corbel Vkor-boA Block or brick partially embedded in a wall, with one end projecting out from the face. The weight of added masonry above counterbalances the cantilever and keeps the block from falling out of the wall. Corbeling often occurs over several courses, with each block or brick overhanging the one below so as to resemble a set of inverted steps. The form may be continuous, as in a corbeled arch, or a series of separate brackets, as on a medieval battlement. Corbeling was used extensively before the development of true arches and vaults.
Corbusier, Le See Le Corbusier
Corday (d'Armont) \kor-'de\, (Marie-Anne-) Charlotte (b. July 27, 1768, Saint-Satumin, near Seez,
Normandy, France—d. July 17,
1793, Paris) French political activist.
A noblewoman from Caen, she moved to Paris to work for the Girondin cause in the French Revolu¬ tion. Horrified at the excesses of the Reign of Terror, she sought an inter¬ view with Jean-Paul Marat, one of its leaders. On July 13, 1793, she stabbed him through the heart while he was in his bath. Arrested on the spot, she was convicted by the Revo¬ lutionary Tribunal and guillotined.
Cordeliers \kor-d3l-'ya,\ English \,k6r-do-Terz\ Club officially Soci¬ ety of the Friends of the Rights of Man and of the Citi¬ zen Club founded in 1790 during the French Revolution to prevent the abuse of power and “infractions of the rights of man.” Popularly named for its original meeting place at the nationalized monastery of the Cord¬ eliers (Franciscans), the club became a political force under Jean-Paul Marat and Georges Danton. Leadership later fell to Jacques-Rene Hebert and others, who helped overthrow the Girondins and gave the club a more radical tone. It fell into oblivion after Hebert’s execution in 1794.
Cordilleran \ 1 kor-d 3 l- , yer-3n\ Geosyncline Linear trough in the Earth’s crust in which rocks of Late Precambrian to Mesozoic Age (roughly 600-65 million years ago) were deposited along the western coast of North America. The principal mountain-building phases of the geosyncline took place during Mesozoic time, but many earlier events have also been recorded. Deformation of the Cordilleran Geosyncline and the formation of the Cordilleran fold belt appear to have been related to the development of oceanic trenches along the western margins of the North American continent.
Cordoba Vkor-th6-ba\ City (pop., 1999 est.: 1,275,585), the second largest in Argentina. It lies on the Primero River along the foothills of the Sierra de Cordoba. Founded in 1573, its location between the coast and the interior settlements favoured its early development. In 1599 Jesuits settled in the city and founded the country’s first university (1613). Cor¬ doba’s growth was stimulated by the completion of rail connections with the east in 1869 and the San Roque Dam in 1866, which provides irri¬ gation water for orchards and grain fields and hydroelectric power for the city’s many factories.
Cordoba or Cordova Vkor-d3-v9\ ancient Corduba City (pop., 2001: 308,072), capital of Cordoba province, southern Spain. On the banks of the Guadalquivir River, it probably had Carthaginian origins.
Soft coral (Sarcophyton)
VALERIE TAYLOR-ARDEA
Charlotte Corday, engraving by E.-L. Baudran after a portrait by J.-J. Hauer.
COURTESY OF THE BIBLIOTHEQUE NATIONALE, PARIS
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Cordobes ► cork I 465
Occupied by the Romans in 152 bc, it became, under Augustus, the capital of the Roman province of Baetica. It declined under the Visigoths (6th-8th centuries ad), and it was captured by the Muslims in 711. Abd al-Rahman I, of the Umayyad family, made it his capital in 756 and founded the Great Mosque of Cordoba, which still stands. By the 10th century it was the larg¬ est city in Europe, filled with palaces and mosques. It fell to the Castilian king Ferdinand III in 1236 and became part of Christian Spain. Modem Cordoba’s streets and buildings evoke its Moorish heritage.
Cordobes V.kor-tho-'basV, El orig. Manuel Benitez Perez (b. May
4, 1936?, Palma del Rio, Cordoba,
Spain) Spanish bullfighter. He grew up an illiterate orphan in Cordoba (his nickname means “the Cordo¬ van”) and was once imprisoned for unauthorized entry into bullrings. He began his career in 1959 and became a full matador in 1963. In the month of August 1965 alone, he killed a record 64 bulls and is believed to have been paid 35 million pesetas.
The crudity of his technique was off¬ set by his exceptional reflexes and courage; handsome, dashing, and flamboyant, he became the most highly paid torero in history.
core In earth science, the part of the Earth that starts about 1,800 mi (2,900 km) beneath the surface and extends downward. It consists largely of an iron-rich metallic alloy and is thought to have a two-part structure: an outer fluid region and a solid, extremely dense inner region that measures only about 1,500 mi (2,400 km) across. The alloy compo¬ sition is mainly iron with small amounts of nickel. This composition is deduced from the chemistry of iron meteorites that presumably came from the breakup of a planetary body that also had an iron core. See also crust; MANTLE.
Corelli, Arcangelo (b. Feb. 17, 1653, Fusignano, near Imola, Papal States—d. Jan. 8, 1713, Rome) Italian composer and violinist. He stud¬ ied in Bologna before settling in Rome. He became widely known as a violinist, director, and teacher, and he lived with his family at the palaces of Cardinals Pamphili and Ottoboni. His many students included Francesco Geminiani (1687-1762) and Pietro Locatelli (1695-1764). As a violinist, he had considerable influence on the development of violin style. As the first composer whose fame was based exclusively on his nonvocal music, his reputation rests mainly on his sonatas and his 12 Concerti Grossi, which established the concerto grosso form. He wrote four sets of 12 trio sonatas each (1681-95), a set of 12 solo sonatas (1700), and the concerti grossi (1714). Long after his death, his works were widely studied and imitated for their classic poise and serenity. With his music the ideal of full-blown tonality first became securely established.
coreopsis \,kor-e-'ap-s3s\ Any ornamental summer-blooming plant of the genus Coreopsis, commonly known as tickseed, in the composite fam¬ ily, consisting of about 100 species of annual and perennial herbaceous plants native to North America. Members have flower heads with yellow disk flowers and yellow, pink, white, or variegated ray flowers. The heads are solitary or in branched clusters, and some varieties have double flow¬ ers. Golden coreopsis (C. tinctoria) is a popular garden plant; swamp tickseed (C. rosea ) is grown in wildflower gardens.
Corfu \k6r-'fii\ Greek Kerkira Vker-ke-ra\ One of the Ionian Islands, northwestern Greece. With adjacent small islands, it forms the Corfu department (pop., 1995 est.: 108,000) of Greece; the town of Corfu (pop., 1995 est.: 36,000) is the departmental capital. Corfu occupies 229 sq mi (593 sq km). It was settled by the Corinthians c. 734 bc. Off its coast the first naval battle in Greek history was fought, between Corfu and Corinth c. 664 bc. About 435 bc it sought the aid of Athens against Corinth, pre¬ cipitating the Peloponnesian War. A Roman possession in 229 bc, it later passed to the Byzantines, then to the Normans. It was ruled by Venice from 1386 to 1797 and was under British administration from 1815 until it was ceded to Greece in 1864. Germans and Italians occupied it during
World War II. It is now a popular tourist destination and produces olive oil, figs, oranges, lemons, and wine.