France, History Of

The period of the Merovingian and uninterrupted Carolingian Frankish dynasties (476–887) encompasses what scholars call the Early Middle Ages. After the 4th and 5th centuries, when Germanic peoples entered the Roman Empire in substantial numbers and brought the existence of that Mediterranean state to an end, the Franks played a key role in Gaul, unifying it under their

Israel, Cultural institutions

Israel has a rich and varied range of cultural institutions, including major libraries, an art institute and artists' colonies, art museums, institutes for archeology and folk life, theatres, concert halls and performing arts centres, and movie houses. A thriving film industry has emerged. In 1953 the Israeli government established the Academy of the Hebrew Language

Adamson, Joy; And Adamson, George

Following an education in Vienna and two divorces, Austrian-born Joy Gessner, living in Kenya from 1939, married George Adamson (1944), a British game warden who had

Beira

Former principality and historical province, north-central Portugal, extending from the banks of the Douro River in the north to the upper course of the Tagus in the southeast and from the Spanish frontier in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west. The region was reconquered from the Moors in the 8th century, but Moorish attacks continued until the 15th. It was also

Adam, Robert

As a designer of furniture, too, Adam played a leading role and was prolific, turning his hand to everything from organ cases and sedan chairs to saltcellars and door fittings. The furniture style he evolved, popularized by the cabinetmaker George Hepplewhite, was always meant to harmonize with the rest of the home. It is one of the outstanding features of an Adam interior

Quillwork

Type of embroidery done with the quills of a porcupine, or sometimes with bird feathers. This type of decoration was used by American Indians from Maine to Virginia and westward to the Rocky Mountains. For all practical purposes the art has died out. Quills were used on tobacco and tinder bags, knife and paintstick cases, cradles, armulets, burden straps, tunics, shirts,

Madagascar, Plant and animal life

Much of the island was once covered with evergreen and deciduous forest, but little now remains except on the eastern escarpment and in scattered pockets in the west. The plateau is particularly denuded and suffers seriously from erosion. The forest has been cut in order to clear rice fields, to obtain fuel and building materials, and to export valuable timber, such

Cineraria

Greenhouse cinerarias may be