014, remix versions of "XO" and "Blow" by French musician Monsieur Adi premiered on "Out"s official website along Beyoncé's appearance on the cover of the magazine. The remix for "XO" was influenced by electro house music and it was noted for being transformed as a "club-friendly power pop ballad" by the editors of the magazine. "Complex" magazine writer Lauren Nostro described the version as "fantastic". The song was covered on the seventh season of the American "The Voice" by contestant Elyjuh Rene during the first episode which aired on September 22, 2014.


title: XO (song)

text: On July 1, 2016, Anna Elizabeth Laube released a folk version as a single. It was then released as a part of her album, "Tree", on September 9, 2016. "No Depression" writer Alan Harrison described the track as being "...worthy of Joni Mitchell circa "Blue"."


title: Hooghly district

text: Hooghly district () is one of the districts of the Indian state of West Bengal. It can alternatively be spelt "Hoogli" or "Hugli". The district is named after the Hooghly River.


title: Hooghly district

text: The headquarters of the district are at Hooghly-Chinsura ("Chuchura"). There are four subdivisions: Chinsurah Sadar, Srirampore, Chandannagore, and Arambagh.


title: Hooghly district

text: The district of Hooghly derived its name from the town of Hooghly on the west bank of the Hugli River about 40 km north of Kolkata. This town was a major river port for trade in India before colonialism.


title: Hooghly district

text: The district has thousands of years of rich heritage as part of the Bengali kingdom of Bhurshut. The first European to reach this area was the Portuguese sailor Vasco da Gama. In 1536 Portuguese traders obtained a permit from Sultan Mahmud Shah to trade in this area. In those days the Hooghly River was the main route for transportation and Hooghly served as an excellent trading port.


title: Hooghly district

text: Within a few decades, the town of Hooghly turned into a major commercial centre and the largest port in Bengal. Later in 1579–80 Mughal emperor Akbar gave permission to a Portuguese captain Pedro Tavares to establish a city anywhere in the Bengal province. They chose Hooghly, and it became the first European settlement in Bengal. In 1599 the Portuguese traders built a convent and a church in Bandel. This is the first Christian church in Bengal known as ‘Bandel Church’ today.


title: Hooghly district

text: The Portuguese traders started slave trading, robbery and converting natives into Christians by pressure. At one point they stopped paying taxes to the Mughal Empire. As a result, Emperor Shah Jahan ordered the then-ruler of Bengal province, Qasim Khan Juvayni, to block the city of Hooghly. This led to a war in which the Portuguese were defeated.


title: Hooghly district

text: Among other European powers that came to Hooghly were the Dutch, the Danish, the British, the French, the Belgians and the Germans. Dutch traders centred their activities in the town Chuchura which is south of Hooghly. Chandannagar became the base of the French and the city remained under their control from 1816 to 1950. Similarly, the Danish establishment in settlement in Serampore (1755). All these towns are on the west bank of the Hooghly River and served as ports. Among these European countries, the British ultimately became most powerful.


title: Hooghly district

text: Initially the British were based in and around the city of Hooghly like traders from other countries. In 1690 Job Charnock decided to shift the British trading centre from Hooghly-Chinsura to Calcutta. The reason behind this decision was the strategically safe location of Calcutta and its proximity to the Bay of Bengal. As a result, trade and commerce in the Bengal province shifted from the town of Hooghly to Calcutta. Hooghly lost its importance as Calcutta prospered.


title: Hooghly district

text: After the Battle of Buxar this region was brought under direct British rule until India's independence in 1947. After independence, this district merged into the state of West Bengal.


title: Hooghly district

text: Though the city of Hooghly is more than 500 years old, the district of Hooghly was formed in 1795 with the city of Hooghly as its headquarters. Later the headquarters shifted to the town of Chuchura. In 1843 the Howrah district was created from the southern portion of this district. And in 1872, the south-west portion of this district was merged into the Medinipur district. The last change in area occurred in 1966.


title: Hooghly district

text: The Taraknath Temple, dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva worshiped as Taraknath, is a major pilgrimage spot in the town of Tarakeswar. Built in 1729, the temple is an ‘atchala’ structure of Bengal temple architecture with a ‘natmandir’ in front. Close by are the shrines of Kali and Lakshmi Narayan. Dudhpukur, a tank to the north of the Shiva temple is believed to fulfil the prayers of those taking a dip in it.


title: Hooghly district

text: Pilgrims visit the temple throughout the year, especially on Mondays. Thousands of pilgrims visit Tarakeswar on the occasions of Shivaratri and ‘Gajan’, the former taking place in Phalgun (Feb-March) while the latter lasts for five days ending on the last day of Chaitra (mid-April). The month of Sravana (mid-July to mid-August) is seen to be auspicious for Shiva when celebrations are held on each Monday.


title: Hooghly district

text: The district is flat, with no place having an elevation of more than 200 meters. The River Hooghly borders it to the east. Another major river is the Damodar.


title: Hooghly district

text: The district is bordered by Howrah District to the south, Bardhaman District to the north, and to the east by the River Hooghly. Bankura District lies to the north-west, with Medinipur District to the south-west.


title: Hooghly district

text: Hooghly is one of the most economically developed districts in West Bengal. It is the main jute cultivation, jute industry, and jute trade hub in the state. The jute mills are along the banks of the river Hooghly in Tribeni, Bhadreswar, Champdani and Sreerampur.


title: Hooghly district

text: There are a number of industrial complexes including one of the largest car manufacturing plants in India, the Hindustan Motors plant in Uttarpara.


title: Hooghly district

text: Hugli-Chuchura is the district headquarters. There are 23 police stations, 18 development blocks, 12 municipalities and 207 gram panchayats in this district.


title: Hooghly district

text: Other than municipality area, each subdivision contains community development blocks that are divided into rural areas and census towns. There are 41 urban units: 12 municipalities and 64 census towns.


title: Hooghly district

text: Balagarh, Dhaniakhali, Khanakul and Goghat constituencies are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) candidates. Along with two assembly constituencies from Howrah district, Jangipara, Chanditala, Uttarpara, Serampore and Champdani constituencies form the Serampore (Lok Sabha constituency). Chandernagore, Singur, Haripal, Chinsurah, Bansberia, Polba and Dhaniakhali constituencies form the Hooghly (Lok Sabha constituency).


title: Hooghly district

text: Tarakeswar, Pursurah, Khankul, Arambag and Goghat constituencies are part of the Arambagh (Lok Sabha constituency), which contains two assembly segments in Paschim Medinipur district. Balagarh and Pandua constituencies are part of the Katwa (Lok Sabha constituency), which contains five assembly constituency from Bardhaman district.


title: Hooghly district

text: As per order of the Delimitation Commission in respect of the delimitation of constituencies in the West Bengal, the district will be divided into 18 assembly constituencies:


title: Hooghly district

text: Balagarh, Dhanekhali, Arambag and Goghat constituencies will be reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) candidates. Along with two assembly constituencies from Howrah district, Uttarpara, Sreerampur, Champdani, Chanditala and Jangipara constituencies will form the Sreerampur (Lok Sabha constituency). Singur, Chandannagar, Chunchura, Balagarh, Pandua, Saptagram and Dhanekhali constituencies will form the Hooghly (Lok Sabha constituency). Haripal, Tarakeswar, Pursurah, Arambag, Goghat and Khankul constituencies will be part of the Arambag (Lok Sabha constituency), which will contain one assembly segment in Paschim Medinipur district.


title: Hooghly district

text: Hooghly District comes under Burdwan Police Range. Hooghly Rural Police District was created on 30 June 2017, curbing out of erstwhile Hooghly district. Presently it consists of sixteen police station with jurisdiction, one women police station and one Cyber Police Station. The head quarter of Hooghly Rural Police District was shifted to Kamarkundu under Singur PS from Chinsura.


title: Hooghly district

text: Chandannagar Police Commissionerate was formed after bifurcation of the Hooghly Police District, and has nine police stations under its jurisdiction established on 30 June 2017, is a police force with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within certain urban parts of Hooghly district. The Commissionerate is part of the West Bengal Police, and comes under the Department of Home & Hill Affairs, Government of West Bengal.


title: Hooghly district

text: For the functioning of 23 police stations of the district, District Intelligence Branch, District Enforcement Branch and District Reserve Police Force SP, Hooghly is assisted by three additional superintendents:


title: Hooghly district

text: The railway is under Howrah Division. The Howrah – New Delhi Rajdhani Route passes through the district, which is one of the most important routes of the country. This route comes under Howrah division and is under the jurisdiction of Sr Den/2/Hwh assisted by AEN/2/LLH. The first train of ER started its journey from Howrah to Hooghly on 14 August 1854 (First halt was Bally (Howrah) and second halt was Serampore). Hooghly station was announced as the heritage station.


title: Hooghly district

text: There are several bus stands in Hooghly district, of the main four bus stands are Chinsurah, Serampore, Tarakeswar, Arambagh. Other small bus stand including Kamarpukur, Dashghara, Dankuni, Champadanga, Garer Ghat, Badanganj, Haripal, Jangipara, Balideaonganj, Bandar present in Hooghly district.