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292 I Bulgarian Horrors ► bull-roarer
River. The Byzantine Empire in 681 for¬ mally recognized Bulgar control over the area between the Balkans and the Danube, though it would again dominate Bulgaria from the early 11th century to the late 12th century. Late in the 14th century Bulgaria fell to the Ottoman Turks and again lost its independence. At the end of the Russo-Turkish War (1877— 78), Bulgaria rebelled. The ensuing Treaty of San Stefano was unaccept¬ able to the great powers, and the Congress of Berlin (1878) resulted. In 1908 the Bulgarian ruler, Ferdinand, declared Bulgaria’s independence. After its involvement in the Balkan Wars (1912-13), Bulgaria lost terri¬ tory. It sided with the Central Powers in World War I and with Germany in World War II. A communist coalition seized power in 1944, and in 1946 a people’s republic was declared. With other eastern European countries in the late 1980s, Bulgaria experienced political unrest; its communist leader resigned in 1989. A new constitution that proclaimed a republic was implemented in 1991. Economic turmoil followed Bulgaria into the 21st century as it sought political stability and joined NATO in 2004.
Bulgarian Horrors Atrocities committed by the Ottoman empire in subduing the Bulgarian rebellion of 1876. The name was used by William E. Gladstone in his pamphlet publicizing the incident. About 15,000 per¬ sons were reportedly massacred at Philippopolis (now Plovdiv), and vil¬ lages and monasteries were destroyed. Despite widespread public indignation, the European powers did little in response. The crisis ended with the Congress of Berlin, which created a small, autonomous princi¬ pality of Bulgaria.
Bulgarian language South Slavic language spoken by about nine million people in Bulgaria and enclaves in Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, and Turkey. Closely related is Macedonian, spoken by two to three mil¬ lion people in Macedonia, adjacent parts of Albania and Greece, and enclaves elsewhere. Both languages differ from other major Slavic lan¬ guages in several features. Both are direct descendants of Old Church Slavonic. Under Ottoman rule, literary production was solely in Church Slavonic. The Bulgarian vernacular became a literary language only in the mid-19th century; it was codified on the basis of northeastern Bul¬ garian dialects in 1899. Though efforts to create a literary Macedonian were underway before the Balkan Wars (1912-13), it was not formally recognized as a distinct language until the declaration of a Macedonian Republic within nascent communist Yugoslavia (1944).
Bulge, Battle of the (Dec. 16, 1944-Jan. 16, 1945) In World War II, the last German offensive on the Western Front, an unsuccessful attempt to divide the Allied forces and prevent an invasion of Germany. The “bulge” refers to the wedge that the Germans drove into the Allied lines. In December 1944, Allied forces were caught unprepared by a German
counterthrust in the wooded Ardennes region of southern Belgium. The German drive, led by Gerd von Rundstedt’s panzer army, was initially suc¬ cessful but was halted by Allied resistance and reinforcements led by George Patton. The Germans withdrew in January 1945, but both sides suffered heavy losses.
Buli style \'bu-le\ African wood sculpture made by the Luba people in the village of Buli, Congo (Zaire). The most typical examples are statues of ancestor figures and stools with seats supported on the heads and fin¬ gertips of figures. Because the carvings are almost identical and differ from other Luba carvings, they were once thought to be the work of a single artist, known as the Master of Buli, but it was later determined that they were actually produced in a workshop.
bulimia nervosa Nbii-Te-me-o-nor-'vo-soX Eating disorder, mostly in women, in which excessive concern with weight and body shape leads to binge eating followed by compensatory behaviour such as self-induced vomiting or the excessive use of laxatives or diuretics. The disorder typi¬ cally begins in adolescence or early adulthood and is associated with depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. Bulimia can have serious medi¬ cal complications such as dental decay and dehydration. Treatment may include psychotherapy. Unlike persons with anorexia nervosa, most bulimics remain close to their proper weight.
bulk modulus Vma-jo-losV Numerical constant that describes the elas¬ tic properties of a solid or fluid under pressure from all sides. It is the ratio of the tensile strength or compressive force per unit surface area to the change in volume per unit volume of the solid or fluid and thus is a mea¬ sure of a substance’s ability to resist deformation. Its units are newtons per square metre (N/m 2 ). Matter that is difficult to compress has a large bulk modulus; for example, steel has a bulk modulus of 1.6 x 10 11 N/m 2 , three times that of glass (i.e., glass is three times more compressible than steel).
Bull, John (b. 1562/63, Radnorshire, Wales?—d. March 12/13, 1628, Antwerp, Spanish Netherlands) British composer. He became organist of Hereford Cathedral in 1582, then organist at the Chapel Royal in 1591. In 1613 he departed for the continent to escape punishment for adultery; he held important organist positions in Brussels and Antwerp until his death. He wrote many verse anthems but is remembered for his keyboard works. In an era of remarkable English music for the virginal (a small harpsichord), he produced works that, with their resourceful keyboard figurations, reflect his own brilliant technique.
Bull \'bul. Ole (Bornemann) (b. Feb. 5, 1810, Bergen, Nor.—d. Aug. 17, 1880, Lyspen, near Bergen) Norwegian violinist. After training in his native Bergen, he freelanced in Christiania (now Oslo) in 1828-31. His Paris concerts, which featured Norwegian songs played on a folk violin, won much attention, and he toured Europe and the U.S. for two decades. A longtime nationalist, he was brought back home by the revolution of 1848. He helped found the Norwegian Theatre in Bergen, and in 1852-53 he established the socialist colony Oleona in Pennsylvania; debts from the failed experiment kept him touring the rest of his life. Much of the music he composed is lost.
bull market In securities and commodities trading, a rising market. A bull is an investor who expects prices to rise and, on this assumption, buys a security or commodity in hopes of reselling it later for a profit. A bullish market is one in which prices are expected to rise. See also bear MARKET.
Bull Moose Party U.S. dissident political party that nominated former president Theodore Roosevelt for the presidency in 1912. Formed by Sen. Robert La Follette in 1911 as the National Republican Progressive League, it opposed the conservatism of the Republican Party controlled by Pres. William H. Taft. The party derived its name from the characteristics of strength and vigour that Roosevelt attributed to himself. In 1912 Roosevelt won 25% of the popular vote; thus split, the Republicans lost the election to the Democratic candidate, Woodrow Wilson. The party gradually dissolved, and the Republicans were reunited in 1916. See also Progressive Party.