Durazzo (dö-rät´sō; ancient Dyrrhachium, or Epidamnus), a seaport of Albania, on the Adriatic, 50 miles south by west of Scutari. It is fortified, and has a good harbour. For four centuries the town remained under Turkish rule and lost all importance, but in 1912, during the Balkan War, it came again into prominence. It was occupied by the Serbians on 28th Nov., 1912, and in 1913 was incorporated in the newly created Principality of Albania. During the European War Durazzo was captured by the Austrians in Feb., 1916, but was reoccupied by the Italians on 14th Oct., 1918. Pop. 5000.
Dur´ban, chief port of Natal, on a land-locked bay (Port Natal). It is well laid out, has a fine town hall, handsome churches, post office, hospital, electric tramways, and parks and gardens, and is connected by railway with Maritzburg and the interior. The harbour now admits large vessels. Founded in 1834, it was named after a governor of the Cape. Pop. 48,475.
Durbar (du¨r-bär´; Pers. dar, door, and bar, court, admittance), a term signifying the court, council-chamber, or audience-room in the palaces of the native princes of India; hence, a general reception by a ruler in British India or by any officer of rank. Durbars were held on a ridge at Delhi on the proclamation of Queen Victoria (1877), of King Edward VII (1903), and of King George V (1911).
Düren (dü´ren), a town in the Rhine province, on the right bank of the Roer, 16 miles E. by N. of Aix-la-Chapelle. It has important manufactures of woollens, paper, leather, rails, and hardware, and an extensive trade. Pop. 32,511.
Dürer (dü´rėr), Albrecht, German painter, designer, sculptor, and engraver on wood and metal, born at Nürnberg 1471, died there 1528. His father was a skilful goldsmith of Hungary. In 1486 he left his father's trade and became an apprentice of Michael Wohlgemuth, then the best painter in Nürnberg. Having finished his studies, he entered upon his 'wanderjahre', the usual course of travels of a German youth. On his return to Nürnberg he married Agnes, the daughter of Hans Frey, a mechanic, who has been falsely accused for centuries of embittering his life and bringing him to his grave. In 1505 he went to Venice to improve himself in his art. His abilities excited envy and admiration. He painted the Martyrdom of Bartholomew for St. Mark's church, which painting was purchased by the Emperor Rudolph and removed to Prague. He also travelled to Bologna, to improve his knowledge of perspective. On his return to Nürnberg his fame spread far and wide. Maximilian I appointed him his court-painter, and Charles V confirmed him in this office. All the artists and learned men of his time honoured and loved him, and for many years he was one of the chief burghers of his native town. Profound application and great facility in the mechanical part of his art were the characteristics of Dürer, and enabled him to exert a great influence on German art. He was the first in Germany who taught the rules of perspective, and of the proportions of the human figure. He not only made use of the burin, like his predecessors, but was also among the first to practise etching. He also invented the method of printing woodcuts in two colours. Among his masterpieces in painting are a Crucifixion, Adam and Eve, an Adoration of the Magi, and portraits of Raphael, Erasmus, and Melanchthon, who were his friends. Among his best engravings on copper are his Fortune, Melancholy, Adam and Eve in Paradise, St. Hubert, St. Jerome, and The Smaller Passion, in sixteen plates. Among his best engravings on wood are The Greater Passion (so called), in thirteen plates; The Smaller Passion, with the frontispiece,
thirtyseven pieces; The Revelation of St. John, with the frontispiece, fifteen plates; The Life of Mary, two prints, with the frontispiece. Dürer has also much merit as a writer, and published works on Human Proportion, Fortification, and the Use of the Compass and Square.—Bibliography: Thausing, Dürer, Geschichte seines Lebens und seiner Kunst (2 vols.; English translation by F. A. Eaton); L. Cust, Albrecht Dürer: a Study of his Life and Works; F. Nüchter, Life and Selection from Works.
Du´ress (Lat. duritia, severity, from durus, hard), in law, restraint or compulsion, is of two kinds: duress of imprisonment, which is imprisonment or restraint of personal liberty; and duress by menaces or threats (per minas), when a person is threatened with loss of life, or with some kind of injury. An act done under duress is voidable or excusable.
D'Urfey (dur´fi), Thomas, an English poet and wit, the grandson of a French Protestant refugee, was born at Exeter in 1653, and died in 1723. He abandoned law for literature, and wrote a large number of comedies of a licentious character. His bombastic tragedy The Siege of Memphis appeared in 1676. D'Urfey's name is now principally remembered in connection with his Pills to Purge Melancholy, a collection of songs and ballads, partly his own, and many of them coarse or licentious. His society was generally courted by the witty, and he enjoyed the favour of four successive monarchs.
Durga (du¨r´gä), a Hindu divinity, one of the names given to the consort of Siva. She is generally represented with ten arms. In one hand she holds a spear, with which she is piercing Mahisha, the chief of the demons, the killing of whom was her most famous exploit; in another a sword; in a third the hair of the demon chief; and in others, the trident, discus, axe, club, and shield. A great festival in her honour, the Durga puja, is celebrated annually, lasting for ten days.