Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

La Bruyère, Jean de

(Encyclopedia)La Bruyère, Jean de zhäN də lä brüyĕrˈ [key], 1645–96, French writer. He lived (1684–96) as tutor in the house of the prince de Condé. His great work, Les Caractères de Théophraste, trad...

La Ceppède, Jean de

(Encyclopedia)La Ceppède, Jean de zhäN də lä sĕpĕdˈ [key], 1550–1622, French poet and magistrate. In 1608 he was appointed president of the Court of the Exchequer of Provence. After centuries of oblivion, ...

La Fontaine, Jean de

(Encyclopedia)La Fontaine, Jean de zhäN də [key], 1621–95, French poet, whose celebrated fables place him among the masters of world literature. He was born at Château-Thierry to a bourgeois family. A restless...

Baïf, Jean Antoine de

(Encyclopedia)Baïf, Jean Antoine de zhäN äNtwänˈ də bäēfˈ [key], 1532–89, French poet of the Pléiade (see under Pleiad). He wrote sonnets, didactic and satirical poems, and plays. ...

Béranger, Pierre Jean de

(Encyclopedia)Béranger, Pierre Jean de pyĕr zhäN də bāräNzhāˈ [key], 1780–1857, French lyric poet. He was a protégé of Lucien Bonaparte and a friend of some of the most eminent men of his day. His first...

Brébeuf, Jean de, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Brébeuf, Jean de, Saint zhäN də brāböfˈ [key], 1593–1649, French Roman Catholic missionary, one of the Jesuit Martyrs of North America. A Norman, he was sent (1625) to Quebec and did missionar...

Saint-Jean-de-Luz

(Encyclopedia)Saint-Jean-de-Luz săN-zhäN-də-lüz [key], town (1990 pop. 13,181), Pyrénées-Atlantiques dept., SW France, in the Basque region (see Basques), on the Bay of Biscay. It is a beach resort with a cas...

Saint Jean

(Encyclopedia)Saint Jean săN zhäN [key], city (1991 pop. 37,607), S Que., Canada, on the Richelieu River, SE of Montreal. It is an industrial center with textile and hosiery mills and manufactures such as sewing ...

Gabin, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Gabin, Jean zhäN gäbăNˈ [key], 1904–76, French film actor, b. Paris; his original name was Alexis Moncourge. Gabin's work as a cabaret entertainer led to a career in films. He was one of France'...

Browse by Subject