Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Round Table, in Arthurian legend, the table at which King Arthur and his knights held court. It was allegedly fashioned at the behest of Arthur to prevent quarrels among the knights over precedence. A...

(Encyclopedia) Ramsey of Canterbury, Arthur Michael Ramsey, Baron, 1904–88, archbishop of Canterbury (1961–74), b. Cambridge, England. He was educated at Repton School; Magdalene College, Cambridge; and Cuddesdo...

(Encyclopedia) Sullivan, Sir Arthur Seymour, 1842–1900, English composer, famous for a series of brilliant comic operas written in collaboration with the librettist W. S. Gilbert. As a boy he sang in the choir of ...

(Encyclopedia) Arthurian legend, the mass of legend, popular in medieval lore, concerning King Arthur of Britain and his knights. Although there are innumerable variations of the Arthurian legend, the basic story...

(Encyclopedia) Excalibur ĕkskălˈĭbər [key], in Arthurian legend, sword given to King Arthur by the Lady of the Lake. At Arthur's death Sir Bedivere threw Excalibur into the lake; a hand rose from the water, cau...

(Encyclopedia) Balfour, Arthur James Balfour, 1st earl of bălˈfo͝or [key], 1848–1930, British statesman; nephew of the 3d marquess of Salisbury. He entered parliament as a Conservative in 1874 and served as sec...

(Encyclopedia) surrealism sərēˈəlĭzəm [key], literary and art movement influenced by Freudianism and dedicated to the expression of imagination as revealed in dreams, free of the conscious control of reason an...

(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...

(Encyclopedia) Guinevere gwĭnˈəvĭrˌ, gwĕnˈ– [key], in Arthurian legend, wife of King Arthur. Her illicit and tragic love for Sir Launcelot, which foreshadowed the downfall of Arthur's kingdom, ends with her...

(Encyclopedia) Sabine săbēnˈ [key], river, c.575 mi (925 km) long, rising on the prairies NE of Dallas, Tex. It flows SE across Texas, then south to mark the Texas–Louisiana line. Near its mouth it broadens to ...