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Jeffreys of Wem, George Jeffreys, 1st Baron

(Encyclopedia)Jeffreys of Wem, George Jeffreys, 1st Baron, 1645?–1689, English judge under Charles II and James II. A notoriously cruel judge, he presided over many of the trials connected with the Popish Plot (s...

morris dance

(Encyclopedia)morris dance or morrice dance, rustic dance of the north of England that had its origin in country festivals, such as those of May Day and Whitsunday. Reference to it in English literature is made as ...

Halifax, George Savile, 1st marquess of

(Encyclopedia)Halifax, George Savile, 1st marquess of, 1633–95, English statesman. A protégé of the 2d duke of Buckingham, he was made Viscount Halifax (1668) and sat (1672–76) in the privy council. An oppone...

aesthetics

(Encyclopedia)aesthetics ĕsthĕtˈĭks [key], the branch of philosophy that is concerned with the nature of art and the criteria of artistic judgment. The classical conception of art as the imitation of nature was...

cornflower

(Encyclopedia)cornflower, common herb (Centaurea cyanus) of the family Asteraceae (aster family). It is a garden flower in the United States but a weed in the grainfields of Europe. It is called bluebottle or bluet...

Adam de la Halle

(Encyclopedia)Adam de la Halle lə bōsüˈ [key], c.1240–1287, French dramatist and poet-musician, one of the great trouvères. Many of his songs and polyphonic motets are preserved, as is the pastoral comedy wi...

Glyndebourne Festival

(Encyclopedia)Glyndebourne Festival glīnˈdəbərn, glīnˈbôrn [key], opera festival given each summer since 1934 on the estate of John Christie at Glyndebourne, near Lewes, Sussex, England. The festival is know...

fleabane

(Encyclopedia)fleabane, any plant of the genus Erigeron, widely distributed herbs of the family Asteraceae (aster family), especially abundant in temperate and mountainous regions of North America. The flowers, ran...

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