Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 21.djvu/40

Rh 28 O U R O V Orageuse (1857), the Coucher de Soleil (1866), and one of his last works, the Soleil par un Temps Orageux, which appeared in the exhibition of 1867. Rousseau's study of Constable is more especially apparent in some of his fine forest scenes near Fontainebleau, and in some magnificently painted views on the banks of the Loire and other French rivers. His execution was of extraordinary brilliance, and he was a thorough master of atmospheric effect and glowing sunset colours. Though in some re- spects a realistic painter, he treated nature in a strongly dramatic way and showed great imaginative power. His style is broad and dashing, with rapid and at times appa- rently careless handling. His fame has increased rather than diminished since his death in 1867 ; and one of his paintings has recently received the high distinction of being transferred from the Luxembourg Palace to the Louvre, an honour which is but rarely conferred. It is not, however, one of the best specimens of his work. Most of Theodore Rousseau's pictures are in private collections in Paris and elsewhere in France. ROUSSILLON, a province of France, which now forms the greater part of the department of PYRNES ORIENTALES (q.v.). It was bounded on the south by the Pyrenees, on the west by the county of Foix, on the north by Languedoc, and on the east by the Mediterranean. The province derived its name from a small bourg near Perpignan, the capital, called Ruscino (Rosceliona, Castel Rossello), where the Gallic chieftains met to consider Hannibal's request for a conference. The district formed part of the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis from 121 B.c. to 462 A.D., when it was ceded with the rest of Septimania to Theodoric II., king of the Visigoths. His successor, Amalaric, on his defeat by Clovis in 531 retired to Spain, leaving a governor in Septimania. In 719 the Saracens crossed the Pyrenees, and Septimania was held by them until their defeat by Pippin in 756. On the invasion of Spain by Charlemagne in 778 he found the borderlands wasted by the Saracenic wars, and the inhabit- ants hiding among the mountains. He accordingly made grants of land to Visigothic refugees from Spain, and founded several monasteries, round which the people gathered for protection. In 792 the Saracens again invaded France, but were repulsed by Louis, king of Aquitaine, whose rule extended over all Catalonia as far as Barcelona. The different portions of his kingdom in time grew into allodial fiefs, and in 893 Suniaire II. became the first hereditary count of Roussillon. But his rule only extended over the eastern part of what became the later province. The western part, or Cerdagne, was ruled in 900 by Miron as first count, and one of his grandsons, Bernard, was the first hereditary count of the middle portion, or Besalu. In 1111 Rayraond-Berenger III., count of Barcelona, inherited the fief of Besalu, to which was added in 1117 that of Cerdagne; and in 1172 his grandson, Alphonso II., king of Aragon, united Rous- sillon to his other states on the death of the last count, Gerard II. The counts of Roussillon, Cerdagne, and Besalu were not sufficiently powerful to indulge in any ware of ambition. Their energies had been accordingly devoted to furthering the welfare of their people, who enjoyed both peace and prosperity under their rule. Under the Aragonese monarchs the progress of the united province still continued, and Collioure, the port of Perpignan, became a centre of Mediterranean trade. But the country was in time destined to pay the penalty of its position on the frontiers of France and Spain in the long struggle for ascendency between these two powers. James [. of Aragon had wrested the Balearic Isles from the Moors and left them with Roussillon to his son James (1276), with the title of king of Majorca. The consequent disputes of this monarch with his brother Pedro III. of Aragon were not lost sight of by Philip III. of France in his quarrel with the latter about the crown of the Two Sicilies. Philip espoused James's cause and led his army into Spain, but retreating died at Perpignan in 1285. James then became reconciled to his brother, and in 1311 was succeeded by his son Sancho, who founded the cathedral of Perpignan shortly before his death in 1324. His successor James II. refused to do homage to Philip VI. of France for the seigniory of Montpellier, and applied to Pedro IV. of Aragon for aid. Pedro not only refused it, but on various pretexts declared war against him, and seized Majorca and Roussillon in 1344. The province was now again united to Aragon, and enjoyed peace until 1462. In this year the disputes between John II. and his son about the crown of Navarre gave Louis XI. of France an excuse to support John against his subjects, who had risen in revolt. Louis at the fitting time turned traitor, and the province having been pawned to him for 300,000 crowns was occupied by the French troops until 1493, when Charles VIII. restored it to Ferdinand and Isabella. During the war between France and Spain (1496-98) the people suffered equally from the Spanish garrisons and the French invaders. But dislike of the Spaniards was soon effaced in the pride of sharing in the glory of Charles V., and in 1542, when Perpignan was besieged by the dauphin, the Roussillonnais remained true to their allegiance. Afterwards the decay of Spain was France's opportunity, and, on the revolt of the Catalans against the Castilians in 1641, Louis XIII. espoused the cause of the former, and by the treaty of 1659 secured Roussillon to the French crown. ROVEREDO (in German sometimes Rofreit), one of the chief industrial cities in South Tyrol, and, after Trent, the chief seat of the Tyrolese silk industry, is situated on the left bank of the Adige (Etsch), in the fertile Val Lagarina, 35 miles north of Verona and 100 miles south of Innsbruck. Though there are several open places within the town, the streets, except in the newer quarters, are narrow, crooked, and uneven. Of the two parish churches, S. Marco dates from the 15th century and Sta Maria del Carmine from 1678. The only other interesting building is the quaint old castle known as Castell Junk. As an active trading town and administra- tive centre Roveredo is well equipped with commercial, judicial, educational, and benevolent institutions. Though the district between Trent and Verona yields about 120,000 ft> of silk annually, the silk industry of Roveredo, introduced in the 16th century, has declined during the last fifty years. The establishments ill which the cocoons are unwound (filande) are distinct from those in which the silk is spun (Jilatoje). The silk is not woven at Roveredo. Paper and leather are the other chief manu- factures of the place ; and a brisk trade in southern fruits and red wine is carried on. The population is 8864. The origin of Roveredo is probably to be traced to the founding of the castle by William of Castelbarco-Lizzana about 1300. Later it passed to the emperor Frederick of the Empty Pockets, who sold it to Venice in 1413. The treaty of Cambray transferred it from Venice to the emperor Maximilian in 1510, since which time it lias shared the fate of southern Tyrol, finally passing to Austria in 1814. In September 1709 the French under Massena won a victory over the Austrians near Roveredo. Near the neighbouring village of St Marco are the traces of a destructive landslip in 883, described in the Inferno (xii. 4-9) by Dante, who spent part of his exile in 1302 in a castle near Lizzana. ROVIGNO, a city of Austria, in the province of Istria, is picturesquely situated on the coast of the Adriatic, about 12 miles south of Parenzo, and 10 miles by rail from Canfanaro, a junction on the railway between Divazza (Trieste) and Pola. It has two harbours, with ship- building yards ; and it carries on several industries and a