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Munster
Province (pop., 1991: 790,000), S Ireland. The area was ruled by a clan in the south, which gradually extended its power over Munster by c.AD 400. In the 10th cent. Vikings invaded and eventually settled in Waterford and Limerick. After the 12th cent. Anglo-Norman invasion, it was ruled by the feudal families of Fitzgerald and Butler. It now comprises the counties of Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary (North Riding and South Riding), and Waterford.


minstrel
Wandering musician of the Middle Ages, often of low status. The term (and equivalents such as Latin ioculator and French jongleur) was applied in medieval times to people ranging from singing beggars to traveling musicians hired by towns for special occasions to court jesters. The modern folksinger is a descendant. See also minstrel show.


monastery
Local community or residence of a religious order, particularly an order of monks. Christian monasteries originally developed in the Middle East and Greece from the streets of hermits' huts, or lauras. Walls were built for defense, and monks' cells were later constructed against the walls, leaving a central space for church, chapels, fountain, and dining hall. The vihara was an early type of Buddhist monastery, consisting of an open court surrounded by open cells accessible through an entrance porch. Originally built in India to shelter monks during the rainy season, viharas took on a sacred character when small stupas and images of the Buddha were installed in the central court. In W India, viharas were often excavated into rock cliffs. See also abbey.


monitor
Ironclad warship originally designed for use in shallow harbors and rivers to blockade the Confederate states in the Amer. Civil War. The original ironclad, built by J. Ericsson, was named Monitor. Its innovative design included minimal exposure above the waterline, a heavily armored deck and hull, and a revolving gun turret. The inconclusive Battle of the Monitor and Merrimack (1862) was the first between ironclad warships. Never seaworthy, the Monitor sank during a gale off Cape Hatteras that same year, but the U.S. Navy built many improved monitors during the war. The British navy kept its monitors in service as late as World War II.


monomer
Molecule of any of a class of mostly organic compounds that can react with other molecules of the same or other compounds to form very large molecules (polymers). The essential feature of monomer molecules is the ability to form chemical bonds (see bonding) with at least two other monomer molecules (polyfunctionality). Those able to react with two others can form only chainlike polymers; those able to react with three or more can form cross-linked, network polymers. Examples of monomers (and their polymers) are styrene (polystyrene), ethylene (polyethylene), and amino acids (proteins).


monotreme
Any of three living species of ...

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