canoe Lightweight boat pointed at both ends and propelled by one or more paddles. The earliest canoes had light frames of wood covered by tightly stretched tree bark. The birchbark canoe was first used by the
George Canning, painting by Sir Tho¬ mas Lawrence and Richard Evans; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, LONDON
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
canoeing ► canton I 327
Algonquian Indians in what is now the northeastern U.S. and Canada, and its use passed westward. Canoes were often about 20 ft (6 m) in length, though war canoes might be as long as 100 ft (30 m). The dugout canoe, made from a hollowed-out log, was used by Indians in what is now the southeastern U.S. and along the Pacific coast as far north as Canada, as well as by peoples in Africa and New Zealand. Modern canoes are made of wood, canvas over wood frames, aluminum, and molded plastic or fibreglass. Most are open from end to end, but the kayak is also consid¬ ered a canoe. See also canoeing.
canoeing Use of a canoe or kayak for recreation or competition. Both types of boat are used in water touring, in speed competitions, and in white-water sport, or navigation through rapids (which includes, in the case of kayaks, ocean surf). The Scottish philanthropist John MacGregor (1825-1892) is traditionally credited with establishing the modem out¬ door activity of canoeing in the 1860s. Canoeing events became part of the Olympic Games in 1936 (1948 for women). In addition to various singles, pairs, and team still-water events for distance and speed, there are white-water racing competitions and, for kayaks, slalom events involving the use of gates similar to those of slalom skiing.
canon Musical form and compositional technique. Canons are charac¬ terized by having a melody that is imitated at a specified time interval by one or more parts, either at the same pitch or at some other pitch. Imi¬ tation may occur in the same note values, in augmentation (longer notes), or in diminution (shorter notes); in retrograde order (beginning at its end), mirror inversion (each ascending melodic interval becoming a descend¬ ing interval, and vice versa), or retrograde mirror inversion; and so on. Canons range from folk rounds such as “Three Blind Mice” and “Frere Jacques” to the massively complex canons of Johann Sebastian Bach.
canon law Body of laws established within Roman Catholicism, East¬ ern Orthodoxy, independent churches of Eastern Christianity, and the Anglican Communion for church governance. Canon law concerns the constitution of the church, relations between it and other bodies, and mat¬ ters of internal discipline. The ecclesiastical lawyer and teacher Gratian published the first definitive collection of Roman Catholic canon law c. 1140; the Decretum Gratiani drew on older local collections, councils, Roman law, and church fathers. The enlarged Corpus juris canonici (“Body of Canon Law”) was published in 1500. A commission of cardi¬ nals issued the new Codex juris canonici (“Code of Canon Law”) in 1917, and a revised version was commissioned after the Second Vatican Coun¬ cil and published in 1983. Following the Schism of 1054, the Eastern Orthodox church developed its own canon law under the patriarch of Constantinople. The Anglican, Coptic, and Ethiopian Orthodox churches also formulated their own collections.
canonization Official act of a Christian church declaring a deceased member worthy of veneration and entering his or her name in the canon (authorized list) of saints. The cult of local martyrs was widespread in the early church, and by the 10th century church authorities were consider¬ ing the need for formal recognition of saints by Rome, a change that was formalized by Gregory IX in the 13th century. Responsibility for beatifi¬ cation (declaring a person worthy of limited veneration) was assigned to the Roman Curia under Sixtus V (r. 1585-90). A candidate’s writings, miracles, and reputation for sanctity are investigated: one official gathers evidence in favor of beatification; another (the “devil’s advocate”) is charged with seeing that the entire truth is made known about the can¬ didate. Canonization requires proof of two miracles subsequent to beati¬ fication. The process in the Eastern Orthodox Church is less formal; popular devotion by the faithful serving as the usual basis for sainthood.
canopic jar In ancient Egyptian funerary ritual, a covered vessel of wood, stone, pottery, or faience containing the embalmed viscera removed from a body during mummification. First used during the Old Kingdom (c. 2575-c. 2130 bc), the jars became more elaborate during the Middle Kingdom (c. 1938-c. 1600 bc), when their lids were decorated with sculpted human heads (probably representations of the deceased). From the 19th dynasty until the end of the New Kingdom (1539-1075 bc), the heads represented the four sons of Horus. During the 20th dynasty (1190— 1075 bc), the practice began of returning the viscera to the body, and the art of canopic jars declined.
Canova, Antonio (b. Nov. 1, 1757, Possagno, Republic of Venice—d. Oct. 13, 1822, Venice) Italian sculptor. Apprenticed to a sculptor at an early age, he opened his own studio in Venice by 1775. In 1778-79 he produced his first important sculpture, Daedalus and Icarus', the figures
were so realistic that he was accused of making plaster casts from live models. He settled in Rome in 1779 and became strongly influenced by Classical antiquity. Among his most important commissions were the tombs of two popes, Clement XIII and Clement XIV. In 1802 he became court sculptor to Napoleon I in Paris. In 1816 Pope Pius VII awarded him the title of marquis of Ischia for arranging the return of Italian art looted by the French. Canova also painted portraits and re-creations of paintings discovered at Pompeii and Herculaneum. He dominated European sculpture around the turn of the century and was of primary importance in the development of the Neoclassical style in sculpture (see Classicism and Neoclassicism).
Canso, Strait of or Canso Gut Channel, Nova Scotia, Canada. Sepa¬ rating mainland Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island, it is 4.5 mi (23 km) long and 1 mi (2 km) wide, with depths of 200 ft (60 m). Since 1955 the 7,000-ft (2,100-m) Canso Causeway has linked Cape Breton with the mainland. A navigation lock can handle most oceangoing vessels.
Cantabria \kan-'ta-bre-9\ Historical region, autonomous community (pop., 2001: 535,131), and province, northern Spain. It borders the Bay of Biscay and covers an area of 2,054 sq mi (5,321 sq km); its coastal hills rise gradually into the Cantabrian Mountains. Its capital is Santander. The Cantabri, an Iberian tribe, dominated the region until 19 bc, when they were subdued by the Romans. Because of its isolation, the area was little affected by the Iberian Moorish invasions (c. 8th—11th centuries). In the Middle Ages, Cantabria came under Castilian influence. The region itself was formerly known as Santander, and much of its population is centred on the city of the same name. Mining is an important part of the economy.
Cantabrian Mountains \kan-'ta-bre-on\ Mountain range, northern Spain. The mountains, which extend about 180 mi (300 km), are geo¬ logically of similar origin to the Pyrenees, though classified as a separate formation. They include many tall peaks, the highest being Torre de Cerredo (8,787 ft, or 2,678 m), and thus form a more formidable barrier than the Pyrenees. The region is economically important for its coal and iron.
cantata Work for voice or voices and instruments of the Baroque era. From its beginnings in early 17th-century Italy, both secular and religious cantatas were written. The earliest cantatas were generally for solo voice and minimal instrumental accompaniment. Cantatas soon developed a dramatic character and alternating sections of recitative and aria, parallel¬ ing the simultaneous development of opera, and they came to resemble unstaged operatic scenes or acts. In Germany the Lutheran cantata devel¬ oped more directly out of the expanding choral motet, and almost always involved a chorus. A single chorale (hymn) often served as the basis for an entire cantata, which might have up to 10 diverse numbers, including duets, recitatives, and choral fugues. The most celebrated are the approxi¬ mately 200 written by Johann Sebastian Bach. After c. 1750 the cantata gradually declined.