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raven

(Encyclopedia)raven, common name for the largest members of the family Corvidae (crow family), ranging throughout the arctic and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The common raven, Corvus corax, is a gl...

minnesinger

(Encyclopedia)minnesinger mĭnˈĭsĭngˌər [key], a medieval German knight, poet, and singer of Minne, or courtly love. Originally imitators of Provençal troubadours, minnesingers developed their own style in th...

Bernadotte, Count Folke

(Encyclopedia)Bernadotte, Count Folke fôlˈkə bĕrnädôtˈ, bûrˈnədŏt [key], 1895–1948, Swedish internationalist; nephew of King Gustavus V. He was active in the Swedish Red Cross and became its president ...

Keller, Gottfried

(Encyclopedia)Keller, Gottfried gôtˈfrēt [key], 1819–90, Swiss novelist, poet, and short-story writer. His vital, realistic, and purposeful fiction gives him a high place among 19th-century authors. Chief amon...

Greenberg, Clement

(Encyclopedia)Greenberg, Clement, 1909–94, American art critic, b. New York City. Greenberg's criticism was primarily concerned with art produced after abstract expressionism. This art, now known as color-field p...

Christian VII

(Encyclopedia)Christian VII, 1749–1808, king of Denmark and Norway (1766–1808), son and successor of Frederick V. Shortly after his accession his mental illness made him dependent on his physician, Struensee, w...

Pevsner, Sir Nikolaus

(Encyclopedia)Pevsner, Sir Nikolaus pĕvzˈnər [key], 1902–83, English architectural historian, b. Germany. Influenced by Heinrich Wölfflin, Pevsner contended in his many works that art must be considered withi...

Richter, Sviatoslav

(Encyclopedia)Richter, Sviatoslav rĭkhˈtər [key], 1915–97, Russian pianist, b. Ukraine. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory under Heinrich Neuhaus. After earning an impressive critical reputation, he was aw...

Swiss literature

(Encyclopedia)Swiss literature. The literature of Switzerland is written in German, French, Italian, and Romansh, with German predominating. The extensive literature in Romansh dialect (see Rhaeto-Romanic) is littl...

Mayröcker, Friederike

(Encyclopedia) Mayröcker, Friederike, 1924-2021, German-language poet, b. Vienna, Austria. Mayröcker served in World War II as a secretary in the German airforce a...