Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Bari bäˈrē [key], city, capital of Bari prov. and of Apulia, S Italy, on the Adriatic Sea....

(Encyclopedia) sausage, food consisting of finely chopped meat mixed with seasonings and, often, other ingredients, all encased in a thin membrane. Although sausages were made by the ancient Greeks and Romans, they ...

(Encyclopedia) Tafilalt –lĕt [key], oasis in the Sahara, SE Morocco, c.530 sq mi (1,370 sq km). It has date groves and small trading settlements. After c.760 it was an independent kingdom for nearly two centuries...

(Encyclopedia) ergot ûrˈgət [key], disease of rye and other cereals caused by the fungus Claviceps purpurea. The cottony, matlike body, or mycelium, of the fungus develops in the ovaries of the host plant; it eve...

(Encyclopedia) farce, light, comic theatrical piece in which the characters and events are greatly exaggerated to produce broad, absurd humor. Early examples of farce can be found in the comedies of Aristophanes, Pl...

(Encyclopedia) shoe, foot covering, usually of leather, consisting of a sole and a portion above the sole called an upper. In prehistoric times skins or hides may have been tied around the foot for protection and wa...

(Encyclopedia) tower, structure, the greatest dimension of which is its height. Towers have belonged to two general types. The first embodies practical uses such as defense (characteristic of the Middle Ages), to ca...

(Encyclopedia) Talmud tălˈməd [key] [Aramaic from Heb.,=learning], in Judaism, vast compilation of the Oral Law with rabbinical elucidations, elaborations, and commentaries, in contradistinction to the Scriptures...

(Encyclopedia) Guelphs and Ghibellines gwĕlfs, gĭbˈəlēnz, –lĭnz [key], opposing political factions in Germany and in Italy during the later Middle Ages. The names were used to designate the papal (Guelph) pa...

(Encyclopedia) typography tīpŏgˈrəfē [key], the art of printing from movable type. The term typographer is today virtually synonymous with a master printer skilled in the techniques of type and paper stock sele...