| Foreword |
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13 | (1) |
| Introduction |
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14 | (11) |
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25 | (2) |
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The Rise of the Papacy: An Overview |
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27 | (4) |
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The power of the church grew in the twelfth century due to the growth in the number of towns, which needed new churches and clergymen to run them |
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With the increase in papal power came abuses of power within the church, but reformers who pointed out the church's faults were punished |
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St. Bernard and the Rise of Cistercian Monasticism |
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31 | (5) |
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In the twelfth century men joined the austere Cistercian monastic order in astonishing numbers |
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The popularity of the order was due in large part to the holy and charismatic Bernard of Clairvaux, the most notable Cistercian monk |
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Bernard's Sermon on Humility |
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36 | (4) |
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Bernard argues that true humility is necessary to attain divine grace |
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People must not only embrace humiliation at the hands of others but must voluntarily humiliate themselves to become exalted |
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Frederick I Barbarossa: Power over the Papacy |
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40 | (4) |
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Frederick I Barbarossa was the most famous leader of medieval Germany |
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During Barbarossa's reign, the power of the church weakened and German imperial power grew |
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44 | (6) |
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Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, quarreled with King Henry II of England over church jurisdiction in criminal matters |
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Roger argues that Becket was unduly persecuted for his defense of church sovereignty and was eventually murdered by men loyal to the king |
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Henry II: Conflict with the Church |
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50 | (12) |
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King Henry II of England has been unfairly criticized for his treatment of Thomas Becket during their dispute over church sovereignty |
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The king was justifiably concerned over increasing church abuses of power and was right to seek increased accountability from the church |
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59 | (3) |
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62 | (8) |
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The Crusades were a series of European military expeditions to reclaim the Holy Land from the Muslims and to unite the Eastern and Western Christian Churches |
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The Crusades failed to achieve either goal, however, and resulted in deepening religious intolerance |
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Crusading Knights: Knights Templar and Hospitaler |
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70 | (8) |
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The Knights Templar and Hospitaler were military orders of knights whose duty it was to protect Christian strongholds in the Holy Land from the Muslims during the Crusades |
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The Templars and Hospitalers enjoyed enormous popularity and were successful for many years in frustrating Muslim attempts to win back the Holy Land |
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The Islamic Reaction to the Crusades |
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78 | (6) |
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When the Crusades first began, the Muslims did not feel threatened by the invading Christians nor did they make much of an attempt to defend the Holy Land from them |
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As the Crusades continued and Christian atrocities increased, however, the Muslims began to fight back |
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The Crusaders Through the Eyes of a Muslim |
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84 | (12) |
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Usama reports that knights and other Christian crusaders who lived in the Holy Land for a time began to adopt local customs and were generally respectful to and respected by the Muslims |
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The crusaders newly arrived, however, often treated the locals abominably and were viewed by the Muslims as barbaric |
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Chivalry and Courtly Love |
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94 | (2) |
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Feudalism and Knightly Ethics |
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96 | (5) |
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Feudalism was a social and economic system whereby a lord granted vassals, such as knights, land in exchange for homage and services during wars |
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Because feudalism effectively controlled knights' unruly behavior only in relations with their lords, a social ethic called chivalry developed which required knights to be brave, generous, and courteous to women |
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The World of Knights: Fact and Fiction |
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101 | (7) |
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The popular image of the knight as a brave warrior riding a white horse while defending his lady's honor in battle is only partly true |
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Real knights were often greedy and savage, and sometimes slaughtered thousands of people for religious causes |
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Chretien de Troyes and Courtly Love |
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108 | (7) |
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Chretien wrote about the highly romanticized love between knights and ladies---called courtly love---in his tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table |
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Women in particular enjoyed his romantic stories because they placed women at the center of medieval life and helped raise their status |
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115 | (6) |
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In Chretien's medieval tale, Queen Guinevere asks the knight Lancelot to demonstrate his love for her by humiliating himself during a jousting tournament |
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Lancelot obeys her every command and proves that he is the queen's true love |
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The Influence of the Troubadours |
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121 | (4) |
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The troubadours were poets in the service of the high courts of France who sang of courtly love between a faithful male lover and a hard-to-get female |
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The troubadours believed that the lovers must never marry, however, for real love cannot exist between married people |
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125 | (8) |
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The poet writes about a star-struck lover and the indifferent object of his tormented affection |
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The lover reveres his lady because she is pure while at the same time pressures her sexually |
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Romantic Legend: Eleanor of Aquitaine |
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133 | (8) |
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Like Queen Guinevere, Eleanor of Aquitaine became a popular figure representing romantic love between men and women |
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But Eleanor's own love life was not ideal; her first marriage to the king of France was annulled and her second to the king of England quickly deteriorated |
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The Twelfth-Century Renaissance |
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139 | (2) |
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Overview: The Twelfth-Century Renaissance |
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141 | (7) |
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The twelfth century was a time of explosive creativity inspired by the rediscovery of ancient Greek and Roman texts |
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A growing economy channeled money to the popes and kings, who were then able to establish the political and social stability required for learning to flourish |
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148 | (7) |
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The modern university can be traced back to the schools that arose in the late twelfth century |
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Twelfth-century schools were made possible by the growth of cities, which required men capable of handling increasingly complex jobs and provided the money to educate them |
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Conflicting Philosophies: Humanism and Scholasticism |
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155 | (9) |
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Humanists became intimately connected to the classical texts of Greece and Rome that they studied and whose style they carefully imitated |
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Those who subscribed to scholasticism, however, cared only about the ideas presented in the texts |
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164 | (8) |
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Abelard was the first professor, and his scholarly work was so controversial that he was engaged in endless conflicts with other scholars |
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He became involved in a devastating personal conflict as well when he married Heloise despite the disapproval of her uncle |
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The Letters of Abelard and Heloise |
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172 | (13) |
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When the marriage between Abelard and Heloise fell apart under persecution by both enemies and friends, Abelard forced Heloise to join a convent while he took refuge in an abbey |
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From the convent, Heloise wrote a passionate letter to Abelard excoriating him for not loving her, and he responded by telling her that she should pray for him |
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John of Salisbury and Christian Humanism |
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185 | (5) |
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John of Salisbury was a central figure of English learning in the twelfth century who believed that learning was of no value unless it informed moral conduct |
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He argued against many prevailing beliefs in his day and often advised contemporaries about their political and personal conduct through well-crafted letters |
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190 | (5) |
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John of Salisbury argues that eloquence is the best conduit for attaining wealth, winning favor, and earning fame |
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Eloquence is not an innate talent, however, and must be cultivated through study and practice |
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Human Intellect Is Limited |
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195 | (5) |
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The Arab Moses Maimonides argues that there are limits to human intelligence |
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The human mind has a limited ability to perceive because of arrogance, ignorance, training, and the complexity of the subjects studied |
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Vertical Cathedrals: The Rise of Gothic Architecture |
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200 | (9) |
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Gothic architecture developed out of earlier Romanesque designs, which were characterized by rounded arches, heavy columns, and dark interiors |
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By contrast, Gothic cathedrals are characterized by pointed arches, stained glass windows, and soaring heights |
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207 | (2) |
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The Rise of China as a Sea Power |
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209 | (7) |
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A variety of geographic, economic, and social factors led to the rise of China as a sea power in the twelfth century |
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As people began to migrate from impoverished northern regions to the coast in search of opportunity, coastal economies grew and sea trade expanded |
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The expansion of China's sea trade provided opportunities for people to travel to new lands and explore new ideas |
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Confucianism in Twelfth-Century China |
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216 | (7) |
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Three Confucian schools developed in China during the Sung dynasty |
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Neo-Confucianism aimed to reform traditional Confucian views of government and society |
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New Policy sought fundamental improvements, and the School of Mind de-emphasized the role of conduct and morality in Confucianism |
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Chinese Rituals in the Twelfth Century |
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223 | (4) |
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Chu Hsi was a prominent Chinese philosopher during the twelfth century |
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In this excerpt from his book Family Rituals, he explains how sacrificial rites should be performed |
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The Samurai Code of Honor |
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227 | (6) |
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During the eleventh and twelfth centuries in Japan, the samurai became a distinct social group who valued honor, military professionalism, and courage |
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Although the samurai often violated the rules of warfare, people nevertheless admired them as men of principle |
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An Example of Japanese Storytelling |
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233 | (3) |
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Konjaku monogatari (Tales of Times Now Past) is a collection of sixty-two stories, believed to have been compiled in 1120 A.D. One of the stories tells of a brave lieutenant who has many followers |
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The Development of the Kamakura Government |
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236 | (5) |
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After losing two wars to the Taira family, the Minamoto family of Japan finally defeated the Taira in 1185 and established a government in the town of Kamakura |
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Led by the Shogun Minamoto Yoritomo, the Kamakura government controlled all aspects of Japanese society, including art and literature |
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241 | (8) |
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Genghis (also known as Chingis) Khan is one of the most notable conquerors in world history |
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Genghis overcame personal obstacles to achieve his rise to power in the twelfth century, including the murder of his father, imprisonment, the kidnapping of his wife, and a break with his closest friend |
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Temujin Slays His Brother |
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249 | (6) |
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The Secret History of the Mongols was written in the mid-1300s, a few decades after Genghis Khan's death in 1227 |
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It details Khan's life, including his decision to murder his half-brother |
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253 | (2) |
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Talking Pottery: The Chimu Indians of Peru |
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255 | (9) |
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The Chimu civilization in central Peru lasted longer than any other in Middle America except for the Mayan civilization, which preceded it |
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Chimu pottery depicts in great detail the intimate lives of the people, including their proclivity for war, face painting, and sex |
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The Demise of the Toltecs |
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264 | (10) |
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The Toltecs were ancestors of the Aztecs who lived in central Mexico in the cosmopolitan city of Tula |
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The Toltecs planted crops and reared children, but they also performed ritual human sacrifices and participated in cannibalism |
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Their disappearance is largely a mystery |
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The Rise and Fall of the Anasazi Indians |
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274 | (15) |
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The Anasazi Indians were ancient people who occupied the plateau country in the southwestern United States from around A.D. 200 to 1300 |
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The fortunes of these desert-dwelling people were dependent on water, and many archaeologists attribute their mysterious disappearance to a severe and long-lasting drought |
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| Chronology |
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289 | (4) |
| For Further Reading |
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293 | (4) |
| Index |
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297 | |