Mare, Walter De la See Walter De la Mare
Marengo \m9-'rei]-go\, Battle of (June 14, 1800) Narrow victory for Napoleon against Austria in the Napoleonic Wars, fought on the Marengo Plain in northern Italy. The initial French force was overpowered, but when the Austrian commander gave up command to a subordinate in the belief that victory was secured, French reinforcements forced the Austri¬ ans into retreat. The victory resulted in the French occupation of Lom¬ bardy and secured Napoleon’s military and civilian authority in Paris.
Marenzio \ma-'rents-yo\, Luca (b. 1553, Coccaglio, near Brescia, Republic of Venice—d. Aug. 22, 1599, Rome) Italian composer. He was probably trained as a choirboy in Brescia, and he was in service with Car¬ dinal Luigi d’Este in Rome from 1578 to 1586. The cardinal’s patronage enabled the publication in the 1580s of the first 10 of his 25 books of madrigals, the works for which he is best known and whose style became influential in Italy and England. His later madrigals, more serious in tone, use dissonance and chromaticism to reflect their texts, and they are some¬ times linked into cycles. He also composed some 75 sacred motets.
Marfan syndrome Rare hereditary disorder of connective tissue. Affected persons are tall, with long, thin limbs and spiderlike fingers (arachnodactyly). The lens of the eye is dislocated, and many have glau¬ coma or detached retina. Heart muscle abnormalities and various malfunc¬ tions and malformations occur; rupture of the aorta is the most common cause of death. Severity varies; affected individuals may die young or live essentially normal lives. The underlying abnormality cannot be cured, but some of the defects can be surgically corrected.
Margaret of Angouleme \a n -gu-'lem\ or Margaret of Navarra French Marguerite d'Angouleme (b. April 11, 1492, Angouleme, France—d. Dec. 21, 1549, Odos-Bigorre) Queen consort of Henry II of Navarra and an outstanding figure of the French Renaissance. She was the daughter of the count d’Angouleme. When her brother Fran¬ cis I acceded to the crown in 1515, she became highly influential in his court. After her first husband died, she married Henry in 1525. She was noted as a patron of humanists and reformers and of such writers as Francois Rabelais. She was a writer and poet herself; her most important work was the Heptameron, 72 tales modeled on Boccaccio’s Decameron and published posthumously in 1558-59.
Margaret of Antioch, Saint or Saint Marina (fl. 3rd or 4th cen¬ tury, Antioch, Syria; Eastern feast day July 13; Western feast day July 20) Early Christian martyr. Tradition held that she was a virgin during the reign of Diocletian. When she refused to marry the Roman prefect of Antioch, she was tortured and beheaded. Her designation as patron saint of expectant mothers (especially those in difficult labour) was based on the story that during her trials she was swallowed by Satan in the form of a dragon and later disgorged unharmed. Widely venerated in the Middle Ages, she is now thought to have been fictitious.
Margaret of Austria (b. Jan. 10, 1480, Brussels—d. Dec. 1, 1530, Mechelen, Spanish Netherlands) Habsburg ruler who was regent of the Netherlands (1507-15, 1519-30) for her nephew, the future emperor Charles V. In 1497 she married the infante John, heir to the Spanish king¬ doms, who died a few months later. In 1501 she married Philibert II, duke of Savoy, who died in 1504. Appointed regent by her father, Emperor Maximilian I, she pursued a pro-English foreign policy. In the 1520s she
Marcus Aurelius, bas-relief depicting his triumphal entry into Rome in a quadriga; in the Palazzo dei Conser¬ vator!, Rome.
AUNARI/ART RESOURCE, NEW YORK
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extended the Habsburg dominion in the northeastern Netherlands and negotiated the Treaty of Cambrai (1529), called the “Ladies’ Peace,” with Louise of Savoy (1494-1547), regent for Francis I.
Margaret of Parma (b. 1522,
Oudenaarde, Spanish Nether¬ lands—d. Jan. 18, 1586, Ortona,
Kingdom of Naples) Duchess of Parma, Habsburg regent, and governor-general of the Netherlands (1559-67). The illegitimate daughter of Emperor Charles V, she was mar¬ ried first (1536) to Alessandro de’
Medici, who was murdered in 1537, and then (1538) to Ottavio Famese, duke of Parma. Appointed to govern the Netherlands by her half brother,
Philip II of Spain, Margaret tried to appease the nobility with more mod¬ erate treatment of Protestants, but she brought in an army in 1567 after Calvinist extremists attacked Catholic churches. Philip then sent the duke of Alba, who assembled a Spanish army and enforced stern measures against dissident Protestants, precipitating open revolt. Margaret resigned when Alba assumed power.
Margaret of Scotland, Saint (b. c. 1045, probably Hungary—d. Nov. 16, 1093, Edinburgh; canonized 1250; feast day November 16, Scot¬ tish feast day June 16) Patron saint of Scotland. Sister of Edgar the Aethe- ling, she married Malcolm III Canmore, and three of their sons succeeded to Scotland’s throne. She founded abbeys, worked for justice, improved conditions for the poor, and persuaded Malcolm to initiate a series of ecclesiastical reforms that transformed Scotland’s religious and cultural life.
Margaret of Valois \val-'wa\ or Margaret of France French Marguerite known as Queen Margot \mar-'go\ (b. May 14, 1553, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France—d. March 27, 1615, Paris) Queen con¬ sort of Navarra who played a secondary part in the Wars of Religion (1562-98). The daughter of Henry II of France, her relations with her brothers Charles IX and the future Henry III were strained, and she had an early affair with Henri, duke de Guise, leader of the extremist Catholic party. She was married in 1572 to the Protestant king of Navarra, the future Henry IV of France, to seal the peace between Catholics and Prot¬ estants, but days later the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew's Day began. Aware of her involvement in conspiracies, Henry III banished her to the castle at Usson in 1586. She granted her husband an annulment in 1600 and lived out her life in Paris. She was known for her beauty, learning, and licentious life; her Memoires provide a vivid picture of France dur¬ ing her lifetime.
Margaret Tudor (b. Nov. 29, 1489, London, Eng.—d. Oct. 18, 1541, Methven, Perth, Scot.) Queen consort of King James IV of Scotland (1503- 13). The daughter of King Henry VII of England, she was married to James to improve relations between England and Scotland. After her husband’s death (1513), she became regent for her son, James V (1512-1542). When she married the pro-English earl of Angus (1514), she was forced to give up the regency, but she played a key role in the conflict between the pro- French and pro-English factions in Scotland, shifting her allegiances to suit her financial interests. She obtained an annulment from Angus (1527) to marry Henry Stewart, Baron Methven, who became James’s chief adviser.
margarine Food made from one or more vegetable or animal fats or oils mixed with milk and other ingredients. It is used in cooking and as a spread as a substitute for butter. Margarine was developed by the French chemist Hippolyte Mege-Mouries in the late 1860s. The fats used have varied widely; polyunsaturated oils such as corn, canola, and sunflower oil, considered more healthful than saturated fats, are common today.
Margherita Peak V.mar-ge-'re-toX Highest summit of the Ruwenzori Range in East Africa. It is situated on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire). The higher of the two peaks on Mount Stanley, the central mountain of the Ruwenzori, it rises to 16,795 ft (5,119 m) between Lake Albert and Lake Edward. First climbed