Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Priscian (Priscianus Caesariensis) prĭshˈən [key], fl. 500, Latin grammarian, b. Caesarea in Mauretania. Priscian taught grammar at Constantinople. His Commentarii grammatici, in 18 books, was long...

(Encyclopedia) Trnava tûrˈnävä [key], Ger. Tyrnau, Hung. Nagyszombat, city (1991 pop. 71,783), W central Slovakia. The market for a fertile agricultural region, it produces motor vehicles, refined sugar, agricul...

(Encyclopedia) tambourine tămˌbərēnˈ [key], musical instrument of the percussion family, having a narrow circular frame and a single parchment drumhead, with metal plates or jingles set in the frame. The ancien...

(Encyclopedia) plainsong or plainchant, the unharmonized chant of the medieval Christian liturgies in Europe and the Middle East; usually synonymous with Gregorian chant, the liturgical music of the Roman Catholic C...

(Encyclopedia) umbrella, a small canopy used as a protection against the sun in China, Egypt, and elsewhere in remote antiquity. It was often an emblem of rank. During the Middle Ages the umbrella became almost exti...

(Encyclopedia) Hadad āˈdăd [key], ancient weather god of Semitic origin, worshiped in Babylonia and Assyria. Important throughout the Middle East, he was worshiped under many names. As god of the storm, he was, a...

(Encyclopedia) Mâle, Émile āmēlˈ mäl [key], 1862–1954, French art historian. Mâle pioneered the study of French art of the Middle Ages, its forms, and especially the Eastern sources of sculptural iconograph...

(Encyclopedia) incubus ĭngˈkyo͝obəs [key], lascivious male demon said to possess mortal women as they sleep and to be responsible for the birth of demons, witches, and deformed children. According to one legend ...

(Encyclopedia) Fools, Feast of, burlesque religious festival of the Middle Ages. It occurred during the Christmas and New Year's revels, on or near New Year's Day. In many places a Lord of Misrule ruled over the rev...

(Encyclopedia) Jean de Meun zhäN də möN [key], d. 1305, French poet, also known as Jean Chopinel (or Clopinel) of Meung-sur-Loire. He wrote the second part of the Roman de la Rose and made translations from Latin...