Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Ramus, Petrus pyĕr də lä rämāˈ [key], 1515–72, French humanist and philosopher. Attempting to break through Aristotelian and scholastic traditions, Ramus wrote a number of works that became in...

(Encyclopedia) Fouquet or Foucquet, Nicolas fo͞okāˈ [key], 1615–80, superintendent of finance (1653–61) under King Louis XIV of France. His loyalty to Cardinal Mazarin during the Fronde helped to secure his ...

(Encyclopedia) Maisonneuve, Paul de Chomedey, sieur de pōl də shômdāˈ syör də māzôNnövˈ [key], 1612–76, founder and first governor of Montreal, b. France. A soldier, he fought in European wars before be...

(Encyclopedia) Beaumanoir, Philippe de Remi, sire de fēlēpˈ də rəmēˈ sēr də bōmänwärˈ [key], c.1250–1296, French poet and jurist, a writer of medieval law texts. He was a judicial officer at Clermont ...

(Encyclopedia) De-jima, island, Japan: see De-shima. ...

(Encyclopedia) Cid or Cid Campeador sĭd, Span. thēᵺ kämpāäᵺōrˈ [key] [Span.,=lord conqueror], d. 1099, Spanish soldier and national hero, whose real name was Rodrigo (or Ruy) Díaz de Vivar. Under Ferdina...

(Encyclopedia) Racan, Honorat de Bueil, seigneur de ōnōräˈ də böˈyə sānyörˈ də räkäNˈ [key], 1589–1670, French poet. A disciple of Malherbe, he wrote some lyric poetry and a charming pastoral drama,...

(Encyclopedia) Soubise, Benjamin de Rohan, seigneur de bäNzhämăNˈ də rōäNˈ sānyûrˈ də so͞obēzˈ [key], 1583–1642, French Protestant general. He fought under Maurice of Nassau in the Netherlands and s...

(Encyclopedia) Margarita märgärēˈtä [key], island, 444 sq mi (1,150 sq km), in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela. With many smaller islands it constitutes the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta (1990 ...

(Encyclopedia) Enfantin, Barthélemy Prosper bärtālmēˈ prôspĕrˈ äNfäNtăNˈ [key], 1796–1864, French socialist, sometimes called Père Enfantin. He became a leader of the movement started by the comte de ...