Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Guido of Siena

(Encyclopedia)Guido of Siena sēĕnˈə [key], fl. 13th cent., Italian painter. All that is known of him is an inscription on a large and almost completely repainted Virgin and Child Enthroned, formerly in San Dome...

Jude, epistle of the New Testament

(Encyclopedia)Jude, epistle of the New Testament, the next to last book of the Bible. The Jude who wrote it has been identified since ancient times with St. Jude the apostle, but most modern scholars deny the ident...

Mzab

(Encyclopedia)Mzab əmzäbˈ [key], stony, barren valley, Algeria, in the N Sahara. It was settled c.1000 by members of an austere Muslim sect, the Kharijites. The inhabitants, called Mozabites, dug wells, created ...

oasis

(Encyclopedia)oasis ōāˈsĭs [key], an area within a desert where the water table reaches the surface, with enough moisture to permit the growth of vegetation. The water may come up to the surface in springs, or ...

kitchen midden

(Encyclopedia)kitchen midden, refuse heap left by a prehistoric settlement; more specifically, a deposit consisting primarily of discarded shell and related cultural material in coastal environments. First studied ...

Staffordshire Hoard

(Encyclopedia)Staffordshire Hoard, archaelogical find discovered (2009) near Lichfield, Staffordshire, England, consisting of more than 1,500 gold and silver items dating from Anglo-Saxon times. Several times riche...

Sakkara

(Encyclopedia)Sakkara or Saqqara säkäˈrä [key], necropolis (burial place) of ancient Memphis, Egypt, 3 mi (5 km) from the Nile and on the border of the Libyan desert. Djoser (Zoser) had his famous step-pyramid,...

Equatorial Islands

(Encyclopedia)Equatorial Islands: see Line Islands. ...

Renault, Louis

(Encyclopedia)Renault, Louis lwē rənōˈ [key], 1843–1918, French jurist, professor of international law at the Univ. of Paris. Renault was one of the founders of the scientific study of international law in Fr...

Albert of Brandenburg

(Encyclopedia)Albert of Brandenburg, 1490–1568, grand master of the Teutonic Knights (1511–25), first duke of Prussia (1525–68); grandson of Elector Albert Achilles of Brandenburg. In 1525 he became a Protest...