Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Callias, d. c.370 b.c., Athenian leader

(Encyclopedia)Callias, d. c.370 b.c., Athenian leader, one of the generals of the Peloponnesian War. In his old age Callias was one of the ambassadors sent to Sparta with Callistratus to negotiate a peace treaty in...

Æthelbert, king of Kent

(Encyclopedia)Æthelbert ĕˈthəlbərt, ă– [key], d. 616, king of Kent (560?–616). Although defeated by the West Saxons in 568, he became the strongest ruler in England S of the Humber River. His wife, Bertha...

Sweet, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Sweet, Henry, 1845–1912, English philologist and phonetician. An authority on Anglo-Saxon and the history of the English language, Sweet was also a pioneer in modern scientific phonetics. His Histor...

hundred

(Encyclopedia)hundred, in English history, a subdivision of a shire, first mentioned in the 10th cent. and surviving as a unit of local government into the 19th cent. It is thought that in origin the hundred compri...

Bedford, town, England

(Encyclopedia)Bedford, town and borough, central England, on the Ouse River. It is an important industrial center; diesel engines, pumps, turbines, agricultural machi...

Wettekind

(Encyclopedia)Wettekind, Saxon historian: see Wittekind. ...

Beust, Friedrich Ferdinand

(Encyclopedia)Beust, Friedrich Ferdinand frēˈdrĭkh fĕrˈdĭnänt boist [key], 1809–86, Saxon and Austrian politician. He held various portfolios in the Saxon ministry and served as premier (1853–66), but hi...

Procopius the Great

(Encyclopedia)Procopius the Great, Czech Prokop Holý, d. 1434, Czech Hussite leader. A priest, he joined the Hussite movement (see Hussites) and distinguished himself as a captain under John Zizka in the Hussite W...

Ethel-

(Encyclopedia)Ethel-. For Anglo-Saxon names beginning thus, use Æthel-; e.g., for Ethelbald, see Æthelbald. ...

Browse by Subject