Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Descartes, René rənāˈ dākärtˈ [key], Lat. Renatus Cartesius, 1596–1650, French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist, b. La Haye. Descartes' methodology was a major influence in the trans...

(Encyclopedia) Gustavus II (Gustavus Adolphus), 1594–1632, king of Sweden (1611–32), son and successor of Charles IX. In military organization and strategy, Gustavus was ahead of his time. While most powers re...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Sweden, Swed. Sverige, officially Kingdom of Sweden, constitutional monarchy (2015 est. pop. 9,764,000), 173,648 sq mi (449,750 sq km), N Europe, occupying the eastern part of the Scandinavian ...

(Encyclopedia) Lutheranism, branch of Protestantism that arose as a result of the Reformation, whose religious faith is based on the principles of Martin Luther, although he opposed such a designation. When Luther r...

(Encyclopedia) biography, reconstruction in print or on film, of the lives of real men and women. Together with autobiography—an individual's interpretation of his own life—it shares a venerable tradition, meeti...

(Encyclopedia) English literature, literature written in English since c.1450 by the inhabitants of the British Isles; it was during the 15th cent. that the English language acquired much of its modern form. For the...

(Encyclopedia) English art and architecture, the distinctive national art and architecture that art may be said to have evolved in the 12th cent. with the Norman style. Building before that time was in what is commo...

(Encyclopedia) Spanish literature, the literature of Spain. The Spanish civil war (1936–39) truncated the cultural evolution of the country. Many writers went into exile. Salinas, Guillén, Juan Larrea, an...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 CE5 Spain, Span. España āspäˈnyä [key], officially Kingdom of Spain, constitutional monarchy (2015 est. pop. 46,398,000), 194,884 sq mi (504,750 sq km), including the Balearic and Canary...