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undine

(Encyclopedia)undine əndēnˈ, ŭnˈdēn [key], in folklore, female water sprite who could acquire a soul by marrying a human being. If, however, her lover proved unfaithful, she had to return to the sea. The lege...

Bollandists

(Encyclopedia)Bollandists bŏlˈəndĭsts [key], group of Jesuits in Belgium, named for their early leader, Jean Bolland, a Flemish Jesuit of the 17th cent. They were charged by the Holy See with compiling an autho...

Louis XVII, titular king of France

(Encyclopedia)Louis XVII (Louis Charles), 1785–1795?, titular king of France (1793–95), known in popular legend as the “lost dauphin.” The second son of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette, he became ...

Auenbrugger, Leopold

(Encyclopedia)Auenbrugger, Leopold lāˈōpôlt ouˈənbro͝ogər [key], 1722–1809, Viennese physician. His findings on the use of percussion in diagnosing chest diseases were published in 1761 (tr. On Percussion...

Herrings, Battle of the

(Encyclopedia)Herrings, Battle of the, 1429, episode in the siege of Orléans by the English in the Hundred Years War. The French, under Jean, comte de Dunois, attacked a supply train commanded by Sir John Fastolf....

Guadet, Marguerite Élie

(Encyclopedia)Guadet, Marguerite Élie märgərētˈ ālēˈ güädāˈ [key], 1758–94, French revolutionary. A leader of the Girondists, he was outlawed (1793) for his attacks on Maximilien Robespierre and Jean ...

Roncesvalles

(Encyclopedia)Roncesvalles rōnˌthāsväˈlyās [key], Fr. Roncevaux, mountain pass (alt. 3,468 ft/1,057 m), in the Pyrenees, between Pamplona (Spain) and Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (France). Tradition has made it th...

La Baie

(Encyclopedia)La Baie lə bī [key], city (1991 pop. 20,995), S Que., Canada, on Ha! Ha! Bay, an arm of the Saguenay River. Formed by the amalgamation of Bagotville, Port Alfred, and the parishes of Grande-Baie and...

megalopolis

(Encyclopedia)megalopolis mĕgəlŏpˈlĭs [key] [Gr.,=great city], a group of densely populated metropolitan areas that combine to form an urban complex. It was first used in its modern sense by Jean Gottman (1957...

Muffat, Georg

(Encyclopedia)Muffat, Georg gāˈôrk mo͝ofˈät [key], 1645–1704, German organist and composer. Muffat studied in Italy with Arcangelo Corelli and Bernardo Pasquini. He also spent six years in Paris studying Je...