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Giraldus Cambrensis

(Encyclopedia)Giraldus Cambrensis jĭrălˈdəs kămbrĕnˈsĭs [key], c.1146–1223, Norman-Welsh churchman and historian, also called Gerald of Wales and Gerald de Barri. He was associated (from 1184) with the ki...

Potgieter, Everhardus Johannes

(Encyclopedia)Potgieter, Everhardus Johannes āvərhärˈdəs yōhänˈəs pôtˈgētər [key], 1808–75, Dutch critic, essayist, and poet. He was the first editor (1837–65) of and a major contributor to De Gids...

miracle play

(Encyclopedia)miracle play or mystery play, form of medieval drama that came from dramatization of the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church. It developed from the 10th to the 16th cent., reaching its height in the ...

Italic languages

(Encyclopedia)Italic languages, subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages that may be divided into two groups. The first group consists of the ancient Italic languages and dialects that were once spoken in...

Gardner, John

(Encyclopedia)Gardner, John (John Champlin Gardner, Jr.), 1933–82, American writer, b. Batavia, N.Y. He was a teacher, lecturer, and prolific writer of fiction, children's books, poetry, radio plays, and scholarl...

Haskins, Charles Homer

(Encyclopedia)Haskins, Charles Homer, 1870–1937, American historian, an authority on medieval history, b. Meadville, Pa. At Harvard (1902–31) he was professor and dean of graduate studies (1908–24); in the la...

Anglo-Saxon literature

(Encyclopedia)Anglo-Saxon literature, the literary writings in Old English (see English language), composed between c.650 and c.1100. See also English literature. Old English literary prose dates from the latter ...

treble

(Encyclopedia)treble, highest part in choral music, thus corresponding in pitch to soprano, but associated with the voice of a boy or a girl. The term appeared in 15th-century English polyphony, probably as an angl...

Vida, Marco Girolamo

(Encyclopedia)Vida, Marco Girolamo märˈkō jērôˈlämō vēˈdä [key], c.1490–1566, Italian poet, b. Cremona. After joining the humanist court of Pope Leo X, he was given a priory at Frascati and was commiss...

Santillana, Iñigo López de Mendoza, marqués de

(Encyclopedia)Santillana, Iñigo López de Mendoza, marqués de ēnyēˈgō lōˈpĕth dā māndōˈthä märkāsˈ dā säntēlyäˈnä [key], 1398–1458, Spanish poet and literary patron. Influenced by Dante, Pe...