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Naphtali

(Encyclopedia)Naphtali năfˈtəlī [key], in the Bible, son of Jacob and Bilhah and eponymous ancestor of one of the 12 tribes of Israel. His land allotment lay NW of the Sea of Galilee. The tribe traditionally ha...

mumming play

(Encyclopedia)mumming play, form of drama developed in England in the early 17th cent., based on the legend of St. George and the dragon. The central theme of the play is the death and resurrection of the hero. The...

Ogier the Dane

(Encyclopedia)Ogier the Dane ōˈjēər, ōzhyāˈ [key], in the chansons de geste, a paladin of Charlemagne. Although his military feats save emperor and kingdom, he is for a time at odds with Charlemagne. In some...

Merlin

(Encyclopedia)Merlin, in Arthurian legend, magician, seer, and teacher at the court of King Vortigern and later at the court of King Arthur. He was a bard and culture hero in early Celtic folklore. In Arthurian leg...

Kildare, James Fitzgerald, 20th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Kildare, James Fitzgerald, 20th earl of kĭldârˈ [key], 1722–73, Irish nobleman. He sat in the Irish House of Commons from 1741 until 1744, when he succeeded as earl of Kildare. He was created Vis...

York, Alvin Cullum

(Encyclopedia)York, Alvin Cullum, 1887–1964, American soldier known as Sergeant York, b. Fentress co., Tenn. He was reared on a back-country farm in Tennessee. A conscientious objector at the beginning of World W...

Strumica

(Encyclopedia)Strumica stro͞oˈmĭtsä [key], town (1994 pop. 43,868), SE North Macedonia. It is an agricultural center reliant on tobacco, livestock, and cotton production. Strumica, an ancient town, was long und...

Princip, Gavrilo

(Encyclopedia)Princip, Gavrilo gävˈrēlō prēnˈtsēp [key], 1895–1918, Serbian political agitator, b. Bosnia. As a high-school student and a member of the Serbian nationalist secret society Union or Death (kn...

Camillus

(Encyclopedia)Camillus (Marcus Furius Camillus) kəmĭlˈəs [key], d. 365? b.c., Roman hero. He was a patrician who, the Roman historians say, was elected dictator five times (396, 390, 386, 368, 367 b.c.) and on ...

Powell, William

(Encyclopedia)Powell, William, 1892–1984, American movie actor, b. Pittsburgh. Powell made his stage debut in 1912. He played the dapper villain in such early films as Sherlock Holmes (1921), Romola (1924), and B...