(Encyclopedia) satire, term applied to any work of literature or art whose objective is ridicule. It is more easily recognized than defined. From ancient times satirists have shared a common aim: to…
(Encyclopedia) Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 1772–1834, English poet and man of letters, b. Ottery St. Mary, Devonshire; one of the most brilliant, versatile, and influential figures in the English…
(Encyclopedia) SigismundSigismundsĭjˈĭsmənd, sĭgˈ– [key], 1368–1437, Holy Roman emperor (1433–37), German king (1410–37), king of Hungary (1387–1437) and of Bohemia (1419–37), elector of Brandenburg…
(Encyclopedia) WittelsbachWittelsbachvĭˈtəlsbäkh [key], German dynasty that ruled Bavaria from 1180 until 1918.
The family takes its name from the ancestral castle of Wittelsbach in Upper Bavaria. In…
(Encyclopedia) balloon, lighter-than-air craft without a propulsion system, lifted by inflation of one or more containers with a gas lighter than air or with heated air. During flight, altitude may…
(Encyclopedia) common law, system of law that prevails in England and in countries colonized by England. The name is derived from the medieval theory that the law administered by the king's courts…
