Minstrel
a musician, especially one who sings or recites to the accompaniment of a musical instrument. In the Middle Ages the word minstrel, brought into England by the Normans, was used to designate a musician who devoted himself to the entertainment of the nobility, going from castle to castle singing ballads, often of his own composition, to the music of harp or lute, telling stories, and sometimes accompanying song and story with gesture and mimicry. Sometimes a band of minstrels would travel about together. Again a minstrel would attach himself to the service of a particular lord, following him to war and sharing with him the dangers and honors of whatever exploits he might be engaged upon. The minstrel in the service of a lord was sometimes called a minstrel-squire. The old Anglo-Saxon name for him was scop, while the wandering minstrel was called a gleeman. The Welsh called their wandering singers bards. The Scandinavians used the word skalds. The social importance of minstrels gradually declined in England until, in the sixteenth century, they were classed with rogues and vagabonds. See Rhapsode ; Bard
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Minute Hand
The hand of a time-piece which indicates the minutes and which traverses the circle of the dial once each hour.
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Minute Wheel
The wheel of the motion work into which the cannon pinion depths.
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Minute Wheel Pinion
The pinion upon which the minute wheel is mounted and which depths with the hour wheel.
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Minute Wheel Stud
The pin or stud upon which minute wheel pinion revolves.
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Mira
or STELLA MIRA (the wonderful star), the star Omicron Ceti, a remarkable variable, whence the name. It is in the neck of "the whale." Its variability was discovered in 1596 by Fabricus. MIRABEAU (mē-rä-bō'). ANDRÉ BONIFACE RIQUETI, VICOMTE DE, a French royalist, brother of Honoré Gabriel de Mirabeau; born in Bignon, 0 MIRABEAU Provence, France, Nov. 30, 1754. From an early age he was notorious for his illregulated life and for a thirst that earned him the nickname of "Barrel Mirabeau." He fought with distinction in the American war, and at the outbreak of the Revolution was returned to the States-General by the nobility of Limoges. After the death of his brother he quitted France, and raised on the Rhine the "Hussars of Death," a legion of embittered émigres, with whom he began in 1792 a bloody partisan warfare against his country. He was run through by accident in Freiburg, Baden, Sept. 15, 1792.
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Mirabilis Liber
The greater part of this book is attributed to Saint Césaire. It is a collection of predictions concerning the saints and the sibyls. It is surprising to find in the Mishna edition of 1522 a prophecy of the French Revolution . The expulsion and abolition of the nobility, the violent death of the king and queen, the persecution of the clergy, the suppression of convents, are all mentioned therein, followed by a further prophecy that the eagle coming from distant lands would re-establish order in France .
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Miracle Plays
a sort of dramatic entertainments common in the Middle Ages, in which the subjects were taken from the lives of saints and the miracles they wrought. They were originally performed in church, but latterly outside, in market places and elsewhere. In H England they were first produced in the 12th century.
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Miramichi
the second river of New Brunswick, entering the Gulf of St. Lawrence through Miramichi Bay; length 220 miles. MIRAMÓN, MIGUEL, Mexican a military officer; born in the City of Mexico, Sept. 29, 1832; fought at Chapultepec in 1847 and commissioned a Colonel. In 1855 joined insurrection and took Puebla; was captured, escaped, and began guerilla warfare. In 1858 when Zuloaga became president he was made a Brigadier-General; in December, 1858, the government of Zuloaga was overthrown and in January, 1859, Miramón was chosen provisional president of the Conservative government. He was defeated by the forces of the Liberal party at the battle of Calpulálpam on Dec. 22, 1860, and soon afterward fled to Europe. When the regency was installed in 1863 he returned to Mexico, but his services were declined and he was again compelled to flee the country. Later, however, his offer was accepted by Maximilian and he returned in November, 1866. He was placed in command of a division which suffered defeat at the battle of San Jacinto, Feb. 1, 1867. Subsequently he was captured and shot with Maximilian and Mejía in Queretaro, June 19, 1867.
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Miranda
state of Venezuela, bordering N. coast of Caribbean Sea. Mountainous, pastoral, and agricultural. Produce includes coffee, cocoa, sugarcane, maize, cotton, beans, etc. Cattle breeding is on a large scale. Region one of the richest in republic. Capital, Ocumare. Pop. (1917) 175,810.
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Mirbeau
OCTAVE, a French novelist and dramatist; born at Trevières 1850. His first novel, "Jean Marcelin," was published in 1885. "Lettres de la Chaumière" (1886) brought his name into prominence. His other novels are "L'Abbé Jules" (1888); "Sébastien Roch" (1890); "Le Jardin des Supplices" (1899); "Memoires d'une Femme de Chambre" (1901). His other books are "Les Vi Vingt-et-un Jours d'un Neurasthénique" (1902) and "Dans l'Antichambre" (1905). For the stage he wrote "Les Mauvais Bergers" and "Les Affaires sont les Affaires." The latter was produced in New York as "Business is Business" in 1905. Died in 1917.
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Miriam
the sister of Moses and Aaron, probably the one who watched over Moses in the ark of bulrushes (Ex. ii: 4, 5; Num. xxvi: 59; Mic. vi: 4). Died at Kadeshbarnea (Num. xx: 1).
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Mirza
a Persian title, equivalent to "Prince" when it follows the surname, and merely the common title of honor (like "Mr.") when it is prefixed to it.
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Mirzapur
a district in the Northwestern provinces, British India; area 5,223 square miles; pop. about 1,200,000, almost all Hindus. Capital, Mirzapur; situated on the right bank of the Ganges; has manufactures of shellac, carpets, and brasswares; pop. about 35,000.
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Misdemeanor
an offense against the laws of a less heinous nature than a such as assaults, nuisances, noncrime, crime, repair of a highway, and the like. A
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Miseno
a promontory forming the W. side of the Bay of Pozzuoli (Cumæ), 10 miles N. W. of Naples. On it are ruins of the ancient city of Misenum, which Augustus made one of the principal stations of the Roman fleet.
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