'Nard

'Nard is the debut album from American funk keyboardist Bernard Wright. Released in 1981 when Wright was only 18 years old, the album reached number 7 on the Jazz Albums chart in the US.

Track listing

Personnel

Nardò

Nardò is a town and comune of 31,185 inhabitants and comune in the southern Italian region of Apulia, in the province of Lecce.

History

Traces of human presence in the area dates from Palaeolithic times. The settlement was founded by the Messapi around the year 1000 BC. The Romans conquered it in 269 BC and built the Via Traiana through it. After the fall of the Western Empire it was under the Byzantines and the Lombards.

In 1055 the Normans captured Nardò. Their heirs were ousted by the Angevines in 1266. In 1497 the Aragonese gave it to Andrea Matteo Acquaviva, whose son Belisario was the first Duke of Nardò, and promoted the Renaissance in the city.

In 1647 the city rebelled against the Spanish domination, but the viceroyal troops suppressed the riot with heavy terms.

Geography

Overview

Part of Salento, Nardò is located in the north-western area of the province, by the Ionian Sea. The municipality borders with Avetrana (TA), Copertino, Galatina, Galatone, Leverano, Porto Cesareo, Salice Salentino and Veglie.

Nard

Nard may refer to:

Given name

Nard (game)

Nard (or nardshir, or narde, Persian نرد) is a board game for two players in which the playing pieces are moved according to rolls of dice. It is similar to backgammon in that it uses the same board, but it has different initial positions and rules.

History

The game has been historically popular in Persia, Muslim countries, and among Babylonian Jews. The name nardshir comes from the Persian words nard ("wooden block") and shir ("lion") referring to the two types of pieces used in play.

A common legend associates the game with the founder of the Sassanian Dynasty, Ardshir. The oldest known reference to the game is thought to be a passage in the Talmud, although some claim it refers to the Greek game Kubeia. Another early reference is to be found in the Middle Persian romance Chatrang-namak (written between the 7th and 9th centuries) which attributes the invention of the game to Bozorgmehr.

By the 17th century the game was played in Georgia under the name of nardi, and by the 19th century it was being played by the Kalmucks, who called it narr. During most part of the 20th century both Georgia and Kalmucks were parts of USSR, so now the game is played in Russia and other ex-USSR countries under the name of nardy (нарды).

Spikenard

Spikenard, also called nard, nardin, and muskroot, is a class of aromatic amber-colored essential oil derived from Nardostachys jatamansi, a flowering plant of the Valerian family which grows in the Himalayas of Nepal, China, and India. The oil has, since ancient times, been used as a perfume, as a medicine and in religious contexts, across a wide territory from India to Europe.

The Bible contains several references to the spikenard, in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, and it is used in Catholic iconography to represent Saint Joseph. With this meaning, Pope Francis has included the spikenard in his coat of arms.

Plant sources

Nardostachys jatamansi is a flowering plant of the Valerian family that grows in the Himalayas of Nepal, China, and India. The plant grows to about 1 meter (3 ft) in height and has pink, bell-shaped flowers. It is found in the altitude of about 3,000 to 5,000 m (9,800 to 16,400 ft). Rhizomes (underground stems) can be crushed and distilled into an intensely aromatic amber-colored essential oil, which is very thick in consistency. Nard oil is used as a perfume, an incense, a sedative, and an herbal medicine said to fight insomnia, birth difficulties, and other minor ailments.