Merionethshire. The most southern county of North Wales, situated at the middle of the Welsh coast. Here Owen Gwynedd defeated Henry II., and brave Glyndwr rose in arms at the call of friendship and patriotism to resist the usurper of the throne of gentle Henry, and the enslaver of his loved Wales. Tradition and records tell of bloody deeds done here in those and later days by freebooters, daring and cruel.
Merit. To earn by active service, or by any valuable performance; to have a right to claim as reward; to deserve. Also, the quality or relation of deserving well or ill.
Merit, Certificate of. In the U. S. army a certificate which is given by the President, upon the recommendation of commanding officers, to enlisted men who have distinguished themselves in the service. The holder of each certificate is entitled to $2 per month.
Merit, Order of. A military distinction given to officers or soldiers for some signal service, the badge of which is generally expressive of the service. Such was the medal, or order of merit, presented by the Austrian emperor to the officers of the 15th British Light Dragoons for their bravery in the affair of Villers en Couché in 1794.
Meritorious. Possessing merit or desert; deserving of reward or honor.
Merkin. A mop to clean a cannon. See [Malkin].
Merlin. A handspike.
Merlon. The mass of earth of the parapet between two embrasures, generally from 15 to 18 feet in length. Also, the projection on the top of a crenellated wall.
Merovingians. The first Frankish dynasty in Gaul. The name is derived from Merwig, or Merovæus, who ruled about the middle of the 5th century, having united a few tribes under his sway. His grandson, Clovis, or Clodwig, greatly extended his dominions, and on his death divided his kingdom among his four sons, one of whom, Chlotar, or Chlotaire I., reunited them under his own sway in 558. On his death, in 561, the kingdom was again divided into four parts,—Aquitaine, Burgundy, Neustria, and Austrasia. His grandson, Clotaire II., again united them in 613; but after his death, in 628, two kingdoms, Neustria and Austrasia, were formed, in both of which the Merovingian kings retained a merely nominal power, the real power having passed into the hands of the mayors of the palace. The dynasty of the Merovingians terminated with the deposition of Childeric IV., in 752, and gave place to that of the Carlovingians.
Merseburg. A town of Prussian Saxony, capital of a circle of the same name, on the Saale. It was near this town that the emperor Henry the Fowler gained his famous victory over the Hungarians in 934. Rudolf of Swabia was here defeated and slain by Henry IV. in 1080.