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Weissenburg in Bayern

(Encyclopedia)Weissenburg in Bayern vīˈsənbo͝ork ĭn bīˈyərn [key] or Weissenburg, town, Bavaria, S Germany. It is a manufacturing center of Middle Franconia; products include gold and silver lace, processed...

Wells

(Encyclopedia)Wells, town (1991 pop. 9,252), Somerset, SW England. Primarily a cathedral town, it has changed little since medieval times, although shopping and tourism have become important. The first church was e...

Benoît de Sainte-More

(Encyclopedia)Benoît de Sainte-More or Benoît de Sainte-Maure bĕnwäˈ də săNt–môrˈ [key], 1154–73, French trouvère. He was the author of the Roman de Troie, a romance in 30,000 verses. It became a prim...

guilds

(Encyclopedia)guilds or gilds, economic and social associations of persons engaging in the same business or craft, typical of Western Europe in the Middle Ages. Membership was by profession or craft, and the primar...

Murom

(Encyclopedia)Murom mo͞oˈrəm [key], city (1989 pop. 124,000), W central European Russia, on the Oka River. It is a port and a rail junction, with railroad repair shops and machinery, woodworking, and textile ind...

Kotor

(Encyclopedia)Kotor kôˈtôr [key], Ital. Cattaro, city (2011 pop. 22,601), SE Montenegro, on the Bay of Kotor, an inlet of the Adriatic. It is a seaport and a tourist center. The town was colonized by Greeks (3d ...

Barham, Richard Harris

(Encyclopedia)Barham, Richard Harris ĭngˈgəlzbē [key], 1788–1845, English humorist, grad. Oxford. Ordained a minister in 1813, he became a minor canon of the Chapel Royal in 1824. In 1837 he began in Bentley'...

Taylor, Francis Henry

(Encyclopedia)Taylor, Francis Henry, 1903–57, American museum director, b. Philadelphia, studied throughout Europe. He began his museum career as assistant curator (1927–28) and then curator of medieval art (19...

Tlemcen

(Encyclopedia)Tlemcen tlĕmsĕnˈ [key], city (1998 pop. 155,162), NW Algeria, capital of Tlemcen prov. Its location on a crossroads between the Mediterranean coast and the Sahara and between Algeria and Morocco ha...

compurgation

(Encyclopedia)compurgation kŏmˌpərgāˈshən [key], in medieval law, a complete defense. A defendant could establish his innocence or nonliability by taking an oath and by getting a required number of persons to...