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Petrarch

(Encyclopedia)Petrarch fränchĕsˈkō pāträrˈkä [key], 1304–74, Italian poet and humanist, one of the great figures of Italian literature. He spent his youth in Tuscany and Avignon and at Bologna. He returne...

morality play

(Encyclopedia)morality play, form of medieval drama that developed in the late 14th cent. and flourished through the 16th cent. The characters in the morality were personifications of good and evil usually involved...

Lateran Council, First

(Encyclopedia)Lateran Council, First, 1123, 9th ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, summoned by Pope Calixtus II to signal the end of the investiture controversy by confirming the Concordat of Worms (1...

Rydberg, Abraham Viktor

(Encyclopedia)Rydberg, Abraham Viktor äˈbrähäm vĭkˈtôr rüdˈbĕryə [key], 1828–95, Swedish philosopher and writer. Singoalla (1857), a romantic and mystical story of medieval times, was his first major w...

Saint-Omer

(Encyclopedia)Saint-Omer săNtômĕrˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 15,304), Pas-de-Calais dept., N France, in Flanders, on the Aa River. The chief manufactures are metals, textiles, paper, and beer. The city grew around...

Saint Valentine's Day

(Encyclopedia)Saint Valentine's Day, Western European Christian holiday, originally the Roman feast of Lupercalia. It was christianized in memory of the martyrdom of St. Valentine in a.d. 270, who, in medieval time...

San Gimignano

(Encyclopedia)San Gimignano sän jēmēnyäˈnō [key], town (1991 pop. 6,956), Tuscany, central Italy. It is a tourist center that has fully preserved its medieval aspect. The city walls, the palaces, and the cele...

Sanlúcar de Barrameda

(Encyclopedia)Sanlúcar de Barrameda sänlo͞oˈkär dā bärämāˈᵺä [key], city (1990 pop. 56,375), Cádiz prov., S Spain, at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River, in Andalusia. It is a port shipping sherry fr...

Ravensburg

(Encyclopedia)Ravensburg räˈvənsbo͝orkh [key], city (1994 pop. 47,099), Baden-Württemberg, S Germany. Its manufactures include machinery, paper, textiles, and wood products. Ravensburg was founded in the late ...

Rivne

(Encyclopedia)Rivne rĭvˈnə [key], Pol. Równe, Rus. Rovno, city (1990 est. pop. 229,000), capital of Rivne region, W Ukraine, on the Ustya River. It is a rapidly growing road and rail junction and an industrial ...