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Antoninus, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Antoninus, Saint ăntōnīˈnəs [key], 1389–1459, Italian churchman, b. Antoninus Pierozzi. He was a Dominican and became archbishop of Florence. He ruled well and was renowned for his charitable w...

homily

(Encyclopedia)homily hŏmˈəlē [key], type of oral religious instruction delivered to a church congregation. In the patristic period through the Middle Ages the focus of the homily was on the explanation and appl...

Gesta Romanorum

(Encyclopedia)Gesta Romanorum jĕsˈtə rōˌmənôrˈəm [key], medieval collection of Latin stories. Although the title means “Deeds of the Romans,” the tales have very little to do with actual Roman history....

MacKenzie, Sir Compton

(Encyclopedia)MacKenzie, Sir Compton, 1883–1972, English author, b. West Hartelpool, Durham, educated at Oxford. In Apr., 1923, he founded the Gramophone, a periodical devoted to reviewing recordings. A prolific ...

Kölcsey, Ferenc

(Encyclopedia)Kölcsey, Ferenc fĕˈrĕnts kölˈchĕĭ [key], 1790–1838, Hungarian writer and orator. A student of the Enlightenment, he aided his friend Krasiński in a reform of the Hungarian language, investi...

Whetstone, George

(Encyclopedia)Whetstone, George, 1551?–1587, English dramatist and poet. His chief work, the play Promos and Cassandra (1578), is important in the development of English domestic drama and was a source for Shakes...

Shute, Nevil

(Encyclopedia)Shute, Nevil (Nevil Shute Norway), 1899–1960, English novelist, b. Ealing, Middlesex, grad. Oxford, 1922. After serving in World War I, he was manager of a construction company until 1938. He fought...

Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper, 3d earl of

(Encyclopedia)Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper, 3d earl of, 1671–1713, English philosopher. The philosopher John Locke, adviser to the 1st earl, his grandfather, was in charge of Shaftesbury's education, which ...

bar, the

(Encyclopedia)bar, the, originally, the rail that enclosed the judge in a court; hence, a court or a system of courts. The persons qualified and authorized to conduct the trial of cases are also known collectively ...

anti-hero

(Encyclopedia)anti-hero, principal character of a modern literary or dramatic work who lacks the attributes of the traditional protagonist or hero. The anti-hero's lack of courage, honesty, or grace, his weaknesses...