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plumbing

(Encyclopedia)plumbing, piping systems inside buildings for water supply and sewage. The Romans had a highly developed plumbing system; water was brought to Rome by aqueducts and distributed to homes in lead pipesâ...

ring, piece of jewelry

(Encyclopedia)ring, small ornamental hoop usually worn on finger or thumb, but it may be attached to the ear or the nose. Finger rings made of bronze, gold, and silver from the period c.2600–1500 b.c. have been f...

Elche

(Encyclopedia)Elche ĕlˈch� [key], Valencian Elx, city, Alicante prov., SE Spain, in Valencia. It is surr...

Dionysius Exiguus

(Encyclopedia)Dionysius Exiguus dīənĭshˈēəs ĕksĭgˈyo͞oəs [key], d. c.545, Roman monk, chronologist, and scholar, a transmitter of Greek thought to the Middle Ages. He made collections of 5th-century papa...

Dares Phrygius

(Encyclopedia)Dares Phrygius dârˈēz frĭjˈēəs [key], supposed author of a history of the Trojan War. Dares of Phrygia is mentioned by Homer in the Iliad as a priest of Troy. During the Middle Ages he was wide...

crèche

(Encyclopedia)crèche krÄ•sh, krÄ�sh [key], representation of the Infant Jesus in the manger, usually surrounded by figures of Mary, Joseph, shepherds, animals, and the Wise Men; also called Christmas Crib. The crÃ...

cittern

(Encyclopedia)cittern sĭtˈərn [key], stringed musical instrument of the guitar family having an oval body, a flat back, and a fretted neck. Its strings, made of wire and varying in number, were plucked. It was f...

Harwich

(Encyclopedia)Harwich hărˈĭj [key], town, Essex, E central England, on the estuary of the Stour and the ...

New Year's Day

(Encyclopedia)New Year's Day, among ancient peoples the first day of the year frequently corresponded to the vernal or autumnal equinox, or to the summer or winter solstice. In the Middle Ages it was celebrated amo...

Maremma

(Encyclopedia)Maremma mär�mˈmä [key], coastal area in Tuscany, central Italy, along the Tyrrhenian Sea and extending E to the Apennines. A flourishing region in Etruscan and early Roman times, it became marshy ...