Veto
Veto, Generally The Right Of Preventing Any Act, Or Its Actual Prohibition; In Public Law, The Constitutional Right Of The Com Petent Authority, Or In Republics Of The Whole People In Their Primary Assembly, To Protest Against A Legislative Or Administra Tive Act, And To Prevent Wholly Or Temporarily, Its ...
Vetter
Vetter, A Lake Of South Sweden, 8o M. Long And 18 M. In Extreme Breadth, 733 Sq.m. In Area, 390 Ft. Maximum Depth, And An Elevation Above Sea-level Of 289 Ft. It Drains By The Motala River To The Baltic. Its Waters Are Remarkably Transparent And Blue, Its Shores Picturesque ...
Vetulonia
Vetulonia, An Ancient Town Of Etruria, Italy. It Lies 1,130 Ft. Above Sea-level, About 10 M. Directly N.w. Of Grosseto, On The North-east Side Of The Hills Which Project From The Flat Maremma And Form The Promontory Of Castiglione. In Etruscan Times There Was A Bay Here. Silius Italicus Tells ...
Vevey
Vevey, A Small Town In The Swiss Canton Of Vaud, Near The Eastern Extremity Of The Lake Of Geneva. Pop. (1930) 13,036; (1920), 12,768, Of Whom 9,634 Were French-speaking, While There Were 8,692 Protestants, 3,835 Roman Catholics And 74 Jews. Vevey Was A Roman Settlement (viviscus) And Later Formed Part ...
Vexillum
Vexillum, The Name For A Small Ensign Consisting Of A Square Cloth Suspended From A Cross-piece Fixed To A Spear [lat. Dim. Of Velum, Piece Of Cloth, Sail, Awning, Or From Vehere, Vectum, To Carry]. The Vexillum Was Strictly The Ensign Of The Maniple, As Signum Was Of The Cohort, ...
Vexio Or Wexio Vaxj45
Vaxj45, Vexio Or Wexio, A Town And Bishop's See Of Sweden, Capital Of The District (lan) Of Kronoberg, 124 M. North East Of Malmo By Rail. Pop. (1928), 9,626. It Is Pleasantly Sit Uated Among Low Wooded Hills At The North End Of Lake Vaxjo, And Near The South End ...
Vezelay
Vezelay, A Village Of France, In The Department Of Yonne, 10 M. W.s.w. Of Avallon By Road. Its Population, Which Was Over Io,000 In The Middle Ages, Was 378 In 1931. The History Of Vezelay Is Bound Up With Its Benedictine Abbey, Which Was Founded In The 9th Century Under ...
Vianden
Vianden, An Ancient Town In The Grand Duchy Of Luxem Bourg, On The Banks Of The Our, Close To The Prussian Frontier. Pop. About 2,500. It Possesses One Of The Oldest Charters In Europe, Granted Early In The 14th Century By Philip, Count Of Vianden, Who Was The Ancestor Of ...
Viaticum
Viaticum, A Latin Word Meaning "provision For A Jour Ney" (gr.ta I4)65ca ), Is Used By Early Christian Writers To Denote Anything That Gave Spiritual Comfort To The Dying. Ultimately It Came To Be Restricted To The Last Communion Given To The Dying. In Extreme Cases The Viaticum May Be ...
Viborg
Viborg, A Town Of Denmark, Capital Of The Amt (county) Of Its Name, Lying In The District Of Jutland, On Viborg Lake. Pop. (1930), 16,635. The Most Notable Building Is The Cathedral (1130 69, Restored 1864-76). It Contains Some Famous Modern Paint Ings By Joachim Skovgaard. The Black Friars' Church ...
Viburnum
Viburnum, A Genus Of Handsome Shrubs (rarely Small Trees) Of The Honeysuckle Family (caprifoliaceae, Q.v.), Compris Ing About I I° Species, Found In Temperate And Subtropical Regions, Especially In Eastern Asia And North America, Many Of Which Are Planted For Ornament. They Are Usually Upright Rather Large Shrubs With Opposite, ...
Vicar
Vicar, A Title, More Especially Ecclesiastical, Describing Vari Ous Officials Acting In Some Special Way For A Superior. Cicero Uses Vicarius To Describe An Under-slave Kept By Another Slave As Part Of His Private Property. The Vicarius Was An Important Offi Cial In The Reorganized Empire Of Diocletian. It Remained ...
Vicenza
Vicenza (anc. Vicetia), A Town And Episcopal See Of Venetia, Italy, Capital Of The Province Of Vicenza, 42 M. W. Of Venice By Rail, 131 Ft. Above Sea-level. Pop. (1901) 32,20o (town) ; 47,558 (commune) ; 46,82o (town), 65,177 (commune). It Lies At The Northern Base Of The Monti Berici, ...
Vickers Limited
Vickers Limited, One Of The Greatest British Iron And Steel Manufacturers, Shipbuilders, Engineers And Armament Manu Facturers. This Joint-stock Company, Which In 1928 Had A Share Capital Of Roundly £12,500,000, Was Founded A Century Ago. In 1828 George Naylor And His Son-in-law, Edward Vickers, Began Business In A Small Way ...
Victor Amadeus H 1666 1732
Victor Amadeus H. (1666-1732), Duke Of Savoy And First King Of Sardinia, Was The Son Of Duke Charles Emmanuel Ii. And Jeanne De Savoie-nemours. Born At Turin, He Lost His Father In 1675, And Spent His Youth Under The Regency Of His Mother, Known As "madama Reale" (madame Royale), An ...
Victor Emmanuel Iii
Victor Emmanuel Iii. (5869— ), King Of Italy, Son Of King Humbert I. And Margherita Of Savoy, Was Born At Naples On Nov. 11, 1869. He Entered The Army And Soon After Attaining His Majority, Was Appointed To The Command Of The Florence Army Corps, And In 1896 To That ...
Victor Emmanuel Ii
Victor Emmanuel Ii. (182o-1878), King Of Sardinia And First King Of Italy, Was Born At Turin On March 14, 182o, And Was The Son Of Charles Albert, Prince Of Savoy-carignano. Brought Up In The Bigoted And Chilling Atmosphere Of The Pied Montese Court, He Received A Rigid Military And Religious ...
Victor I
Victor I. Was Bishop Of Rome From About 190 To 198. He Submitted To The Opinion Of The Episcopate In The Various Parts Of Christendom The Divergence Between The Easter Usage Of Rome And That Of The Bishops Of Asia. The Bishops, Particularly St. Irenaeus Of Lyons, Declared Themselves In ...
Victor Ii
Victor Ii., The Successor Of Leo Ix., Was Consecrated In St. Peter's, Rome, On April 13, 1055. His Father Was A Swabian Baron, Count Hartwig Von Calw, And His Own Baptismal Name Was Gebhard. At The Instance Of Gebhard, Bishop Of Regensburg, Uncle Of The Emperor Henry Iii., He Had ...
Victor Iv
Victor Iv. Was A Title Taken By Two Antipopes. (i) Gregorio Conti, Cardinal Priest Of Santi Dodici Apostoli, Was Chosen By A Party Opposed To Innocent Ii. In Succession To The Antipope Ana Cletus Ii., On March 15, 1138, But Through The Influence Of Bernard Of Clairvaux He Was Induced ...
Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls, Rivalled Only By Niagara In Grandeur, Form The Most Remarkable Feature Of The River Zambezi, Cen Tral Africa. The Falls Are About Midway In The Course Of The Zam Bezi In 51' S., 41' E. For A Considerable Distance Above The Falls The River Flows Over A Level ...
Victoria Regia
Victoria Regia, The Giant Water-lily Of The Amazon, The Leaves Of Which May Be 2 Metres Across, With The Edges Turned Up To A Height Of Several Centimetres. On The Lower Surface, The Projecting Ribs Bear Spines. The Flowers Are Large And Pink. The Plant Is Widely Cultivated And Has ...
Victoria
Victoria (or Vittoria), Tommasso Ludovico Da (c. 1540–c. 1613), Spanish Musical Composer, Was Born Prob Ably At Avila. In 1573 He Was Appointed As Maestro Di Cappella To The Collegium Germanicum At Rome, Where He Had Probably Been Trained. Victoria Left Rome In 1589, Being Then Appointed Vice-master Of The ...
Victoria_2
Victoria (or Vittoria), Tommasso Ludovico Da (c. 1540–c. 1613), Spanish Musical Composer, Was Born Prob Ably At Avila. In 1573 He Was Appointed As Maestro Di Cappella To The Collegium Germanicum At Rome, Where He Had Probably Been Trained. Victoria Left Rome In 1589, Being Then Appointed Vice-master Of The ...
Victoria_3
Victoria, A City And Port Of Brazil, Capital Of The State Of Espirito Santo, On The West Side Of An Island At The Head Of The Bay Of Espirito Santo. Pop. (1920), 21,866. The Principal Streets Follow The Water-line, Rising In Terraces From The Shore, And Are Crossed By Narrow, ...
Victoria_4
Victoria, Capital Of British Columbia, Canada, And Princi Pal City Of Vancouver Island, In The South-east Corner Of Which It Is Finely Situated. It Is On The Canadian National Railway, And Is The Terminus Of A Line From Esquimalt And Nanaimo And The Coast Be Yond. There Is Also A ...
Victoria_5
Victoria, A City Of Texas, U.s.a., 120 M. S.w. Of Houston, On The Guadalupe River, 35 M. From Matagorda Bay (gulf Of Mexico) The County Seat Of Victoria County. It Is On Federal Highway 96, And Is Served By The Missouri Pacific And The Southern Pacific Railways. The Population Was ...
Victoria
Victoria, Queen Of The United Kingdom Of Great Britain And Ireland, Empress Of India (1819-1901), Only Child Of Edward, Duke Of Kent, Fourth Son Of King George Iii., And Of Princess Victoria Mary Louisa Of Saxe-coburg-gotha (widow Of Prince Emich Karl Of Leiningen, By Whom She Already Had Two Children), ...
Vicuna Or Vicugna
Vicuna Or Vicugna, One Of The Two Wild South Ameri Can Representatives Of The Camel Tribe Still Surviving (see Tylo ...
Vicuna
Vicuna, A Term Applied Both To A Distinctive Variety Of Wool, And Also To A Special Kind Of "finish" Given To Certain Va Rieties Of Woollen Textures. Vicuna Wool Is The Fleece Obtained From The Vicuna (q.v.), A Wild Relative Of The Llama (q.v.) In Habiting The Mountainous Districts Of ...
Vidame
Vidame, A French Feudal Title. The Vidame (lat. Vice Dominus) Was Originally, Like The Avoue (advocatus), An Official Chosen By The Bishop Of The Diocese, With The Consent Of The Count (see Advocate). During The Carolingian Epoch, Advocatus And Vice-dominus Were Interchangeable Terms ; It Was Only In The I ...
Vidin
Vidin (formerly Written Widin Or Widdin), A Fortified River-port And Capital Of A Department In The Extreme N.e. Of Bulgaria; On The Right Bank Of The Danube, Near The Yugoslav Frontier. Pop. (1934) 18,599, Including About 3,00o Turks And 1,500 Spanish Jews—descendants Of Refugees Who Fled Hither From The Inquisition ...
Vidocq
Vidocq, Francois Eugene (1775-1857), French Detective, Was Born At Arras In 1775 (or Possibly 1773). After An Adventurous Youth He Joined The French Army, Where He Rose To Be Lieutenant. At Lille He Was Sentenced To Eight Years' Hard Labour, And Sent To The Galleys At Brest, Whence He Escaped ...
Vielle
Vielle, A French Term, Derived From Lat. Fidicula, Embrac Ing Two Distinct Types Of Instruments: (i) From The 12th To The Beginning Of The 15th Century Bowed Instruments Having A Box Soundchest With Ribs; (2) From The Middle Or End Of The I 5th Century, The Hurdy-gurdy (q.v.). The Most ...
Vienna
Vienna, The Capital Of The Austrian Republic, Has The Status Of An Autonomous Federal Province And Its Municipal Council Fulfils The Functions Of A Provincial Diet. The City Lies At The Eastern Foot Of The Wiener Wald, On The Right Bank Of The Danube Within Easy Reach Of A Number ...
Vienne
Vienne, A Department Of West-central France, Formed In 1790 Out Of Poitou (four-fifths Of Its Present Area), Touraine (one-seventh) And Berry, And Bounded By Deux-sevres On The West, Charente On The South, Haute-vienne On The South-east, Indre On The East, Indre-et-loire On The North-east And North And Maine-et-loire On The ...
Vienne_2
Vienne, The Chief Town Of An Arrondissement Of The Depart Ment Of The Isere, France. Pop. (1931) 21,748. Vienne Stands On The Left Bank Of The Rhone Just Below The Junction Of The Gere With The Rhone, Between The River And Low Hills, And About 20 M. By Rail S. ...
Vienne_3
Vienne, A River Of Central France, 219 M. Long, A Left-hand Tributary Of The Loire. Rising On The Plateau Of Millevaches At A Height Of 2,789 Ft., The Vienne Flows Westward Through The Hilly Country Of The Crystalline Rocks Of The Central Plateau Of France. The First Large Town On ...
Viersen
Viersen, A Town In The Prussian Rhine Province, I1 M. By Rail S.w. From Crefeld, And At The Junction Of Lines To Miinchen Gladbach, Venlo, Etc. Pop. (1933) 33,594. Viersen Is One Of The Chief Seats In The Lower Rhine Country For The Manufacture Of Velvets, Silks And Plush, Cotton, ...
Vierzon
Vierzon, A Town Of Central France, In The Department Of Cher, 20 M. N.w. Of Bourges By Rail. The Cher And The Yevre Unite At The Foot Of The Hill On Which Lie Vierzon-ville (pop. [1931] 10,955) And Vierzon-villages (pop. [1931] 7,325); Vier Zon-bourgneuf (pop. [1931] 2,452) Is On The ...
Vieta
Vieta (or Viite), Francois, Seigneur De La Bigotiere (1540-1603 ) , More Generally Known As Fran Ciscus Vieta, French Mathematician, Was Born At Fontenay-le-comte, In Poitou. Ac Cording To F. Ritter, Bolletino Boncompagni (1868), Vieta Was Brought Up As A Catholic, And Died In The Same Creed ; But There ...
Vigan
Vigan, A Municipality (with Administration Centre And 25 Barrios Or Districts) And The Capital Of The Province Of Ilocos Sur, Luzon, Philippine Islands, Near The Mouth Of The Abra River, About 200 M. N. By W. Of Manila, Pop. (1918) 17,765. In 1918, Vigan Had 38 Factories And 45 Household ...
Vigevano
Vigevano, A Town And Episcopal See Of Lombardy, Italy, In The Province Of Pavia, On The Right Bank Of The Ticino, M. By Rail S.w. From Milan On The Line To Mortara, 381 Ft. Above Sea-level. Pop. (1931) (town); (commune). It Is A Mediaeval Walled Town, With An Arcaded Market-place ...
Vigil
Vigil, In The Christian Church, The Eve Of A Festival. The Vigiliae (pernoctationes, Ravvvxibes) Were Originally The Services Celebrated During The Night Preceding The Feast. The Abuses Con Nected With Nocturnal Vigils Led To Their Being Attacked, Especially By Vigilantius Of Barcelona (c. 400), Against Whom Jerome Ful Minated In ...
Vigilance Committee
Vigilance Committee, In The United States, A Self Constituted Judicial Body, Occasionally Organized In The Western Frontier Districts For The Protection Of Life And Property. The First Committee Of Prominence Bearing The Name Was Organized In San Francisco In June 1851, When The Crimes Of Desperadoes Who Had Immigrated To ...
Vigilantius
Vigilantius C. 400), The Presbyter, Celebrated As The Author Of A Work, No Longer Extant, Against Superstitious Practices, Which Called Forth One Of The Most Violent And Scurrilous Of Jerome's Polemical Treatises, Was Born About 37o At Calagurris (cazeres Or Perhaps Saint Bertrand De Comminges, Haute Garonne), Where His Father ...
Vigilius
Vigilius, Pope From 537 To 555, Succeeded Silverius And Was Followed By Pelagius I. He Was Ordained By Order Of Beli Sarius While Silverius Was Still Alive ; His Elevation Was Due To Theodora, Who Had Induced Him To Promise To Disallow The Council Of Chalcedon, In Connection With The ...
Vigintisexviri
Vigintisexviri. This Was The Collective Name Which Was Given In Rome To "26" Magistrates Of Inferior Rank. They Were Divided Into Six Boards, Two Of Which Were Abolished By Augustus. Their Number Was Thereby Reduced To Twenty And Their Name Altered To Vigin Tiviri ("the Twenty"). The Six Boards Were: ...
Viglius
Viglius, The Name Taken By Wigle Van Aytta Van Zuichem ( I 50 7-15 7 ) , Dutch Statesman And Jurist, A Frisian By Birth, Who Was Born On Oct. 19, 1507. He Studied At Various Universities—louvain, Dole And Bourges Among Others—devot Ing Himself Mainly To The Study Of Jurisprudence, ...
Vignette
Vignette, In Architecture, A Running Ornament, Represent Ing A Little Vine, With Branches, Leaves And Grapes, Common In The Tudor Period. It Is Also Called Trayle. From The Transference Of The Term To Book-illustration Resulted The Sense Of A Small Picture, Vanishing Gradually At The Edge. ...
Vigo
Vigo, A Seaport And Naval Station Of North-western Spain, In The Province Of Pontevedra; On Vigo Bay (ria De Vigo) And On A Branch Of The Railway From Tuy To Corunna. Pop. (1930) 65,012. Vigo Was Attacked By Sir Francis Drake In 1585 And 1589. In 1702 A Combined British ...
Viipuri
Viipuri, Formerly Viborg, A Seaport And Summer Resort Of Finland In 6o° 43' N., 45' E., At The Mouth Of The Saima Canal On The Bay Of Viipuri In The Gulf Of Finland. Pop. (1932) 59,955. The Canal Links It With A Series Of Lakes. Its Exports Are Cement And ...
Vijayanagar
Vijayanagar (ve-jah-yahn'a-gar) ("the City Of Vic Tory"), An Ancient Hindu Kingdom And Ruined City Of Southern India. The Kingdom Lasted From About 1336 To 1565, Forming During All That Period A Bulwark Against The Mohammedan Inva Sion From The North. The Great Part Of Its History Is Obscure; But Its ...
Viking
Viking. A Word Wicing, "warrior," Corresponding To The 0. Norse Vikingr And The Modern Viking, Was Current In England At Least A Century Before The Earliest Recorded Scandinavian Descents Upon The West. Its Scandinavian Equivalent Early Acquired The More Specialized Sense Of "sea-warrior," And The Modern Term "viking Age" Is ...
Vikramaditya
Vikramaditya, A Legendary Hindu King Of Uzjain, Who Is Supposed To Have Given His Name To The Vikram Samvat, The Era Which Is Used All Over Northern India, Except In Bengal, And At Whose Court The "nine Gems" Of Sanskrit Literature Are Also Supposed To Have Flourished. The Vikram Era ...
Vill
Vill, The Anglicized Form Of The Word Villa, Used In Latin Documents To Translate The Anglo-saxon Tun, Township. Ultimately "vill" And "township" Became Regarded As Equivalent Terms, And So Remained In Legal Use Until The Ecclesiastical Parish Became Regarded As The Normal Unit Of Local Administration. In Classical Latin Villa ...
Villa Del Pilar
Villa Del Pilar, A City Of Paraguay, 104 M. South Of Asuncion, On The Left Bank Of The Navigable River Paraguay. Pop. (1933 Est.) 7,888. Villa Del Pilar Is A Thriving City, Containing Barracks, Law Courts, A National College, Several Schools And A Branch Of The Agricultural Bank. It Is ...
Villa Rica
Villa Rica, The Largest City In The Interior Of Paraguay, On The Railway From Asuncion (70 M. N.w.) To Encarnacion. Pop. (1933 Est.) 35,26o. Situated In A Rich Agricultural Region Watered By The Upper Tepicuary, With Finely Timbered Mountains Extending To The E. And W., Villa Rica Has An Important ...
Villa
Villa, The Latin Word (diminutive Of Vices, A Village) For A Country-house. The Word Is Loosely And Incorrectly Used, Especially In England, For Small Detached Or Semi-detached Suburban Houses. In Its Correct Usage, However, It Signifies A Summer Residence Of Great Extent, Especially In Italy, Or One In Which Italian ...
Villach
Villach, An Old Town In Carinthia, Austria, On The Drava At The Western End Of The Basin Of Klagenfurt (q.v.). Since It Lies On One Of The Through Routes From Vienna To Italy A Great Deal Of Traffic Still Passes Through The Town. It Is The Timber Trade Centre For ...
Villafranca Di Verona
Villafranca Di Verona, A Town Of Venetia, Italy, In The Province Of Verona, Zi M. S.s.w. Of Verona, On The Railway To Mantua, 174 Ft. Above Sea-level. Pop. (1931), 6,804 (town) ; 13,451 (commune). It Has Considerable Silk Industries. Here Preliminaries Of Peace Were Signed Between Napoleon Iii. And The ...
Village Communities
Village Communities. The Study Of Village Corn Munities Has Become One Of The Fundamental Methods Of Dis Cussing The Ancient History Of Institutions. It Will Be Sufficient To Confine The Present Inquiry To The Varieties Presented By Nations Of Aryan Race, Not Because Greater Importance Is To Be Attached To ...
Villalba
Villalba, A Town Of North-western Spain, In The Province Of Lugo ; On The Left Bank Of The River Ladra, One Of The Head Streams Of The Mifio, And At The Junction Of The Main Roads From Ferrol And Mondofiedo To The City Of Lugo. Pop. (193o) 16,308. Villalba Stands ...
Villanelle
Villanelle, Primarily A Round Song Taken Up By Men On A Farm (lat. Villa) ; Originally Loose In Form, But Afterwards Ar Bitrarily Fixed. It Was A Pastoral, Set To A Rustic Dance, And Had, Therefore, A Regular System Of Repeated Lines. The Old French Villanelles, However, Were Irregular; The ...
Villanovans
Villanovans Is Merely A Conventional Term Chosen By Archaeologists As A Distinctive And Useful Designation For A Group Of Tribes Exhibiting A Fairly Uniform Civilization Over A Great Part Of Italy In The Early Iron Age (q.v.). Villanova Itself, From Which The Name Is Derived, Is A Little Village Eight ...
Villanueva De La Serena
Villanueva De La Serena, A Town Of Western Spain, In The Province Of Badajoz, Near The Left Bank Of The River Guadiana, And On The Madrid-badajoz Railway. Pop. (1930) 15,351. Villanueva Is The Chief Town Of La Serena, Locally Cele Brated For Red Wine And Melons. Grain And Hemp Are ...
Villanueva Y Geltru
Villanueva Y Geltru, A Seaport Of North-eastern Spain, In The Province Of Barcelona ; On The Barcelona-tarragona Section Of The Coast Railway. Pop. (1930) 16,400. Villanueva Is A Busy Modern Town, With Manufactures Of Cotton, Woollen And Linen Goods, And Of Paper. It Has Also Iron Foundries And An Important ...