Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Owl and the Nightingale, The

(Encyclopedia)Owl and the Nightingale, The, Middle English poem written probably by Nicholas de Guildford of Dorsetshire about the beginning of the 13th cent. Written in 2,000 lines of octosyllabic couplets, it des...

Gottsched, Johann Christoph

(Encyclopedia)Gottsched, Johann Christoph yōˈhän krĭsˈtôf gôtˈshĕt [key], 1700–1766, German literary critic, disciple of the Enlightenment. As professor of poetry and philosophy at the Univ. of Leipzig, ...

Bibulus

(Encyclopedia)Bibulus (Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus) bĭbˈyo͝oləs [key], d. 48 b.c., Roman statesman. The colleague in the consulship with Julius Caesar in 59 b.c., he did everything in his power to block each move...

Fletcher, Giles

(Encyclopedia)Fletcher, Giles, the elder, 1548?–1611, English writer and diplomat. He became a member of Parliament and later treasurer of St. Paul's. An envoy to Russia in 1588, he published an account of his ex...

Faustina

(Encyclopedia)Faustina fôstīˈnə [key], name of two women, wives of Roman emperors. 1 The elder (c.104–141) was the wife of Antoninus Pius, who founded a school for orphan girls in her honor. 2 The younger (c....

Despenser, Hugh le

(Encyclopedia)Despenser, Hugh le lə dĭspĕnˈsər [key], d. 1265, chief justiciar of England. He joined the barons in their struggle against Henry III and received various offices, becoming chief justiciar in 126...

honeysuckle

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Trumpet honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens honeysuckle, common name for some members of the Caprifoliaceae, a family comprised mostly of vines and shrubs of the Northern Hemisphere, especially...

Teniers, David

(Encyclopedia)Teniers, David tənērzˈ, tĕnˈyərz, Flemish tĕnērsˈ [key], the elder, 1582–1649, Flemish painter. He spent many years in Rome. Works attributed to him have often been confused with the early ...

Browse by Subject