The Ottomans initially welcomed the Swedish king, where he went to Abdurrahman Pasha, the commander of the Özü Castle, as he was about to fall into the hands of the Russian army, and he was able to take refuge in the castle at the last moment. Charles XII appears in the absurdist comedy A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (2014), in which his army passes a modern-day cafe on their way to, and retreating from, the Battle of Poltava. Another interesting point in Charles XII's history is the fact that France, Sweden's ally since the Thirty Years War was herself embroiled in yet another losing war against another great coalition, and also due to reasons similar to those of Charles XII, as Louis XIV of France was another monarch unable to acknowledge any limits to his ambitions. And nations on his eye suspended wait; Charles was most interested in his power within Sweden, and during the Scanian War he essentially took dictatorial power. G.P. The vanquished hero leaves his broken bands, Voltaire portrays the Swedish king in a positive light, against the brutal nature of Peter the Great. [44] Examples of the romantic hero idolatry of Charles XII in several genres are Esaias Tegnér's song Kung Karl, den unge hjälte (1818), Johan Peter Molin's statue[44] in Stockholm's Kungsträdgården (unveiled on 30 November 1868, the 150th anniversary of Charles' death)[45] and Gustaf Cederström's painting Karl XII:s likfärd ("Funeral procession of Charles XII", 1878). He traveled across the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary to Vienna and arrived at Stralsund. [48] In the so-called Strindberg feud (1910–1912), his response to the "Swedish cult of Charles XII" (Steene)[49] was that Charles had been "Sweden's ruin, the great offender, a ruffian, the rowdies' idol, a counterfeiter. BBC News item: Who killed Sweden's Warrior King? The shot struck the left side of his skull and exited from the right. And shows his miseries in distant lands; Charles attacked under cover of a blizzard, effectively split the Russian army in two and won the battle. In it, those executive and legislative bodies told the absentee King that unless he quickly returned to Sweden, they would independently conclude an achievable peace treaty with Russia, Poland and Denmark. His time as king was dominated by the Great Northern War. Click here for more informationCharles XII was born to Charles XI of Sweden and Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark in Tre Kronor castle in Sweden. Charles XII (Swedish: Karl XII) was the king of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. By the close of the century a Livonian discontent, Joann Reinhold Patkul, had persuaded Frederick IV of Denmark, Augustus II of Poland-Saxony, and Peter the Great of Russia to make a joint attack on Sweden to despoil the young ruler of much of his inheritance. Hide, blushing Glory, hide Pultowa's day: ), A Small Giant (Compendium) of the Finnish History / Suomen historian pikkujättiläinen. O'er love, o'er fear, extends his wide domain, Charles XII was king of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. Swedish author Frans G. Bengtsson and Professor Ragnhild Hatton have written biographies of Charles XII of Sweden. A medal with Charles on horseback, his long hair flying in the wind, was struck in 1714 to commemorate the speedy ride. This uprising was called "kalabalık" (Turkish for crowd) which afterwards found a place in Swedish lexicon referring to a ruckus. The paper was reportedly still in existence a hundred years later but has since been lost. Wiki User Answered . Greatness and fall) 91-7263-092-2 (2000) Nordstedts förlag, Stockholm, R.M. He is played by Viktor Gyllenberg. [6] The non-mathematical numbering tradition continues with the current King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, being counted as the equivalent of Charles XVI. Period: Jun 17, 1682 to Nov 30, 1718. To Charles the defense of his realm w… In the following mid-May, Charles invaded again, this time striking the border town of Fredrikshald, now Halden, in an attempt to capture the fortress of Fredriksten. [23], Charles traveled back to Sweden with a group of Ottomans, soldiers such as escorts and businessmen to whom he promised to repay his debts during his stay in the Ottoman Empire, but they had to wait several years before that happened. How just his hopes let Swedish Charles decide; The Grave of Karl XII of Sweden. [5], The fact that Charles was crowned as Charles XII does not mean that he was the 12th king of Sweden by that name. After suffering significant losses of men and materiel, Charles was forced to retreat from the capital on 29 April. While ladies interpose, and slaves debate. It is clear that the king was struck in the head by a projectile and killed, but his death is largely a mystery when it… 251,257 Pages. He was succeeded by his sister Ulrika Eleonora, who in turn was coerced to hand over all substantial powers to the Riksdag of the Estates and opted to surrender the throne to her husband, who became King Frederick I of Sweden.[4]. In 1917, his head was photographed. Charles defeated the Polish king Augustus II and his Saxon allies at the Battle of Kliszow in 1702 and captured many cities of the Commonwealth. "Think nothing gained", he cries, "till nought remain, Life of Charles XII of Sweden Apr 5, 1697. If you have already purchased access, or are a print & archive subscriber, please ensure you are logged in. With a main force of 40,000 men, he again laid siege to the fortress of Fredriksten overlooking the town of Fredrikshald. The size of the invading Swedish army was peeled off as Charles left Leszczyński with some 24,000 German and Polish troops, departing eastwards from Saxony in late 1707 with some 35,000 men, adding a further 12,500 under Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt marching from Livonia. During his semi-imprisonment the King played chess and studied the Ottoman Navy and the naval architecture of the Ottoman galleons. [8], Charles's first campaign was against Denmark–Norway, ruled by his cousin Frederick IV of Denmark, For this campaign Charles secured the support of England and the Netherlands, both maritime powers concerned with Denmark's threats to close the Sound. Asked by Wiki User. [29] There are two possibilities that are usually cited: that he was killed by a musket shot, or that he was killed by grapeshot from the nearby fortress. His entourage also accumulated huge amounts of debts with Bender merchants. According to Mrs. Ragnhild Marie Hatton, a Norwegian-British historian, in some of those letters Charles expressed his desire for a peace treaty which would be defensible in the future Swedish generations' eyes. Russia also declared war (August 1700), but stopped short of an attack on Swedish Ingria until September 1700. Who fired the bullet? He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of Wittelsbach. Under the House of Vassa the kingdom had expanded greatly. According to a report by contemporary scientist Emanuel Swedenborg, the King had sketched a model of his thoughts on a piece of paper and handed it to him at their meeting in Lund in 1716. [51], In the 1930s, the Swedish Nazis held celebrations on the date of Charles XII's death, and shortly before the outbreak of World War II, Adolf Hitler received from Sweden a sculpture of the king at his birthday. [29] The 1859 exhumation found that the wound was in accordance with a shot from the Norwegian fort. His sketches and designs eventually led to the famous Swedish war ships Jarramas (Yaramaz) and Jilderim (Yıldırım). [citation needed], Meanwhile, Russia and Poland regained and expanded their borders. This situation was later formalized, albeit moderated in the subsequent Treaty of Nystad. [37], In his conversations with Löwen, he also stated that he did not lack taste for beautiful women, but that he held in his sexual desires for fear that they would get out of control if unchecked, and that if he committed to something like that, it would be forever. [43] Throughout the 19th century's romantic nationalism Charles XII was viewed as a national hero. His lack of mistresses may have been due to a strong religious faith. Hatton, Charles XII of Sweden, London, 1968; Seppo Zetterberg et al. Charles spent the following years in exile in the Ottoman Empire before returning to lead an assault on Norway, trying to evict the Danish king from the war once more in order to aim all his forces at the Russians. © Copyright 2021 History Today Ltd. Company no. Many of Peter's troops who fled the battlefield drowned in the Narva River. In 2007, Oleg Ryaskov again portrayed Charles XII (Eduard Flerov) in the Russian drama The Sovereign's Servant. [12][13], After securing his "favorite" victory in the Battle of Holowczyn, despite being outnumbered over three to one against the new Russian army, Charles opted to march eastwards on Moscow rather than try to seize Saint Petersburg, founded from the Swedish town of Nyenskans five years earlier. 2014-05-01 16:02:13. During his exile in the Ottoman Empire, the Swedish king Charles XII stayed in … [39] Historians such as Blanning and Montefiore believe he was in fact homosexual. Charles fascinated many in his time. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of Wittelsbach.Charles was the only surviving son of Charles XI and Ulrika Eleonora the Elder.He assumed power, after a seven-month caretaker government, at the age of fifteen. The exact circumstances around Charles' death are unclear. This led to the Great Northern War. How was he raised? He is credited with having invented an octal numeral system, which he considered more suitable for war purposes because all the boxes used for materials such as gunpowder were cubic. Helsinki, Finland, 2003). He was actually the 6th King Charles. His brilliant campaigning and startling victories brought his country to the pinnacle of her prestige and power, although the Great Northern War resulted in Sweden's defeat and the end of her empire within years of his own death. It was hoped that by cutting Denmark's Norwegian supply lines the Danes would be compelled to withdraw their forces from Swedish Scania. The remainder of the army surrendered days later at Perevolochna under Lewenhaupt's command, most of them (including Lewenhaupt himself) spending the rest of their days in Russian captivity. He became king of the Swedish Empire in 1697 when he was 15 years of age. Most visited articles. Charles was the only surviving son of Charles XI and Ulrika Eleonora the Elder. Russia occupied Finland (the Greater Wrath 1713–1721). They were called "Askersson" (the word asker in Turkish means soldier). (What worries you so? Russia was now the sole remaining hostile power. [46] The date of Charles' death was chosen by a student association in Lund for annual torch marches beginning in 1853. After the deposition of Augustus as king of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Charles XII put Stanisław Leszczyński as his puppet on the Polish throne (1704). 1708-09-11 Great Northern war: Charles XII of Sweden stops his march to conquer Moscow outside Smolensk, marking the turning point in the war; 1709-06-27 Peter the Great of Russia defeats Charles XII of Sweden at the Battle of Poltava. Despite multiple investigations of the battlefield, Charles's skull and his clothes, it is not known where and when he was hit, or whether the shot came from the ranks of the enemy or from his own men. Although there were many people around the king at the time of his death, there were no known witnesses to the actual moment he was struck. Stern Famine guards the solitary coast, (eds. Charles left the homeland with a defense of approximately 28,800 men, with a further 14,000 in Swedish Finland as well as further garrisons in the Baltic and German provinces. His fall was destined to a barren strand, Russian forces managed to penetrate Ingria and established a new city, Saint Petersburg, there. [40][41] Certainly a letter from Reuterholm suggested that Charles had indicated a closeness to the Elector Prince of Saxony, Maximilian Emanuel of Württemberg-Winnental, whom Charles described as "very pretty". A second force, under Carl Gustaf Armfeldt, marched against Trondheim with 10,000 men but was forced to retreat. Meanwhile, the Swedish Council of State (government) and Estates/Diet (Parliament) tried to keep the beleaguered Sweden somehow organized and independent. A likely explanation has been that Charles was killed by the Dano-Norwegians as he was within easy reach of their guns. Contemporaries report of his seemingly inhuman tolerance for pain and his utter lack of emotion. Great Britain, an adversary of Sweden, defected from its alliance obligations while Prussia attacked Swedish holdings in Germany. [42] Historians of the late 18th and early 19th centuries viewed Charles' death as the result of an aristocratic plot, and Gustav IV Adolf, the king who refused to settle with Napoleon Bonaparte, "identified himself with Charles as a type of righteous man struggling with iniquity" (Roberts). The intention here is to give a review of this overall evidence so that the reader may be his own jury in resolving the mystery of Charles XII’s death. He died instantaneously. 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In the 1983 comedy film Kalabaliken i Bender [sv], Charles XII is portrayed by Gösta Ekman. As for his famous reluctance towards peace efforts, he is quoted by Voltaire as saying upon the outbreak of the war; "I have resolved never to start an unjust war but never to end a legitimate one except by defeating my enemies". Gott und Ich leben noch. Robert Nisbet Bain. Charles XII, also Carl, Latinised to Carolus Rex, was the King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. "[50] Verner von Heidenstam however, one of his opponents in the feud, in his book Karolinerna instead "emphasized the heroic steadfastness of the Swedish people in the somber years of trial during the long-drawn-out campaigns of Karl XII" (Scott). Possible candidates included Princess Sophia Hedwig of Denmark and Princess Maria Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp – but of the latter he pleaded that he could never wed someone "as ugly as Satan and with such a devilish big mouth". Charles' Polish ally, Stanisław Leszczyński, was facing internal problems of his own. Instead, he turned against Poland-Lithuania, which was formally neutral at this point, thereby disregarding Polish negotiation proposals supported by the Swedish parliament. In this fascinating and scholarly biography Professor Hatton has tackled the basic problem which any modern study of Charles XII, King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718, poses: where does the truth lie between the vilification of one school of historians for whom an 'illiterate warrior-king' can do nothing right, and the boundless admiration of those who, in search of rational e After Charles XI died Charles XII enherited the Swedish Empire. He was born on June 27, 1682.. During his time as a king, he tried to expand Sweden's empire. Charles, like all kings, was styled by a royal title, which combined all his titles into one single phrase. The attacking Swedes came under heavy cannon fire from the fortress and were forced to withdraw when the Norwegians set the town of Fredrikshald on fire. King Charles XII of Sweden died on November 30, 1718 at the age of 36. Charles's body has been exhumed on three occasions to ascertain the cause of death; in 1746, 1859 and 1917. In the meantime, Charles sent Stanislaw Poniatowski and Thomas Funck [sv] as his messengers to Constantinople. After the sudden death of Charles XI, a five man regency governed Sweden.All five men had been trained by Charles XI but in November 1697, the senior nobility, the very men who had opposed the extension of royal absolutism, offered Charles full power and granted him his majority. More sinister theories claim he was assassinated: One is that the killer was a Swedish compatriot and asserts that enemy guns were not firing at the time Charles was struck. And all be mine beneath the polar sky." [citation needed], Charles' death marked the end of autocratic kingship in Sweden, and the subsequent Age of Liberty saw a shift of power from the monarch to the parliament of the estates. By 1706 Charles, now 24 years old, had forced all of his foes into submission including, in that year, a decisively devastating victory by Swedish forces under general Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld over a combined army of Saxony and Russia at the Battle of Fraustadt. With the war consuming more than half his life and nearly all his reign, he never married and fathered no children. In order for the Jewish and Muslim creditors to avoid this, Charles wrote a "free letter" so that they could practice their religions without being punished. The total number of Russian fatalities reached about 10,000 at the end of the battle, while the Swedish forces lost 667 men. Sweden in 1700 was the greatest Northern European power and this provoked the jealousy of its neighbors. The Janissaries did not shoot Charles during the skirmish at Bender, but captured him and put him under house-arrest at Dimetoka (nowadays Didimoticho) and Constantinople. [8], Russia had opened their part of the war by invading the Swedish-held territories of Livonia and Estonia. With the numbers of Charles' army reduced to some 23,000, with several wounded and handling the siege of Poltava, his general Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld had a clearly inferior force to face the fortified and modernized army of Tsar Peter, with some 45,000 men. The Russians outnumbered the Swedish army of ten thousand men by almost four to one. Ontdek de perfecte stockfoto's over Charles Xii Of Sweden en redactionele nieuwsbeelden van Getty Images Kies uit premium Charles Xii Of Sweden van de hoogste kwaliteit. The result was the end of the Swedish Empire, and also of its effectively organized absolute monarchy and war machine, commencing a parliamentary government unique for continental Europe, which would last for half a century until royal autocracy was restored by Gustav III. [11], While Charles won several decisive battles in the Commonwealth and ultimately secured the coronation of his ally Stanisław Leszczyński and the surrender of Saxony, the Russian Tsar Peter the Great embarked on a military reform plan that improved the Russian army, using the effectively organized Swedes and other European standards for role models. CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Princess Maria Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp, Maximilian Emanuel of Württemberg-Winnental, John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg, Joachim Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg, A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence, "Sweden and Finland. He then shifted the Swedish army to Pernau in present day Estonia and upon hearing of the Saxon withdrawal from the gates of … [a], Eventually, a small village named Karlstad (Varnița) had to be built near Bender to accommodate the ever-growing Swedish population there. In 1731, Voltaire wrote a biography of Charles XII, History of Charles XII. Charles was shot in the head and killed during the siege, while he was inspecting trenches. The Russians, Saxons and Danish wanted to use his young age to destroy the power of Sweden. Conclusion. His father, Charles X of Sweden, had left Sweden in July that year to fight in the war against Poland.After several years of warfare, the king returned in the winter of 1659, gathered his family and the Riksdag of the Estates in Gothenburg.Here he beheld his four-year-old son for the first time. When did Charles XI of Sweden die? Sweden has had her share of memorable monarchs. Rumours that he was a hermaphrodite were quelled in 1917 when his coffin was opened and he was shown to have suffered no physical irregularities. Did rival monarchs give the fatal wound? He left the name, at which the world grew pale, [61][62], "Carolus Rex" redirects here. When Sweden was not taking part in a war he still did not want to give this power up, and he saw the high nobility as his main threat to his position as king because of … https://www.historytoday.com/archive/death-charles-xii-sweden CAROLUS: Explore the life of Sweden's last warrior king: Charles XII. The Swedish defeat at Poltava in 1709 marks the downfall of the Swedish Empire,[17] as well as the founding of the Russian Empire.[18]. A popular but unproven theory is that the murder was an act of conspiracy made by his sister's (Ulrika Eleonora) husband, Fredrik, who was crowned Fredrik I.It is believed that the murder was committed by Fredrik’s aide-de-camp, André Sicre, who confe… Charles was the only surviving son of Charles XI and Ulrika Eleonora the Elder. Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII (Swedish: Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S. The march begins in military state, In its simplest form the debate is whether or not Charles XII was killed by a bullet from one of his own men, and both sides draw on two main types of evidence: historical evidence based on contemporary accounts, and the results of modern research in such diverse fields as folklore, ballistics and forensic medicine. However, he emphasized that only a greater respect for Sweden in Europe would enable him to achieve such a peace treaty. In the 16th and 17th centuries, it seemed that every other ruler crowned in Stockholm was astonishing in one way or another. By the 1660s the Kingdom of Sweden directly controlled the modern states of Finland and the Baltic States… [19], His expenses during his long stay in the Ottoman Empire were covered by the Ottoman state budget, as part of the fixed assets (Demirbaş in Turkish), hence his nickname Demirbaş Şarl (Fixed Asset Charles) in Turkey. He assumed power, after a seven-month caretaker government, at the age of fifteen.[2]. Did no subverted empire mark his end? Charles planned an invasion of the Russian heartland, allying himself with Ivan Mazepa, Hetman of the Ukrainian Cossacks. It has not been involved in a war since the Napoleonic era. Another odd account of Charles' death comes from Finnish writer Carl Nordling, who states that the king's surgeon, Melchior Neumann, dreamed the king had told him that he was not shot from the fortress but from "one who came creeping".[29]. Today we associate Sweden with liberal values and a peaceful society. The treaties dissatisfied pro-war party, supported by King Charles and Stanislaw Poniatowski who failed to reignite the conflict. He took part in the Nordic War (1700-1721), in which his enemies were Denmark, Poland and Russia. Leading the Swedish army against the alliance Charles won multiple victories despite being usually significantly outnumbered. Charles XII turned from sham battles and mock heroics to real war. Charles XII of Sweden (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718) was King of Sweden from 5 April 1697 to 30 November 1718, succeeding Charles XI of Sweden and preceding Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden.King Charles was known as an exceptionally skilled military leader and tactician and an able politician, proving himself during the Great Northern War against the Russian Empire. Register Military. On Moscow's walls till Gothic standards fly, 2nd edition. However, Charles XII of Sweden was willing to aid the English Tories by sending troops to put the Pretender on the throne, in conjunction with an English rising. Buy Online Access  Buy Print & Archive Subscription. [37], Exceptional for abstaining from alcohol and sex, he felt most comfortable during warfare. Charles expected the support of a massive Cossack rebellion led by Mazepa in Ukraine, with estimates suggesting Mazepa of being able to muster some 40,000 troops, but the Russians subjugated the rebellion and destroyed its capital Baturin before the arrival of the Swedish troops. Peter Englund asserted in his essay "On the death of Charles XII and other murders[31]" that the mortal wound sustained by the King, with a smaller exit wound than entry wound, would be consistent with being hit by a bullet with a speed not exceeding 150 m/s, concluding that Charles was killed by stray grapeshot from the nearby fortress. Less well-known is invasion of Russia by the Swedes under their most famous king, Charles XII. While the siege at Fredrikshald was underway, the Swedish supply fleet was attacked and defeated by Tordenskjold in the Battle of Dynekilen.[26]. This stark admonition prompted Charles to rush back to Sweden. [citation needed], Charles invaded Norway in 1716 with a combined force of 7,000 men. Please email digital@historytoday.com if you have any problems. Sicre confessed during what was claimed to be a state of delirium brought on by fever but later recanted. Charles never married and fathered no children of whom historians are aware. Michael Srigley describes how, on November 30th, 1718, one of the foremost soldiers of the age was shot while besieging a fortress in Norway. I have no idea whether this version is true. The shock of the impact caused the king to grasp his sword with his right hand, and cover the wound with his left hand, leaving his gloves covered in blood.[27]. Apart from being a monarch, the King's interests included mathematics, and anything that would be beneficial to his warlike purposes. Leading a force of 8,000 and 43 ships in an invasion of Zealand, Charles rapidly compelled the Danes to submit to the Peace of Travendal in August 1700, which indemnified Holstein. However, the sultan Ahmed III's subjects in the empire eventually got tired of Charles' scheming. Charles' plan was to attack Denmark by striking at her possessions in Norway. This was: We Charles, by the Grace of God King of Sweden, the Goths and the Vends, Grand Prince of Finland, Duke of Scania, Estonia, Livonia and Karelia, Lord of Ingria, Duke of Bremen, Verden and Pomerania, Prince of Rügen and Lord of Wismar, and also Count Palatine by the Rhine, Duke in Bavaria, Count of Zweibrücken–Kleeburg, as well as Duke of Jülich, Cleve and Berg, Count of Veldenz, Spanheim and Ravensberg and Lord of Ravenstein. Condemned a needy supplicant to wait, Eventually, "crowds" of townspeople attacked the Swedish colony at Bender and Charles had to defend himself against the mobs and the Ottoman Janissaries involved. Day in history. At the time, most of the Swedish Empire was under foreign military occupation, though Sweden itself was still free. Eventually, in the autumn of 1714, their warning letter reached him. Or hostile millions press him to the ground? Charles countered this by attacking the Russian besiegers at the Battle of Narva (November 1700). This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia.The original content was at Category:Charles XII of Sweden.The list of authors can be seen in the page history.As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License. No joys to him pacific sceptres yield; For the remaining fragment of Gothenburg's city walls, see, Richard Cavendish, "The Battle of Narva. The Swedish-held territories of Livonia and Estonia June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S Fredrikshald! Between them of 7,000 men across Finland to attack the Stockholm district he had tried to battle... 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Only a Greater respect for Sweden in 1700 was the king 's interests included mathematics, and that! Stockholm, R.M historytoday.com if you have any problems 30 November 1718 O.S he succumb a. Heinrich von Görtz, Charles XII of Sweden 's last warrior king, the Sultan Ahmed 's... Formalized, albeit moderated in the Nordic war ( August 1700 ) Russian... Poniatowski who failed to reignite the conflict journey on horseback, riding across Europe just. 1746, 1859 and 1917 Swedish army of ten thousand men by almost four to one did... Of england and Holland and dispatched Denmark in six weeks as Charles marched his troops for winter camp in.! Charles IX ( 1604–1611 ) gave themselves numerals after studying a mythological of... Peter 's troops who fled the battlefield drowned in the wind, was facing internal of. Century 's romantic nationalism Charles XII her son to declare war against Russia as! Against Russia, as Charles marched his troops for winter camp in Ukraine. [ 2.... 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