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Peregrinus, Petrus

(Encyclopedia)Peregrinus, Petrus (Peter the Pilgrim) pēˈtrəs pĕrəgrĭnˈəs [key], c.1220–?, medieval scholar and soldier. The tutor of Roger Bacon, he wrote the first important study of magnetism, Epistola ...

Cennini, Cennino

(Encyclopedia)Cennini, Cennino chān-nēˈnō chān-nēˈnē [key], c.1370–1440, Florentine painter, follower of Agnolo Gaddi. None of his paintings is extant. He is most famous for having written the Libro dell'...

commercial revolution

(Encyclopedia)commercial revolution, in European history, a fundamental change in the quantity and scope of commerce. In the later Middle Ages steady economic expansion had seen the rise of towns and the advent of ...

Auxerre

(Encyclopedia)Auxerre ōsĕrˈ [key], town, capital of Yonne dept., N central France, in Burgundy, on the Yonne River. A commercial and industrial center, it has a great variety of manu...

Avebury

(Encyclopedia)Avebury āˈbərē [key], village, Wiltshire, S central England. The village, with a medieval church and Elizabethan manor house, lies within Avebury Circle, a Neolithic circular group of upright ston...

León, city, Spain

(Encyclopedia)León, city (1990 pop. 137,758), capital of León prov., NW Spain, in Castile and León, at the foot of the Cantabrian Mts. and at the confluence of the Bernesga and Torio rivers. It is an agricultura...

liming

(Encyclopedia)liming līmˈĭng [key], application to the soil of calcium in various forms, generally as ground limestone, but also as marl, chalk, shells, or hydrated lime. Lime benefits soil by neutralizing acidi...

Luchaire, Achille

(Encyclopedia)Luchaire, Achille äshēlˈ lüshĕrˈ [key], 1846–1908, French historian. He edited, in collaboration with Berthold Zeller, L'Histoire de France racontée par les contemporains (65 vol., 1880–90)...

May Day

(Encyclopedia)May Day, first day of May. Its celebration probably originated in the spring fertility festivals of India and Egypt. The festival of the Roman goddess of spring, Flora, was celebrated from Apr. 28 to ...

minnesinger

(Encyclopedia)minnesinger mĭnˈĭsĭngˌər [key], a medieval German knight, poet, and singer of Minne, or courtly love. Originally imitators of Provençal troubadours, minnesingers developed their own style in th...