(Encyclopedia) Pearl, The, one of four Middle English alliterative poems, all contained in a manuscript of c.1400, composed in the West Midland dialect, almost certainly by the same anonymous author…
(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…
(Encyclopedia) Mandela, Nelson RolihlahlaMandela, Nelson Rolihlahlakhōl-ēhläˈhlä mändāˈlä [key], 1918–2013, South African statesman. He earned a degree (B.A., 1943) after being expelled from the…
(Encyclopedia) Dionysius the Elder, c.430–367 b.c., tyrant of Syracuse. Of humble origin, he entered politics as a supporter of the poorer classes. Having prompted (400 b.c.) a measure to elect truly…
(Encyclopedia) Dionysius the Younger, fl. 368–344 b.c., tyrant of Syracuse, son of Dionysius the Elder. He ended the war with Carthage and enlisted the support of the professional army. Neither…
(Encyclopedia) Edward the Confessor, d. 1066, king of the English (1042–66), son of Æthelred the Unready and his Norman wife, Emma. After the Danish conquest (1013–16) of England, Edward grew up at…
(Encyclopedia) Edward the Elder, d. 924, king of Wessex (899–924), son and successor of Alfred. He fought with his father against the Danes. At Alfred's death (899) Edward's succession was disputed…
(Encyclopedia) Edward the Martyr, c.962–978, king of the English (975–78), son of Edgar by his first wife. Despite the opposition of some of the nobles, Edward succeeded his father to the throne and…
