GIOVINAZZO 



3535 



GIRARDIN 



of an art that broke away from the 

 conventions of contemporary By- 

 zantinism and opened the door 

 to naturalism in form and colour. 

 Giotto died at Florence, Jan. 8, 

 1 337. See Italy : Art ; consult also 

 Lives, F. M. Perkin, 1902 ; B. de 

 Selincourt, 1905. 



Giovinazzo. Seaport of Italy, 

 in the prov. of Bari, the ancient 

 Natiolum. It stands on the N. 

 shore of the Adriatic, 12 m. by rly. 

 N.W. of Bari. A walled town, it 

 possesses a 13th century cathedral 

 and a fortified castle. Building 

 stone is quarried in the neighbour- 

 hood, brandy is distilled, fishing- 

 nets are manufactured, and fruit 

 and wine of excellent quality arc 

 produced. Pop. 10,727. 



Gippsland. District in S.E. 

 Victoria, Australia. Its area is 

 13,900 sq. m. Rugged and moun- 

 tainous, it was formerly well tim- 

 bered with giant eucalyptus, but is 

 now extensively cleared and set- 

 tled. Its coastal lake district con- 

 sists of lagoons and sandy dunes. 

 It is rich in both agricultural 

 chiefly dairying produce and 

 minerals. Coal is found, and at 

 Wonthaggi the state mine yields 

 900,000 tons per annum. Gold 

 is found at Walhalla ; silver, lead, 

 tin, copper, antimony, and wol- 

 fram are also produced. The chief 

 town is Sale. 



Gipsy Hill. Residential district 

 of London, S.E. One of the divi- 

 sions of Norwood (q.v.), it is 8 m. 

 S. of London Bridge, and has a 

 station on the L.B. & S.C.R. Nor- 

 wood was once a favourite haunt 

 of gypsies, and Gipsy Hill pre- 

 serves the memory of one of them, 

 Margaret Finch, who died in 1760 

 at the reputed age of 109 years. 



Giraffe (Arab, zaraf). Member 

 of the even-toed ungulate or 

 hoofed mammals, remarkable for 

 the great length of its legs and 

 neck. The body is comparatively 

 short, the fore-quarters standing 

 much higher than the hind ones, 

 and the tawny pelt is handsomely 

 marked with a network of light 

 lines, the pattern varying consider- 

 ably in local races. The long, nar- 

 row head is surmounted by a pair 

 of short horns, or bony cores, cov- 

 ered by the skin. The tongue is re- 

 markably long and is used to grasp 

 the twigs and leaves of trees. Owing 

 to the great length of the fore legs, 

 the giraffe can only reach the 

 ground with its mouth by strad- 

 dling its legs widely apart, and it 

 has seldom been seen to graze. 



Giraffes are found only in Cen- 

 tral and S. Africa, chiefly in desert 

 regions, where they have to subsist 

 for long periods without drinking. 

 There is probably only one species, 

 divided into several local races or 



varieties. The animals are wary 

 and timid, but when at bay can 

 deliver formidable kicks with their 

 long legs. Their gait when running 

 is peculiar and clumsy, but they 

 get over the ground at great speed. 

 The flesh is eaten by the natives, 

 and is said to be of excellent 

 quality. 



Giraldus Cambrensis (c. 1150 

 -c. 1222). Welsh historian. Born in 

 Wales, about 1 150, he was given the 

 name of Gerald, and the combina- 

 tion made him known as Giraldus 

 Cambrensis. His father was Wil- 

 liam de Barri, hence he is some- 

 times called Gerald de Barri. He 

 studied in Paris, and entered the 

 Church, becoming an archdeacon 

 owing to the influence of his uncle, 

 the bishop of St. Davids. He visited 

 Ireland with Prince John, but most 

 of his time was passed in clerical 

 and political work in Wales. In 

 1198 he was chosen bishop of St. 

 Davids, but the opposition of the 

 archbishop of Canterbury pre- 

 vented him from enjoying the dig- 

 nity, although he tried hard to 

 obtain the papal consent thereto. 

 His failure to obtain the bishopric, 

 to which he had been elected once 

 before, was probably due to his in- 



dependent spirit. He died probably 

 in 1222. Giraldus wrote several 

 works, two being on Ireland, one 

 the story of its conquest by the 

 English ; he also wrote Itinerarium 

 Cambrense. All have been pub- 

 lished in the Rolls series, 8 vols., 

 1861-69. See Gerald the Welsh- 

 man, H. Owen, new ed. 1904. 



Girandole (Lat. gyrus, circle). 

 Wall candelabra,or candle branches, 

 attached to a mirror. They were 

 much used during the Directoire, 

 Empire, and Georgian periods. 



Girardin, EMILE DE (1806-81). 

 French journalist and politician. 

 Born at Paris, June 22, 1806, he 

 early devoted 

 himself to jour- 

 nalism for the 

 masses, and 

 in La Presse, 

 1836, inaugu- 

 rated in France 

 the cheap pop- 

 ular newspaper 

 of the modern 

 type. To its 

 columns his 

 first wife, Delphine de Girardin 

 (1804-55), cqntributed a brilliant 

 series of sketches published under 

 the collective title of Lettres 



Emile de Girardin, 

 French journalist 



Giraffe. Male specimen of the Central African girafie 



Gambler Kollon, F.Z.S. 



