• Madrid, Battle of (Napoleonic Wars [1808])

    Dos de Mayo Uprising, also called the Battle of Madridan engagement of the Peninsular War that occurred on May 2, 1808. The French commanders in Spain were highly experienced and successful soldiers, but they completely misjudged the inflammatory nature of Spanish political, religious, and social

  • Madrid, Carlos María de los Dolores de Borbón y Austria-Este, Duke de (Spanish noble)

    Carlos María de los Dolores de Borbón y Austria-este, duke de Madrid was the fourth Carlist, or Bourbon traditionalist, pretender to the Spanish throne (as Charles VII). His military incompetence and lack of leadership led to the final decline of the Carlist cause. Don Carlos was the great-grandson

  • Madrid, Club of (organization)

    Kim Campbell: …served as secretary-general for the Club of Madrid, a group she helped found, which includes former heads of government and attempts to enhance democracy throughout the world. She was active in various nongovernmental organizations, including the International Crisis Group and the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political…

  • Madrid, Comunidad de (autonomous area and province, Spain)

    Madrid, comunidad autónoma (autonomous community) of central Spain, coextensive with the provincia (province) of the same name. It is bounded by the autonomous communities of Castile-León to the north and west and Castile–La Mancha to the east and south. The autonomous community of Madrid was

  • Madrid, Miguel de la (president of Mexico)

    Miguel de la Madrid was the president of Mexico from 1982 to 1988. Miguel de la Madrid received a degree in law from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in Mexico City in 1957 and a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University in 1965. He worked for the National

  • Madrid, Parque de (park, Madrid, Spain)

    Retiro Park, the main park of Madrid, Spain. Originally called the Parque del Buen Retiro, or “Pleasant Retreat Park,” it now covers approximately 350 acres (142 hectares). It was planned in the 1550s and redesigned on the instructions of Gaspar de Guzmán, conde-duque de Olivares (chief minister to

  • Madrid, Treaties of (European history)

    John III: By the Treaty of Madrid (1529), Portugal secured the Moluccas, or Spice Islands (now part of Indonesia), while recognizing Spain’s claim to the Philippines; this complemented the Treaty of Tordesillas, which divided sovereignty over the New World between the peninsular powers. In 1533 John promoted Portuguese settlement…

  • Madrid, Treaty of (European history [1526])

    Treaty of Madrid, (Jan. 14, 1526), treaty between the Habsburg emperor Charles V (Charles I of Spain) and his prisoner Francis I, king of France, who had been captured during the Battle of Pavia in February 1525 and held prisoner until the conclusion of the treaty. In the treaty, which was never

  • Madrid, Universidad Complutense de (university, Madrid, Spain)

    Complutense University of Madrid, institution of higher learning founded in 1508 in Alcalá de Henares, Spain. Complutense means “native to Complutum,” the ancient Roman settlement at the site of Alcalá de Henares. The university moved in 1836 to Madrid, where it became known as Central University.

  • Madrid, University of (university, Madrid, Spain)

    Complutense University of Madrid, institution of higher learning founded in 1508 in Alcalá de Henares, Spain. Complutense means “native to Complutum,” the ancient Roman settlement at the site of Alcalá de Henares. The university moved in 1836 to Madrid, where it became known as Central University.

  • madrigal (vocal music)

    madrigal, form of vocal chamber music that originated in northern Italy during the 14th century, declined and all but disappeared in the 15th, flourished anew in the 16th, and ultimately achieved international status in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The origin of the term madrigal is

  • madrigal comedy (musical genre)

    madrigal comedy, Italian musical genre of the late 16th century, a cycle of vocal pieces in the style of the madrigal and lighter Italian secular forms that are connected by a vague plot or common theme. Madrigal comedies were sung in concerts and social gatherings, not staged; in his L’Amfiparnaso

  • Madrigali (work by Hassler)

    Hans Leo Hassler: His Madrigali (1596), though avoiding the harmonic experiments of such 16th-century madrigalists as Luca Marenzio, are considered to be among the finest of their time. His instrumental compositions and his church music—Protestant and Roman Catholic—were widely imitated. His German songs owe much to the homophonic dance…

  • Madrigali guerrieri et amorosi (work by Monteverdi)

    Claudio Monteverdi: Three decades in Venice: …Monteverdi’s theories, as its title, Madrigals of War and Love, denotes.

  • Madrigals and Motetts of 5 Parts (work by Gibbons)

    Orlando Gibbons: His Madrigals and Motetts of 5 Parts was published in 1612. This collection contains deeply felt and very personal settings of texts that are, for the most part, of a moral or philosophical nature. It shows Gibbons’s mastery of the polyphonic idiom of his day and…

  • Madrigals of War and Love (work by Monteverdi)

    Claudio Monteverdi: Three decades in Venice: …Monteverdi’s theories, as its title, Madrigals of War and Love, denotes.

  • Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley (valley, Andorra)

    Andorra: Geography: …the Perafita, flow into the Madriu-Perafita-Claror valley, which occupies about one-tenth of Andorra’s land area and is characterized by glacial landscapes, steep valleys, and open pastures. The valley was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2004.

  • madrona (plant)

    arbutus: Major species: Variously known as madrona, Pacific madrona, laurelwood, and Oregon laurel, A. menziesii occurs in western North America from British Columbia to California. It grows about 23 meters (75 feet) tall. The dark oblong glossy leaves are 5–15 cm (2–6 inches) long and are coloured grayish green beneath. The…

  • madrone (tree genus)

    arbutus, (genus Arbutus), genus of about 11 species of broad-leaved evergreen shrubs or trees of the heath family (Ericaceae). The plants are native to southern Europe and western North America, and several species are cultivated as ornamentals. Arbutus species are characterized by white or pink

  • Madsen v. Women’s Health Center, Inc. (law case)

    Antonin Scalia: Judicial style of Antonin Scalia: In a dissenting opinion in Madsen v. Women’s Health Center (1994), in which the court ruled (6–3) that “buffer zones” around abortion clinics did not violate the free-speech rights of abortion opponents, he asserted that the court’s ruling “departs so far from the established course of our jurisprudence that in…

  • Madsen, Virginia (American actress)

    Black horror: Notable Black horror films: …a graduate student (played by Virginia Madsen) investigating what she thinks is an urban legend about a hook-handed man; as she learns, Candyman really does appear before, and slaughter, anyone who says his name five times while looking into a mirror. The film addresses economic and housing inequality and lynching,…

  • madtom (catfish)

    madtom, any of several North American catfishes of the genus Noturus, of the family Ictaluridae. They are sometimes classified in two genera, Noturus and Schilbeodes. Generally about 5–7.5 cm (2–3 inches) long, madtoms are the smallest ictalurids and are characterized by a long adipose fin that in

  • MADtv (American television series)

    Jordan Peele: …the sketch comedy TV show MADtv. Peele, a master of impersonation, remained on the show through 2008. He later reunited with his MADtv castmate to create and star in the Comedy Central series Key and Peele (2012–15). The show won a large and ardent following. It earned a Peabody Award…

  • Madur og kona (work by Thoroddsen)

    Icelandic literature: The 19th century: …and Lass) and the incomplete Maður og kona (1876; “Man and Woman”), distinguished in prose style, narrative skill, wit, and perceptive observation of peasant and small-town life.

  • Madura (India)

    Madurai, city, south-central Tamil Nadu state, southern India. It is located on the Vaigai River, about 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Dindigul. Madurai is the third most populous, and probably the oldest, city in the state. The ancient history of the region is associated with the Pandya kings, and

  • Madura (island, Indonesia)

    Madura, island, Jawa Timur provinsi (province), Indonesia, off the northeastern coast of Java and separated from the city of Surabaya by a narrow, shallow channel. The island, which covers an area of 2,042 square miles (5,290 square km), has an undulating surface rising to 700 feet (210 metres) in

  • Madurai (India)

    Madurai, city, south-central Tamil Nadu state, southern India. It is located on the Vaigai River, about 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Dindigul. Madurai is the third most populous, and probably the oldest, city in the state. The ancient history of the region is associated with the Pandya kings, and

  • Madurese (people)

    Madurese, native population of the arid and infertile island of Madura, Indonesia. Today the majority of the Madurese population lives not on Madura but on the northeastern coast of the adjacent island of Java. They also live in large numbers on the nearby Kangean Islands as well as in western and

  • Madurese language

    Madurese language, an Austronesian language of the Indonesian subfamily, spoken on Madura Island, some smaller offshore islands, and the northern coast of Java, Indonesia. Dialects include Eastern, or Sumenep, and Western, including Bangkalan and Pamekasan. Sumenep is the standard dialect for

  • Maduro Joest, Ricardo (president of Honduras)

    Honduras: The 21st century: Ricardo Maduro Joest of the National Party won the 2001 presidential elections. During his time in office, Honduras received debt relief and ratified the implementation of the Central America–Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA–DR) with the United States. Manuel Zelaya of the Liberal Party took…

  • Maduro Moros, Nicolás (president of Venezuela)

    Nicolás Maduro is a Venezuelan leader who won the special election held in April 2013 to choose a replacement to serve out the remainder of the term of Venezuelan Pres. Hugo Chávez, who had died in March. After serving as vice president (October 2012–March 2013), Maduro, a former labor leader,

  • Maduro, Nicolás (president of Venezuela)

    Nicolás Maduro is a Venezuelan leader who won the special election held in April 2013 to choose a replacement to serve out the remainder of the term of Venezuelan Pres. Hugo Chávez, who had died in March. After serving as vice president (October 2012–March 2013), Maduro, a former labor leader,

  • Maduromycosis (pathology)

    mycetoma, fungal infection, usually localized in the foot but occurring occasionally elsewhere on the body, apparently resulting from inoculation into a scratch or abrasion of any of a number of fungi—Penicillium, Aspergillus, or Madurella—or actinomycetes such as Nocardia. Mycetoma was first

  • Madvig, Johan Nicolai (Danish scholar)

    Johan Nicolai Madvig was a classical scholar and Danish government official who published many works on Latin grammar and Greek syntax and helped to lay the foundation of modern textual criticism; his exemplary edition of Cicero’s De finibus bonorum et malorum (“On Good and Evil Endings”) appeared

  • Madwoman of Chaillot, The (film by Forbes [1969])

    Danny Kaye: …occasionally, appearing in the film The Madwoman of Chaillot (1969), with Katharine Hepburn, and in the television films Pinocchio (1976), in which he played the role of Geppetto, and Skokie (1981), a highly praised docudrama that featured Kaye as a Holocaust death-camp survivor.

  • Madwoman of Chaillot, The (work by Giraudoux)

    Jean Giraudoux: …English by Maurice Valency as The Madwoman of Chaillot [1947]), in which a tribunal of elderly eccentric Parisian ladies, assisted by a ragpicker, wipe out a world of speculators. He also wrote the scripts to two films: La Duchesse de Langeais (1942) and Les Anges du péché (1944).

  • Madyan (geographical region, Arabia)

    Arabia: The Hejaz and Asir: In Midian (Madyan), the northernmost part of the Hejaz, the peaks have a maximum elevation of nearly 9,500 feet. The elevation decreases to the south, with an occasional upward surge such as Mount Raḍwā west of Medina (Al-Madīnah). Wadi Al-Ḥamḍ, an intermittent river drawing water from…

  • Madyan al-Ghawth, Shuʿayb Abū (Ṣūfī teacher)

    North Africa: The Maghrib under the Almoravids and the Almohads: …period in the person of Shuʿayb Abū Madyan al-Ghawth (died 1197). At the Almohad court, however, the sciences and philosophy were cultivated. The philosopher Ibn Rushd (Averroës) wrote his famous commentaries on Aristotle when at the court of the Almohad caliph Abū Yaʿqūb Yūsuf (1163–84). These diverse developments meant that…

  • Mae Hong Son (Thailand)

    Mae Hong Son, town, extreme northwestern Thailand, in the Daen Lao Range. Mae Hong Son has an airport with scheduled flights to Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Lampang, and Phrae. The surrounding region is mountainous and densely forested. The terrain tends to isolate the region from other parts of Thailand;

  • Mae Klong (river, Thailand)

    Khwae Noi River: …Noi River, tributary of the Mae Klong River, flowing wholly in western Thailand. It rises near Three Pagodas Pass (Phra Chedi Sam Ong) on the mountainous Myanmar-Thailand border and runs southeast, parallel to the border, to its confluence near Kanchanaburi town with the Mae Klong, which itself empties into the…

  • Mae Nam Chao Phraya (river, Thailand)

    Chao Phraya River, principal river of Thailand. It flows south through the nation’s fertile central plain for more than 225 miles (365 km) to the Gulf of Thailand. Thailand’s capitals, past and present (Bangkok), have all been situated on its banks or those of its tributaries and distributaries, as

  • Mae Nam Khong (river, Southeast Asia)

    Mekong River, river that is the longest river in Southeast Asia, the 7th longest in Asia, and the 12th longest in the world. It has a length of about 2,700 miles (4,350 km). Rising in southeastern Qinghai province, China, it flows through the eastern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Yunnan

  • Mae Nam Khwae Noi (river, Thailand)

    Khwae Noi River, tributary of the Mae Klong River, flowing wholly in western Thailand. It rises near Three Pagodas Pass (Phra Chedi Sam Ong) on the mountainous Myanmar-Thailand border and runs southeast, parallel to the border, to its confluence near Kanchanaburi town with the Mae Klong, which

  • Mae Nam Mun (river, Thailand)

    Mun River, main river system of the Khorat Plateau, in eastern Thailand. The Mun rises in the San Kamphaeng Range northeast of Bangkok and flows east for 418 miles (673 km), receiving the Chi River, its main tributary, and entering the Mekong River at the Laotian border. Nakhon Ratchasima and Ubon

  • Mae Nam Ping (river, Thailand)

    Ping River, river in northwestern Thailand, one of the headstreams of the Chao Phraya River. It rises on the Thailand-Myanmar (Burma) border in the Daen Lao Range and flows south-southeast. The Wang River is its main tributary. At Ban Pak Nam Pho the Ping joins the combined Nan and Yom rivers to

  • Maeander River (river, Turkey)

    Menderes River, river, southwestern Turkey. It rises on the Anatolian plateau south and west of Afyon and flows westward through a narrow valley and canyon. At Sarayköy it expands into a broad, flat-bottomed valley with a typical Mediterranean landscape, dotted with fig trees, olive groves, and

  • Maebara Issei (Japanese politician)

    Maebara Issei was a Japanese soldier-politician who helped to establish the 1868 Meiji Restoration (which ended the feudal Tokugawa shogunate and reinstated direct rule of the emperor) and who became a major figure in the new government until 1876, when he led a short-lived revolt that cost him his

  • Maebashi (Japan)

    Maebashi, capital, Gumma ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan. It is situated on the Tone River, at the northwestern edge of the Kantō Plain. Maebashi, an old castle town, was called Umayabashi in the Muromachi period (1338–1573). It was the seat of the Matsudaira family during the Edo (Tokugawa) period

  • Maecenas, Gaius (Roman diplomat and patron)

    Gaius Maecenas was a Roman diplomat, counsellor to the Roman emperor Augustus, and wealthy patron of such poets as Virgil and Horace. He was criticized by Seneca for his luxurious way of life. The birthplace of Maecenas is unrecorded, but his mother’s family, the Cilnii, had lorded it centuries

  • Maecenas, Gaius Cilnius (Roman diplomat and patron)

    Gaius Maecenas was a Roman diplomat, counsellor to the Roman emperor Augustus, and wealthy patron of such poets as Virgil and Horace. He was criticized by Seneca for his luxurious way of life. The birthplace of Maecenas is unrecorded, but his mother’s family, the Cilnii, had lorded it centuries

  • Maecht, Philip de (Dutch weaver)

    tapestry: 17th and 18th centuries: Philip de Maecht, a member of the famous late 16th- and 17th-century family of Dutch tapestry weavers, was brought from the de La Planche-Comans factory in Paris, where he had been the master weaver, to hold the same position at Mortlake. The royal factory flourished…

  • Maeda Family (Japanese family)

    Maeda Family, the daimyo, or lords, of Kaga Province (now part of Ishikawa Prefecture) in central Japan, whose domain was second only to that controlled by the powerful Tokugawa family. Having become the dominant warrior family in west-central Japan sometime before the 16th century, the Maeda

  • Maeda Seison (Japanese painter)

    Japanese art: Japanese-style painting: Maeda Seison, prominent in the next generation of nihonga artists, which also included Imamura Shikō, Yasuda Yukihiko, Kobayashi Kokei, and Hayami Gyoshū, employed an eclectic assortment of earlier Japanese painting techniques. At Okakura’s suggestion he studied rinpa. His use of tarashikomi, a classic rinpa technique…

  • Maeda Toshiie (Japanese warlord)

    Maeda Family: …well as enlarged domains, when Maeda Toshiie (1538–99), head of the clan, allied himself with the great warrior Oda Nobunaga in his effort to reunify Japan after more than a century of civil unrest. Upon Oda’s death Toshiie allied with his successor, the famed Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Before Hideyoshi died (in…

  • Maeda Toshinaga (Japanese warlord)

    Maeda Family: …the five co-regents, Toshiie’s son, Maeda Toshinaga (1562–1614), sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was attempting to usurp the central power. As a reward for their services at the Battle of Sekigahara (Oct. 20, 1600), from which the Tokugawa emerged as the dominant power in Japan, the Maeda domains were considerably…

  • Maehara Seiji (Japanese politician)

    Democratic Party of Japan: History: …then elected its new leader Maehara Seiji, a DP veteran who had served as foreign minister in Kan’s cabinet before resigning over an illegal-payments scandal.

  • Maejima, Hisoka (Japanese official)

    postal system: Japan: …idea was put forward by Hisoka Maejima, often called “the Father of the Post” in Japan. It was rapidly accepted by the government, which set up a service between Tokyo and Ōsaka on April 20, 1871, and extended it throughout the country in July 1872. In 1873 the postal service…

  • Maekawa Kunio (Japanese architect)

    Maekawa Kunio was a Japanese architect noted for his designs of community centres and his work in concrete. After graduation from Tokyo University in 1928, Maekawa studied with the architect Le Corbusier in Paris for two years. Returning to Japan, he tried in such works as Hinamoto Hall (1936) and

  • Mael Dúin (literary character)

    Maeldúin, hero of the longest of the Irish immram (“travel tales”), known as Immram Curaig Mael Dúin. Maeldúin sets out on a journey when a Druid advises him that he must find his father’s killer. Maeldúin sees the killer at the first island he and his companions approach, but they are driven out

  • Máel Máedoc úa Morgair (Irish archbishop)

    St. Malachy ; canonized 1190; feast day November 3) was a celebrated archbishop and papal legate who became a dominant figure of church reform in 12th-century Ireland. A fraudulent prophecy concerning the succession of popes was falsely ascribed to him in the 16th century. Malachy was educated at

  • Maeldúin (literary character)

    Maeldúin, hero of the longest of the Irish immram (“travel tales”), known as Immram Curaig Mael Dúin. Maeldúin sets out on a journey when a Druid advises him that he must find his father’s killer. Maeldúin sees the killer at the first island he and his companions approach, but they are driven out

  • Maeldun (literary character)

    Maeldúin, hero of the longest of the Irish immram (“travel tales”), known as Immram Curaig Mael Dúin. Maeldúin sets out on a journey when a Druid advises him that he must find his father’s killer. Maeldúin sees the killer at the first island he and his companions approach, but they are driven out

  • Maelius, Spurius (Roman plebeian)

    Spurius Maelius was a wealthy Roman plebeian who allegedly tried to buy popular support with the aim of making himself king. During the severe famine, he bought up a large store of grain and sold it at a low price to the people of Rome. This led Lucius Minucius, the patrician praefectus annonae

  • Maelstrom (channel, North Sea)

    Maelstrom, marine channel and strong tidal current of the Norwegian Sea, in the Lofoten islands, northern Norway. Flowing between the islands of Moskenesøya (north) and Mosken (south), it has a treacherous current. About 5 miles (8 km) wide, alternating in flow between the open sea on the west and

  • Maelström (film by Villeneuve [2000])

    Denis Villeneuve: He then wrote and directed Maelström (2000), another surreal outing, about a woman (Marie-Josée Croze) whose life spins out of control after she accidentally kills a fishmonger. The movie won several awards, including a special jury prize for best Canadian feature film at the Toronto International Film Festival. After that,…

  • Maelzel, Johann Nepomuk (German musician)

    keyboard instrument: The reed organ: …in mechanical instruments such as Johann Nepomuk Maelzel’s panharmonicon, first exhibited in Vienna in 1804.

  • maenad (Greek religion)

    maenad, female follower of the Greek god of wine, Dionysus. The word maenad comes from the Greek maenades, meaning “mad” or “demented.” During the orgiastic rites of Dionysus, maenads roamed the mountains and forests performing frenzied, ecstatic dances and were believed to be possessed by the god.

  • Maenam Chao Phraya (river, Thailand)

    Chao Phraya River, principal river of Thailand. It flows south through the nation’s fertile central plain for more than 225 miles (365 km) to the Gulf of Thailand. Thailand’s capitals, past and present (Bangkok), have all been situated on its banks or those of its tributaries and distributaries, as

  • maeniana (architecture)

    amphitheatre: …amphitheatre into several sections (maeniana). In the lowest section, or podium, the emperor and his retinue had a special box; on the opposite side of the amphitheatre, but still in the podium, the vestal virgins, consuls, praetors, ambassadors, priests, and other distinguished guests were seated; the rest of the…

  • maenor (European society)

    manorialism: Origins: This arrangement developed into the manorial system, which in turn supported the feudal aristocracy of kings, lords, and vassals.

  • Maerlant, Jacob van (Dutch poet)

    Jacob van Maerlant was a pioneer of the didactic poetry that flourished in the Netherlands in the 14th century. The details of Maerlant’s life are disputed, but he was probably sexton at Maerlant, near Brielle on Voorne, in 1255–65?, and was employed by Albrecht van Voorne; Nicholas Cats, lord of

  • Maersk Alabama hijacking (piracy incident, Indian Ocean [2009])

    Maersk Alabama hijacking, incident involving the seizure of a U.S.-flagged cargo ship by four Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean on April 8, 2009. Although the crew eventually repelled the attackers, Capt. Richard Phillips was taken hostage aboard one of the Maersk Alabama’s lifeboats. The

  • Maes Bosworth (poem by Eben Fardd)

    Eben Fardd: …won at Liverpool (1840); and Maes Bosworth (“Bosworth Field”), which won at Llangollen (1858). In addition to his eisteddfodic compositions, he wrote many hymns, a collection of which was published in 1862. His complete works appeared under the title Gweithiau Barddonol Eben Fardd (1875; “Poetic Works of Eben Fardd”). From…

  • Maes River (river, Europe)

    Meuse River, river, rising at Pouilly on the Langres Plateau in France and flowing generally northward for 590 miles (950 km) through Belgium and the Netherlands to the North Sea. In the French part, the river has cut a steep-sided, sometimes deep valley between Saint-Mihiel and Verdun, and beyond

  • Maes, Nicolaes (Dutch painter)

    Nicolaes Maes was a Dutch Baroque painter of genre and portraits who was a follower of Rembrandt. In about 1650 Maes went to Amsterdam, where he studied with Rembrandt. Before his return to Dordrecht in 1654, Maes painted a few Rembrandtesque genre pictures as well as a biblical scene with

  • Maes, Pattie (Belgian-born software engineer and entrepreneur)

    Pattie Maes is a Belgian-born software engineer and entrepreneur who changed the interactive relationship between the computer and its user. Her software creations fundamentally influenced the way that e-commerce companies compete, as well as provided a simple means for individuals to accomplish

  • Maesa, Julia (Roman aristocrat)

    Julia Maesa was the sister-in-law of the Roman emperor Septimius Severus and an influential power in the government of the empire who managed to make two of her grandsons emperors. Julia was the daughter of the hereditary high priest Bassianus at Emesa in Syria (Maesa was her Syrian name), and she

  • Maesaceae (plant family)

    Ericales: Maesoideae: The former Maesaceae are evergreen lianas to shrubs or trees found in the Old World tropics to Japan, the Pacific, and Australia; there is one genus, Maesa, and there are about 180 species. The veins of the leaves are often not very obvious, even…

  • Maeshowe barrow (prehistoric mound, Mainland, Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom)

    Maeshowe barrow, prehistoric chambered mound located northeast of Stromness on Mainland (or Pomona) in the Orkney Islands, Scotland. The mound, probably built as a tomb for a chieftain family, was in the shape of a blunted cone, 300 feet (91 meters) in circumference, and was encircled by a moat

  • Maestà (altarpiece by Duccio)

    Maestà, double-sided altarpieces executed for the cathedral of Siena by the Italian painter Duccio. The first version (1302), originally in the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena, is now lost. The second version (1308–11), painted for the cathedral of Siena and one of the largest altarpieces of its time,

  • Maestà (fresco by Martini)

    Simone Martini: …the large fresco of the Maestà in the Sala del Mappamondo of the Palazzo Pubblico, Siena. The fresco depicts the enthroned Madonna and Child with angels and saints. This painting, which is signed and dated 1315 but was retouched by Simone himself in 1321, is a free version of Duccio’s…

  • maestà (art)

    Madonna: Madonna in the art of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and Baroque: …popular in Italy as the maestà, a very formal representation of the enthroned Madonna and Child surrounded by angels and sometimes saints.

  • Maestlin, Michael (German astronomer)

    Johannes Kepler: Kepler’s social world: …the professor of mathematics was Michael Maestlin (1550–1631), one of the most talented astronomers in Germany. Maestlin had once been a Lutheran pastor; he was also, privately, one of the few adherents of the Copernican theory in the late 16th century, although very cautious about expressing his views in print.…

  • maestra normal, La (work by Gálvez)

    Manuel Gálvez: In La maestra normal (1914; “The Schoolmistress”), his first and generally considered his best novel, he captures the pettiness and monotony of life in a small Argentinian city before the quickening pace of modernity shattered old provincial ways. In his later years, Gálvez turned to historical…

  • Maestra, Sierra (mountains, Cuba)

    Sierra Maestra, mountain range, southeastern Cuba. The range extends eastward from Cape Cruz, at the southern shore of the Gulf of Guacanayabo, to the Guantánamo River valley. The heavily wooded mountains rise sharply from the Caribbean coast, culminating in Turquino Peak, Cuba’s highest peak,

  • maestrale (wind)

    mistral, cold and dry strong wind in southern France that blows down from the north along the lower Rhône River valley toward the Mediterranean Sea. It may blow continuously for several days at a time, with velocities that average about 74 km (about 45 miles) per hour, and reach to a height of 2 to

  • Maestrazgo (lease agreement)

    Fugger family: The founding fathers: …debt repaid out of the Maestrazgo—the lease of the revenues paid to the Spanish crown by the three great knightly orders. A part of the sum came from the mercury mines of Almadén and the silver mines of Guadalcanal. In 1516 he also made an ally of King Henry VIII…

  • maestri comacini (Italian guild)

    Como: …was part of the term maestri comacini (“masters of Como”), applied to itinerant guilds of masons, architects, and decorators who spread the Lombard style throughout Europe during the Middle Ages. Their brick or brick-cut stone-faced walls, excellent mortar, and other structural and stylistic accomplishments are still visible in buildings more…

  • Maestrichtian Stage (stratigraphy)

    Maastrichtian Stage, uppermost of six main divisions in the Upper Cretaceous Series, representing rocks deposited worldwide during the Maastrichtian Age, which occurred 72.1 million to 66 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period. Rocks of the Maastrichtian Stage overlie those of the Campanian

  • maestro di cappella, Il (work by Cimarosa)

    Domenico Cimarosa: …choral works, including the cantata Il maestro di cappella, a popular satire on contemporary operatic rehearsal methods. Among his instrumental works, which, like his operas, have been successfully revived, are many sparkling harpsichord sonatas and a concerto for two flutes.

  • Maestro, El (music collection by Milán)

    Luis Milán: His most noted work is El Maestro (1536; “The Teacher”), a collection of vihuela pieces and solo songs with vihuela accompaniment. This was the first of a series of vihuela books that became one of Spain’s most distinguished contributions to 16th-century music. The pieces in Milán’s book are arranged in…

  • Maestro, El (Cuban baseball player)

    Martín Dihigo was a professional baseball player who became a national hero in his native Cuba. In addition to playing in the Cuban League, Dihigo played in the leagues of the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Venezuela and in the U.S. Negro leagues. Because of the colour barrier that existed in

  • Maetambe, Mount (mountain, Choiseul, Solomon Islands)

    Choiseul: …wooded and mountainous, culminating in Mount Maetambe (3,500 feet [1,067 metres]). The main coastal settlement is Sasamungga. Copra is the chief product; subsistence crops include taros, sweet potatoes, and yams. In World War II the Japanese, thrusting southward from New Guinea, invaded Choiseul (1942) and occupied the northern segment until…

  • Maeterlinck, Comte (Belgian author)

    Maurice Maeterlinck was a Belgian Symbolist poet, playwright, and essayist who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1911 for his outstanding works of the Symbolist theatre. He wrote in French and looked mainly to French literary movements for inspiration. Maeterlinck studied law at the University

  • Maeterlinck, Maurice (Belgian author)

    Maurice Maeterlinck was a Belgian Symbolist poet, playwright, and essayist who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1911 for his outstanding works of the Symbolist theatre. He wrote in French and looked mainly to French literary movements for inspiration. Maeterlinck studied law at the University

  • Maeterlinck, Maurice Polydore-Marie-Bernard (Belgian author)

    Maurice Maeterlinck was a Belgian Symbolist poet, playwright, and essayist who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1911 for his outstanding works of the Symbolist theatre. He wrote in French and looked mainly to French literary movements for inspiration. Maeterlinck studied law at the University

  • Maetsuyker, Joan (Dutch statesman)

    Joan Maetsuyker was the governor-general of the Dutch East Indies from 1653 to 1678. He directed the transformation of the Dutch East India Company, then at the very height of its power, from a commercial to a territorial power. A lawyer practicing in Amsterdam, Maetsuyker was hired by the company

  • Maeve (legendary Irish queen)

    Medb, legendary queen of Connaught (Connacht) in Ireland who figures in the Ulster cycle, a group of legends from ancient Irish literature. In the epic tale Táin bó Cuailnge (“The Cattle Raid of Cooley”), Medb instigates the eponymous raid, leading her forces against those of Ulster. Whereas other

  • Maeve Binchy’s Dublin Four (short stories by Binchy)

    Maeve Binchy: …also wrote the short-story collections Maeve Binchy’s Dublin Four (1982), The Lilac Bus (1984; television movie 1990), and This Year It Will Be Different, and Other Stories: A Christmas Treasury (1996). The collections Chestnut Street (2014) and A Few of the Girls (2016) were published posthumously. She authored several plays…

  • Maéwo (island, Vanuatu)

    Maéwo, island of Vanuatu, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, 65 miles (105 km) east of the island of Espiritu Santo. It is volcanic in origin and is some 35 miles (55 km) long by 4.5 miles (7.5 km) wide, with an area of about 100 square miles (260 square km). Maéwo’s central mountain range rises to