Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 19.djvu/938

* VALERIUS MAXIMUS. 802 VALKYRIES. epitomes by Julius Paris and Januarius Nepoti- anus, is that of Kempf (Leipzig, 1888). There is an old English translation by Speed (London, 1678). VALE'SIUS, Henkicus (Henri de Valois) (1003-76). A famous classical scholar, born in Paris. He was chosen by the clergy of France to publish an edition of all the Greek authors whose writings deal with the early history of the Church, and in 1654 he was given a pension and the title of Royal Historiographer. The works which he published include the eccle- siastical histories of Eusebius, Socrates, Sozomen, Theodoret, and Evagoras, all of which were ac- companied by Latin translations and scholarly introductions and notes (1650-73). Other works of Valesius are the publication of a collection of excerpts from the Greek historians, especially L'oustantine Porphyrogenitus, known as the Ex- cerpta Pciresciana (1634), and an edition of Ammianus Marcel linus (1636). His minor works were published under the titles H. Valesil Emen- dationiim Libri V. and De Critica Libri II. (1740). VALETTA, va-let'ta. The fortified capital of Malta, located on the eastern side of the island (Map: Italy, J 12). The city is on a tongue of land, which forms two harbors and terminates in a narrow promontory bearing the lighthouse and fort of Saint Elmo. In addition to Saint Elmo there are three other important fortifications, Government and private dry docks, a coaling sta- tion, a marine hospital, and quarters for troops. The town has a university. Government palace, custom house, library, botanical garden, and museum. In parts of the city the streets are broad and run at right angles to each other ; in others the land is so steep that the streets are practically stairways. Valetta has a large tran- sit trade, and is an important British naval sta- tion. In 1901 the number of vessels entering ■was 3910, with a tonnage of 3,533,703, about 40 per cent, of the vessels and 60 per cent, of the tonnage being British. Population, in 1900, 61,268. In 1565 Valetta withstood a memorable siege by the Turks, against whom it was sue- oessfuUy defended by Jean Parisot de la Valette (q.v.). " See Malt..' VALETTE, va'let', .Jean Parisot de la (1404-1568). Grand Master of the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem (q.v.). He was born in Toulouse, and at an early age entered the Order of Saint John. His chief distinctions were won in naval service against the Turks in the Medi- terranean. In 1557 he was elected grand master, the forty-eighth to hold that office. During the first five years of his grand-mastership he cap- tured fifty great galleys from the Turks, and a large number of smaller vessels of war. In May, 1565, a Turkish fleet of 1.50 ships, conveying 30,- 000 troops, appeared oft' the harbor of JNlalta, and after failing in several assaults, formally invested the island. Alone and unsupported liy any of the Christian Powers, La Valette, with about seven hundred knights and eight thousand men at arms and islanders, defended the fortress imder cir- cumstances of extreme difficulty and distress. At the end of four months, and after a loss, it is said, of 20,000 men. the Turkish fleet was forced to raise the blockade and withdraw from the island. La Valette died three years later, August 21, 1568. VAL'GITIS RXT'FUS. A Roman poet of the Augustan age. Horace (Sat. i., 10, 82) mentions him among those friends whose commendation outweighs the criticisms of detractors. He is said to have written elegies, epigrams, and works on botany and grammar. Consult Peter, His- toricoruin Komanorum Fragmenta (Leipzig, 1883). VALGUARNERA CAROPEPE, vlil'g^viir- na'rii kii'ru-pa'p'i. A town in tlie Province of Caltanissetta, Sicily, 48 miles northeast of Gir- genti (Jlap: Italy, J 10). It produces sulphur and oil. Population (commune), in 1901, 13,985. VALGUS (Lat., bow-legged). In surgery, the condition of bow-legs. The term is also given to a variety of club-foot (q.v.). The technical term for bow-legs is genu valgum. Hallux valgus is a deformity consisting of a deflection of the great toe toward the other toes, which occurs- often in bunion (q.v.). VALHAL'LA. See Waliialla. VALIANT-FOR-TRUTH. A character in the second part of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, who joins the company of Christiana on her jour- nej' to the Celestial City. He comliines the noble qualities of a mediteval crusader with the homely virtues of the English middle classes of the sev- enteenth century. VALJEAN, viU'zhiix', Jean. The hero of Hugo's romance Les miserablcs, an ex-convict,, converted through the kindness of an ecclesiastic. On regaining his liberty, he devotes his life to rearing a beautiful girl, whom, as a child, he has saved from cruelty and sorrow. See Cosette. VALK, vlilk. A town of Livonia. Russia, 102 miles northeast of Riga. Population, in 1897, 10,139. VALKY'RIE. An English cutter. 126 feet in length, with which Lord Dunraven competed for the .imcrica's cup in the races in 1803, when she was defeated by the Vigilant. She was sunk in a collision in the Frith of Clyde in the follow- ing year. VALKYRIES, val-ldr'ez (Icel. valkyrja, chooser of the slain). In Scandinavian myth- ology, the maidens, usually nine in numlier. who attend on Odin (q.v.). Adorned with golden ornaments, they ride through the air in lirilliant armor, order battles, and distribute the death- lots according to Odin's commands. Fertilizing dew-drops on the ground from the maues of their horses, light streams from the points of their lances, and a flickering brightness annovmces their arrival in the battle. They conduct the souls of the heroes who fall in battle to Walhalla (q.v.), where they act as his cup-bearers. Two Valkyries, Hrist and Mist, are cup-bearers to Odin himself. The Valkyries are of diverse origin. Some of them spring from elves and other superhuman be- ings, and some are the daughters of princes, who in their lifetime are numbered among the Valkyries, showing all their qualities, and becoming valky- ries when they die. They ride generally in com- panies of three, or of three times three, or four times three. The valkyries represent the clouds, especially those of the storm. As the white