document_title: Supernatural (season 10)

question_text: who played young dean in supernatural season 10

text: Supernatural (season 10)

text: Cast[edit]

text: Starring[edit]

text:
Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester
Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester
Misha Collins as Castiel / Jimmy Novak
Mark A. Sheppard as Crowley

text: Special appearance by[edit]

text:
Rob Benedict as Chuck Shurley
Jim Beaver as Bobby Singer

text: Guest stars[edit]

text:
Ruth Connell as Rowena
Curtis Armstrong as Metatron
Erica Carroll as Hannah / Caroline Johnson
Travis Aaron Wade as Cole Trenton
Felicia Day as Charlie Bradbury
Kathryn Newton as Claire Novak
David Hoflin as Eldon Styne
Jud Tylor as Adina
Briana Buckmaster as Sheriff Donna Hanscum
Dylan Everett as Young Dean Winchester
Ty Olsson as Benny Lafitte
Timothy Omundson as Cain
Kim Rhodes as Sheriff Jody Mills
Julian Richings as Death

text: Episodes[edit]

text: This section's plot summaries may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve them by removing unnecessary details and making them more concise. (February 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: In this table, the number in the first column refers to the episode's number within the entire series, whereas the number in the second column indicates the episode's number within this particular season. "U.S. viewers in millions" refers to how many Americans watched the episode live or on the day of broadcast.

text:
No.overallNo. inseasonTitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.codeUS viewers(millions)1961"Black"Robert SingerJeremy CarverOctober 7, 2014 (2014-10-07)4X58022.50[4]
In the six weeks that have passed since the ending of the ninth season, the now-demonic Dean (Jensen Ackles) has been living it up with his new friend Crowley (Mark A. Sheppard)—partying at bars, singing bad karaoke, and sleeping with a waitress. Meanwhile, Sam (Jared Padalecki), oblivious to Dean's state, has been searching desperately for his missing brother. He eventually finds out the truth from Crowley after investigating the death of an Abaddon loyalist whom Crowley had purposefully sent to his death by attacking Dean. Crowley confesses that he has been sending Abaddon loyalists after Dean to sate Dean's bloodlust. Sam tracks Dean and Crowley to Beulah, North Dakota, but gets ambushed by an unknown man (Travis Aaron Wade) who is also looking for Dean. Dean gets a call from the man, who demands that Dean trade himself for Sam's life. However, Dean doesn't care about his brother anymore, refuses the deal, and hangs up, leaving Sam in the kidnapper's hands. Elsewhere, a dying Castiel (Misha Collins) is approached by Hannah (Erica Carroll), one of his followers in the previous season, for help tracking down Daniel and Adina (Jud Tylor), two rogue angels who refuse to return to the restored Heaven, instead wanting the freedom that life on Earth gives them. While Castiel is understanding towards the couple, Hannah is not, and a fight ensues that results in Castiel having to kill Daniel to save Hannah. Afterward, Hannah reveals that she doesn't like the idea of angels taking on human values, as she fears it would lead to chaos. Castiel, however, thinks it's a good idea.
1972"Reichenbach"Thomas J. WrightAndrew DabbOctober 14, 2014 (2014-10-14)4X58032.13[5]
Sam's kidnapper reveals that his name is Cole and the reason he's hunting Dean down is because Dean killed his father twelve years ago. He tries to torture Sam for Dean's location, but Sam escapes after warning Cole that Dean is a monster. It is later revealed that Cole has let him escape, and follows him to Dean. Meanwhile, Crowley and Dean have a falling out after Dean refuses to follow Crowley's orders and embarrasses him in front of his demon subjects. Realizing that the situation has gotten out of his control, Crowley contacts Sam with Dean's whereabouts to have Sam handle his brother. Sam offers to help Dean become human again, but Dean is uninterested, having found a kind of liberty in being a demon and in not caring anymore. Cole then ambushes the brothers and takes Dean on in a fight, but is easily defeated. Dean leaves him alive so that he will have to live with the shame of having been unable to avenge his father. Sam seizes the opportunity to capture the distracted Dean. In return for Crowley's help, Sam gives him the First Blade. Cole, having learned about Dean's demonic nature, starts researching the supernatural, still determined to take revenge on Dean. Elsewhere, Hannah goes to visit Metatron (Curtis Armstrong) in his prison, in the hopes of making a deal to save Castiel's life, but Castiel manages to stop her, insisting that she respect his choice not to save himself through evil means.
1983"Soul Survivor"Jensen AcklesBrad Buckner & Eugenie Ross-LemingOctober 21, 2014 (2014-10-21)4X58012.08[6]
Castiel and Hannah continue their journey towards the bunker with Castiel growing weaker all the time. At a gas station, they are attacked by a vengeful Adina and a weakened Castiel is left near-death. Before Adina can kill the two angels, Crowley, having problems with ruling Hell due to his time with Dean, kills Adina and steals her grace. Crowley gives a reluctant Castiel Adina's grace, restoring him to full strength. In return, Crowley asks Castiel to deal with Dean. Having captured Dean, Sam begins the process of curing him using the ritual they discovered a year and a half before. As the ritual goes on, Dean taunts Sam over his desperate attempts to find him, including tricking a man into selling his soul so he could interrogate a crossroads demon. Unknown to Sam, the ritual makes Dean human enough that he is able to escape and he stalks Sam throughout the bunker. However, Castiel finally arrives and subdues Dean. They are able to successfully complete the ritual and Dean is returned to being human, but retains the Mark of Cain. Castiel suggests that a guilty-feeling Dean take some time off as things are quiet, however, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a mysterious red-haired woman (Ruth Connell) sits in a hotel room under two men staked to the ceiling.
1994"Paper Moon"Jeannot SzwarcAdam GlassOctober 28, 2014 (2014-10-28)4X58041.93[7]
Following Dean becoming human again, he and Sam have taken a break from hunting, until they find what seems to be a werewolf case in Durham, Washington. Investigating, they find Kate, the werewolf they let go two years previously, and believe her to be the killer. As they prepare to kill her, they get a call that there is another murder that Kate couldn't have committed, meaning there is another werewolf responsible. Sam and Dean trace Kate's last call and discover that the real killer is Kate's sister Tasha, whom Kate had turned, in order to keep her from dying of fatal injuries from a car accident. Unlike Kate, Tasha has embraced her monstrous instincts and started killing. Dean tricks Kate into leading them to her sister, but Tasha reveals that she now has a "pack" consisting of two men she has turned, and has the boys captured. She offers Kate to join the pack as well if Kate kills Sam and Dean, but Kate refuses and, realizing that the sister she knew is lost to her, kills her before making her escape. Sam and Dean kill the two remaining werewolves. At the end of the episode, Dean accepts that he's not ready to get back into hunting yet, but feels he has to as he wants to do good after doing so much bad.
2005"Fan Fiction"Phil SgricciaRobbie ThompsonNovember 11, 2014 (2014-11-11)4X58052.17[8]
Still fixed on going out on hunts, Dean insists that he and Sam look into the disappearance of a teacher in Flint, Michigan. They are shocked to discover that the school musical the teacher had been planning to shut down is based on the books that they'd discovered in the fourth season which had been written about their lives by former prophet Chuck Shurley. When a student also disappears after she, too, quit with plans to shut down the musical, Sam and Dean eventually realize that the goddess Calliope is behind this as she wants the musical to be completed, at which point she will eat the writer, Marie. When trying to catch Calliope before she can get Marie, Sam gets captured by her while Dean must battle a scarecrow creation of hers. With the help of the student and the teacher Calliope had kidnapped, Sam kills her, causing her and her scarecrow to explode, the latter being witnessed by the audience, who believe that it was special effects and applaud the musical. Marie gives Dean a prop version of his old amulet—a symbol of his brotherhood with Sam, Dean had thrown it away in the fifth season when he lost faith in Sam—which Dean ends up hanging on the Impala's mirror. After the brothers leave, Marie is greeted by Chuck (Rob Benedict) who congratulates her on the musical.
2016"Ask Jeeves"John MacCarthyEric Carmelo & Nicole SnyderNovember 18, 2014 (2014-11-18)4X58062.54[9]
Finding Bobby's old cellphone in the Impala, Dean discovers he has inherited something from a rich heiress in New Canaan, Connecticut and he and Sam decide to claim it as his next of kin. However, they get caught up in a murder mystery when what appears to be the ghosts of the heiress and her long-dead husband start murdering people. Things get complicated when they discover they aren't dealing with ghosts, but a shape-shifter. After a cop is murdered, Sam and Dean become the prime suspects and are locked up while the maid, Olivia, reveals herself to be the shape-shifter. She explains she is the heiress' illegitimate daughter from an affair with a shape-shifter. Her real father tried to claim her but was killed by Bobby who agreed to spare Olivia in exchange for her being locked up for everyone's safety. Bobby was to take care of Olivia if anything happened to her mother. After the death of her mother, her butler, the only other one to know the truth, released Olivia out of pity and gave her a job as a maid. However, she is disgusted with her family's greed and wants them dead. Sam and Dean manage to break free and Sam and Olivia engage in a deadly game of cat and mouse which ends when Dean shoots her dead while she's distracted. However, possibly under the influence of the Mark of Cain, Dean unloads several more rounds into her body, worrying Sam. The family agrees to keep the Winchesters' presence a secret and Sam and Dean find out that Bobby only inherited the key to the attic where Olivia was locked up.
2027"Girls, Girls, Girls"Robert SingerRobert BerensNovember 25, 2014 (2014-11-25)4X58072.30[10]
After Dean discovers his date from a dating app is helping demons make deals, Sam and Dean investigate a demonic brothel. Before they can get there, the witch Rowena gets there first and kills Raoul, the demon in charge and recruits the hookers as her apprentices. She explains that she was thrown out of the Grand Coven a long time ago and now wants to regain her power. Sam and Dean track her to a fancy hotel, but have to face Crowley's demons and one of the girls after Crowley catches up before they can. Dean captures Rowena, but is confronted by Cole who forces Dean to let her go. Dean defeats Cole but instead of killing him, tells him the truth about what happened: Cole's father was an unknown type of monster Dean had been hunting who had been eating livers. Cole is reluctant to accept the truth, but Dean convinces him to let go of his vendetta and return to his family. At the same time, Castiel and Hannah continue to track down rogue angels but are found by the husband of Hannah's vessel, Caroline. Hannah decides to return to Heaven so Caroline can return to her family and Castiel brings her home and looks up his own vessel. While Rowena escaped Sam and Dean, demons working for Crowley catch her and he is shocked to see her, as Rowena is his mother.
2038"Hibbing 911"Tim AndrewStory by: Jenny Klein & Phil SgricciaTeleplay by: Jenny KleinDecember 2, 2014 (2014-12-02)4X58082.33[11]
Sheriff Jody Mills (Kim Rhodes) goes to a sheriff's retreat in Hibbing, Minnesota where she meets Sheriff Donna Hanscum (from "The Purge") who is overeager and friendly. However, bodies start appearing with everything eaten and Jody calls in Sam and Dean while investigating herself with help from a clueless Donna. Donna finds out the truth after finding local sheriff, Len, standing over another cop with vampire fangs out. Sam and Dean learn that Len has been hiding evidence of the strange murders and are forced to tell Donna the truth. With Donna's help, the Winchesters track Len to a farmhouse where they are captured by a group of vampires led by Star. Star explains that Len used to be their leader who taught them to consume everything, not just blood before growing a conscience and working to protect humans instead of hurting them. After Len refuses to kill the hunters, Star kills him, but Dean manages to break free and kill two of the three vampires. Donna breaks free as well and kills Star when she tries to harm Jody. Afterwards, Jody offers to teach Donna about hunting while Dean tells Sam that for once it felt like the Mark of Cain wasn't fueling his actions, that he was himself for the first time in awhile.
2049"The Things We Left Behind"Guy BeeAndrew DabbDecember 9, 2014 (2014-12-09)4X58092.62[12]
Feeling guilty about what he did to his vessel and his family, Castiel tracks down Claire Novak in a group home in Pontiac, Illinois. He breaks her out, but she runs off, so he calls in Sam and Dean to help locate her. They find her trying to rob a convenience store to help the man she lives with, Randy, pay off his debts to a loan shark. After blaming Castiel for everything that's happened to her, Claire runs off to Randy, who sells her to the loan shark to settle his debts. Castiel rescues her, but under the influence of the Mark of Cain, Dean slaughters Randy, the loan shark, and all his men, something he previously had a nightmare about. At the same time, Rowena attempts to reach out to Crowley, failing until she turns him against one of his own men and Crowley kills him to save her.
20510"The Hunter Games"John BadhamEugenie Ross-Leming & Brad BucknerJanuary 20, 2015 (2015-01-20)4X58112.42[13]
Needing to get the Mark of Cain off of Dean, Castiel has Metatron brought down from Heaven so that he and the Winchesters can question him, seeing Metatron's knowledge as their only hope. Metatron agrees to tell them and tells them that they need the First Blade which Crowley has hidden. Sam and Dean meet with Crowley who reluctantly agrees to retrieve the Blade from a crypt in Guam, but later tells them that he will only give it to them once they have the rest of the spell. Dean demands Metatron give them the rest, but he states that he will want something for each bit of information and there is a lot. Metatron taunts Dean into attacking him, causing him to fall further and further under the Mark's influence. Dean comes close to killing Metatron, but is stopped by Sam and Castiel who takes Metatron back to Heaven rather than risk his life. However, Metatron leaves a possible clue for them to mull over: "the river ends at the source." Sam suggests that part of beating the Mark's power involves Dean actually fighting it like Cain did rather than embracing it. At the same time, Rowena plots against Crowley, using a spell to induce a nightmare and spy on Crowley's meeting with the Winchesters. Rowena sends a demon named Gothrey to get the First Blade then kills him, but when Crowley walks in on her, she twists the situation to her advantage, making him suspicious of the Winchesters and causing him not to give them the Blade. During this time, Castiel tries to help the daughter of his vessel, Claire Novak, but she refuses his help and meets up with a couple who suggest she kill Dean since he was responsible for the deaths of both her fathers. Claire lures Dean into a trap, but ultimately can't go through with it and warns him of the attack. Dean defeats the couple, but rather than give into the Mark's rage, lets them go. Castiel later finds Claire who has decided to find a new life away from him, but promises to keep in touch.
20611"There's No Place Like Home"Phil SgricciaRobbie ThompsonJanuary 27, 2015 (2015-01-27)4X58102.06[14]
While looking for clues on how to remove the Mark of Cain, Sam finds a video of Charlie Bradbury (Felicia Day) beating a district attorney. Believing that Charlie may be working a case as this was not the only person she attacked, Sam and Dean investigate and discover that the DA was involved in a cover-up of the deaths of Charlie's parents in a drunk driving accident. Tracing a woman involved, they find a dark Charlie who flees after slashing the Impala's tire and beating up Dean. To their surprise, another Charlie shows up and explains that in order to win the war in Oz, she made a deal with the Wizard of Oz to split herself into her good and dark sides. Killing Dark Charlie will kill her and she can't return to Oz to ask the Wizard for help as Dark Charlie broke the Key to Oz. Sam and Charlie investigate the Key for a way to fix it while Dean tries to protect Russell Wellington (Barclay Hope), the man who killed Charlie's parents. However, Dark Charlie tricks Dean and kills him anyway. She then leaves with the Impala to find Sam and Charlie who discover a former Man of Letters named Clive Dylan who could help them. Clive helps them summon the Wizard who is his dark side so they can force the Wizard to reverse the split. While Sam and Charlie confront the Wizard, Dean fights Dark Charlie and brutally beats her. In order to stop the Wizard, Charlie kills Clive which kills the Wizard too. Sam stops Dean from killing Dark Charlie and they are able to reverse the split. In the aftermath, Charlie is unable to return to Oz and so dedicates herself to helping get rid of the Mark of Cain, forgiving Dean for his actions. However, he refuses to forgive himself.
20712"About a Boy"Serge LadouceurAdam GlassFebruary 3, 2015 (2015-02-03)4X58122.21[15]
Dean locks himself in the Bunker for a week researching the Mark of Cain until Sam convinces him to investigate a case in Pendleton, Oregon where a man disappeared in a flash of light. While at the bar looking for clues, Dean meets a woman named Tina who he spends the day talking to. When she leaves, he notices a man following her and Tina disappears in a flash of light as well. When Dean investigates, the man uses a hex bag on Dean and he finds himself locked in a cell and at the age of fourteen (Dylan Everett) with a teenage Tina in the cell next to him. With the help of Tina, Dean escapes and returns to a stunned Sam who has determined that they are dealing with a witch after finding yarrow at the bar where Dean disappeared. Sam and Dean return to the witch's house where they find Tina gone and capture the man who reveals himself to be Hansel of Hansel and Gretel (Mark Acheson). Hansel explains that Hansel and Gretel was a true story, only the story had a happy ending, while in reality he was forced to help the witch Katja (Lesley Nicol) eat children for centuries and eat Gretel's heart when they tried to escape. Hansel tells them how to reverse the spell and offers his help in stopping Katja. However, when Sam and Dean try to kill her as she prepares to eat Tina, Hansel reveals himself as evil and disarms them. They are stunned when Katja reveals that she has been sent by the Grand Coven to stop Rowena, but fight her and Hansel before they can learn anymore. They lose, but Dean manages to get Hansel's hex bag and reverse the spell on himself. Returned to his usual self, Dean quickly kills Hansel and cooks Katja in her own oven. Afterwards, they are unable to revert Tina to normal as the hex bag burned with Katja. However, when the brothers offer to recreate the spell for her, Tina refuses, as she sees this as a second chance since she has so far had a bad life. After dropping Tina off at the bus station, Sam and Dean contemplate the information about the Grand Coven and the return of the Mark, which had disappeared when Dean was a teenager.
20813"Halt & Catch Fire"John ShowalterEric Charmelo & Nicole SnyderFebruary 10, 2015 (2015-02-10)4X58131.98[16]
Sam and Dean investigate a case in Spencer, Iowa where a truck mysteriously drove itself off a bridge, killing its driver, Billy. Believing it to be the ghost of Billy's dead brother, Sam and Dean salt and burn the truck, but soon afterwards, a girl named Julie is strangled by her own computer cord after getting threatening messages on the Internet. Following the clues in the message leads them to a man named Andrew Silver who died in a car accident, but they are unable to put him to rest as he was cremated and doesn't seem to be attached to anything. After a boy named Kyle is killed, they confront his friend Delilah who reveals that the four were involved in the accident where they caused the crash and didn't try to save Andrew after his car was set on fire by electrical wires. Sam and Dean realize that Andrew is after revenge and is in the Internet, having used the power wires to access a nearby Wi-Fi tower when he was killed. Dean protects Delilah from Andrew while Sam talks to his wife, Corey, who admits she knew he was there and didn't want to let him go. When Dean is unable to stop Andrew or convince him to move on, Corey speaks to him through FaceTime and convinces Andrew to let go of his revenge and be at peace. Afterwards, Delilah visits Corey to tell her what really happened to her husband. Meanwhile, Dean decides that while he won't give up fighting the Mark of Cain, but he won't continue looking for a cure.
20914"The Executioner's Song"Phil SgricciaRobert BerensFebruary 17, 2015 (2015-02-17)4X58142.09[17]
Sam and Dean learn that Cain has kidnapped a serial killer named Tommy Tolliver while at the same time, Castiel discovers a graveyard full of Cain's victims. Cain confronts Castiel, revealing that he has fallen back under the influence of the Mark of Cain and is now slaughtering his descendants, thinking his bloodline is tainted. In order to stop Cain, Dean calls upon Crowley to give him the First Blade, lying to him that Cain wants Crowley dead. As a result, Crowley blows off his mother Rowena's wish to kill a witch of the Grand Coven to help the Winchesters. Working together, the four trap Cain in a devil's trap, a mythical symbol that binds his powers, when he arrives to kill his next victim, a twelve-year-old boy. Dean confronts Cain alone who tells him there is no cure for the Mark of Cain and its just better to give into its power. Dean and Cain fight, but Dean loses as he holds back in fear of losing his humanity. However, Dean eventually manages to get the upper hand and asks if Cain will give up killing again. Upon Cain's declaration that he won't, Dean kills him, devastated by the fact that there seems to be no way out for him. Despite his fears, Dean manages to keep control of himself, but gives Castiel the First Blade instead of Crowley as he promised, shocking Crowley with his lies. Rowena later tells Crowley that he's not a king anymore and is nothing but the Winchesters' lap dog. While Sam expresses the belief that if Dean could kill Cain himself without losing his humanity there is still hope for him, he privately tells Castiel that Dean's in trouble.
21015"The Things They Carried"John BadhamJenny KleinMarch 18, 2015 (2015-03-18)4X58151.73[18]
Dean finds a case in Fayetteville, North Carolina where a man named Rick drains a woman of blood and later commits suicide. Suspecting it to be a rugaru or a pagan god, Sam and Dean check it out and find out that a friend of the killer, Kit, is displaying the same symptoms. While investigating, they run into Cole Trenton, the man who had tried to kill Dean who is a friend of Kit and was looking into his actions himself. Reluctantly, the Winchesters and Cole team up together to try to find Kit who displays an unnatural thirst, draining multiple water bottles and killing a man and drinking his blood. Using his contacts, Cole is able to learn that Kit and Rick were recently involved in a rescue mission in Iraq where the man they rescued attacked them and was killed. Cole tracks Kit to a cabin where Kit attacks and infects Cole with a khan worm (from season 6's "And Then There Were None") before running off. Sam and Dean realize that the rescued soldier on Kit and Rick's last mission must have infected them and Sam sets out to track down Kit while Dean tries to save Cole. When electricity doesn't work, Dean and Cole realize that dehydration might and turn the cabin into a sweat lodge. Eventually the worm comes out and Dean kills it, however, Sam is unable to save Kit and kills him in self-defense. Cole returns to his family with a new understanding of what Sam and Dean do and what happened to his father while Sam feels immense guilt for his inability to save Kit.
21116"Paint It Black"John ShowalterBrad Bucker & Eugenie Ross-LemingMarch 25, 2015 (2015-03-25)4X58161.70[19]
Sam and Dean investigate a case in Worcester, Massachusetts where three men were horribly killed in two weeks, two by suicide and one by his wife murdering him. However, the wife had no memory of the murder so they believe it to be a case of ghost possession as there is no sign of a demon and it doesn't fit the way they do things. The only connection they can find between the victims is they all went to confession so Dean visits confession in hopes of drawing the ghost out. In the process, he admits that while he's always felt he'd die hunting, he feels that time is approaching and he's not ready for it. Its revealed that the ghost is that of a nun named Isabella who in 1520 fell in love with an artist named Piero who didn't love her back so she was sent to a convent by her family to deal with her grief. Another nun, Sister Mathias who has been talking with Isabella, overhears Sam and Dean talking about what's been happening and reads Isabella's journal to learn that she killed Piero after finding him in bed with another woman. She alerts Sam and Dean and Dean orders Sam to burn the journal, believing Isabella to be tied to it as she was burned at the stake as a witch due to the horrific nature of her crime. While Dean tries to fight off Isabella possessing Sister Mathias, Sam reads the journal and learns that Isabella's blood and part of her finger were used to create the painting Piero made of her. Sam salts and burns the painting, destroying Isabella. Later, Sam tells Dean that he truly believes that there is a cure for the Mark of Cain and they need to keep searching, but Dean is unenthusiastic about it. At the same time, Crowley captures Olivette High Priestess of the Grand Coven for Rowena to make her case to in order to practice magic freely once more. Olivette reveals that the Grand Coven was devastated by the Men of Letters and is actually very weak now. She explains that the Men of Letters plundered the Coven's spells and potions and hid them in bunkers across the world and the only known surviving Men of Letters are Sam and Dean. This causes Rowena, who turns Olivette into a hamster, to use Crowley's relationship with Sam and Dean in hopes of getting at the plunder.
21217"Inside Man"Rashaad Ernesto GreenAndrew DabbApril 1, 2015 (2015-04-01)4X58171.70[20]
After Dean has a nightmare of all the carnage he has caused under the Mark's influence, Sam searches out a cure on his own with the help of Castiel while lying to Dean about what he is doing. Knowing the only one with possible knowledge of a cure is Metatron, Sam and Castiel attempt to get him from Heaven, but are barred from entering by Hannah (Lee Majdoub) as Metatron is too dangerous to be let loose. Desperate, Sam and Castiel enlist the help of a psychic to contact Bobby Singer (Jim Beaver) in Heaven to break Metatron out. Bobby is able to get Castiel in and Metatron out, but is last seen being approached by Hannah and several other angels to be punished for his actions. On Earth, Castiel removes Metatron's grace, making him human and under threat of death, Metatron admits he actually is unaware of a cure for the Mark and lied before. To stop Sam from killing him, Metatron admits that there is some of Castiel's grace left and offers to lead him to it in exchange for his life. Reluctantly, Castiel agrees and drives off with Metatron to find it. At the same time, Dean cools off in a bar, hustling pool where Rowena attempts to kill him with three men under her control and a spell. Dean is able to beat the men and the Mark makes him immune to the spell, but he lets her go to save the men's lives. Rowena tries to trick Crowley into killing Dean for her, revealing that the Mark is just an ancient curse, but Dean and Crowley talk instead and Dean helps Crowley realize just how little Rowena means to him and he kicks her out. Sam and Dean later lie to each other about what they did and Sam reads a note from Bobby telling him to keep looking and stop lying to each other.
21318"Book of the Damned"P. J. PesceRobbie ThompsonApril 15, 2015 (2015-04-15)4X58181.76[21]
Charlie contacts Sam and Dean, having found the Book of the Damned. However, she is tracked by Jacob Styne, who is determined to find the book as well, claiming that it belongs to his family. Sam and Dean meet with Charlie and try to translate the book which calls out to Dean to be used. Dean learns from the Men of Letters files that the man and his family are the Styne family, a family who used the book to commit evil acts until it was taken from them a century before. After an encounter with Jacob, Dean orders Sam to burn the book as its evil and dangerous. Sam appears to burn the book during a fight with Jacob and his family are killed, but warn that other Stynes will never stop until they retrieve the book. It's later revealed that Sam kept the book intact because it is the only chance of removing the Mark of Cain, no matter the consequences.  At the same time, Castiel and Metatron search for Castiel's grace, coming under attack by an angry Cupid along the way. Searching for the grace inside a library, Metatron incapacitates Castiel with a spell and takes the demon tablet, what he had really come searching for. However, Castiel manages to recover his grace and is restored to full power though his wings are still broken. Sam and Castiel do not tell Dean that Metatron is on the loose with the tablet. After celebrating Castiel's full return with Dean and Charlie, Sam meets with Rowena, believing her to be the only one capable of translating the book.
21419"The Werther Project"Stefan PleszczynskiRobert BerensApril 22, 2015 (2015-04-22)4X58191.63[22]
Sam meets with Rowena in hopes of translating the Book of the Damned. Rowena agrees in exchange for Sam killing Crowley for her and reveals that she can't actually read the book, only a dead witch named Nadia could. However, Nadia left behind a decrypting codex, which the Men of Letters took when they killed her. Sam begins a search for the codex and discovers Magnus (Kavan Smith) had hidden it within the Werther Box, a vault that caused whoever tried to open it to kill themselves. Sam tracks the box to St. Louis, Missouri, where he is joined by Dean after attempting to leave him behind. After being barred by Suzie (a woman whose family died in the 70's after she tried to open the box herself), Sam sneaks into the house with Dean's help and tries to disarm the system with a spell. However, he is unsuccessful and unleashes a spell that traps Sam, Dean, and Suzie in hallucinations which try to get them to kill themselves. Suzie does, while Sam is saved by Rowena, whom he teams up with to disarm the box. Sam learns that the only way is for a Man of Letters to spill all of their blood onto the box, which he starts to do to save Dean. At the same time, Dean hallucinates that he is in Purgatory with his old friend Benny (Ty Olsson) who encourages him to kill himself to keep Sam and Castiel from having to do it later. Dean nearly does, but he knows the Mark won't allow him to kill himself and also, he sees through the illusion as the real Benny would never want him to do it, so he kills "Benny", freeing himself from the spell. It is revealed that Sam had been hallucinating Rowena's presence as Dean stops Sam from killing himself and sheds his own blood into the box, breaking the spell and opening it. Sam and Dean get the codex and Dean destroys the box to be sure it's no longer a threat. Sam takes the codex to the real Rowena, but chains her to make sure she only uses the book to get rid of the Mark of Cain.
21520"Angel Heart"Steve BoyumRobbie ThompsonApril 29, 2015 (2015-04-29)4X58201.74[23]
While searching for her mother in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Claire is knocked unconscious and Castiel calls Sam and Dean in to help. After Claire explains what she's trying to do, the Winchesters and Castiel decide to help her look. While Sam helps Claire hack her mother's credit card information, Dean and Castiel interrogate Ronnie Cartwright, the man who knocked her out who according to Amelia's diary, was the last person to see her. After Dean gets rough, Ronnie admits he sent Amelia to a faith healer named Peter Holloway who had healed his eyesight. However, he'd quit after seeing that Holloway was up to no good, cutting the people sent to him. After they leave, Ronnie calls Holloway who blinds him once again and kills him. Using this information, Sam is able to track Holloway to a farm house, but leaves Dean and Claire behind due to the Mark of Cain's effects on Dean getting worse. Castiel finds Amelia who is trapped in a dream life where she has reunited with Jimmy and wakes her, but she is extremely weak and he is unable to heal her. Sam is captured by Holloway at the same time that Dean and Claire realize he is one of the Grigori, a group of angels that prey upon humans. Holloway, revealing himself as Tamiel, tells Sam that he's been hiding on Earth from the other angels by feeding on human souls since the beginning, seeing both angels and humans as beneath him. Afterwards, Dean, Sam, Castiel and Claire come to Amelia's rescue, but are unable to defeat Tamiel. Amelia sacrifices herself to save Claire, who then kills Tamiel with his own sword in revenge. Amelia is reunited with her husband Jimmy in Heaven while the Winchesters decide to send Claire to Jody until she can get on her feet. Claire finally forgives Dean and Castiel for their roles in her father's death and Dean leaves her with a lore book as a gift as he realizes she is intending to become a hunter.
21621"Dark Dynasty"Robert SingerEugenie Ross-Leming & Brad BucknerMay 6, 2015 (2015-05-06)4X58231.45[24]
Wanting to get the Book of the Damned back, Monroe Styne sends his son, Eldon, to track down Sam and Dean to find it. Eldon and another family member ambush Dean, but he manages to kill the other family member and capture Eldon. Eldon explains to Dean that the Styne family has existed for thousands of years and harvest organs they transplant into themselves to make them superhuman. The Stynes cause and take advantage of various disasters in history to make a profit including Adolf Hitler's rise to power and the September 11 attacks. The family is worldwide and was formerly known by the name Frankenstein before Mary Shelley discovered their secrets and wrote a book about it. After Eldon reveals that the Book of the Damned can't be destroyed, Dean goes to confront Sam and Eldon escapes by ripping off his own arm. At the same time, Crowley searches for his missing mother with help from Olivette, and Sam, Rowena, Castiel, and Charlie work on decoding the Book. After having too much of Rowena, Charlie leaves to have peace and quiet and comes under attack by Eldon shortly after she finally breaks the code. Sam and Dean, who has finally learned the truth, tell her to give Eldon what he wants, but she destroys her computer instead of letting Eldon get her notes. Shortly afterwards, Sam and Dean find her dead, murdered by Eldon. Unknown to them, however, as her last act, Charlie emailed her notes on how to break the code to them so they could finish her work.
21722"The Prisoner"Thomas J. WrightAndrew DabbMay 13, 2015 (2015-05-13)4X58211.75[25]
Devastated by Charlie's death, Sam and Dean cremate her body. Dean decides to slaughter the Styne family in revenge for her murder, and the guilt-ridden Sam at first gives into Dean's order for him to cease work on finding a cure for the Mark from the Book of the Damned. After noticing Charlie's email when telling Castiel of her death, however, he decides to continue and shows the email to Rowena. Rowena can now decipher the Book's secrets, but will only do so once Sam kills Crowley; thus, Sam lures Crowley into a trap and tries to kill him. Crowley survives but, embittered by Sam's betrayal and rejection of his attempts to be good, re-embraces his evil, now planning to kill Rowena for arranging for his death. Meanwhile, Dean tracks the Stynes to Shreveport, Louisiana, where he is arrested by the corrupt police before forcing the sheriff to tell him where to find the Stynes. Dean is captured when attacking their mansion and they prepare to dissect him, but he escapes and brutally slaughters the assembled family members. When he returns to the bunker, he finds the last three Stynes robbing it, and kills all three despite the youngest Styne's pleas for mercy. Castiel remonstrates with Dean, but Dean beats him savagely and comes close to killing him with an angel blade. Before leaving, he warns Castiel that he will kill him and Sam if he should see them again.
21823"Brother's Keeper"Phil SgricciaJeremy CarverMay 20, 2015 (2015-05-20)4X58221.73[26]
Dean continues to hunt, but the Mark affects him to the point that he gets another hunter killed. Realizing he's gone too far, Dean summons Death (Julian Richings) to kill him before he hurts anyone else. Death explains that the Mark is the lock on the prison of an ancient evil called the Darkness and if the Mark is removed without being passed on, the Darkness will be released. He agrees to transport Dean far away in exchange for him killing Sam so Sam won't try to rescue him. Dean calls Sam and explains that he feels that they are evil and ridding the world of both of them is for the greater good. Sam eventually agrees, but reminds Dean of how good he is and his love for his family. At the last moment, instead of killing Sam, Dean turns Death's scythe on its owner, seemingly killing Death instead. At the same time, Rowena agrees to remove the Mark from Dean's arm in exchange for her freedom and Castiel calls on Crowley to get the necessary ingredients. One of these proves to be a young man who Rowena cares deeply about and she has to sacrifice for the spell. Unaware of the consequences, Rowena casts the spell and the Mark is removed, but she escapes, casting a spell on Castiel that causes him to attack Crowley. With the Mark gone, the Darkness is released into the world and washes over the Impala as the Winchesters desperately try to escape it.

text: Production[edit]

text: Supernatural was renewed for a tenth season on February 12, 2014, after undergoing an 88% spike in viewership during its ninth season.[27] Mark Sheppard, who had been recurring on the show since season 5 as Crowley, was promoted to series regular.[28]

text: Reception[edit]

text: The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating for Supernatural's tenth season, with an average rating of 9/10 based on 5 reviews.[29]


document_title: I Have Decided to Follow Jesus

question_text: who wrote hymn i have decided to follow jesus

root

text: I Have Decided to Follow Jesus

text:
I Have Decided to Follow Jesus
Sadhu Sundar SinghGenre
HymnBased on
John 12:26Meter
10.10.10.8

tag: table

tag: p

text: I Have Decided to Follow Jesus is a Christian hymn that originated in Assam, India.

text:
It was written by Simon Marak, from Jorhat, Assam.
However, according to Dr P. Job, the lyrics are based on the last words of Nokseng, a Garo man, a tribe from Meghalaya which then was in Assam, who along with his family decided to follow Jesus Christ in the middle of the 19th century through the efforts of an American Baptist missionary. Called to renounce his faith by the village chief, the convert declared, "I have decided to follow Jesus." His two children were killed and in response to threats to his wife, he continued, "Though none go with me, still I will follow." His wife was killed, and he was executed while singing, "The cross before me, the world behind me." This display of faith is reported to have led to the conversion of the chief and others in the village.[1]
The fierce opposition is possible, as various tribes in that area were formerly renowned for head-hunting.[2]

text: The formation of these words into a hymn is attributed to the Indian missionary Sadhu Sundar Singh.[3] The melody is also Indian, and entitled "Assam" after the region where the text originated.[4]

text: An American hymn editor, William Jensen Reynolds, composed an arrangement which was included in the 1959 Assembly Songbook. His version became a regular feature of Billy Graham's evangelistic meetings in America and elsewhere, spreading its popularity.[5]

text: Due to the lyrics' explicit focus on the believer's own commitment, the hymn is cited as a prime example of decision theology, emphasising the human response rather than the action of God in giving faith.[6] This has led to its exclusion from some hymnals.[6] A Lutheran writer noted, "It definitely has a different meaning when we sing it than it did for the person who composed it."[7]

text: Cultural references[edit]

text: The 2006 film Though None Go with Me uses a line from the song as its title.


document_title: A League of Their Own

question_text: who did geena davis play in a league of their own

text: A League of Their Own

text: Plot[edit]

text: In 1988, Dottie Hinson (Geena Davis) attends the opening of the new All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) exhibit at the Baseball Hall of Fame. She sees many of her former teammates and friends, prompting a flashback to 1943.

text: When World War II threatens to shut down Major League Baseball, candy magnate and Cubs owner Walter Harvey (Garry Marshall) persuades his fellow owners to bankroll a women's league. Ira Lowenstein (David Strathairn) is put in charge, and Ernie Capadino (Jon Lovitz) is sent out to recruit players. Capadino attends an industrial-league softball game in rural Oregon and likes what he sees in Dottie, the catcher for a local dairy's team. Dottie turns down Capadino's offer, happy with her simple farm life while waiting for her husband Bob (Bill Pullman) to come back from the war. Her sister and teammate, Kit (Lori Petty), however, is desperate to get away and make something of herself. Capadino is not impressed by Kit's hitting performance, but agrees to take her along if she can change Dottie's mind. Dottie agrees, but only for her sister's sake.

text: Dottie and Kit head out to Harvey Field in Chicago for the tryout. There they meet a pair of New Yorkers, taxi dancer "All the Way" Mae Mordabito (Madonna) and her best friend, bouncer Doris Murphy (Rosie O'Donnell), along with soft-spoken right fielder Evelyn Gardner (Bitty Schram), illiterate, shy left fielder Shirley Baker (Ann Cusack), pitcher/shortstop and former Miss Georgia beauty queen Ellen Sue Gotlander (Freddie Simpson), gentle left field/relief pitcher Betty "Spaghetti" Horn (Tracy Reiner), homely second baseman Marla Hooch (Megan Cavanagh), who was scouted by Ernie, Dottie and Kit in Fort Collins, Colorado, first baseman Helen Haley (Anne Ramsay), and Saskatchewan native Alice "Skeeter" Gaspers (Renée Coleman). They and eight others are selected to form the Rockford Peaches, while 48 others are split among the Racine Belles, Kenosha Comets, and South Bend Blue Sox.

text: The Peaches are managed by Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks), a former marquee Cubs slugger who initially treats the whole thing as a joke. The league attracts little interest at first. With a Life magazine photographer in the stands, Lowenstein begs the players to do something spectacular. Dottie obliges when a ball is popped up behind home plate, catching it while doing a split. The resulting photograph makes the magazine cover. A publicity campaign draws more people to the ballgames, but the owners remain unconvinced. Due to Kit's and Dottie's sibling rivalry, Kit is traded to the Peaches' rival, the Racine Belles.

text: The Peaches end the season qualifying for the league's World Series. In the locker room, Jimmy gives Betty a telegram that informs her her husband was killed in action in the Pacific Theater. The grief-stricken Betty leaves the team. Later that evening, Dottie receives a surprise when Bob, who was serving in Italy, shows up, having been discharged from the Army. The following morning, Jimmy discovers that Dottie is going home with Bob. Unable to persuade her to at least play in the World Series, he tells her she will regret her decision.

text: The Peaches and Belles meet in the World Series, which reaches a seventh and deciding game. Dottie, having reconsidered during the drive back to Oregon, is the catcher for the Peaches, while Kit is the starting pitcher for the Belles. With the Belles leading by a run in the top of the ninth, Dottie drives in the go-ahead run. Kit is the final batter. Under immense pressure, she gets a hit and, ignoring the third base coach's sign to stop, scores the winning run by knocking her sister over at the plate and dislodging the ball from Dottie's hand. The sellout crowd convinces Harvey to give Lowenstein the owners' support. After the game, the sisters reconcile before Dottie leaves.

text: Back in the present, Dottie is reunited with several other players, including Kit. The fates of several of the characters are revealed: Jimmy, Bob, and Evelyn have died, while Marla has been married to Nelson, a man she met in a bar, for over 40 years. The original Peaches sing a team song composed by Evelyn and pose for a group photo.

text: Cast[edit]

text: Rockford Peaches[edit]

text:
Geena Davis as Dorothy "Dottie" Hinson (#8, catcher/assistant manager)

Lynn Cartwright as Older Dottie

Tom Hanks as Jimmy Dugan (manager)
Madonna as "All the Way" Mae Mordabito (#5, center field)

Eunice Anderson as Older Mae

Lori Petty as Kit Keller (#23, pitcher)

Kathleen Butler as Older Kit

Rosie O'Donnell as Doris Murphy (#22, third base)

Vera Johnson as Older Doris

Anne Ramsay as Helen Haley (#15, first base)

Barbara Pilavin as Older Helen

Megan Cavanagh as Marla Hooch (#32, second base)

Patricia Wilson as Older Marla

Freddie Simpson as Ellen Sue Gotlander (#1, shortstop/pitcher)

Eugenia McLin as Older Ellen Sue

Tracy Reiner as Betty "Spaghetti" Horn (#7, left field/relief pitcher)

Betty Miller as Older Betty

Bitty Schram as Evelyn Gardner (#17, right field)
Renée Coleman (credited as Renee Coleman) – Alice "Skeeter" Gaspers (#18, left field/center field/catcher)

Shirley Burkovich as Older Alice

Ann Cusack as Shirley Baker (#11, left field)

Barbara Erwin as Older Shirley

Robin Knight as Linda "Beans" Babbitt (shortstop)
Patti Pelton as Marbleann Wilkinson (second base)
Kelli Simpkins as Beverly Dixon (#4, outfield)
Connie Pounds-Taylor as Connie Calhoun (Outfield)

text: On MLB Network's Costas at the Movies in 2013, director Penny Marshall talked about her initial interest in Demi Moore for the part of Dottie Hinson, saying: "Demi Moore, I liked, but by the time we came around, she was pregnant."[3]

text: Others[edit]

text:
Jon Lovitz as Ernie Capadino, AAGPBL scout
David Strathairn as Ira Lowenstein, AAGPBL general manager

Marvin Einhorn as Older Ira

Garry Marshall as Walter Harvey, candy bar mogul and AAGPBL founder
Julie Croteau as Helen Haley (baseball double for Anne Ramsay)
Bill Pullman as Bob Hinson, Dottie's husband
Janet Jones as Racine pitcher
Téa Leoni as Racine first baseman
Don S. Davis as Charlie Collins, Racine coach
Eddie Jones as Dave Hooch, Marla's father
Justin Scheller as Stillwell Gardner, Evelyn's son

Mark Holton as Older Stillwell. He attends the Peaches' reunion at the Baseball Hall of Fame on behalf of his mother who had died.

Pauline Brailsford as Miss Cuthburt, Rockford chaperone

tag: ul

text: Production[edit]

text: Development[edit]

text: Director Penny Marshall was inspired to make the film after viewing the 1987 documentary about the AAGPBL entitled "A League of their Own", on television. She had never heard of the league before, and contacted the film's creators Kelly Candaele and Kim Wilson to collaborate with the scriptwriters Babaloo Mandel and Lowell Ganz on producing a screenplay for 20th Century Fox.[4] Fox eventually passed on the script and Marshall signed with Sony Pictures, who were eager to produce the film.

text: Casting[edit]

text: Marshall and the casting directors undertook an exhaustive search for actors, preferring those with previous experience playing baseball. Open casting calls were held in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.

text: Locations[edit]

text: Filming the game scenes involved many physical mishaps: Anne Ramsay (Helen Haley) broke her nose with a baseball mitt while trying to catch a ball and the huge bruise seen in the film on actress Renee Coleman's thigh was real.[5] Discussing the skirts they wore playing baseball in the film, Geena Davis said on MLB Network's Costas at the Movies in 2013, "Some of our real cast, from sliding into home, had ripped the skin off their legs. It was nutty."[6]

text: Soundtrack[edit]

text:
A League of Their Own:
Music From The Motion Picture

Soundtrack album by various artists

Released
June 30, 1992

Genre
Soundtrack

Length
43:44

Label
Columbia Records

Producer
Various

Singles from A League of Their Own

"This Used to Be My Playground"
Released: June 16, 1992
"Now and Forever"
Released: July 1992

text: A League of Their Own soundtrack was released on CD and cassette tape by Columbia Records on June 30, 1992. The album peaked at #159 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart on July 25, 1992.[7] Although Madonna contributed "This Used to Be My Playground" to the film, featured over the closing credits, her recording was not included on the soundtrack album for contractual reasons.[8]

text:
"Now and Forever" – Performed by Carole King
"Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" – Performed by The Manhattan Transfer
"It's Only a Paper Moon" – Performed by James Taylor
"In a Sentimental Mood" – Performed by Billy Joel
"Two Sleepy People" – Performed by Art Garfunkel
"I Didn't Know What Time It Was" – Performed by James Taylor
"On the Sunny Side of the Street" – Performed by The Manhattan Transfer
"Flying Home" – Performed by Doc's Rhythm Cats
"Life Goes On" – Performed by Hans Zimmer
"The Final Game" – Performed by Hans Zimmer
"The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Song" – Performed by The Rockford Peaches

tag: ol

text: Reception[edit]

text: Box office[edit]

text: The film was released on July 1, 1992, and grossed $13.2 million in its first weekend, finishing second at the box office behind Batman Returns. In its second weekend it dropped just 15%, making $11.5 million and finishing first. It ended up being a commercial success, making $107.5 million in the United States, and $24.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $132.4 million, against a production budget of $40 million budget.

text: Critical response[edit]

text: On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 78% based on 60 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Sentimental and light, but still thoroughly charming, A League of Their Own is buoyed by solid performances from a wonderful cast."[9] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score 67 out of 100, based 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[10] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale.[11]

text: The film was well received by critics, who praised the cast and their performances.[12][13][14][15][16]

text: AFI lists[edit]

text: The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

text:
2005: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes:

Jimmy Dugan: "There's no crying in baseball!" – #54[17]

2006: AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – Nominated[18]
2008: AFI's 10 Top 10:

Nominated Sports Film[19]

text: On December 19, 2012, it was announced that the film would be preserved as part of the United States National Film Registry.[20]

text: 20th anniversary[edit]

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: With 2012 marking the 20th year since the film's release, A League of Their Own was released as a 20th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray on October 16, 2012.

text: Forty-seven former players of the AAGPBL reunited in New York to celebrate the film and the real women who inspired it. Events included a trip to Cooperstown for a special program at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, reminiscent of the film's final scene depicting members of the AAGPBL and family coming together to witness the honoring of the Women's Professional Baseball League. The reunion wrapped up with a game of softball held at Alliance Bank Stadium in nearby Syracuse.[21]

text: Former players also made an appearance at Bosse Field in Evansville, Indiana, on June 6, 2012, where many of the film's game scenes were filmed. Bosse Field still retains many of the "Racine Belles" themes from the movie. The event included an outdoor screening of the film as well as a scene-setting display of cars featured in the film.[22] In addition to Bosse Field, the production used Huntingburg, Indiana's League Stadium, another Southwestern Indiana field older than Bosse that was renovated for the film.

text: Spin-offs[edit]

text: Television[edit]

text: A short-lived series of the same title based on the film aired on CBS in April 1993, with Garry Marshall, Megan Cavanagh, Tracy Reiner, and Jon Lovitz reprising their roles. Only five of the six episodes made were broadcast.


document_title: Aragorn

question_text: when does aragorn die in lord of the rings

text: Aragorn

text: Appearances in literature[edit]

text: History[edit]

text: The son of Arathorn II and his wife Gilraen, Aragorn was born on 1 March, T.A. 2931.[1] Through his ancestor Elendil (whom he closely resembled)[2] Aragorn was a descendant of the first king of Númenor, Elros Tar-Minyatur; the twin brother of Elrond.

text: When Aragorn was two years old, his father was killed while pursuing orcs. Aragorn was afterwards fostered in Rivendell by Elrond. At the bidding of Elrond, his lineage was kept secret, as Elrond feared he would be killed like his father and grandfather if his true identity as Isildur's heir became known. Aragorn was renamed Estel ("hope" in Sindarin) to hide his existence from Sauron and his servants. He was not told about his heritage until he came of age in 2951.[1]

text: Elrond revealed to Aragorn his true name and ancestry, and delivered to him the shards of Elendil's sword Narsil, and also the Ring of Barahir. He withheld the Sceptre of Annúminas from him until he earned the right to possess it. Aragorn met and fell in love with Arwen, Elrond's daughter (whom he mistook for Tinúviel), when she returned from Lórien, her mother's homeland.[1]

text: Aragorn thereafter assumed his role as the sixteenth Chieftain of the Dúnedain, the Rangers of the North, and went into the wild, living with the remnants of his people, whose kingdom had been destroyed through civil and regional wars centuries before.[1]

text: Aragorn met Gandalf the Grey in 2956, and they became close friends.[1] The Rangers help to guard the Shire, inhabited by the diminutive, agrarian Hobbits. In the areas around the Shire and Bree he became known as "Strider".[3]

text: From 2957 to 2980, Aragorn undertook great journeys, serving in the armies of King Thengel of Rohan (King Théoden's father) and of Steward Ecthelion II of Gondor (father of Denethor). His tasks helped to raise morale in the West and to counter the growing threat of Sauron and his allies, and he acquired experience that he would later put to use in the War of the Ring. Aragorn served his lords during that time under the name Thorongil (Eagle of the Star). With a small squadron of ships from Gondor, he led an assault on Umbar in 2980, burning many of the Corsairs' ships and personally slaying their lord during the Battle of the Havens. After the victory at Umbar, "Thorongil" left the field, to the dismay of his men, and went East.[1]

text: Aragorn also travelled through the Dwarves' mines of Moria and to Rhûn and Harad, where (in his own words) "the stars are strange".

text: In 2980, he visited Lórien, and there again met Arwen. He gave her an heirloom of his House, the Ring of Barahir,[4] and, on the hill of Cerin Amroth, Arwen pledged her hand to him in marriage, renouncing her Elvish lineage and accepting mortality, the "Gift of Men". Elrond withheld from Aragorn permission to marry his daughter until such time as his foster son should be king of Gondor and Arnor reunited. To marry a mortal, Arwen would be required to choose mortality and thus eventually separate the immortal Elrond from his daughter; and Elrond feared that in the end Arwen might find the prospect of death too difficult to bear.[1]

text: Gandalf grew suspicious of the ring belonging to the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, which was later discovered to be Sauron's One Ring.[5] Gandalf asked Aragorn to track Gollum, who had previously possessed the Ring. This hunt led Aragorn across Rhovanion, and he finally captured Gollum in the Dead Marshes northwest of Mordor and brought him captive to King Thranduil’s halls in Mirkwood, where Gandalf questioned him.[6]

text: The Lord of the Rings[edit]

text: In The Fellowship of the Ring, Aragorn joined Frodo Baggins, Bilbo's adopted heir, and three of Frodo's friends at the Inn of the Prancing Pony in Bree; a letter from Gandalf convinced Frodo to trust Aragorn. The four hobbits had set out from the Shire to bring the One Ring to Rivendell. Aragorn, going by the nickname "Strider", was then aged 87, nearing the prime of life for one of royal Númenórean descent. With Aragorn's help the Hobbits escaped the pursuing Nazgûl and reached Rivendell. There Frodo volunteered to destroy the Ring in the fires of Mount Doom, and Aragorn was chosen as a member of the Fellowship of the Ring to accompany him, along with Gandalf, Legolas the elf, Gimli the dwarf, Boromir of Gondor, and the hobbits Pippin, Merry, and Frodo's faithful gardener Samwise Gamgee. Elven-smiths reforged the shards of Narsil into a new sword, setting into the design of the blade seven stars (for Elendil) and a crescent moon (for Isildur), as well as many runes. Aragorn renamed the sword Andúril (meaning "flame of the west" in Sindarin), and it was said to have shone with the light of the Sun and the Moon.[7]

text: Aragorn accompanied the group through their attempted crossing of the pass of Caradhras, and subsequently through the mines of Moria. After Gandalf was lost in a battle with a Balrog, Aragorn led the company to Lothlórien and then down the river Anduin to the Falls of Rauros. Originally he planned to go to Gondor to aid its people in the war, but after the loss of Gandalf he became increasingly concerned about his responsibilities to Frodo and the quest.[7]

text:
“I serve no man,” said Aragorn; “but the servants of Sauron I pursue into whatever land they may go... I am not weaponless.” Aragorn threw back his cloak. The elven-sheath glittered as he grasped it, and the bright blade of Andúril shone like a sudden flame as he swept it out. “Elendil!” he cried. “I am Aragorn son of Arathorn and am called Elessar, the Elfstone, Dúnadan, the heir of Isildur Elendil's son of Gondor. Here is the Sword that was Broken and is forged again! Will you aid me or thwart me? Choose swiftly!”

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers

tag: div

text: In The Two Towers, the Fellowship quickly fell apart: Frodo had decided to continue his journey alone (accompanied by Sam) and Boromir was slain while defending Merry and Pippin, who were captured by orcs. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli (calling themselves the Three Hunters) set off to track the Uruk-hai, hoping to rescue Merry and Pippin. They encountered Éomer, who was pursuing rumours of an orc raid in the area. From Éomer, Aragorn learned that the orcs who kidnapped Merry and Pippin had been slaughtered, and that no hobbits were found among the remains. Dejected, he led Legolas and Gimli to the site of the battle. Clues led Aragorn to believe that the hobbits might still be alive, prompting him to lead the party into Fangorn Forest. They found not the hobbits, but Gandalf the White (whom they initially mistook for Saruman), sent back from death to continue his duties in Middle-earth. Gandalf told them that the hobbits were in the care of the Ents of Fangorn. Together, the four travelled to Edoras in Rohan, where Gandalf freed Théoden from Saruman's enchantment and helped him muster the Rohirrim against Saruman. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli then helped the people of Rohan in the Battle of the Hornburg, in which Saruman's army was destroyed.[8]

text: In The Return of the King, Aragorn used a palantír and revealed himself to Sauron as the heir of Isildur, in order to distract Sauron's attention from Frodo, who was approaching Mordor, and to draw Sauron forth from Mordor.[9] Sauron subsequently made his assault on Minas Tirith prematurely and without adequate preparation. In order to reach the city in time to defend it, Aragorn entered the Paths of the Dead, and summoned the Dead Men of Dunharrow who owed allegiance to the heir of Isildur. It had been prophesied by Isildur and Malbeth the Seer that the Dead would be summoned to pay their debt for betraying Gondor millennia before. With their aid the Corsairs of Umbar were defeated at the port of Pelargir. Aragorn then sailed up the Anduin to Minas Tirith with a small force of Rangers and a large contingent of men and soldiers from the southern regions of Gondor. As they approached Minas Tirith, Aragorn unfurled the royal standard that Arwen had made for him, showing both the White Tree of Gondor and the jewelled crown and seven stars of the House of Elendil. With the help of the southern forces the armies of Gondor and Rohan rallied and defeated Sauron's army in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.[10]

text: To continue to distract Sauron's attention from Frodo's quest, Aragorn led the armies of the West to the gates of Mordor, where Sauron attacked with overwhelming force. But at that moment the Ring was destroyed, and Sauron and his forces were vanquished.[10]

text: The restoration of the line of Elendil to the throne of Gondor is a subplot of The Lord of the Rings; Aragorn's adventures not only aid Frodo in his quest, but also bring him closer to his own kingship – which, though his by right and lineage, had been left unclaimed for centuries due to historical, legal, and military circumstances. Although Isildur and his brother Anárion had ruled Gondor jointly, the royal house of Gondor descended from Anárion and not directly from Isildur. After Isildur's departure, Meneldil, son of Anárion, ruled Gondor alone, although the formal title of High King remained with the northern line, as Isildur was Elendil's elder son. When Gondor's throne became vacant in T.A. 1944, the separation of the kingdoms had been reinforced when Gondor under Steward Pelendur rejected the claim of the northern prince Arvedui. (Eärnil, a lateral member of the House of Anárion, was eventually chosen king instead.) But Arvedui's wife was also of the House of Anárion, so Aragorn descended not only from Elendil and Isildur but also from the ruling family of Gondor. By the time of the Lord of the Rings, however, Gondor had been under the rule of the Stewards of Gondor for centuries, as it was widely doubted that any of the royal line still lived.[1]

text: In The Return of the King, the Steward Denethor, who years before had seen "Thorongil" as a rival for his father's favour, declared that he would not bow to a descendant of Isildur. Aragorn healed Faramir, Denethor's heir, who had been expected to die; Faramir, unlike his father, recognized Aragorn as his lord and the rightful heir to the throne. Aragorn's humility and self-sacrifice gained him the hearts of the inhabitants of Gondor's capital city. His healing abilities were noted also by the people of Gondor; as Ioreth said, "The hands of the King are the hands of a healer, and so shall the rightful king be known". The people hailed Aragorn as King that same evening.[10]

text: Despite his immediate success and popularity, however, Aragorn decided to lay aside his claim to the throne for the time being. To avoid conflict he left Minas Tirith and refused to enter it again until he was crowned King.[10]

text: In order to ensure safe passage across Mordor for Frodo to fulfil his quest, Aragorn then led the Army of the West out from Minas Tirith to make a diversionary feint on the Black Gate of Mordor itself in the Battle of the Morannon. Gandalf had been given supreme command of the war effort after the Pelennor Fields, and acted as chief spokesman in the parley with the Mouth of Sauron; but Aragorn commanded the allied troops during the battle and its aftermath.[10]

text: Upon Sauron's defeat, Aragorn was crowned as King Elessar (a Quenya name given to him by Galadriel, translated as Elfstone), and he married Arwen shortly afterward. He became the twenty-sixth King of Arnor, thirty-fifth King of Gondor and the first High King of the Reunited Kingdom. His line was called the House of Telcontar (Quenya for "Strider", his name in Bree). The Appendices of Return of the King explain that Aragorn ruled the Kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor until the year 120 of the Fourth Age. His reign was marked by great harmony and prosperity within Gondor and Arnor, and by a renewal of communication and cooperation between Men, Elves, and Dwarves, fostered by his vigorous rebuilding campaign following the war. Aragorn led the forces of the Reunited Kingdom on military campaigns against some Easterlings and Haradrim, re-establishing rule over much territory that Gondor had lost in previous centuries. He died at the age of 210, after 122[4] years as king. The graves of Merry and Pippin (who had died in Gondor 58 years prior) were set beside his. He was succeeded on the throne by his son, Eldarion. Arwen, gravely saddened by the loss of her husband, gave up her mortal life shortly afterward in Lothlórien. Arwen and Aragorn also had at least two daughters. Upon hearing of Aragorn's death, Legolas built a grey ship in Ithilien, and sailed to the Undying Lands, along with Gimli. "And when that ship passed an end was come in Middle-earth of the Fellowship of the Ring."[1]

text: Characteristics[edit]

text: Tolkien gives a brief but detailed description of Strider in The Fellowship of the Ring: lean, dark and tall, with shaggy dark hair "flecked with grey", grey eyes, and a stern pale face. It is also stated that he was the tallest of the Company.[11] Some time after the publication of the books, Tolkien wrote that he was at least 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) tall.[12] Although he was 87 years old at the time of the War of the Ring, this was the prime of life for a Dunadan of royal blood, and Tolkien wrote that to those unaware of his lineage "in character Aragorn was a hardened man of say 45".[13] In "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen", found in the Appendices, he was described as often grim and sad, with unexpected moments of levity.[14]

text: Aragorn possessed Elven wisdom – due to his childhood in Rivendell with Elrond – and the foresight of the Dúnedain. He was a skilled healer, notably with the plant athelas (also known as Kingsfoil). He was a mighty warrior and an unmatched commander; after the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, he, Éomer and Imrahil were unscathed, even though they had been in the thick of the fighting.[14] Due to his position as Isildur's heir, Aragorn had impressive powers for a man, and, as the rightful owner of the palantír of Orthanc used it to declare himself as the heir of Isildur to Sauron, seeking to distract Sauron from Frodo.

text: Though he was wise and strong, he was not immune to self-doubt. He doubted the wisdom of his decisions while leading the Fellowship after the loss of Gandalf in Moria, and blamed himself for many of their subsequent misfortunes.[11][15]

text: Names and titles[edit]

text: Aragorn, son of Arathorn was called the Dúnadan ("Man of the West/Númenórean", given by Arwen in Lothlórien and much used by Bilbo), Longshanks (given by Bill Ferny in Bree), Strider (by which he was known in Bree and the outlying areas), and Wingfoot (given by Éomer after discovering that Aragorn had travelled 45 leagues in four days in pursuit of Pippin, Merry, and their Uruk-hai captors).

text: He was the founder of the House of Telcontar (Telcontar is "Strider" in Quenya, after the nickname given him by the rustics of the North), which ruled Gondor well into the Fourth Age of Middle-earth; in records, his full regnal name is given as Elessar Telcontar ("Elfstone Strider"). In the Houses of Healing, he called himself Envinyatar, the renewer.

text: Before coming of age, he was known as Estel ("hope") to hide his true lineage from Sauron's forces, who sought the heir of Isildur. He was known as Thorongil ("Eagle of the Star") in his younger days when he travelled across Middle-earth and took up service in Rohan and Gondor (often by protecting camps and raiding enemy strongholds as he did when he fought the Corsairs in Umbar).

text: Concept and creation[edit]

text: Aragorn's character and story arc underwent a series of developments and name changes before the version seen in The Lord of the Rings, as Tolkien did not have the full plot of the story or its background planned out when he started writing.

text: Identity[edit]

text: The "first germ" of the character that later evolved into Aragorn or Strider was a peculiar hobbit met by Bingo Bolger-Baggins (precursor of Frodo Baggins) at the inn of The Prancing Pony. His description and behaviour, however, was already quite close to the final story, with the difference that the hobbit wore wooden shoes, and was nicknamed Trotter for the "clitter-clap" sound that they produced. He was also accounted to be "one of the wild folk – rangers", and he played the same role in Frodo's journey to Rivendell as in The Lord of the Rings.[16]

text: Later Tolkien hesitated about the true identity of "Trotter" for a long time. One of his notes suggested that the Rangers should not be hobbits as originally planned, and that this would mean that Trotter was either a man, or a hobbit who associated himself with the Rangers and was "very well known" (within the story).[17] The latter suggestion was linked to an early comment of Bingo: "I keep on feeling that I have seen him somewhere before".[18] Tolkien considered that Trotter might be Bilbo Baggins himself, but soon rejected that idea after Aragorn identified himself.[17]

text: Another suggestion was that Trotter was Fosco Took (Bilbo's first cousin), who "vanished when a lad, owing to Gandalf".[17] This story was further elaborated, making Trotter a nephew of Bilbo, named Peregrin Boffin, and an elder cousin of Frodo. He was said to have run away after he came of age,[19] some 20 years before Bilbo left the Shire, and had helped Gandalf in tracking Gollum later. A hint was also given as to why Trotter wore wooden shoes: he had been captured by the Dark Lord in Mordor and tortured, but saved by Gandalf; a note was added by Tolkien in the margin, saying that it would later be revealed that Trotter had wooden feet.[20]

text: The conception of Trotter as a hobbit was eventually discarded. Another short-lived idea was to make Trotter "a disguised elf-friend of Bilbo's in Rivendell," and a scout from Rivendell who "pretends to be a ranger".[21]

text: It was not until after Book I was written that Tolkien finally settled on making Trotter a man, introducing him from the beginning as Aragorn, a "descendant of the ancient men of the North, and one of Elrond's household".[21] While the history of Númenor and the descendants of Elros and Elendil was not yet fully developed, the germs of it were in existence, and would come to be connected with The Lord of the Rings as the character of Aragorn developed.

text: Further character developments[edit]

text: The development of Aragorn's connection to Gondor was long and complex, as was his association with Boromir. Initially it is said that Aragorn's forefathers were the exiles of Númenor who ruled over the people of Ond (the early name of Gondor) but were driven out by the Witch King "when Sauron raised a rebellion".[22] The story of the two branches of Elendil's descendants ruling over two kingdoms of Men through many generations only emerged gradually; at one time, Tolkien even seems to have conceived only three generations between Isildur and Aragorn.[23]

text: Aragorn's relationship with Arwen was established very late in the writing. When Tolkien first introduced Éowyn, the interest she showed towards Aragorn was not one-sided, with suggestions in notes that they would marry at the end of the story. Another proposal was that Éowyn would die to save or avenge Théoden, and Aragorn would never marry after her death.[24]

text: The first mention of Elrond's daughter, named Finduilas, was made in reference to the banner she made for Aragorn,[25] but Tolkien did not give any hint whether she had any further part to play. The references to her marriage with Aragorn came later,[26] but it was explicitly stated only near the completion of the book.[27] Only in his work on the appendices for The Lord of the Rings did Tolkien record the full tale of Aragorn and Arwen.[28]

text: A passing idea was that Galadriel gave her Ring to Aragorn, and that he would accordingly be titled the "Lord of the Ring".[26]

text: Rejected names[edit]

text: The original nickname Trotter was retained for a long time, and Tolkien decided to change it to Strider only after the story was completed. There were also several experimental translations of Trotter to Sindarin: Padathir, Du-finnion, and Rimbedir, with Ethelion possibly an equivalent of Peregrin (Boffin).[29] Before the later title "the Dúnadan" emerged, Tarkil (Quenya for 'noble Man') was used, as a synonym for Númenórean.[30]

text: Tolkien hesitated for some time over Strider's "real" name. Although Aragorn was the first suggestion when his Mannish descent was determined, the name was changed a number of times. At one point Tolkien decided that an Elvish name does not suit a Man, and thus altered it from Aragorn via Elfstone to Ingold, an Old English name with ing- representing "west". Later, however, a new plot element was introduced: Galadriel's gift of a green stone, and Tolkien reverted to Elfstone in order to make an additional connection.[31] This was retained into the final version of the legendarium as a translation of Elessar.

text: Among other names Tolkien considered Elfstan, Elfmere, Elf-friend, Elfspear, Elfwold and Erkenbrand, with various Elvish forms: Eldamir, Eldavel, Eledon, Qendemir. The name of Aragorn's father also passed through many transient forms: Tolkien paired Aramir or Celegorn with Aragorn before settling upon Arathorn; Elfhelm and Eldakar with Elfstone and Eldamir; and Ingrim with Ingold.[31]

text: Meaning of names[edit]

text: The meaning of the name Aragorn is unexplained, though it is presumably Sindarin meaning noble warrior, Lord of the Tree, or kingly valour depending on who is translating.[32] The English word Strider stems from the similarly pronounced Dutch word Strijder.[citation needed] Depending on the context the word can mean fighter, warrior, defender activist, campaigner or one that works for another.[33]

text: Comparisons to Christ[edit]

text: Aragorn has been referred to as a Christ-as-King character; Tolkien's use of prophecy has been compared to the Old Testament's foretelling of the coming of the Messiah.[34]

text: Basis on real historical characters[edit]

text: According to archaeologist Max Adams in his book The King of the North: the life and times of Oswald of Northumbria Tolkien based Aragorn on Oswald, a prince of the Northumbrian royal house exiled to the Kingdom of Dal Riata after Cadwallon King of Gwynedd and Penda King of Mercia laid waste to his ancestral homelands, and who returned years later with a raised army of Anglian exiles and retook his kingdom slaying Cadwallon in the process.[35]

text: Adaptations[edit]

text: Film[edit]

text: Aragorn was voiced by John Hurt in Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated film version of The Lord of the Rings. Bakshi's Aragorn, unlike all other portrayals that were to follow to date, has no beard. This actually conforms to a statement appearing in Unfinished Tales that implicitly says that Aragorn was not supposed to have one, due to his Elvish ancestry (Elves did not grow beards).[36] However, Tolkien actually wrote elsewhere that Elves did have beards; in The Lord of the Rings itself Círdan is described as having a beard.[37] Also, some viewers and critics have said that this version of Aragorn looks Native American.[38][39][40]

text: Aragorn was voiced by Theodore Bikel in the 1980 Rankin/Bass animated version of The Return of the King, made for television. Robert Stephens voiced Aragorn in the 1981 BBC Radio serial of The Lord of the Rings. Kari Väänänen portrayed him in the 1993 Finnish television miniseries Hobitit.

text: In the Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001–2003) directed by Peter Jackson, Aragorn is played by Danish-American actor Viggo Mortensen who took over the role from Stuart Townsend after four days of shooting because Jackson felt Townsend was too young for the role. In these movies, Aragorn begins his journey with the Fellowship with no desire to claim the kingship; he only arrives at such a decision in the third film after spending much time battling his own self-doubt. This specific element of self-doubt is not present in Tolkien's book, where Aragorn intends to claim the throne from the time he enters the story, with the additional motivation that he must do so to marry Arwen. Another notable difference in Jackson's films is that Aragorn does not at first wield Andúril. Instead he uses a different, unnamed sword throughout the first two films and receives his ancestor's reforged sword in the third film. Mortensen's portrayal of Aragorn won him the title of 15th greatest movie characters of all time (in 2015) by Empire.[41]

text: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, the third and last part of Jackson's film adaptation of The Hobbit, refers to Aragorn near the end of the film. The Elven-king Thranduil tells his son Legolas to seek a young Dúnedan Ranger called Strider. He goes on to say that he is the son of Arathorn and has greatness in him. This is a clear reference to Aragorn, though by the timeline in Appendix B of The Lord of the Rings, he would have been only 10 at the time. This may be explained by the fact that the filmmakers compressed the events of The Fellowship of the Ring, changing the timeline so that Frodo sets off on his journey almost immediately after receiving the One Ring, rather than seventeen years later, as in the novel. In the film version of The Two Towers, Aragorn describes himself to Éowyn as being eighty-seven years old, as he was at that point in the books. However, as the filmmakers cut seventeen years from the time period between the events of the Hobbit and the beginning of Frodo's journey in The Fellowship of the Ring, Aragorn would have had to have been in his twenties, and an established Ranger, at the time the film The Battle of the Five Armies takes place.

text: In the 2009 fan film The Hunt for Gollum, Aragorn is portrayed by Adrian Webster. The film is set during the time of The Fellowship of the Ring. It takes place after Gandalf has discovered the true nature of Bilbo Baggins's ring and just before Frodo leaves the Shire for Rivendell.[42]

text: Stage[edit]

text: On stage, Aragorn was portrayed by Evan Buliung in the three-hour production of The Lord of the Rings, which opened in 2006 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In the London production the role was played by Jerome Pradon, and the role was taken over by Robbie Scotcher on 23 June 2008. In the United States, Aragorn was portrayed by Josh Beshears in the Cincinnati, Ohio production of The Return of the King (2003) for Clear Stage Cincinnati. At Chicago's Lifeline Theatre, Aragorn was played by Robert McLean in the 1999 production of The Two Towers and the 2001 production of The Return of the King.

text: Parodies[edit]

text: In the parody Bored of the Rings, Aragorn is portrayed as 'Arrowroot son of Arrowshirt' and nicknamed 'Stomper' and is quite deranged. He is also rather inept at actual fighting and disables an entire battalion of 'Nozdrul' simply with his combative ineptitude and random shouting of nonsensical battle-cries (which induces uncontrollable laughter and allows the group to successfully disable the Nozdrul while they are incapacitated with hysteria). In the Veggie Tales episode "Lord of the Beans", Aragorn is parodied as Larry the Cucumber dressed up as a Ranger named "Ear-o'-Corn".

text: Reception[edit]

text: UGO Networks listed Aragorn as one of their best heroes of all time.[43] Empire listed Aragorn as the #15 greatest movie character.[44]


document_title: Silver hallmarks

question_text: when did they start using 925 on silver

question_tokens: when did they start using 925 on silver

text: Silver hallmarks

text: United Kingdom and Ireland[edit]

text: One of the most highly structured hallmarking systems in the world is that of the United Kingdom, (Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland), and Ireland. These five nations have, historically, provided a wealth of information about a piece through their series of applied punches. It should be noted that since 2015 visually identical UK Hallmarks are being struck in India and Italy by sub-offices of Birmingham & Sheffield Assay Offices respectively:

text:
A stamp indicating the purity of the silver is called the assayer's mark. The mark for silver meeting the sterling standard of purity is the Lion Passant, but there have been other variations over the years, most notably the mark indicating Britannia purity. The Britannia standard was obligatory in Britain between 1697 and 1720 to try to help prevent British sterling silver coins from being melted to make silver plate. It became an optional standard thereafter, and in the United Kingdom and Ireland is now denoted by the millesimal fineness hallmark "958", with the symbol of Britannia being applied optionally. The purity mark for Irish silver is the harp crowned.
The date mark is a letter indicating the exact year in which the piece was made. The typeface, whether the letter is uppercase or lowercase, and even the shape inside which the letter is stamped, must all be taken together to determine the year.
The city mark no longer indicates the city in which the piece was assayed, or that the item was assayed in the UK. A Legislative Reform Order (LRO) came into law on 8 February 2013 giving UK Assay Offices the legal right to strike hallmarks outside of UK territory. Since July 2016 Birmingham Assay Office have been striking identical Birmingham Hallmarks in Mumbai, India and there are proposals for further offshore marking centres using traditional UK marks in Jaipur, New York and China. Sheffield Assay have a sub-office in Malpensa, Italy. London and Edinburgh Assay Offices are the only two Assay offices exclusively striking hallmarks in the UK.
Each silver maker has his or her own, unique maker's mark. This hallmark is usually a set of initials inside an escutcheon. The Legislative Reform Order (LRO) which came into law on 8 February 2013 also changed the requirements for sponsor marks, allowing logos to be used for the first time, as long as they provide the required traceability.
Irish silver also contains the image of Hibernia. This mark was introduced in 1730, and is still in use today.

text: The series of hallmarks described above are still in use in today.

text: However, there are two silver hallmarks that have been discontinued:

text:
Beginning on 1 December 1784, British law mandated that a duty mark be applied to silver pieces. This showed that the requisite tax had been paid to the Crown. The duty mark was a profile of the head of the current reigning monarch. The mark was discontinued in 1890.
An additional British hallmark that is no longer used is the tally mark, which was the unique mark of a journeyman finishing his apprenticeship. These marks were used as a record of the pieces made by each journeyman so that each could be given proper payment.

text: France[edit]

text: The French assay mark for sterling silver is the head of the goddess Minerva. In fact, the French standard for sterling silver is higher than that of other nations, requiring a silver content of 950 parts per thousand, or 95% silver. Silver items with a slightly lower grade of silver, 800 parts per thousand, are marked with the head of Minerva, next to which is a "2".

text: French silver made for export carries an assay mark in the shape of the head of Mercury, along with a number to indicate the millesimal fineness: "1" for .920, "2" for .840 and "3" for .750.

text: French silver also is punched with the mark of the maker.

text: United States[edit]

text: In the early United States, no national assaying system was adopted, although the city of Baltimore did maintain its own assay office between 1814 and 1830.[citation needed] Prior to the general adoption of sterling silver as the standard of purity in 1868, silver was generally obtained from the melting of coins. Since these could vary considerably in purity, from around .750 millesimal fineness to around .900, silver known as "coin silver" varies in purity. Silver at that time was sometimes marked "COIN" or "PURE COIN", but can also be without a standard mark altogether. After the adoption of the sterling standard, pieces were marked with "STERLING", the number "925" or the notation "925/1000".[citation needed]

text: The United States also had no date marking system. Because of this, some companies within the U.S., such as Tiffany and Gorham, adopted their own date marking systems.[citation needed]

text: While American manufacturers did not apply assay marks, city marks or date marks, they did apply a maker's mark. This is generally not done today. The old hallmarks were as unique as today's logos, and disputes often arose when one company copied another's stamp.[citation needed]

text: "In the USA, The National Gold and Silver Marketing Act does not require precious metals to be marked with quality. However, if a quality mark is used, the mark must be accompanied by a manufacturer's hallmark that is a registered trademark or the name of the manufacturer. If there is ever a question about the content of a piece of jewelry, the manufacturer can be traced using the hallmark stamped on the piece....US law requires a maker's mark in the form of a hallmark or registered trademark in addition to the quality mark if the goods are quality marked. The name of the artist or manufacturer may now be used for this." [1]

text: Hungary[edit]

text: Between 1867 and 1933, Austria-Hungary and later, Hungary used the crescent moon crowned head of antique Greek heroine Diana as the hallmarking symbol of legal silver alloys. The head was encircled by a frame, optionally composed of convex, concave and straight lines. One concave line represented 140/1000 fineness, a straight one 150 and a convex one 160. For example, a Diana head within a frame made in the shape of a 5-petal flower represented 5x160 = 800 thousands fineness, a local silver standard commonly used in eating forks and spoons. Meanwhile, a hexagonal frame represented 900 fine silver. The same logic was also used to frame gold hallmarks.