Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Re - 58 reference results
phalanstère or phalanstery: see Fourier, Charles.
Zaïre, country, Africa: see Congo, Democratic Republic of the.
Zaïre, river, Africa: see Congo, river.
Walküre: see Valkyries.
Sûre or Sauer, principal river of Luxembourg, c.100 mi (160 km) long, rising in the Ardennes, SE Belgium. It flows east through Luxembourg, then south (forming part of the Luxembourg-German border) to join with the Moselle (Mosel) River. With its tributaries, the Our, the Clerf, and the Alzette (which passes through the city of Luxembourg), the Sûre drains all of Luxembourg.
Soufrière, active volcano, 4,813 ft (1,467 m) high, on Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, in the Caribbean Sea. Called also La Grande Soufrière, it is the highest mountain in the Lesser Antilles. The volcano erupted in 1976 with no loss of life, as the area had been safely evacuated.
Soufrière, volcano, 4,048 ft (1,234 m) high, on St. Vincent island, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. On May 7, 1902, the day before the great eruption of Pelée on Martinique island, Soufrière erupted, laying waste a third of St. Vincent, killing more than 1,000 people, and scattering a heavy fall of ash on Barbados island, c.75 mi (120 km) to the east.
Seillière, Ernest, Baron, 1866-1955, French critic and philosopher. He is best known as an opponent of romanticism and for his philosophy of "imperialism." His theories were expounded in many works, notably in La Philosophie de l'impérialisme (4 vol., 1903-8). A collection of his essays was translated as Romanticism (1929).
Roland de la Platière, Jeanne Manon Philipon (Mme Roland), 1754-93, French revolutionary. Imbued with classical ideals and with the philosophy of Rousseau, she made her house the intellectual center of the Girondists, and her influence on Girondist policy was great. Her husband, Jean Marie Roland de la Platière, rose to prominence in the Revolution largely as a result of her ambition and political connections. When her party fell Mme Roland was arrested; as she walked to the guillotine she cried, "O Liberty, what crimes are committed in thy name!"

See her letters (ed. by C. Perroud, 1900-1902); biographies by M. C. Jacquemaire (1930) and G. May (1970).

Roland de la Platière, Jean Marie, 1734-93, French revolutionary. An inspector general of commerce at Rouen and Amiens, he went to Paris in 1791 and published the Financier patriote. Largely through the influence of his wife, Jeanne Manon Roland de la Platière, Roland rose to power with the Girondists and became (1792) minister of the interior. King Louis XVI dismissed him in July, 1792, but he was restored to office after the overthrow of the monarchy (Aug. 10, 1792). Accused of royalism in 1793, he resigned and fled Paris. When he learned that his wife had been executed, he committed suicide.
Rivière du Loup, city (1991 pop. 14,017), E Que., Canada, on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, NE of Quebec. It is a commercial and industrial center in a lumbering and agricultural region. There are saw and paper mills. It is also a resort and tourist center. Settled in 1833, it was originally called Fraserville.
Re: see Ra, in Egyptian religion.
Re, symbol for the element rhenium.
Père-Lachaise: see cemetery; La Chaise, François d'Aix de.
Père David's deer, Asian deer, Elaphurus davidianus, known only in a semidomesticated state. It has a bulky, donkeylike body, reaching a shoulder height of nearly 4 ft (120 cm), with a tufted tail longer than that of any other deer. It is tawny red with white underparts and a white ring around each eye. Its hooves are very broad. It has curious antlers, with irregularly branching front prongs and usually straight posterior prongs. The antlers may reach 3 ft (90 cm) in length. E. davidianus came to the attention of Westerners in 1865, when it was observed by the missionary Père Armand David in the gardens of the Chinese emperor, near Beijing. Several specimens were sent to Europe, where they flourished in captivity; those remaining in China all perished during the Boxer Uprising. After World War II, breeding stock from England was distributed to the world's zoos, and in 1960 the species was reestablished in China. The natural habitat of this deer is unknown, but it is believed to have inhabited the swampy plains of China until it was displaced by agriculture. It is classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Artiodactyla, family Cervidae.

See B. Beck and C. Wemmer, The Management and Biology of an Extinct Species: Père David's Deer (1983).

Møre og Romsdal, county (1995 pop. 240,215), 5,820 sq mi (15,074 sq km) W Norway, bordering on the Atlantic Ocean in the west. Molde is the capital. It is a scenic mountainous region, with deep valleys, including the Romsdalen valley, numerous fjords, and many islands. Fishing, tourism, and farming are important, and there are aluminum, textile, shoe, and furniture industries.
Moral Re-Armament: see Buchman, Frank N. D.
Molière, Jean Baptiste Poquelin, 1622-73, French playwright and actor, b. Paris; son of a merchant who was upholsterer to the king. His name was originally Jean Baptiste Poquelin. Molière was the creator of French high comedy; his genius lay in exposing the hypocrisies and follies of his society through satire.

Life

In his youth Moliére joined the Béjart troupe of professional actors. Madeleine Béjart was for years his mistress, but in 1662 he scandalized many by marrying Armande Béjart, who was either Madeleine's younger sister or her daughter. The little company, headed by Molière and called the Illustre Théâtre, settled (1643) in Paris, but their venture failed (1645), and they spent the next 13 years touring the provinces. They returned in triumph with a performance of Molière's Le Docteur amoureux for Louis XIV. Under royal patronage this troupe, performing at the Palais Royal, enjoyed continuous success; it is known as the ancestor of the Comédie Française. Molière had, nevertheless, to contend with rivalry from the Hôtel de Bourgogne and with cries of impiety and slander from critics and other authors.

The Plays

The great variety in Molière's work stems from his being at once actor, director, stage manager, and writer. Influenced by the commedia dell'arte, he wrote farces, comedies, masks, and ballets on short notice for the entertainment of the court. He is best known for the great comedies of character in which he ridicules a vice or a type of excess by caricaturing a person who is its incarnation: Le Tartuffe (1664), on the religious hypocrite; Le Misanthrope (1666), on the antisocial man; L'Avare (1668, tr. The Miser); and Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme (1670, tr. The Would-Be Gentleman), on the parvenu.

Other plays in which vices are personified are Les Femmes savantes (1672, tr. The Learned Women), on the fashionable, affected intellectuals whom he had already lampooned in Les Précieuses ridicules (1659), often called the first comedy of manners and Le Malade imaginaire (1673), on the hypochondriac. Molière was acting the title role of the latter when he was fatally stricken. Also comedies of character, but depending more on absurdities, are L'École des maris (1661, tr. The School for Husbands) and L'École des femmes (1662, tr. The School for Wives), which was followed by a skit against the critics, La Critique de l'École des femmes (1663); and Don Juan (1665), an adaptation of the old story of the libertine.

The playwright's farces are uproarious—Sganarelle (1660), Le Médecin malgré lui (1666, tr. The Doctor in Spite of Himself), George Dandin (1668), Monsieur de Pourceaugnac (1669), Les Fourberies de Scapin (1671, tr. Scapin, the Trickster), and La Comtesse d'Escarbagnas (1671). Among Molière's other works are the poetic Amphitryon (1668), after Plautus; L'Étourdi (1653?, tr. The Blunderer); Le Dépit amoureux (1656, tr. The Amorous Quarrel); and Le Mariage forcé (1664, tr. The Forced Marriage).

Bibliography

A primary source on Molière's career is the careful Registre or daybook of programs, expenditures, and receipts of the Paris company from 1658. It was kept by the actor Charles Varlet de la Grange (1639?—1692).

See also biographies by H. M. Trollope (1905), D. B. W. Lewis (1959), J. Palmer (2d ed. 1965), and V. Scott (2001); studies by P. A. Chapman (1941, repr. 1965), L. Gossman (1969), R. Fernandez (1929, repr. 1980), N. Gross (1982), and H. C. Knutson (1987).

Martignac, Jean Baptiste Sylvère Gay, vicomte de, 1778-1832, French statesman. He was elected (1821) to the chamber of deputies and was named a member of the council of state in 1822. In 1828 he was made minister of the interior and virtual head of the new cabinet by King Charles X after the fall of the ministry of the comte de Villèle. Martignac's cabinet, composed of both liberals and reactionaries, was ineffective; his liberal reforms were killed by the ultraroyalists. The king had never liked Martignac's moderate concessions to the liberals and in 1829 dismissed him and appointed the reactionary prince de Polignac to succeed him.
Manley, Mary de la Rivière, 1663-1724, English author, one of the first women to earn a living by writing. Notorious because of her marriage to her cousin, who was already married and who later deserted her, she turned to literature and avenged herself on society by writing several scandalous memoirs disguised as prose romances. The New Atalantis (1709), her most notable book, abused every prominent member of the Whig party then in power and involved her in a court suit. She collaborated with Swift on various Tory pamphlets and in 1711 succeeded him as editor of the Examiner.
Lumière, Louis Jean, 1864-1948, and Auguste Lumière, 1862-1954, French inventors, brothers. They invented the Cinématographe, which was patented and demonstrated in 1895. This mechanism was the first to photograph, print, and project moving pictures onto a screen where they could be viewed by an audience. The portable Cinématographe was an important improvement upon the Edison kinetoscope.
Lozère, department (1990 pop. 72,700), S central France. Mende is the capital.
Louvière, La, commune (1991 pop. 76,432), Hainaut prov., S Belgium. It was an industrial center of the Bassin du Centre coal-mining region but has changed its economic focus since the coal mines ceased producing.
Laudonnière, René Goulaine de, fl. 1562-82, French colonizer in Florida. After accompanying Jean Ribaut on the first French expedition to Florida (1562), he led a second colonization attempt in 1564, establishing Fort Caroline (named for Charles IX of France) on the south bank of the St. Johns River near its mouth. The colonists soon incurred the enmity of the Native Americans, many refused to work, others took to piracy, and finally most of them mutinied. Fort Caroline was in desperate straits when the English privateer Sir John Hawkins appeared in Aug., 1565, and sold Laudonnière food and one of his ships. Laudonnière was prepared to sail for France when Ribaut arrived with supplies, reinforcements, and an order for Laudonnière to return to answer charges that had been brought against him. His departure was delayed by the appearance of the Spanish. Ribaut sailed to attack them at St. Augustine, but Pedro Menéndez de Avilés attacked Fort Caroline by land and massacred most of those left there by Ribaut. Laudonnière, one of the few who escaped, finally reached France in Jan., 1566. His Histoire notable de la Floride (1586) was translated by Richard Hakluyt as A Notable Historie Containing Foure Voyages Made by Certayne French Captaynes into Florida (1587).

See study by C. E. Bennett (1964).

Largillière, Nicolas de, 1656-1746, French portrait and history painter, b. Paris. He was brought up in Antwerp, and the influence of Rubens is evident in his vigorous and colorful style. Favored by Le Brun, he became a successful portrait painter in Paris and London. One of his best-known pictures is The Painter and His Family (Louvre). Examples of his work are to be seen in the National Portrait Gallery and the Wallace Collection, London, and in the Metropolitan Museum.
Lamoricière, Christophe Léon Louis Juchault de, 1806-65, French general. Important in the conquest of Algeria, he distinguished himself at the head of his celebrated Zouaves and received (1847) the submission of Abd al-Kader. He was active in French politics after the February Revolution of 1848, but his opposition to Napoleon III led to his banishment (1852). In 1860, as commander of the papal army, he was routed by a superior Piedmontese force.
La Vallière, Louise Françoise de La Baume Le Blanc de, 1644-1710, mistress of King Louis XIV of France. Maid of honor to Louis's sister-in-law, Henrietta of England, she became the king's mistress in 1661. She bore him four children, of whom two died in infancy. In 1667, by the same government act that legitimized her daughter, she was created duchess. She was replaced in the king's affections by Mme de Montespan. In 1674 she retired to a Carmelite convent and became celebrated for her piety.

See biography by J. Sanders (1959).

La Bruyère, Jean de, 1645-96, French writer. He lived (1684-96) as tutor in the house of the prince de Condé. His great work, Les Caractères de Théophraste, traduits du grec; avec Les Caractères ou les mɶurs de ce siècle, appeared in 1688 and subsequently in revised and augmented editions until the ninth (1696). The first, and least, part of this work is a translation of Theophrastus; the balance is a series of random character sketches, maxims, and literary discussions, written in a terse, ironic style. La Bruyère's strong moral views on the contemporary economy, on the widespread poverty, and on the idle life of the nobility gained lasting attention. He was less a reformer than a detached observer. A defender of classical writers in the "quarrel of the ancients and moderns," he was admitted to the French Academy in 1693.
Jonquière, city (1991 pop. 57,933), S Que., Canada, on the Saguenay River, W of Chicoutimi. Its chief industries produce paper, pulp, and aluminum. The city was reincorporated in 1976, when it absorbed the surrounding cities of Arvida and Kénogami and the municipality of Saint-Dominique-de-Jonquière. Jonquière has a college and a school of technology.
Isère, department (1990 pop. 1,025,300), SE France, in Dauphiné. Grenoble is the capital.
Hyacinthe, Père: see Loyson, Charles.
Haut-Zaïre, region, Zaïre: see Orientale.
Guerrière: see Constitution, ship.
Gruyère, La, district (1990 pop. 33,080) in Fribourg canton, W Switzerland. It is famous for its cattle and for Gruyère cheese. The population is largely French-speaking and Roman Catholic.
Grand-Mère, city (1991 pop. 14,287), S Que., Canada, on the St. Maurice River, N of Trois Rivières. The Grand-Mère Falls furnish power for paper and pulp mills. The city also has clothing and textile factories, and a growing service industry.
Gouthière, Pierre, 1732?-c.1813, French metalworker. The greatest artist of ornamental bronzes of the period of Louis XVI, he produced a vast number of superb cast and chiseled gilt bronzes, executed chiefly for the adornment of fine clocks, East Asian and Sèvres porcelains, and furniture. The Wallace Collection in London includes a red jasper bowl adorned by Gouthière that once belonged to Mme Du Barry, a clock bearing his signature, and many other fine works.
Glière, Reinhold Moritzovich, 1875-1956, Russian composer. Among his pupils were Prokofiev, Miaskovsky, and Khachaturian. His compositions, generally nationalistic with romantic and impressionistic elements, show the influence of Russian folk melodies that he collected in Europe and Asia. His best-known works are the ballet The Red Poppy (1927) and his Third Symphony (Ilya Mourometz, 1909-11).
Gault, in re, case decided in 1967 by the U.S. Supreme Court. Fifteen-year-old Gerald Gault had been found a delinquent by an Arizona juvenile court and sentenced to the state industrial school for up to six years for having made allegedly obscene telephone calls to a female neighbor. Under the juvenile code Gault had been denied notice of the charges, right to counsel, right to confront and cross-examine witnesses, and the privilege against self-incrimination. In overturning the juvenile court's decision the Supreme Court ruled that these rights were fundamental to a fair trial and could not be denied to children. Justice Abe Fortas's opinion noted that although juvenile courts were originally set up to benefit children, the discrepancy between theory and reality required procedural safeguards.
Finistère [Lat. finis terrae=land's end], department (1990 pop. 839,800), NW France, in Brittany. Quimper is the capital.
Dumas père: see Dumas, Alexandre (1802-70).
Du Pont, Eleuthère Irénée, 1772-1834, American gunpowder manufacturer, b. Paris, France; son of Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours. At the age of 17, Irénée entered the royal gunpowderworks, where Lavoisier taught him the trade. After Lavoisier was forced to leave the plant, Irénée began managing (1791) his father's printing house, where the Du Ponts published counterrevolutionary pamphlets. When the Jacobins suppressed the printing house, Irénée and his family left for the United States to set up a trading and land company. Although he met disillusionment upon reaching (1800) the United States, Irénée soon formulated plans to improve the quality of American gunpowder. In July, 1802, he began constructing his powderworks on Brandywine Creek, near Wilmington, Del. Despite lack of capital, Irénée continuously improved his gunpowder and plant and, within a few years, developed an extensive business (now E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company). His sales were augmented during the War of 1812 and the years following, but his immense debts and family obligations constantly plagued him. He was appointed (1822) a director of the Bank of the United States, and his judgment on developing industries and encouraging agriculture was often sought.
De Maizière, Lothar, 1940-, the first and last freely elected prime minister of the (East) German Democratic Republic. He joined the puppet Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in 1957 and the federal Synod of Protestant Churches, becoming its vice president in 1985. He was minister of religious affairs and deputy prime minister in Hans Modrow's Communist reform cabinet (Nov. 9, 1989). Withdrawing support from the embattled government, he resigned in Jan., 1990. Advocating rapid reunification with West Germany, he won the March elections with 45.6% of the vote. A reluctant public figure, as prime minister in a "Grand Coalition" he negotiated reunification and an end to his own position. He became minister without portfolio in Helmut Kohl's cabinet in reunified Germany (Oct., 1990). He resigned from his post, and as head of the CDU, in December when allegations surfaced that he had worked for the Stasi, the East German secret police.
Corbière, Tristan, 1845-75, French poet, born Édouard Joachim Corbière. He spent most of his life on the coast of Brittany, living a Bohemian existence and suffering chronic illness. His passion for the sea is expressed in his early poems Gens de mer [men of the sea], which were collected in Les Amours jaunes (1873, tr. 1954). Corbière's style combines vernacular elements with complex, intimate emotion and constantly reflects his internal pain. Verlaine brought his work to the attention of the literary world, and, in the 20th cent., the surrealist writers claimed him as an ancestor.
Clavière, Étienne, 1735-93, French financier. A merchant and banker of Geneva, he participated (1782) in the popular revolution at Geneva and was forced to leave when the aristocrats returned to power in the same year. He settled in Paris. During the French Revolution Clavière was an adviser to the comte de Mirabeau on financial policy and had a part in the issuing of assignats. He was finance minister in the king's Girondist cabinet of Mar.-June, 1792. Clavière fell with the Girondists and committed suicide rather than face the Revolutionary Tribunal.
Chaudière Falls, in the Ottawa River in the heart of the city of Ottawa, Ont., Canada. The river is narrowed by rocky cliffs to a width of c.200 ft (60 m) and drops 50 ft (15 m) in a series of cascades. Several bridges cross the river there, passing over the falls.
Chaudière, river, 115 mi (185 km) long, rising in Lac Mégantic, SE Que., Canada, near the Maine-Que. boundary and flowing generally N to the St. Lawrence River opposite the city of Quebec. A hydroelectric power plant at Chaudière Falls (130 ft/40 m high) supplies electricity to the Quebec city region.
Carrère, John Merven, 1858-1911, American architect, b. Rio de Janeiro. After graduating from the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris, he worked under McKim, Mead, and White in New York City, and from 1886 until his death practiced in partnership with Thomas Hastings. The best-known works of Carrère and Hastings are the New York Public Library (commission awarded in competition; completed 1911), the office buildings of the Senate and the House, and the Carnegie Institution, Washington, D.C.
Carrière, Eugène, 1849-1906, French painter and lithographer. He is best known for his spiritual interpretations of maternity and family life. Characteristic are his Crucifixion and Maternity (both: Louvre). He also painted some large canvases for the Sorbonne and the Hôtel de Ville, Paris. Among his works are many notable portraits, including those of Verlaine, Daudet, and Edmond de Goncourt (all: Louvre).
Brunetière, Ferdinand, 1849-1906, French literary critic. An opponent of naturalism, he believed that literature should reflect a moral order. His vast learning is evident in the masterly Manuel de l'histoire de la littérature française (1897) and in the history of French literature from 1515, most of which was published (1904-17) posthumously from his notes.
Bruay-la-Buissière, formerly Bruay-en-Artois, town (1990 pop. 25,451), Pas-de-Calais dept., NE France. Once a coal-mining center, the town has textile and construction industries.
Barère de Vieuzac, Bertrand, 1755-1841, French revolutionary. A member of the Revolutionary National Assembly and of the Convention, he moved from a moderate to a radical stand, voting for the execution of King Louis XVI. He was a member of and often the spokesman for the Committee of Public Safety, the body that ruled France for a time during the Revolutionary Wars. When the moderates in the Convention turned against Maximilien Robespierre, one of the leaders of the committee and perpetrator of the Reign of Terror (June, 1794), Barère deserted his colleague. Nevertheless, Barère was imprisoned for his role in the Terror. Escaping from prison, he remained in hiding for several years but reappeared as a secret agent of Emperor Napoleon I. Banished (1815) after the Bourbon restoration, he returned in the reign of Louis Philippe. He left memoirs.

See biography by L. Gershoy (1962).

Barrère, Georges, 1876-1944, French-American flutist and conductor, grad. Paris Conservatory, 1895. In Paris he was solo flutist (1897-1905) of the Colonne Concerts and the Paris Opera, and he taught at the Schola Cantorum. He was solo flutist (1905-28) of the New York Symphony Orchestra. He joined the faculty of the Institute of Musical Art in 1905 and of the Juilliard School of Music in 1930. The Barrère Ensemble, which he founded in 1910, was expanded (1914) into the Barrère Little Symphony. His virtuosity increased the importance of the flute as a solo instrument.
Barante, Amable Guillaume Prosper Brugière, baron de, 1782-1866, French statesman and historian. He held numerous administrative and diplomatic posts but retired with the downfall of Louis Philippe (1848). Of his historical works, the best known is a history of the duchy of Burgundy (1824). His Souvenirs (8 vol., 1890-1901), published posthumously, have considerable charm and some value as historical source material.
Antoine, Père, 1748-1829, Spanish priest in New Orleans, a Capuchin friar. His family name was Mareno, and the Spanish name given to him by the church was Antonio de Sedella. Through many years of service at St. Louis Cathedral under Spanish, briefly French, and then U.S. rule, he won great love and respect from his French congregation, who had previously regarded his harshness with distaste. He was almost constantly at war with the authorities. The Spanish colonial rulers once sent him back as a prisoner to Spain, and U.S. officials were later highly incensed at his secret dealings with the Spanish. The legend that he was empowered to introduce the Inquisition to Louisiana but refrained from doing so is apparently based on fact.
Ampère, André Marie, 1775-1836, French physicist, mathematician, and natural philosopher. He was professor of mathematics at the École Polytechnique, Paris, and later at the Collège de France. Known for his contributions to electrodynamics, including the formulation of Ampère's law, he confirmed and amplified the work of Oersted on the relationship of electricity and magnetism, and he invented the astatic needle. The ampere was named for him. His writings include Recueil d'observations électro-dynamiques (1822) and Essai sur la philosophie des sciences (2 vol., 1834-43, vol. 1 repr. 1838).

See his Correspondance pub. by L. de Launay (3 vol., 1936-43).

One of a school of poets that flourished in northern France from the 11th to the 14th century. Trouvères were the counterparts in the language of northern France (the langue d'oïl) to the Provençal troubadour. Of either aristocratic or humble origins, they were originally connected with feudal courts but later found middle-class patrons. Noted for such forms as the chanson de geste, their works are generally narratives; their basic subject was courtly love. Trouvères pleased their audiences by combining stylized themes and traditional metrical forms rather than by originality of expression. The lyrics were intended to be sung, by the poet alone or accompanied by a hired musician.

Learn more about trouvère with a free trial on Britannica.com.

or Ra

In ancient Egyptian religion, the creator god and god of the sun. He was believed to sail across the sky in his solar bark and at night to travel in another bark through the underworld, where he had to vanquish a serpent before he could be born again. As one of the creator gods, he rose from the ocean of chaos, creating himself and then engendering eight other gods. From the 4th dynasty, kings held the h1 Son of Re, and Re later became part of the throne name they adopted at accession and was appended to the names of such gods as Amon and Sebek.

Learn more about Re with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Search another word or see Re on Dictionary | Thesaurus
FacebookTwitterFollow us: