- roman
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1. a metrical narrative, esp. in medieval French literature.2. a novel.
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ITypeface used most widely in Western typography, the general term for the type of this book's text.Characterized by simple, unembellished shapes, roman was developed by 15th-century printers as an alternative to the heavy-bodied, spiky black letter script. Models for a new type that was easier to cut and read were found in the scriptoria, where scribes, probably at the urging of humanist scholars, were experimenting with a letter face they believed had been used in ancient Rome. Historians now trace its ancestry instead to the letter forms developed for Charlemagne's decrees by Alcuin in the 9th century. Within a century, roman had superseded all other typefaces throughout Europe; the sole exception was Germany, where black letter continued to hold sway into the 20th century.II(as used in expressions)Africa RomanGreco Roman wrestlingJakobson Roman OsipovichThe Roman ObserverPolanski RomanDeeds of the Romans* * *
▪ Romaniacity, Neamț (Neamţ) județ (county), northeastern Romania, situated at the confluence of the Moldova and Siret (Siret River) rivers. It was founded by Roman Mușat, ruling prince of Moldavia (1391–94); he referred to it as “our town of Roman” in a letter of 1392. It developed as a small trading settlement on the Siret valley route between Suceava, to the northwest, and the Danube ports. During the reign of Alexander the Good (Alexandru cel Bun, 1400–32), a diocesan residence was located there; among its bishops was the scholar Dosoftei, whose translation of the Psalter (1673) was the first work in Romanian in formal verse. Among the city's attractions are a 16th-century cathedral; the church of Precista Mare (founded in the 16th century by Princess Ruxandra, wife of Prince Alexandru Lăpușneanu); the remains of the fortifications of Prince Roman Mușat, which stand on the Cetățuia Plateau, and the Museum of History (1957). In addition to a long-established sugar refinery, the city has a pipe- and tube-rolling mill and a building materials factory. Pop. (2007 est.) 69,058.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
