rummy Family of card games. The many variants of rummy make it one of the world’s best-known and most widely played card games. The basic principle of rummy (also spelled rum, rhum, or romme) is to form sets of three or four cards of the same rank (as four 8s, three 6s) or sequences of three or more cards of the same suit (6—5—4—3, all of dia¬ monds, e.g.). Canasta is an unusual type of rummy, in that sequences are not permitted. See also gin rummy.
Rundstedt \'runt-,shtet\, (Karl Rudolf) Gerd von (b. Dec. 12, 1875, Aschersleben, near Magdeburg, Prussia—d. Feb. 24, 1953, Han¬ nover, W.Ger.) German general in World War II. Chief of staff of an army corps in World War I, he was active after the war in Germany’s secret rearmament. In World War II he was promoted to field marshal (1940) and commanded armies in the invasions of Poland, France, and the Soviet Union. As commander in chief on the Western Front (1942-45), he for¬ tified France against the expected Allied invasion. Removed briefly from command (1944), he returned to direct the Battle of the Bulge. He was captured in 1945 but released because of ill health.
rune Any of the characters within an early Germanic writing system. The runic alphabet, also called futhark, is attested in northern Europe, p_ Britain, Scandinavia, and Iceland from about the 3rd century to the 16th
or 17th century ad. The Goths may have developed it from the Etruscan wm alphabet of northern Italy. More than 4,000 runic inscriptions and several
ifl runic manuscripts are extant. Approximately 2,500 of these come from
Sweden, the remainder being from Norway, Denmark, Britain, Iceland, and various islands off the coast of Britain and Scandinavia, as well as U France, Germany, Ukraine, and Russia.
Runeberg Vru-no-.berA, Johan Ludvig (b. Feb. 5, 1804, Jakobstad, Swedish Finland—d. May 6, 1877, Borga, Russian Finland) Finnish poet who wrote in Swedish. During an interruption in his academic career, he became a tutor at a country estate, where he encountered Finland’s land¬ scape and tales of the heroic past. His works, combining classicism with Romantic feeling and an understanding of peasant life and character, include the epic poems The Moose Hunters (1832) and Hanna (1836), which won him a place in Swedish letters; and Kung Fjalar, a cycle of romances derived from old legends. His patriotic poem “Our Country,” from Tales of Ensign Stdl (1848, 1860), became the Finnish national anthem. Runeberg is considered Finland’s national poet.
runic writing or futhark Vfu-,thark\ Writing system used by Ger¬ manic peoples of northern Europe, Britain, Scandinavia, and Iceland from roughly the 3rd to the 16th or 17th century ad. Of uncertain origins, it is clearly derived from one of the alphabets of the Mediterranean area. Three main varieties were used in different regions and time periods: Early, or Common Germanic (Teutonic); Anglo-Saxon, or Anglian; and Nordic, or Scandinavian. More than 4,000 runic inscriptions and several runic manu¬ scripts are extant, of which about 2,500 come from Sweden.
runner See stolon
Runyon, (Alfred) Damon (b. Oct. 4, 1884, Manhattan, Kan., U.S.—d. Dec. 10, 1946, New York, N.Y.) U.S. journalist and short-story writer. He served in the Spanish-American War as a teenager. After return¬ ing to the U.S. he wrote for newspapers in the West. In 1911 he moved to New York, where he developed a style focusing on the underside of city life and began to write stories. He is best known for Guys and Dolls (1931), a collection of stories about a racy section of Broadway written in the uniquely rendered slang that became his trademark and gave rise to the term Runyonesque\ the book was adapted as a musical by Frank Loesser (1950).
rupa-loka Vrii-po-'lo-koV In Buddhism, any of the 16 planes of existence into which those beings who have renounced sense desires are reborn. It is intermediate between the kama-loka, where material beings are born, and the arupa-loka, where only the mind exists. Its upper levels are called the Pure Abodes, the birthplace of those beings who do not return to lower planes in subsequent births. The rupa-loka, free from sensuous desire but still conditioned by form, is inhabited by gods. See also karma.
Rupert, Prince (b. Dec. 17, 1619, Prague, Bohemia—d. Nov. 29, 1682, Fondon, Eng.) Royalist commander in the English Civil Wars. Son of the Palatine elector Frederick V and Elizabeth, daughter of James I of England, Rupert became a favourite of his uncle, Charles I, whom he joined in England in 1642. In the English Civil Wars, he was given command of the cavalry and became known for his daring tactics in winning victories at Bristol (1643) and in Fancashire (1644). He met defeat at the Battle of Marston Moor but was appointed commander of the king’s army. When he surrendered Bristol (1645), he was dismissed and then banished from England. He commanded a small Royalist fleet that preyed on English shipping (1648-50), then retired to Germany (1653-60). With the Resto¬ ration (1660), he was given naval commands in the Anglo-Dutch Wars. He was a founder and first governor of the Hudson's Bay Co.
Rupert's Land or Prince Rupert's Land Historical region, north¬ ern and western Canada, comprising the drainage basin of Hudson Bay. In 1670 it was granted by King Charles II to the Hudson's Bay Co. It was named after Prince Rupert, the king’s cousin and the company’s first gov¬ ernor. In 1869 the land became part of the Dominion of Canada.
Rupnarayan River Vriip-na-.ra-yonX River, West Bengal state, north¬ eastern India. It rises as the Dhaleshwari in the Chota Nagpur plateau foothills northeast of Purulia and follows a tortuous southeasterly course past the town of Bankura, where it is known as the Dwarkeswar. It flows 150 mi (240 km) to join the Hugli River. It originally formed a western exit of the Ganges River and is important for its irrigation potential.
rural electrification Project of the U.S. government in the 1930s. As part of the New Deal, the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) was established (1935) to bring electric power to farms, thereby raising the standard of rural living and slowing the migration of farm workers to cit¬ ies. Providing low-interest loans to construct power plants and power lines to rural areas, the project eventually equipped over 98% of U.S. farms with electricity.
Rurik or Rorik (d. 879) Semilegendary founder of the Rurik dynasty of Kievan Rus. He was a Viking (Varangian) prince. According to one 12th-century Russian chronicle, the people of Novgorod invited him to take over their strife-ridden government (c. 862). Other historians think that he conquered Novgorod or that he and his army were rebellious mer¬ cenaries. Igor, probably his son, is held to be the real founder of the Rus¬ sian princely house.
Rus See Kievan Rus
rusalka \ru-'sal-k9\ plural rusalki In Slavic folklore and mythology, a water nymph who embodies the soul of either a drowned virgin or a child that died unbaptized. Details of rusalkis ’ appearance and behaviour vary widely, but a common feature is that the nymphs attempt to entice men. In some areas, they are the subject of a festival in the early summer, when they are thought to emerge from the water and dance by night. In Antonin Dvorak’s opera Rusalka, a rusalka attempts to marry a human prince but is reclaimed by her element.
rush Any of several flowering plants distinguished by cylindrical stalks or hollow, stemlike leaves. They are found in temperate regions, particu¬ larly in moist or shady locations. The rush family (Juncaceae) includes the genera Juncus, the common rushes, and Luzula, the wood rushes. In