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abstract of title

(Encyclopedia)abstract of title, in law, brief history of the title to a piece of land. An account is given of recorded documents, court proceedings, wills, mortgages, taxes, previous sales, easements, and all othe...

Jubilees, Book of

(Encyclopedia)Jubilees, Book of: see Pseudepigrapha. ...

Judas of Galilee

(Encyclopedia)Judas of Galilee, fl. a.d. 6, a leader of the Zealots, a radical revolutionary Jewish sect. He raised an insurrection against the taxation census of Cyrenius (a.d. 6) on the grounds that no one but Go...

Juliana of Norwich

(Encyclopedia)Juliana of Norwich nôrˈĭch [key], d. c.1443, English religious writer, an anchoress, or hermit, of Norwich called Mother (or Dame) Juliana or Julian. Her work, completed c.1393, Revelations of Divi...

Justus of Ghent

(Encyclopedia)Justus of Ghent, fl. c.1460–c.1480, Flemish religious and portrait painter, now generally identified with Joos van Wassenhove; also known as Jodocus or Joos of Ghent. His simple, quiet style provide...

Justus of Tiberia

(Encyclopedia)Justus of Tiberia, fl. 1st cent. a.d., Jewish historian. Friendly to Rome, he opposed the Jewish war against the Romans and fled to Beirut where he became the private secretary of Agrippa II. He is ma...

Jutland, battle of

(Encyclopedia)Jutland, battle of, only major engagement between the British and German fleets in World War I. They met c.60 mi (100 km) west of the coast of Jutland. On May 31, 1916, a British squadron under Admira...

Aragón, house of

(Encyclopedia)Aragón, house of, family that ruled in Aragón, Catalonia, Majorca, Sicily, Naples, Sardinia, Athens, and other territories in the Middle Ages. It was descended from Ramiro I of Aragón (1035–63), ...

Japan, Sea of

(Encyclopedia)Japan, Sea of, or East Sea, enclosed arm of the Pacific Ocean, c.405,000 sq mi (1,048,950 sq km), located between Japan and the Asian mainland, connecting with the East China Sea, the Pacific Ocean, a...

Jashar, Book of

(Encyclopedia)Jashar or Jasher, Book of both: jăshˈər [key], lost Hebrew work, apparently a collection of songs celebrating national events. Fragments appear in the books of Joshua and Second Samuel. ...