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hurdy-gurdy

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Hurdy-gurdy hurdy-gurdy, musical instrument with three strings that are caused to vibrate by a wooden wheel turned by a crank. Stopping is accomplished by keys that usually affect only the str...

Italian greyhound

(Encyclopedia)Italian greyhound, breed of sleek, active toy dog that stands from 13 to 15 in. (32–38 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from 7 to 11 lb (3–5 kg). Its short, thin coat is glossy and may be any s...

earring

(Encyclopedia)earring, a personal adornment, sometimes an amulet, worn attached to the ear lobe. Since prehistoric times the ear has been pierced for the insertion of the earring; certain primitive tribes distort t...

Dumyat

(Encyclopedia)Dumyat dămēĕtˈə [key], city (1986 pop. 89,069), capital of Dumyat governorate, N Egypt, on Lake Manzala near the Mediterranean Sea. It is a manufacturing and trade center. Its products include gl...

chancel

(Encyclopedia)chancel, primarily that part of the church close to the altar and used by the officiating clergy. In the early churches it was separated from the nave by a low parapet or open railing (cancellus), its...

Shire horse

(Encyclopedia)Shire horse, a breed of draft horse native to central England. It is equal in weight to the Belgian horse and is usually slightly taller. Widely used as a war horse during the Middle Ages, it was well...

Porvoo

(Encyclopedia)Porvoo bôrˈgō [key], city (1996 pop. 21,313), Southern Finland prov., S central Finland, on the Gulf of Finland at the mouth of the Porvoonjoki River. It is an export center for forest products and...

Paston Letters

(Encyclopedia)Paston Letters, collection of personal and business correspondence, mostly among members of the Paston family of Norfolk, England. The letters cover the years from 1422 to 1529, together with deeds an...

Saint Gall, former Benedictine abbey, Switzerland

(Encyclopedia)Saint Gall, former Benedictine abbey, at St. Gall, Switzerland. Originating in a cell built c.614 by St. Gall, an Irish missionary (see Columban, Saint), it became an abbey under Charles Martel (8th c...

Roscelin

(Encyclopedia)Roscelin rŏsˈəlĭn [key], c.1045–c.1120, French scholastic philosopher, also called Roscellinus, Johannes Roscellinus, and Jean Roscelin. Roscelin was one of the first thinkers of the Middle Ages...