Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Fronde frôNd [key], 1648–53, series of outbreaks during the minority of King Louis XIV, caused by the efforts of the Parlement of Paris (the chief judiciary body) to limit the growing authority of ...

(Encyclopedia) Charles V, 1500–1558, Holy Roman emperor (1519–58) and, as Charles I, king of Spain (1516–56); son of Philip I and Joanna of Castile, grandson of Ferdinand II of Aragón, Isabella of Castile, Ho...

(Encyclopedia) mountain climbing, the practice of climbing to elevated points for sport, pleasure, or research. Also called mountaineering, it is practiced throughout the world. Many mountain climbing clubs have...

(Encyclopedia) Dreyfus Affair drāˈfəs, drī– [key], the controversy that occurred with the treason conviction (1894) of Capt. Alfred Dreyfus (1859–1935), a French artillery officer and graduate of the French ...

(Encyclopedia) Ghent gĕnt [key], Du. Gent, Fr. Gand, city, capital of East Flanders prov., W Belgium, at th...

(Encyclopedia) mystery or mystery story, literary genre in which the cause (or causes) of a mysterious happening, often a crime, is gradually revealed by the hero or heroine; this is accomplished through a mixture o...

(Encyclopedia) illumination, in art, decoration of manuscripts and books with colored, gilded pictures, often referred to as miniatures (see miniature painting); historiated and decorated initials; and ornamental bo...

(Encyclopedia) Rulers of the Byzantine Empire ...

(Encyclopedia) glass, hard substance, usually brittle and transparent, composed chiefly of silicates and an alkali fused at high temperature. Glass has become invaluable in modern architecture, illumination, elect...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Mauritius môrĭshˈēəs, –əs [key], officially Republic of Mauritius, republic (2015 est. pop. 1,259,000), 790 sq mi (2,046 sq km), in the SW Indian Ocean. It is part of the Mascarene Isla...