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countertenor

(Encyclopedia)countertenor, a male singing voice in the alto range. Singing in this range requires either a special vocal technique called falsetto, or a high extension of the tenor range. Countertenors were requir...

Coornhert, Dirck Volckertszoon

(Encyclopedia)Coornhert, Dirck Volckertszoon dûrk vôlˈkərtzōn kôrnˈhârt [key], 1522–90, Dutch humanist. His translation (1561) of the first 12 books of the Odyssey is considered the first major poetic wor...

Carloman, 751–71, son of Pepin the Short and brother of Charlemagne

(Encyclopedia)Carloman, 751–71, son of Pepin the Short. He and his brother, Charlemagne, shared the succession to their father's kingdom; Carloman ruled the southern portion. Attempts to end rivalry between the b...

Deirdre

(Encyclopedia)Deirdre dârˈdrə, dērˈ– [key], beautiful heroine of Irish legend. A druid prophesied at her birth that she would bring great misfortunes. Deirdre, chosen to be the wife of Conchobar, king of Uls...

Torres Naharro, Bartolomé de

(Encyclopedia)Torres Naharro, Bartolomé de bärtōlōmāˈ ᵺā tôˈrās nä-äˈrō [key], fl. 1531, Spanish dramatist and lyric poet, b. Extremadura. As a young man he went to Italy and became a priest. Greatl...

Offenbach am Main

(Encyclopedia)Offenbach am Main ôfˈənbäkh äm mīn [key] or Offenbach, city (1994 pop. 116,870), Hesse, S central Germany, on the Main River. It is an industrial center long famous for the manufacture of leathe...

Verdaguer, Jacinto

(Encyclopedia)Verdaguer, Jacinto zhäsēnˈtō vārdəgārˈ [key], 1845–1902, Catalan poet, considered the national poet of Catalonia and the most beloved poet of the Catalan Renaissance of the 19th cent. Religi...

Flötner, Peter

(Encyclopedia)Flötner or Flettner, Peter pāˈtər flötˈnər, flĕtˈnər [key], c.1485–1546, German medalist and artisan, possibly Swiss by birth. He was active in decorative sculpture, wood carving, and othe...

Kensington and Chelsea

(Encyclopedia)Kensington and Chelsea, inner borough (1991 pop. 127,600) of Greater London, SE England. Kensington is largely residential with fashionable shopping streets and several luxurious hotels. Portobello Ro...

Elizabethan style

(Encyclopedia)Elizabethan style ĭlĭzˌəbēˈthən [key], in architecture and the decorative arts, a transitional style of the English Renaissance, which took its name from Queen Elizabeth's reign (1558–1603). ...