FlatKnife

Ikhshidids Dynasty

2005-04-05T22:25:00.000-07:00

Muslim Turkish dynasty from Fergana in Central Asia that ruled Egypt and Syria from 935 to 969. The founder, Muhammad ibn Tughj, appointed governor of Egypt in 935, two years later obtained the title ikhshid (Persian: “prince, ruler”) from the 'Abbasid caliph ar-Radi; he then secured his position in Egypt and Syria against opposition from Muhammad ibn Ra'iq, 'Abbasid amir al-umara' (commander in chief),

Mason

2005-04-05T04:16:00.000-07:00

An adherent of Freemasonry (q.v.).

Wick

2005-04-04T13:26:00.000-07:00

Royal burgh (town) and fishing port, Highland council area, historic county of Caithness, Scotland. An ancient Norse settlement on the North Sea, situated about 14 miles (23 km) south of John o'Groats, Wick developed as a fishing port and centre and was designated a royal burgh in 1589. It expanded rapidly during the herring boom of the 19th century. Since then herring fishing has declined

Asia, The steppes

2005-04-03T15:58:00.000-07:00

The animal life of the steppes differs as much from that of the taiga as from that of the tundra. It includes many burrowing rodents, such as jerboas, marmots, and pikas, and larger mammals, such as numerous antelope. The steppes were the original home of the northern cattle (Bos taurus), the horse, and probably the Bactrian (two-humped) camel; it is doubtful that any of these

Middle Age

2005-04-03T04:49:00.000-07:00

Period of human adulthood that immediately precedes the onset of old age. Though the age period that defines middle age is somewhat arbitrary, differing greatly from person to person, it is generally defined as being between the ages of 40 and 60. The physiological and psychological changes experienced by a middle-aged person centre on the gradual decline of physical

Taconic Orogeny

2005-04-03T03:48:00.000-07:00

A mountain-building event that affected the Appalachian Geosyncline along the eastern coast of the United States. Evidence for the orogeny is most pronounced in the northern Appalachians, but its effects can be noted in the Ridge and Valley Province as far south as Tennessee and in the Piedmont Province as far south as Georgia. Originally thought to have occurred

Japanese Law

2005-04-01T00:32:00.000-08:00

The law as it has developed in Japan as a consequence of a meld of two cultural and legal traditions, one indigenous Japanese, the other Western. Before Japan's isolation from the West was ended in the mid-19th century, Japanese law developed independently of Western influences. Conciliation was emphasized in response to social pressures exerted through an expanded

Peter The Venerable

2005-03-31T13:55:00.000-08:00

Peter joined Bernard of Clairvaux in supporting Pope Innocent II, thereby weakening the position of the antipope, Anacletus II. After Peter Abelard's

Central African Republic, Settlement patterns

2005-03-31T10:21:00.000-08:00

About three-fifths of the population is rural, residing primarily in the southern and western parts of the country. The eastern and northeastern sections of the country are less populated. Of the urban population, a significant proportion lives in Bangui. Other major towns are Berbérati, Bossangoa, and Bouar in the west, Bambari and Bria in the central plains, and Bangassou

Mammal

2005-03-30T23:07:00.000-08:00

Some widely known journals that publish papers dealing exclusively with mammals are: Journal of Mammalogy, Mammalia, and Säugetierkundliche Mitteilungen (all issued quarterly), and Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde (6/yr.). Additional technical literature is published by university and public museums and government agencies. Semitechnical and popular accounts of mammals appear in a wide variety of publications of state game departments, museums, and zoological gardens.

Chrissie, Lake

2005-03-30T03:24:00.000-08:00

The lake lies in the farming region known as New Scotland, which was settled about 1866 by Alexander McCorkindale.

Roman Catholicism, History Of, Religious life in the 17th and 18th centuries

2005-03-29T08:14:00.000-08:00

Yet it would be a mistake to allow the narrative of these controversies to monopolize one's attention. Less dramatic but no less important was the continuing life of the Roman Catholic Church during these centuries as “mother and teacher.” Bossuet was not only the formulator of Gallican ideology but also one of the finest preachers of Christian history. He addressed

Botany

2005-03-28T15:15:00.000-08:00

The branch of biology that deals with plants. It involves the study of the structure, properties, and biochemical processes of all forms of plant life, including trees. Also included within its scope are plant classification and the study of plant diseases and of the interactions of plants with their physical environment. Over the years various specialized branches

Rca Corporation

2005-03-28T13:29:00.000-08:00

RCA was founded as Radio Corporation of America by the General Electric Company in 1919 to acquire Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America (incorporated in

Heimwehr

2005-03-28T10:16:00.000-08:00

(German: Home Defense Force), any of the local organizations formed in various parts of Austria to expel invading Yugoslavs or preserve order immediately after World War I. Composed of conservative-minded country dwellers, the Heimwehr came to represent much of the Austrian right wing between World Wars I and II. Imbued with corporativism (an authoritarian view

Miracle, Sacred places

2005-03-26T23:28:00.000-08:00

Miracles are often connected with special sacred places. Normally these are natural shrines, such as sacred groves, or temples and sanctuaries in which a god or spirit lives or has manifested himself or in which his statue, symbol, holy objects, or relics are enshrined. Holy places, such as Mecca and the Ka'bah in Islam or the Buddhist stupas, are centres of pilgrimages

Japan, Sea Of

2005-03-26T21:25:00.000-08:00

Japanese Nihon-kai, Russian Yaponskoye More, Korean Tonghae, marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded by Japan and Sakhalin Island to the east and by Russia and Korea on the Asian mainland to the west. (The Korean name means “East Sea.”) Its area is 377,600 square miles (978,000 square kilometres). It has a mean depth of 5,748 feet (1,752 metres) and a maximum depth of 12,276 feet (3,742 metres).

Caucasian Languages, Linguistic characteristics

2005-03-26T04:39:00.000-08:00

Correspondences between sounds and meanings in words and word elements provide a basis for considering the Kartvelian languages as being closely related and descended from a common ancestral language (a protolanguage).

Fen

2005-03-23T20:10:00.000-08:00

Type of bog (q.v.), especially a low-lying area, wholly or partly covered with water and dominated by grasslike plants, grasses, sedges, and reeds. In strict usage, a fen denotes an area in which the soil is organic (peaty) and alkaline rather than acid.

Switzerland, Folk arts

2005-03-23T18:34:00.000-08:00

Folk art in Switzerland is expressed in music, poetry (usually song), dance, wood carving, and embroidery. In the cattle-breeding northern areas, there are many primitive forms of song and music, involving, for instance, yodeling, a way of singing marked by rapid switching of the voice to falsetto. There are also trumpetlike instruments made of wood and bark, the perfect

Nagarjuna

2005-03-23T16:18:00.000-08:00

Indian Buddhist monk-philosopher and founder of the Madhyamika (“Middle Path”) school whose clarification of the concept of sunyata (“emptiness”) is regarded as an intellectual and spiritual achievement of the highest order. He is recognized as a patriarch by several later Buddhist schools. The two basic works that are substantially his and that have remained available

Baha'i Faith

2005-03-23T15:12:00.000-08:00

Religion founded in Iran in the mid-19th century by Mirza Hoseyn 'Ali Nuri, who is known as Baha' Ullah (Arabic: “Glory of God”). The cornerstone of Baha'i belief is the conviction that Baha' Ullah and his forerunner, who was known as the Bab, were manifestations of God, who in his essence is unknowable. The principal Baha'i tenets are the essential unity of all religions and the unity of humanity.

Amaravati

2005-03-22T10:09:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Amaravathi, town, east-central Andhra Pradesh state, southern India. Situated on the Krishna River, it was an ancient Buddhist centre in the region. Its monasteries and university attracted students from throughout India and the Far East. The Buddhist stupa at Amaravati was one of the largest in India, though only traces of it now remain. Amaravati is known for the relief sculptures

Bridgend

2005-03-22T02:09:00.000-08:00

Welsh Pen-y-Bont ar Ogwr county borough, historic county of Glamorgan (Morgannwg), southern Wales. Bridgend county borough extends from the mining valleys of Ogmore, Garw, and Llynfi in the north to the arable lowlands and an extensive coastline in the south. Discoveries of Bronze Age and Iron Age artifacts have been made near the village of Merthyr Mawr, and the remains of many Norman castles

Bon

2005-03-21T17:18:00.000-08:00

The original features of Bon seem to have been largely magic-related; they concerned the propitiation of demonic forces and included the practice of blood sacrifices. Later, there is evidence

Alabaster

2005-03-21T00:46:00.000-08:00

Fine-grained, massive gypsum (q.v.) that has been used for centuries for statuary, carvings, and other ornaments. It normally is snow-white and translucent but can be artificially dyed; it may be made opaque and similar in appearance to marble by heat treatment. Florence, Livorno, and Milan, in Italy, and Berlin are important centres of the alabaster trade. The alabaster of

Valenciennes

2005-03-19T22:06:00.000-08:00

The town flourished under the counts

Pemberton, John Clifford

2005-03-19T19:22:00.000-08:00

Pemberton grew up and was educated in Philadelphia, entered West Point in 1833, and graduated four years later. He fought in the Mexican War and was cited for bravery while participating in many of

Mold

2005-03-19T13:00:00.000-08:00

Also spelled mould, in biology, a conspicuous mass of mycelium (masses of vegetative filaments, or hyphae) and fruiting structures produced by various fungi (division Mycota). Fungi of the genera Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Rhizopus form mold and are associated with food spoilage and plant diseases.

Ungava-quebec Crater

2005-03-19T01:26:00.000-08:00

Formerly Chubb Crater, the largest crater on the Earth's surface that is definitely known to be of meteoritic origin. It is located in the northwestern part of the Ungava Peninsula, northern Quebec province, Canada. First studied in 1950, the crater is 2.1 miles (3.3 km) in diameter and 1,203 feet (367 m) deep, with a rim standing 333 feet (101 m) above ground level. Filled by a lake, it is surrounded by many smaller circular lakes.

Rabbit

2005-03-18T11:21:00.000-08:00

Rabbits are ground dwellers that live

Integument, Annelids

2005-03-18T10:28:00.000-08:00

Annelids have a thin, horny cuticle pierced by pores through which epidermal glands secrete mucus. In some marine annelids, glands are also present that secrete materials constituting a parchmentlike or calcareous tube within which the worm dwells. Earthworms and leeches secrete cocoons from a specialized epidermis in a region of the body known as the clitellum.

Manasses, Constantine

2005-03-17T20:12:00.000-08:00

Byzantine chronicler, metropolitan of Naupactus, and the author of a verse chronicle (Synopsis historike; “Historical Synopsis”) from the Creation to 1081. Written at the request of Emperor Manuel I's sister-in-law, Irene, the poem is in the so-called political (i.e., 15-syllable) metre. His romance on Aristander and Calithea, also in “political” verse, survives in fragments only. He wrote

Aribau, Buenaventura Carles

2005-03-17T02:28:00.000-08:00

After working in Madrid at the banking establishment of Gaspar Remisa (1830–41), Aribau became the director of the treasury and financial secretary to the royal household. Animated by a deep patriotism,

Leninsk-kuznetsky

2005-03-16T08:38:00.000-08:00

Formerly (until 1925) Kolchugino, city, in Kemerovo oblast (province), central Russia. It lies along the Inya River, a tributary of the Ob. In 1912 a French company started coal-mining operations there; from the 1930s the city developed rapidly to become a major coal-mining centre, with many pits located in the city itself. Other industries produce chemicals, mining machinery, electric lamps, and timber goods. Pop.

Kwazulu

2005-03-16T03:37:00.000-08:00

Former nonindependent black state, Natal, South Africa, that was the legal home of all of the nation's Zulus. Its area was scattered among 11 exclaves (detached sections) throughout Natal, occupying more than one-third of its territory. The capital, initially at Nongoma, was moved in 1980 to Ulundi, the last historic capital of the Zulu empire (founded in 1816 by Shaka), where the Zulu

Murnau, F.w.

2005-03-15T21:46:00.000-08:00

Murnau studied philosophy, art history, and literature at the Universities of Heidelberg and Berlin. In 1908 he joined the company of renowned

Boian

2005-03-14T20:43:00.000-08:00

Neolithic culture (c. 7000 BC) centred in what is now southern Romania; it was characterized by terrace settlements, consisting at first of mud huts and later of fortified promontory settlements. The Boian phase was marked by the introduction of copper axes, the extension of agriculture, and the breeding of domestic animals. The distinctive Boian pottery was decorated by

Epistemology, Substance

2005-03-14T16:03:00.000-08:00

One of the cornerstones of philosophy from Plato to Berkeley was the notion of substance, that which exists in itself and does not depend upon anything else for its existence. Substance is contrasted with accident or modes of being, which exist in substances and depend on them for their existence. A dog is a substance, and its colour, shape, weight, and bark exist in the

Malay Peninsula

2005-03-14T14:29:00.000-08:00

Also called the Kra Peninsula, in Southeast Asia, a long, narrow appendix of the mainland extending south for a distance of about 700 miles (1,127 km) through the Isthmus of Kra to Cape Balai, southernmost point of the Asian continent; its maximum width is 200 miles (322 km). It lies between the Andaman Sea of the Indian Ocean and the Strait of Malacca (west), the Singapore Strait (south), and the Gulf of Thailand and the South

Nicholas Brothers

2005-03-14T01:02:00.000-08:00

Tap-dancing duo whose suppleness, strength, and fearlessness made them one of the greatest tap dance acts of all time. Fayard Antonio Nicholas (b. October 20, 1914, Mobile, Alabama, U.S.) and his brother Harold Lloyd Nicholas (b. March 17, 1921, Winston-Salem, North Carolina—d. July 3, 2000, New York, New York) developed a type of dance that has been dubbed “classical tap,” combining jazz dance, ballet, and dazzling

Gamaliel Ii

2005-03-12T05:52:00.000-08:00

In the ancient biblical city of Jabneh, many Jews had taken refuge from the Roman siege of Jerusalem in AD 70. Gamaliel

Ghardaïa

2005-03-11T15:48:00.000-08:00

Chief town of the M'zab (q.v.) Oasis, north-central Algeria. It lies along the left bank of the Oued (wadi) Mzab in the northern Sahara (Desert). Founded in the 11th century, it was built around the cave (ghar) reputedly inhabited by the female saint Daïa (the cave is still venerated by M'zabite women). Ghardaïa is a fortified town with white and red clay houses that rise in terraces and

Augustine, Saint, Scholarly literature

2005-03-11T05:06:00.000-08:00

The best one-volume study of Augustine's thought is Eugene TeSelle, Augustine the Theologian (1970). John Burnaby, Amor Dei: A Study of the Religion of St. Augustine (1938; reissued with corrections and a new foreword, 1991), is sympathetic and illuminating but dated. For Augustine in his cultural context, there is still nothing better than Henri Irénée Marrou, Saint Augustin et la fin de la culture antique, 4th ed., 2 vol. in 1 (1958; reissued in 1 vol., 1983). Other useful studies are Brian Stock, Augustine the Reader: Meditation, Self-Knowledge, and the Ethics of Interpretation (1996); and Sabine MacCormack, The Shadows of Poetry: Vergil in the Mind of Augustine (1998). Augustine's political views are addressed in Herbert A. Deane, The Political and Social Ideas of St. Augustine (1963); and R.A. Markus, Saeculum: History and Society in the Theology of St. Augustine, rev. ed. (1988). Augustine's views on sexuality have come under scrutiny in recent years; the most comprehensive study is Kim Power, Veiled Desire: Augustine on Women (1996); but Peter Brown, The Body and Society: Men, Women, and Sexual Renunciation in Early Christianity (1988), is also important.

Taree

2005-03-11T04:57:00.000-08:00

City, northeastern New South Wales, Australia, 10 miles (16 km) above the coastal mouth of the Manning River. Established in 1854 as a private town, it was proclaimed a municipality in 1885 and a city in 1981; it derives its name from the Aboriginal tareehin, or tarrebit, referring to a local wild fig. Situated on the Sydney-Brisbane rail line and the Pacific Highway, 80 miles (130 km) northeast of Newcastle,

Spoon River

2005-03-10T23:54:00.000-08:00

River in west-central Illinois, U.S. It rises in southwestern Bureau county and flows south and southwest to a point near Lewistown, where it turns southeast, joining the Illinois River opposite Havana after a course of 160 miles (257 km). The Dickson Mounds, a rich archaeological area, are near the confluence of the two rivers. Spoon River was made famous by Edgar Lee Masters, the

Lussy, Melchior

2005-03-10T15:48:00.000-08:00

Representative of the Catholic cantons at the Council of Trent and at the courts of four popes—Paul IV, Pius IV, Gregory XIII, and Gregory XIV—Lussy devoted much of his life

Chondrichthian, Annotated classification

2005-03-09T16:39:00.000-08:00

Leadville

2005-03-09T00:21:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1878) of Lake county, central Colorado, U.S., located 103 miles (166 km) west of Denver and 38 miles (61 km) south of Vail. It is situated in the upper Arkansas River valley in an area of national forests, at an elevation of some 10,200 feet (3,105 metres). It is the centre of one of the nation's most celebrated mining districts, which has yielded gold, silver, lead, zinc, manganese, and molybdenum. Gold was

Jean Le Bel

2005-03-08T15:43:00.000-08:00

A soldier and the constant companion of Jean, Count de Beaumont, with whom he went to England and Scotland in 1327, Le Bel wrote his Vrayes Chroniques (“True Chronicles”), recounting the events of the reign of Edward III,

American Literature, Literary criticism

2005-03-08T04:32:00.000-08:00

The period

Aachen

2005-03-07T13:31:00.000-08:00

French: Aix-la-Chapelle, Dutch: Aken,

Fisher, Saint John

2005-03-07T13:05:00.000-08:00

Ordained priest in 1491, he won the patronage of Lady Margaret Beaufort,

Ryazan

2005-03-06T09:32:00.000-08:00

Medieval Russian principality from the 12th to the early 16th century. Ryazan became an independent princedom early in the 12th century under Yaroslav, the son of the grand prince Svyatoslav of Kiev. Its capital city was Old Ryazan on the Oka River, about 150 miles (240 km) southeast of Moscow. For the next century it was often in conflict with the principality of Vladimir, which was

Ga

2005-03-05T22:45:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Gan, or Gã, people of the southeast coast of Ghana, speaking a dialect of the Kwa branch of Niger-Congo languages. The Ga are descended from immigrants who came down the Niger River and across the Volta during the 17th century. The Ga-speaking peoples were organized into six independent towns (Accra, Osu, Labadi, Teshi, Nungua, and Tema). Each town had a stool, which served as the central

Chasles, Michel

2005-03-05T19:02:00.000-08:00

French mathematician who, independently of the Swiss German mathematician Jakob Steiner, elaborated on the theory of modern projective geometry, the study of the properties of a geometric line or other plane figure that remain unchanged when the figure is projected onto a plane from a point not on either the plane or the

Stearic Acid

2005-03-05T15:29:00.000-08:00

In nature stearic acid

German Literature, The late 1950s and the '60s

2005-03-04T21:41:00.000-08:00

In the other German-speaking countries, the late 1950s and early 1960s saw the emergence of a number of novelists whose works have since become contemporary classics. In Switzerland, Max Frisch explored the problem of guilt in his novels Homo Faber (1957; Eng. trans. Homo Faber), the story of an engineer who becomes a modern Oedipus, and Stiller (1954; I'm Not Stiller), about a man who refuses to

Abu Shahrayn

2005-03-04T13:20:00.000-08:00

Mound in southern Iraq, site of the ancient Sumerian city of Eridu (q.v.).

Flórez, Enrique

2005-03-03T21:19:00.000-08:00

In 1718 Flórez entered the Augustinian order and studied philosophy with the priests of Piedrahita, moving a year later

Piedras Negras

2005-03-03T01:49:00.000-08:00

City, northeastern Coahuila estado (“state”), northeastern Mexico. It lies at 722 feet (220 m) above sea level on the Rio Grande (Bravo del Norte River), just across from Eagle Pass, Texas, U.S., with which it is connected by two bridges. Founded in 1849, it was renamed Ciudad Porfirio Díaz in 1888; after that dictator's downfall, the original name was restored. Much of the city's prosperity is due to its

Skaldic Poetry

2005-03-02T16:18:00.000-08:00

Skalds were identified by name; their poems

Lorentz, Pare

2005-03-01T22:49:00.000-08:00

Lorentz was a well-known movie critic in New York City when, in 1935, he was requested to set up a federal government film program that would effectively highlight the problems

Education, History Of, Stages of education

2005-03-01T18:57:00.000-08:00

There were three stages of education. The basic skills of reading and writing were taught by the elementary-school master, or grammatistes, whose pupils generally ranged from six or seven to 10 years of age. The secondary-school master, or grammatikos, supervised the study and appreciation of classical literature and of literary Greek, from which the spoken Greek of

Andorra

2005-03-01T13:29:00.000-08:00

Andorra's independence is traditionally ascribed to Charlemagne, who recovered the

Egypt, Railways

2005-02-28T02:01:00.000-08:00

Railways connect Cairo with Alexandria and with the Delta and canal towns and also run southward to Aswan and the High Dam. Branch lines connect Cairo with al-Fayyum and Alexandria with Matruh. A network of light railways connects the Fayyum area and the Delta villages with the main lines. Diesel-driven trains operate along the main lines; electric lines connect Cairo with

Insurance, Professional liability insurance

2005-02-27T22:01:00.000-08:00

Known as malpractice, or errors-and-omissions, insurance, professional liability contracts are distinguished from general business liability policies because of the specialized nature of the liability. Professional persons requiring liability contracts include physicians and surgeons, lawyers, accountants, engineers, and insurance agents. Important

Guadalcanal, Battle Of

2005-02-27T08:17:00.000-08:00

(August 1942–February 1943), series of World War II land and sea clashes between Allied and Japanese forces on and around Guadalcanal, one of the southern Solomon Islands, in the South Pacific. Japanese troops had landed on Guadalcanal on July 6, 1942, and had begun constructing an airfield there. On August 7, in the Allies' first major offensive in the Pacific, 6,000 U.S. Marines landed on Guadalcanal

Furphy, Joseph

2005-02-27T04:17:00.000-08:00

The son of Irish immigrants, Furphy worked as a thresher, teamster, and gold miner before settling down in 1884 at his brothers'

Kekri

2005-02-26T08:07:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Keyri, or Käyri, in ancient Finnish religion, a feast day marking the end of the agricultural season that also coincided with the time when the cattle were taken in from pasture and settled for a winter's stay in the barn. Kekri originally fell on Michaelmas, September 29, but was later shifted to November 1, All Saints' Day. In the old system of reckoning time, Kekri was a critical period between

Malacostracan, Food and feeding

2005-02-26T04:35:00.000-08:00

Malacostracans consume virtually every available kind of organic matter, plant or animal, living or dead. The small- to medium-sized groups primarily consume detritus and plankton, and some are parasites of other aquatic organisms. The larger-sized groups are mainly carnivores and scavengers, preying on a wide range of small invertebrates and fishes or devouring

Jiang Zemin

2005-02-25T21:56:00.000-08:00

Jiang joined the CCP in 1946 and graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University the following year with a degree in electrical engineering. He worked in several factories as an engineer before receiving further technical training

Alaska, Mining

2005-02-23T19:06:00.000-08:00

Petroleum was first extracted and refined between 1917 and 1933, but the development of the Kenai oil field in 1961 made the petroleum and natural gas industry Alaska's most important mineral production. Oil seeps were known as early as the 1880s in the North Slope region, which today has become a field of major economic importance to both the state and the nation. Alaska ranks second

Silver

2005-02-23T17:42:00.000-08:00

In the majority of silver compounds the element has a valence of one. These compounds include such familiar substances as silver chloride (AgCl), silver bromide (AgBr), and silver iodide (AgI). Each of these salts is used extensively in photography. Silver chloride serves as the light-sensitive material in photographic printing papers and, together with silver bromide,

Hardenberg, Karl August, Fürst Von (prince Of)

2005-02-23T15:02:00.000-08:00

Also called (until 1814) Freiherr (baron) von Hardenberg Prussian statesman and administrator, who preserved the integrity of the Prussian state during the Napoleonic Wars. Domestically he was able to continue the reforms introduced by Karl, Freiherr vom Stein; in foreign affairs he exchanged Prussia's alliance with France for an alliance with Russia in 1813, and in 1814–15 he represented

Amphoterism

2005-02-23T11:22:00.000-08:00

With hydrogen chloride,

Otfrid

2005-02-21T15:32:00.000-08:00

Otfrid was trained in the monastery school of Fulda under Rabanus Maurus, who directed the school from 802 to 824. His fame rests on his Evangelienbuch (c. 870; “Book of the Gospels”), a poem of 7,416 lines, which is extant in three good contemporary manuscripts. It is an exceptionally valuable document,

Academy Of Venice, Galleries Of The

2005-02-21T07:19:00.000-08:00

The galleries occupy the former monastery, church, and school of Santa Maria della Carità. The core of the collection

Cartoon

2005-02-21T05:31:00.000-08:00

Originally, and still, a full-size sketch or drawing used as a pattern for a tapestry, painting, mosaic, or other graphic art form, but also, since the early 1840s, a pictorial parody utilizing caricature, satire, and usually humour. Cartoons are used today primarily for conveying political commentary and editorial opinion in newspapers and for social comedy and visual wit

Locri Epizephyrii

2005-02-21T01:38:00.000-08:00

Also called Locri ancient city on the eastern side of the “toe” of Italy, founded by Greeks c. 680 BC; the inhabitants used the name of Locri Epizephyrii to distinguish themselves from the Locri of Greece. Locri Epizephyrii was the first Greek community to have a written code of laws, given by Zaleucus c. 660 BC. Locri Epizephyrii founded colonies, repelled the attacks of Croton during the 6th century,

Vacuum Technology

2005-02-20T10:53:00.000-08:00

This type of pump utilizes extremely low temperatures to condense gases and thus remove them from the system. Pumping speeds of millions of cu ft per minute are possible with the cryopump over the pressure range 10-3 torr to well below 10-10 torr. This type of pump can develop its full speed curve over the entire pumping range. Most cryopumps employ helium to cool the low-temperature

Ma Yuan

2005-02-20T06:06:00.000-08:00

Osvald Siren, Chinese Painting: Leading Masters and Principles, 7 vol. (1956–58, reissued 1974), is the standard history of Chinese painting. Ma Yuan's work is discussed in S. Shimada and Y. Yonezawa, Painting of Sung and Yuan Dynasties (1952); Kojiro Tomita, Portfolio of Chinese Paintings in the Museum: Han to Sung Periods, 2nd ed. (1938), from the collection of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts; Sherman E. Lee, Chinese Landscape Painting, 2nd rev. ed. (1962); Laurence Sickman (ed.), Chinese Calligraphy and Painting in the Collection of John M. Crawford, Jr. (1962); James Francis Cahill, Chinese Painting, XI–XIV Centuries (1960); and Michael Sullivan, A Short History of Chinese Art, rev. ed. (1967, reissued 1970). The little available evidence on his position at the Southern Sung court is discussed in Chiang Chao-shen, “The Identity of Yang Mei-tzu and the Paintings of Ma Yuan,” National Palace Museum Bulletin, 2(2):1–15 and 2(3):8–14 (1967).

Fish, Stanley

2005-02-19T09:20:00.000-08:00

Fish was educated at the University of Pennsylvania (B.A., 1959) and Yale University (M.A., 1960; Ph.D., 1962). He taught at Johns Hopkins University from 1974 to 1985 and at Duke University

Mosby, John Singleton

2005-02-19T07:39:00.000-08:00

Reared near Charlottesville, Va., Mosby entered the University of Virginia in 1849 and graduated in 1852. While there, he shot at and wounded a few students, but his resulting jail sentence

Earth, Isostasy

2005-02-18T10:02:00.000-08:00

The general concept that higher portions of the Earth's crust are lighter and are maintained in position by correspondingly light roots beneath is very old. The quantitative description of this “compensation” of the Earth's topographic features dates from the geodetic triangulation of India in which the effect of the attraction of the Himalayas on the deflection

Lip Ring, Lip Plug, And Lip Plate

2005-02-18T07:43:00.000-08:00

In South America at the time of the Spanish conquests, lip plugs, usually made of stone, gold, or rock crystal, were worn by the indigenous peoples. In several parts of Africa, especially in Congo (Kinshasa), Tanzania,

Porphyry Copper Deposit

2005-02-17T09:18:00.000-08:00

Blanketlike replacement deposit of copper minerals that are disseminated throughout a large mass of fractured rock. Porphyry copper deposits commonly contain tens of millions of metric tons of ore that averages a fraction of 1 percent copper by weight; although they are low-grade, the deposits constitute important sources because they may be worked on a large

Alastor

2005-02-17T03:41:00.000-08:00

Any of certain avenging deities or spirits, especially in Greek antiquity. The term is associated with Nemesis, the goddess of divine retribution who signified the gods' disapproval of human presumption. Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem Alastor; or, The Spirit of Solitude (1816) was a visionary work in which he warned idealists (like himself) not to abandon “sweet human love” and

Insurance, Ocean marine insurance

2005-02-16T21:22:00.000-08:00

Ocean marine contracts are written to cover four major types of property interest: (1) the vessel or hull, (2) the cargo, (3) the freight revenue to be received by the ship owner, and (4) legal liability for negligence of the shipper or the carrier. Hull insurance covers losses to the vessel itself from specified perils. Usually there is a provision that the marine hull should be covered

Jacinto, António

2005-02-16T02:56:00.000-08:00

The son of Portuguese settlers in Angola, Jacinto became associated with militant movements against Portuguese colonial rule and was arrested in 1961. He was sent to São Paulo Prison

Sprague, Kate Chase

2005-02-15T22:36:00.000-08:00

Educated by her father and in private schools, Kate Chase became the emotional focus of her father's life after the deaths of

Shabestari, Sa'd Od-din Mahmud

2005-02-15T01:00:00.000-08:00

The details of Shabestari's life are obscure; apparently he spent most of it in Tabriz. He grew up in an age of spiritual confusion, following the Mongol invasion of Iran, the sack of Baghdad, and the final fall of the

Manado

2005-02-14T19:37:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Menado, kotamadya (municipality) and capital of Sulawesi Utara provinsi (province), Celebes island, Indonesia, located near the tip of the north-northeastern arm of Celebes island on an inlet of the Celebes Sea. Manado lies at the foot of Mount Klabat (6,634 feet [2,022 m]), about 600 miles (970 km) northeast of Ujung Padang. A trade centre for the surrounding agricultural and lumbering area, it exports

Sabin, Albert Bruce

2005-02-14T13:53:00.000-08:00

Sabin immigrated with his parents to the United States in 1921 and became an American citizen nine

Furniture, General works

2005-02-14T07:48:00.000-08:00

Ole Hanscher, Mobelkunsten (1966; Eng. trans., The Art of Furniture, 1967), is a chronological survey of the art of furniture (with illustrations). George Nakashima, The Soul of a Tree: A Woodworker's Reflections (1981), is an inspirational commentary of a designer and crafter on the art of furniture making.

Abu Rishah, 'umar

2005-02-13T21:48:00.000-08:00

Abu Rishah attended the University of Damascus in Syria, the American University in Beirut, Lebanon, and the University of Manchester, England. He was an early contributor to the influential Egyptian literary

Guadalcanal

2005-02-12T21:19:00.000-08:00

Largest island of the Solomon Islands, southwestern Pacific Ocean. With an area of some 2,047 square miles (5,302 square km), it is of volcanic origin with a mountainous spine (Kavo Range) that culminates in Mount Makarakomburu (8,028 feet [2,447 m]), the highest point in the country. Many short, rapid streams, including the Mataniko, Lunga, and Tenaru, tumble from the wooded mountains to the coast,

Seto-guro Ware

2005-02-12T14:14:00.000-08:00

Japanese ceramic ware created at Mino during 1573–96. A black ware, it stands in contrast to the contemporary pure-white Shino ware. Seto-guro (“black Seto”) was produced by a process that involved firing the iron-glaze ware in an oxidizing kiln from which it was suddenly removed and immediately cooled. The shade of black achieved was far richer than had been achieved in the earlier

Nadel, S(iegfried) F(rederick)

2005-02-12T05:37:00.000-08:00

Before turning to anthropology Nadel pursued musical interests. He wrote a biography of the Italian composer Ferruccio Benvenuto Busoni and a work on musical typology, and he toured with his own opera

Clisson, Olivier De

2005-02-11T14:47:00.000-08:00

Brought up in England, Clisson fought on the English side for the Breton duke John IV (or V; John of Montfort) against the French-supported Charles of Blois