St. Mesrop Mashtots ; Western feast day, Thursday following 4th Sunday after Pentecost, and Monday following 3rd Sunday after the Assumption; Armenian feast day, February 19) was a monk, theologian, and linguist who, according to tradition, invented the Armenian script in 405 and helped establish

St. Mesrop Mashtots: …popular Armenian Bible, the “Mesropian” Bible (c. 410). Mesrop Mashtots himself was responsible for translating the New Testament and the Old Testament book of Proverbs. He subsequently revised the entire text.

Requiem, requiem mass by Giuseppe Verdi, intended as a memorial to a departed hero—the poet, playwright, and novelist Alessandro Manzoni. Requiem premiered in Milan on May 22, 1874. It is Verdi’s largest-scale nonoperatic work. The leading Italian writer of the 1800s, Manzoni played the role in

speech: The basic registers: …is the physiologic basis of messa di voce, the technique of swelling tones. Thus, the characteristic mechanism of each register represents a continuum of intralaryngeal adjustments. In the male voice, the gradual and overlapping transitions of phonic function may be aligned as follows: low chest tones, loud–soft; transition; middle register,…

communication: Linear models: Messages (electronic messages, initially) were supposed to travel along this path, to be changed into electric energy by the transmitter, and to be reconstituted into intelligible language by the receiver. In time, the five elements of the model were renamed so as to specify components…

Fernando Pessoa: …his first book in Portuguese, Mensagem (Message), appeared. It attracted little attention, and Pessoa died the next year a virtual unknown.

Paul Baran: …of computer data into “message blocks”—separate pieces of data that would be sent independently to the target destination, where they would be rejoined into the original message. By foregoing dedicated communication lines in favour of using any number of available circuits, Baran’s system increased transmission capacity (bandwidth) and created…

dream: Dreams as a source of divination: …the most confidence about so-called message dreams. Characteristically, a god or some other respected figure appears to the dreamer (typically a king, a hero, or a priest) in time of crisis and states a message. Such reports are found on ancient Sumerian and Egyptian monuments; frequent examples appear in the…

Chadwick Boseman: …in the little-seen revenge thriller Message from the King. However, his most notable film that year was Captain America: Civil War, in which he first appeared as Marvel superhero T’Challa/Black Panther, king of the fictional African country Wakanda who has an alter ego. Boseman next portrayed a young Thurgood Marshall…

Nicholas Sparks: …more novels, two of which, Message in a Bottle (1998) and A Walk to Remember (1999), had already arrived in cinemas, in 1999 and 2002, respectively. Sparks saw a number of other novels adapted for the screen, including Nights in Rodanthe (2002; film 2008), Dear John (2006; film 2010), The…

Walker Percy: …also wrote such nonfiction as The Message in the Bottle (1975), a sophisticated philosophical treatment of semantics, and Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book (1985), an offbeat amalgam of a self-help-book parody and a philosophical treatise.

Elbert Hubbard: …number of The Philistine, “A Message to Garcia” appeared, in which the importance of perseverance was drawn as a moral from a Spanish-American War incident. In 1908 Hubbard began to edit and publish a second monthly, The Fra. His printing establishment in time expanded to include furniture and leather shops,…

Iris Murdoch: …Book and the Brotherhood (1987), The Message to the Planet (1989), and The Green Knight (1993). Murdoch’s last novel, Jackson’s Dilemma (1995), was not well received; some critics attributed the novel’s flaws to the Alzheimer’s disease with which she had been diagnosed in 1994. Murdoch’s husband, the novelist John Bayley,…

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five: …realities of ghetto life in “The Message” (1982), they became the pioneers of socially conscious protest rap, inspiring the likes of Public Enemy’s Chuck D and Boogie Down Production’s KRS-One to create provocative social commentary in the manner of Bob Dylan and Bob Marley. The group also tackled drug abuse…

André Messager was a French conductor and composer whose operettas achieved popularity in France and England. Messager established his reputation with his operetta La Béarnaise (performed Paris, 1885; London, 1886). Between 1890 and 1926 he produced 14 operettas, including Madame Chrysanthème

André Messager was a French conductor and composer whose operettas achieved popularity in France and England. Messager established his reputation with his operetta La Béarnaise (performed Paris, 1885; London, 1886). Between 1890 and 1926 he produced 14 operettas, including Madame Chrysanthème

Charles Vildrac was a French poet, playwright, and essayist whose idealistic commitment to humanitarianism characterized his artistic and personal life. Vildrac, along with the writer Georges Duhamel (later his brother-in-law) and others, founded the Abbaye de Créteil, a community of young artists

Air France, French international airline originally formed in 1933 and today serving all parts of the globe. With British Airways, it was the first to fly the supersonic Concorde. Headquarters are in Paris. On May 17, 1933, four airlines—Société Centrale pour l’Exploitation de Lignes Aériennes

Ahmed Messali Hadj was a revolutionary Algerian nationalist leader. Messali emerged in 1927 as the head of an Algerian workers’ association in Paris and spent most of the rest of his life forming pro-independence organizations, agitating both in France and Algeria, suffering imprisonment, and

Christianity: Eastern Christianity: …denounced as heretics were the Messalians (Syriac for “praying people”) of the 4th century. They were accused of neglecting the sacraments for ceaseless prayer and of teaching a materialistic vision of God. Later mystics, both orthodox and suspect, have been accused of Messalianism.

Messalina Valeria was the third wife of the Roman emperor Claudius, notorious for licentious behaviour and instigating murderous court intrigues. The great-granddaughter of Augustus’s sister, Octavia, on both her father’s and mother’s sides, she was married to Claudius before he became emperor.

Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus was a Roman aristocrat, public servant, orator, and patron of literature. Messalla was proscribed by the Second Triumvirate in 43, but he escaped to the camp of Brutus and Cassius and after their defeat at Philippi (42) went over to Mark Antony. Later he joined

Messalina Valeria was the third wife of the Roman emperor Claudius, notorious for licentious behaviour and instigating murderous court intrigues. The great-granddaughter of Augustus’s sister, Octavia, on both her father’s and mother’s sides, she was married to Claudius before he became emperor.

Mozambique: Drainage of Mozambique: …important drainage systems include the Messalo River in the north, the Púngoè (Púnguè), Revuè, and Búzi rivers, which enter the Mozambique Channel together just south of the port of Beira, and the Limpopo River in the south.

Messina, city and port, extreme northeastern Sicily, Italy, on the lower slopes of the Peloritani Mountains, on the Strait of Messina opposite Reggio di Calabria. It was an ancient Siculan colony, first mentioned about 730 bce, founded by settlers from Chalcis, who called it Zankle (“Sickle”), from

Messapic alphabet, one of two Italian offshoots of the Tarentine–Ionic variety of the Greek alphabet. It was adopted c. 500 bc by the Messapii, who inhabited southeastern Italy in pre-Roman

Messapic language, Indo-European language spoken by tribes (Messapii and Iapyges) living in the southeastern part of Italy in pre-Roman and early Roman times. Messapic inscriptions date from the 6th to the 1st century bc. The language is believed to be related to the extinct Illyrian languages that

Messapic alphabet, one of two Italian offshoots of the Tarentine–Ionic variety of the Greek alphabet. It was adopted c. 500 bc by the Messapii, who inhabited southeastern Italy in pre-Roman

Messapic language, Indo-European language spoken by tribes (Messapii and Iapyges) living in the southeastern part of Italy in pre-Roman and early Roman times. Messapic inscriptions date from the 6th to the 1st century bc. The language is believed to be related to the extinct Illyrian languages that

Messapii, ancient pre-Roman people of the southeastern part of the Italian peninsula (Calabria and Apulia) who, with the closely related Iapyges, probably penetrated Italy from the other side of the Adriatic Sea about 1000 bc. They spoke an Indo-European language, Messapic. They frequently fought

Misau, town and traditional emirate, northern Bauchi state, northern Nigeria, 5 miles (8 km) northwest of the Misau River, the upper stretch of the Komadugu Gana. Originally inhabited by Hausa people, the town was captured in 1827 by the emirs Yakubu of Bauchi and Dan Kauwa of Katagum. The ensuing

mass: …first complete Ordinary cycle, the Messe de Notre Dame.

Charles Gounod: In his Messe de Sainte-Cécile (1855) he attempted to blend the sacred with a more secular style of composition. An excursion into comic opera followed with Le Médecin malgré lui (1858; The Mock Doctor), based on Molière’s comedy. From 1852 Gounod worked on Faust, using a libretto…

Hans Lietzmann: …his Messe und Herrenmahl (1926; The Mass and the Lord’s Supper), which detected a possible fusion of two distinct types of 1st- and 2nd-century prayer services. His extensive research on St. Peter and St. Paul provided insights into the development of the church’s organization in 1st-century Rome. Geschichte der alten…

Western architecture: Germany and Austria: …more indigenous German classicism encouraged Alfred Messel in Berlin to study the austere Neoclassicism of Gentz and Gilly of a century earlier, hence the Greek Revival flavour of Messel’s offices for the AEG (formerly the Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft) and his National Bank, both built in Berlin in 1905–07. This style was…

Messene, ancient city, southwestern Peloponnese (Modern Greek: Pelopónnisos), Greece, not to be confused with the modern township of the same name farther south. It was probably founded in 369 bce after the defeat of Sparta by Athens and the Boeotian League in the Battle of Leuctra (371) for the

Messina, city and port, extreme northeastern Sicily, Italy, on the lower slopes of the Peloritani Mountains, on the Strait of Messina opposite Reggio di Calabria. It was an ancient Siculan colony, first mentioned about 730 bce, founded by settlers from Chalcis, who called it Zankle (“Sickle”), from

Messenger, (foaled 1780), racehorse who, though a Thoroughbred who sired many successful Thoroughbred (flat) racers, was most important as the foundation sire of the Standardbred (harness racehorse) breed. A son of Mambrino and grandson of Matchem, he was foaled in England but was taken to

Messenger, U.S. spacecraft that studied Mercury’s surface and environment. The name was selected in honour of ancient Greek observers who perceived Mercury in its 88-day orbit of the Sun and named it for the messenger of the gods (Hermes, known to the Romans as Mercury). Messenger was launched on

subatomic particle: Finding the messenger particles: In addition to the Higgs boson, or bosons, electroweak theory also predicts the existence of an electrically neutral carrier for the weak force. This neutral carrier, called the Z0, should mediate the neutral current interactions—weak interactions in which electric charge is not transferred…

messenger RNA (mRNA), molecule in cells that carries codes from the DNA in the nucleus to the sites of protein synthesis in the cytoplasm (the ribosomes). The molecule that would eventually become known as mRNA was first described in 1956 by scientists Elliot Volkin and Lazarus Astrachan. In

messenger RNA (mRNA), molecule in cells that carries codes from the DNA in the nucleus to the sites of protein synthesis in the cytoplasm (the ribosomes). The molecule that would eventually become known as mRNA was first described in 1956 by scientists Elliot Volkin and Lazarus Astrachan. In

Katalin Karikó: …the development of the first mRNA vaccines—a breakthrough that occurred in 2021, during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. For their discoveries relating to mRNA nucleosides, which opened the way to the development of effective COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, Karikó and her colleague American immunologist Drew Weissman were awarded the 2023…

Woody Harrelson: …soldiers to their families in The Messenger (2009). He costarred in the popular horror comedy Zombieland (2009) and its 2019 sequel, and he won praise for his role as the damaged survivor Haymitch Abernathy in the Hunger Games series (2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015), which was adapted from

the Smiths: …his first official solo release, The Messenger, in 2013. His solo career continued with Playland (2014) and Call the Comet (2018).

Messenia, ancient district and modern perifereiakí enótita (regional unit), southwestern Peloponnese (Modern Greek: Pelopónnisos) periféreia (region), southern Greece. It is bounded on the east by the Taïyetos (Táygetos) Mountains, on the north by the Nédha Potamós (river) and the Arcadian

Gulf of Messenia, gulf of the Ionian Sea (Modern Greek: Ióvio Pélagos) in the nomós (department) of Messenia (Messinía), southwestern Peloponnese (Pelopónnisos), Greece. It is enclosed by the Likódimon Óros (mountain) and Ákra (cape) Akrítas on the west and the Máni peninsula on the east. The

Rhianus: …contents of only one, the Messeniaca, dealing with a 7th-century war between Messene and Sparta, are known. He evidently paid little heed to those contemporary writers such as Callimachus and Theocritus who were calling for a smaller scale in epic poetry, though some borrowings from Callimachus can be detected in…

Messenian Wars, (8th–7th century bc), contests between Sparta and Messenia in ancient Greece. Many modern historians believe that there were two early Messenian wars: the first (c. 735–c. 715) was the Spartan conquest of Messenia; the second (c. 660) was precipitated by a Messenian revolt over

Georg W. Steller: …met German naturalist and explorer Daniel Gottlieb Messerschmidt, who was one of the first naturalists to maintain journals of his travels and observations. Steller admired Messerschmidt’s work and heard about a possible Russian expedition to the Arctic seas in the Far East. In 1737, two years after Messerschmidt’s death, Steller…

Western sculpture: Central Europe: …although the strange, neurotic genius Franz Xavier Messerschmidt began in this style, at the end of his career he produced a startling series of grimacing heads when he lived as a recluse in Bratislava.

Bf 109, Nazi Germany’s most important fighter aircraft, both in operational importance and in numbers produced. It was commonly referred to as the Me 109 after its designer, Willy Messerschmitt. Designed by the Bavarian Airplane Company in response to a 1934 Luftwaffe specification for a

European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company: DaimlerChrysler Aerospace: …the BFW name, which became Messerschmitt AG in 1938. During World War II the company produced the legendary Bf 109 (Me 109) fighter and the Me 262, Germany’s first operational jet fighter (see military aircraft: Early jet fighters). In the postwar period it manufactured civilian goods but returned to aircraft…

Bf 109, Nazi Germany’s most important fighter aircraft, both in operational importance and in numbers produced. It was commonly referred to as the Me 109 after its designer, Willy Messerschmitt. Designed by the Bavarian Airplane Company in response to a 1934 Luftwaffe specification for a

Alexander M. Lippisch: …liquid-fuel rocket aircraft (the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet fighter, first used by the Luftwaffe in 1944). After World War II Lippisch moved to the United States and in 1965 established the Lippisch Research Corporation, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was an early proponent of the delta-wing configuration.

air warfare: The jet age: …operational jet fighter, the German Me-262, outflew the best Allied escorts while attacking bomber formations. This introduced the jet age, in which aircraft soon flew at more than twice the speed of sound (741 miles per hour at sea level and 659 miles per hour at 36,000 feet) and easily…

Willy Messerschmitt was a German aircraft engineer and designer. Messerschmitt was educated at the Munich Institute of Technology, where he received a degree in engineering in 1923. From 1926 he was employed as chief designer and engineer at the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke in Augsburg. His interest in

baseball: Rise of the players: Pitchers Andy Messersmith of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Dave McNally of the Montreal Expos played the entire 1975 season without signing a contract; their contracts had expired but were automatically renewed by their clubs. Miller had been waiting for such a test case. The players’…

Lionel Messi is an Argentine-born football (soccer) player who received a record-setting eight Ballon d’Or awards as the world’s top male player (2009–12, 2015, 2019, 2021, and 2023). In 2022 he helped Argentina win the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)’s World Cup. Messi

Lionel Messi is an Argentine-born football (soccer) player who received a record-setting eight Ballon d’Or awards as the world’s top male player (2009–12, 2015, 2019, 2021, and 2023). In 2022 he helped Argentina win the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)’s World Cup. Messi

Lionel Messi is an Argentine-born football (soccer) player who received a record-setting eight Ballon d’Or awards as the world’s top male player (2009–12, 2015, 2019, 2021, and 2023). In 2022 he helped Argentina win the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)’s World Cup. Messi

Olivier Messiaen was an influential French composer, organist, and teacher noted for his use of mystical and religious themes. As a composer, he developed a highly personal style noted for its rhythmic complexity, rich tonal colour, and unique harmonic language. Messiaen was the son of Pierre

Olivier Messiaen was an influential French composer, organist, and teacher noted for his use of mystical and religious themes. As a composer, he developed a highly personal style noted for its rhythmic complexity, rich tonal colour, and unique harmonic language. Messiaen was the son of Pierre

messiah, (from Hebrew mashiaḥ, “anointed”), in Judaism, the expected king of the Davidic line who would deliver Israel from foreign bondage and restore the glories of its golden age. The Greek New Testament’s translation of the term, christos, became the accepted Christian designation and title of

Messiah, oratorio by German-born English composer George Frideric Handel, premiered in Dublin on April 13, 1742, at Easter rather than at Christmastime, when it is popularly played in the present day. A large-scale semidramatic work for chorus, soloists, and orchestra, it is the source of the

Cynthia Ozick: Her novel The Messiah of Stockholm (1987) is, in part, a meditation on the nature of writing. Heir to the Glimmering World (2004; also published as The Bear Boy) tells the story of a young woman hired as a nanny in the home of two Jewish-German academics…

Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock: …of his Der Messias (The Messiah), written in unrhymed hexameters, appeared in the Bremer Beiträge and created a sensation.

Wilson D. Wallis: …his chief concerns, and his Messiahs: Christian and Pagan (1918) is a pioneer work in the anthropological study of messianism. He taught at the University of Minnesota from 1923 to 1954.

Virgil: Literary career: …the fourth (sometimes called the Messianic, because it was later regarded as prophetic of Christianity). It is an elevated poem, prophesying in sonorous and mystic terms the birth of a child who will bring back the Golden Age, banish sin, and restore peace. It was clearly written at a time…

biblical literature: The Gospel According to Mark: unique structure: …Wrede, a German scholar, the messianic secret motif was a literary and apologetic device by which the Christological faith of the early church could be reconciled with the fact that Jesus never claimed to be the Messiah. According to Wrede, Mark’s solution was: Jesus always knew it but kept it…

eschatology: Messianism: The term messiah, or mashiah (Hebrew: "anointed"), has been applied to a variety of “redeemers,” and many movements with an eschatological or utopian-revolutionary message have been termed messianic. Although messianic movements have occurred throughout the world, they seem to be especially characteristic of the…

Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock: …of his Der Messias (The Messiah), written in unrhymed hexameters, appeared in the Bremer Beiträge and created a sensation.

M87, giant elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo whose nucleus contains a black hole, the first ever to be directly imaged. M87 is the most powerful known source of radio energy among the thousands of galactic systems constituting the so-called Virgo Cluster. It is also a powerful X-ray

Messier catalog, (M), in astronomy, list of 110 star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies compiled by Charles Messier, who discovered many of them. The catalog is still a valuable guide to amateur astronomers, although it has been superceded by the New General Catalogue (NGC); both NGC numbers and

Charles Messier was a French astronomer who was the first to compile a systematic catalog of nebulae and star clusters. In Messier’s time, a nebula was a term used to denote any blurry celestial light source. In 1751 Messier became a draftsman and recorder of astronomical observations for the noted

Jean-Marie Messier is a French businessman who transformed a domestic French utility company into the global media and communications conglomerate Vivendi Universal in the late 20th century. Messier was educated in France at the École Polytechnique (1976–79) and the École Nationale d’Administration

Edmonton Oilers: …future Hall of Fame members Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson, Jari Kurri, and Paul Coffey. They won their first Stanley Cup the following season and repeated the feat in the 1984–85 season. Edmonton won back-to-back Stanley Cups again in 1986–87 and 1987–88. At the close of the 1987–88 season, the Oilers…

Jakob Messikomer was a Swiss farmer and archaeologist who excavated one of the most important Late Stone Age lake dwelling sites at Robenhausen, near Lake Pfäffikon, in Switzerland. In his youth, as Messikomer dug peat for his mother’s kitchen fire, he dreamed of finding remains of the Helvetii,

Musina, town, Limpopo province, South Africa. It lies near the Limpopo River, 10 miles (16 km) south of Zimbabwe. Musina is the northernmost town in South Africa. Founded in 1904 as Messina, it officially became a town in 1968. In 1993 the closure of its copper mine was offset by the opening of a

Messina, city and port, extreme northeastern Sicily, Italy, on the lower slopes of the Peloritani Mountains, on the Strait of Messina opposite Reggio di Calabria. It was an ancient Siculan colony, first mentioned about 730 bce, founded by settlers from Chalcis, who called it Zankle (“Sickle”), from

Messina earthquake and tsunami of 1908, earthquake and subsequent tsunami that devastated southern Italy on Dec. 28, 1908. The double catastrophe almost completely destroyed Messina, Reggio di Calabria, and dozens of nearby coastal towns. What was likely the most powerful recorded earthquake to hit

Messina: …by another quake in 1908, Messina was rebuilt in modern style with wide streets and low, reinforced-concrete buildings. Notable surviving or restored landmarks include the cathedral and the Church of Annunciata dei Catalani, possibly of Byzantine origin, both rebuilt by the Normans in the 12th century. The National Museum houses…

Buffalo Springfield: Later members included Jim Messina (b. December 5, 1947, Maywood, California, U.S.).

Strait of Messina, channel in the Mediterranean Sea separating Sicily (west) and Italy (east) and linking the Tyrrhenian and Ionian seas. The strait is 20 miles (32 km) long, 2 miles (3 km) wide in the north (between Faro Point and the Rock of Scylla), and 10 miles (16 km) wide in the south

Richard I: Sicily: By the Treaty of Messina Richard obtained for Joan her release and her dower, acknowledged Tancred as king of Sicily, declared Arthur of Brittany (Richard’s nephew) to be his own heir, and provided for Arthur to marry Tancred’s daughter. This treaty infuriated the Germans, who were also…

Battle of Messines, battle during World War I, fought June 7–14, 1917, between German and British forces, resulting in a British victory. The capture of Messines Ridge, in southernmost Flanders, Belgium, was a preliminary operation that took place just prior to the Battle of Passchendaele (Third

Messene, ancient city, southwestern Peloponnese (Modern Greek: Pelopónnisos), Greece, not to be confused with the modern township of the same name farther south. It was probably founded in 369 bce after the defeat of Sparta by Athens and the Boeotian League in the Battle of Leuctra (371) for the

Messenia, ancient district and modern perifereiakí enótita (regional unit), southwestern Peloponnese (Modern Greek: Pelopónnisos) periféreia (region), southern Greece. It is bounded on the east by the Taïyetos (Táygetos) Mountains, on the north by the Nédha Potamós (river) and the Arcadian

Gulf of Messenia, gulf of the Ionian Sea (Modern Greek: Ióvio Pélagos) in the nomós (department) of Messenia (Messinía), southwestern Peloponnese (Pelopónnisos), Greece. It is enclosed by the Likódimon Óros (mountain) and Ákra (cape) Akrítas on the west and the Máni peninsula on the east. The

Gulf of Messenia, gulf of the Ionian Sea (Modern Greek: Ióvio Pélagos) in the nomós (department) of Messenia (Messinía), southwestern Peloponnese (Pelopónnisos), Greece. It is enclosed by the Likódimon Óros (mountain) and Ákra (cape) Akrítas on the west and the Máni peninsula on the east. The

Messinian Stage, uppermost division of Miocene rocks, representing all rocks deposited worldwide during the Messinian Age (7.2 million to 5.3 million years ago) of the Neogene Period (23 million to 2.6 million years ago). The Messinian Stage is named for marine strata near Messina, Sicily. The

eucalyptus: Major species and uses: marginata); messmate stringybark (E. obliqua); red mahogany (E. resinifera); northern gray ironbark; and others. The bark of many species is used in papermaking and tanning.

Otto Messmer was an American animator who created the character Felix the Cat, the world’s most popular cartoon star before Mickey Mouse. The attribution has been questioned by some, in part because of the claims of Australian cartoonist, promoter, and producer Pat Sullivan, for whom Messmer

Reinhold Messner is a mountain climber and polar trekker who was renowned for his pioneering and difficult ascents of the world’s highest peaks. In 1978 he and Austrian Peter Habeler were the first to climb Mount Everest (29,035 feet [8,850 metres]; see Researcher’s Note: Height of Mount Everest),

Tammy Faye Messner was an American televangelist and singer best remembered as the diminutive wife of Jim Bakker and as his cohost on the television talk show The PTL Club (also called The Jim and Tammy Show). Tamara Faye LaValley grew up poor in a strict religious household. Her parents divorced

Quentin Massys was a Flemish artist, the first important painter of the Antwerp school. Trained as a blacksmith in his native Leuven, Massys is said to have studied painting after falling in love with an artist’s daughter. In 1491 he went to Antwerp and was admitted into the painters’ guild. Among

Mesta, society composed of all the sheep raisers of Castile, in Spain, formally recognized by Alfonso X (the Wise) in 1273. The name is thought to derive either from the Spanish mezcla (“mixture”), a reference to the mixture of sheep; or from the Arabic mechta, meaning winter pastures for sheep.

kenaf, (species Hibiscus cannabinus), fast-growing plant of the hibiscus, or mallow, family (Malvaceae) and its fibre, one of the bast fibre group. It is used mainly as a jute substitute. The plant grows wild in Africa, where the fibre is sometimes known as Guinea hemp, and has been cultivated on

Néstos River, river in southwestern Bulgaria and western Thrace, Greece. The Néstos rises on Kolarov peak of the Rila Mountains of the northwestern Rhodope (Rodopi) Mountains. The river’s upper confluents separate the Rila and Pirin ranges from the main Rhodope massif. Crossing the Bulgarian

Perle Mesta was an American socialite and diplomat who entertained the world’s business and political elite from the 1930s through the ’50s and who also served as the first U.S. minister to Luxembourg. Perle Skirvin grew up in an affluent family in Oklahoma City and was educated privately. In 1917