ARNSTADT, arn'stat. The capital of the German principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, situated in a picturesque country on the banks of the Gera, 12 miles south of Erfurt (Map: Germany, D 3). Among its noteworthy buildings are a castle, containing a picture gallery and valuable porcelain collection, the Rathhaus, and the newly restored Liebfrauenkirche, with a richly decorated portal. Arnstadt possesses numerous schools and a municipal hospital. Formerly it was the chief emporium for the trade in fruit and timber between the fertile lowlands and the Thuringian Forest region, and is still an important market for grain. It is also a manufacturing town, employing a very considerable number of hands in weaving, shoe and glove making, brewing, the manufacture of pottery, etc. Deposits of rock salt and brine baths in that neighborhood have made Arnstadt an important watering-place. The composer, J. S. Bach, was for several years organist at the Church of Saint Boniface. Population, in 1890, 12,800; in 1900, 14,413. Arnstadt is one of the oldest of Thuringian cities, its existence being traceable as far back as A.D. 704.
AR'NULF (850-899). King of Germany and Roman Emperor. He was a natural son of the East Frankish king, Carloman, who was a great-grandson of Charles the Great. In 887 he led the revolt which forced Charles the Fat to abdicate, and was elected King of the East Franks — i.e. of Germany. In 891, in the battle of Louvain, on the Dyle, he exterminated the Northmen who were invading his kingdom. He invaded Italy in 894, was crowned Emperor in 896, and died in 899.
ARNULF, Saint (c. 582-641). An ancestor of the Carlovingian emperors, who derived their name, Arnulfinger, from him. He was Bishop of Metz from about 612 to 627, when he resigned his position and retired to a hermitage in the Vosges Mountains. His body was afterward buried in the famous church bearing his name at Metz.
AROER, 5r'i-er or fl-ro'er. A city on the banks of the Amon, mentioned in Deut. ii. 36 and iii. 12 as the southern limit of Reuben's territory. According to the Mesha inscription it belonged to Moab. It is no doubt the modern 'Ara-îr, on the Wady Mojib, 11 miles from the Dead Sea.
AROKSZALLAS, or'Sk-stil'iish. A town of Hungary, about 44 miles northeast of Budapest. It contains a fine church, and carries on a considerable trade in grain. Population, in 1890, 11,190.
AROLAS, a-ro'Ias Juan de (1805-49). A Spanish poet. He was born at Barcelona, was a member of the Piarist Order, and was appointed an instructor in the school of the Order at Valencia. His collected poems, which first appeared in three volumes in 1860, were last published in 1890 as the forty-third volume of the Biblioteca selecta (Valencia, 1840 et seq.).
AROLSEN, a'r61-sen. The capital of the German Principality of Waldeck, on the Aar, about 22 miles west northwest of Cassel (Map: Germany, C 3). The castle contains a valuable library, a picture gallery, a fine collection of engravings and antiquities. The town is the birthplace of the sculptor Rauch, and of the painters Wilhelm and Friedrich Kaulbach. Population, in 1895, 2768; in 1900, 2734.
ARO'MA (Lat., Gk. ἄρωμα, arōma, spice, sweet herb). A term employed to designate a spicy or a pleasantly pungent odor. Thus we speak of the aroma of roast meat and of the aroma, or aromatic smell, of hyssop, mint, and other plants. Aromatic smells are very characteristic of some natural orders of plants, as Labiatæ (mint, etc.) and Compositæ (milfoil, etc.). They depend largely on the presence of volatile oils. See Nose; Smell; Aromatics.
AROMATARI, ii'rfi-ma-ta're, Giuseppe degli (1586-1660). An Italian physician and naturalist, born at Assisi. He studied at Montpellier and Padua, and practiced for many years at Venice. He became widely known and declined flattering invitations from the Duke of Mantua, Pope Urban VIII., and King James I. of England. His "De Generatione Plantarum in Seminibus," a letter addressed to Nanti, and first published as part of the volume, Disputatio de Rabie Contagiosa (1625), was once very famous.
AR'OMAT'ICS (Gk. ἀρωματικός, arōmatikos, aromatic). A class of medicines which owe their efficacy to oils obtained from them by distillation, and called volatile, distilled, or essential oils. They are characterized by emitting an agreeable, aromatic odor and usually have a warm, pungent, spicy taste. Aromatics include also certain other drugs and some animal substances. Among the families which yield the most important aromatics are the Labiatæ, Umbelliferæ, Lauraceæ, Myrtaceæ, Aurantiaceæ, Coniferæ, Scitamineæ, Orchideæ, etc. In some cases, the aromatic matter is diffused throughout all parts of the plant, but it is usually condensed in particular organs, such as the root, in the case of ginger: or the bark, in the case of cinnamon, canella, and cascarilla; or the flowers, as in the case of cloves; or the fruit, as in the case of anise and vanilla; or the wood, as in the case of sandal-wood and aloes-wood; or the leaves, as in the case of most of the Labiatæ, Umbelliferæ, etc.
Aromatics may be arranged in the following sub-classes: (1) Those in which the active principle is an essential oil, as the oil of thyme, lavender, cajeput, neroli, fennel, etc. (2) Those containing camphor, or an allied body, such as artificial camphor obtained from turpentine. (3) Bitter aromatics, in which there is a mixture of a bitter principle and an essential oil, as chamomile, tansy, wormwood, etc. These are tonics and vermifuges. (4) Those of which musk is the type, such as civet and amber; and certain plants with a musklike odor, such as Malva moschata, Mimulus moschatus, and Hibiscus abelmoschus. (5) Those containing a fragrant resin, as benzoin, myrrh, olibanum, storax, and the balsams of Peru and Tolu, which possess stimulant properties.
As a general rule, these substances act as diffusible stimulants of more or less power, and as antispasmodics, while those in which a bitter principle is present act as vermifuges or tonics. They are also employed internally to disguise the taste of other drugs. Locally they are used as counter-irritants, local anæsthetics, and antiseptics.
ARONA, a-rf/nS. A town in north Italy 42 miles northwest of Milan, near the southern