Italian religious poet, author of more than 100 mystical poems of great power and originality, and probable author of the Latin poem Stabat mater dolorosa.
in weaving, device incorporated in special looms to control individual warp yarns. It enabled looms to produce fabrics having intricate woven patterns such as tapestry, brocade, and damask, and it has also been adapted to the production of patterned knitted ...
French inventor of the Jacquard loom (see ), which served as the impetus for the technological revolution of the textile industry and is the basis of the modern automatic loom.
insurrection of peasants against the nobility in northeastern France in 1358-so named from the nobles' habit of referring contemptuously to any peasant as Jacques, or Jacques Bonhomme.
mountain on the north side of the Gaspe Peninsula in Gaspesian Provincial Park, eastern Quebec province, Canada. The highest peak in the well-forested Monts Chic-Choc (Shickshock Mountains), an extension of the Appalachians, is Mount Jacques Cartier, which has an elevation ...
river, Rio Grande do Sul estado ("state"), southern Brazil. It rises in the hills east of Passo Fundo and flows southward and eastward for 280 miles (450 km), receiving the Taquari, Cai, Sinos, and Gravatai rivers near its mouth. There, ...
either of two tough, compact, typically green gemstones that take a high polish. Both minerals have been carved into jewelry, ornaments, small sculptures, and utilitarian objects from earliest recorded times. The more highly prized of the two jadestones is jadeite ...
bay, Lower Saxony Land (state), northwestern Germany. It is a broad inlet of the North Sea that covers an area of 73 square miles (190 square km). Formed for the most part by storm floods that occurred in 1219 and ...
gem-quality silicate mineral in the pyroxene family that is one of the two forms of jade (q.v.). The more prized of the two types of jade, jadeite (imperial jade) is usually found as transparent-to-opaque, compact, cryptocrystalline lenses, veins, or nodules. ...
Atlantic port city, north-central Morocco. The settlement developed after 1502 around a Portuguese fort and, as Mazagan, became the centre of Portuguese settlement and their last stronghold (1769) against the Filali (Alaouite) sultans. As an infidel city it was deemed ...
queen of Poland (1384-99) whose marriage to Jogaila, grand duke of Lithuania (Wladyslaw II Jagiello of Poland), founded the centuries-long union of Lithuania and Poland.
(German and Dutch: "hunter"), any of three species of seabirds belonging to the genus Stercorarius of the family Stercorariidae. They are rapacious birds resembling a dark gull with a forward-set black cap and projecting central tail feathers. Jaegers are called ...
novelist, ultranaturalist, and leader of the Norwegian "Boheme," a group of urban artists and writers in revolt against conventional morality. His role in Norwegian literature stems in part from the police suppression of his first novel.
provincia, in the comunidad autonoma ("autonomous community") of Andalusia, south-central Spain. It is surrounded by the Sierra Morena (north), the Segura and Cazorla ranges (east), and Parapanda, Lucena, and Segura mountains (south). The western part of the province is composed ...
city, capital of Jaen provincia, in the comunidad autonoma ("autonomous community") of Andalusia, southern Spain. It lies on the northern side of the Sierra Jabaleuz and north of Granada. Known to the Romans as Aurinx, the city was the centre ...
lowland plain area, Rogaland fylke (county), southwestern Norway. Extending approximately 25 miles (40 km) northward from Eigersund and 10 to 15 miles (16 to 24 km) inland from the North Sea, the plain is bounded on the southeast by the ...
American speed skater who won two Olympic gold medals (1932). His first Winter Games title (1928) was unofficial, though many recognize him as the winner.
historical monarchy in northern Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka), populated by Tamil-speaking people of South Indian origin. Well established by the 14th century, it survived as an independent entity until its subjugation by the Portuguese in the 17th century.
port, northern Sri Lanka. It is situated on a flat, dry peninsula at the island's northern tip. The trading centre for the agricultural produce of the peninsula and nearby islands, it is linked with the rest of the country by ...
politician and union activist who in 1953 became the first popularly elected prime minister of British Guiana (now Guyana). He headed the country's government again from 1957 to 1964 and from 1992 to 1997.
(Sanskrit: "Lord of the World"), form under which the Hindu god Krishna is worshiped at Puri, Orissa, one of the most famous religious centres of India, and at Ballabhpur, a suburb of Shrirampur, West Bengal. The 12th-century temple of Jagannatha ...
city, Madhya Pradesh state, central India, just south of the Indravati River. Surrounded by dense forests, it is connected by road with Raipur and Kanker and is heavily engaged in agricultural trade. Sometimes called Bastar, it served as the capital ...
town, southwestern Free State province, South Africa, southwest of Bloemfontein. The town is historically known as a diamond-mining centre. A 50-carat diamond found on a farm in the area in 1870 led to the establishment of the town in 1882 ...
oasis, northeastern Libya, near the Egyptian border. Located at the northern edge of the Libyan Desert on ancient pilgrim and caravan routes, it was the centre for the Sanusi religious order (1856-95) because of its isolation from Turkish and European ...
family of monarchs of Poland-Lithuania, Bohemia, and Hungary that became one of the most powerful in east central Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. The dynasty was founded by Jogaila, the grand duke of Lithuania, who married Queen Jadwiga ...
(Persian jagir: "holding land"; and dar: "official"), form of land tenancy developed in India during the time of Muslim rule (beginning in the early 13th century) in which the collection of the revenues of an estate and the power of ...
largest New World member of the cat family (Felidae), once found from the U.S.-Mexican border southward to Patagonia, Argentina. Its preferred habitats are usually swamps and wooded regions, but jaguars also live in scrublands and deserts. The jaguar is virtually ...
river, Ceara estado ("state"), northeastern Brazil. It is formed by the junction of the Carapateiro and Trici rivers (originating in the Serra Grande) and flows northeastward for approximately 350 miles (560 km) to enter the Atlantic Ocean east of Maceio ...
(Felis yagouaroundi), small, unspotted New World cat (family Felidae), also known as the otter-cat because of its otterlike appearance and swimming ability. The jaguarundi is native to forested and brushy regions, especially those near water, from South America to the ...
a subbranch of the Aslian branch of the Mon-Khmer family, itself a part of the Austroasiatic stock. The group includes Bateg, Che' Wong, Jahai, Kensiw, Kenta', and Menriq.
Islamic hell, described somewhat ambiguously in the Qur'an and by Muhammad. In one version, hell seems to be a fantastic monster that God can summon at will; in another description, it is a crater of concentric circles on the underside ...
in Islam, the period preceding the revelation of the Qur'an to the Prophet Muhammad. In Arabic the word means "ignorance," or "barbarism," and indicates a negative Muslim evaluation of pre-Islamic life and culture in Arabia as compared to the teachings ...
the German "father of gymnastics" who founded the turnverein (gymnastics club) movement in Germany. He was a fervent patriot who believed that physical education was the cornerstone of national health and strength and important in strengthening character and national identity.
town and muhafazah (governorate) in central Kuwait. Located about 30 mi (50 km) west of Kuwait city, the oasis town is the capital of the muhafazah. It is the centre of the country's principal agricultural region, producing primarily fruits and ...
Muslim Arab dynasty that ruled Cordoba, Spain, after the dissolution of the Umayyad caliphate of Cordoba (1031), one of the party kingdoms (ta'ifahs). Years of civil war following the breakdown of central caliphal authority in 1008 prompted ...
ball game of Basque origin played in a three-walled court with a hard rubber ball that is caught and thrown with a cesta, a long, curved wicker scoop strapped to one arm. Called pelota vasca in Spain, the Western Hemisphere ...
in Jainism, a religion of India, any of the vows (vratas) that govern the activities of both monks and laymen. The mahavratas, or five "great vows," are undertaken for life only by ascetics and ...
the sacred texts of Jainism, a religion of India, whose authenticity is disputed between sects. The Svetambara canon consists principally of 45 works divided as follows: (1) 11 Angas, the main texts-a 12th has been lost for at least 14 ...
a religion of India that teaches a path to spiritual purity and enlightenment through a disciplined mode of life founded upon the tradition of ahimsa, nonviolence to all living creatures. Beginning in the 7th-5th ...
in Indian history, a state in Assam, in northeastern India, stretching from what is now the northern frontier between Bangladesh and India over the Jaintia Hills to the Kalong River in the Assam plain. The people were of Khasi origin.
physical region, eastern Meghalaya state, northeastern India. The sparsely populated mountainous region (part of the Meghalaya plateau) has an average elevation of more than 3,000 feet (900 m). It receives generally heavy rainfall and is densely forested. Fine woods are ...
city, capital of Rajasthan state, northwestern India. A walled town surrounded (except to the south) by hills, Jaipur was founded in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh to replace Amber as the capital of the princely state of Jaipur (founded ...
city, western Rajasthan state, northwestern India. Connected by road with Jodhpur, Barmer, and Phalodi, the city is a major caravan centre, trading in wool, hides, salt, fuller's earth, camels, and sheep. Jaisalmer, noted for its buildings of yellowish-brown stone, was ...
(June 12, 1707), decisive engagement over succession to the Mughal throne of India, following the death of the emperor Aurangzeb, and fought at Jajau, a few miles south of Agra on the Yamuna River. The crown passed to Aurangzeb's eldest ...
