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Reynard the Fox

(Encyclopedia)Reynard the Fox rĕˈnərd, rāˈnärd [key], the supreme trickster and celebrated hero of the medieval beast epics, works predominantly in verse which became increasingly popular after c.1150. They a...

Beowulf

(Encyclopedia)Beowulf bāˈəwo͝olf [key], oldest English epic, probably composed in the early 8th cent. by an Anglian bard in the vicinity of Northumbria. It survives in only one manuscript, written c.a.d. 1000 b...

Glanvill, Ranulf de

(Encyclopedia)Glanvill, Ranulf de glănˈvĭl [key], d. 1190, English jurist. He served Henry II in many offices, finally as chief justiciar after 1180. He commissioned one of the great works of English law, the T...

Appenzell

(Encyclopedia)Appenzell äˈpəntsĕl [key], canton, NE Switzerland. A rural and sparsely populated region, it is mainly a meadowland dotted with small farms. Appenzell retains many anc...

Carteret, Philip

(Encyclopedia)Carteret, Philip, 1639–82, first colonial governor of New Jersey. Carteret, commissioned by the proprietor, Sir George Carteret, his fourth cousin, arrived in the province in 1665. He soon faced dis...

Stuck, Hudson

(Encyclopedia)Stuck, Hudson, 1863–1920, American missionary and explorer, b. London, England. He emigrated to the United States in 1885, graduated from the Univ. of the South (1892), and was dean (1894–1904) of...

Symmachus, Quintus Aurelius

(Encyclopedia)Symmachus, Quintus Aurelius sĭmˈəkəs [key], c.345–c.405, Roman government official and orator. Educated in Gaul, he held several official positions, including the consulship in 391. He is best k...

Caballero, Fernán

(Encyclopedia)Caballero, Fernán thāthēˈlyä böl dā fäbārˈ [key], 1796–1877, Spanish novelist and folklorist. Born in Switzerland, she spent most of her adult life in Andalusia, where her novels are set. ...

Benelux Economic Union

(Encyclopedia)Benelux Economic Union bĕnˈəlŭksˌ [key], economic treaty among Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. It arose out of a customs convention signed in 1944, but was not fully established until 1...

Lamb, John

(Encyclopedia)Lamb, John, 1735–1800, American Revolutionary leader, b. New York City. Prior to the Revolution he was a leader of the Sons of Liberty in New York and helped form the New York committee of correspon...