Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Glamis

(Encyclopedia)Glamis glämz [key], village, Angus, E Scotland. King Malcolm II died (1034) nearby, and a sculptured cross in the village is known as King Malcolm's Gravestone. Macbeth was thane of Glamis, and the c...

Calpurnia

(Encyclopedia)Calpurnia kălpûrˈnēə [key], d. after 44 b.c., Roman matron. The daughter of Lucius Calpurnicus Piso Caesoninus (see under Piso, family), she was married to Julius Caesar in 59 b.c. She was loyal ...

Whetstone, George

(Encyclopedia)Whetstone, George, 1551?–1587, English dramatist and poet. His chief work, the play Promos and Cassandra (1578), is important in the development of English domestic drama and was a source for Shakes...

Dench, Dame Judi

(Encyclopedia)Dench, Dame Judi jo͞oˈdē dĕnch [key], 1934–, British actress, b. York, England, as Judith Olivia Dench. She studied at the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, London, made her de...

Masefield, John

(Encyclopedia)Masefield, John mās– [key], 1878–1967, English poet. He went to sea as a youth and later spent several years in the United States. In 1897 he returned to England and was on the staff of the Manch...

Lamb, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Lamb, Charles, 1775–1834, English essayist, b. London. He went to school at Christ's Hospital, where his lifelong friendship with Coleridge began. Lamb was a clerk at the India House from 1792 to 18...

Diamond, David

(Encyclopedia)Diamond, David, 1915–2005, American composer, b. Rochester, N.Y. Diamond was trained at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Eastman School; he also studied with Roger Sessions in New York and N...

Gamelyn, The Tale of

(Encyclopedia)Gamelyn, The Tale of gămˈəlĭn [key], a romance in verse, written c.1350, containing about 900 lines. It tells of the tribulations of a young man abused by his older brothers. The tale survives in ...

Norns

(Encyclopedia)Norns, the Norse Fates. Like the Fates of Greek religion and mythology, the Norns spun and wove the web of life. Belief in the Norns was of great importance in Germanic religion and life. It was said ...

Lear

(Encyclopedia)Lear lēr [key], legendary English king, supposed descendant, through Locrine and Brut, of Aeneas of Troy. The story of Lear and his three daughters probably originated in early Celtic mythology. Geof...