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Menéndez Pidal, Ramón

(Encyclopedia)Menéndez Pidal, Ramón rämōnˈ mānānˈdĕth pēᵺälˈ [key], 1869–1968, Spanish scholar and philologist. Menéndez Pidal was a noted authority on Spanish epic literature and the Spanish langu...

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'...

Chichester

(Encyclopedia)Chichester chĭˈchĭstər [key], city and district, West Sussex, S England. Chichester is an ...

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...

golem

(Encyclopedia)golem gōˈləm [key] [Heb.,=an undeveloped lump], in medieval Jewish legend, an automatonlike servant made of clay and given life by means of a charm, or shem [Heb.,=name, or the name of God]. Golems...

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 ...

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 ...

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...

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