troubadour Vtrii-bo-.dor, ‘trii-bo-.dmA One of a class of lyric poets and poet-musicians, often of knightly rank, that flourished from the 11th through the 13th century, chiefly in Provence and other regions of south¬ ern France, northern Spain, and northern Italy. They wrote in the langue d’oc of southern France (see Languedoc) and cultivated a lyric poetry intricate in metre and rhyme and usually of a romantic amatory strain reflecting the ideals of courtly love. Favoured at courts, troubadours had great freedom of speech and were charged with creating around the court ladies an aura of pleasant cultivation. Their poetry, often set to music, was to influence all later European lyrical poetry. See also trouvere.
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1942 I Troubles ► trullo
Troubles, Time of (1606-13) Period of political crisis in Russia. After the death of Fyodor I and the end of the Rurik dynasty (1598), the boyars opposed the rule of Boris Godunov and after his death placed the noble¬ man Vasily Shuysky (1552-1612) on the throne in 1606. Shuysky’s rule was weakened by revolts, challenges by the second False Dmitry, and the invasion of Russia by the Polish king Sigismund III Vasa in 1609-10. The Russians finally rallied against the Polish invaders and succeeded in oust¬ ing them from their control of Moscow in 1612. A new representative assembly met in 1613 and elected Michael Romanov as tsar, commencing the 300-year reign of the Romanov dynasty.
trout Any of several prized game and food fishes of the family Salmo- nidae, native to the Northern Hemisphere but widely introduced else¬ where. Though most species inhabit cool fresh waters, a few (called sea trout; e.g., cutthroat trout) migrate to the sea between spawnings. Some weakfish are also called sea trout. The genus Oncorhynchus includes salmon and several trout species; Salvelinus contains trout species regarded as chars. Trout species vary greatly in anatomy, colour, and hab¬ its. Most live among submerged objects or in riffles and deep pools, eat¬ ing insects, small fishes and their eggs, and crustaceans. See also brook trout; brown trout; lake trout; rainbow trout.
trouvere \tru-'ver\ One of a school of poets that flourished in northern France from the 11th to the 14th century. Trouveres were the counterparts in the language of northern France (the langue d’oil ) to the Provencal troubadour. Of either aristocratic or humble origins, they were originally connected with feudal courts but later found middle-class patrons. Noted for such forms as the chanson de geste, their works are generally narra¬ tives; their basic subject was courtly love. Trouveres pleased their audi¬ ences by combining stylized themes and traditional metrical forms rather than by originality of expression. The lyrics were intended to be sung, by the poet alone or accompanied by a hired musician.
Trowbridge \'tro-,brij\ Town (pop., 1995 est.: 30,000), county seat of Wiltshire, southern England. Trowbridge has some notable buildings, including St. James’s parish church, which dates from the 14th century. George Crabbe was rector there toward the end of his life. The town is famous for its fine woolen cloth.
Troy or Ilium Ancient city in Troas, northwestern Anatolia. It holds an enduring place in both literature and archaeology. In literature, it is well known as the location of the Trojan War. The archaeological site, a huge mound at modern Hisarhk, Tur., on the Menderes (Scamander) River, was first excavated by archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann (1870-90). It consists of nine major layers dating from the early Bronze Age to Roman times (c. 3000 Bc-4th century ad). In Greek legend, the city was besieged by the Greeks for 10 years and finally destroyed. Its story is told in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey and in Virgil’s Aeneid. Whether the site is the actual city of these works is still debated, but the archaeological evidence indi¬ cates that a city (Troy Vila) was destroyed at that location c. 1260—40 bc and likely was the Homeric Troy. The ruins were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1998.
Trubetskoy \,tru-byit-'sk6i\, Nikolay (Sergeyevich) (b. April 16, 1890, Moscow, Russia—d. June 25, 1938, Vienna, Austria) Russian lin¬ guist. Born into a family of scholars, he held professorships in Russia and (from 1922) at the University of Vienna. One of the founders of the Pra¬ gue school of linguistics, he was noted as the author of the school’s most important work on phonology, Principles of Phonology (1939). Influenced by Ferdinand de Saussure, Trubetskoy redefined the phoneme functionally as the smallest distinctive unit within the structure of a language. He died of a heart attack after being persecuted by the Nazis for criticizing racist theory.
Truce of God Measure by the medieval Roman Catholic Church to suspend warfare on certain days of the week and for certain church fes¬ tivals and Lent. It was instituted in France as early as 1027, and else¬ where in Europe (excluding England) during the next several decades. The popes later took its direction into their own hands, and the first decree of the Council of Clermont (1095) proclaimed a weekly truce for all Christendom, with an oath of adherence to be taken by all men over age 12. The truce was most powerful in the 12th century but was never entirely effective.
Trucial States See United Arab Emirates
truck or lorry Motor vehicle designed to carry freight or heavy articles. The first truck was built in Germany in 1896 by Gottlieb Daimler. By the
1920s trucks had become a major means of freight transport. Gasoline engines for trucks were common until the 1940s, when diesel engines gen¬ erally replaced them. Trucks may be either straight (all axles attached to the frame) or articulated (two or more frames connected by couplings); large articulated trucks consist of a towing tractor and a connected semi¬ trailer. Air brakes were added to trucks in 1918 and four-wheel brakes in 1925; later improvements included power steering.
Trudeau, Pierre (Elliott) (b. Oct. 18, 1919, Montreal, Que., Can.—d. Sept. 28, 2000, Montreal) Prime minister of Canada (1968-79, 1980-84). He practiced law before being elected to the Canadian House of Com¬ mons (1966-84). He was minister of justice (1967-68) in Lester Pearson’s administration. He became leader of the Liberal Party and prime minis¬ ter in 1968. A determined antiseparatist, he advocated a strong federal government and took a determined stand against separatist terrorists. After nine months out of office, he returned in 1980 to initiate reforms that called for the constitutional “patriation,” or transfer, of the amending authority from the British Parliament to Canada. To this end, he effected passage of the Canada Act, which precipitated Canada’s official indepen¬ dence from Britain. His term saw the adoption of official bilingualism. He spent his final years in office seeking greater economic independence for Canada, forming better trade relations between industrialized democra¬ cies and developing countries, and urging further international disarma¬ ment talks. He resigned as leader of the Liberal Party and retired from politics in 1984, by which time he was the longest-serving leader of any Western democracy.
Truffaut \tnE-'fb,\ English \tru-'fo\, Francois (b. Feb. 6, 1932, Paris, France—d. Oct. 21, 1984, Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris) French film director and critic. As a film critic for the avant-garde Cahiers du Cinema, he advocated the auteur theory and helped establish the New Wave move¬ ment. His first feature film was the semi-autobiographical The 400 Blows (1959), a portrait of a delinquent boy, that won him international acclaim. Influenced by Jean Renoir and Alfred Hitchcock, he made varied and admired movies such as Shoot the Piano Player (1960), Jules and Jim (1961), Fahrenheit 451 (1966), Stolen Kisses (1968), The Wild Child (1969), Day for Night (1973, Academy Award), The Story of Adele H. (1975), and The Last Metro (1980). His films record life’s grayness and flatness with a sense of resignation quite distinct from platitude or petu¬ lant nihilism.