• Vestris, Marie-Jean-Augustin (French dancer)

    Vaslav Nijinsky: Early life and study in St. Petersburg: …the North” (in reference to Auguste Vestris, a famous French dancer of the 18th century and a member of the Vestris family of dancers).

  • vestry (architecture)

    sacristy, in architecture, room in a Christian church in which vestments and sacred objects used in the services are stored and in which the clergy and sometimes the altar boys and the choir members put on their robes. In the early Christian church, two rooms beside the apse, the diaconicon and the

  • Vestspitsbergen (island, Norway)

    Spitsbergen, largest island of the Svalbard archipelago, part of Norway, in the Arctic Ocean. Spitsbergen, with an area of 15,075 square miles (39,044 square km), is approximately 280 miles (450 km) long and ranges from 25 to 140 miles (40 to 225 km) wide. The terrain is mountainous, and most of

  • vestured pit (botany)

    Myrtales: Characteristic morphological features: …with such processes are called vestured pits. This combination of wood anatomical characteristics is otherwise very rare in angiosperms and is used to help define the order.

  • Vesuna (France)

    Périgueux, town, Dordogne département, Nouvelle-Aquitaine région, southwestern France. It lies on the right bank of the Isle River, east-northeast of Bordeaux and southwest of Paris. Originally settled by a Gaulish tribe, the Petrocorii, the town fell to the Romans, who called it Vesuna after a

  • vesuvianite (mineral)

    vesuvianite, common silicate mineral that occurs in crystalline limestones near their contacts with igneous rocks, and in beds of marble and calcsilicate granulite that are associated with gneiss and mica schist. Fine glassy crystals coloured yellow, green, or brown have been found in the Ala

  • Vesuvio (volcano, Italy)

    Vesuvius, active volcano that rises above the Bay of Naples on the plain of Campania in southern Italy. Its western base rests almost upon the bay. The height of the cone in 2013 was 4,203 feet (1,281 metres), but it varies considerably after each major eruption. At about 1,968 feet (about 600

  • Vesuvius (volcano, Italy)

    Vesuvius, active volcano that rises above the Bay of Naples on the plain of Campania in southern Italy. Its western base rests almost upon the bay. The height of the cone in 2013 was 4,203 feet (1,281 metres), but it varies considerably after each major eruption. At about 1,968 feet (about 600

  • Vesuvius, Mount (volcano, Italy)

    Vesuvius, active volcano that rises above the Bay of Naples on the plain of Campania in southern Italy. Its western base rests almost upon the bay. The height of the cone in 2013 was 4,203 feet (1,281 metres), but it varies considerably after each major eruption. At about 1,968 feet (about 600

  • Veszprém (Hungary)

    Veszprém, city of county status and seat of Veszprém megye (county), western Hungary. It lies along the Séd River, spanned there by a viaduct, in the Bakony Mountains, southwest of Budapest. The town already had a cathedral and castle in the 9th century; it was supposedly named after the Polish

  • Veszprém (county, Hungary)

    Veszprém, megye (county), western Hungary, extending north from Lake Balaton. It is bordered by the counties of Györ-Moson-Sopron to the north, Komárom-Esztergom to the northeast, and Fejér to the east, as well as by Lake Balaton and Somogy county to the south and the counties of Zala to the

  • vetch (plant)

    vetch, (genus Vicia), genus of about 140 species of herbaceous plants in the pea family (Fabaceae). The fava bean (Vicia faba) is an important food crop, and several other species of vetch are cultivated as fodder and cover crops and as green manure. Like other legumes, they add nitrogen to the

  • vetch worm (insect)

    corn earworm, larva of the moth Heliothis zea (in some classifications H. armigera; family Noctuidae). The smooth, fleshy green or brown caterpillars are serious crop pests before they pupate in the soil. Four or five generations of the pale brown adult moths (wingspan 3.5 cm [about 113 inches])

  • veṭci (Tamil literature)

    South Asian arts: Śaṅgam literature: …hillside by night; and the veṭci genre, in heroic poetry, which dealt with the first onset of war, by nocturnal cattle stealing. Both kuṟiñci and veṭci are names of flowers that grow on the hillside, here symbolic of the poetic genre, the mood, and the theme. By such pairings across…

  • Vete-ema (Finno-Ugric religion)

    Ved-ava, among the Mordvins, the water mother, a spirit believed to rule the waters and their bounty; she is known as Vete-ema among the Estonians and Veen emo among the Finns. The water spirit belongs to a class of nature spirits common to the Finno-Ugric peoples dependent on fishing for much of

  • veteran (military)

    homelessness: Homelessness in the United States: Veterans have also suffered high rates of homelessness, constituting 8 percent of all homeless adults in 2019.

  • Veteran, The (short stories by Forsyth)

    Frederick Forsyth: Books: …were No Comebacks (1982) and The Veteran (2001). Many of his novels and stories were adapted for film and television.

  • Veterans Affairs, U.S. Department of (United States government)

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), executive division of the U.S. federal government responsible for programs and policies relating to veterans and their families. Established in 1989, it succeeded the Veterans Administration (formed in 1930). The VA administers benefits for medical care,

  • Veterans Day

    The holiday that became Veterans Day was first observed as Armistice Day in 1919. The cease-fire that marked the end of World War I took effect at 11:00 AM on November 11, 1918, and U.S. Pres. Woodrow Wilson declared that the first anniversary of that event should be marked with a day of reflection

  • Veterans Day (holiday)

    Veterans Day, in the United States, national holiday (November 11) honoring veterans of the armed forces and those killed in the country’s wars. The observance originated in 1919 on the first anniversary of the 1918 armistice that ended World War I and was known as Armistice Day. It was

  • Veterans for Peace (American organization)

    Veterans for Peace (VFP), American nongovernmental organization founded in 1985 that works to expose the actual cost of every war and that advocates for peace. Its members include veterans of World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Persian Gulf War as well as veterans of various

  • Veterans Health Administration (United States program)

    health insurance: …the United Kingdom and the Veterans Health Administration program operated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs are examples of such systems.

  • Veterans of Foreign Wars (American organization)

    Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), American organization created on August 1, 1914, in the merger of three national war-veteran societies that were founded in 1899, shortly after the Spanish-American War. The American Veterans of Foreign Service, based in Columbus, Ohio, the Colorado Society of the

  • veterinary medicine

    veterinary medicine, medical specialty concerned with the prevention, control, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases affecting the health of domestic and wild animals and with the prevention of transmission of animal diseases to people. Veterinarians ensure a safe food supply for people by

  • veterinary science

    veterinary medicine, medical specialty concerned with the prevention, control, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases affecting the health of domestic and wild animals and with the prevention of transmission of animal diseases to people. Veterinarians ensure a safe food supply for people by

  • vetiver (plant)

    vetiver, (Chrysopogon zizanioides), perennial grass of the family Poaceae, the roots of which contain an oil used in perfumes. Vetiver is native to tropical Asia and has been introduced into the tropics of both hemispheres; it has escaped cultivation and become a weed in some regions. The plant is

  • Vetiveria zizanioides (plant)

    vetiver, (Chrysopogon zizanioides), perennial grass of the family Poaceae, the roots of which contain an oil used in perfumes. Vetiver is native to tropical Asia and has been introduced into the tropics of both hemispheres; it has escaped cultivation and become a weed in some regions. The plant is

  • veto (government action)

    9 U.S. Presidents with the Most Vetoes: The power of the veto held by the president of the United States has served as an important check on the legislative actions of Congress and has been utilized to varying degrees throughout history. Some presidents have chosen to use it in only a handful of instances, whereas others…

  • veto, right of (Roman Catholic history)

    papal conclave: Codifying the rules of the conclave: …church had tacitly accepted a right of veto, or exclusion, in papal elections by the Catholic kings of Europe. Typically, a cardinal who was charged with the mission by his home government would inform the conclave of the inadmissibility of certain papal candidates. The royal right of exclusion prevented the…

  • Vetravati (river, India)

    Betwa River, river in northern India, rising in the Vindhya Range just north of Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh. It flows generally northeast through Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh states and empties into the Yamuna River just east of Hamirpur after a 380-mile (610-km) course. Nearly half of its

  • Vetrinha, José G. (East African writer)

    José Craveirinha was a Mozambican journalist, story writer, and poet. Craveirinha was the son of a Portuguese father and a black Mozambican mother. He was an ardent supporter of the anti-Portuguese group Frelimo during the colonial wars and was imprisoned in 1966. He was one of the pioneers of

  • Vetsera, Maria (Austrian baroness)

    Archduke Rudolf, crown prince of Austria: The baroness Maria Vetsera, a girl of 17 with whom he had begun relations in October 1887, accepted his offer of a suicide pact. In the morning of January 30, 1889, he and Maria were found shot dead in the hunting lodge at Mayerling. Maladroit attempts by…

  • Vettel, Sebastian (German race-car driver)

    Sebastian Vettel is a German race-car driver who in 2010, at age 23, became the youngest person to win the Formula One (F1) world drivers’ championship. He also captured the title in 2011, 2012, and 2013. He retired from F1 in 2022. Vettel grew up idolizing German racing icon Michael Schumacher,

  • Vetter, Lake (lake, Sweden)

    Lake Vätter, lake in south-central Sweden, southeast of Lake Väner between the administrative län (counties) of Västra Götaland and Östergötland and north of the traditional landskap (province) of Småland. With a length of 81 miles (130 km), a breadth of about 19 miles (31 km), and an area of 738

  • Vettii, House of the (ruins, Pompeii, Italy)

    domus: …typified by that of the House of the Vettii at Pompeii, contained the private living quarters of the family; clustered around its colonnaded court were the oecus (reception room), cubiculai (bedrooms), alae (recesses for private talk), and tricliniai (dining rooms), with different exposures that could be regulated according to the…

  • vetting (security process)

    security and protection system: Physical security.: Common synonyms are “screening” and “vetting.” The most common technique is the background investigation, which involves obtaining all relevant available data about a person’s past education, employment, and personal behaviour and making judgments concerning the individual’s likely future loyalty and honesty. Thus, the dossier and computerized national data…

  • Vettore, Mount (mountain, Italy)

    Apennine Range: Physiography: …maximum elevation (8,130 feet) at Mount Vettore; the Abruzzi Apennines, 9,554 feet at Mount Corno; the Campanian Apennines, 7,352 feet at Mount Meta; the Lucanian Apennines, 7,438 feet at Mount Pollino; the Calabrian Apennines, 6,414 feet at Mount Alto; and, finally, the Sicilian

  • Vetus (work by Antonio)

    Nicolás Antonio: …in two parts (Nova, 1672; Vetus, 1696). The first is a vast bibliography of Peninsular and Spanish colonial writers after 1500, with critical evaluations. The second, a history of Peninsular literature from the reign of Augustus to 1500, marks the emergence of modern bibliography and the transformation of literary history…

  • Veuillot, Louis (French writer and politician)

    Louis Veuillot was an author and leader within France of extreme Ultramontanism, a movement advocating absolute papal supremacy. The son of poor parents, Veuillot early began writing for periodicals and developed his talents in provincial journalism. He was uninterested in religion until 1838, when

  • Veurne (Belgium)

    Veurne, municipality, Flanders region, western Belgium. The municipality lies at the junction of four canals, northeast of Dunkirk, France. It was founded about 870 by Baldwin I Iron-Arm (or Ferreus), first ruler of Flanders. An important town of the Spanish Netherlands, it was often besieged in

  • Veuster, Joseph de (Belgian priest)

    St. Damien of Molokai ; canonized October 11, 2009; feast day May 10) was a Belgian priest who devoted his life to missionary work in Hawaii helping people with Hansen’s disease (leprosy). In 2009 he was declared a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. He is venerated as the patron saint of people

  • Veuve Perrin (factory, France)

    pottery: Faience, or tin-glazed ware: …Marseilles, the factory of the Veuve Perrin being particularly noted for overglaze painting in the Rococo style. Perhaps the most influential factory was that of Strasbourg, in Alsace (which had officially become part of France in 1697), founded by C.F. Hannong in 1709. The wares—painted in blue, in other faience…

  • vèvè (Vodou symbol)

    vèvè, in Haitian Vodou, geometrical drawings that represent the lwa (spirits). The production of vèvè is a tradition of African origin. In Dahomey, an ancient kingdom in the region that is now southern Benin, palm oil was used to draw certain geometrical figures, such as rectangles and squares, on

  • Vever, Henri (French artisan)

    jewelry: 19th century: …jewelers Georges Fouquet (1858–1929) and Henri Vever (1854–1942) expressed themselves through more synthetic geometric forms. The pendant representing a butterfly by Fouquet and the bracelet and ring for the actress Sarah Bernhardt (both in the Périnet Collection, Paris) show a carefully thought-out stylization.

  • Vevey (Switzerland)

    Switzerland: Urban settlements: Within the Alps of Vaud, Vevey and Montreux were sited on small deltas jutting into Lake Geneva that provided flat land near the mountainous north shore; in the Alps of Ticino, Locarno and Ascona developed on the delta of the Maggia River. Many settlements evolved from their distinct sites. For…

  • Vevi (work by Lillegg)

    children’s literature: War and beyond: In realistic fantasy there is Vevi (1955), by the Austrian Erica Lillegg, an extraordinary tale of split personality, odd, exciting, even profound. Michael Ende’s Jim Knopf und Lucas der Lokomotivführer (1961; Eng. trans., Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver, 1963) has more than a touch of Oz; and both…

  • Vexilla regis (work by Fortunatus)

    Venantius Fortunatus: …the Pange lingua and the Vexilla regis, have been translated into English by John Mason Neale as “Sing My Tongue the Glorious Battle” and “The Royal Banners Forward Go.”

  • vexillifer (larva)

    paracanthopterygian: Life cycle and reproduction: …into a specialized larva, the vexillifer, which lives amid the plankton. After attaining a length of about 7 to 8 cm (about 3 inches), the vexillifer transforms to another larval stage, the tenuis, descends to the bottom, and becomes a parasite in a sea cucumber (Holothuria tubulosa or Stichopus regalis).…

  • vexillology (study of flags)

    flag: National flags: …of flags is known as vexillology (from the Latin vexillum, “banner”). Such studies are fostered by many publications as well as by the International Federation of Vexillological Associations and its members.

  • Vexillology (album by Deadmau5)

    Deadmau5: His second album, Vexillology (2006), featured a glitchy sound inspired by 8-bit video games and an approach reminiscent of 1990s electronica.

  • Veygoux, Louis-Charles-Antoine Desaix, Chevalier de (French military hero)

    Louis-Charles-Antoine Desaix de Veygoux was a French military hero who led forces in the German, Egyptian, and Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars (from 1792). The son of Gilbert-Antoine Desaix, Seigneur de Veygoux, he was known at first as the Chevalier de Veygoux. A regular

  • veyyākaraṇa (Buddhism)

    aṅgā: Veyyākaraṇa (“explanation,” or “prophecy”), a category into which the whole Pāli Abhidhamma Piṭaka (“Basket of Special Doctrine”) has been placed, together with miscellaneous works. For the Sarvāstivāda (“Doctrine That All Is Real”) school, the Sanskrit category vyākaraṇa meant the Buddha’s prophecies concerning his disciples. Gāthā…

  • Vézelay (France)

    Vézelay, village, Yonne département, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté région, north-central France. The village lies on a hill on the left bank of the Cure River. Its history is tied to its great Benedictine abbey, which was founded in the 9th century under the influence of Cluny. After the supposed remains

  • Vézeronce, battle of (European history)

    France: The conquest of Burgundy: …king, defeated the Franks at Vézeronce and forced them to retreat; Clodomir was killed in the battle. Childebert I, Chlotar I, and Theodebert I, the son of Theodoric I, regained the offensive in 532–534. The Burgundian kingdom was annexed and divided between the Frankish kings. Following Theodoric the Great’s death…

  • Vezina Trophy (sports award)

    Martin Brodeur: He won the Vezina Trophy for the league’s most outstanding goaltender four times (2002–03, 2003–04, 2006–07, and 2007–08). He holds the record for 40-win seasons (8) and most consecutive 30-win seasons (12). In March 2009 Brodeur became the all-time winningest NHL goalie, passing Patrick Roy with his 552nd…

  • Vezzi, Francesco (Italian potter)

    pottery: Porcelain: …was made in Italy until Francesco and Giuseppe Vezzi’s factory was established in Venice in 1720. It made fine hard porcelain the body of which has a slightly smoky colour. The style is Baroque, and the palette is notable for a brownish red. Another factory, that of Geminiano Cozzi, started…

  • Vezzi, Giuseppe (Italian potter)

    pottery: Porcelain: …in Italy until Francesco and Giuseppe Vezzi’s factory was established in Venice in 1720. It made fine hard porcelain the body of which has a slightly smoky colour. The style is Baroque, and the palette is notable for a brownish red. Another factory, that of Geminiano Cozzi, started in 1764,…

  • VFA (Australian sports organization)

    Australian rules football: Origins: …clubs met to form the Victorian Football Association (VFA) for the “promotion and extension of football throughout the colony” and the organization of intercolonial matches. During the 1870s over 125 clubs appeared in Melbourne, and another 60 senior clubs were established elsewhere in Victoria. A regular schedule of matches was…

  • VfB Stuttgart (German football team)

    Jürgen Klinsmann: …(Germany’s top football division) club VfB Stuttgart in 1984. Klinsmann was the Bundesliga’s leading scorer during the 1987–88 season, and he was named the 1988 West German Footballer of the Year. After helping Stuttgart reach the 1989 Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Cup final, he left his home country…

  • VFL (Australian rules football organization)

    Australian rules football: Rise of the Victorian Football League: The depression of 1893–95 caused attendance at games to decline, and the VFA proposed a revenue-sharing scheme to assist struggling clubs. Leading clubs, which wanted more control over the game, opposed the scheme. In 1896 those eight leading clubs—Melbourne, Essendon, Geelong, Collingwood,…

  • VFP (American organization)

    Veterans for Peace (VFP), American nongovernmental organization founded in 1985 that works to expose the actual cost of every war and that advocates for peace. Its members include veterans of World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Persian Gulf War as well as veterans of various

  • VFR (aviation)

    traffic control: Conventional control techniques: …flight control is called the visual flight rule, in which pilots fly with visual ground reference and a “see and be seen” flight rule. In congested airspace all pilots must obey the instrument flight rule; that is, they must depend principally on the information provided by the plane’s instruments for…

  • VFW (American organization)

    Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), American organization created on August 1, 1914, in the merger of three national war-veteran societies that were founded in 1899, shortly after the Spanish-American War. The American Veterans of Foreign Service, based in Columbus, Ohio, the Colorado Society of the

  • VGA (technology)

    VGA, computer chipset standard for displaying colour graphics. With the widespread availability of high-definition monitors, VGA was supplanted by HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface). Introduced by IBM in 1987 for its PS/2 line of PCs, the original VGA chipset, or graphics card, offered the

  • VGIK (school, Moscow, Russia)

    History of film: The Soviet Union: The Vsesoyuznyi Gosudarstvenyi Institut Kinematografii (VGIK; “All-Union State Institute of Cinematography”) was the first such school in the world. Initially it trained people in the production of agitki, existing newsreels reedited for the purpose of agitation and propaganda (agitprop). The agitki were transported on specially equipped…

  • VGÖ (political party, Austria)

    Austria: Political process: …GA; founded 1986) and the United Greens of Austria (Vereinte Grüne Österreichs; VGÖ; founded 1982), have come to be known collectively as the Greens. The Greens first won seats in the Austrian parliament in 1986.

  • VH1 (television station)

    MTV: Mid-1980s to early 2000s: Viacom and the shift from music videos to pop culture: Its sister station VH1 had been broadcasting adult-oriented rock videos since 1985, and it soon filled the vacuum, with original content such as Pop Up Video and the documentary series Behind the Music. MTV Networks launched MTV2 in 1996, with the intention of recapturing the spirit embodied by…

  • VHF (communications)

    VHF, conventionally defined portion of the electromagnetic spectrum including any radiation with a wavelength between 1 and 10 metres and a frequency between 300 and 30 megahertz. VHF signals are widely employed for television and radio transmissions. In the United States and Canada, television

  • VHF omnidirectional radio range (communications)

    radio range: (VOR) has been developed in various forms since about 1930. It transmits two signals simultaneously in all directions. Operating in the very high frequency (VHF) range, it is less subject than the lower-frequency radio range to disturbances by day-night alternation, weather, and other causes. The…

  • VHL protein (anatomy)

    hypoxia: …oxygen conditions, a protein called von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) undergoes chemical modification enabling it to bind to HIF, thereby marking HIF for degradation. However, when oxygen levels are low, VHL is not modified and therefore cannot attach to HIF; as a result, HIF persists. Elevated HIF levels enable cells to survive…

  • VHP (political party, Suriname)

    Suriname: Political movements: …Reform Party (later called the Progressive Reform Party [Vooruitstrevende Hervormings Partij; VHP]) and the Indonesian Peasants’ Party (now the Party of National Unity and Solidarity [Kerukunan Tulodo Pranatan Inggil; KTPI]). Universal suffrage was instituted in 1948.

  • VHS (electronics)

    videocassette recorder: … format by Sony and the VHS format by the Matsushita Corporation in the 1970s, videocassette recorders became sufficiently inexpensive to be purchased by millions of families for use in the home. Both the VHS and Betamax systems use videotape that is 0.5 inch (13 mm) wide, but the two systems…

  • Vi mordere (play by Kamban)

    Gudmundur Kamban: …“Marble”) and Vi mordere (1920; We Murderers), as well as in his first novel, Ragnar Finnsson (1922), all of which are set in America, attention is focused on crime and punishment. Questions about societal versus personal responsibility are posed with compassion for the human individual and are closely linked to…

  • VI Olympic Winter Games

    Oslo 1952 Olympic Winter Games, athletic festival held in Oslo that took place February 14–25, 1952. The Oslo Games were the sixth occurrence of the Winter Olympic Games. With the awarding of the 1952 Winter Olympics to Oslo, the Games were held for the first time in a Scandinavian country. Some

  • Via Dolorosa (street, Jerusalem)

    Jerusalem: Municipal services: Additionally, parts of the Via Dolorosa, said to follow the path along which Jesus carried the cross to Golgotha, have been repaved to facilitate the Christian Holy Week pilgrimage.

  • Via Lucis (religion)

    Stations of the Cross: History of the devotion: …late 20th century with the Via Lucis (the Way of Light), in which the meditations focus on the resurrected Christ.

  • via militare (Roman road)

    road: The Roman roads: Twenty-nine great military roads, the viae militares, radiated from Rome. The most famous of these was the Appian Way. Begun in 312 bce, this road eventually followed the Mediterranean coast south to Capua and then turned eastward to Beneventum, where it divided into two branches, both reaching Brundisium (Brindisi). From…

  • via negativa (mysticism)

    Christianity: Eastern Christianity: …on the “apophatic” or “negative” approach to God. Through a gradual process of ascension from material things to spiritual realities and an eventual stripping away of all created beings in “unknowing,” the soul arrives at “union with Him who transcends all being and all knowledge” (Mystical Theology, chapter 1).…

  • VIA Rail Canada, Inc. (Canadian railway system)

    VIA Rail Canada, Inc., Canadian state-owned passenger-railway system. Incorporated in 1977 and established in 1978 as a crown corporation independent of the Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific (CP) railroads, VIA gradually assumed full responsibility for managing all the country’s

  • Viaçao Aérea São Paulo (Brazilian airline)

    Brazil: Aerospace: …São Paulo State Airline (VASP), which handles mainly domestic flights; and Transbrasil.

  • Viacom (American company)

    Viacom was a major American communications and media conglomerate, once among the largest in the country. It owned radio and television stations, as well as cable channels and distribution systems. The company underwent various mergers, notably forming ViacomCBS (later Paramount Global) with CBS

  • ViacomCBS (American company)

    Paramount Global was one of the largest media and entertainment conglomerates in the United States. It was formed in 2019 through the merger of Viacom and CBS Corporation and operated as a subsidiary of National Amusements, Inc. Originally known as ViacomCBS, the company was renamed Paramount

  • Viadana, Lodovico da (Italian composer)

    concerto: The Baroque vocal-instrumental concerto (c. 1585–1650): By contrast, Lodovico da Viadana’s popular and influential Cento concerti ecclesiastici (100 Ecclesiastical Concertos; 1602) exploits the new style, simpler and more intimate, yet florid and expressive, and including actual monody (solo vocal melody accompanied by expressive harmonies, a type of music new with the Baroque Era).…

  • Viadua (river, Europe)

    Oder River, river of east-central Europe. It is one of the most significant rivers in the catchment basin of the Baltic Sea, second only to the Vistula in discharge and length. For the first 70 miles (112 kilometres) from its source, it passes through the Czech Republic. For a distance of 116 miles

  • Viaduc des Arts (shopping center, Paris, France)

    Promenade Plantée: …the elevated portion is the Viaduc des Arts, which stretches along the Avenue Daumesnil. Its former archways house specialized commercial establishments.

  • viaduct (bridge)

    viaduct, type of long bridge or series of bridges, usually supported by a series of arches or on spans between tall towers. The purpose of a viaduct is to carry a road or railway over water, a valley, or another road. The viaduct is both functionally and etymologically related to the aqueduct,

  • Viage del Parnaso (work by Cervantes)

    Miguel de Cervantes: Publication of Don Quixote: In 1614 Cervantes published Viage del Parnaso, a long allegorical poem in mock-mythological and satirical vein, with a postscript in prose. It was devoted to celebrating a host of contemporary poets and satirizing a few others. The author there admitted that writing poetry did not come easily to him.…

  • Viagem ao princípio do mundo (film by Oliveira [1997])

    Manoel de Oliveira: …ao princípio do mundo (1997; Voyage to the Beginning of the World) featured Marcello Mastroianni’s final screen role.

  • viagem maravilhosa, A (work by Graça Aranha)

    José Pereira da Graça Aranha: …the year before his death, A viagem maravilhosa (1929; “The Marvelous Journey”). His aesthetic views were further publicized in his essays A estética da vida (1925; “The Aesthetics of Life”) and O espírito moderno (1925; “The Modern Spirit”).

  • Viagens na Minha Terra (novel by Garrett)

    Portuguese literature: Drama and the novel: …Viagens na minha terra (1846; Travels in My Homeland) he used the models provided by Irish-born English novelist Laurence Sterne and French author Xavier de Maistre. Many, however, preferred to follow the lead of Herculano, including Oliveira Marreca, Arnaldo Gama, and Pinheiro Chagas. Popular successes among historical novels were A…

  • Viaggi di Enrico Wanton (work by Seriman)

    Italian literature: The Enlightenment (Illuminismo): Viaggi di Enrico Wanton (1749–64; “Travels of Enrico Wanton”), a philosophical novel by the Venetian Zaccaria Seriman, which tells of an imaginary voyage in the manner of Jonathan Swift and Voltaire, was the most all-embracing satire of the time.

  • viaggio a Reims, Il (cantata by Rossini)

    Gioachino Rossini: Parisian period of Gioachino Rossini: …had been staged, he composed Il viaggio a Reims (“The Journey to Reims”), a cantata improvised for the coronation of Charles X.

  • Viaggio in Italia (film by Rossellini [1954])

    Ingrid Bergman: Scandal and later films: …and Viaggio in Italia (1954; Journey to Italy). During this time she married (1950–57) Rossellini, and the couple had two more children, including Isabella Rossellini, who became a noted model and actress.

  • Viagra (drug)

    Viagra, trade name of the first oral drug for male impotence, introduced by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, Inc., in 1998. Also known by the chemical name sildenafil citrate, it is one of a category of drugs known as phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors. See also PDE-5

  • Viaje a la Semilla (work by Carpentier)

    Alejo Carpentier: Viaje a la semilla (1944; Journey Back to the Source), for instance, set in 19th-century Cuba, is told in reverse, from the protagonist’s death to his return to the womb. This and other stories would be collected in the important volume Guerra del tiempo (1958; War of Time). Carpentier’s second…

  • viaje entretenido, El (work by Rojas Villandrando)

    Agustín de Rojas Villandrando: …author whose most important work, El viaje entretenido (“The Pleasant Voyage”), a picaresque novel in dialogue form, provides a valuable account of the Spanish theatre in the 16th century and of the life of the actors. He is also considered the cleverest writer of loas (laudatory dramatic prologues) of his…

  • Vian, Boris (French author)

    French literature: Sartre: …of Sartre were captured in Boris Vian’s L’Écume des jours (1947; Froth on the Daydream). Sartre’s patronage of Jean Genet, Cocteau’s discovery, helped confirm the reputation of Genet, whose novels of prison fantasy and homosexual desire added to the radical ferment of the 1940s (among them Notre-Dame-des Fleurs [1943; Our…

  • Viana, Carlos de Aragon, Prince de (Spanish prince)

    Carlos de Aragon, prince de Viana was the prince de Viana and heir apparent to the throne of Navarre (from 1428), who intrigued for both the Navarrese and Aragonese crowns. The son of the future John II of Aragon and Blanche, daughter of Charles III of Navarre, who succeeded her father in 1425,

  • Viander, Le (work by Tirel)

    gastronomy: Middle Ages: …Middle Ages is provided by Le Viander (c. 1375), the first French cookbook of importance. It was written by Guillaume Tirel, more familiarly known as Taillevent, who served as chef to King Charles VI. Like the Romans, he used bread as the thickener for his sauces, instead of flour (which…

  • Vianen (Netherlands)

    Hendrik van Brederode: …had held the lordship of Vianen south of Utrecht, Brederode became known as a spirited soldier and succeeded to the family titles in 1556. In 1564 he joined the league of great nobles that successfully petitioned Philip II of Spain to remove Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle, virtual head of the…