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Donatello

(Encyclopedia)Donatello dŏnətĕlˈō, Ital. dōnätĕlˈlō [key], c.1386–1466, Italian sculptor, major innovator in Renaissance art, b. Florence. His full name was Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi. In his for...

embroidery

(Encyclopedia)embroidery, ornamental needlework applied to all varieties of fabrics and worked with many sorts of thread—linen, cotton, wool, silk, gold, and even hair. Decorative objects, such as shells, feather...

Bernini, Giovanni Lorenzo

(Encyclopedia)Bernini, Giovanni Lorenzo or Gianlorenzo jōvänˈnē lōrĕnˈtsō, jänlōrĕnˈtsō bĕrnēˈnē [key], 1598–1680, Italian sculptor and architect, b. Naples. He was the dominant figure of the Ita...

motet

(Encyclopedia)motet mōtĕtˈ [key], name for the outstanding type of musical composition of the 13th cent. and for a different type that originated in the Renaissance. The 13th-century motet, a creation (c.1200) o...

ballot

(Encyclopedia)ballot, means of voting for candidates for office. The choice may be indicated on or by the ballot forms themselves—e.g., colored balls (hence the term ballot, which is derived from the Italian ball...

Palmerston, Henry John Temple, 3d Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Palmerston, Henry John Temple, 3d Viscount, 1784–1865, British statesman. His viscountcy, to which he succeeded in 1802, was in the Irish peerage and therefore did not prevent him from entering the ...

Hanover, former kingdom and province, Germany

(Encyclopedia)Hanover hănˈōvər [key], Ger. Hannover, former independent kingdom and former province of Germany; Lower Saxony, NW Germany. Very irregular in outline, Hanover stretched from the Dutch border and t...

Wettin

(Encyclopedia)Wettin vĕtˈĭn [key], German dynasty, which ruled in Saxony, Thuringia, Poland, Great Britain, Belgium, and Bulgaria. It takes its name from a castle on the Saale near Halle. The family gained promi...

Campbell, Scottish noble family

(Encyclopedia)Campbell kămˈbəl [key], Scottish noble family, the head of which is the duke of Argyll. The Campbells of Lochow (Lochawe) rose to power in W Scotland in the later Middle Ages. In 1445, Sir Duncan C...

decorations, civil and military

(Encyclopedia)decorations, civil and military, honors bestowed by a government to reward services or achievements, particularly those implying valor. The practice of bestowing such decorations dates back at least t...