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Macpherson, James

(Encyclopedia)Macpherson, James, 1736–96, Scottish author. Educated at Aberdeen and Edinburgh, he spent his early years as a schoolmaster. In later life he held a colonial secretaryship in West Florida (1764–66...

Sainte-Beuve, Charles Augustin

(Encyclopedia)Sainte-Beuve, Charles Augustin shärl ōgüstăNˈ săNt-böv [key], 1804–69, French literary historian and critic. The first major professional literary critic, he developed the art of appreciating...

Vinet, Alexandre Rodolphe

(Encyclopedia)Vinet, Alexandre Rodolphe älĕksäNˈdrə rôdôlfˈ vēnāˈ [key], 1797–1847, Swiss Protestant theologian and historian of literature. In 1817 he became professor of French language and literatur...

decadents

(Encyclopedia)decadents, in literature, name loosely applied to those 19th-century, fin-de-siècle European authors who sought inspiration, both in their lives and in their writings, in aestheticism and in all the ...

Turpan

(Encyclopedia)Turpan to͝orˈfänˈ [key], town and oasis (1994 est. pop. 64,300), in the Turpan depression (c.5,000 sq mi/12,950 sq km), E Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. It is an agricultural center prod...

Guicciardini, Francesco

(Encyclopedia)Guicciardini, Francesco fränchāsˈkō gwēt-chärdēˈnē [key], 1483–1540, Italian historian and statesman. He represented (1512–14) his native Florence at the court of Spain, held offices in t...

Germanic religion

(Encyclopedia)Germanic religion, pre-Christian religious practices among the tribes of Western Europe, Germany, and Scandinavia. The main sources for our knowledge are the Germania of Tacitus and the Elder Edda and...

Hailar

(Encyclopedia)Hailar hīˈlärˈ [key], city (1994 est. pop. 192,400), Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region., China, on the Hailar (Argun) River. It is an agricultural production center on the Chinese Eastern RR. Form...

Latini, Brunetto

(Encyclopedia)Latini, Brunetto bro͞onĕtˈtō lätēˈnē [key], d. 1294?, Italian man of letters, a diplomat. He introduced French literature to Italy and wrote, in French, Li livres dou tresor, the first vernacu...

Saint-Gelays, Mellin de

(Encyclopedia)Saint-Gelays or Saint-Gelais, Mellin de mĕlăN də săN-zhəlāˈ [key], c.1490–1558, French poet. He lived in Italy for many years, and he helped to introduce the Italian sonnet form as well as th...