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Balzac, Honoré de
(Encyclopedia)Balzac, Honoré de bălˈzăk, bôl–, Fr. ōnôrāˈ də bälzäkˈ [key], 1799–1850, French novelist, b. Tours. Balzac ranks among the great masters of the novel. Of a bourgeois family, he himsel...Job
(Encyclopedia)Job jōb [key], book of the Bible. The book is of unknown authorship and date, although many scholars assign it to a time between 600 b.c. and 400 b.c. A lament in narrative form, the subject is the p...industrial union
(Encyclopedia)industrial union, labor union composed of all the workers in a given industry, regardless of skill, craft, or occupation (as opposed to the craft union, in which all members are of one skill, such as ...Mather, Cotton
(Encyclopedia)Mather, Cotton măᵺˈər [key], 1663–1728, American Puritan clergyman and writer, b. Boston, grad. Harvard (B.A., 1678; M.A., 1681); son of Increase Mather and grandson of Richard Mather and of Jo...cremation
(Encyclopedia)cremation, disposal of a corpse by fire. It is an ancient and widespread practice, second only to burial. It has been found among the tribes of the Pacific Northwest, among Northern Athapascan bands i...Crane, Stephen
(Encyclopedia)Crane, Stephen, 1871–1900, American novelist, poet, and short-story writer, b. Newark, N.J. Often designated the first modern American writer, Crane is ranked among the authors who introduced realis...Da Ponte, Lorenzo
(Encyclopedia)Da Ponte, Lorenzo lōrĕntˈsō dä pônˈtā [key], 1749–1838, Italian librettist and teacher, b. Ceneda as Emmanuele Conegliano. Born Jewish, he converted to Catholicism at 14, became (1773) a pri...church music
(Encyclopedia)church music. 1 Music intended for performance as part of services of worship. With few exceptions, music is essential to the ritual of every religion; the singing of prayers and portions of Scripture...villein
(Encyclopedia)villein vĭlˈən [key] [O.Fr.,=village dweller], peasant under the manorial system of medieval Western Europe. The term applies especially to serfs in England, where by the 13th cent. the entire unfr...stringed instrument
(Encyclopedia) CE5 stringed instrument, any musical instrument whose tone is produced by vibrating strings. Those whose strings are plucked with the finger or a plectrum include the balalaika, banjo, guitar, harp...Browse by Subject
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