Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Book of Changes

(Encyclopedia)Book of Changes or I Ching ē jĭng, ē chĭng [key], ancient Chinese book of prophecy and wisdom. The oldest parts of its text are thought to have attained their present form in the century before Co...

Derby, Thomas Stanley, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Derby, Thomas Stanley, 1st earl of därˈbē [key], 1435?–1504, English nobleman. During the Wars of the Roses, Stanley was ostensibly a supporter of the Lancastrian Henry VI, but he had Yorkist sym...

Henry II, king of England

(Encyclopedia)Henry II, 1133–89, king of England (1154–89), son of Matilda, queen of England, and Geoffrey IV, count of Anjou. He was the founder of the Angevin, or Plantagenet, line in England and one of the a...

Pembroke, William Marshal, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Pembroke, William Marshal, 1st earl of, d. 1219, English nobleman. He became (1170) a guardian of Prince Henry, eldest son of Henry II, and supported him in his abortive rebellion (1173–74) against ...

Worcester, Thomas Percy, earl of

(Encyclopedia)Worcester, Thomas Percy, earl of wo͝osˈtər [key], c.1344–1403, English nobleman; brother of Henry Percy, 1st earl of Northumberland. He served with considerable success in the wars in France and ...

Wellesley, Richard Colley Wellesley, 1st Marquess

(Encyclopedia)Wellesley, Richard Colley Wellesley, 1st Marquess, 1760–1842, British colonial administrator; brother of Arthur Wellesley, 1st duke of Wellington. He became earl of Mornington on his father's death ...

Surrey, Henry Howard, earl of

(Encyclopedia)Surrey, Henry Howard, earl of, 1517?–1547, English poet; son of Thomas Howard, 3d duke of Norfolk. His irascibility and continuous vaunting of his descent from Edward I resulted in his imprisonment ...

William of Wykeham

(Encyclopedia)William of Wykeham or William of Wickham both: wĭˈkəm [key], 1324–1404, English prelate and lord chancellor. He is thought to have been the son of a serf. Entering the service of the royal court ...

Imitation of Christ, The

(Encyclopedia)Imitation of Christ, The, Christian devotional book, of great popularity. It originated among the Brothers of the Common Life in the Netherlands and was written probably c.1425. Tradition (since c.144...

Huntingdon, Henry Hastings, 3d earl of

(Encyclopedia)Huntingdon, Henry Hastings, 3d earl of, 1535–95, English nobleman. Through his mother, Catherine Pole, a great-granddaughter of the duke of Clarence (brother of Edward IV and Richard III), Hastings ...

Browse by Subject