Franchise history.

1920–1939: Early Bears.

Originally named the Decatur Staleys, the club was established by the A. E. Staley food starch company of Decatur, Illinois as a company team. This was the typical start for several early professional football franchises. The company hired George Halas and Edward "Dutch" Sternaman in 1920 to run the team. The 1920 Decatur Staleys season was their inaugural regular season completed in the newly formed American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football League (NFL) in 1922).  Full control of the team was turned over to Halas and Sternaman in 1921. Official team and league records cite Halas as the founder as he took over the team in 1920 when it became a charter member of the NFL.  The team relocated to Chicago in 1921, where the club was renamed the Chicago Staleys. Under an agreement reached by Halas and Sternaman with Staley, Halas purchased the rights to the club from Staley for US$100.  In 1922, Halas

1940s: The Monsters of the Midway.

From 1940–1947, quarterback Sid Luckman led the Bears to victories in four out of the five NFL Championship Games in which they appeared. The team acquired the University of Chicago's discarded nickname "Monsters of the Midway" and their now-famous helmet wishbone "C", as well as a newly penned theme song that declared them "The Pride and Joy of Illinois". One famous victory during that period was their 73–0 victory over the favored Washington Redskins at Griffith

1950s–1968: Late-Halas era.

After declining throughout the 1950s, the team rebounded in to capture its eighth NFL Championship, which would be its last until 1985. The late 1960s and early-1970s produced notable players like Dick Butkus, Gale Sayers, and Brian Piccolo, who died of embryonal carcinoma in 1970. The American television network ABC aired a movie about Piccolo in 1971 entitled "Brian's Song", starring James Caan and Billy Dee Williams in the roles of Piccolo and Sayers respectively; Jack Warden won an Emmy Award for his performance as Halas. The movie was later released for theater screenings after first

1969–1982: Struggles.

After the merger, the Bears finished the 1970 season last place in their division, a repeat of their placing in the 1969 season. In 1975, the Bears drafted Walter Payton from Jackson State University with their first pick. He won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award in the 1977–78 season. Payton would go on to eclipse Jim Brown's NFL career rushing record in 1984 before retiring in 1987, and would hold the mark until, when Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys surpassed it. Payton's career and personality would capture the hearts of Bear fans, who called him "Sweetness". He died from a rare form of

1983–1985: Contenders, then Super Bowl Champions.

Mike Ditka, a tight end for the Bears from 1961 to 1966, was hired to coach the team by George Halas in 1982. His gritty personality earned him the nickname "Iron Mike". The team reached the NFC Championship game in 1984. In the 1985 season the fire in the Bears–Packers rivalry was re-lit when Ditka used 315 pound defensive tackle "Refrigerator" Perry as a running back in a touchdown play at Lambeau Field, against the Packers. The Bears won their ninth NFL Championship, first since the AFL-NFL merger,

1986–2003: Post-Super Bowl.

After the 1985 Championship season, the Bears remained competitive throughout the 1980s but failed to return to the Super Bowl under Ditka. Between the firing of Ditka and the hiring of Lovie Smith, the Bears had two head coaches, Dave Wannstedt and Dick Jauron. While both head coaches led the team to the playoffs once (Wannstedt in 1994 and Jauron in 2001), neither was able to accumulate a winning record or bring

2004–2012: Lovie Smith era.

Lovie Smith, hired on January 15, 2004, is the third post-Ditka head coach. Joining the Bears as a rookie head coach, Smith brought the highly successful Tampa 2 defensive scheme with him to Chicago. Before his second season with the Bears, the team rehired their former offensive coordinator and then Illinois head coach Ron Turner to improve the Bears' struggling offense. In, the Bears won their division and reached the playoffs for the first time in four years. Their previous playoff berth was earned by winning the NFC Central in. The Bears improved upon their success the following season, by clinching their second

2013–2014: Marc Trestman years.

Then-CFL head coach and former NFL journeyman Marc Trestman was hired to succeed Smith after an exhaustive search that included at least 13 known candidates. On March 20, 2013, Brian Urlacher's 13-year tenure with the Bears ended when both sides failed to agree on a contract. The Trestman era began on September 8 with a 24–21 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, making Trestman the fourth head coach in Bears history to win in his coaching debut, after George Halas (1920), Neill Armstrong (1978) and Dick Jauron (1999). The Bears ended the 2013

2015–2017: John Fox era.

The Bears hired Ryan Pace of the New Orleans Saints to be their new general manager on January 8, 2015. On January 16, 2015, John Fox accepted a four-year deal to become head coach. In Fox's first season as head coach, the Bears saw improvements from 2014; after "USA Today" projected the Bears to win three games, they doubled that total and finished the season with a 6–10 record, including a Thanksgiving win over the Packers at Lambeau Field.  However, during the 2016 season, the Bears regressed heavily, compiling a 3–13 record (their

2018–present: Matt Nagy era.

The Bears hired Matt Nagy from the Kansas City Chiefs as their new head coach in January 2018. General manager Ryan Pace signed receivers Taylor Gabriel, Allen Robinson, and Trey Burton in the offseason to complement second-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. The Bears also acquired linebacker Khalil Mack in a block-blockbuster trade from the Oakland Raiders to further bolster their defense, sending a package of draft picks that includes 2019 and 2020 1st round draft picks in exchange. Nagy's Bears clinched the NFC North on December 16, 2018 for the first time since 2010 with a 24–17 victory over the Green Bay Packers. The Bears finished the

Ownership.

Virginia Halas McCaskey, her children, and grandchildren control 80 percent of the team, and Mrs. McCaskey votes her children's stock as well as her own. Patrick Ryan, executive chairman of Aon Corp., and Aon director Andrew McKenna own 19.7% of the club. In a "Crain's Chicago Business" article, one businessman described his wishes for

Sponsorships.

The team has major sponsorship deals with Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Miller Brewing Company, PNC Financial Services, United Airlines, Verizon, Xfinity, and Proven IT. The team was the

Team culture.

Mascots and cheerleaders.

Before the 2003 season, the team had two unofficial mascots named "Rocky" and "Bearman". "Rocky" was a man who donned a #1 Bears jersey, carried a megaphone, and started chants all over Soldier Field during the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s, in a fashion similar to Fireman Ed. There is no known source of who "Rocky" was, and presumably currently lives in Northwestern Indiana. Don Wachter, also known as "Bearman", is a season ticket holder who decided in 1995 that he could also assist the team by cheerleading, similar to Rocky. The club allowed him to run across the field with a large Bears flag during player introductions and each team score (a role currently done by the Bears 4th Phase and Bears captains). In 1996, he donned his "costume" of face paint, bear head and arms, and a

Philanthropy.

Since 1998, the Bears have partnered with 'A Safe Place,' a domestic violence shelter in Waukegan, Illinois. In June 2017, current and

Rivalries.

Divisional rivals.

Green Bay Packers.

The Green Bay Packers are the Bears' biggest rivals since their team's inception in 1920. The Green Bay Packers currently have the lead at 97–95–6, and the teams have met twice in the postseason. The Bears won the 1941 meeting, 33–14, and eventually defeated the New York Giants in the 1941 NFL Championship Game, and the Packers won the 2011 meeting, 21–14, en route to a Super Bowl XLV win over

Minnesota Vikings.

Chicago and Minnesota took each other on in the Vikings' inaugural game,

Detroit Lions.

The Detroit Lions and Bears have faced off since the Lions' inception in 1930, when they were known as the Portsmouth Spartans, with the Spartans winning, 7–6, and Chicago winning the second meeting, 14–6. Since then, the Bears have led the series, 99–74–5. The rivalry grew in 1932, when the Bears and Spartans met in the first ever postseason game in NFL history, with the Bears winning the game 9–0. The game also was known as the first "indoor football" game, as the game took place in indoor Chicago Stadium due to a blizzard at the time. The game also started the forward pass.

Stadium.

Soldier Field, located on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, is the current home of the Bears. The Bears moved to Soldier Field in 1971 after outgrowing Wrigley Field, the team's home for 50 years. Northwestern University's residential neighbors objected to their playing at Dyche Stadium, now called Ryan Field. After the AFL-NFL Merger, the newly merged league wanted their teams to play in stadiums that could hold at least 50,000 fans. Even with the portable bleachers that the team brought into Wrigley, the stadium could still only hold 46,000. Soldier Field's playing turf was changed from natural grass to astroturf before the 1971 season, and then back to natural grass in time for the start of the 1988 season. The stadium was the site of the infamous Fog Bowl playoff game between the Bears and Philadelphia Eagles.  In 2002, the stadium was closed and rebuilt with only the exterior wall of the stadium being preserved. It was closed on Sunday, January 20, 2002, a day after the Bears lost in the playoffs. It reopened on September 27, 2003 after a complete rebuild (the second in the

In popular culture.

While the Super Bowl XX Champion Bears were a fixture of mainstream American pop culture in the 1980s, the Bears made a prior mark with the 1971 American TV movie "Brian's Song" starring Billy Dee Williams as Gale Sayers and James Caan as Brian Piccolo. The film told of how Piccolo helped Sayers recover from a devastating knee injury to return to his status as one of the league's best players, and how Sayers in turn helped the Piccolo family through Brian's fatal illness. A 2001 remake of the movie for ABC starred Sean Maher as Piccolo and Mekhi Phifer as Sayers.  The 1985 team is also remembered for recording the song "The Super Bowl Shuffle", which reached number forty-one on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and was nominated for a Grammy Award. The music video for the song depicts the team rapping that they are "not here to start no trouble" but instead "just here to do the Super Bowl Shuffle". The team took a risk by recording and releasing the song before the playoffs had even begun, but were able to avoid embarrassment by going on to win Super Bowl XX by a then-record margin of 46–10. That game was one of the most watched television events in history according to the Nielsen ratings system; the game had a rating of 48.3, ranking it 7th in all-time television history.  In addition to the "Super Bowl Shuffle" rap song, the Bears' success in the 1980s – and especially the personality of head coach Mike Ditka – inspired a recurring sketch on the American sketch comedy program "Saturday Night Live", called "Bill Swerski's Superfans". The sketch featured "Cheers" co-star George Wendt, a Chicago native, as host of a radio talk-show (similar in tone to WGN radio's "The Sportswriters"), with co-panelists Carl Wollarski (Robert Smigel), Pat Arnold (Mike Myers) and Todd O'Connor (Chris Farley). To hear them tell it, "Da Bears" and Coach Ditka could do no wrong. The sketch stopped after Ditka was fired in 1993. The sketch usually showed the panelists chugging beer and eating lots of Polish sausage, and often featured Todd getting so agitated about what

Broadcast media.

Radio.

Currently, WBBM (780 AM) and its simulcasting partner, WCFS-FM (105.9 FM) broadcast Bears games with Jeff Joniak doing the play-by-play, along with color commentator Tom Thayer, who played for the Bears from 1985–1992, and sideline reporter

Television.

Their current preseason TV announcers on WFLD (channel 32), which also carries the majority of the team's regular season games through the "NFL on Fox", are Sam

Statistics and records.

Patrick Mannelly holds the record for the most seasons in a Bears uniform with 16. On the other hand, Steve McMichael holds the record for most consecutive games played by a Bear with 191; he accomplished the feat from 1981 to 1993. In second place is Payton, who played 186 games from 1975 to 1987 at running back, a position considered to be conducive to injury, only missing one game in a span of 13 seasons.  Kicker Robbie Gould became the Bears' all-time scoring leader in Week 5 of 2015 season overtaking placekicker Kevin Butler who previously held the club record for scoring the most points in his ten-year Bear career. He scored 1,116 points as the Bears kicker from 1985 to 1995. He is followed by running back Walter Payton, with 750 points. Payton holds the team record for career rushing yards with 16,726. That was an NFL record until Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys broke it in. Former Bears running back Matt Forte, who started playing for the Bears in 2008, is the closest to Payton's record with 6,985 yards. Forte also holds the team's single season record for rookies in rushing attempts, rushing yards and receptions. Mark Bortz holds the record for most Bear playoff appearances, with 13 between 1983 and 1994, and is followed by Kevin Butler, Dennis Gentry, Dan Hampton, Jay Hilgenberg, Steve McMichael, Ron Rivera, Mike Singletary, and Keith Van Horne, who have each played in 12 playoff games.  The 1940 Chicago Bears team holds the record for the biggest margin of victory in an NFL game (playoff or regular season) with a 73–0 victory over the Washington Redskins in the 1940 NFL Championship Game. The largest home victory for the Bears came in a 61–7 result against the Green Bay Packers in 1980. The largest defeat in club history was a 52–0 loss against the Baltimore Colts in 1964. The club recorded undefeated regular seasons in 1934 and 1942, but (unlike the 1972 Dolphins) did not win the championship game in either season. In 1934, the club completed a 13–0 record but were defeated by the New York Giants, and in 1942 the club completed an 11–0 record but were defeated by the Redskins. Had the Bears won either championship, the club would have completed a championship three-peat – a feat completed only by the Packers (twice), although no team has done it since the AFL-NFL merger. Halas holds the team record for coaching the most seasons with 40 and for having the most career victories of 324. Halas' victories record stood until Don Shula surpassed Halas in. Ditka is the closest Bears coach to Halas, with 112 career victories. No other Bears coach has recorded over 100 victories with the team.  During the 2006 season, return specialist Devin Hester set several kick return records. He currently holds the franchise record for most return yards with 2,261. He had six touchdown returns, setting a record for most returns in a single season. In 2007, he recorded another six touchdown season from returns. One of the most notable of these returns came on November 12, 2006, when he returned a missed field goal for a 108-yard touchdown. The record tied former teammate Nathan Vasher's previous record, which was set almost a year earlier. Additionally, Hester set a Super Bowl record by becoming the first player to return an opening kick of a Super Bowl for a touchdown. On December 20, 2010, Hester set an NFL record for most touchdowns on a punt or kickoff return with his 14th career return coming against the Minnesota Vikings. In 2011, Hester broke the record for the most punt returns against the Carolina Panthers.  In 2012, Charles Tillman set the record for most forced fumbles in a single game with 4 against the Tennessee Titans. Also against the Titans, Chicago became the first team in league history to score a touchdown pass, a touchdown run, an interception return for a touchdown, and a blocked kick/punt for a score in the same quarter. Tillman and teammate Lance Briggs became the first pair in NFL history to return an interception for a touchdown in consecutive games against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Dallas Cowboys.

Players of note.

Pro Football Hall of Famers.

In the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Bears have the most enshrined primary members with 30; the club also has had seven Hall of Famers spend a minor portion of their career with the franchise. Founder, owner, head coach, and player George Halas,

Retired numbers.

The Bears have retired 14 uniform numbers, which is the most in the NFL, and ranks fourth behind the basketball Boston Celtics (22), baseball New

Top 100 greatest Bears of all-time.

In honor of the team centennial anniversary, on May 20, 2019, the Chicago Bears have unveiled the Top 100 players in franchise history, as voted on by Hall of Fame writers Don Pierson and Dan Pompei, two of the most famous journalists that have ever covered the club in their long history. At the time of the publish, the list included 27 Pro Football Hall of Famers, while two more inductees would join

All-Time Team.

During the week of June 3, 2019 the All-Time Team was announced in parts each day starting with the All-Time defensive players, followed by

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NFL Championships, including one Super Bowl, and hold the NFL record for the most enshrinees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the most retired jersey numbers. The Bears have also recorded more victories than any other NFL franchise.

Die Chicago Bears (vormals Decatur Staleys sowie Chicago Staleys) sind eine in Chicago ansässige American-Football-Mannschaft, die in der National Football League (NFL) spielt. Sie sind neben den Arizona Cardinals das einzige Team, dass seit 1920 in der Meisterschaft spielt.


Early life.

Birth and family.

Pierre Roger (also spelled Rogier and Rosiers) was born in the château of Maumont, today part of the commune of Rosiers-d'Égletons, Corrèze, in Limousin, France, the son of the lord of Maumont-Rosiers-d'Égletons. He had an elder brother, Guillaume, who married three times and had thirteen children; and a younger brother, Hugues, who became Cardinal Priest of S. Lorenzo in Damaso and who could have become pope in 1362. Pierre also had two sisters: Delphine, who married Jacques de Besse; and Alienor, who married Jacques de la Jugie. His brother Guillaume became Seigneur de Chambon, thanks to his wife's dowry, and, with the benefit of his papal brother's influence on King Philip VI, became Vicomte de Beaufort.

Monk and scholar.

Roger entered the Benedictine order as a boy in 1301, at the Abbey of La Chaise-Dieu in the diocese of Clermont in the Auvergne. After six years there, he was directed to higher studies by the Bishop of Le Puy, Jean de Cumenis, and his own abbot, Hugues d'Arc. In 1307 he took up studies in Paris at the College de Sorbonne, where he entered the Collège de Narbonne. To support him, beyond what was supplied by his bishop and his abbot, he was granted the post of Prior of St. Pantaléon in the diocese of Limoges. In the summer of 1323, after Pierre had been studying both theology and canon law in Paris for sixteen years, the Chancellor of Paris was ordered by Pope John XXII, on the recommendation of King Charles IV, to confer on him the doctorate in Theology, a chair, and a license to teach. Pierre was in his thirty-first year. He lectured publicly on the "Sententiae" of Peter Lombard, and defended and promoted the works of Thomas Aquinas. He was appalled by the "Defensor Pacis" of Marsilius of Padua, and wrote a treatise in 1325 condemning its principles and defending Pope John XXII.  He was granted the priory of St. Baudil, a dependency of the Abbey of La Chaise-Dieu, on 24 April 1324, at the personal order of Pope John XXII; and then, on 23 June 1326, he was named Abbot of Fécamp, a royal abbey and one of the most important monasteries in France. He held the position until 1329.  Pierre Roger was called to Avignon through the influence of his friend and protector, Cardinal Pierre de Mortemart (who was named a cardinal on 18 December 1327), both of whom were close to King Charles IV. Unfortunately, King Charles IV died on 1 February 1328, the last Capetian king of France in the direct line.  As Abbot of Fécamp, and therefore a feudal subject of Edward III, Pierre was assigned the task in 1328 of summoning Edward III of England to pay homage to Philip VI of France for the duchy of Aquitaine. He received no reply, however, from King Edward, and was forced to return to France, his mission unaccomplished.

Episcopacy.

On 3 December 1328 Peter Roger was named Bishop of Arras, in which capacity he became a royal councilor of King Philip VI. He held the diocese of Arras only until 24 November 1329, less than a year, when he was promoted to the Archdiocese of Sens. He held the Archbishopric of Sens for one year and one month, until his promotion to the See of Rouen on 14 December 1330.  In 1329, while Pierre Roger was still Archbishop-elect of Sens, a major assembly of the French Clergy was held at Vincennes in the presence of King Philip VI (1328–1350), to deal with issues involving the judicial powers of ecclesiastical authorities. Many propositions were put forward against ecclesiastical jurisdiction, which were ably argued by Pierre de Cugnières (Petrus de Cugneriis). Pierre Roger made the rejoinders on 22 December 1329, on behalf of the ecclesiastical authority.  When Pierre Roger became Archbishop of Rouen in December 1330, he was expected to swear allegiance to his feudal overlord. King Philip VI had recently given his son Jean the Dukedom of Normandy as an apanage, and Pierre was worried about what might happen if someone other than a member of the French royal family might become Duke of Normandy. He therefore asked the King for time to consider his position, but the King was firm and seized the temporalities of the Archbishop. Pierre was forced to go to Paris, where an agreement was worked out that, should someone other than a member of the royal family become Duke, then the Archbishop would swear fealty directly to the King.  As Archbishop of Rouen, Roger was one of the Peers of France and he was a member of the embassy sent by King Philip his son John, in 1333, to swear in their name to take the cross and serve in a crusade in the Holy Land. Later in the year, in Paris in the Prés des Clercs, the King received the cross personally from the hands of Archbishop Roger.  It is said that he was promoted to the office of Chancellor of France, though there is no documentary proof. The earliest claim that he was Chancellor is made by Alfonso Chacon (Ciaconius) (1530–1599).  In 1333, the issue of the Beatific Vision, which had been under discussion since a sermon of Pope John XXII in 1329, reached a serious stage. The French Royal Court had been hearing complaints from various quarters, and the King and Queen finally decided to seek competent advice. The Pope knew that the University of Paris was hostile to his ideas, and so he sent Gerard Odonis, the Minister General of the Franciscans, and a Dominican preacher, to Paris to preach the Pope's views in public. King Philip responded to the general indignation by summoning the Masters of Theology of the University to Vincennes just before Christmas 1334, where it appeared that there was general agreement against the Pope. The King privately informed the Pope of their opinions, but the Pope harshly responded to the King that he should stop favoring an opinion which the Pope had not yet definitively settled. The Pope ordered the Archbishop of Rouen, Pierre Roger, to set the Pope's view down in writing and explain it to the King. Ironically, Pierre Roger was not on the Pope's side of the argument. A committee, which included Archbishop Roger, the theologian Pierre de la Palud (Petrus Paludensis), the Chancellor of France Guillaume de Sainte-Maure, the Archdeacon of Rouen Jean de Polenciac, and others, attempted to talk the Pope out of his notions. Early in 1334 Pope John XXII informed the King that he had ordered the Cardinals and prelates and Doctors of theology and of Canon Law at the Papal Court to look into the propositions thoroughly and report to him their findings. John XXII was attempting to save face by placing the matter in the hands of a committee, but in the end, on his deathbed, he was compelled to repudiate his opinions, which were formally condemned by his successor, Benedict XII.  On 14 April 1335, Pierre Roger's friend and patron, Cardinal Pierre de Mortemart died, naming Pierre Roger as one of the executors of his Testament.  In September 1335 Archbishop Roger held a provincial council at Rouen in the Priory of Nôtre-Dame-du Pré (later called Bonne-nouvelle). Two of his bishops were present, the other four were represented by procurators. The cathedral chapters of the province and the abbots of monasteries were invited as well. The council issued a dozen canons, urging the lower clergy to be diligent in their assigned duties. The most notable item was the encouragement given to bishops to facilitate the business of those who wished to join the King on crusade.

Cardinalate.

Pierre Roger was created a Cardinal Priest by Pope Benedict XII (1334–1342) on 18 December 1338, in his only Consistory for the creation of cardinals. He created six new cardinals: four were fellow monks (two Benedictines, a Cistercian, and a Mercedarian); one was from Rimini, the rest from southern France. Four were lawyers, two were theologians. One died before he received the red hat, and was replaced by another candidate. Pierre Roger entered the Curia in Avignon for the first time on 5 May 1339, and received the "titulus" of Santi Nereo e Achilleo.

Papacy.

Cardinal Napoleone Orsini died during Lent of 1342, on 23 March. The funeral took place on Monday in Holy Week in the Franciscan church in Avignon, and the funeral sermon was preached by Cardinal Pierre Roger. A month later, on 25 April 1342, Pope Benedict XII died in the Papal Palace in Avignon. King Philip VI immediately sent his eldest son, Prince John, to press the candidacy of Pierre Roger, but he arrived too late to have any effect. Eighteen of the nineteen cardinals assembled for the Conclave to elect his successor. Fourteen were French, three were Italian, one was Spanish. Only Cardinal Bertrand de Montfavez, who was ill with podagra (gout), was unable to attend. The Conclave began on Sunday, 5 May 1342, and on the morning of Tuesday, 7 May, agreement was reached. Two cardinals wrote to King Edward III of England on 8 May that the election had been accomplished "with no preliminary politicking and with only Divine Inspiration." Cardinal Pierre Roger was chosen to succeed Benedict XII as pope. He was crowned on Pentecost Sunday, 19 May, in the church of the Dominicans, the largest church in Avignon. Present were Prince John of France, Duke of Normandy; Jacques, Duke of Burgundy, Imbert, Dauphin of Vienne, and many others. Cardinal Roger chose the regnal name Clement VI.  During the season of Pentecost immediately following his coronation, as Peter de Herenthal writes, when a new Pope customarily gratifies the expectations of his family, his followers, his supporters, his cardinals, and the Roman Curia, Pope Clement promised gifts to every cleric who presented himself at Avignon within two months. Such a multitude of poor clerics appeared in Avignon that a computation was made that the number of poor clerics in all the dioceses of the world was around 100,000, a number which Peter de Herenthal was quite prepared to accept. When Clement VI, at the very beginning of his pontificate was making reservations of abbacies and prelatures, and declaring elections in monasteries and Chapters void, in order to acquire benefices for papal use in granting favors, it was intimated to him that his predecessors had not engaged in reservations of such a sort. Clement is said to have replied, "Our predecessors did not know how to be pope."

New Cardinals.

One of the greatest ways in which a Pope can reward his supporters is to raise them to the Cardinalate. On 20 September 1342, four months after his coronation, Clement VI held a Consistory for the creation of cardinals. He appointed ten prelates, including three nephews, Hugues Roger, Ademar Roberti and Bernard de la Tour d'Auvergne. He also elevated Guy de Boulogne, Archbishop of Lyon, the son of Robert VII, Comte d' Auvergne et de Boulogne, and Gerard de Daumar de la Garde of Tulle, the Master-General of the Dominicans and a papal cousin, who died a year after his creation, on 27 September 1343. Five of his appointments were from his own native area of Limoges and one from Périgueux. Only one was Italian, Andrea Ghini Malpighi, a Florentine, who died on 2 June 1343. The College of Cardinals was now thoroughly French, with a strong accent of the Auvergne.  On 19 May 1344 the two new cardinals who had died were replaced by two more Frenchmen: the Provençal Pierre Bertrand, the nephew of Cardinal Pierre Bertrand; and Nicolas de Besse, yet another papal nephew.  Like his immediate predecessors, Clement was devoted to France, and he demonstrated his French sympathies by refusing a solemn invitation to return to Rome from the city's people, as well as from the poet Petrarch. To placate the Romans, however, Clement VI issued the bull "Unigenitus Dei filius" on 27 January 1343, reducing the interval between one Great Jubilee and the next from 100 years to 50 years. In the document he elaborated for the first time the power of the pope in the use of indulgences. This document would later be used by Cardinal Cajetan in the examination of Martin Luther and his 95 Theses in his trial at Augsburg in 1518. By then, "Unigenitus" was firmly fixed in Canon Law, having been added in the collection called "Extravagantes".  On 23 February 1343 Pope Clement appointed Pons Saturninus as his "Provisor of Works of the Palace", thereby beginning a program of construction and decoration that continued throughout his reign. It was immediately clear that the Pope had no intention of returning to Rome, and that he intended to provide offices and quarters for the various organs of the Roman Curia in the Palace. Pope Benedict XII, his predecessor, had built a palace, sufficiently accommodating for a Cistercian monk, but Pierre Roger had spent much of his career at the French Court and had imbibed its tastes for far greater display and ceremony. The Pope was, after all, a sovereign, and Clement intended to live and work in an appropriate state. He commissioned the new Tower of the Garde-Robe, the Audience (for the Auditors of the Rota), the new Papal Chapel and the grand staircase that led to it, and the Tour de la Gache (where the "Audientia contradictarum", the appellate court for countersuits, had its offices). He was also responsible for the two new entrance façades.  He also purchased the sovereignty of Avignon from Queen Joan I of Naples in 1348 for the sum of 80,000 crowns.

The Black Death.

Clement VI was on the papal throne when the Black Death first struck Europe in 1347. This pandemic swept through Asia and the Middle East and into Europe between 1347 and 1350, and is believed to have killed between a third and two-thirds of Europe's population. During the plague, Clement attributed the plague to divine wrath. But he also sought the opinions of astrologers for an explanation. Johannes de Muris was among the team "of three who drew up a treatise explaining the plague of 1348 by the conjunction of Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars in 1341" Clement VI's physicians advised him that surrounding himself with torches would block the plague. However, he soon became skeptical of this recommendation and stayed in Avignon supervising sick care, burials, and the pastoral care of the dying. He never contracted the disease, even though there was so much death around him that the cities ran out of ground for cemeteries, and he had to consecrate the entire Rhone River so that it could be considered holy ground and bodies could be thrown into it. One of Pope Clement's physicians, Gui de Chauliac, later wrote a book called the "Chirurgia magna" (1363), in which he correctly distinguished between bubonic and pneumonic plague, based on his own observations of his patients and himself.  Perhaps feeling the pressure of mortality, having lost no fewer than six cardinals in the year 1348 alone, Pope Clement VI named a new cardinal on 29 May 1348, his nephew and namesake, Pierre Roger de Beaufort, who was not yet eighteen years old. On 17 December 1350, he added twelve more cardinals, nine of them French and only three from Limoges, including two relatives, Guillaume d'Aigrefeuille and Pierre de Cros.  Popular opinion blamed the Jews for the plague, and pogroms erupted throughout Europe. Clement issued two papal bulls in 1348 (6 July and 26 September), the latter named "Quamvis Perfidiam", which condemned the violence and said those who blamed the plague on the Jews had been "seduced by that liar, the Devil." He went on to emphasise that “It cannot be true that the Jews, by such a heinous crime, are the cause or occasion of the plague, because through many parts of the world the same plague, by the hidden judgment of God, has afflicted and afflicts the Jews themselves and many other races who have never lived alongside them.” He urged clergy to take action to protect Jews as he had done.

Pope and Empire.

Clement continued the struggle of his predecessors with Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV. On 13 April 1346, after protracted negotiations, he excommunicated the Emperor, and directed the election of Charles IV. After the death of Louis in October 1347 Charles received general recognition, ending the schism which had long divided Germany.  Clement proclaimed a crusade in 1343, but nothing was accomplished beyond a naval attack on Smyrna on 29 October 1344. He also had a role in the Hungarian invasion of the Kingdom of Naples, namely a papal fief; the contest between Louis I of Hungary and Joanna I of Naples, accused of ordering the assassination of her husband and the former's brother, concluded in 1348 in a trial held in Avignon, at which she was acquitted. Among the other benefits, Clement took advantage of the situation to obtain by her the rights over the city of Avignon.  Pope Clement was also involved in disputes with King Edward III of England as a result of the latter's encroachments on ecclesiastical jurisdiction. He also faced problems with the kings of Castile and Aragon. His negotiations for reunion with the Armenians and the Byzantine emperor, John VI Kantakouzenos turned out to be fruitless.  In Italy the Papacy faced a serious challenge to its authority with the commencement of Cola di Rienzo's agitation in Rome. Pope Clement had appointed Cola to a civil position (Senator) at Rome, and, although at first approving of Rienzo's establishment of the tribunate, he later realized the implications of a permanent antagonist to papal government in the form of a popularly elected Tribune, and sent a Papal Legate who excommunicated Rienzo and, with the help of the aristocratic faction, drove him from the city in December 1347.

Poland and Bohemia.

Clement also had warned King Casimir III of Poland, who was already under an interdict laid against him by the Bishop of Kraków and the Apostolic See, because the King had oppressed the Church of Kraków with intolerable burdens and then harassed the clergy who observed the interdict, that he was attracting more severe penalties to himself. In 1345 the Pope sent a nuncio to King Casimir and King John of Bohemia, soliciting them to make peace between themselves, and threatening that, if they turned deaf ears to his pleas, he would anathematize them and bar them from the sacraments.  Responding to numerous complaints against the highhanded behavior of the Archbishop of Mainz, Prague's Metropolitan, Clement made Prague an archbishopric on 30 April 1344, and assigned the Bishopric of Olmouc as its suffragan. The Archbishop of Prague acquired the right to crown the King of Bohemia.

Private life.

Unlike the Cistercian Benedict XII, the Benedictine Clement VI was devoted to an openhanded and generous lifestyle, and the treasury which he inherited from his predecessor made that lifestyle possible. He claimed to have "lived as a sinner among sinners" in his own words. During his pontificate, he added a new chapel to the Papal Palace and dedicated it to St. Peter. He commissioned the artist Matteo Giovanetti of Viterbo to paint common hunting and fishing scenes on the walls of the existing papal chapels, and purchased enormous tapestries to decorate the stone walls. To bring good music to the celebrations, he recruited musicians from northern France, especially from Liège, who cultivated the Ars Nova style. He liked music so much that he kept composers and theorists close to him throughout his entire pontificate, Philippe de Vitry being among the more famous. The first two payments he made after his coronation were to musicians.

Death, burial, and monument.

Clement had been ill for some time in 1352, not just with kidney stones, which had troubled him for many years, but also with a tumor, which broke out into an abscess with fever during his last week. Pope Clement VI died on 6 December 1352, in the eleventh year of his reign. After his death, his Almoner, Pierre de Froideville, distributed the sum of 400 livres to the poor of Avignon, and on the day of the solemn funeral another 40 livres were distributed during the procession to the Cathedral to the poor who were present. Clement left the reputation of "a fine gentleman, a prince munificent to profusion, a patron of the arts and learning, but no saint". His body was placed on exhibit in the Notre Dame-des-Doms, where it was buried temporarily. Three months later the body was transferred in a splendid procession to the abbey of La Chaise-Dieu, passing through Le Puy on 6 April. On arrival, the coffin was placed in the church of the Carmelites. Later in April it was permanently interred in a tomb in the center of the Choir of the Church. The funeral procession was accompanied by his brother Count William Roger of Beaufort, and by the five cardinals who were his family members: Hugues Roger, Guillaume de la Jugié, Nicolas de Besse, Pierre Roger de Beaufort, and Guillaume d' Aigrefeuille. In 1562 the tomb was attacked by the Huguenots and severely damaged, losing the forty-four statues of Clement's relatives which surrounded the sarcophagus. Only the sarcophagus and tomb cover survived, making the present tomb a mere shadow of its former architectural and decorative glory. The tomb cover, in white marble, was made by master sculptor Pierre Roye, and his two assistants Jean de Sanholis and Jean David. The construction of the tomb began in 1346, and was completed in 1351. It cost 3500 florins, to which were added 120 écus d'or, as a gratuity for the master sculptor.

Pope Clement VI (; 1291 – 6 December 1352), born Pierre Roger, was head of the Catholic Church from 7 May 1342 to his death in 1352. He was the fourth Avignon pope. Clement reigned during the first visitation of the Black Death (1348–1350), during which he granted remission of sins to all who died of the plague.

Clemens VI., ursprünglich Pierre Roger oder Peter von Fécamp, (* um 1290 auf der Burg Maumont in Rosiers-d’Égletons, Corrèze, Frankreich; † 6. Dezember 1352 in Avignon, Frankreich) war vom 7. Mai 1342 bis zu seinem Tod Papst der katholischen Kirche mit Sitz in Avignon.


Operation.

Cubase can be used to edit and sequence audio signals coming from an external sound source and MIDI, and can host VST instruments and effects. It has a number of features designed to aid in composition, such as:  MIDI parts can be edited using a piano roll, a dedicated drum editor, a score editor, or as a filterable complete list of MIDI events.  The user can also mix the various tracks down into a stereo.wav file ready to be burned to a compact disc (CD) in Red Book format, or.mp3 burned to CD or DVD as files, or to be published on the Web.

VST instruments.

Cubase VST 3.7 in 1999 introduced a virtual instrument interface for software synthesizers known as "VSTi". This made it possible for third-party software programmers to create and sell virtual instruments for Cubase. This technology has become the de facto standard for other DAW software, when integrating software based instruments on the Macintosh and Windows platforms. A new version of VST, VST3, was introduced with Steinberg's Cubase 4 which introduced improved handling of automation and audio output, native sidechaining, and many other features. Cubase 6 included VSTs such as HALion Sonic SE, Groove Agent ONE, LoopMash 2 and VST Amp Rack.

History.

Cubase has existed in three main incarnations. Initially "Cubase", which featured only MIDI, and which was available on the Atari ST, Macintosh and Windows.  After a brief period with audio integration, the next version, "Cubase VST", featured fully integrated audio recording and mixing along with effects. It added Virtual Studio Technology (VST) support, a standard for audio plug-ins, which led to a plethora of third-party effects, both freeware and commercial. Cubase VST was only for Macintosh and Windows; Atari support had been effectively dropped by this time, despite such hardware still being a mainstay in many studios. Cubase VST was offering a tremendous amount of power to the home user, but computer hardware took some time to catch up. By the time it did, VST's audio editing ability was found to be lacking, when compared with competitors such as Pro Tools DAE and Digital Performer MAS.  To address this, a new version of the program, "Cubase SX" (based on Steinberg's flagship post-production software Nuendo) was introduced, which dramatically altered the way the program ran. This version required much relearning for users of older Cubase versions. However, once the new methods of working were learned, the improvements in handling of audio and automation made for a more professional sequencer and audio editor.  A notable improvement with the introduction of Cubase SX was the advanced audio editing, especially the ability to 'undo' audio edits. Early versions of Cubase VST did not have this ability. Cubase SX also featured real-time time-stretching and adjustment of audio tempo, much like Sonic Foundry's ground-breaking ACID.  In January 2003, Steinberg was acquired by Pinnacle Systems, within which it operated as an independent company before being sold to Yamaha Corporation in December, 2004.  In September 2006 Steinberg announced Cubase 4 - the successor to Cubase SX3. Notable new features include 'control room', a feature designed to help create monitor mixes, and a new set of VST3 plug-ins and instruments.  There are also lighter economic alternatives by Steinberg, originally named Cubasis, later becoming Cubase SE and then Cubase Essential at version 4. For its sixth generation, the program was renamed Cubase Elements 6. The name change was done presumably, because its rival Cakewalk had taken the "Essential" branding for its own entry-level DAW software, Sonar X1 Essential.  While the full version of Cubase features unlimited audio and MIDI tracks, lesser versions have limits. For instance, Cubase Elements 6 has a maximum of 48 audio track and 64 MIDI tracks and Cubase Artist 6 offer 64 audio and 128 MIDI tracks.  In 2013, Steinberg introduced Cubasis for iPad, a Cubase for iOS. This version was a full rewrite and supports MIDI and audio tracks, audiobus and virtual MIDI to work with external music apps from the first versions. Updates in 2014 brought automation and Inter-App Audio (Apple's technology to connect audio apps).

Notable users.

Some notable users include:

Cubase is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed by Steinberg for music and MIDI recording, arranging and editing. The first version, which was originally only a MIDI sequencer and ran on the Atari ST computer, was released in 1989. Cut-down versions of Cubase are included with almost all Yamaha audio and MIDI hardware, as well as hardware from other manufacturers. These versions can be upgraded to a more advanced version at a discount.

Cubase ist ein MIDI-Sequenzer und eine Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) des Hamburger Unternehmens Steinberg. Es erschien erstmals 1989 und erzielte 1996 einen Verbreitungsschub durch die Einführung der Virtual Studio Technology VST, die wenig später zum Industriestandard wurde.


Life.

Coudrin was born on 1 March 1768, at Coussay-les-Bois, near Poitiers. His parents were farmers. Coudrin had an uncle, who was a parish priest in a neighboring village. Pierre spent his vacations with him during the years of his primary education, and his uncle prepared him for first communion. He completed his secondary studies in 1785 at Châtellerault, and at 17 years of age, entered the University of Poitiers.  He was only a deacon when the persecution, directed against the clergy, dispersed the students of the seminary of Poitiers, where he was being trained. Having learned that Mgr de Bonal, Bishop of Clermont, was in Paris and would confer Holy Orders upon him, he set out for that city, and on 4 March 1792, was ordained priest in the Irish Seminary just as France was becoming embroiled in the Revolution. The ordination took place in the library, because the revolutionaries had invaded the chapel in which they were actually holding their meetings.

Vision.

After ordination he returned to Coursay, but the violence of the persecution soon compelled him to go into hiding. Coudrin hid in an attic of the granary of the Chateau d'Usseau where he remained for six months. He reported that, during this time, he awoke one evening surrounded by an apparition of priests, brothers and nuns illuminated in white albs. He took the vision to be a divine calling to establish a religious institute that would become the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Coudrin quickly left the granary and traveled to Poitiers to begin an underground ministry, waiting for the right moment to start his group. During October of the same year, he also labored disguised in the Diocese of Tours.  During his underground ministry in 1794, Coudrin met Henriette Aymer de Chevalerie, a young aristocrat. She and her mother had been imprisoned for a time, accused of hiding a priest. She told Coudrin of a heaven-sent vision she had while in prison calling her to service to God. Coudrin and Henriette Aymer de Chevalerie shared with each other their visions of creating a religious institute in the midst of danger for Roman Catholics in France.

Coudrin gathered around him a few companions, to whom he communicated his views to promote devotion to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and of Mary, and who were also willing to assist him in his great work. On October 20, 1800 Henriette made her first vows with four companions. On Christmas night, 1800, Pierre solemnly made his religious vows, devoting himself entirely to the "love of the Sacred Hearts".  During the year 1805 Coudrin bought some dilapidated houses in the Rue Picpus in Paris, and there established himself with a few of his religious. A college for the training of youths and a seminary were soon started. "The Good Father", as his religious used to call him, governed his congregation with tact and prudence, and in spite of many difficulties, his work prospered. Several new monasteries and colleges were founded and opened in various towns. Pope Pius VII approved the Congregation in 1817 with the Bull "Pastor Aeternus". The institute was composed of two branches of religious, one male and the other female.  The original members of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary founded new schools for poor children, seminaries to train the priesthood of their institute and parish missions throughout Europe. At the time of Coudrin's death in 1837, the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary had 276 fathers and brothers and 1125 sisters.  In 2016, there were over 1500 in the congregation made up of priests, brothers and sisters and an increasing number of lay associate members in over 30 countries.

Peter Coudrin or Pierre Coudrin of France was the founder of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a religious institute of the Roman Catholic Church famous for its missionary work in Hawaii.

Pierre Coudrin, Ordensname Marie-Joseph, gen. "Le bon Père" oder "Pierre-Marie-Joseph Coudrin", (* 1. März 1768 in Coussay-les-Bois; † 27. März 1837 in Paris) war ein französischer Priester und Ordensgründer.


Etymology.

Edward Sapir originally constructed the term "Na-Dene" to refer to a combined family of Athabaskan, Tlingit, and Haida (the existence of the Eyak language was not known to him at the time). In his "The Na-Dene languages: A preliminary report", he describes how he arrived at the term (Sapir 1915, p. 558):

Family division.

In its non-controversial core, Na-Dene consists of two branches, Tlingit and Athabaskan–Eyak:  For linguists who follow Edward Sapir in connecting Haida to the above languages, Haida represents an additional branch, with Athabaskan–Eyak–Tlingit together forming the other. Dene or Dine (the Athabaskan languages) is a widely distributed group of Native languages spoken by associated peoples in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, Yukon, Alaska, parts of Oregon, northern California, and the American Southwest as far as northern Mexico.  The southwestern division of Athabaskan is also called Southern Athabaskan or Apachean, and includes Navajo and all the Apache dialects. Eyak was spoken in south-central Alaska; the last first language speaker died in 2008. Navajo is by far the most widely spoken language of the Na-Dene family, spoken in Arizona, New Mexico, and other regions of the American Southwest.

Typological profile of Athabaskan–Eyak–Tlingit.

All of these languages share a highly complex prefixing verb structure in which tense and mood markers are interdigitated between subject and object agreement markers. The morphological hallmark of the family is a series of prefixes found directly before the verb root that raise or lower the transitivity of the verb word. These prefixes, traditionally known as "classifiers", derive historically from a combination of three distinct classes of morphemes and are not found in any other Native American language family.  The phoneme system contains a large number of dorsal (velar or uvular) consonants (fronting in many modern Athabaskan languages to palatals and velars, correspondingly) as well as a general absence of labial obstruents (except where /b/ has arisen from *w). In the historical phonology there is a widespread tendency, observable across many Athabaskan languages, for phonemic tonal distinctions to arise from glottal features originally found at the end of the syllable. The glottal features in question are often evident in Eyak or Tlingit. These languages are typologically unusual in containing extensive prefixation yet being SOV and postpositional, features normally associated with suffixing languages.

Proposals of deeper genealogical relations involving Athabaskan–Eyak–Tlingit.

A genealogical connection between the Tlingit, Eyak and Athabaskan languages was suggested early in the 19th century, but not universally accepted until much later. Haida, with 15 fluent speakers (M. Krauss, 1995), was originally linked to Tlingit by Franz Boas in 1894. Both Haida and Tlingit were then connected to Athabaskan by Edward Sapir in 1915. Linguists such as Lyle Campbell (1997) today consider the evidence inconclusive. They have classified Haida as a language isolate. In order to emphasise the exclusion of Haida, Campbell refers to the language family as "Athabaskan–Eyak–Tlingit" rather than "Na-Dene". In 2010 Jeff Leer published extensive primary materials on what he calls "PAET" (Proto-Athabaskan–Eyak–Tlingit).

Dené–Yeniseian.

In 2008, Edward Vajda of Western Washington University presented evidence suggesting that the Na-Dene languages (Athabaskan–Eyak–Tlingit) might be related to the Yeniseian (or Yeniseic) languages of Siberia, the only living representative of which is the Ket language.  Key evidence by current comparative methodologies includes homologies in verb prefixes and also a systematic correspondence between the distribution of Ket tones and consonant articulations found in Athabaskan–Eyak–Tlingit. Vajda's paper has been favorably reviewed by several experts on Na-Dene and Yeniseic languages, including Michael Krauss, Jeff Leer, James Kari, and Heinrich Werner, as well as a number of other well-known linguists, including Bernard Comrie, Johanna Nichols, Victor Golla, Michael Fortescue, and Eric Hamp. The conclusion of this seminar was that the comparison with Yeniseic data shows that Haida cannot be classified in a genealogical unit with Athabaskan–Eyak–Tlingit.

Other proposals.

According to Joseph Greenberg's controversial classification of the languages of Native North America, Na-Dené (including Haida) is one of the three main groups of Native languages spoken in the Americas. Contemporary supporters of Greenberg's theory, such as Merritt Ruhlen, have suggested that the Na-Dené language family represents a distinct migration of people from Asia into the New World that occurred six to eight thousand years ago, placing it around four thousand years later than the previous migration into the Americas by Amerind speakers; this remains an unproven hypothesis. Ruhlen speculates that the Na-Dené speakers may have arrived in boats, initially settling near the Haida Gwaii, now in British Columbia, Canada.  Linguist Edward Sapir suggested that the Sino-Tibetan languages are related to Na-Dené. A fringe hypothesis by Sergei Starostin suggested that Na-Dené (including Haida) may belong to the much broader Dené–Caucasian superfamily, which also contains the North Caucasian languages, Sino-Tibetan languages, and Yeniseian languages. This proposal is rejected by nearly all current linguists.

Obstruent correspondences.

Notes:

Na-Dene (; also Nadene, Na-Dené, Athabaskan–Eyak–Tlingit, Tlina–Dene) is a family of Native American languages that includes at least the Athabaskan languages, Eyak, and Tlingit languages. An old inclusion of Haida is now considered doubtful.

Na-Dené ist eine von Edward Sapir 1915 eingeführte Bezeichnung für eine Gruppe nordamerikanischer Sprachen, nämlich Haida, Tlingit und die etwa vierzig athapaskischen Sprachen, zu denen auch die Apache-Sprachen gehören. 1930 fügte man dieser Gruppe noch das mit dem Athapaskischen enger verwandte Eyak hinzu. Seit 1980 wird die genetische Verwandtschaft des Haida mit den anderen Sprachen dieser Gruppe von der Mehrheit der Forscher verneint, so dass Na-Dené "im engeren Sinne" nur noch Tlingit, Eyak und Athapaskisch umfasst und oft auch als "Tlingit-Eyak-Athapaskisch" bezeichnet wird.


Description.

The Bach flower remedy solutions, which contain a 50:50 mix of water and brandy, are called mother tincture. Stock remedies—the solutions sold in shops—are dilutions of mother tincture into other liquid. Most often the liquid used is alcohol, so that the alcohol level by volume in most stock Bach remedies is between 25 and 40% (50 to 80 proof). The solutions do not have a characteristic scent or taste of the plant because of dilution. The dilution process results in the statistical likelihood that little more than a single molecule may remain; it is claimed that the remedies contain "energetic" or "vibrational" nature of the flower and that this can be transmitted to the user. The solutions are described by some as vibrational medicines, which implies they rely on the pseudoscientific concept of water memory. They are often labeled as homeopathic because they are extremely diluted in water, but are not homeopathy as they do not follow other homeopathic ideas such as the law of similars.

Effectiveness.

In a 2002 database review of randomized trials Edzard Ernst concluded:  The hypothesis that flower remedies are associated with effects beyond a placebo response is not supported by data from rigorous clinical trials.  All randomized double-blind studies, whether finding for or against the solutions, have suffered from small cohort sizes but the studies using the best methods found no effect over placebo. The most likely means of action for flower remedies is as placebos, enhanced by introspection on the patient's emotional state, or simply being listened to by the practitioner. The act of selecting and taking a remedy may act as a calming ritual.  A systematic review in 2009 concluded: Most of the available evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of BFRs has a high risk of bias. We conclude that, based on the reported adverse events in these six trials, BFRs are probably safe. Few controlled prospective trials of BFRs for psychological problems and pain exist. Our analysis of the four controlled trials of BFRs for examination anxiety and ADHD indicates that there is no evidence of benefit compared with a placebo intervention.  A newer systematic review published in 2010 by Ernst concluded All placebo-controlled trials failed to demonstrate efficacy. It is concluded that the most reliable clinical trials do not show any differences between flower remedies and placebos.  Flower remedies are sometimes promoted as being capable of boosting the immune system, but "there is no scientific evidence to prove that flower remedies can control, cure or prevent any type of disease, including cancer".

Use.

Each solution is used alone or in conjunction with other solutions, and each flower is said by advocates to impart specific qualities. The solutions are also used on pets and domestic animals. Remedies are usually taken orally.  The solutions may be recommended by a naturopath or by a trained Bach flower practitioner after an interview. Some vendors recommend dowsing to select a solution.  The best known solution product is the "Rescue Remedy" combination, which contains an equal amount each of rock rose, impatiens, clematis, star of Bethlehem and cherry plum remedies. Rescue Remedy is a trademark and other companies produce the same formula under other names, such as Five Flower Remedy. "Rescue Cream" contains the same remedies in a cream form, with the addition of crab apple.

Philosophy.

Bach believed that illness was the result of a conflict between the purposes of the soul and the personality's actions and outlook. This internal war, according to Bach, leads to negative moods and to "energy blocking", thought to cause a lack of "harmony", thus leading to physical diseases.  Bach derived his solutions intuitively and based on his perceived psychic connections to the plants, rather than using research based on scientific methods. If Bach felt a negative emotion, he would hold his hand over different plants, and if one alleviated the emotion, he would ascribe the power to heal that emotional problem to that plant. He imagined that early-morning sunlight passing through dew-drops on flower petals transferred the healing power of the flower onto the water, so he would collect the dew drops from the plants and preserve the dew with an equal amount of brandy to produce a mother tincture which would be further diluted before use. Later, he found that the amount of dew he could collect was not sufficient, so he would suspend flowers in spring water and allow the sun's rays to pass through them. If this was impractical because of lack of sunlight or other reasons, he wrote that the flowers may be boiled. The result of this process Bach termed the "mother tincture", which is then further diluted before sale or use.  Bach was satisfied with the method, because of its simplicity, and because it involved a process of combination of the four elements:  By the time of his death in 1936 at 50 years of age, Bach had created a system of 38 different flower remedies along with their corresponding theories of ailments.

Bach flower remedies (BFRs) are solutions of brandy and water—the water containing extreme dilutions of flower material developed by Edward Bach, an English homeopath, in the 1930s. Bach claimed that the dew found on flower petals retains imagined healing properties of that plant. Systematic reviews of clinical trials of Bach flower solutions have found no efficacy beyond a placebo effect.

Die Bach-Blütentherapie ("sprich:" []-Blütentherapie, ) ist ein in den 1930er Jahren von dem britischen Arzt Edward Bach () (1886–1936) begründetes und nach ihm benanntes alternativmedizinisches Verfahren. Laut Bachs zentraler These beruhe jede körperliche Krankheit auf einer seelischen Gleichgewichtsstörung. Die Ursache dieser Störung sah er in einem Konflikt zwischen der unsterblichen Seele und der Persönlichkeit, und eine Heilung könne nur durch eine Harmonisierung auf dieser geistig-seelischen Ebene bewirkt werden. Bach beschrieb zunächst neunzehn Gemütszustände, erweiterte das Repertoire dann aber auf „38 disharmonische Seelenzustände der menschlichen Natur“. Diesen ordnete er Blüten und Pflanzenteile zu, die er in Wasser legte oder kochte und die so ihre „Schwingungen“ an das Wasser übertragen sollten. Aus diesen Urtinkturen wurden anschließend durch starke Verdünnung die sogenannten Blütenessenzen hergestellt.


History.

House of Wettin.

The Wettiner had been the rulers of sizeable holdings in today's states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia since the Middle Ages. In the "Leipziger Teilung" of 1485, the Wettiner were split into two branches named after their founding princes Albrecht and Ernst ("albertinisch" and "ernestinisch"). Thuringia was part of the Ernestine holdings of "Kursachsen" (the Electoral holdings of Saxony). In 1572, the branches Saxe-Coburg-Eisenach and Saxe-Weimar were established there. The senior line again split in 1641/41 into three duchies, including the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha.  Duke Ernst I who founded this duchy with its seat at Gotha opposed the system of primogeniture. As a result, on his death in 1675 all of his sons inherited part of his holdings and were supposed to rule under the leadership of his oldest son. In practice, this proved very complicated and brought on three settlements in 1679, 1680 and 1681 that established the following princedoms: Saxe-Gotha (Friedrich), Saxe-Coburg (Albrecht), Saxe-Meiningen (Bernhard), Saxe-Eisenberg (Christian), Saxe-Hildburghausen (Ernst) and Saxe-Saalfeld (Johann Ernst).

Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen.

Bernhard, Ernst I third son, received the town of Meiningen as well as several other holdings (Wasungen und Salzungen, Maßfeld und Sand, Herrenbreitungen, Herpf, Stepfershausen, Utendorf, Mehlis and the former Franconian lands of the extinct House of Henneberg, Henneberg).  Bernhard chose the town of Meiningen as his residence and became the first Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. From 1682 Duke Bernhard I had the Schloss Elisabethenburg built and in 1690 established a court orchestra ("Hofkapelle"), in which Johann Ludwig Bach later became the "Kapellmeister" (1711).  In the reshuffle of Ernestine territories that occurred following the extinction of the Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg line upon the death of Duke Friedrich IV in 1825, Duke Bernhard II of Saxe-Meiningen received the lands of the former Duchy of Saxe-Hildburghausen as well as the Saalfeld territory of the former Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld duchy.  As Bernhard II had supported Austria in the 1866 Austro-Prussian War, the prime minister of victorious Prussia, Otto von Bismarck, enforced his resignation in favour of his son Georg II, after which Saxe-Meiningen was admitted to join the North German Confederation.  By 1910, the Duchy had grown to 2,468 km2 and 278,762 inhabitants. The ducal summer residence was at Altenstein Castle. Since 1868, the duchy comprised the "Kreise" (districts) of Hildburghausen, Sonneberg and Saalfeld as well as the northern exclaves of Camburg and Kranichfeld.

End of the Duchy.

In the German Revolution after World War I, Duke Bernhard III, brother-in-law of Emperor Wilhelm II, was forced to abdicate and his brother Ernst on 11/12 November 1918 refused the succession. The succeeding "Free State of Saxe-Meiningen" was merged into the new state of Thuringia on 1 May 1920.

Dukes of Saxe-Meiningen.

Notes:

Saxe-Meiningen (; ) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin dynasty, located in the southwest of the present-day German state of Thuringia.

Sachsen-Meiningen war ein ernestinisches Herzogtum im heutigen Thüringen, das 1680 durch Teilung des Herzogtums Sachsen-Gotha unter den Söhnen Herzog Ernsts I. von Sachsen-Gotha (1601–1675) entstand. 1867 wurde Sachsen-Meiningen Bundesstaat im Norddeutschen Bund und 1871 im Deutschen Kaiserreich.


Overview.

Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turkestan has also been known historically as Sogdiana, "Ma wara'u'n-nahr" (by its Arab conquerors), and Transoxiana by Western travelers. The latter two names refer to its position beyond the River Oxus when approached from the south, emphasizing Turkestan's long-standing relationship with Iran, the Persian Empires, and the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates.  Turkestan is roughly within the regions of Central Asia lying between Siberia on the north; Tibet, Afghanistan, and Iran on the south; the Gobi Desert on the east; and the Caspian Sea on the west. Oghuz Turks (also known as Turkmens), Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Khazars, Kyrgyz, Hazara and Uyghurs are some of the Turkic inhabitants of the region who, as history progressed, have spread further into Eurasia forming such Turkic nations as Turkey, and subnational regions like Tatarstan in Russia and Crimea in Ukraine. Tajiks and Russians form sizable non-Turkic minorities.  It is subdivided into Afghan Turkestan and Russian Turkestan in the West, and Xinjiang in the East.

Etymology and terminology.

Of Persian origin (see -stan), the term "Turkestan" () has never referred to a single nation state. Iranian geographers first used the word to describe the place of Turkic peoples. "Turkestan" is used to describe any place where Turkic peoples lived.  On their way southward during the conquest of Central Asia in the 19th century, the Russians under took the city of Turkistan (in present-day Kazakhstan) in 1864. Mistaking its name for the entire region, they adopted the name of "Turkestan" () for their new territory.

History.

The history of Turkestan dates back to at least the third millennium BC. Many artifacts were produced in that period, with much trade being conducted. The region was a focal point for cultural diffusion, as the Silk Road traversed it. Turkestan covered the area of Central Asia and began acquiring a "Turkic" identity starting from the 6th century AD with the incipient Turkic migration.  Turkic sagas, such as the "Ergenekon" legend, and written sources, such as the Orkhon Inscriptions, state that Turkic peoples originated in the nearby Altai Mountains, and, through nomadic settlement, started their long journey westwards. Huns conquered the area after they conquered Kashgaria in the early 2nd century BC. With the dissolution of the Huns' Empire, Chinese rulers took over Eastern Turkestan. Arab forces captured it in the 8th century. The Persian Samanid dynasty subsequently conquered it and the area experienced economic success. The entire territory was held at various times by Turkic forces, such as the Göktürks, until the conquest by Genghis Khan and the Mongols in 1220. Genghis Khan gave the territory to his son Chagatai and the area became the Chagatai Khanate. Timur took over the western portion of Turkestan in 1369, and the area became part of the Timurid Empire. The eastern portion of Turkestan was also called Mogulistan and continued to be ruled by descendants of Genghis Khan.

Chinese influence.

In Chinese historiography, the Qara Khitai is most commonly called the "Western Liao" (西遼) and is considered to be a legitimate Chinese dynasty, as is the case for the Liao dynasty. The history of the Qara Khitai was included in the "History of Liao" (one of the "Twenty-Four Histories"), which was compiled officially during the Yuan dynasty by Toqto'a et al.  After the Tang dynasty, non-Han Chinese empires gained prestige by connecting themselves with China; the Khitan Gurkans used the title of "Chinese emperor", and the empire was also called the "Khan of Chīn". The Qara Khitai used the "image of China" to legitimize their rule to the Central Asians. The Chinese emperor, together with the rulers of the Turks, Arabs, India and the Byzantine Romans, were known to Islamic writers as the world's "five great kings". Qara Khitai kept the trappings of a Chinese state, such as Chinese coins, Chinese imperial titles, the Chinese writing system, tablets, seals, and used Chinese products like porcelein, mirrors, jade and other Chinese customs. The adherence to Liao Chinese traditions has been suggested as a reason why the Qara Khitai did not convert to Islam. Despite the Chinese trappings, there were comparatively few Han Chinese among the population of the Qara Khitai. These Han Chinese had lived in Kedun during the Liao dynasty, and in 1124 migrated with the Khitans under Yelü Dashi along with other people of Kedun, such as the Bohai, Jurchen, and Mongol tribes, as well as other Khitans in addition to the Xiao consort clan.  Qara Khitai's rule over the Muslim-majority Central Asia has the effect of reinforcing the view among some Muslim writers that Central Asia was linked to China even though the Tang dynasty had lost control of the region a few hundred years ago. Marwazī wrote that Transoxiana was a former part of China, while Fakhr al-Dīn Mubārak Shāh defined China as part of "Turkestan", and the cities of Balāsāghūn and Kashghar were considered part of China.  The association of Khitai with China meant that the most enduring trace of the Khitan's power is names that are derived from it, such as Cathay, the medieval Latin appellation for China. Names derived from Khitai are still in use, such as the Russian, Bulgarian, Uzbek and Mongolian names for China. However, the use of "Khitai" to mean "China" or "Chinese" by Turkic speakers within China, such as the Uyghurs, is considered pejorative by the Chinese authorities, who have tried to ban it.

Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan (), is a historical region in Central Asia between Ural and Siberia to the north; the Gobi Desert to the east; Tibet, Kashmir, Afghanistan, and Iran to the south; and the Caspian Sea to the west.

Turkestan (; alternative Schreibungen sind "Türkestan," "Turkistan" und "Türkistan") war die persische Bezeichnung einer nicht fest umrissenen zentralasiatischen Region, die sich vom Kaspischen Meer im Westen bis zur Wüste Gobi im Osten erstreckte. Das Gebiet umfasste rund 2.500.000 km2 und gehört heute im Wesentlichen zu sieben Staaten.


Etymology.

The name "Visegrád" ("Vyšehrad") is of Slavic origin, meaning acropolis, literary "the upper castle" (the castle with a privileged position) or "the upper settlement". In modern Slovak and Czech the form is "Vyšehrad".  The castle of Visegrád is called "Fellegvár" (Citadel) in Hungarian, In German, the town is called "Plintenburg".  Other places with names that are the same or similar include Višegrad, a town in Bosnia and Herzegovina; Vyshhorod, a city in Ukraine adjacent to Kiev; Wyszogród, a city in Poland; the Vyšehrad castle in Prague, Czech Republic; and Vyšehrad, a location with a nature reserve near Jasenovo in Slovakia.

History.

Visegrád was first mentioned in 1009 as a county town and the chief town of an archdeaconry. After the destructive Mongol invasion of Europe in 1242, the town was rebuilt in a slightly different location to the south. King Charles I of Hungary made Visegrád the royal seat of Hungary in 1325. At the same time, his diplomat Stephen Sáfár was appointed castellan.  In 1335, Charles hosted at Visegrád a two-month congress with the Bohemian king, John of Luxembourg, and the Polish king, Casimir III. It was crucial in creating a peace between the three kingdoms and securing an alliance between Poland and Hungary against Habsburg Austria. Another congress followed in 1338.  Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Hungary and Croatia in personal union with Hungary, moved the royal seat to Buda between 1405 and 1408. King Matthias Corvinus (1443–1490), King of Hungary, used Visegrád as a country residence.  Visegrád lost importance after the partition of the Kingdom of Hungary following the Battle of Mohács in 1526.  In 1991, the leading politicians of Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Poland met here to form a periodical forum, the Visegrád group, with an intentional allusion to the meeting centuries earlier in 1335.  Visegrád was granted town privileges again in 2000.

Monuments.

Upper Castle.

After the Mongol invasion, King Béla IV of Hungary and his wife had a new fortification system constructed in the 1240-50s near the one destroyed earlier. The first part of the new system was the Upper Castle on top of a high hill. The castle was laid out on a triangular ground plan and had three towers at its corners. In the 14th century, at the time of the Angevin kings of Hungary, the castle became a royal residence and was enlarged with a new curtain wall and palace buildings.  Around 1400 King Sigismund had a third curtain wall constructed and enlarged the palace buildings. At the end of the 15th century, King Matthias Corvinus had the interior renovated. The Upper Castle also served for the safekeeping of the Hungarian royal insignia between the 14th century and 1526. In 1544 Visegrád was occupied by the Ottoman Empire, and, apart from a short period in 1595-1605, it remained in Turkish hands until 1685. The castle was seriously damaged by the Turks and was never used afterwards.  The castle is now open to the public to visit.

Lower Castle.

The Lower Castle is the part of the fortification system that connects the Upper Castle with the Danube. In its centre rises the Solomon Tower, a large, hexagonal residential tower dating from the 13th century. In the 14th century, new curtain walls were built around the tower. During a Turkish raid in 1544, the southern part of the tower collapsed. Its renovation began only in the 1870s and was finished in the 1960s.  At present, the Tower houses exhibitions installed by the King Matthias Museum (Mátyás Király Múzeum) of Visegrád. The exhibitions present the reconstructed Gothic fountains from the Royal Palace, Renaissance sculpture in Visegrád, and the history of Visegrád.

Royal Palace.

The first royal house on this site was built by King Charles I of Hungary after 1325. In the second half of the 14th century, this was enlarged into a palace by his son, King Louis I of Hungary.  In the last third of the 14th century, King Louis and his successor Sigismund of Luxembourg had the majority of the earlier buildings dismantled and created a new, sumptuous palace complex, the extensive ruins of which are still visible today. The palace complex was laid out on a square ground plan measuring 123 x 123 m. A garden adjoined to it from the north and a Franciscan friary, founded by King Sigismund in 1424, from the south. In the time of Louis I and Sigismund, the palace was the official residence of the kings of Hungary until about 1405-08.  Between 1477 and 1484 Matthias Corvinus had the palace complex reconstructed in late Gothic style. The Italian Renaissance architectural style was used for decoration, the first time the style appeared in Europe outside Italy. After the Ottoman Turks' siege in 1544, the palace fell into ruins. By the 18th century it was completely covered by earth. Its excavation began in 1934 and continues today.  The reconstructed royal residence building is open to the public and houses exhibitions on the history of the palace and reconstructed historical interiors.

Sibrik Hill.

The ruins of this military camp can be seen outside Visegrád, to the north, on a hill that overlooks the Danube. The camp has a triangular ground plan. It was built in the first half of the 4th century as one of the important fortifications along the limes, the frontier of the Roman Empire. Its praetorium (the commander's building) was constructed at the end of the 4th century. In the early 5th century, the Roman army abandoned the military camp.  In the 10th and 11th centuries, the fortification, rebuilt as a castle, became a regional centre of the recently formed Hungarian state. "Visegrád" appears for the first time as the name of this regional centre (1009). The fortification was finally destroyed in 1242 by the Mongol invasion of Europe.

Visegrád () is a small castle town in Pest County, Hungary. It is north of Budapest on the right bank of the Danube in the Danube Bend. It had a population of 1,864 in 2010. Visegrád is famous for the remains of the Early Renaissance summer palace of King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary and the medieval citadel.

Visegrád [] (deutsch "Plintenburg") ist eine Stadt (Stadtrecht seit 2000) im ungarischen Komitat Pest, ca. 40 Kilometer nördlich von Budapest an der Donau gelegen. Bekannt ist sie durch eine auf einem 247 m hohen Bergkegel am Donauknie gelegene, um 1247 entstandene Burg, die sogenannte „Zitadelle“ mit dem Salomonturm und dem ab 1323 entstandenen Königspalast. Der slawische Ortsname "više grad" („hohe Burg“) stammt aus dem 9. Jahrhundert und bezog sich auf das spätrömische Kastell auf dem Sibrik-Hügel.


Overview.

Following a top-down design, the problem at hand is reduced into smaller and smaller subproblems, until only simple statements and control flow constructs remain. Nassi–Shneiderman diagrams reflect this top-down decomposition in a straightforward way, using nested boxes to represent subproblems. Consistent with the philosophy of structured programming, Nassi–Shneiderman diagrams have no representation for a GOTO statement.  Nassi–Shneiderman diagrams are only rarely used for formal programming. Their abstraction level is close to structured program code and modifications require the whole diagram to be redrawn, but graphic editors removed that limitation. They clarify algorithms and high-level designs, which make them useful in teaching. They were included in Microsoft Visio and dozens of other software tools, such as the German EasyCode.  In Germany, Nassi–Shneiderman diagrams were standardised in 1985 as DIN 66261. They are still used in German introductions to programming, for example Böttcher and Kneißl's introduction to C, Baeumle-Courth and Schmidt's introduction to C and Kirch's introduction to C#.  Nassi–Shneiderman diagrams can also be used in technical writing.

Diagrams.

Process blocks: the process block represents the simplest of steps and requires no analysis. When a process block is encountered, the action inside the block is performed and we move onto the next block.  Branching blocks: there are two types of branching blocks. First is the simple True/False or Yes/No branching block which offers the program two paths to take depending on whether or not a condition has been fulfilled. These blocks can be used as a looping procedure stopping the program from continuing until a condition has been fulfilled.  The second type of branching block is a multiple branching block. This block is used when a select case is needed in a program. The block usually contains a question or select case. The block provides the program with an array of choices and is often used in conjunction with sub process blocks to save space.  Testing loops: this block allows the program to loop one or a set of processes until a particular condition is fulfilled. The process blocks covered by each loop are subset with a side-bar extending out from the condition.  There are two main types of testing loops, test first and test last blocks. The only difference between the two is the order in which the steps involved are completed. In the test first situation, when the program encounters the block it tests to see if the condition is fulfilled, then, if it is not completes the process blocks and then loops back. The test is performed again and, if the condition is still unfulfilled, it processes again. If at any stage the condition is fulfilled the program skips the process blocks and continues onto the next block.  The test last block is simply reversed, the process blocks are completed before the test is performed. The test last loop allows for the process blocks to be performed at least once before the first test.  Concurrent execution can be drawn like this:

A Nassi–Shneiderman diagram (NSD) in computer programming is a graphical design representation for structured programming. This type of diagram was developed in 1972 by Isaac Nassi and Ben Shneiderman who were both graduate students at Stony Brook University. These diagrams are also called structograms, as they show a program's structures.

Ein Nassi-Shneiderman-Diagramm ist ein Diagrammtyp zur Darstellung von Programmentwürfen im Rahmen der Methode der strukturierten Programmierung. Es wurde 1972/73 von Isaac Nassi und Ben Shneiderman entwickelt und ist in der DIN 66261 genormt. Da Nassi-Shneiderman-Diagramme Programmstrukturen darstellen, werden sie auch als Struktogramme bezeichnet.


Taxonomy and naming.

The first mention of "Lactifluus volemus" in the scientific literature was in Carl Linnaeus's 1753 "Species Plantarum", under the name "Agaricus lactifluus". In 1821, Swedish mycologist Elias Magnus Fries called it "Agaricus volemus" in his "Systema Mycologicum". In this work he proposed a grouping of related species (called a "tribus", or tribe) within the genus "Agaricus", which he named "Galorrheus". Fries later recognised "Lactarius" as a distinct genus in his 1838 "Epicrisis Systematis Mycologici", citing "Galorrheus" as a synonym. Although Linnaeus had published the species before Fries, Fries's name is sanctioned and thus has nomenclatural priority. In 1871 Paul Kummer raised most of Fries's tribes to generic rank, and so renamed the species "Galorrheus volemus". The variety "L. volemus" var. "subrugosus" was identified by Charles Horton Peck in 1879, but is now classified as a separate species, "L. corrugis". In 1891, Otto Kuntze moved the species into "Lactifluus", which was afterwards long considered a synonym of "Lactarius" but confirmed as a separate genus through molecular phylogenetics in 2008 and subsequent taxonomical rearrangements within the family Russulaceae.  Another historical synonym is "Lactarius lactifluus", used by Lucien Quélet in 1886, a renaming based on Linnaeus's "Agaricus lactifluus". "Lactarius wangii", reported by Hua-An Wen and Jian-Zhe Ying to be a new species from China in 2005, was synonymised two years later with "L. volemus".  The specific epithet ""volemus"" is derived from the Latin "vola", meaning "the hollow of the hand", suggestive of Fries's reference to the large amount of latex "flowing enough to fill the hand". Common names for "L. volemus" include the weeping milk cap, the tawny milkcap, the orange-brown milky, the voluminous-latex milky, the lactarius orange, the fishy milkcap, and the apricot milk cap. In the West Virginian mountains of the United States, the mushroom is called a "leatherback" or a "bradley". The latter name may originate from its German name "Brätling".

Phylogeny.

"Lactifluus volemus" was the type species of the section "Dulces" in subgenus "Lactarius", and is currently classified in "Lactifluus" section "Lactifluus". The group around this "L. volemus" includes species with a dry cap, abundant latex, and a white or pale cream spore print. Because the closely related "L. corrugis" has overlapping morphological characters, including similar colouration in the cap and stem, it has been difficult to reliably distinguish between the two species. The difficulty in discerning the two is exacerbated by the fact that both species have several colour forms: Japanese specimens of "L. volemus" may have a red cap, a yellow cap with a long stem, or a velvet-like surface texture; the caps of "L. corrugis" may be either red, commonly rust-coloured. In 2005, Japanese researchers clarified the relationships between these two species and others in section "Dulces" using molecular phylogenetics, and by comparing differences in fatty acid composition, morphology, and taste. The colour variants group phylogenetically into different subclades, suggesting that they might better be considered as "different species, subspecies, or varieties". A 2010 molecular study of "L. volemus" of northern Thailand found that 79 tested specimens could be divided into 18 distinct phylogenetic species; six of these were described as new species: "Lactifluus acicularis", "L. crocatus", "L. distantifolius", "L. longipilus", "L. pinguis" and "L. vitellinus".

Description.

Macromorphology.

The fruit body of "Lactifluus volemus" has a fleshy and firm cap with a velvety or smooth surface and a shape that changes with maturity: it starts off convex, with edges curved inwards, then later grows flat with a depression in the middle. With a typical diameter of 5 to 11 cm (2– in), its colour ranges from apricot to tawny. The cap colouration, however, is somewhat variable, as has been noted in Asian, European, and North American specimens. The stem, whose height varies between 4 and 12 cm ( and 5 in), and which is typically between thick, has a slightly lighter colouration than the cap. It is firm, with a velvety or smooth surface that sometimes has depressions running longitudinally up and down its length. The gills are adnate to slightly decurrent, brittle, narrow, quite closely spaced and sometimes forked. Normally a pale golden yellow colour, the gills turn brown when bruised. Interspersed between the gills are lamellulae, short gills that do not extend to the stem. The flesh is whitish and firm. The mushroom smells somewhat fishy; one source suggests the odour is "like a dead shad, which anglers will tell you is probably the most malodorous freshwater fish". The odour is concentrated when the fruit bodies are dried. One of the mushroom's most distinctive features is the abundant latex, so plentiful that a small nick on the gills will cause it to "weep" the milky substance. The latex tends to impart brown stains on whatever it contacts.

Micromorphology.

The spore print is whitish. The spores are roughly spherical, translucent (hyaline), and typically measure 7.5–10.0 by 7.5–9.0 μm. The spore surface is reticulate—covered with ridges that form a complete network. The ridges are up to 0.8 μm high and have conspicuous projections up to 1.2 μm high. The spore-bearing cells of the hymenium, the basidia, are club-shaped, hyaline, four-spored, and have dimensions of 40–62 by 7.2–10.4 μm. Interspersed among the basidia are sterile cells called cystidia. The pleurocystidia (cystidia on the side of a gill) are roughly spindle- to club-shaped, and measure 48–145 by 5–13 μm. The cheilocystidia (cystidia on the edge of a gill) may be spindle-, club-, or awl-shaped (subulate), or intermediate in between these forms, and measure 27–60 by 5–7 μm. Additionally, there are cystidia present on both the surface of the cap and the stem. If a drop of ferric sulphate (used as a chemical test in mushroom identification) is applied to the mushroom flesh, it will immediately stain dark bluish-green.

Varieties.

The variety "Lactifluus volemus" var. "flavus" was described by Alexander H. Smith and Lexemuel Ray Hesler in their 1979 monograph of North American "Lactarius" species. This rare variety, found in the southeastern United States (ranging from South Carolina to Florida and extending west to Texas), has a cap that stays yellow throughout its development. It also has slightly smaller spores than the regular variety: 6.5–9.0 by 6–8 μm. It is also a good edible. Some authors have considered the rarely collected "L. volemus" var. "oedematopus", found in central and southern Europe, to be a distinct variety distinguished from the common variety by a darker reddish-brown cap and a swollen stem. This assessment is not universally accepted, possibly because it falls within the range of morphological variation shown by the main variety. "L. volemus" var. "asiaticus" was named in 2004 based on Vietnamese specimens; associating with Khasi pine ("Pinus khasya"), it has small, dull brown, velvety fruit bodies. In general, little taxonomical significance has been ascribed to the several varieties of "L. volemus" that have been proposed.

Similar species.

"Lactifluus volemus" is closely related to "L. corrugis", and generally similar in appearance. "L. corrugis" usually has more surface wrinkles, darker gills, weaker or absent scent, and less orange colouration; however, intermediate colour forms can be found. The two can be distinguished more definitively by microscopic characteristics: "L. corrugis" has larger spores—typically 10.4–12.8 by 9.6–11.8 μm—with a coarser surface reticulum, and larger pleurocystidia. The species "Lactifluus austrovolemus" is closely related, but has more crowded gills, while "L. lamprocystidiatus" can only be reliably distinguished from "L. volemus" by microscopic characteristics: the reticulations on its spores are taller and more acute, and the meshes formed by the intersections of the reticulations are smaller. Both "L. austrovolemus" and "L. lamprocystidiatus" are known only from Papua New Guinea. "Lactifluus hygrophoroides" also resembles "L. volemus", but differs in having widely spaced gills, and spores that lack surface reticulations.  Some species of the genus "Lactarius" are also similar: The tropical African "Lactarius chromospermus" has a superficial resemblance to "L. volemus", but the former species, in addition to its African distribution, can be identified by its cinnamon-brown spore print—unique in the Russulaceae. "Lactarius subvelutinus" is also similar to "L. volemus", but lacks the fishy odour, has a dull yellow-orange to bright golden orange cap, narrow gills, and a white latex that does not change colour.

Edibility and other uses.

Despite the unappealing fishy scent that develops after the mushroom is picked, "Lactifluus volemus" is edible and recommended for culinary usage, though, typical of milk caps, it has a slightly granular texture that some may find unappetizing. The odor disappears during cooking. The latex only has a mild taste. The species is considered good for novice mushroom hunters to eat, and is best prepared by slow cooking to prevent it from becoming too hard; specimens that have been rehydrated after having been dried will require longer cooking times to eliminate the grainy texture. The mushroom has also been suggested for use in casseroles and thick sauces. Pan frying is not a recommended cooking technique, due to the large amounts of latex it exudes. "L. volemus" is one of several species of milk caps that are sold in rural markets in Yunnan Province, China, and it is among the most popular wild edible mushroom species collected for consumption and sale in Nepal. In their 2009 book on milk caps of North America, Bessette and colleagues consider the mushroom "the best-known and most popular edible milk mushroom" in the eastern United States. A Turkish study of the nutritional composition of the fruit bodies concluded that "L. volemus" is a good source of protein and carbohydrates.  Two elderly people developed a transient pancreatitis after consuming "L. volemus" in central Anatolia in Turkey. Both had eaten the mushroom, which they knew as "Tirmit", many times before. The condition resolved spontaneously.

Bioactive compounds.

Fruit bodies contains a unique sterol molecule called volemolide, a derivative of the common fungal sterol ergosterol that may have application in fungal chemotaxonomy. A 2001 study identified a further nine sterols, three of which were previously unknown to science. According to the authors, these types of highly oxygenated compounds—similar to sterols found in marine soft coral and sponges—are rare in fungi. The mushroom also contains volemitol (D-glycero-D-mannoheptitol), a seven-carbon sugar alcohol first isolated from the species by the French scientist Émile Bourquelot in 1889. Volemitol occurs as a free sugar in many plant and brown algal species.  Due to their natural polyisoprene content (1.1–7.7% by dry weight of fruit bodies), "L. volemus" fruit bodies can also be used to produce rubber. The chemical structure of rubber from the mushroom consists of a high molecular mass homologue of polyprenol, arranged as a dimethylallyl group, two "trans" isoprene units, a long sequence of "cis" isoprenes (between 260–300 units), terminated by a hydroxyl or fatty acid ester. Biosynthetically, the creation of the polyisoprene begins with the compound "trans","trans"-farnesyl pyrophosphate, and is thought to terminate by esterification of polyisoprenyl pyrophosphate. The enzyme isopentenyl-diphosphate delta isomerase has been identified as required for the initiation of rubber synthesis in "L. volemus" and several other milk cap species.

Ecology, distribution, and habitat.

Like all milk caps, "L. volemus" forms ectomycorrhizae, mutually beneficial symbiotic associations with various tree species. In this association, the fungal hyphae grow around the root of the plant and between its cortical cells, but do not actually penetrate them. The hyphae extend outward into the soil, increasing the surface area for absorption to help the plant absorb nutrients from the soil. It is found growing at the base of both coniferous and broad-leaved trees, although it is more common in deciduous woods. It may also sometimes be found in peat moss beds. The fruit bodies, which appear between summer and autumn, are common. They can be found growing solitarily or in groups, and are more abundant in weather that is warm and humid.  Fruit bodies can be inhabited by species of limoniid flies, such as "Discobola marginata" or "Limonia yakushimensis", as well as several species of fungi-dwelling mites. The flies are hosts for the mites in a symbiotic association known as "phoresis", whereby the mites are mechanically carried by its host. Mites are small and unable to migrate the relatively long distances between mushrooms without assistance; the insect hosts, in comparison, are large and can transfer the mites between their preferred feeding habitats.  "Lactifluus volemus" is found in warm temperate regions and as well as some subtropical and tropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The fungus is widely distributed throughout Europe, although it is in decline in some countries, and has become rare enough in the Netherlands (and Flanders) to be considered locally extinct. In the Americas, the northern limit of its distribution reaches southern Canada east of the Great Plains, and the species extends south to the East Coast of the United States and Mexico, and beyond into Central America (Guatemala). It is also known from Asia, including China (Qinling Mountains, Guizhou Province, and Yunnan Province), Japan, India, Korea, Nepal, and Vietnam. Collections have also been made from the Middle East, including Iran and Turkey.

Lactifluus volemus, formerly known as Lactarius volemus, is a species of fungus in the family Russulaceae. It is widely distributed in the northern hemisphere, in temperate regions of Europe, North America and Asia as well as some subtropical and tropical regions of Central America and Asia. A mycorrhizal fungus, its fruit bodies grow on the ground at the base of various species of trees from summer to autumn, either individually or in groups. It is valued as an edible mushroom, and is sold in markets in Asia. Several other "Lactifluus" mushrooms resemble "L. volemus", such as the closely related edible species "L. corrugis", but these can be distinguished by differences in distribution, visible morphology, and microscopic characteristics. "L. volemus" produces a white spore print and has roughly spherical spores about 7–8 micrometres in diameter.

Der Brätling, Milchbrätling, Brot- oder auch Birnen-Milchling ("Lactifluus volemus") ist eine Pilzart aus der Familie der Täublingsverwandten (Russulaceae). Anders als der mehr oder weniger scharf schmeckende Milchsaft der meisten Milchlinge ist der des Brätlings mild, mit leicht bitterem Nachgeschmack. An den Fingern färbt sich die bei Verletzung sehr reichlich austretende weiße Milch schnell braun. Typisch für den Pilz ist der im weiten Umkreis wahrnehmbare „fischige“ Duft, der je nach Gegend als herings-, hummer- oder topinamburähnlich beschrieben wird.