Craigavon \kra-'ga-v9n\ District (pop., 2001: 80,671), Northern Ire¬ land. Established in 1973, it lies south of Lough Neagh. In the north it is flat and composed largely of peat soils; in the south it rises to lowlands. It is an important fruit-growing district and also has textile and pharma¬ ceutical industries. Its administrative seat, Craigavon town, engages in light industry and commerce.
Craiova \kra-'yo-va\ City (pop., 2002: 302,622), southwestern Roma¬ nia. Situated near the Jiu River, the area has long been settled; the remains of a Roman fort built under Trajan have been excavated nearby. From the late 15th to the 18th century it was the residence of the region’s military governors. It prospered as a regional trading centre despite an earthquake in 1790 and a Turkish assault in 1802 during which it was burned. It has a university (1966) and other cultural amenities.
cramp Painful, involuntary, sustained contraction of muscle in limbs or some internal organs. Causes may be neurological, reflex, or psychologi¬ cal. Common muscle cramps include swimmer’s cramp from overexer¬ tion in cold water, heat cramps from loss of salt in sweat, leg cramps, and occupational (e.g., writer’s) cramp. Menstrual cramps are uterine muscle
Common swimming crab (Portunus holsatus), showing its paddle-shaped feet
DR. ECKART POTT/BRUCE COLEMAN LTD.
Crabgrass (Digitaria sanguinalis)
GRANT HEILMAN
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Cranach ► Cranmer I 479
contractions before or during menstruation. Cramps occur in diseases including parkinsonism and Huntington chorea. Tetany is severe cramping noticed first in limb muscles.
Cranach \'kra-,nak\, Lucas, the Elder orig. Lucas Muller (b. 1472, Cranach, bishopric of Bamberg—d. Oct. 16,1553, Weimar, Saxe-Weimar) German painter and printmaker. He took his name from the town of his birth. Little is known about his early life or training. In Vienna (c. 1501— 04) he painted some notable portraits and landscapes characteristic of the Danube school. From 1505 to 1550 he was court painter in Wittenberg, where he achieved great success and wealth painting portraits, mytho¬ logical subjects, and altarpieces for Protestant and Catholic churches. He attracted so many young artists to Wittenberg that the town became an art centre. A friend of Martin Luther, Cranach became known as the chief pic¬ torial propagandist of the Protestant cause in Germany. He produced numerous engravings and more than 100 woodcuts, notably for the first German edition of the New Testament (1522). After his death, his style was perpetuated by his son, Lucas the Younger (1515-86).
cranberry Fruit of any of several small creeping or trailing plants of the genus Vaccinium (heath family), related to the blueberry. The small- fruited, or northern, cranberry (V oxycoccus) is found in marshy land in northern North America and Asia and in northern and central Europe.
Its crimson berries, about the size of currants and often spotted, have an acid taste. The American cranberry (V macrocarpon), found wild in most of the northeastern U.S. and grown extensively in Massachusetts,
New Jersey, and Wisconsin and near the Pacific coast in Washington and Oregon, is more robust than V. oxy¬ coccus, with larger, pink to very dark red or mottled red-and-white berries.
Cranberries are used in drinks, sauces, jellies, and baked goods.
crane Any of a diverse group of machines that lift and move heavy objects. Cranes differ from hoists, eleva¬ tors, and other devices intended for vertical lifting, and from conveyors, which continuously lift or carry bulk materials such as grain or coal. Cranes have been widely used only since the introduction of steam engines, internal-combustion engines, and electric motors in the 19th century. They range in type and function from the largest derrick cranes to small, mobile truck cranes. Most derrick cranes can lift 5-250 tons (4.5-230 metric tons). Floating cranes, built on barges for constructing bridges or salvaging sunken objects, may be able to lift 3,000 tons (2,700 metric-tons). Small truck cranes are mounted on heavy, modified trucks; they make up in mobility and ease of transport what they lack in hoisting capacity.
crane Any of 15 species (family Gruidae) of tall wading birds that resemble herons but are usually larger and have a partly naked head, a heavier bill, more-compact plumage, and an elevated hind toe. In flight, the long neck stretches out in front and the stiltlike legs trail behind. Cranes are found worldwide, living in marshes and on plains, except in South America. Many populations are endangered by hunting and habitat destruction. Cranes eat small animals, grain, and grass shoots. Two well- known species are the whooping crane and the sandhill crane.
crane flower See bird-of-paradise
crane fly Harmless, slow-flying dipteran (family Tipulidae) usually found around water or abundant vegetation. It ranges in size from tiny to slightly over 1 in. (2.5 cm) long. Larvae of the range crane fly ( Tipula simplex) are called leatherjackets because of their tough brown skin. In northern latitudes a wingless crane-fly species is found on snow. The crane fly is also called daddy longlegs in English-speaking countries other than the U.S. (in the U.S., daddy longlegs refers to an arachnid).
Crane, (Harold) Hart (b. July 21, 1899, Garrettsville, Ohio, U.S.—d. April 27, 1932, at sea, Caribbean Sea) U.S. poet. Crane worked at a vari¬ ety of jobs before settling in New York City. White Buildings (1926), his first book, includes “For the Marriage of Faustus and Helen.” His desire to respond to the cultural pessimism of T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land
Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon)
WALTER CHANDOHA
resulted in the long and difficult poem The Bridge (1930), which attempts to create an epic myth of the American experience, celebrating the rich¬ ness of modern life with visionary intensity. Alcoholic and despondent over his homosexuality, he committed suicide at 32 by jumping overboard from a ship in the Caribbean.
Crane, Stephen (b. Nov. 1, 1871, Newark, N.J., U.S.—d. June 5,
1900, Badenweiler, Baden, Ger.) U.S. novelist and short-story writer. Crane briefly attended college before moving to New York City. His Mag¬ gie: A Girl of the Streets (1893), a sympathetic study of a slum girl’s descent into prostitution, was a mile¬ stone of literary naturalism. He achieved international fame with his masterwork, The Red Badge of Courage (1895), depicting the psy¬ chological turmoil of a young Civil War soldier, and with his first book of poems, The Black Riders (1895). While traveling as a war correspon¬ dent, his ship sank and he almost drowned, resulting in his great story “The Open Boat” (1898). His story collections include The Little Regi¬ ment (1896), The Monster (1899), and Whilomville Stories (1900). He died at 28 of tuberculosis.
Stephen Crane, detail of a painting by C.K. Linson, 1896.
COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA LIBRARY, BARRETT LIBRARY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE
Crane, Walter (b. Aug. 15, 1845, Liverpool, Eng.—d. March 14, 1915, Horsham) English illustrator, painter, and designer. The son of a portrait painter, he studied Italian Old Masters and Japanese prints. The ideas of the Pre-Raphaelites and John Ruskin inspired his early paintings. He achieved international popularity designing Art Nouveau textiles and wallpapers but is chiefly known for his illustrations of children’s books. In 1894 he worked with William Morris on The Story of the Glittering Plain, a book printed in the style of 16th-century German and Italian woodcuts. He belonged to the Art Workers’ Guild, and in 1888 he founded the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society. See also Arts and Crafts Movement.