Sigismund II Augustus Polish Zygmunt August (b. Aug. 1, 1520, Krakow, Pol.—d. July 7, 1572, Knyszyn) King of Poland (1548- 72). Son of Sigismund I, he was crowned coruler with his father in 1530 and ruled the duchy of Lithuania from 1544. After becoming king of Poland (1548), he supported the Teutonic Order in Livonia against Russia (1559) and by treaty incorporated Livonia into Lithuania (1561). Contin¬ ued threats by Russia compelled Sigismund to unite the lands attached to the Polish crown, and by the Union of Lublin (1569) he united Poland and Lithuania and their respective dependencies. He died childless, which brought the end of the direct Jagiellon dynasty.
Sigismund III Vasa Polish Zygmunt Waza (b. June 20, 1566, Gripsholm, Swed.—d. April 30,
1632, Warsaw, Pol.) King of Poland (1587-1632) and of Sweden (1592- 99). Son of King John III of Sweden (1537-1592) and Catherine, daugh¬ ter of Sigismund I of Poland, he was elected king of Poland in 1587. On his father’s death (1592), he accepted the Swedish throne and was crowned in 1594. He left his paternal uncle Charles (later Charles IX) as regent in Sweden and returned to Poland, but Charles later rose in rebellion, defeated Sigismund’s army (1598), and deposed Sigismund (1599).
Poland and Sweden fought intermit¬ tently from 1600 as Sigismund tried to regain the Swedish throne. He invaded Russia in the Time of Troubles and held Moscow (1610—
12). In a renewal of the Polish- Swedish conflict in 1621, King Gustav II Adolf seized most of Polish Livonia, which Sweden retained under the terms of a 1629 truce.
sign In marketing and advertising, a device placed on or before a premises to identify its occupant and the nature of the business done there or, placed at a distance, to advertise a business or its products. The ancient Egyptians and Greeks used signs for advertising purposes, as did the Romans, who also, in effect, created sign¬ boards by whitewashing convenient sections of walls for suitable inscrip¬ tions. Early shop signs were developed when tradesmen, dealing with a largely illiterate public, devised certain easily recognizable emblems to represent their trades. Modem sign designers use various forms of ani¬ mation and light.
Sigismund Ilf detail of a painting, school of Rubens; in the Bayerische Staatsgemdldesammlungen, Munich
COURTESY OF THE BAYERISCHE STAATSGEMALDESAMMLUNGEN, MUNICH
sign language Any means of communication through bodily move¬ ments, especially of the hands and arms, rather than through speech. It has long been used by speakers of mutually unintelligible languages—for example, various Plains Indian tribes in 19th-century North America com¬ municated via a sign language—and is widely used for communication by the deaf. Charles-Michel, abbe de l’Epee (1712-89), developed the first sign language for the deaf in the mid-18th century; his system devel¬ oped into French Sign Language (FSL), still used in France. Transported to the U.S. in 1816 by Thomas Gallaudet (1787-1851), it evolved into American Sign Language (ASL, or Ameslan), now used by more than half a million people. These and other national sign languages generally express concepts rather than elements of words and thus have more in common with each other than with their countries’ spoken languages.
H fp &
K L M N O P Q
W
Z
2
8
9 10
The alphabet and the numbers 0-10 in Amer. Sign Language.
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Signac \se-'nyak\, Paul (b. Nov. 11, 1863, Paris, Fr.—d. Aug. 15, 1935, Paris) French painter. At 18 he gave up architecture to pursue painting in the Impressionist manner. In 1884 he became a founder of the Salon des Independants. With Georges Seurat he developed an exact mathematical system of applying dots of colour, which they called Pointillism (see Neo-Impressionism). He traveled extensively along the European coast painting landscapes and seascapes; in his later years he painted street scenes of Paris and other cities. He was a master of watercolour, in which he achieved great brilliance of colour and a free, spontaneous style. His work had a great influence on Henri Matisse.
Signorelli \,sen-yo-'rel-le\, Luca (d'Egidio di Ventura de') or Luca da Cortona (b. 1445/50, Cortona, Republic of Florence—d. Oct. 16, 1523, Cortona) Italian painter. Highly influenced by the Florentine artists, he was probably a student of Piero della Francesca. He went to Rome c. 1483, where he produced the Testament of Moses fresco in the Sistine Chapel. The dramatic action and depiction of great muscular effort in this and similar Renaissance works mark him as essentially a Floren¬ tine naturalist. His masterpiece, the End of the World and Last Judgment frescoes in Orvieto Cathedral, with their many muscular nudes, greatly influenced Michelangelo.
Sigurd See Siegfried
Sihanouk, Norodom See Norodom Sihanouk
Sikh Wars Vsek\ (1845-46, 1848—49) Two wars fought between the Sikhs and the British. In the first war Sikhs invaded British India under the pretext of forestalling a British attack on the Sikh state in the Punjab (see Ranjit Singh). They were defeated, the British annexed some of their lands, and British troops and a British resident were stationed in Lahore. The second war was a Sikh national revolt that ended in a British victory and annexation of the Punjab.
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sikhara ► silica mineral I 1751
sikhara or shikhara Yshi-kd-raV Tower characteristic of Hindu temples of northern India. The sikhara over the sanctuary of a temple is usually tapered convexly, consisting of piled-up roof slabs of diminishing size. The surface is cov¬ ered with vinelike candrashala (ogee arch) tracery; at the top is a cushion-shaped grooved disk (i amalaka ), and above that a pot with a crowning finial. The sikhara devel¬ oped during the Gupta period (4th- 6th century ad) and steadily grew taller and more elaborate, as in the soaring tower of the 11th-century Lingaraja Temple in Bhubaneswar. In a variation of the basic form, half spires are added on either side of the sikhara ; excellent examples are the 10th-century Laksmana and 11th- century Kandarya Mahadeva temples at Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh. In addition to the curved sikhara, there is a smaller, rectilinear type frequently used above the temple mandapas (halls).
Sikhism \ , se- l kiz-om\ Indian reli¬ gion founded in the late 15 th century by Nanak, the first of the Sikh leaders titled Guru. Most of the religion’s 25 million members, called Sikhs, live in the Punjab —the site of their holiest shrine, the Golden Temple, and the principal seat of Sikh religious authority, the Akal Takht. The Adi Granth is the canonical scripture of Sikhism. Its theology is based on a supreme God who governs with jus¬ tice and grace. Every human being, irrespective of caste or gender, has the opportunity to become one with God. The basic human flaw of self¬ centredness can be overcome through proper reverence for God, commit¬ ment to hard work, service to humanity, and sharing the fruits of one’s labour. Sikhs consider themselves disciples of the 10 human Gurus; the Adi Granth assumed the position of Guru after the death of the last human Guru, Gobind Singh (1666-1708). Sikhs accept the Hindu ideas of sam- sara and karma. The dominant order of Sikhism, into which most Sikh boys and girls are initiated at puberty, is the Khalsa. The emblems of the Khalsa, called the five Ks, are kes (uncut hair), kangha (a comb), kachha (long shorts), kirpan (a sword), and karka (a steel bracelet).
Sikkim Ysi-ksnA State (pop., 2001 prelim.: 540,773), northeastern India. In the eastern Himalayas, Mount Kanchenjunga, third highest peak in the world, forms its western border with Nepal. It is also bordered by Bhutan and West Bengal state and has an area of 2,740 sq mi (7,096 sq km); the capital, Gangtok, is the only urban centre. As an independent country, it fought prolonged wars in the 18th and 19th centuries with Bhutan and Nepal. It first came under British influence in 1817, though it remained an independent buffer between British India and Tibet. In 1950 it became an Indian protectorate and, in 1975, a state of India. One of India’s small¬ est states, it exports agricultural products and is one of the world’s main producers of cardamom. Its mineral resources include copper, lead, zinc, coal, iron ore, and garnets.