Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

African literature

(Encyclopedia)African literature, literary works of the African continent. African literature consists of a body of work in different languages and various genres, ranging from oral literature to literature written...

Cornish literature

(Encyclopedia)Cornish literature. The literature of the Celtic language of Cornwall, which has been spoken only by bilingual speakers since the late 18th cent. The surviving pre-1800 literature consists largely of ...

Breton literature

(Encyclopedia)Breton literature brĕtˈən [key], in the Celtic language of Brittany. Although there are numerous allusions in other literatures of the 12th to 14th cent. to the “matter of Brittany,” which incl...

Bulgarian literature

(Encyclopedia)Bulgarian literature. For early ecclesiastical writings, see Church Slavonic. Modern Bulgarian literature stems from the work of Father Paisi, who in 1762 began his history of the Slav Bulgarians. The...

Armada, Spanish

(Encyclopedia)Armada, Spanish ärmäˈdə [key], 1588, fleet launched by Philip II of Spain for the invasion of England, to overthrow the Protestant Elizabeth I and establish Philip on the English throne; also call...

Prakrit literature

(Encyclopedia)Prakrit literature. By the 6th cent. b.c. the people of India were speaking and writing languages that were much simpler than classical Sanskrit. These vernacular forms, of which there were several, a...

Hebrew literature

(Encyclopedia)Hebrew literature, literary works, from ancient to modern, written in the Hebrew language. The rise of Zionism, particularly reflected in the writings of Ahad Ha-am (Asher Ginzberg), gave Hebrew ...

Spanish Town

(Encyclopedia)Spanish Town, city (1991 pop. 110,379), SE Jamaica, on the Cobre River. It is the commercial and processing center of a rich agricultural region, as well as the main rail and highway communications hu...

Icelandic literature

(Encyclopedia)Icelandic literature, the literature of Iceland. For the earliest literature of Iceland, see Old Norse literature. The 20th cent. saw the rise of a more introspective writing, influenced by Nietzsch...

Spanish moss

(Encyclopedia)Spanish moss, fibrous grayish-green epiphyte (Tillandsia usneoides) that hangs on trees of tropical America and the Southern states, also called Florida, southern, or long moss. It is not a true moss ...