Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Chrétien de Troyes

(Encyclopedia)Chrétien de Troyes or Chrestien de Troyes both: krātyăNˈ də trwä [key], fl. 1170, French poet, author of the first great literary treatments of the Arthurian legend. His narrative romances, comp...

Alain de Lille

(Encyclopedia)Alain de Lille älăNˈ də lēl [key], c.1128–c.1202, French scholastic philosopher, a Cistercian, honored by his contemporaries as the Universal Doctor. He was born in Lille; he taught at Paris an...

Cœur de Lion

(Encyclopedia)Cœur de Lion: see Richard I, king of England. ...

chemin de fer

(Encyclopedia)chemin de fer shəmănˈ də fûr, Fr. shəmăNˈ də fĕr [key] [Fr.,=railroad], the most popular gambling card game in Europe. The present day versions are variations of Italian baccara which Charle...

Champaigne, Philippe de

(Encyclopedia)Champaigne or Champagne, Philippe de both: fēlēpˈ də shäNpäˈnyə [key], 1602–74, French painter, b. Brussels, of Flemish parents. In 1621 he went to Paris, where he worked with Poussin on the...

Champ-de-Mars

(Encyclopedia)Champ-de-Mars shäN-də-märs [key], former parade ground of Paris, France, between the École militaire and the Seine River. There, at the Fête de la Fédération (July 14, 1790), Louis XVI took an ...

Champlain, Samuel de

(Encyclopedia)Champlain, Samuel de shămplānˈ, Fr. sämüĕlˈ də shäNplăNˈ [key], 1567–1635, French explorer, the chief founder of New France. After serving in France under Henry of Navarre (King Henry IV)...

chansons de geste

(Encyclopedia)chansons de geste shäNsôNˈ də zhĕst [key] [Fr.,=songs of deeds], a group of epic poems of medieval France written from the 11th through the 13th cent. Varying in length from 1,000 to 20,000 lines...

Browse by Subject