A

Abyss

The abyss in any form has a fascinating dual significance. On the one hand, it is a symbol of depth in general; on the other, a symbol of inferiority. The attraction of the abyss lies in the fact that these two aspects are inextricably linked together. Most ancient or primitive peoples have at one time or another identified certain breaks in the earth's surface or marine depths with the abyss. Among the Celts and other peoples, the abyss was inside mountains; in Ireland, Japan and South Sea islands, it was at the bottom of seas and lakes; among Mediterranean peoples it was just beyond the horizon; for the Australian aborigines, the Milky Way is the abyss par excellence. The abyss is usually identified with the "land of the dead', the underworld, and is hence, though not always, associated with the Great Mother and earth-god cults. The association between the nether world and the bottom of seas or lakes explains many aspects of legends in which palaces or beings emerge from an abyss of water. After King Arthur's death, his sword, thrown into the lake by his command, is caught as it falls and, before being drawn down to the bottom, flourished by a hand which emerges from the waters.

Accolade

The touch of a sword on the shoulder in the ceremony of conferring knighthood; originally an embrace or touch by the hand on the neck. (Latin, ad collum, on the neck.)

Acolyte

The language of the liturgy is typically terse. The celebrant, who must be a priest, follows a prescribed missal and wears certain vestments. Mass is said at an altar containing relics; two candles must be burning. A congregation is not essential, but solitary Mass is discouraged. A High (solemn) Mass requires a priest, deacon, and choir. Low Mass, much more common, is the same service said by one priest. Normally at Low Mass a server or acolyte, traditionally called an altar boy, helps the celebrant. Most of the text is invariable, or ordinary, but certain parts, called proper, change with the occasion or day. Mass may be offered with a special intention, as in thanksgiving or for peace.

Adam & Eve

In Christian belief, the first man on Earth, created from dust by God. Adam and his wife, Eve, were caretakers of the Garden of Eden, and instructed by God that they might eat the fruit of every tree in the Garden, bar one, the Tree of Knowledge. But Satan, appearing in the form of a snake, convinced Eve that she and her husband would be like gods themselves if they ate the fruit of the tree. Eve tasted a fruit, gave some of it to Adam, and for this crime they were cast out of Paradise.

According to Christian myth, Eve was the first woman created by God. And the wife of Adam. Eve is said to have been the one who first gave in to the serpent Satan's blandishments, and tasted the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden Of Eden, thus ensuing hers and Adam's expulsion from Paradise.

Adept

The word adept properly means one who has attained (from the Latin, adeptus, participle of adipiscor). The alchemists applied the term vere adeptus, to those persons who professed to have "attained to the knowledge of" the elixir of life or of the philosopher's stone.
Alchemists tell us there are always 11 adepts, neither more nor less. Like the sacred chickens of Compostella, of which there are only 2 and always 2 - a cock and a hen.
In Rosicrucian lore as learn'd

As he that vere adeptus earn'd."
S. Butler: Hudibras.

Aesopian

Pertains to Aesop.(e´sep, e´sop), legendary Greek fabulist. According to Herodotus, he was a slave who lived in Samos in the 6th cent. BC and eventually was freed by his master. Other accounts associate him with many wild adventures and connect him with such rulers as Solon and Croesus. The fables called Aesop's fables were preserved principally through Babrius , Phaedrus , Planudes Maximus , and La Fontaine 's verse translations. The most famous of these fables include The Fox and the Grapes and The Tortoise and the Hare.

Alchemilla

Alchemilla or Lady's Mantle. The alchemist's plant; so called because alchemists collected the dew of its leaves for their operations. Lady means the Virgin Mary, to whom the plant was dedicated.

Allegory

The allegory is closely related to the parable, fable, and metaphor, differing from them largely in intricacy and length. A great variety of literary forms have been used for allegories. The medieval morality play Everyman,personifying such abstractions as Fellowship and Good Deeds, recounts the death journey of Everyman. John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress,a prose narrative, is an allegory of man's spiritual salvation. Spenser's poem The Faerie Queene, besides being a chivalric romance, is a commentary on morals and manners in 16th-century England as well as a national epic. Although allegory is still used by some authors, its popularity as a literary form has declined in favor of a more personal form of symbolic expression.

Allegro

Allegro(fast), in music, the speed of a composition, the tempo. The composer's intentions as to tempo are conventionally indicated by a set of Italian terms, of which the other principal ones are presto (very fast), vivace (lively), moderato (moderate), andante (moderate, literally a walking tempo), adagio (slow), lento (slower than adagio), and largo (very slow); accelerando (increasing the speed) and ritardando (slowing down) are directions to alter the tempo momentarily and are canceled by a tempo.

Amadeus

1.Amadeus,1845-90, king of Spain (1870-73), duke of Aosta, son of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy. After the expulsion (1868) of Queen Isabella II, Juan Primurged the Cortes to elect Amadeus as king. He accepted the crown reluctantly. Just before the new king arrived in Spain, Prim was assassinated.

2.A remarkable prodigy, Mozart was taught to play the harpsichord, violin, and organ by his father, Leopold, and began composing before he was five. When Mozart was six, he and his older sister, Marianne, were presented by their father in concerts at the court of the Empress Maria Theresa in Vienna and in the principal aristocratic households of central Europe, Paris, and London. His progress as a composer was amazing; by the age of 13 he had written concertos, sonatas, symphonies, a German operetta, Bastien und Bastienne (1768), and an Italian opera buffa, La finta semplice (1769).

Ancasta

A Roman goddess

Angel

A symbol of invisible forces, of the powers ascending and descending between the Source-of-Life and the world of phenomena. Here, as in other cases (such as the Cross), the symbolic fact does not modify the real fact. In alchemy, the angel symbolizes sublimation, i.e. the ascension of a volatile (spiritual) principle, as in the figures of the Viatorium spagyricum. The parallelism between angelic orders and astral worlds has been traced with singular precision by Rudolf Steiner in Les Hierarchies spirituelles, following the treatise on the celestial hierarchies by the Pseudo-Dionysius. From the earliest days of culture, angels figure in artistic iconography, and by the 4th millennium B.C. little or no distinction is made between angels and winged deities. Gothic art, in many remarkable images,
expresses the protective and sublime aspects of the angel-figure, while the Romanesque tends rather to stress its other-worldly nature.

Annabel

In Dryden's satire of Absalom and Achitophel is designed for the Duchess of Monmouth. Her maiden name and title were Anne Scott, Countess of Buccleuch, the richest heiress in Europe. The duke was faithless to her, and after his death, the widow, still handsome, married again.
"To all his [Monmouth's] wishes, nothing he [David] denied;
And made the charming Annabel his bride."
Part i. lines 33, 34.

Annunciation

Day of the Annunciation. The 25th of March, also called Lady Day, on which the angel announced to the Virgin Mary that she would be the mother of the Messiah.

Anthia

The lady-love of Abrocomas in Xenophon's romance, called Ephesiaca. Shakespeare has borrowed from this Greek novel the leading incidents of his Romeo and Juliet , especially that of the potion and mock entombment. N.B. This is not the historian, but a Xenophon who lived in the fourth Christian century.

Antigone

The Modern Antigone. Marie Thérèse Charlotte, Duchesse d'Angoulême, daughter of Louis XVI.; so called for her attachment to Louis XVIII., whose companion she was. (1778--1851.)

Antonia

Antonia Minor, the daughter of Marc Anthony, wife of Drusus Senior and had three children, Germanicus Ceaser , Livilla, and Claudius I.
He was adopted (AD 4) by his uncle Emperor Tiberius. Germanicus fought (AD 8) in Pannonia and Dalmatia and in AD 14, when he was commander in Germany, put down the mutiny of the Roman legions after the death of Augustus. Tiberius recalled Germanicus and sent him to the East, where he reduced (AD 18) Cappadocia and Commagene to the status of provinces. After a visit to Egypt, Germanicus died suddenly, supposedly of poison at the hand of Cneius Calpurnius Piso, governor of Syria. Germanicus was the brother of the Emperor Claudius I and the father of the Emperor Caligula and Agrippina II by his wife Agrippina I.
When Caligula was murdered (AD 41), the soldiers found Claudius, who had been of little importance, hiding in abject terror behind a curtain in the palace. They hauled him forth, and the Praetorians proclaimed him emperor. This act offended the senators, who never forgave Claudius. It also made him favor the army. He annexed Mauretania and landed in AD 43 in Britain, which he made a province.

Aphrodite

The Greek Venus; so called because she sprang from the foam of the sea, (Greek, aphros , foam.)
Aphrodite's Girdle. Whoever wore Aphrodite's magic girdle, immediately became the object of love. (Greek mythology.)
Aphrodite's major cults were located on the island of Cyprus, e.g. at Paphos and Amathus. Worshipped by men and women, she was associated with fertility and prostitution, civic concord and seafaring.

Apparition

(Ap`pa*ri"tion) n. [F. apparition, L. apparitio, fr. apparere.]
1. The act of becoming visible; appearance; visibility. Milton.
The sudden apparition of the Spaniards.
Prescott.
The apparition of Lawyer Clippurse occasioned much speculation in that portion of the world.
Sir W. Scott.
2. The thing appearing; a visible object; a form.
Which apparition, it seems, was you.
Tatler.
3. An unexpected, wonderful, or preternatural appearance; a ghost; a specter; a phantom. "The heavenly bands . . . a glorious apparition." Milton.
I think it is the weakness of mine eyes
That shapes this monstrous apparition.
Shak.
4. (Astron.) The first appearance of a star or other luminary after having been invisible or obscured; - opposed to occultation.

Aquitaine

A region in SW France, formerly a duchy, an independent kingdom, and a province of Guienne. Ancient Aq-ui-ta-ni-a

Aragon

n : Autonomous region of northeastern Spain; a former independent kingdom from the 11th century until 1479 when it united with Castile in 1479 to form modern Spain (after the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella)

Arcanta

[Secret and most Mysterious singing]

Something mysterious arouses wonder and inquisitiveness:
"The sea lies all about us.... In its mysterious past
it encompasses all the dim origins of life" (Rachel Carson).

Archer

(sajitâr´ees)[Lat.,the archer], constellation lying on the ecliptic (the sun's apparent path through the heavens) between Scorpius and Capricornus; it is one of the constellations of the zodiac . It is traditionally depicted as a centaur drawing his bow to release an arrow. The constellation contains a configuration of stars known as the Milk Dipper. It also contains the Lagoon, Horseshoe, and Trifid nebulae. The center of our galaxy, the Milky Way , lies in Sagittarius. The constellation reaches its highest point in the evening sky in August.

Artisan

Guildlike organizations of merchants and artisans have been known at various times in many parts of the world. Greek merchants' associations were of considerable significance in both the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Under the Roman Empire each provincial city had, as did Rome, its various collegia (some of which were clubs as well as economic guilds); Constantinople later had its efficiently organized corpora. Those guilds were continued in the East and in some of the cities of Italy, where they persisted at least until the 10th cent.

Athena

In Greek Mythology, the virgin goddess of wisdom, war, and arts and crafts: identified with the Roman Minerva.

Aurora

Early morning. According to Grecian mythology, the goddess Aurora, called by Homer "rosy-fingered," sets out before the sun, and is the pioneer of his rising.
"You cannot shut the windows of the sky,
Through which Aurora shows her brightening face."
Thomson: Castle of Indolence, canto ii. 3.
Aurora's tears. The morning dew.
Aurora Australis The Southern lights, a similar phenomenon to the "Aurora Borealis."
Aurora Borealis (Latin). The electrical lights occasionally seen in the northern part of the sky; also called "Northern Lights," and "Merry Dancers."

Avignon

A city on the east bank of the lower Rhone River, it served as the seat of the PAPACY and hence the center of western Christendom from1309 until 1377, and thereafter as the stronghold of the antipopes Clenent VII and Benedict XIII. King Louis VIII of FRANCE destroyed Avignon in 1226 in retribution for its support of the ALBIGENSES. Avignon itself belonged to the king of NAPLES, a papal vassal, and was not formally purchased by the papacy until 1348. It remained a papal possession during the GREAT SCHISM, and for nearly another four centuries, until it was annexed to France in 1791.

Back to Top

---

B

Ball

[Early 17th century. Via French bal from, ultimately, late Latin ballare "to dance," from Greek ballizein .]
[bawl ] (plural balls) noun
formal dance: a large-scale formal social event at which the main activity is dancing.

Banquet

Used at one time to mean the dessert. Thus, Taylor, in the Pennyless Pilgrim, says: "Our first and second course being threescore dishes at one boord, and after that, always a banquet." (French, banquet; banc, a bench or table. We use "table" also for a meal or feast, as "the funeral baked meats did coldly furnish forth the marriage table," i.e. feast.)
"After supper ... a delicate banquet, with abundance of wine." - Cogan (1583).
A banquet of brine. A flood of tears.
"My heart was charged to overflowing, and forced into my eyes a banquet of brine." - O. Thomson: Autobiography, p. 263.

Banshee

The supposed domestic spirit of certain Irish or Highland Scottish families, supposed to take an interest in its welfare, and to wail at the death of one of the family. The Welsh "Cyhydraeth." is a sort of Banshee.
The distinction of a Banshee is allowed only to families of pure Milesian stock. (Gaelic, ban-sith, a womanfairy.)

Baroque

A European style of architecture and decoration which developed in the seventeenth century in Italy from late Renaissance and Mannerist forms, and culminated in the churches, monasteries, and palaces of southern Germany and Austria in the early eighteenth century. It is characterized by interpretation of oval spaces, curved surfaces, and conspicuous use of decoration, sculpture, and color. It's late phase is called Rococo. The style prevailing in the strained architectural climate of England and France can be called Baroque classicism. The music of the period resembling a style of composition rich in harmonies, ornamentation, and brilliant effects very much characterized by breadth of concept. Barroco rough or imperfect pearl.

Beauty

Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror.
~ Kahlil Gibran ~
Beauty is everywhere a welcome guest.
~ Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe ~
Remember if you marry for beauty, thou bindest thyself all thy life for that which perchance, will neither last nor please thee one year: and when thou hast it, it will be to thee of no price at all.
~ Sir Walter Raleigh ~
Exuberance is beauty.
~ William Blake ~

The power by which a woman charms a lover and terrifies a husband.

Belladonna

In Italian a beautiful lady; in English a deadly poison. A striking example of the essential identity of the two tongues. This name was given to the Deadly Nightshade, from a practice once common among ladies of touching their eyes with it to make the pupils large and lustrous.

Beloved

(Be*loved") p. p. & a. Greatly loved; dear to the heart. Antony, so well beloved of Cæsar. Shak. This is my beloved Son.
Matt. iii. 17.
n. One greatly loved.
My beloved is mine, and I am his.
Cant. ii. 16.

Beltane

A festival observed in Ireland on June 21st, and in some parts of Scotland on May Day. A fire is kindled on the hills, and the young people dance round it, and feast on cakes made of milk and eggs. It is supposed to be a relic of the worship of Baal. The word is Gaelic, and means Bel's fire; and the cakes are called beltane-cakes.

Blake

Blake, William,1757-1827, English poet and artist, b. London. Although he exerted a great influence on English romanticism, Blake defies characterization by school, movement, or even period. At the same time no poet has been more sensitive or responsive to the realities of the human condition and of his time. In Songs of Innocence (1789) and Songs of Experience (1794) the world is seen from a child's point of view, directly and simply but without sentimentality. In the first group, which includes such poems as The Lamb, Infant Joy, and Laughing Songs, both the beauty and the pain of life are captured.

Blossom

A flower, especially one of a plant yielding edible fruit. The state or period of flowering; bloom. 1. To come into blossom; bloom. 2. To prosper; thrive.

Bodice

An article of dress designed to support or modify the figure. Greek and Roman women sometimes wrapped broad bands about the body. In the Middle Ages a short, close-fitting, laced outer bodice or waist was worn. By the 16th cent. it had become a tight inner bodice, sometimes of leather, stiffened with whalebone, wooden splints, or steel; fashion demanded the slenderest possible waist in contrast with the enormous farthingales and stuffed breeches that were worn. Stays and tight lacing were made for both men and women from the 17th through the 19th cent., except for a brief period following the French Revolution.

Bohemian

A gipsy, an impostor. The first gipsies that entered France came from Bohemia, and appeared before Paris in 1427. They were not allowed to enter the city, but were lodged at La Chapelle St. Denis.
A slang term applied to literary men and artists of loose and irregular habits, living by what they can pick up by their brains.
"Never was there an editor with less about him of the literary Bohemian. A strong contrast to his unhappy contemporary, Chatterton."- Fortnightly Review: Paston Letter.

Braids

1. To weave, interlace, or entwine together, as three or more strands or threads; to form into a braid; to plait.
Braid your locks with rosy twine.
Milton.
2. To mingle, or to bring to a uniformly soft consistence, by beating, rubbing, or straining, as in some culinary operations.

Bridge of Sighs

Which connects the palace of the Doge with the state prisons of Venice. Over this bridge the state prisoners were conveyed from the judgment-hall to the place of execution.
"I stood in Venice, on the Bridge of Sighs,
A palace and a prison on each hand."
Byron: Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, iv. 1:
Waterloo Bridge, in London, used, some years ago, when suicides were frequent there, to be called The Bridge of Sighs.

Brocade

(brokad´), fabric, originally silk, generally reputed to have been developed to a high state of perfection in the 16th and 17th cent. in France, Italy, and Spain. In China the weaving of silk, which dates from the Shang dynasty, developed into complex patterns including moiré, damask, and brocade. Brocade is characterized by a compact warp-effect background with one or more fillings used in the construction to make the motif or figure. The filling threads, often of gold or silver in the original fabrics of this name, float in embossed or embroidered effects in the figures. Motifs may be of flowers, foliage, scrollwork, pastoral scenes, or other design. Its uses include curtaining, hangings, pillows, portieres, evening wraps, and church vestments. Similar techniques are used in the manufacture of brocades made of cotton and synthetic fibers.

Brontë Sisters

Of the three prodigiously gifted Brontë sisters Anne has been judged the least talented. Nonetheless, her novels have been widely praised for their realism, integrity, and moral force. Agnes Grey is the unadorned story of a governess's life and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall tells of a young girl's marriage to a rake. Charlotte Brontë was the most professional of the sisters, consciously trying to achieve financial success from the family's literary efforts. Her novel Jane Eyre, the story of a governess and her passionate love for her Byronic employer, Mr. Rochester, is ranked among the great English novels. Strong, violently emotional, somewhat melodramatic, Jane Eyre brilliantly articulates the theme found in all Charlotte's work the need of women for both love and independence. The undisputed genius of the family was Emily Brontë. An unyielding and enigmatic personality, she produced only one novel and a few poems, yet she is ranked among the giants of English literature. Her masterpiece, Wuthering Heights, is the wild, passionate story of the intense, almost demonic, love between Catherine Earnshaw and the Gypsy foundling Heathcliff. The action of the story is chaotic and unremittingly violent; its characters are less people than forces. Indeed, the novel would be extraordinarily difficult to read were it not for the power of Emily Brontë's vision and the beauty and energy of her prose. In addition, some of her powerful lyrics are counted with the best of English poetry.

Buccaneer

The sellers of smoke-dried meat, from the Caribbean word boucan, smoke-dried meat. The term was first given to the French settlers in Hayti, whose business it was to hunt animals for their skins. The flesh they smoke-dried and sold, chiefly to the Dutch.
When the Spaniards laid claim to all America, many English and French adventurers lived by buccaneering, and hunted Spaniards as lawful prey. After the peace of Ryswick this was no longer tolerated, and the term was then applied to any desperate, lawless, piratical adventurer.

Byzantia

A feminine equivalent to Byzantium, of the Byzantine era. relating to the Byzantine Empire; relating to the style of architecture developed in the Byzantine Empire, characterized by massive domes with square bases, rounded arches, spires and minarets, and the extensive use of mosaics Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire)= the continuation of the Roman Empire in the East created in 395 a.C., esp. after the deposition of the last emperor in Rome (476 a.C.). It was finally extinguished by the fall of Constantinople, its capital, in 1453.

Back to Top

---

C

Callista

The heroine of Rowe's Fair Penitent.
(Greek) most beautiful
Also from Callisto (kelis´to), in Greek mythology, an attendant of Artemis. Because she forsook her chastity and bore a son, Arcas, to Zeus, she was transformed into a bear by Artemis. According to another legend she was changed into a bear by the jealous Hera. Arcas, while out hunting, was about to kill her when Zeus intervened and transferred them both to the heavens, Callisto becoming the constellation Ursa Major [great bear] and Arcas becoming Arcturus.

In Astronomy, one of the 16 moons, or natural satellites, of Jupiter.

Camille

Corot, Jean-Baptiste Camille (zhäN-bätest´ käme´ye kôro´), 1796-1875, French landscape painter, b. Paris. Corot was one of the most influential of 19th-century painters. The son of shopkeepers, he worked in textile shops until 1822, when he began to study painting. The classical landscape painters Michallon and Bertin were his teachers. In 1825 he made his first trip to Italy, during which he painted calm, solid, and exquisitely composed groups of Roman buildings. His later landscapes, more lyrical in tone and painted primarily in shades of gray and green, were more popular. His delicate handling of light is especially evident in Femme à la Perl (Louvre) and Interrupted Reading (Art Inst., Chicago). His work is represented in most of the prominent galleries of England, France, and the United States.

(French) young ceremonial attendant

Capture

(To capture , to behold)

The final labor that Eurystheus gave to Heracles, was what the weak and cowardly king thought was an impossible task; to capture and bring back alive Cerberus, the guard-dog to the entrance of the underworld. This monstrous dog is usually depicted with two, sometimes three or in some versions fifty heads, and its tail and mane were snakes. Cerberus was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna, his master was the god of the underworld, Hades.
Heracles, to prepare himself for this perilous task made his way to Eleusis, to be an initiate in the Eleusinian Mysteries. This he hoped would cleanse him from the deaths of the centaurs, of which he was responsible, also he might learn how to return from the kingdom of the dead.
From Eleusis Heracles traveled to Taenarum in the Peloponnese, and there found the entrance to the underworld. Heracles asked Athena and Hermes to help him, which they did, Hermes led the uncertain hero down into the dim light of the underworld. Close by the gates of Hades there were two living men chained to the rock, as the hero drew closer he recognized them, Pirithous, king of the Lapiths, and Theseus, the king and hero of Athens. They were being punished by Hades for their attempt to take Persephone back to the face of the earth. Heracles set Theseus free, tearing the chains from the rock, but as he attempted to free Pirithous, the rocks shook as if an earthquake had begun, but it was the wrath of Hades, Heracles moved away leaving Pirithous to his fate. Then the hero came face to face with the Lord of the Underworld. Heracles asked Hades if he could take Cerberus back with him to the land of the living. Hades gave his permission, as long as no weapon was used against the huge creature. (in some versions Heracles shot an arrow into the shoulder of Hades).
To capture the monstrous dog, Heracles gripped Cerberus by the throat and wrestled him with his bare hands, overpowering the ferocious beast, then swinging it across his shoulders carried his prize up to the land of the living and back to the court of the king. As Heracles cast the monster at the feet of Eurystheus. The terrified king trembling with fear, asked Heracles to take the monstrous beast back to the underworld, and if he did he would free the hero of his labors.

Cards

In Spain, spades used to be columbines; clubs, rabbits; diamonds, pinks; and hearts, roses. The present name for spades is espados (swords); of clubs, bastos (cudgels); of diamonds, dineros (square pieces of money used for paying wages), of hearts, copas (chalices).
The French for spades is pique (pikemen or soldiers); for clubs, trèfle (clover, or husbandmen); of diamonds, carreaux (building tiles, or artisans); of hearts, choeur (choir-men, or ecclesiasties)
The English spades is the French form of a pike, and the Spanish name; the clubs is the French trefoil, and the Spanish name; the hearts is a corruption of choeur into coeur.
Court cards. So called because of their heraldic devices. The king of clubs originally represented the arms of the Pope; of spades, the King of France; of diamonds, the King of Spain; and of hearts, the King of England. The French kings in cards are called David (spades), Alexander (clubs), Caesar (diamonds), and Charles (hearts)- representing the Jewish, Greek, Roman, and Frankish empires. The queens or dames are Argine- i.e. Juno (hearts), Judith (clubs), Rachel (diamonds), and Pallas (spades) - representing royalty, fortitude, piety, and wisdom. They were likenesses of Marie d'Anjou, the queen of Charles VII., Isabeau, the queen-mother; Agnes Sorel, the king's mistress, and Joan d'Arc, the dame of spades, or war.
He felt that he held the cards in his own hands. That he had the whip-end of the stick; that he had the upper hand, and could do as he liked. The allusion is to games played with cards, such as whist.
He played his cards well. He acted judiciously and skilfully, like a whistplayer who plays his hand with judgment. To play one's cards badly is to manage a project unskilfully.
The cards are in my hands. I hold the disposal of events which will secure success. The allusion is obvious.
"The Vitelli busied at Arezzo; the Orsini irritating the French; the war of Naples imminent;- the cards are in my hands."- Caesar Borgia, xxix.
On the cards. Likely to happen, projected, and talked about as likely to occur. On the programme or card of the races; on the "agenda."
To count on one's cards. To anticipate success under the circumstances. The allusion is to holding in one's hand cards likely to win.
To go in with good cards. To have good patronage; to have excellent grounds for expecting success.
To throw up the cards. To give up as a bad job; to acknowledge you have no hope of success. In some games of cards, as loo, a player has the liberty of saying whether he will play or not, and if one's hand is hopelessly bad he throws up his cards and sits out till the next deal.
My Venus turns out a whelp (Latin). All my swans are changed to geese; my cake is dough. In dice the best cast (three sixes) was called "Venus," and the worst (three aces) was called "Canis." My win-all turns out to be a lose-all.
Hand of Cards The whole deal of cards given to a single player. The cards which he holds in his hand.
"A saint in heaven would griere to see such
`hand'
Cut up by one who will not understand."
Crabbe: Borough.

Carnival

Communal celebration, especially the religious celebration in Catholic countries that takes place just before Lent . Since early times carnivals have been accompanied by parades, masquerades, pageants, and other forms of revelry that had their origins in pre-Christian pagan rites, particularly fertility rites that were connected with the coming of spring and the rebirth of vegetation. One of the first recorded instances of an annual spring festival is the festival of Osiris in Egypt; it commemorated the renewal of life brought about by the yearly flooding of the Nile. In Athens, during the 6th cent. BC, a yearly celebration in honor of the god Dionysus was the first recorded instance of the use of a float. It was during the Roman Empire that carnivals reached an unparalleled peak of civil disorder and licentiousness. The major Roman carnivals were the Bacchanalia, the Saturnalia, and the Lupercalia. In Europe the tradition of spring fertility celebrations persisted well into Christian times, where carnivals reached their peak during the 14th and 15th cent. Because carnivals are deeply rooted in pagan superstitions and the folklore of Europe, the Roman Catholic Church was unable to stamp them out and finally accepted many of them as part of church activity. The immediate consequence of church influence may be seen in the medieval Feast of Fools, which included a mock Mass and a blasphemous impersonation of church officials. Eventually, however, the power of the church made itself felt, and the carnival was stripped of its most offending elements. The church succeeded in dominating the activities of the carnivals, and eventually they became directly related to the coming of Lent. The major celebrations are generally on Shrove Tuesday (see Mardi Gras ); however, in Germany the carnival season, or Fasching, begins on the Epiphany (Jan. 6) in Bavaria and on Nov. 11 in the Rhineland. In recent times, the term carnivalhas also been loosely applied to include local festivals, traveling circuses, bazaars, and other celebrations of a joyous nature, regardless of their purpose or their season.

Cassandra

"She who entangles men"
Daughter to Priam and Hecabe of Troy, Cassandra had received the power of prophecy from Apolloand when Paris was born to the king and queen, she declared that the boy would be the ruination of the city.
Cassandra was the most beautiful of the daughters of Priam and Hecuba, the king and queen of Troy. She was given the gift of prophecy by Apollo, who wished to seduce her; when she accepted his gift but refused his sexual advances, he deprived her prophecies of the power to persuade.
At the end of the Trojan War, Cassandra foresaw the danger posed by the Trojan horse; the people of Troy ignored her warnings and the Greek soldiers hiding inside the horse were able to capture the city. During the sack of Troy, Cassandra was raped by the Locrian (or "lesser") Ajax, and was then given as a war prize to Agamemnon. She returned to Greece with Agamemnon, and tried to warn him of the danger which awaited him there; once again her prophecy was ignored, and both she and Agamemnon were murdered by Clytemnestra and Aegisthus.

Castillian

A citizen from Castile. (kastel´), Span. Castilla, historic region and former kingdom, central and N Spain, traditionally divided into Old Castile and New Castile, and now divided into Castile-La Mancha and Castile-Leon. Castile is generally a vast, sparsely populated region surrounding the highly industrialized Madrid area. It includes most of the high plateau of central Spain, across which rise the rugged Sierra de Guadarrama and the Sierra de Gredos, forming a natural boundary between Old and New Castile. The upper Duero, the Tagus, and Guadiana rivers form the chief valleys etched into the plateau. The soil of Castile, ravaged by centuries of erosion, is poor, and rainfall is sparse.

Castle

In the Middle East the Crusaders developed great castles with double circuits of curving outer walls and towers or turrets to overlook all sections of the wall. The form of these castles had an influence throughout the Continent and the British Isles. Thus early in the 13th cent. the medieval castle, a mixture of Norman, English, and Byzantine elements, reached its full flower, as typified in the Château Gaillard on the Seine in France and in Alnwick and the Conisborough in England.In general, the castle was planned for security; the living quarters were rude, poorly lighted, and without provisions for comfort. Typically, the keep contained the living quarters of the lord and his family, the rooms of state, and the prison cells. Two independent systems of walls, each a fortress in itself, extended around the keep; the sections of the walls were flanked by towers, usually round, and the principal entrance was protected by strong gate towers, the massive gateway, with its portcullis and drawbridge, and the barbican, or advanced outwork.

Catalonian

A citizen of Calalonia.
Trade has been active along the coast since Greek and Roman times. The history of medieval Catalonia is that of the counts of Barcelona, who emerged (9th cent.) as the chief lords in the Spanish March founded by Charlemagne. United (1137) with Aragón through marriage (see Raymond Berengar IV ), Catalonia nevertheless preserved its own laws, its cortes, and its own language (akin to Provençal). Catalan art and literature flourished in the Middle Ages. In the cities, notably Barcelona, the burgher and merchant classes grew very powerful.Catalan traders rivaled those of Genoa and Venice, and their maritime code was widely used in the 14th cent. They, and adventurers like Roger de Flor, were largely responsible for the expansion in the Mediterranean of the house of Aragón. Catalonia failed in its rebellion (1461-72) against John II of Aragón, and after the union (1479) of Aragón and Castile, Catalonia declined. The centralizing policy of the Spanish kings, the shifting of trade routes with the consequent loss of commercial income, pirate attacks, and recurring plagues and famines were all major factors.Agitation for autonomy was always strong. In the Thirty Years War (1618-48), Catalonia rose against Philip IV, and in the War of the Spanish Succession it sided with Archduke Charles against Philip V, who in reprisal deprived it of its privileges. In the late 19th and early 20th cent. it was a center of socialist and anarchist strength. In 1931 the Catalans established a separate government, first under Francisco Macía, then under Luis Companys, which in 1932 won autonomy from the Spanish Cortes. A revolution (1934) for complete independence failed, but in 1936 autonomy was restored. In the civil war of 1936-39, Loyalist Catalonia sided with the Republic and suffered heavily for its opposition to Franco. Barcelona was the Loyalist capital from Oct., 1937, to Jan., 1939. Catalonia fell to Franco in Feb., 1939. Catalonia elected its first parliament as an autonomous region in 1980, and in the mid-1990s the Catalan nationalist coalition became a force in national politics.

Cavalier

In general, an armed horseman. In the English civil war the supporters of Charles I were called Cavaliers in contradistinction to the Roundheads. the followers of Parliament. The royalists used the designation until it was replaced by Tory.

Celestine

From the Latin caelestis...celestial, referring to the sky-blue color. Celestine, strontium sulphate, occurs as a sedimentary deposit, associated with rock-salt, gypsum and clay.
Celestine is the most common strontium mineral and the main ore. Strontium compounds burn with a crimson flame and are used in the manufacture of flares, fuses and fireworks; they are also used in manufacture of plastics and paints.

Ceremony

When the Romans fled before Brennus, one Albinus, who was carrying his wife and children in a cart to a place of safety, overtook at Janiculum the Vestal virgins bending under their load, took them up and conveyed them to Cærë, in Etruria. Here they remained, and continued to perform their sacred rites, which were consequently called "Cære-monia." (Livy, v.)

Charlemagne

(shär´leman)(Charles the Great or Charles I)[O.Fr.,Charles the great], 742?-814, emperor of the West (800-814), Carolingian king of the Franks (768-814).
In his daily life Charlemagne affected the simple manners of his Frankish forebears, wore Frankish clothes, and led a frugal existence. He was beatified after his death and in some churches has been honored as a saint. Surrounded by his legendary 12 paladins, he became the central figure of a cycle of romance. At first, legend pictured him as the champion of Christendom; later he appeared as a vacillating old man, almost a comic figure.

Chatelaine

/"tlen/ noun 1 mistress of large house. 2 historical appendage to woman's belt for carrying keys etc.

Clubs

It is said that there never was a good hand of cards containing four clubs. Such a hand is called "The Devil's Four-poster." Lieuben, a German lunatic, bet that he would succeed in turning up a pack of cards in a certain order stated in a written agreement. He turned and turned the cards ten hours a day for twenty years, and repeated the operation 4,246,028 times, when at last he succeeded.

Color

Symbolism of Colors whether displayed in dresses, the background of pictures, or otherwise:
Black typifies grief, death.
Blue, hope, love of divine works; (in dresses) divine contemplation, piety, sincerity.
Pale blue, peace, Christian prudence, love of good works, a serene conscience.
Gold, glory and power.
Green, faith, gladness, immortality, the resurrection of the just; (in dresses) the gladness of the faithful.
Pale green, baptism.
Grey, tribulation.
Purple, justice, royalty.
Red, martyrdom for faith, charity; (in dresses) divine love.
Rose-colour, martyrdom. Innocent III. says of martyrs and apostles, "Hi et illi sunt flores rosarum et lilia convallium. " (De Sacr, alto Myst., i. 64.)
Saffron, confessors.
Scarlet, the fervour and glory of witnesses to the Church.
Silver, chastity and purity.
Violet, penitence.
White, purity, temperance, innocence, chastity, faith; (in dresses) innocence and purity.

Confession

A man's very highest moment is, I have no doubt at all, when he kneels in the dust, and beats his breast, and tells all the sins of his life.
~ Oscar Wilde ~

Conquistador

Military leader in the Spanish conquest of the New World in the 16th cent. Francisco Pizarro , the conqueror of Peru, and Hernán Cortés , the conqueror of Mexico, were the greatest of the conquistadors. The name is frequently used to mean any daring, ruthless adventurer.

Constance

1154-98, Holy Roman empress, wife of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI ; daughter of King Roger II of Sicily. She was named heiress of Sicily by her nephew King William II. On his death, however (1189), the Sicilian nobles, wishing to prevent German rule in Sicily, chose Constance's nephew Tancred of Lecce as William's successor. Henry VI conducted an unsuccessful campaign (1191) against Tancred during which Constance was captured but soon released. After Tancred's death (1194) Henry was crowned king of Sicily. When he died (1197) all of Italy revolted against German rule. In order to save the throne of Sicily for her infant son Frederick (later Holy Roman emperor as Frederick II). Constance renounced the German kingship for Frederick and had him crowned (1198) king of Sicily. She was regent for her son; before her death she named Pope Innocent III his guardian.
1154-98, Holy Roman empress, wife of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI ; daughter of King Roger II of Sicily. She was named heiress of Sicily by her nephew King William II. On his death, however (1189), the Sicilian nobles, wishing to prevent German rule in Sicily, chose Constance's nephew Tancred of Lecce as William's successor. Henry VI conducted an unsuccessful campaign (1191) against Tancred during which Constance was captured but soon released. After Tancred's death (1194) Henry was crowned king of Sicily. When he died (1197) all of Italy evolted against German rule. In order to save the throne of Sicily for her infant son Frederick (later Holy Roman emperor as Frederick II ), Constance renounced the German kingship for Frederick and had him crowned (1198) king of Sicily. She was regent for her son; before her death she named Pope Innocent III his guardian.

Coronation

1. Coronation,ceremony of crowning and anointing a sovereign on his or her accession to the throne. Although a public ceremony inaugurating a new king or chief had long existed, a new religious service was added when Europe became Christianized. The service, derived from Old Testament accounts of the anointing of Saul .

2. Sconeskoon, village, Perth and Kinross, central Scotland. Old Scone, west of the modern village of New Scone, was the repository of the Coronation Stone (see under coronation) and the coronation place of Scottish kings from Kenneth I to Charles II. The 12th-century abbey, razed by Protestants in 1559, stood on the sit...

Corset

The bodice, le corsage, while it remained on the whole as it had been, was now laced at the back instead of the front; the sewn-on skirt had a slit at the back. The change was due to the adoption of the English corset, which was laced at the back. It came into fashion soon after the year 1700, and was very quickly adopted. Like the French type (which was laced in front), this corset was covered with beautiful material and worn instead of a bodice. The English corset, unlike the French, was an arrangement of whalebone rods, from 4-6 cm. Broad and 1 cm. Thick, which went all round the body, even across the breast. A stout wire at the top kept it in the proper convex shape. The rigidity of the corset was increased by having the foot of the central front section doubly strengthened with whalebone laid longitudinally and across. It was made so that an edge projected. To produce this edge the coarse linen lining was cut several centimetres narrower at the foot than the material covering the corset. When it was sewn to the edges of the material the latter was bent upward. At the back and in front the English corset had broad laces which were passed over the top of the skirt to keep it down, while the narrow laces at the side were hidden under the skirt. In the front of this corset, in the top of the lining -as in the front bib (la piece) of the French corset -a small pocket was made to hold fragrant herbs. Both the French and the English styles were laced from the foot upward.

Cosmetics

Preparations externally applied to change or enhance the beauty of skin, hair, nails, lips, and eyes. The use of body paint for ornamental and religious purposes has been common among primitive peoples from prehistoric times for body marking. Ointments, balms, powders, and hair dyes have also been used from ancient times. Many cosmetics originated in Asia, but their ingredients and use are first recorded in Egypt; ancient tombs have yielded cosmetic jars (called kohl pots) and applicators (called cosmetic spoons). The Egyptians used kohl to darken their eyes; a crude paint was used on the face, and fingers were often dyed with henna. Greek women used charcoal pencils and rouge sticks of alkanet and coated their faces with powder, which often contained dangerous lead compounds. Beauty aids reached a peak in imperial Rome especially chalk for the face and a rouge called fucus and ladies required the services of slaves adept in their use. Many cosmetics survived the Middle Ages, and Crusaders brought back rare Eastern oils and perfumes. In the Renaissance, cosmetics, usually white-lead powder and vermilion, were used extravagantly. From the 17th cent. recipes and books on the toilette abounded. Professional cosmetologists began to appear, and luxurious prescriptions often included a bath in wine or milk. At its height in 1760, the use of cosmetics virtually disappeared with the advent of the French Revolution. The year 1900 saw a revival of their use, accompanied by the manufacture of beauty aids on a scientific basis in France. Since then the industry has grown to tremendous proportions with products manufactured for every conceivable use. In the United States, cosmetics intended for interstate commerce are controlled under the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938.

Costume & Clothing

The change from ancient to medieval costume began (c.400) with the disintegration of the Roman Empire. Roman attire, which had previously assimilated the elaborate features of Byzantine dress, was gradually affected by the austere costume of the barbaric invader. Both men and women wore a double tunic; the under tunic, or chemise, had long tight sleeves (a feature that remained until the 17th cent.) and a high neck; the girded wool overtunic, or robe, often had loose sleeves. A mantle, or indoor cloak, was also worn. After 1200 a great variety of fine fabrics from the East were available as a result of the Crusades, and the elegant dress of feudal Europe was evolved. With the introduction of various ways of cutting the basic garment, fashion , or style, began. A long, girded tunic, then called the cote or cotte, continued to be worn over the chemise by both men and women; a surcote (sleeveless and with wide armholes) was often worn over it. At this time family crests, or coats of arms (see blazonry ; heraldry ; crest ), became popular, and particolored garments came into vogue. Proper fit was increasingly emphasized, and by 1300 tailoring had become important and buttons had become useful as well as ornamental. The belted cote-hardie, with a close-fitting body and short skirt, was worn over a tighter, long-sleeved doublet and a chemise. And, as men's legs were now exposed, hose were emphasized. The introduction (c.1350) of the houppelande, or overcoat, marked the first real appearance of the collar. Over a chemise and corset women wore a gown with a V neck and a long, flowing train; the front of the skirt was often tucked into the high-waisted belt. In its extreme, the style of the period was typified by profuse dagging (scalloped edges), exaggerated, hanging sleeves, pointed slippers, and fantastic headdresses

In the 18th cent. France, under the rule of Louis XIV, became the costume center of the world, with Mme Pompadour, Mme du Barry, and Marie Antoinette successively dictating the fashions of the day. It was the age of the wig, of rococo settings, of delicate pastels and flower-patterned silks, and of embroidery . Early in the century Rousseau's ideas affected style of dress. Women's costume became graceful and pastoral; the pointed bodice, tightly laced, was finished with a triangular scarf, or fichu, at the neck, and sleeves were ruffled at the elbow. The bell-shaped hoop appeared c.1710, and c.1735 side hoops, or panniers, were popular. Women's costume, which at this period became extremely formal, was gradually softened into a romantic look (as in portraits by Gainsborough) that anticipated the Empire style .The 18th-century man first wore a knee-length cassock that buttoned all the way down over an equally long waistcoat, and buckled knee breeches. As the century progressed, the waistcoat became shorter, the skirt of the coat began to form tails, the collar became higher, and the sleeves and breeches became tighter.
After 1450 there was a reversal in fashion from the pointed Gothic look to the square look of the Renaissance. The style in its exaggerated form is best represented in Holbein's paintings of the English court of Henry VIII. Men's costume had wide, square shoulders with puffed sleeves, padded doublets, bombasted upperstocks, or trunk hose, short gowns (cloaks), and square-toed shoes. The doublet, now sleeveless, was worn over the shirt (formerly the chemise) and under the jerkin.Women wore a square-necked gown with the bodice laced up the front and attached to the gathered skirt at the hips; the front of the skirt was often open, to reveal decorative petticoats. These, together with a preference for rich, heavy materials, especially velvet, and a fad for profuse slashing and puffing of the under material seen through the slash, created a massive and bulky appearance.In Elizabethan England (c.1550) the costume was stiffened, and the appearance was less bulky. Both men and women wore the characteristic shoulder wings, pointed stomacher, and starched ruff and cuffs made of lace . Materials were heavy and lustrous and considerable ornamentation was used. Men wore a short cape, and their trunk hose were unpadded, longer, and generally made in sections, or paned. Women wore exaggerated farthingales, or hoops.

The early 17th-century English costume was less formal, with a softer line created by satin and silk materials. The period of the Cavalier and Puritan is captured in the court paintings of Van Dyck and in the early work of Rembrandt. Men characteristically wore pantaloon breeches (full trunk hose), high boots, a broad, falling lace or linen collar and cuffs, and a full cloak. In women's costume, the arms began to be displayed and necklines were lower. The bodice was finished with a wide, round collar, or bertha, at the neck, and a flared, pleated, or ruffled skirtlike section, or peplum, was added at the waist. The apron was often a permanent part of the skirt.In England after 1660 the dress of the Restoration period became extravagantly decorative, using ribbons, flounces, and feathers. The dandies of the period wore petticoat breeches, full-sleeved cambric shirts, and bolerolike doublets. Sir Peter Lely's court paintings show excellent examples of such costume.

Courtesan

Prostitute, or the mistress of a man of rank.

Covenant

(tab´ernakel), in the Bible, the portable holy place of the Hebrews during their desert wanderings. It was a tent, like the portable tent-shrines used by ancient Semites, set up in each camp; eventually it housed the Ark of the Covenant. In the Book of Numbers, the Tabernacle is referred to as the Tent of Meeting when it functioned as the place for divine revelation to Moses. The Tabernacle rested in Shiloh before it was finally placed in Jerusalem. David kept the Ark of the Covenant inside it. During Solomon's reign, the Tabernacle was replaced by the Temple as a sign that God had given his people rest from their wandering. The term is also applied to the small receptacle, used in the Roman Catholic Church, in which the Host in the ciborium is reserved on the altar.

Crepe

Crepekrap, thin fabric of crinkled texture, woven originally in silk but now available in all major fibers. There are two kinds of crepe. The hard-finished, typically dyed black and used for mourning (which tends to retain the old spelling crape), is made of hand-twisted silk yarn and finished by a rather complex trad...

Cross

The cross is said to have been made of four sorts of wood (palm, cedar, olive, and cypress), to signify the four quarters of the globe.
"Ligna crucis palma, cedrus, cupressus,oliva."
We are accustomed to consider the sign of the cross as wholly a Christian symbol, originating with the crucifixion of our Redeemer. This is quite erroneous. In ancient Carthage it was used for ornamental purposes. Runic crosses were set up by the Scandinavians as boundary marks, and were erected over the graves of kings and heroes. Cicero tells us (De Divinatione, ii. 27, and 80, 81) that the augur's staff with which they marked out the heaven was a cross. The ancient Egyptians employed the same as a sacred symbol, and we see on Greek sculptures, etc., a cake with a cross; two such buns were discovered at Herculaneum.
It was a sacred symbol among the Aztecs long before the landing of Cortes. (Malinche. In Cozumel it was an object of worship; in Tabasco it symbolised the god of rain; in Palinque (the Palmyra of America) it is sculptured on the walls with a child held up adoring it.
"The cross is not only a Christian symbol, it was also a Mexican symbol. It was one of the emblems of Quetzalcoatl, as lord of the four cardinal points, and the four winds that blow therefrom." - Fiske: Discovery of America, vol. ii. chap. viii. p. 250.)
Cross (in heraldry). There are twelve crosses in heraldry, called (1) the ordinary cross; (2) the cross humetté, or couped; (3) the cross urdé, or pointed; (4) the cross potent; (5) the cross crosslet; (6) the cross botonné, or treflé; (7) the cross moline; (8) the cross potence; (9) the cross fleury; (10) the cross patê; (11) the Maltese cross (or eight-pointed cross); (12) the cross cleché and fitché. Some heraldic writers enumerate 285 different kinds of crosses.
Cross (a mystic emblem) may be reduced to these four:
The Greek cross , found on Assyrian tablets, Egyptian and Persian monuments, and on Etruscan pottery.
The crux decussata , generally called St. Andrew's cross. Quite common in ancient sculpture.
The Latin cross , or "crux immissa." This symbol is also found on coins, monuments, and medals, long before the Christian era.
The tau cross , or "crux commissa." Very ancient indeed, and supposed to be a phallic emblem.
The tau cross with a handle is common to several Egyptian deities, as Isis, Osiris, etc.; and is the emblem of immortality and life generally.
Everyone must bear his own cross. His own burden or troubles. The allusion is to the law that the person condemned to be crucified was to carry his cross to the place of execution.

Crusader

Crusader \Cru*sad"er\ n. One engaged in a crusade; as, the crusaders of the Middle Ages.

Azure-eyed and golden-haired, Forth the young crusaders fared. --Longfellow.

Cupid

The so-called god of love. This bastard creation of a barbarous fancy was no doubt inflicted upon mythology for the sins of its deities. Of all unbeautiful and inappropriate conceptions this is the most reasonless and offensive. The notion of symbolizing sexual love by semisexless babe,
And comparing the pains of passion to the wounds of an arrow- of introducing this pudgy homunculus into art grossly to materialize the subtle spirit and suggestion of the work-this is eminently worthy of the age that, giving its birth, laid it on the doorstep of posterity.

Cyrene

Ancient city, N Africa. It was founded c.630 BC by a group of emigrants from the island of Thera. Their leader, Battus, became the first king; his dynasty ruled until c.440 BC. Under the aegis of Ptolemaic Egypt (from 323 BC), Cyrene became one of the great intellectual centers of the classical world, boasting such scholars as Eratosthenes and Aristippus, founder of the Cyrenaics. Taken by the Romans in 96 BC, it later declined and with the Arab conquest of AD 642 ceased to exist. Areas of the old city have been excavated, uncovering impressive ruins.

Back to Top

---

D

Dagger

The oldest known article of iron shaped by hammering is a dagger found in Egypt that was made before 1350 BC This dagger is believed not to have been made in Egypt but to be of Hittite workmanship. The use of smelted iron ornaments and ceremonial weapons became common during the period extending from 1900 to 1400 BC About this time, the invention of tempering (ie forging) was made by the Chalybes of the Hittite empire. It is possible that the Hittite kings kept ironworking techniques secret and restricted export of iron weapons. After the downfall of the Hittite empire in 1200 BC, the great waves of migrants spreading through S Europe and the Middle East insured the rapid transmission of iron technology. In Europe knowledge of iron smelting was acquired in Greece and the Balkans, and somewhat later in N Italy (Etruscan civilization ; Villanovan culture ) and central Europe. The Early Iron Age in central Europe, dating from c.800 BC to c.500 BC, is known as the Hallstatt period. Celtic migrations, beginning in the 5th cent. BC, spread the use of iron into W Europe and to the British Isles. The Late Iron Age in Europe, which is dated from this period, is called La Tène . The casting of iron did not become technically useful until the Industrial Revolution. The people of the Iron Age developed the basic economic innovations of the Bronze Age and laid the foundations for feudal organization. They utilized the crops and domesticated animals introduced earlier from the Middle East. Ox-drawn plows and wheeled vehicles acquired a new importance and changed the agricultural patterns. For the first time humans were able to exploit efficiently the temperate forests. Villages were fortified, warfare was conducted on horseback and in horse-drawn chariots, and alphabetic writing based on the Phoenician script became widespread. Distinctive art styles in metal, pottery, and stone characterized many Iron Age cultures.

Damask

Damask dam´esk[from Damascus], fabric of silk, wool, linen, cotton, or man-made fibers, with a pattern formed by the weaving; e.g., the ground may be in twill weave, and the contrasting design in satin. True damasks are flat and reversible, thus differing from brocades. Splendid patterns, silks, and dyes were used by textile makers

Damsel

(Dam"sel) n. [OE. damosel, damesel, damisel, damsel, fr. OF. damoisele, damisele, gentlewoman, F. demoiselle young lady; cf. OF. damoisel young nobleman, F. damoiseau; fr. LL. domicella, dominicella, fem., domicellus, dominicellus, masc., dim. fr. L. domina, dominus.]
1. A young person, either male or female, of noble or gentle extraction; as, Damsel Pepin; Damsel Richard, Prince of Wales. [Obs.]
2. A young unmarried woman; a girl; a maiden.
With her train of damsels she was gone,
In shady walks the scorching heat to shun.
Dryden.
Sometimes a troop of damsels glad, . . .
Goes by to towered Camelot.
Tennyson.

Dante

Born into a Guelph family (see Guelphs and Ghibellines) of decayed nobility, Dante moved in patrician society. He was a member of the Florentine cavalry that routed the Ghibellines at Campaldino in 1289. The next year, after the death (1290) of Beatrice, the woman he loved, he plunged into intense study of classical philosophy.

Dante's reputation as the outstanding figure of Italian letters rests mainly on the Divine Comedy, a long vernacular poem in 100 cantos (more than 14,000 lines) composed during his exile. Dante entitled it Commedia; the adjective Divina was added in the 16th cent. It recounts the tale of the poet's journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, and is divided accordingly into three parts. In Hell and Purgatory Dante is guided by Vergil, through Heaven, by Beatrice, for whom the poem is a memorial. The work is written in terza rima, a complex verse form in pentameter, with interlocking triads rhyming aba, bcb, cdc, etc.

Daydream

(Day"dream`) n. A vain fancy speculation; a reverie; a castle in the air; unfounded hope.Mrs. Lambert's little daydream was over.
A dream of the imagination when the eyes are awake.

Decadence

(De*ca"dence De*ca"den*cy) n. [LL. decadentia; L. de- + cadere to fall: cf. F. décadence.] A falling away; decay; deterioration; declension. "The old castle, where the family lived in their decadence." Sir W. Scott.

Deception

(De*cep"ti*ble) a. Capable of being deceived; deceivable. Sir T. Browne. - De*cep`ti*bil"i*ty n.
(De*cep"tion) n. [F. déception, L. deceptio, fr. decipere, deceptum.]
1. The act of deceiving or misleading. South.
2. The state of being deceived or misled.
There is one thing relating either to the action or enjoyments of man in which he is not liable to deception.
South.
3. That which deceives or is intended to deceive; false representation; artifice; cheat; fraud.
There was of course room for vast deception.
Motley.
Syn. -Deception, deceit, fraud, imposition. Deception usually refers to the act, and deceit to the habit of the mind; hence we speak of a person as skilled in deception and addicted to deceit. The practice of deceit springs altogether from design, and that of the worst kind; but a deception does not always imply aim and intention. It may be undesigned or accidental. An imposition is an act of deception practiced upon some one to his annoyance or injury; a fraud implies the use of stratagem, with a view to some unlawful gain or advantage.

"Doubtless the pleasure is as great
Of being cheated as to cheat:
As lookers-on feel most delight
That least perceive a juggler's sleight,
And still the less they understand,
The more they admire his sleight of hand."
Butler: Hudibras, part ii. 3.

Deities

Deities
Air: Ariel, Elves (singular, Elf).
Caves or Caverns: Hill-people (Hög-folk, hög = height).
Corn: Ceres (2 syl.) (Greek, Demeter).
Domestic Life: Vesta.
Eloquence: Mercury (Greek, Hermes).
Evening: Vesper.
Fates (The): Three in number (Greek, Parcæ, Moiræ, 2 syl., Keres).
Fire: Vulcan (Greek, Hephaistos, 3 syl.), Vesta, Mulciber.
Fairies: (q.v.).
Furies: Three in number (Greek, Eumenides, 4 syl., Erinnyes)
Gardens: Priapus, Vertumnus with his wife Pomona.
Graces (The): Three in number (Greek, Charites).
Hills: Trolls. There are also Wood Trolls and Water Trolls. (See below Mountains.)
Home Spirits (q.v.): Penates (3 syl.), Lares (2 syl.).
Hunting: Diana (Greek, Artemis).
Infernal Regions: Pluto, with his wife Proserpine, 3 syl. (Greek, Aides and Persephone).
Justice: Themis, Astræa, Nemesis.
Love: Cupid (Greek, Eros).
Marriage: Hymen.
Medicine: Æsculapius.
Mines: Trolls.
Morning: Aurora (Greek, Eos).
Mountains: Oreads or Oreades (4 syl.), from the Greek, oros a mountain; Trolls.
Ocean (The): Oceanides.
Poetry and Music: Apollo, the nine Muses.
Rainbow (The): Iris.
Riches: Plutus. Shakespeare speaks of "Plutus' mine," (Julius Caesar, iv. 3).
Rivers and Streams: Fluviales, 4 syl. (Greek, Potameides, 5 syl.).
Sea (The): Neptune (Greek, Poseidon, 3 syl.), his son Triton, Necks, Mermaids, Nereids (3 syl.). (See Sea.)
Shepherds and their Flocks: Pan, the Satyrs.
Springs, Lakes, Brooks, etc.: Nereides or Naiads (2 syl.).
Time: Saturn (Greek, Chronos).
War: Mars (Greek, Ares), Bellona, Thor.
Water-nymphs: Naiads (2 syl.), Undine (2 syl.).
Winds (The): Æolus.
Wine: Bacchus (Greek, Dionysos).
Wisdom: Minerva (Greek, Pallas, Athene or Pallas-Athene).
Woods: Dryads (A Hama-Dryad presides over some particular tree), Wood-Trolls.
Youth: Hebe

Demetra

Demetra from the name Demeter. Meaning: DEMETER (f) "earth mother" from Greek de "earth" and meter "mother". In Greek mythology Demeter was the goddess of agriculture, the daughter of Cronus, the sister of Zeus, and the mother of Persephone.

Desdemona

Desdemona (in Shakespeare's Othello). Daughter of Brabantio. She fell in love with Othello, and eloped with him. Iago, acting on the jealous temper of the Moor, made him believe that his wife had an intrigue with Cassio, and in confirmation of this statement told the Moor that she had given Cassio a pocket-handkerchief, the fact being that Iago's wife, to gratify her husband, had purloined it. Othello asked his bride for it, but she was unable to find it; whereupon the Moor murdered her and then stabbed himself.
"She ... was ready to listen and weep, like Desdemona, at the stories of his dangers and campaigns." - Thackeray.

Desert

(Des"ert) n. [F. désert, L. desertum, from desertus solitary, desert, pp. of deserere to desert; de- + serere to join together. See Series.]
1. A deserted or forsaken region; a barren tract incapable of supporting population, as the vast sand plains of Asia and Africa which are destitute of moisture and vegetation.
A dreary desert and a gloomy waste.
Pope.
2. A tract, which may be capable of sustaining a population, but has been left unoccupied and uncultivated; a wilderness; a solitary place.
He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord.
Is. li. 3.
Also figuratively.
Before her extended
Dreary and vast and silent, the desert of life.
Longfellow.

Desiderata

n.; pl. Desiderata [L., fr. desideratus, p. p. See Desiderate.] Anything desired; that of which the lack is felt; a want generally felt and acknowledge.

Desire

(De*sire"), n. [F. désir, fr. désirer. See Desire, v. t.]
1. The natural longing that is excited by the enjoyment or the thought of any good, and impels to action or effort its continuance or possession; an eager wish to obtain or enjoy.
Unspeakable desire to see and know.
Milton.
Syn. - Wish; appetency; craving; inclination; eagerness; aspiration; longing. 2. An expressed wish; a request; petition.
And slowly was my mother brought
To yield consent to my desire.
Tennyson.
3. Anything which is desired; an object of longing.
The Desire of all nations shall come.
Hag. ii. 7.
4. Excessive or morbid longing; lust; appetite.
5. Grief; regret. [Obs.] Chapman.

There are two tragedies in life. One is nor to get your heart's desire.
The other is to get it.
-Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman,IV

Destiny

A Tyrant's authority for crime and a fool's excuse for failure.

No man of woman born,
Coward or brave, can shun his destiny.
-HOMER, Iliad, VI (Bryant translation)

If God in His wisdom have brought close
The day when I must die,
That day by water or fire or air
My feet shall fall in the destined snare
Wherever my road may lie.
-D.G. ROSSETTI, The King's Tragedy

Diamonds

One of a suit in a conventional pack of playing cards, stamped with the red figure of a diamond shape: she led a losing diamond.

Dolorosa

Filia Dolorosa The Duchesse d'Angoulême, daughter of Louis XVI., also called the modern Antigone. (1778-1851.)

Dominica

(Latin) belonging to the Lord
(domine´ke), officially Commonwealth of Dominica, republic, consists of the island of Dominica (290 sq mi/750 sq km), located in the Windward Islands, West Indies. Roseau is the capital and chief port. The island, of volcanic origin, is mountainous and forested, with fertile soil. Dominica is subject to frequent destructive hurricanes.

Draconian

(Dra*co"ni*an) a. Pertaining to Draco, a famous lawgiver of Athens, 621 b.c.Draconian code, or Draconian laws, a code of laws made by Draco. Their measures were so severe that they were said to be written in letters of blood; hence, any laws of excessive rigor.

Back to Top

---

E

Elegiac

To lament in an elegy; to celebrate in elegiac verse; to bewail. Carlyle.
[L. elegia, Gr. fem. sing. fr. elegiac, fr. a song of mourning.] A mournful or plaintive poem; a funereal song; a poem of lamentation. Shak.

Elyria

(eler´ee), city, seat of Lorain co., N Ohio, on the Black River; inc. 1833. It is an industrial center in a farm region. Its manufactures include plastics, automotive parts, motors, tools, and machine and foundry products. Cascade Park, with waterfalls, caves, nature trails, and a zoo, is in the heart of the city.

Elysian

(E*ly"sian) a. [L. Elysius, fr. Elysium.] Pertaining, or the abode of the blessed after death; hence, yielding the highest pleasures; exceedingly delightful; beatific. "Elysian shades." Massinger. "Elysian age." Beattie.
This life of mortal breath
Is but a suburb of the life elysian.
Longfellow.
Elysian Fields. The Paradise or Happy Land of the Greek poets. Elysian (the adjective) means happy, delightful.
"O'er which were shadowy cast Elysian gleams." Thomson: Castle of Indolence, i.44.
"Would take the prisoned soul,
And lap it in Elysium."
Milton: Comus, 261-2.

Emmeline

In Dryden's King Arthur, a blind girl, daughter of Duke Conon of Cornwall. She was promised to Arthur but Oswald, the Saxon King of Kent, carried her off. Merlin restored her sight when she was still a prisoner and Arthur eventually defeated Oswald and rescued her.

Empress

(Em"press) n. [OE. empress, emperice, OF. empereis, empereris, fr. L. imperatrix, fem. of imperator.]
1. The consort of an emperor. Shak.
2. A female sovereign.
3. A sovereign mistress. "Empress of my soul." Shak.

Enigma

(E*nig"ma) n.; pl. enigmas (- maz). [L. aenigma, Gr. a'i`nigma, fr. a'ini`ssesqai to speak darkly, fr. a'i^nos tale, fable.]
1. A dark, obscure, or inexplicable saying; a riddle; a statement, the hidden meaning of which is to be discovered or guessed.
A custom was among the ancients of proposing an enigma at festivals.
Pope.
2. An action, mode of action, or thing, which cannot be satisfactorily explained; a puzzle; as, his conduct is an enigma.

Enigmata

Relating to or resembling an enigma; not easily explained or accounted for; darkly expressed; obscure; puzzling; as, an enigmatical answer.
adv. Darkly; obscurely.

Ensign

Ensign (French, enseigner.)
Of ancient Athens. An owl.
America. The Stars and Stripes.
The British Navy. The Union Jack (q. v.). The white ensign (Royal Navy) is the banner of St. George with the Jack cantoned in the first quarter. The red ensign is that of the merchant service.
The blue ensign is that of the navy reserve.
China. A dragon.
Ancient Corinth. A flying horse - i.e. Pegasos.
Ancient Danes. A raven.
Ancient Egypt. A bull, a crocodile, a vulture.
England (in the Tudor era). St. George's cross.
Ancient France. The cape of St. Martin; then the oriflamme.
The Franks (Ripuarian). A sword with the point upwards.
The Franks (Salian). A bull's head.
The Gauls. A wolf, bear, bull, cock.
The ancient Lacedemonians. The Greek capital letter L (lambda).
The ancient Messenians. The Greek letter mu (M).
The ancient Persians. A golden eagle with outstretched wings on a white field; a dove; the sun.
The Paisdadian dynasty of Persia. A blacksmith's apron.
The ancient Romans. An eagle for the legion; a wolf, a horse, a boar, etc.
Romulus. A handful of hay or fern (manipulus).
The ancient Saxons. A trotting horse.
The ancient Thebans. A sphinx.
The Turks. Horses' tails.
The ancient Welsh. A dragon.

Equinox

1. The time when the sun enters one of the equinoctial points, that is, about March 21 and September 22.
When descends on the Atlantic
The gigantic
Stormwind of the equinox.
Longfellow.
2. Equinoctial wind or storm. [R.] Dryden.

Eriphilia

Eriphila The personification of avarice, who guards the path that leads to pleasure, in Orlando Furioso, vi. 61.

Ethereal

1. Pertaining to the hypothetical upper, purer air, or to the higher regions beyond the earth or beyond the atmosphere; celestial; as, ethereal space; ethereal regions.
Go, heavenly guest, ethereal messenger.
Milton.
2. Consisting of ether; hence, exceedingly light or airy; tenuous; spiritlike; characterized by extreme delicacy, as form, manner, thought, etc.
Vast chain of being, which from God began,
Natures ethereal, human, angel, man.
Pope.

Etherean

Pertaining to ether , n. Ethereality.
The state of being ethereal; etherealness.
Something of that ethereality of thought and manner which belonged to Wordsworth's earlier lyrics.
J. C. Shairp.
An ethereal or spiritlike state. J. H. Stirling.
To render ethereal or spiritlike.
Etherealized, moreover, by spiritual communications with the other world.
Hawthorne.
adv. In an ethereal manner.
n. Ethereality.

Excommunication

(Ex`com*mu`ni*ca"tion) n. [L. excommunicatio: cf. F. excommunication.] The act of communicating or ejecting; esp., an ecclesiastical censure whereby the person against whom it is pronounced is, for the time, cast out of the communication of the church; exclusion from fellowship in things spiritual.
excommunication is of two kinds, the lesser and the greater; the lesser excommunication is a separation or suspension from partaking of the Eucharist; (1) The greater is exclusion of an individual from the seven sacraments, from every legitimate act, and from all intercourse with the faithful. (2) The lesser excommunication is sequestration from the services of the Church only. The first Napoleon was excommunicated by Pope Pius VII., and the kings of Italy were placed under an anathema by Pius IX. for adding the Papal dominions to the United Kingdom of Italy.
"The person excommunicated: Os, orare, vale, communio, mensá, negatur (The person excommunicated is to be boycotted by the faithful in os (conversation), orare (prayer), communio (communion), mensa (board)." - Professor T. P. Gury: Romish Moral Theology (3rd ed., 1862).
Excommunication by Bell, Book, and Candle. Excommunication by the ancient Jews. This was of three sorts - (1) Nidui (separation), called in the New Testament "casting out of the synagogue" (John ix. 22); (2) Cherem, called by St. Paul "delivering over to Satan" (1 Cor. v. 5); (3) Anathema Maranatha (1 Cor. xvi. 22), delivered over to the Lord, who is at hand, to take vengeance. The Sadducees had an interdict called Tetragrammeton, which was cursing the offender by Jehovah, by the Decalogue, by the inferior courts, and with all the curses of the superior courts.

Exetor

The cathedral city of Exetor, Devonshire's historic county English town.

Back to Top

---

F

Fair Maid

Fair Maid (The).
Fair Maid of Anjou. Lady Edith Plantagenet, who married David, Prince Royal of Scotland.
Fair Maid of February. The snow-drop, which blossoms in February.
Fair Maid of Kent. Joan, Countess of Salisbury, wife of the Black Prince, and only daughter of Edmond Plantagenet, Earl of Kent. She had been twice married ere she gave her hand to the prince.
Fair Maid of Norway. Margaret, daughter of Eric II. of Norway, and granddaughter of Alexander III. of Scotland. Being recognised by the states of Scotland as successor to the throne, she set out for her new kingdom, but died on her passage from seasickness. (1290.)
Fair Maid of Perth. Katie Glover, the most beautiful young woman of Perth. Heroine of Scott's novel of the same name.

Falstaff

A fat, sensual, boastful, and mendacious knight; full of wit and humour; he was the boon companion of Henry, Prince of Wales. (1 and 2 Henry IV., and Merry Wives of Windsor.)

Fantastical

a. Fanciful; unreal; whimsical; capricious; fantastic.

Fashion

Fashion in dress, the prevailing mode affecting modifications in costume. Styles in Asia have been characterized by freedom from change, and ancient Greek and Roman dress preserved the same flowing lines for centuries. Fashion in dress and interior decoration may be said to have originated in Europe about the 14th cent. New styles were set by monarchs and prominent personages and were spread by travelers, by descriptions in letters, and, in costume , by the exchange of the fashion doll . The first fashion magazine is thought to have originated c.1586 in Frankfurt, Germany; it was widely imitated, gradually superseding fashion dolls. Godey's Lady's Book, established in the United States in 1830, remained popular for decades. In interior decoration the influence of designers, such as Chippendale, Sheraton, and Robert and James Adam, was apparent in the 18th cent., but in costume the only influential designer at that period was Rose Bertin, milliner and dressmaker to Marie Antoinette. In Paristhe leading arbiter of fashion since the Renaissancethe fading influence of celebrities was coincident with the rise of designer-dressmakers in the mid-19th cent. Paris haute couture has remained preeminent in setting fashions for women's dress. Designers such as Charles Frederick Worth, Coco Chanel, Lucien Lelong, Elsa Schiaparelli, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Christian Dior, and Yves Saint Laurent have had fashion houses in Paris. In the latter part of the 20th cent. such American designers as Norman Norell, Mainbocher, James Galanos, Bill Blass, and Pauline Trigère competed successfully with Parisian designers. London, in the early 19th cent., became the center for men's fashions under the leadership of Regency dandies such as Beau Brummell . In the mid-1960s, London was again for a time the center of fashion influence. The 1970s and 80s saw the beginning of more divergent trends in fashion. This was the result of the increasing popularity of ready-to-wear collections by major designers, which made fashionable label-conscious dressing possible for the middle class. Ethnic-inspired looks and the punk style enjoyed a period of popularity. Successful clothing designers such as Ralph Lauren, Georgio Armani, Gianni Versace, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Rei Kawakubo, and Geoffrey Beene widened their design horizons, licensed their names, and put their distinctive marks on objects ranging from furniture to cars, fabric, and perfumes. The look of luxuriance that emerged in the 1980s was countered in the 1990s with the production of classic understated clothes. Fashions are adapted for mass production by the garment industries of New York, Los Angeles, and other cities.

Faust

The grandest of all Goethe's dramas. Faust makes a compact with Mephistopheles, who on one occasion provides him with a cloak, by means of which he is wafted through the air whithersoever he chooses. "All that is weird, mysterious, and magical groups round this story." An English dramatic version has been made by Bayle Bernard.
Dr. Faustus, a tragedy by Marlow; Faust and Marguerite, by Boucicault; Faust e Margherito, an opera by Gounod,

Festival

(Fes"ti-val), n. A time of feasting or celebration; an anniversary day of joy, civil or religious.
The morning trumpets festival proclaimed.
Milton.
Syn. - Feast; banquet; carousal.

Fetish

/ noun 1 abnormal object of sexual desire. 2 object worshipped by primitive peoples. 3 object of obsessive concern. fetishism noun. fetishist noun. fetishistic /-"s-/ adjective.

Filigree

n. [Corrupted fr. filigrane.] Ornamental work, formerly with grains or breads, but now composed of fine wire and used chiefly in decorating gold and silver to which the wire is soldered, being arranged in designs frequently of a delicate and intricate arabesque pattern.
You ask for reality, not fiction and filigree work.
J. C. Shairp.

Fillmore

In American popular culture from the poet laureates on Fillmore Street in San Francisco to musicians and bands extraordinaires at the Fillmore East in New York.

Florentine

(Flor"en*tine) a. [L. Florentinus, fr. Florentia Florence: cf. F. florentin.] Belonging or relating to Florence, in Italy.
1. A native or inhabitant of Florence, a city in Italy.
2. A kind of silk. Knight.
3. A kind of pudding or tart; a kind of meat pie. [Obs.]
Stealing custards, tarts, and florentines.
Beau. & Fl.
Florentius A knight who bound himself to marry a "foul and ugly witch," if she would teach him the solution of a riddle on which his life depended. (Gower: Confessio Amantis.)

Fortune

TYCHE
The goddess of luck and chance, Tyche (also called Fortuna) was a daughter of Zeus, and sister to the Moerae. She was believed to have guided the careers of men, whether for good or bad. She was often represented as winged, with her eyes bound, and holding a double rudder in her hands, to steer the lives of men through one of two courses. She was also depicted standing on a ball or a wheel, to show that luck rolls this way and that, beyond the control of men.

Back to Top

---

G

Garden

1. A piece of ground appropriated to the cultivation of herbs, fruits, flowers, or vegetables.
2. A rich, well-cultivated spot or tract of country.
I am arrived from fruitful Lombardy,
The pleasant garden of great Italy.
Shak.
Garden is often used adjectively or in self- explaining compounds; as, garden flowers, garden tools, garden walk, garden wall, garden house or gardenhouse.

Gods

(Gods), v. t. To treat as gods; to idolize.
Among the gods. In the uppermost gallery of a theatre, which is near the ceiling, generally painted to resemble the sky. The French call this celestial region paradis.
Dead gods. The sepulchre of Jupiter is in Candia. Esculapius was killed with an arrow. The ashes of Venus are shown in Paphos. Hercules was burnt to death. (Ignatius.)

Goddess

(God"dess) n.
1. A female god; a divinity, or deity, of the female sex.
When the daughter of Jupiter presented herself among a crowd of goddesses, she was distinguished by her graceful stature and superior beauty.
Addison.
2. A woman of superior charms or excellence.

Gothic

The "Gothic Style" emerged in the mid-twelfth century in the Ile-de-France and remained generally confined to the countries north of the Alps. The term "Gothic" was not used by the actual artisans in the style, but was coined as a derisive epithet in the fifteenth century by Italian followers of the classical-revival Renaissance style. They considered the Gothic to be a crude and barbaric import of Visigothic tribes which had invaded Rome in the fifth century and destroyed the remains of classical culture there. In the Gothic period luxury textiles, especially tapestries, embroidery, and woven silks and velvets, were costly and highly prized possessions. Used in the court and church, and increasingly, by the emerging bourgeoisie, the patterns for tapestries and embroidery were designed by highly skilled artists. England was the source of a particularly sought after type of embroidery called Opus Anglicanum (English work) produced between 1250 and 1350. Ultimately, the Gothic style was eclipsed in most parts of Europe by the return to the classical motifs of the Renaissance.

Gothic Romance

A type of novel that flourished in the late 18th and early 19th cent. in England. Gothic romances were mysteries, often involving the supernatural and heavily tinged with horror, and they were usually set against dark backgrounds of medieval ruins and haunted castles. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole was the forerunner of the type, which included the works of Ann Radcliffe , Matthew Gregory Lewis , and Charles R. Maturin , and the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley . Jane Austen's novel Northanger Abbey satirizes Gothic romances. The influence of the genre can be found in some works of Coleridge, Le Fanu, Poe, and the Brontës. During the 1960s so-called Gothic novels became enormously popular in England and the United States. Seemingly modeled on Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre and Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, these novels usually concern spirited young women, either governesses or new brides, who go to live in large gloomy mansions populated by peculiar servants and precocious children and presided over by darkly handsome men with mysterious pasts.

Graces

Three beautiful goddesses, Aglaia, Thalia and Euphrosyne, who attended upon Venus, serving without salary. They were at no expense for board and clothing, for they ate nothing to speak of and dressed according to the weather, wearing whatever breeze happened to be blowing.
Guinevere Arthur's queen. According to Giraldus Cambrensis, the inscribed cross from the royal grave at Glastonbury named her as Arthur's second wife. Nothing is known of this first wife. Since the only surviving drawing of the cross only depicts one side and, presumably, any allusion to the queen was on the other, the claim of Giraldus is unverifiable. Those who believe Arthur died and was buried at Glastonbury generally accept that Guinevere was buried with him. By the hand of Geoffrey of Monmouth, Guinevere becomes a beautiful lady with a Roman heritage, raised in the house of Duke Cador of Cornwall. Little else is said until the end of Arthur's reign when she betrays the King by becoming the lover of the usurper Mordred. However, while the two are in battle, she runs away to Caerleon and enters a convent. The recurring theme of her entanglement with men besides her husband, whether by consent or abduction, has many variations. When kidnapped, she must be saved. On the archivolt in Modena Cathedral is a depiction, maybe pre-Geoffrey, of Arthur rescuing the queen. He must do it again in Caradoc's "Vitae" of Gildas, this time the queen having been abducted by King Melwas of Somerset. When connected to the theme of infidelity later, the rescuer becomes not her husband but Lancelot. These depictions might arise from a misinterpretation of the traditions of Celtic queens. A Celtic queen, like Medb of the Irish saga Tain Bo Culainge, was the equal of her husband in power and wealth. She also had affairs without reproach. Medieval writers could not have seen this free and equal behaviour as anything but stubborn infidelity. Their altered social perceptions would have precluded any true understanding hence Guinevere has since been cast as the unfaithful woman. The romances depict her as the daughter of Leodegan, previous owner of the Round Table, which she brings as part of her dowry to Arthur. She has a doppleganger named the False Guinevere, another daughter of Leodegan, who tempts Arthur away from court. The queens conduct is given further excuse by Arthur's encounters with Morgause and other women. Whereas the Welsh are always critical of her (until recently, to call a girl Guinevere in Wales was a reflection on her chastity), the continental writers show a sympathy for her that cause them to break totally from Geoffrey. They redirect the Queen's attentions from Mordred, whose lustful advances are rejected with scorn, to Lancelot, a more noble and magnificent character. The affair is well established by the time of Chrétien de Troyes. A constant problem for writers is the King's disposition about it. Rare among literary characters, Arthur is cuckolded yet is able to retain his dignity. He refuses to acknowledge the problem until it is scandalously forced into the open by Agravain. When Arthur tries to fufill his duty and execute her, she is resued by Lancelot but the ensuing conflicts and rivalries signal the beginning of the end to Arthur's golden age. In Malory, the Queen reaches a depth that had only been hinted at by his predecessors. She becomes giving and tragically passionate. She is childless in a marriage to a man she respects but doesn't love and in love with a man she can never have. The love affair with Lancelot, while jealous and sometimes cruel, endures and is undeniable. She enters the convent at Amesbury after the final battle. Lancelot visits her there and she sends him away with a fond but penitent farewell, realizing that their deeds have brought about the ruin of the noblest group the world has known. Malory says, "She was a true lover and therefore she had a good end."

Gypsy

The word "gypsy" originates from the legend that the wanderers were originally Egpytian nobles who had been driven from their homeland by Muslim forces. Gypsies refer to themselves as Rom or Romani, from the Sanskrit word for man.

The nomadic people known as the Gypsies had their origins in India, but by the late Middle Ages they had migrated and could be found throughout Europe. Because they were constantly on the move, Gypies were hard to keep track of, but most seem to have congregated in southeastern Europe. The Gypies migrated from India to Persia, and from there to Greece, where they arrived early in the fourteenth century. They then made their way to the Balkan countries of eastern Europe, and gradually spread westward until eventually they could be found in Britain. They supported themselves by taking odd jobs,
Usually as metalworkers. Many Gypsies entertained for money, some as musicians, others as fortune-tellers. Due to their apparent lack of roots and their connection to fortune-telling, Gypsies earned a reputation for possessing supernatural powers.

Back to Top

---

H

Halloween

(Hal`low*een") n. The evening preceding Allhallows or All Saints' Day. [Scot.] Burns.
(October 31st), according to Scotch superstition, is the time when witches, devils, fairies, and other imps of earth and air hold annual holiday. (Halloween, a poem by Robert Burns.) The feast of All Saints, or Allhallows.
To speak puling, like a beggar at Hallowmas.
Shak.

Harem

(Ha"rem) n.[Ar. haram, orig., anything forbidden or sacred, fr. harama to forbid, prohibit.] [Written also haram and hareem.]
1. The apartments or portion of the house allotted to females in Mohammedan families.
2. The family of wives and concubines belonging to one man, in Mohammedan countries; a seraglio.

Harlequin

(Har"le*quin) n. [F. arlequin, formerly written also harlequin prob. fr. OF. hierlekin, hellequin, goblin, elf, which is prob. of German or Dutch origin; cf. D. hel hell. Cf.] A buffoon, dressed in party-colored clothes, who plays tricks, often without speaking, to divert the bystanders or an audience; a merry-andrew; originally, a droll rogue of Italian comedy. Percy Smith.
As dumb harlequin is exhibited in our theaters.
Johnson.
The Roman mime did not at all correspond with our harlequinade. The Roman mimus is described as having a shorn head, a sooty face, flat unshod feet, and a patched parti-coloured cloak.
Harlequin, in the British pantomime, is a sprite supposed to be invisible to all eyes but those of his faithful Columbine. His office is to dance through the world and frustrate all the knavish tricks of the Clown, who is supposed to be in love with Columbine. In Armoric, Harlequin means "a juggler," and Harlequin metamorphoses everything he touches with his magic wand.
The prince of Harlequins was John Rich (1681-1761).
Harlequin. So Charles Quint was called by Francois I. of France.

Hearts

One of a series of playing cards, distinguished by the figure or figures of a heart; as, hearts are trumps.

Highgate

Highgate has its name from a gate set up there about 400 years ago, to receive tolls for the bishop of London, when the old miry road from Gray's Inn Lane to Barnet was turned through the bishop's park. The village being in a high or elevated situation explains the first part of the name.
Sworn at Highgate. A custom anciently prevailed at the public-houses in Highgate to administer a ludicrous oath to all travellers who stopped there. The party was sworn on a pair of horns fastened to a stick -
(1) Never to kiss the maid when he can kiss the mistress.
(2) Never to eat brown bread when he can get white.
(3) Never to drink small beer when he can get strong - unless he prefers it.

Back to Top

---

I

Idyllica

Idyllic, filled with pastoral bliss. (I"dyl) n. [L. idyllium, Gr. fr. form; literally, a little form of image: cf. F. idylle. See Idol.] A short poem; properly, a short pastoral poem; as, the idyls of Theocritus; also, any poem, especially a narrative or descriptive poem, written in an elevated and highly finished style; also, by extension, any artless and easily flowing description, either in poetry or prose, of simple, rustic life, of pastoral scenes, and the like. [Written also idyll.]
Wordsworth's solemn-thoughted idyl.
Mrs. Browning.
His [Goldsmith's] lovely idyl of the Vicar's home.
F. Harrison.

Illyrian

Between 233 and 231, the Illyrian king Agron had gathered stronger land and naval forces than any prior king of that country (Polybius, II.2.4). The Greek historian Polybius gives the number of the fleet as 100, and refers to the ships as lemboi, or lembi. These were the native ships of the piratical Illyrians, had wider beams than typical warships of the day, and lacked rams. After hearing of his success against the Aetolians, Agron made so merry that he caught a cough and died, according to Polybius.
He was succeeded by his wife Teuta, who sanctioned extensive privateer activity and authorized her commanders to use their substantial forces to attack, besiege, pillage, or plunder as they pleased. Epirus was plundered in this way. In 230 BC the Illyrian pirates stepped up their attacks on Italian merchants, and repeated protests by the latter brought the matter to the attention of the Roman Senate

Immortal

(Im*mor"tal) a. [L. immortalis; pref. im- not + mortalis mortal: cf. F. immortel.]
1. Not mortal; exempt from liability to die; undying; imperishable; lasting forever; having unlimited, or eternal, existance.
Unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible.
1 Tim. i. 17.
For my soul, what can it do to that,
Being a thing immortal as itself?
Shak.
2. Connected with, or pertaining to immortality.
I have immortal longings in me.
Shak.
3. Destined to live in all ages of this world; abiding; exempt from oblivion; imperishable; as, immortal fame.
One of the few, immortal names,
That were not born to die.
Halleck.
4. Great; excessive; grievous. [Obs.] Hayward.
One who will never cease to be; one exempt from death, decay, or annihilation. Bunyan.

Syn. - Eternal; everlasting; never-ending; ceaseless; perpetual; continual; enduring; endless; imperishable; incorruptible; deathless; undying, undead.

Invidiosa

(Italian) Envy
1. Envious; malignant. [Obs.] Evelyn.
2. Worthy of envy; desirable; enviable. [Obs.]
Such a person appeareth in a far more honorable and invidious state than any prosperous man.
Barrow.
3. Likely to incur or produce ill will, or to provoke envy; hateful; as, invidious distinctions.
Agamemnon found it an invidious affair to give the preference to any one of the Grecian heroes.
Broome.
- In*vid"i*ous*ly, adv. - In*vid"i*ous*ness, n.

Ionian

The Druidical system was at its height at the time of the Roman invasion under Julius Caesar. Against the Druids, as their chief enemies, these conquerors of the world directed their unsparing fury. The Druids, harassed at all points on the mainland, retreated to Anglesey and Iona, where for a season they found shelter and continued their now dishonoured rites.
The Druids retained their predominance in Iona and over the adjacent islands and mainland until they were supplanted and their superstitions overturned by the arrival of St. Columba, the apostle of the Highlands, by whom the inhabitants of that district were first led to profess Christianity.
One of the smallest of the British Isles, situated near a rugged and barren coast, surrounded by dangerous seas, and possessing no sources of internal wealth, Iona has obtained an imperishable place in history as the seat of civilization and religion at a time when the darkness of heathenism hung over almost the whole of Northern Europe. Iona or Icolmkill is situated at the extremity of the island of Mull, from which it is separated by a strait of half a mile in breadth, its distance from the mainland of Scotland being thirty-six miles.
Columba was a native of Ireland, and connected by birth with the princes of the land. Ireland was at that time a land of gospel light, while the western and northern parts of Scotland were still immersed in the darkness of heathenism. Columba with twelve friends landed on the island of Iona in the year of our Lord 563, having made the passage in a wicker boat covered with hides. The Druids who occupied the island endeavoured to prevent his settling there, and the savage nations on the adjoining shores incommoded him with their hostility, and on several occasions endangered his rife by their attacks. Yet by his perseverance and zeal he surmounted all opposition, procured from the king a gift of the island, and established there a monastery of which he was the abbot. He was unwearied in his labours to disseminate a knowledge of the Scriptures throughout the Highlands and islands of Scotland, and such was the reverence paid him that though not a bishop, but merely a presbyter and monk, the entire province with its bishops was subject to him and his successors. The Pictish monarch was so impressed with a sense of his wisdom and worth that he held him in the highest honour, and the neighbouring chiefs and princes sought his counsel and availed themselves of his judgment in settling their disputes.
When Columba landed on Iona he was attended by twelve followers whom he had formed into a religious body of which he was the head. To these, as occasion required, others were from time to time added, so that the original number was always kept up. Their institution was called a monastery and the superior an abbot, but the system had little in common with the monastic institutions of later times. The name by which those who submitted to the rule were known was that of Culdees, probably from the Latin "cultores Dei"- worshippers of God. They were a body of religious persons associated together for the purpose of aiding each other in the common work of preaching the gospel and teaching youth, as well as maintaining in themselves the fervour of devotion by united exercises of worship. On entering the order certain vows were taken by the members, but they were not those which were usually imposed by monastic orders, for of these, which are three- celibacy, poverty, and obedience,- the Culdees were bound to none except the third. To poverty they did not bind themselves; on the contrary they seem to have laboured diligently to procure for themselves and those dependent on them the comforts of life. Marriage also was allowed them, and most of them seem to have entered into that state. True, their wives were not permitted to reside with them at the institution, but they had a residence assigned to them in an adjacent locality, Near Iona there is an island which still bears the name of "Eilen nam ban," women's island, where their husbands seem to have resided with them, except when duty required their presence in the school or the sanctuary.

Campbell, in his poem of "Reullura," alludes to the married monks of Iona:
"...The pure Culdees
Were Albyn's earliest priests of God,
Ere yet an island of her seas
By foot of Saxon monk was trod,
Long ere her churchmen by bigotry
Were barred from holy wedlock's tie.
'Twas then that Aodh, famed afar,
In Iona preached the word with power,
And Reullura, beauty's star,
Was the partner of his bower."

Ivy

(Bot.) A plant of the genus Hedera common in Europe. Its leaves are evergreen, dark, smooth, shining, and mostly five- pointed; the flowers yellowish and small; the berries black or yellow. The stem clings to walls and trees by rootlike fibers.
Direct
The clasping ivy where to climb.
Milton. Ye myrtles brown, with ivy never sere.
Milton.
American ivy. (Bot.) See Virginia creeper. - English ivy (Bot.), a popular name in America for the ivy proper (Hedera helix). - German ivy (Bot.), a creeping plant, with smooth, succulent stems, and fleshy, light-green leaves; a species of Senecio - Ground ivy. (Bot.) Gill (Nepeta Glechoma). - Ivy bush. (Bot.). - Ivy owl (Zoöl.), the barn owl. - Ivy tod (Bot.), the ivy plant. Tennyson. - Japanese ivy (Bot.), a climbing plant closely related to the Virginia creeper. - Poison ivy (Bot.), an American woody creeper (Rhus Toxicodendron), with trifoliate leaves, and greenish-white berries. It is exceedingly poisonous to the touch for most persons. - To pipe in an ivy leaf, to console one's self as best one can. [Obs.] Chaucer. - West Indian ivy, a climbing plant of the genus Marcgravia.

Back to Top

---

J

Jacquard

Jacquard, Joseph Mariezhôzef´ märe´ zhäkär´, 1752-1834, French inventor, whose loom is of the greatest importance in modern mechanical figure weaving. After several years of experimentation, he received a bronze medal for his model exhibited at the Industrial Exposition at Paris (1801).

Jane Eyre

The heroine in the novel of the same name, by Charlotte Brontë.
Of the Brontë sisters. Charlotte was the most professional, consciously trying to achieve financial success from the family's literary efforts. Her novel Jane Eyre, the story of a governess and her passionate love for her Byronic employer, Mr. Rochester, is ranked among the great English novels. Strong, violently emotional, somewhat melodramatic, Jane Eyre brilliantly articulates the theme found in all Charlotte's work the need of women for both love and independence.

Jasmine

(Jas"mine) n. [F. jasmin, Sp. jazmin, Ar. yasmin, Pers. yasmin; cf. It. gesmino, gelsomino. Cf. Jessamine.] (Bot.) A shrubby plant of the genus Jasminum, bearing flowers of a peculiarly fragrant odor. The J. officinale, common in the south of Europe, bears white flowers. The Arabian jasmine is J. Sambac, and, with J. angustifolia, comes from the East Indies. The yellow false jasmine in the Gelseminum sempervirens Several other plants are called jasmine in the West Indies, as species of Calotropis and Faramea. [Written also jessamine.]

Jester

Court jester, joker, fool or clown a person who entertains with buffoonery and an often caustic wit. In all countries from ancient times and extending into the 18th cent., mental and physical deformity provided amusement. Attached to noble and royal courts were dwarfs, cripples, idiots, albinos, and freaks. The medieval court fool was seldom mentally deficient. For the freedom to indulge in satire, tricks, and repartee, many men of keen insight and caustic wit obtained powerful patronage by assuming the role of fool. This role was played in the courts of the East, in ancient Greece and Rome, and in the court of Montezuma. The clown or jester was common in Elizabethan drama (e.g., the Fool in King Lear), and by donning the fool's garb the actor gained the freedom of the fool. His costume, which was hung with bells, usually consisted of a varicolored coat, tight breeches with legs of different colorsoccasionally a long petticoat was wornand a bauble (mock scepter) and a cap which fitted close to the head or fell over the shoulders in the form of asses' ears.

Josephine

Josephine,1763-1814, empress of the French (1804-9) as the consort of Napoleon I. Born Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de la Pagerie in Martinique, she was married in 1779 to Alexandre de Beauharnais. Two children were born, Eugène (later viceroy of Italy) and Hortense (later queen of Holland). Josephine's husband was guillotined during the French Revolution, in 1794, but she escaped with brief imprisonment. In 1796 she was married, by a civil ceremony, to Napoleon Bonaparte, whom she had met through Paul Barras . Before Napoleon became emperor, they were remarried in a religious ceremony. Josephine took a prominent part in the social life of the time. Napoleon had the marriage annulled in 1809 because of her alleged infertility, so that he might marry Marie Louise.

Juliette

Sade, Donatien Alphonse François, comte de (dônäsyaN´ älfôNs´ fräNswä´ kôNt de säd), 1740-1814, French writer and libertine. Released for a time during the French Revolution, he succeeded in having some playsand such major work as Histoire de Juliette produced by the Comédie Française, and during his final confinement at Charenton he directed theatrical performances by the inmates. De Sade brought to light the controversial theory that since both sexual deviation and criminal acts exist in nature, they are therefore natural. This was in violent opposition to the spirit of his times but made him a precursor of modern psychological thought. The sexual aberration in which cruelty is inflicted in order to attain sexual release is termed sadism after him. Generally banned for obscenity, de Sade's works were almost all published in expurgated or unofficial editions. The complete works, edited by Gilbert Lély, appeared in 1966-68 (8 vol.).

Justine

He is known as the marquis de Sade the title he held before becoming count on his father's death (1767). Famous for his licentious prose narratives, he also wrote many essays, antireligious pamphlets, and plays. He fought in the Seven Years War, and after his marriage in 1763 he pursued a life of pleasure and was imprisoned for his scandalous conduct. Charged with numerous sexual offenses, he spent a total of 27 years of confinement in such institutions as the Bastille, the dungeon at Vincennes, and Charenton asylum. During this time he wrote such ribald classics as Justine; ou, Les Malheurs de la vertu(1791), La Philosophie dans le boudoir (1793), and ou, Les Prosperités du vice (6 vol., 1797).

Back to Top

---

K

King

A male person commonly known in America as a "crowned head," although he never wears a crown and has usually no head to speak of.

A king, in times long, long gone by,
Said to his lazy jester:
"If I were you and you were I
My moments merrily would fly-
No care nor grief to pester."

"The reason, Sire, that you would thrive,"
The fool said- "if you'll hear it-
Is that of all the fools alive
Who own you for their sovereign, I've
The most forgiving spirit."

Oogum Bem

Knight

The knight emerged during the late Carolingian empire of the ninth and tenth centuries as a separate social class in European society. There were above the peasantry but because of their generally poor and humble origins, they were also far below the nobility for whom they worked. This changed, however, when Church actions such as the Crusades and the creation of religious military orders gave the knights a great deal of prestige in European society. Knights became chivalrous Christian warriors, glorified in romantic tales such as Song of Roland, Tristan and Isolde, and King Arthur legends. As their status grew, the knights acquired their own lands which blurred the class lines dividing knights and the nobility, creating one enlarged aristocracy.
In the twelfth century during the golden age of feudalism the use of armor created a need to distinguish friend from foe. A complex system of symbols and marks that adorned the armor of knights and functioned in identifying knights with family lines and feudal-social positions by what became to be known as heraldic crests.
The Knights of St John Hospitallers was a chivalric order originally organized before the First Crusade to protect a hospice and infirmary for pilgrims to the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Although its association with the hospice continued and the scale of its almsgiving, unheard of in Europe, astounded contemporary observers, the Hospitallers soon became a large and powerful military entity under the direct authority of the pope. Like their rivals, the Templars, the Hospitallers rendered courageous military service in the Holy Land. Nevertheless, the order maintained its charitable activities to a greater extent than its rivals and did not involve itself as deeply in financial dealings.This may be why the order escaped the Templars' fate and, with a complex and fascinating history, has survived to the present time.After the fall of Acre the order established themselves on the island of Rhodes in 1309, and on the island Malta in 1530. They thus became known as the Knights of Rhodes and, more commonly, the Knights of Malta.

Back to Top

---

L

Labyrinth

(Lab"y*rinth) n. [L. labyrinthus, Gr. laby`rinthos: cf. F. labyrinthe.]
1. An edifice or place full of intricate passageways which render it difficult to find the way from the interior to the entrance; as, the Egyptian and Cretan labyrinths.
2. Any intricate or involved inclosure; especially, an ornamental maze or inclosure in a park or garden.
3. Any object or arrangement of an intricate or involved form, or having a very complicated nature.
The serpent . . . fast sleeping soon he found,
In labyrinth of many a round self-rolled.
Milton.
The labyrinth of the mind.
Tennyson.
4. An inextricable or bewildering difficulty.
I' the maze and winding labyrinths o' the world.
Denham.
5. (Anat.) The internal ear. 6. (Metal.) A series of canals through which a stream of water is directed for suspending, carrying off, and depositing at different distances, the ground ore of a metal. Ure.
7. (Arch.) A pattern or design representing a maze, - often inlaid in the tiled floor of a church, etc.
Syn. - Maze; confusion; intricacy; windings. -Labyrinth, originally; the name of an edifice or excavation, carries the idea of design, and construction in a permanent form, while maze is used of anything confused or confusing, whether fixed or shifting. Maze is less restricted in its figurative uses than labyrinth. We speak of the labyrinth of the ear, or of the mind, and of a labyrinth of difficulties; but of the mazes of the dance, the mazes of political intrigue, or of the mind being in a maze.

Lace

Laces, often named for their location of origination, are of many types. Valenciennes is a fine, diamond-meshed lace much used for trimmings and ruffles. Mechlin is of similar type, but filmier; torchon is a simple, loose lace, made and used by peasants all over Europe; Honiton, one of the fine English laces, has a net foundation with appliqués of delicate, handmade braid. Brussels is a rich lace of several varieties. Duchesse has exquisite patterns with much raised work. Maltese is coarse and heavy, usually made of silk. Chantilly is a delicate mesh with ornate patterns, originally made of the yellowish undyed silk called blonde, later often dyed black. Point d'Espagne is lace of gold or silver thread.A number of laces fall outside a strict classification. Guipure has a heavy pattern formed by a braid with a less valuable core covered with fine silk, gold, or silver thread. Limerick lace is tambour work on net. Renaissance or Battenberg lace is of heavy tape formed into a pattern and filled in with lace stitches. Carrickmacross is cutwork lace. So-called English point or point d'Angleterre is Flemish point, at one time smuggled into England and renamed.Filet is a combination of knotting and darning, reminiscent of the earliest lace forms attempted. Cutwork, or various combinations of early lace forms with embroidery , also formed an important step in lace making. The better-known knotted laces are tatting and macramé ; macramé evolved from the early Italian punto a groppo. Crocheted lace reached its finest development in Ireland. Knitted laces, for which many intricate patterns survive, have been mainly of peasant use.

Lacrimosa

Italian(Mus.) Plaintive; - a term applied to a mournful or pathetic movement or style. Moore.
[L. lacrymosus, better lacrimosus, fr. lacrima, lacruma (also badly spelt lachryma) a tear, for older dacrima, akin to E. tear. See Tear the secretion.] Generating or shedding tears; given to shedding tears; suffused with tears; tearful.
You should have seen his lachrymose visnomy.
Lamb.
- Lach"ry*mose`ly, adv.
-

Lady of Shalott

A maiden in the Arthurian romances who fell in love with Sir Lancelot du Lac, and died because her love was not returned.

A poem by Tennyson, the tale of which is similar to that of Elaine the "fair maid of Astolat" (q.v.). Part I. describes the island of Shalott, and tells us that the lady passed her life so secluded there that only the farm-laborers knew her. Part II. tells us that the lady passed her time in weaving a magic web, and that a curse would light on her if she looked down the river towards Camelot. Part III. describes how Sir Lancelot, in all his bravery, rode to Camelot, and the lady looked at him as he rode along. Part IV. says that the lady entered a boat, having first written her name on the prow, and floated down the river to Camelot, but died on the way. When the boat reached Camelot, Sir Lancelot, with all the inmates of the palace, came to look at it. They read the name on the prow, and Sir Lancelot exclaimed, "She has a lovely face, and may God have mercy on the lady of Shalott!"

Larke

A spree; a corruption of the Anglo-Saxon lác (play, fun).

Larks When the sky falls we shall catch larks. A way of stating to a person that his scheme or proposal is absurd or ridiculous.
French: "Si le ciel tombait, il y aurait bien des alouettes."
Latin: "Quid, si redio ad illes, qui alunt, quid si nunc coelum ruat?"

Lavishing

The act of lavishing.
1. Expending or bestowing profusely; profuse; prodigal; as, lavish of money; lavish of praise.
2. Superabundant; excessive; as, lavish spirits.
Let her have needful, but not lavish, means.
Shak.
Syn. - Profuse; prodigal; wasteful; extravagant; exuberant; immoderate.

Lovelorn

(Love"lorn`) a. Forsaken by one's love.
The lovelorn nightingale.
Milton.

Love

(God of). (Anglo-Saxon luf.)
Camdeo, in Hindu mythology.
Camadeva, in Persian mythology.
Cupid, in Roman mythology.
Eros, in Greek mythology.
Freya, in Celtic mythology.
Kama or Cama, in Indian mythology.

Lucifera

Lucifera [Pride ] lived in a splendid palace, only its foundation was of sand. The door stood always open, and the queen gave welcome to every comer. Her six privy ministers are Idleness, Gluttony, Lechery, Avarice, Envy, and Revenge. These six, with Pride herself, are the seven deadly sins. Her carriage was drawn by six different animals- viz. an ass, swine, goat, camel, wolf, and lion, on each of which rode one of her privy councillors, Satan himself being coachman. While here the Red-Cross Knight was attacked by Sansjoy, who would have been slain if Duessa had not rescued him. (Spenser: Faëric Queene, bk. i. 4.)

Lunette

Semicircular space in a vault or ceiling often decorated with a painting or relief. Also from Latin luna of the moon.

Lycia

Sarpedon and Glaucus were descendants of Bellerophon. Bellerophon was sent to Lycia to be punished for an improper love affair. He redeemed himself by killing the Chimaera, a fire-breathing monster that had been roaming the Lycian mountains, with the help of the winged horse Pegasus. He then married king Iobates' daughter, and from their offspring came the later rulers of Lycia. As for the Chimaera, it continued to exist in the form of a perpetually burning fire in eastern Lycia.

Lyra

(li´re)[Lat.,the lyre], northern constellation lying S of Draco, E of Hercules, and W of Cygnus. Although many civilizations represented it as a bird, it was also depicted as a tortoise. The white star Vega (Alpha Lyrae), the brightest star in the constellation, is one of the brightest in the entire sky. Just NE of Vega is Epsilon Lyrae, one of the few double stars that can be resolved with the naked eye. Also in Lyra is the Ring Nebula, the most famous of the planetary nebulae, consisting of a shell of gas separated from and expanding from a central star. Lyra reaches its highest point in the evening sky in August.

Lysandra

Philip VI's successor on the throne of Macedonia was his son Amyntas IV, who ruled peaceably. He married twice, first to Lysandra of Thrace, daughter of Ptolemy III Teres of Thrace. Ptolemy III Teres had a claim to Macedonia, through his wife Eurydice a daughter of Philip V of Macedonia. Philip VI and Ptolemy Teres had fought several wars with little result. Amyntas IV decided that to end these wars, some solution had to be found and he decided to marry the daughter and heiress of Ptolemy III Teres the Princess Lysandra. By her he had two sons before he repudiated her. Amyntas' second wife was Laodice of Syria daughter of Antiochus VII Euergetes Sidetes King of Syria. By her he had a son Philip Helios Severus. Lysandra later married Agathocles of Epirus and her son by him, Lysimachus later succeeded to Thrace.
Amyntas IV was succeeded by his three sons in succession, Alexander VI, Antipater II and Philip VII. Alexander VI who was also King of Thrace died without heirs, Antipater II King of Macedonia and Thrace left four young sons Cassander, Philip, Iollas and Nicanor who were considered too young to succeed either to Thrace or Macedonia. Lysimachus as third and only surviving son of Lysandra succeeded to Thrace.

"Lysandra" - the feminine version of "Lysander", a figure in Greek mythology who had the power to free men's souls from the constraints of Earth.

Back to Top

---

M

Macbeth

Died in 1057 Macbeth was king of Scotland from 1040 to 1057. He succeeded his father as ruler of the province of Moray in northeastern Scotland about 1031 and then was a military commander for King Duncan I. In 1040, after killing Duncan in battle, Macbeth seized the throne. Macbeth may have had some royal lineage himself, but his claim to the crown came through his wife Gruoch, granddaughter of Kenneth III, overthrown by Duncan's ancestor, Malcolm II. Immortalized by William Shakespeare in his play of the same name,
Macbeth finally was defeated and killed at the Battle of Lumphanan. It is said that Shakespeare based his version of the Macbeth story on the accounts of Raphael Holinshed and Hector Boece.

Maiden

(valker´ez), in Germanic mythology, warrior maidens of Odin. They presided over battles, chose those who were to die, and brought the souls of the dead heroes back to Valhalla . Chief among them was Brunhild . They were usually represented as riding through the air on horseback, helmeted and carrying a spear. The Valkyries play a prominent role in Die Walküreof Richard Wagner.

Manor

Dwelling house of the feudal lord of a manor, occupied by him only on occasional visits if he held many manors. Although not built specifically for fortification as castles were, many manor houses were partly fortified; they were enclosed within walls or moats that sometimes included the farm buildings as well. The primary feature of the manor house was its great hall, to which subsidiary apartments were added as the lessening of feudal warfare permitted peaceful domestic life. By the beginning of the 16th cent., manor houses as well as smaller castles began to acquire the character and amenities of the residences of country gentlemen. This transformation produced the smaller Renaissance châteaux of France and the numerous country mansions of the Elizabethan and Jacobean styles in England.

Mardi Gras

(mär´de grä), last day before the fasting season of Lent. It is the French name for Shove Tuesday. Literally translated, the term means fat Tuesday and was so called because it represented the last opportunity for merrymaking and excessive indulgence in food and drink before the solemn season of fasting. In the cities of some Roman Catholic countries the custom of holding carnivals for Mardi Gras has continued since the Middle Ages. The carnivals, with spectacular parades, masked balls, mock ceremonials, and street dancing, usually last for a week or more before Mardi Gras itself. Some of the most celebrated are held in New Orleans, Rio de Janeiro, Nice, and Cologne.

Marquess

(Mar"quess) n. Lady marquess, a marchioness. [Obs.] Shak.

Medea

Medea was a devotee of the goddess Hecate, and one of the great sorceresses of the ancient world. She was the daughter of King Aeetes of Colchis, and the granddaughter of Helios, the sun god.
King Aeetes' most valuable possession was a golden ram's fleece. When Jason and the crew of the Argo arrived at Colchis seeking the Golden Fleece, Aeetes was unwilling to relinquish it and set Jason a series of seemingly impossible tasks as the price of obtaining it. Medea fell in love with Jason and agreed to use her magic to help him, in return for Jason's promise to marry her.
Jason fled in the Argo after obtaining the golden fleece, taking Medea and her younger brother, Absyrtis, with him. King Aeetes pursued them. In order to delay the pursuit, Medea killed her brother and cut his body into pieces, scattering the parts behind the ship. The pursuers had to stop and collect Absyrtis' dismembered body in order to give it proper burial, and so Jason, Medea and the Argonauts escaped.
After the Argo returned safely to Iolcus, Jason's home, Medea continued using her sorcery. She restored the youth of Jason's aged father, Aeson, by cutting his throat and filling his body with a magical potion. She then offered to do the same for Pelias the king of Iolcus who had usurped Aeson's throne. She tricked Pelias' daughters into killing him, but left the corpse without any youth-restoring potion.

After the murder
of Pelias, Jason and Medea had to flee Iolcus; they settled next in Corinth. There Medea bore Jason two children before Jason forsook her in order to marry the daughter of Creon, the king of Corinth. Medea got revenge for Jason's desertion by killing the new bride with a poisoned robe and crown which burned the flesh from her body; King Creon died as well when he tried to embrace his dying daughter. Medea fled Corinth in a chariot, drawn by winged dragons, which belonged to her grandfather Helios. She took with her the bodies of her two children, whom she had murdered in order to give Jason further pain.
Medea then took refuge with Aegeus, the old king of Athens, having promised him that she would use her magic to enable him to have more children. She married Aegeus and bore him a son, Medus. But Aegeus had another son, Theseus. When Theseus returned to Athens, Medea tried to trick her husband into poisoning him. She was unsuccessful, and had to flee Athens, taking Medus with her. After leaving Athens, Medus became king of the country which was later called Media.

Medici

Italian family of bankers, merchants and rulers of Florence and Tuscany, prominent in Italian political and cultural history in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries.

(de med´iche, Ital. da me´deche), 1519-89, queen of France, daughter of Lorenzo de' Medici, duke of Urbino. She was married (1533) to the duc d'Orléans, later King Henry II. Neglected during the reign of her husband and that of her eldest son, Francis II, she became (1560) regent for her son Charles IX , who succeeded Francis. She remained Charles's adviser until his death (1574). Concerned primarily with preserving the power of the king in the religious conflicts of the time, with the aid of her chancellor Michel de L'Hôpital , she at first adopted a conciliatory policy toward the Huguenots, or French Protestants. The outbreak (1562) of the Wars of Religion, however, led her to an alliance with the Catholic party under François de Guise (see under Guise , family). After the defeat of royal troops by the Huguenot leader Gaspard de Coligny , Catherine agreed (1570) to the peace of St. Germain. Subsequently Coligny gained considerable influence over Charles IX. Fearing for her own power, and opposed to Coligny's schemes for expansion in the Low Countries which might lead to war with Spain, Catherine and Henri de Guise arranged Coligny's assassination. When the first attempt failed, she took part in planning the massacre of Saint Bartholomew's Day (1572) in which Coligny and hundreds of other Protestants were murdered. After the accession of her third son, Henry III, she vainly tried to revive her old conciliatory policy.

Medieval

During the Middle Ages, Flemish art followed the contemporary early Christian, Carolingian, and Romanesque styles. In the 12th cent. Rainer of Huy, Godefroid de Claire, and Nicholas of Verdun, among others, were noted for their work in metal and enamel. In the same century an important late Romanesque cathedral was built at Tournai. The marriage in 1369 of the daughter of the count of Flanders to the duke of Burgundy led to a concentration of artists around the wealthy Burgundian court. It was the center of activity for such painters and manuscript illuminators as Melchior Broederlam, the Limbourg brothers, the Boucicaut master, Jean Malouel, and Jan van Eyck. Claus Sluter executed the famous sculpture at the court-sponsored Carthusian monastery of Champmol.

In the early Middle Ages investigation of heresy was a duty of the bishops. Alarmed especially by the spread of Albigensianism (see Albigenses), the popes issued increasingly stringent instructions as to the methods for dealing with heretics. Finally, in 1233, Pope Gregory IX established the papal Inquisition,

The quality of writing and of scholarship was steadily rising, and the way was being prepared for the great flowering of medieval culture in the 13th cent. Most notable was the full development of scholasticism by St. Bonaventure, St. Albertus Magnus, and St. Thomas Aquinas, together with Duns Scotus, William of Occam.

Men's Dress

The ancient Egyptian costume for men was first a wrapped loincloth and later a kilt or skirt of pleated and starched white linen. The kalasiris, a one-piece, narrow sheath of transparent linen, was later adopted by men as the tunic. The Egyptian costume evolved into a highly decorative mode of dress characterized by the use of fluted linen, of jewelry (especially the beaded yoke collar), and of cosmetics and perfume ; the wig was also worn. The basic Greek garment, noted for its simplicity and graceful draping, consisted of the chiton and girdle. Roman dress, influenced by that of the Greeks, was simple and dignified; the toga, which was worn over the tunic, was the distinctive garment of the Roman citizen.

The change from ancient to medieval costume began (c.400) with the disintegration of the Roman Empire. Roman attire, which had previously assimilated the elaborate features of Byzantine dress, was gradually affected by the austere costume of the barbaric invader. Both men and women wore a double tunic; the under tunic, or chemise, had long tight sleeves (a feature that remained until the 17th cent.) and a high neck; the girded wool overtunic, or robe, often had loose sleeves. A mantle, or indoor cloak, was also worn.After 1200 a great variety of fine fabrics from the East were available as a result of the Crusades, and the elegant dress of feudal Europe was evolved. With the introduction of various ways of cutting the basic garment, fashion , or style, began. A long, girded tunic, then called the cote or cotte, continued to be worn over the chemise by both men and women; a surcote (sleeveless and with wide armholes) was often worn over it. At this time family crests, or coats of arms (see blazonry ; heraldry ; crest ), became popular, and particolored garments came into vogue.Proper fit was increasingly emphasized, and by 1300 tailoring had become important and buttons had become useful as well as ornamental. The belted cote-hardie, with a close-fitting body and short skirt, was worn over a tighter, long-sleeved doublet and a chemise. And, as men's legs were now exposed, hose were emphasized. The introduction (c.1350) of the houppelande, or overcoat, marked the first real appearance of the collar. In its extreme, the style of the period was typified by profuse dagging (scalloped edges), exaggerated, hanging sleeves, pointed slippers, and fantastic headdresses like the veil.
After 1450 there was a reversal in fashion from the pointed Gothic look to the square look of the Renaissance. The style in its exaggerated form is best represented in Holbein's paintings of the English court of Henry VIII. Men's costume had wide, square shoulders with puffed sleeves, padded doublets, bombasted upperstocks, or trunk hose, short gowns (cloaks), and square-toed shoes. The doublet, now sleeveless, was worn over the shirt (formerly the chemise) and under the jerkin. In Elizabethan England (c.1550) the costume was stiffened, and the appearance was less bulky. Both men and women wore the characteristic shoulder wings, pointed stomacher, and starched ruff and cuffs made of lace . Materials were heavy and lustrous and considerable ornamentation was used. Men wore a short cape, and their trunk hose were unpadded, longer, and generally made in sections, or paned.

The early 17th-century English costume was less formal, with a softer line created by satin and silk materials. The period of the Cavalier and Puritan is captured in the court paintings of Van Dyck and in the early work of Rembrandt. Men characteristically wore pantaloon breeches (full trunk hose), high boots, a broad, falling lace or linen collar and cuffs, and a full cloak..In England after 1660 the dress of the Restoration period became extravagantly decorative, using ribbons, flounces, and feathers. The dandies of the period wore petticoat breeches, full-sleeved cambric shirts, and bolerolike doublets. Sir Peter Lely's court paintings show excellent examples of such costume.
In the 18th cent. France, under the rule of Louis XIV, became the costume center of the world, It was the age of the wig, of rococo settings, of delicate pastels and flower-patterned silks, and of embroidery . Early in the century Rousseau's ideas affected style of dress. The 18th-century man first wore a knee-length cassock that buttoned all the way down over an equally long waistcoat, and buckled knee breeches. As the century progressed, the waistcoat became shorter, the skirt of the coat began to form tails, the collar became higher, and the sleeves and breeches became tighter.

In early 19th-century France was an attempt to recapture classic simplicity men wore a short-waisted cutaway coat with tails, a high collar, and large lapels and military boots; plain-colored wools became predominant. The whole male appearance was strikingly military. After 1815 men wore the frock coat, which was fitted and had a skirt that reached the knees, and trousers were introduced and generally adopted.After 1840 Victorian men still wore the tailcoat and frock coat, the sack coat, sometimes worn without the vest, was becoming popular for everyday wear. In general, men's clothes were becoming looser and more tubular and were predominantly of somber broadcloth. After 1865 the growing emphasis on sports, especially tennis and golf, was beginning to affect costume. Knee breeches, called knickerbockers or knickers, came into fashion for men, and sweaters became popular. After 1890 men's suits had square shoulders and straight waists and were usually of serge or tweed; the tuxedo was used for formal wear.
After 1910, the popularity of sportswear for men increased; the open-necked shirt was worn and trousers were cuffed and creased. During the 1960s men's clothing underwent revolutionary changes in color and fabric, becoming flamboyant for the first time in the 20th cent. The flaring of trouser cuffs in the 1970s was a major modification in shape.

Minerva

The goddess of wisdom, was the daughter of Jupiter. She was said to have leaped forth from his brain, mature, and in complete armour. She presided over the useful and ornamental arts, both those of men- such as agriculture and navigation- and those of women,- spinning, weaving, and needlework. She was also a warlike divinity; but it was defensive war only that she patronized, and she had no sympathy with Mars's savage love of violence and bloodshed. Athens was her chosen seat, her own city, awarded to her as the prize of a contest with Neptune, who also aspired to it, The tale ran that in the reign of Cecrops, the first king of Athens, the two deities contended for the possession of the city. The gods decreed that it should be awarded to that one who produced the gift most useful to mortals. Neptune gave the horse; Minerva produced the olive. The gods gave judgment that the olive was the more useful of the two, and awarded the city to the goddess; and it was named after her, Athens, her name in Greek being Athene.

Muse

Greek myth. any of nine sister goddesses, each of whom was regarded as the protectress of a different art or science. Daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the nine are Calliope, Clio, Erato, Euterpe, Melpomene, Polyhymnia, Terpsichore, Thalia and Urania.

Mystere

[French mystérieux, from mystère, secret, from Latin mystrium.]

From mystery, mysterious, endowed with the beauty of mystery.
Mystery has its own mysteries, and there are gods above gods. We have ours, they have theirs. That is what's known as infinity.
~ Jean Cocteau ~

Myth

All the great things have been denied and we live in an intricacy of new and local mythologies, political, economic, poetic, which are asserted with an ever-enlarging incoherence.
~ Wallace Stevens ~

Back to Top

---

N

Narcissus

There was a clear fountain, with water like silver, to which the shepherds never drove their flocks, nor the mountain goats resorted, nor any of the beasts of the forests; neither was it defaced with fallen leaves or branches; but the grass grew fresh around it, and the rocks sheltered it from the sun. Hither came one day the youth, fatigued with hunting, heated and thirsty. He stooped down to drink, and saw his own image in the water; he thought it was some beautiful water-spirit living in the fountain. He stood gazing with admiration at those bright eyes, those locks curled like the locks of Bacchus or Apollo, the rounded cheeks, the ivory neck, the parted lips, and the glow of health and exercise over all. He fell in love with himself. He brought his lips near to take a kiss; he plunged his arms in to embrace the beloved object. It fled at the touch, but returned again after a moment and renewed the fascination. He could not tear himself away; he lost all thought of food or rest. while he hovered over the brink of the fountain gazing upon his own image. He talked with the supposed spirit: "Why, beautiful being, do you shun me? Surely my face is not one to repel you. The nymphs love me, and you yourself look not indifferent upon me. When I stretch forth my arms you do the same; and you smile upon me and answer my beckonings with the like." His tears fell into the water and disturbed the image. As he saw it depart, he exclaimed, "Stay, I entreat you! Let me at least gaze upon you, if I may not touch you." With this, and much more of the same kind, he cherished the flame that consumed him, so that by degrees be lost his colour, his vigour, and the beauty which formerly had so charmed the nymph Echo. She kept near him, however, and when he exclaimed, "Alas! alas! she answered him with the same words. He pined away and died; and when his shade passed the Stygian river, it leaned over the boat to catch a look of itself in the waters. The nymphs mourned for him, especially the water-nymphs; and when they smote their breasts Echo smote hers also. They prepared a funeral pile and would have burned the body, but it was nowhere to be found; but in its place a flower, purple within, and surrounded with white leaves, which bears the name and preserves the memory of Narcissus.
Milton alludes to the story of Echo and Narcissus in the Lady's song in "Comus." She is seeking her brothers in the forest, and sings to attract their attention:
"Sweet Echo, sweetest nymph, that liv'st unseen
Within thy aery shell
By slow Meander's margent green,
And in the violet-embroidered vale,
Where the love-lorn nightingale
Nightly to thee her sad song mourneth well;
Canst thou not tell me of a gentle pair
That likest thy Narcissus are?
O, if thou have
Hid them in some flowery cave,
Tell me but where,
Sweet queen of parly, daughter of the sphere,
So may'st thou be translated to the skies,
And give resounding grace to all heaven's harmonies."

Night

1. That part of the natural day when the sun is beneath the horizon, or the time from sunset to sunrise; esp., the time between dusk and dawn, when there is no light of the sun, but only moonlight, starlight, or artificial light.
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.
Gen. i. 5.
2. Hence: (a) Darkness; obscurity; concealment.
Nature and nature's laws lay hid in night.
Pope.
(b) Intellectual and moral darkness; ignorance. (c) A state of affliction; adversity; as, a dreary night of sorrow. (d) The period after the close of life; death.
She closed her eyes in everlasting night.
Dryden.
(e) A lifeless or unenlivened period, as when nature seems to sleep. "Sad winter's night". Spenser.

Nightfall

(Night"fall`) n. The close of the day. Swift.
The night falls slowely like a serenade, or a night piece. The name is now used for a certain graceful and expressive form of instrumental composition, as the nocturne for orchestra in Mendelsohn's "Midsummer-Night's Dream" music.

Nobility

Nobles were the ruling class in the Middle Ages and the quality of nobility rationalized their rule. In economic terms, the power of the nobles rested in their control of the land and their capacity to exploit the labor of the overwhelming majority of the population: the free peasantry and the quasi slaves, the serfs. In ideological terms, nobles claimed the right to rule based on their "high birth," that is, their innate qualities inherited from a family line of nobles. Nobles were supposed to enact great deeds and perform service for their superiors. The power of the nobles declined with the rise of the urban merchant class. Mercantile wealth replaced landed wealth as the source of political power in Europe.

Normandy

A region and former province of NW France, comprising the Cotentin peninsula and the region to the southeast and east. 1.Norman (in the Middle Ages) a member of the people of Normandy descended from the 10th-century Scandinavian conquerors of the country and the native French; 2.relating to the style of Romanesque architecture used in Britain from the Norman conquest until the 12th century. It is characterized by the rounded arch, the groin vault, massive masonry walls, etc.

Nymph

The wood-nymphs, Pan's partners in the dance, were but one class of nymphs. There were besides them the Naiads, who presided over brooks and fountains, the Oreads, nymphs of mountains and grottos, and the Nereids, sea-nymphs. The three last named were immortal, but the wood-nymphs, called Dryads or Hamadryads, were believed to perish with the trees which had been their abode and with which they had come into existence. It was therefore an impious act wantonly to destroy a tree, and in some aggravated cases was severely punished, as in the instance of Erisichthon, which we are about to record.

Back to Top

---

O

Octavia

11 BC, Roman matron, sister of Emperor Augustus and wife of Marc Anthony, her second husband. For some years, she helped maintain peace between her brother and her husband. Antony fell in love with Cleopatra , and after his war with Augustus began, he divorced (32 BC) Octavia. After his death, she reared his children by Fulvia (his first wife) and by Cleopatra, as well as her own.

Opera

The libretto may be serious or comic, although neither form necessarily excludes elements of the other. Opera differs from operetta in its musical complexity and usually in its subject matter. It differs also from oratorio, which is customarily based on a religious subject and is performed without scenery, costumes, or stage action. Although both opera and operetta may have spoken dialogue, in opera the dialogue usually has musical accompaniment, such as the harpsichord continuo in the operas of Mozart and Rossini. Often, the music in opera is continuous, with set pieces such as solos, duets, trios, quartets, etc., and choral pieces, all designed to dramatize the action and display the particular vocal skills of the principal singers.

Ophelia

Daughter of Polonius the chamberlain. Hamlet fell in love with her, but after his interview with the Ghost, found it incompatible with his plans to marry her. Ophelia, thinking his "strange conduct" the effect of madness, becomes herself demented, and in her attempt to gather flowers is drowned. (Shakespeare: Hamlet.)

Ophelian

(O*phel"ian) a. (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or designating, a substance (called ophelic acid) extracted from a plant (Ophelia) of the Gentian family as a bitter yellowish sirup, used in India as a febrifuge and tonic.

Orphean

ORPHEUS was the son of Apollo and the Muse Calliope. He was presented by his father with a lyre and taught to play upon it, which he did to such perfection that nothing could withstand the charm of his music. Not only his fellow-mortals, but wild beasts were softened by his strains, and gathering round him laid by their fierceness, and stood entranced with his lay. Nay, the very trees and rocks were sensible to the charm. The former crowded round him and the latter relaxed somewhat of their hardness, softened by his notes.
Hymen had been called to bless with his presence the nuptials of Orpheus with Eurydice; but though he attended, he brought no happy omens with him. His very torch smoked and brought tears into their eyes. In coincidence with such prognostics, Eurydice, shortly after her marriage, while wandering with the nymphs, her companions, was seen by the shepherd Aristaeus, who was struck by her beauty and made advances to her. She fled, and in flying trod upon a snake in the grass, was bitten in the foot, and died. Orpheus sang his grief to all who breathed the upper air, both gods and men, and finding it all unavailing resolved to seek his wife in the regions of the dead. He descended by a cave situated on the side of the promontory of Taenarus and arrived at the Stygian realm. He passed through crowds of ghosts and presented himself before the throne of Pluto and Proserpine. Accompanying the words with the lyre, he sung, "O deities of the under-world, to whom all we who live must come, hear my words, for they are true. I come not to spy out the secrets of Tartarus, nor to try my strength against the three-headed dog with snaky hair who guards the entrance. I come to seek my wife, whose opening years the poisonous viper's fang has brought to an untimely end. Love has led me here, Love, a god all powerful with us who dwell on the earth, and, if old traditions say true, not less so here. I implore you by these abodes full of terror, these realms of silence and uncreated things, unite again the thread of Eurydice's life. We all are destined to you, and sooner or later must pass to your domain. She too, when she shall have filled her term of life, will rightly be yours. But till then grant her to me, I beseech you. If you deny me, I cannot return alone; you shall triumph in the death of us both."
As he sang these tender strains, the very ghosts shed tears. Tantalus, in spite of his thirst, stopped for a moment his efforts for water, Ixion's wheel stood still, the vulture ceased to tear the giant's liver, the daughters of Danaus rested from their task of drawing water in a sieve, and Sisyphus sat on his rock to listen. Then for the first time, it is said, the cheeks of the Furies were wet with tears. Proserpine could not resist, and Pluto himself gave way. Eurydice was called. She came from among the new-arrived ghosts, limping with her wounded foot. Orpheus was permitted to take her away with him on one condition, that he should not turn around to look at her till they should have reached the upper air. Under this condition they proceeded on their way, he leading, she following, through passages dark and steep, in total silence, till they had nearly reached the outlet into the cheerful upper world, when Orpheus, in a moment of forgetfulness, to assure himself that she was still following, cast a glance behind him, when instantly she was borne away. Stretching out their arms to embrace each other, they grasped only the air! Dying now a second time, she yet cannot reproach her husband, for how can she blame his impatience to behold her? "Farewell," she said, "a last farewell,"- and was hurried away, so fast that the sound hardly reached his ears.
Orpheus endeavoured to follow her, and besought permission to return and try once more for her release; but the stern ferryman repulsed him and refused passage. Seven days he lingered about the brink, without food or sleep; then bitterly accusing of cruelty the powers of Erebus, he sang his complaints to the rocks and mountains, melting the hearts of tigers and moving the oaks from their stations. He held himself aloof from womankind, dwelling constantly on the recollection of his sad mischance. The Thracian maidens tried their best to captivate him, but he repulsed their advances. They bore with him as long as they could; but finding him insensible one day, excited by the rites of Bacchus, one of them exclaimed, "See yonder our despiser!" and threw at him her javelin. The weapon, as soon as it came within the sound of his lyre, fell harmless at his feet. So did also the stones that they threw at him. But the women raised a scream and drowned the voice of the music, and then the missiles reached him and soon were stained with his blood. The maniacs tore him limb from limb, and threw his head and his lyre into the river Hebrus, down which they floated, murmuring sad music, to which the shores responded a plaintive symphony. The Muses gathered up the fragments of his body and buried them at Libethra, where the nightingale is said to sing over his grave more sweetly than in any other part of Greece. His lyre was placed by Jupiter among the stars. His shade passed a second time to Tartarus. where he sought out his Eurydice and embraced her with eager arms. They roam the happy fields together now, sometimes he leading, sometimes she; and Orpheus gazes as much as he will upon her, no longer incurring a penalty for a thoughtless glance.

The superior melody of the nightingale's song over the grave of Orpheus is alluded to by Southey in his "Thalaba":
"Then on his ear what sounds
Of harmony arose!
Far music and the distance-mellowed song
From bowers of merriment;
The waterfall remote;
The murmuring of the leafy groves;
The single nightingale
Perched in the rosier by, so richly toned,
That never from that most melodious bird
Singing a love song to his brooding mate,
Did Thracian shepherd by the grave
Of Orpheus hear a sweeter melody,
Though there the spirit of the sepulchre
All his own power infuse, to swell
The incense that he loves."
Aristaeus, The Bee-Keeper.

Overture

Instrumental musical composition written as an introduction to an opera, ballet, oratorio, musical, or play. The earliest Italian opera overtures were simply pieces of orchestral music and were called sinfonie. Jean Baptiste Lully standardized the French overture, using an opening section in pompous chordal style and dotted rhythms followed by a fugal section. This type of overture was much imitated, an example being the overture to Handel's Messiah. In some of the 17th-century Neapolitan operas, to some extent in Jean Philippe Rameau's operas and most notably in Gluck's, the overture began to foreshadow what was to come in the work's tunes. In many 19th-century operas and 20th-century musicals the overture is simply a potpourri of the work's tunes. The concert overture, a composition in one movement that may be in any of a variety of styles, arose in the 19th cent.; the overtures of Brahms, Mendelssohn, and Beethoven are outstanding.

Back to Top

---

P

Pageant

Modern dramatic spectacle or procession celebrating a special occasion or an event in the history of a locality. In medieval times the word pageant had meant the wagon or the movable stage on which one scene of a mystery or miracle play was performed. The pageant was built on wheels and consisted of two rooms, the lower one being used as a dressing room and the upper used as a stage. The word also referred to the complex wooden machine-structures built for the Tudor masque . The modern form of the pageant came into general use in England and America since the production, in 1905, of L. N. Parker's Sherborne pageant in England. Pageants include such celebrations as the Mardi Gras and annual local festivals.

Palace

1. The residence of a sovereign, including the lodgings of high officers of state, and rooms for business, as well as halls for ceremony and reception. Chaucer.
2. The official residence of a bishop or other distinguished personage.
3. Loosely, any unusually magnificent or stately house.
In Cabbalistic symbolism, the sacred place, or the 'inner palace', is located at the junction of the six Directions of Space, together with the centre, form a septenary. It is, consequently, a symbol of the occult Centre-of the 'unmoved mover'. It is also known as the 'silver palace', the 'silver thread'being the hidden bond which joins man to his Origin and to his End. This concept of the Centre embraces the heart and the mind; hence, in legends and folktales, the palace of the old king contains secret chambers (representing the unconscious) which hold treasure (or spiritual truths).

Palatine

Ancient Rome was built on the east, or left, bank of the Tiber on elevations (now much less prominent) emerging from the marshy lowlands of the Campagna. The seven hills of the ancient city are the Palatine, roughly in the center, with the Capitoline to the northwest and the Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Caelian, and Aventine in an outlying north-southwest curve. The Pincian, N of the Quirinal, is not included among the seven. In the westward bend of the Tiber, W of the Quirinal, lies the Martian Field (Campus Martius), facing the Vatican across the Tiber. On the side of the Tiber opposite the Palatine is the Janiculum, a ridge running north and south, which was fortified in early times.Early in the first millennium BC the Tiber divided the Italic peoples from the Etruscans in the north and west.

Pandemonium

(Pan`de*mo"ni*um) n. [NL., from Gr. all + a demon.]
1. The great hall or council chamber of demons or evil spirits. Milton.
2. An utterly lawless, riotous place or assemblage.
(A). A perfect pandemonium. A bear-garden for disorder and licentiousness. In allusion to the parliament of hell in Milton's Paradise Lost, book i. (Greek, pan daimon, every demon.)

Pandora

Woman was not yet made. The story (absurd enough!) is that Jupiter made her, and sent her to Prometheus and his brother, to punish them for their presumption in stealing fire from heaven; and man, for accepting the gift. The first woman was named Pandora. She was made in heaven, every god contributing something to perfect her. Venus gave her beauty, Mercury persuasion, Apollo music, etc. Thus equipped, she was conveyed to earth, and presented to Epimetheus, who gladly accepted her, though cautioned by his brother to beware of Jupiter and his gifts. Epimetheus had in his house a jar, in which were kept certain noxious articles for which, in fitting man for his new abode, he had had no occasion. Pandora was seized with an eager curiosity to know what this jar contained; and one day she slipped off the cover and looked in. Forthwith there escaped a multitude of plagues for hapless man,- such as gout, rheumatism, and colic for his body, and envy, spite, and revenge for his mind,- and scattered themselves far and wide. Pandora hastened to replace the lid! but, alas! the whole contents of the jar had escaped, one thing only excepted, which lay at the bottom, and that was hope. So we see at this day, whatever evils are abroad, hope never entirely leaves us; and while we have that, no amount of other ills can make us completely wretched.
Another story is that Pandora was sent in good faith, by Jupiter, to bless man; that she was furnished with a box containing her marriage presents, into which every god had put some blessing, She opened the box incautiously, and the blessings all escaped, hope only excepted. This story seems more probable than the former; for how could hope, so precious a jewel as it is, have been kept in a jar full of all manner of evils, as in the former statement?
Pandora's Box (A). A present which seems valuable, but which is in reality a curse; as when Midas was permitted, according to his request, to turn whatever he touched into gold, and found his very food became gold, and therefore uneatable. Prometheus made an image and stole fire from heaven to endow it with life. In revenge, Jupiter told Vulcan to make a female statue, and gave her a box which she was to present to the man who married her. Prometheus distrusted Jove and his gifts, but Epimetheus, his brother, married the beautiful Pandora, and received the box. Immediately the bridegroom opened the box all the evils that flesh is heir to flew forth, and have ever since continued to afflict the world. The last thing that flew from the box was Hope.
According to Diel, Pandora is symbolic of the wicked temptations besetting humankind-the rebellious Promethean beings who have risen up against the divine order. She is also at times a representation of the irrational, wild tendencies of the imagination.

Pantaloons

(Pan`ta*loon") n. [F. pantalon, fr. It. pantalone, a masked character in the Italian comedy, who wore breeches and stockings that were all of one piece, from Pantaleone, the patron saint of Venice, which, as a baptismal name, is very frequent among the Venetians, and is applied to them by the other Italians as a nickname, fr. Gr. lit., all lion, a Greek personal name.]
"That Licentio that comes a-wooing is my man Tramo bearing my port, that we might beguile the old pantaloon."- Shakespeare: Taming of the Shrew, iii. 1.

1. A ridiculous character, or an old dotard, in the Italian comedy; also, a buffoon in pantomimes. Addison.
The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon.
Shak.
2. pl. A bifurcated garment for a man, covering the body from the waist downwards, and consisting of breeches and stockings in one.
3. pl. In recent times, same as Trousers

Paradiso

Italian for paradise. (Par"a*dise) n. [OE. & F. paradis, L. paradisus, fr. Gr. para`deisos park, paradise, fr. Zend pairidaeza an inclosure; pairi around (akin to Gr. ) + diz to throw up, pile up; cf. Skr. dih to smear, and E. dough.]
1. The garden of Eden, in which Adam and Eve were placed after their creation.
2. The abode of sanctified souls after death.
To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Luke xxiii. 43.
It sounds to him like her mother's voice,
Singing in Paradise.
Longfellow.
3. A place of bliss; a region of supreme felicity or delight; hence, a state of happiness.
The earth
Shall be all paradise.
Milton.
Wrapt in the very paradise of some creative vision.
Beaconsfield.

"An old word, `paradise,' which the Hebrews had borrowed from the Persians, and which at first designated the `parks of the Achaemenidae,' summed up the general dream."- Renan: Life of Jesus, xi.

Penance

(pen´ens), sacrament of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Eastern churches. By it the penitent (the person receiving the sacrament) is absolved of his or her sins by a confessor (the person hearing the confession and conferring the sacrament). Every Catholic is required to confess all his or her mortal (serious) sins before receiving communion and at least once a year. A penitent need confess only sins committed since baptism or since his or her last confession. To make the sacrament valid the confessor must be a priest and the penitent must be contrite and possess a firm purpose of amendment. Sins inadvertently forgotten after a careful examination of conscience are included in the absolution. Before granting absolution, the confessor, acting as an instrument of both God and the Church, may admonish the sinner, and he imposes a penance (a punishment, usually consisting of prayers). The penitent is required to make restitution for injuries to others. According to a canon of the Council of Trent, Jesus instituted this sacrament when he first appeared to the disciples after the resurrection (John 20.19-23). Following the Second Vatican Council, the Roman Catholic Church introduced the liturgy for a new communal penitential service, during which the individual has the opportunity to confess privately to a priest. Absolution is still granted only on an individual basis. In the Eastern churches confession is required before communion, but there has been no development of moral theology or of casuistry comparable to that of the West. The priest acts in the sacrament only as an instrument of God, who forgives sins by the sacrament.

Perfume

Aroma produced by the essential oils of plants and by synthetic aromatics. The burning of incense that accompanied the religious rites of ancient China, Palestine, and Egypt led gradually to the personal use of perfume. In Greece, where flower scents were first developed, the use of perfume became widespread. In Rome perfume was used extravagantly. During the Middle Ages the Crusaders brought the knowledge of perfumery back to Europe from the East. It was at this time that animal substances were first added as fixativesmusk , ambergris , civet , and castoreum (from the beaver ). Italian perfumers settled in Paris (after 1500), and thereafter France became the leader of the industry. After 1500 scents became fashionable; both men and women wore an ornamental pomander or pouncet-box (dry-scent box), which hung from the waist. Each wealthy household had a still roomwhere perfume was prepared by the women. Since the early 19th cent., chemists have analyzed many essential oils and have produced thousands of synthetics, some imitating natural products and others yielding new scents. Most perfumes today are blends of natural and synthetic scents and of fixatives that equalize vaporization of the blends and add pungency. The ingredients are usually combined with alcohol for liquid scents and with fatty bases for many cosmetics. Leading producers of perfume oils are the East Indies, Réunion island, and S France. Bulgaria and Turkey are noted for attar of roses , Algeria for geranium oils, Italy for citrus oils, and England for lavender and mint. The great fashion houses of Paris are renowned for perfumes that carry their names.

Petticoat

(Pet"ti*coat) n. (Zoöl.) [Petty + coat.] A loose under-garment worn by women, and covering the body below the waist.

Petticoat and Gown The dress. When the gown was looped up, the petticoat was an important item of dress.
The poppy is said to have a red petticoat and a green gown; the daffodil, a yellow petticoat and green gown; a candle, a white petticoat; and so on in our common nursery rhymes-
1 "The King's daughter is coming to town,
With a red petticoat and a green gown."
2 "Daffadown dilly is now coine to town,
In a yellow petticoat and a green gown."

Phaedria

Phædria [wantonnese ]. Handmaid of Acrasia the enchantress. She sails about Idle Lake in a gondola. Seeing Sir Guyon she ferries him across the lake to the floating island, where Cymochles attacks him. Phædria interposes, the combatants desist, and the little wanton ferries the knight Temperance over the lake again. (Spenser: Faërie Qucene, ii.)

Piracy

Commerce without its folly-swaddles, just as God made it.

Pleasurian

Seeker of great pleasures. It was Xerxes who offered a reward to anyone who could invent a new pleasure,

Poetess

(Po"et*ess), n. [Cf. F. poétesse.] A female poet.

Portia

A rich heiress in The Merchant of Venice, in love with Bassanio. Her father had ordained that three caskets should be offered to all who sought her hand- one of gold, one of silver, and one of lead- with this proviso: he only who selected the casket which contained the portrait of the lady should possess her hand and fortune. (Shakespeare.)

Portrait

Portrait art has taken many forms; variation in styles and tastes has contributed as much to portrait art as to other modes of artistic expression. The Egyptians made sculptured monuments that were idealized portraits of their monarchs intended to grant them immortality. Such ideal likenesses were painted onto sarcophagi of lesser persons as well. In Asia this religious use of the portrait was widespread until the 15th cent., when realistic Western portraiture began to influence Eastern art.In Europe the principal medieval portraitists known by name were the French court painters Fouquet and Limousin. Limousin's enamel portraits of Francis I are among the masterpieces of enamel work.
The portrait subject was eventually revealed at full length by such masters as Holbein, Titian, Tintoretto, and Veronese, thereby increasing enormously the compositional possibilities. The Italian mannerists Bronzino, Pontormo, and Parmigiano expressed a cold splendor in their studies of the aristocracy. The Elizabethans favored the miniature , worn in a locket or set in an elaborate frame on a tiny stand. The foremost masters of this intimate and delicate form were Hilliard, Holbein, and Oliver.The giant among all makers of portraits was Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. In nearly 80 self-portraits he created a detailed psychological autobiography, from his joyous and exalted youth to his agonized old age. This series forms an introspective monument unique in art history. Rembrandt's portraits of others are equally penetrating. The principal baroque portraitists other than Rembrandt include Bernini, Hals, Rubens, and Van Dyck. They were followed by the French neoclassical masters David and Ingres; the Italian sculptor Canova; the English painters Hogarth, Raeburn, Lawrence, Romney, and, most notably, Gainsborough and Reynolds; the brilliant Spanish delineator of character, Goya; and the German Kneller.

Posy

Posy properly means a copy of verses presented with a bouquet. It now means the verses without the flowers, as the "posy of a ring," or the flowers without the verses, as a "pretty posy."
"He could make anything in poetry, from the posy of a ring to the chronicle of its most heroid wearer."- Stedman: Victorian Poets (Landor), p. 47.

Princess

1. A female prince; a woman having sovereign power, or the rank of a prince. Dryden.
So excellent a princess as the present queen.
Swift.
2. The daughter of a sovereign; a female member of a royal family. Shak.
3. The consort of a prince; as, the princess of Wales.

Procession

The palm branch (lulab) and citrus fruit (ethrog) procession performed in conjunction with prayers of the Feast of Tabernacles possibly goes back to the harvest festival associated with the holiday. Ex. 23.16; Lev. 23.33-44; Num. 29.12-40; Ezek. 45.25.
One of the oldest and most joyous of Jewish holidays, called in the Bible the Feast of Ingathering and today often called by its Hebrew name, Sukkoth [Heb.,booth]. The holiday begins on the 15th day of Tishri, the seventh month in the Jewish calendar, and lasts for nine days (eight days in Israel), ending in another holiday, Simhath Torah [Heb.,rejoicing of the law], of medieval origin. The Feast of Tabernacles, which marked the closing of the harvest season for the Jews of ancient Palestine, is today celebrated by the taking of all meals in a lightly constructed booth covered with thatch in memory of the wanderings in the wilderness.

Procession of the Black Breeches This is the heading of a chapter in vol. ii. of Carlyle's French Revolution. The chapter contains a description of the mob procession, headed by Santerre carrying a pair of black satin breeches on a pole. The mob forced its way into the Tuileries on June 20th, 1792, and presented the king (Louis XVI.) with the bonnet rouge and a tricolour cockade.

Prom

(prom)n. A formal dance held for a high-school or college class typically at or near the end of the academic year.

Promise

(Prom"ise) a. [F. promesse, L. promissum, fr. promittere, promissum, to put forth, foretell, promise; pro forward, for + mittere to send. ]
1. In general, a declaration, written or verbal, made by one person to another, which binds the person who makes it to do, or to forbear to do, a specified act; a declaration which gives to the person to whom it is made a right to expect or to claim the performance or forbearance of a specified act.
For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
Gal. iii. 18.
2. (Law) An engagement by one person to another, either in words or in writing, but properly not under seal, for the performance or nonperformance of some particular thing. The word promise is used to denote the mere engagement of a person, without regard to the consideration for it, or the corresponding duty of the party to whom it is made. Chitty. Parsons. Burrill.
3. That which causes hope, expectation, or assurance; especially, that which affords expectation of future distinction; as, a youth of great promise. Shak.
My native country was full of youthful promise.
W. Irving.
4. Bestowal, fulfillment, or grant of what is promised.
He . . . commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father.
Acts i. 4
Promise of Odin (The). The most binding of all promises to a Scandinavian. In making this promise the person passed his hand through a massive silver ring kept for the purpose; or through a sacrificial stone, like that called the "Circle of Stennis."
"I will bind myself to you ... by the promise of Odin, the most sacred of our northern rites."- Sir W. Scott: The Pirate, chap. xxii.
Promised Land or Land of Promise. Canaan; so called because God promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that their offspring should possess it.

Back to Top

---

Q

Queen

Greek, gyne (a woman); Sanskrit, goni; Swedish, qvenna; Gothic, queins; Anglo-Saxon, cwen.
Queen, "woman," is equivalent to "mother." In the translation of the Bible by Ulfilas (fourth century), we meet with gens and gino ("wife" and "woman"); and in the Scandinavian languages karl and kone still mean "man" and "wife."
A woman by whom the realm is ruled when there is a king, and through whom it is ruled when there is not.

Queen of Hearts Elizabeth, daughter of James I. This unfortunate Queen of Bohemia was so called in the Low Countries, from her amiable character and engaging manners, even in her lowest estate. (1596-1662.)
Queen of Heaven with the ancient Phoenicians, was Astarte; Greeks, Hera; Romans, Juno; Trivia, Hecate, Diana, the Egyptian Isis, etc., were all so called; but with the Roman Catholics it is the Virgin Mary.
In Jeremiah vii. 18: "The children gather wood, ... and the women knead dough to make cakes to the queen of heaven," i.e. probably to the Moon, to which the Jews, at the time, made drink-offerings and presented cakes. (Compare chapter xliv. 16-18.)

Back to Top

---

R

Rapture

(Rap"ture) n. [L. rapere, raptum, to carry off by force.]
1. A seizing by violence; a hurrying along; rapidity with violence. [Obs.]
That 'gainst a rock, or flat, her keel did dash
With headlong rapture.
Chapman.
2. The state or condition of being rapt, or carried away from one's self by agreeable excitement; violence of a pleasing passion; extreme joy or pleasure; ecstasy.
Music, when thus applied, raises in the mind of the hearer great conceptions; it strengthens devotion, and advances praise into rapture.
Addison.
You grow correct that once with rapture writ.
Pope.
3. A spasm; a fit; a syncope; delirium. [Obs.] Shak.
Syn. - Bliss; ecstasy; transport; delight; exultation.

Ravishing

(Rav"ish*ing), a. Rapturous; transporting.
In a ravishing manner.
The state of being ravished; rapture; transport of delight; ecstasy. Spenser.
In whose sight all things joy, with ravishment
Attracted by thy beauty still to gaze.

Reformation

The message of the Reformation spread quickly throughout Europe (except Russia). The Scandinavian countries became firmly Protestant under Gustavus I of Sweden and Frederick I of Denmark and Norway; later attempts to win them back to Catholicism failed.
The message of the Reformation spread quickly throughout Europe (except Russia). The Scandinavian countries became firmly Protestant under Gustavus I of Sweden and Frederick I of Denmark and Norway; later attempts to win them back to Catholicism failed.

Regency

A colorful neoclassical style, often combined with oriental motifs, prevalent in England between 1811 and 1830, during the Regency and reign of George IV.

Renaissance

After 1450 there was a reversal in fashion from the pointed Gothic look to the square look of the Renaissance. The style in its exaggerated form is best represented in Holbein's paintings of the English court of Henry VIII.
The revival of classical art and architecture during the Renaissance spread from Italy to France in the 15th and 16th cent., giving rise to the majority of the famous French châteaux, primarily in the Loire valley.
The late 15th and early 16th cent. saw the flowering of the Renaissance in France. Three giants of world literature François Rabelais , Pierre de Ronsard , and Michel Eyquem de Montaigne towered over a host of brilliant but lesser figures in the 16th cent. Italian influence was strong in the poetry of Clément Marot and the dramas of Éstienne Jodelle and Robert Garnier . The poet Ronsard and the six poets known collectively as the Pléiade (see Pleiad ) reacted against Italian influence to produce a body of French poetry to rival Italian achievement.
Renaissance music took great liberties with musical form. In 1300 the most popular music was French and secular. Although secular music gradually spread all over Europe, it flowered in Italy. In fact, in about 1330 an Italian school of musical composition developed in Padua, Verona, Bologna, Florence, and Milan.

Requiem

(rek´weem, re´-, ra´-)[Lat.,rest], Funeral Mass, Mass for the Dead, or Mass of Christian Burial. Black vestments are no longer required, white or purple may be worn, and flowers are permitted. The hymnody, while still solemn in tone, is often joyful and reflects hope in the resurrection and the service is conducted in the vernacular. Its peculiarities include omission of the Gloria, the creed, and the blessing of the people. The opening words of the introit, Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them,echo through all the prayers for the dead. The traditional Gregorian musical setting of the requiem is quite beautiful; other requiem music has been written (e.g., by Mozart and Verdi), but it is not often heard in churches.

A mass for the dead which the minor poets assure us the winds sing o'er the graves of their favorites. Sometimes, by way of providing a varied entertainment, they sing a dirge.

Ritual

(Rit"u*al) a.[L. ritualis, fr. ritus a rite: cf. F. rituel.] Of or pertaining to rites or ritual; as, ritual service or sacrifices; the ritual law.
1. A prescribed form of performing divine service in a particular church or communion; as, the Jewish ritual.
2. Hence, the code of ceremonies observed by an organization; as, the ritual of the freemasons.
3. A book containing the rites to be observed.

Romanticism

Although in literature romantic elements were known much earlier, as in the Elizabethan dramas, many critics now date English literary romanticism from the publication of Wordsworth and Coleridge's Lyrical Ballads (1798). In the preface to the second edition of that influential work (1800), Wordsworth stated his belief that poetry results from the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings, and pressed for the use of natural everyday diction in literary works. Coleridge emphasized the importance of the poet's imagination and discounted adherence to arbitrary literary rules.Such English romantic poets as Byron , Shelley , Robert Burns , Keats , Robert Southey , and William Cowper often focused on the individual self, on the poet's personal reaction to life. This emphasis can also be found in such prose works as the essays of Charles Lamb and William Hazlitt and in Thomas De Quincey 's autobiographical Confessions of an English Opium Eater (1822). The interest of romantics in the medieval period as a time of mystery, adventure, and aspiration is evidenced in the Gothic romance and in the historical novels of Sir Walter Scott . William Blake was probably the most singular of the English romantics. His poems and paintings are radiant, imaginative, and heavily symbolic, indicating the spiritual reality underlying the physical reality.
In Germany the Sturm und Drang school, with its obsessive interest in medievalism, prepared the way for romanticism. Friedrich Schlegel first used the term romantic to designate a school of literature opposed to classicism, and he also applied the philosophical ideas of Immanuel Kant and J. G. Fichte to the romantic ideal. Major German writers associated with romanticism include G. E. Lessing , J. G. Herder , Friedrich Hölderlin , Schiller , and particularly Goethe , who had a mystic feeling for nature and for Germany's medieval past.
The credo of French romanticism was set forth by Victor Hugo in the preface to his drama Cromwell (1828) and in his play Hernani (1830). Hugo proclaimed the freedom of the artist in both choice and treatment of a subject. The French romantics included Chateaubriand , Alexandre Dumas père, Alphonse de Lamartine , Alfred de Vigny , Alfred de Musset , and George Sand . Other leading romantic figures were Giacomo Leopardi and Alessandro Manzoni in Italy, and Aleksandr Pushkin and Mikhail Lermontov in Russia.
In the United States romanticism had philosophic expression in transcendentalism , notably in the works of Emerson and Thoreau . Poets such as Poe , Whittier , and Longfellow all produced works in the romantic vein. Walt Whitman in particular expressed pride in his individual self and the democratic spirit. The works of James Fenimore Cooper reflected the romantic interest in the historical past, whereas the symbolic novels of Hawthorne and Melville emphasized the movement's concern with transcendent reality.

Rose

(Rose), n. [AS. rose, L. rosa, from the Latin.]
1. A flower and shrub of any species of the genus Rosa, of which there are many species, mostly found in the northern hemisphere
Roses are shrubs with pinnate leaves and usually prickly stems. The flowers are large, and in the wild state have five petals of a color varying from deep pink to white, or sometimes yellow. By cultivation and hybridizing the number of petals is greatly increased and the natural perfume enhanced. In this way many distinct classes of roses have been formed, as the Banksia, Baurbon, Boursalt, China, Noisette, hybrid perpetual, etc., with multitudes of varieties in nearly every class.
2. A knot of ribbon formed like a rose; a rose knot; a rosette, esp. one worn on a shoe. Sha.
3. (Arch.) A rose window. See Rose window, below.
4. A perforated nozzle, as of a pipe, spout, etc., for delivering water in fine jets; a rosehead; also, a strainer at the foot of a pump.
5. (Med.) The erysipelas. Dunglison.
6. The card of the mariner's compass; also, a circular card with radiating lines, used in other instruments.
7. The color of a rose; rose-red; pink.
8. A diamond. Rose diamond,
In the language of flowers, different roses have a different signification. For example:-
The Burgundy Rose signifies simplicity and beauty.
The China Rose, grace or beauty ever fresh.
The Daily Rose, a smile.
The Dog Rose, pleasure mixed with pain.
A Faded Rose, beauty is fleeting.
The Japan Rose, beauty your sole attraction.
The Moss Rose, voluptuous love.
The Musk Rose, capricious beauty.
The Provence Rose, my heart is in flames.
The White Rose Bud, too young to love.
The White Rose full of buds, secrecy.
A wreath of Roses, beauty and virtue rewarded.
The Yellow Rose, infidelity.
Rose The red rose, says Sir John Mandeville, sprang from the extinguished brands heaped around a virgin martyr at Bethlehem, named Zillah.
The Wars of the Roses. A civil contest that lasted thirty years, in which eighty princes of the blood, a larger portion of the English nobility, and some 100,000 common soldiers were slain. It was a contest between the Lancastrians and Yorkists, whose supporters wore in their caps as badges a red or white rose, the Red rose (gules) being the cognisance of the House of Lancaster, and the White rose (argent) being the badge of the House of York. (1455-1485.) No rose without a thorn. "There is a crook in every lot" (Boston); "No joy without alloy;" "There is a poison-drop in man's purest cup;" "Every path hath its puddle" (Scotch).
French: "Il n'y a point de roses sans épines," or "Point de rose sans épine;" "Il n'est si gentil mois d'Avril qui n'ait son chapeau de grésil."
Italian: "Non v'è rosa senza spina;" "Ogni medaglia ha il suo reverso."
Latin: "Nihil est ab omni parte beatum" (Horace: 2 Odes, x. 27); "Curtæ nescio quid semper abest rei."
Under the rose (sub rosa). In strict confidence. Cupid gave Harpocrates (the god of silence) a rose, to bribe him not to betray the amours of Venus. Hence the flower became the emblem of silence. It was for this reason sculptured on the ceilings of banquet-rooms, to remind the guests that what was spoken sub vino was not to be uttered sub divo. In 1526 it was placed over confessionals. The banquet-room ceiling at Haddon Hall is decorated with roses. (French, parler sous la rose.)

Runic

The Runic characters were of various kinds. They were chiefly used for magical purposes. The noxious, or, as they called them, the bitter runes, were employed to bring various evils on their enemies; the favourable averted misfortune. Some were medicinal, others employed to win love, etc. In later times they were frequently used for inscriptions, of which more than a thousand have been found. The language is a dialect of the Gothic, called Norse, still in use in Iceland. The inscriptions may therefore be read with certainty, but hitherto very few have been found which throw the least light on history. They are mostly epitaphs on tombstones.

Gray's ode on the "Descent of Odin" contains an allusion to the use of Runic letters for incantation:

"Facing to the northern clime,
Thrice he traced the Runic rhyme;
Thrice pronounced, in accents dread
The thrilling verse that wakes the dead,
Till from out the hollow ground
Slowly breathed a sullen sound."

Back to Top

---

S

Sacrament

A solemn religious ceremony to which several degrees of authority and significance are attached. Rome has seven sacraments, but the Protestant churches, being less prosperous, feel that they can afford only two, and these of inferior sanctity. Some of the smaller sects have no sacraments at all-for which mean economy they will indubitably be damned.

Sandlewood

A corruption of Santalwood, a plant of the genus Santalum and natural order Santalaceae.
(San"dal*wood) n. [F. sandal, santal, fr. Ar. çandal, or Gr. sa`ntalon; both ultimately fr. Skr. candana. Cf. Sanders.] (Bot.) (a) The highly perfumed yellowish heartwood of an East Indian and Polynesian tree and of several other trees of the same genus, as the Hawaiian Santalum Freycinetianum and S. pyrularium, the Australian S. latifolium, etc. The name is extended to several other kinds of fragrant wood. (b) Any tree of the genus Santalum, or a tree which yields sandalwood. (c) The red wood of a kind of buckthorn, used in Russia for dyeing leather.

Satin

Saturnalian (Sat"in) n. [F. satin (cf. Pg. setim), fr. It. setino, from seta silk, L. saeta, seta, a thick, stiff hair, a bristle; or possibly ultimately of Chinese origin; cf. Chin. sz-tün, sz- twan. Cf. Sateen.] A silk cloth, of a thick, close texture, and overshot woof, which has a glossy surface.
Cloths of gold and satins rich of hue.
Chaucer.

Saturnalian

Saturnalia A time of licensed disorder and misrule. With the Romans it was the festival of Saturn, and was celebrated the 17th, 18th, and 19th of December. During its continuance no public business could be transacted, the law courts were closed, the schools kept holiday, no war could be commenced, and no malefactor punished. Under the empire the festival was extended to seven days.
Saturnian Days Days of dulness, when everything is venal.
"Then rose the seed of Chaos and of Night
To blot oat order and extinguish light,
Of dull and venal a new world to mould,
And bring Saturnian days of lead and gold."
Dunciad, iv.
They are lead to indicate dulness, and gold to indicate venality.

Saxon

The Saxon shores, the coast of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Kent, Sussex, and Hampshire, where were castles and garrisons, under the charge of a court or military officer, called Comës Lïttoris Saxonici per Britanniam.
Fort Branodunum (Brancaster) was on the Norfolk coast. Gariannonum (Burgh) was on the Suffolk coast. Othona (Ithanchester) was on the Essex coast. Regulbium (Reculver), Rutupiae (Richborough), Dubris (Dover), P. Lemanis (Lyme), were on the Kentish coast. Anderida (Hastings or Pevensey), Portus Adurni (Worthing), were on the Sussex coast.

Seraphim

An order of angels distinguished for fervent zeal and religious ardour. The word means "to burn." (Isaiah vi. 2.)
"Thousand celestial ardours [seraphs] where he stood
Veiled with his gorgeous wings, up springing light,
Flew through the midst of heaven."
Milton: Paradise Lost, v. 249.

Shadow

Shadow A ghost. Macbeth says to the ghost of Banquo -
"Hence, horrible shadow! unreal mockery, hence!"
Shakespeare: Macbeth, iii. 4.
He would quarrel with his own shadow. He is so irritable that he would lose his temper on the merest trifle.

Gone to the bad for the shadow of an ass. Demosthenes says a young Athenian once hired an ass to Megara. The heat was so great and the road so exposed, that he alighted at midday to take shelter from the sun under the shadow of the poor beast. Scarcely was he seated when the owner passed by, and laid claim to the shadow, saying he let the ass to the traveler, but not the ass's shadow. After fighting for a time, they agreed to settle the matter in the law courts, and the suit lasted so long that both were ruined. "If you must quarrel, let it be for something better than the shadow of an ass."

May your shadow never be less. When students have made certain progress in the black arts, they are compelled to run through a subterranean hall with the devil after them. If they run so fast that the devil can only catch their shadow, or part of it, they become first rate magicians, but lose either all or part of their shadow. Therefore, the expression referred to above means, May you escape wholly and entirely from the clutches of the foul fiend.

A servant carnestly desireth the shadow (Job vii. 2) - the time of leaving off work. The people of the East measure time by the length of their shadow, and if you ask a man what o'clock it is, he will go into the sun, stand erect, and fixing his eye where his shadow terminates; will measure its length with his feet; having done so, he will tell you the hour correctly. A workman earnestly desires his shadow, which indicates the time of leaving off work.

Shadow (To). To follow about like a shadow. This is done by some person or persons appointed to watch the movements and keep au fait with the doings of suspicious characters

Sibyl

Any of a number of women believed to be oracles or prophetesses, a fortune-teller. A very famous being the sibyl of Cumae, who guided Aeneas through the underworld.

Sibyls. The mediaeval monks reckoned twelve Sibyls, and gave to each a separate prophecy and distinct emblem:-
(1) The Libyan Sibyl: "The day shall come when men shall see the King of all living things." Emblem, a lighted taper.
(2) The Samian Sibyl: "The Rich One shall be born of a pure virgin." Emblem, a rose.
(3) The Cuman Sibyl: "Jesus Christ shall come from heaven, and live and reign in poverty on earth." Emblem, a crown.
(4) The Cumean Sibyl: "God shall be born of a pure virgin, and hold converse with sinners." Emblem, a cradle.
(5) The Erythraean Sibyl: "Jesus Christ, Son of God, the Saviour." Emblem, a horn.
(6) The Persian. Sibyl: "Satan shall be overcome by a true prophet." Emblem, a dragon under the Sibyl's feet, and a lantern.
(7) The Tiourtine Sibyl: "The Highest shall descend from heaven, and a virgin be shown in the valleys of the deserts." Emblem, a dove.
(8) The Delphic Sibyl: "The Prophet born of the virgin shall be crowned with thorns." Emblem, a crown of thorns.
(9) The Phrygian Sibyl: "Our Lord shall rise again." Emblem, a banner and a cross.
(10) The European Sibyl: "A virgin and her Son shall flee into Egypt." Emblem, a sword.
(11) The Agrippine Sibyl: "Jesus Christ shall be outraged and scourged." Emblem, a whip.
(12) The Hellespontic Sibyl: "Jesus Christ shall suffer shame upon the cross." Emblem, a cross.
This list of prophecies is of the sixteenth century, and is manifestly a clumsy forgery or mere monkish legend.
The most famous of the ten sibyls was Amalthaea, of Cumae in AEolia, who offered her nine books to Tarquin the Proud. The offer being rejected, she burnt three of them; and after the lapse of twelve months, offered the remaining six at the same price. Again being refused, she burnt three more, and after a similar interval asked the same price for the remaining three. The sum demanded was now given, and Amalthaea never appeared again. (Livy.)

Sibylline Books. A collection of poetical utterances in Greek, compiled in the second century (138-167). The collection is in eight books, relates to Jesus Christ, and is entitled Oracula Sibylina.

Sibylline Books The three surviving books of the Sibyl Amalthaea were preserved in a stone chest underground in the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, and committed to the charge of custodians chosen in the same manner as the high priests. The number of custodians was at first two, then ten, and ultimately fifteen. The books were destroyed by fire when the Capitol was burnt (A.D. 670).

Sibylline Verses When the Sibylline books were destroyed, all the floating verses of the several Sibyls were carefully collected and deposited in the new temple of Jupiter. Augustus had some 2,000 of these verses destroyed as spurious, and placed the rest in two gilt cases, under the base of the statue of Apollo, in the temple on the Palantine Hill; but the whole perished when the city was burnt in the reign of Nero.

Sibylline Leaves The Sibylline prophecies were written in Greek, upon palm-leaves. (Varro.)

Skull

The adult human cranium, or braincase, is formed of fused skull bones: the parietals, temporals, ethmoid, sphenoid, frontal, and occipital. These are separate plates of bone in the fetus, but by birth they have generally grown sufficiently for most of their edges to meet. The remaining separations are known as fontanels, the most prominent being the soft spot atop a newborn's head. By the age of two years, all of these fontanels have been closed over by the growing cranial bones. However, the seams, or sutures, between the bones do not completely knit until the age of 20. The occipital bone at the base of the skull forms a complex joint with the first vertebra of the neck, known as the atlas, permitting rotation and bending of the head. Study of the fossil skulls of humans and their precursors has made important contributions to evolutionary theory, and to the science of physical anthropology. Earlier skulls of human ancestors, for instance, have been shown to have markedly smaller cranial capacities, as well as more powerful jaws, than do the Homo sapiensspecies which exist today.

Soho

District of Westminster, London, England, known for its continental restaurants. Once a fashionable quarter, it became popular among writers and artists in the 19th cent. Past residents of Soho include John Dryden, William Hazlitt, William Blake, Thomas De Quincey, and Ernest Dowson.

Spades

[Sp. espada, literally, a sword; - so caused because these cards among the Spanish bear the figure of a sword. Sp. espada is fr. L. spatha, Gr. spa`qh..] One of that suit of cards each of which bears one or more figures resembling a spade.
"Let spades be trumps!" she said.
Pope.

Spider

The spider is a symbol with three distinct meanings; sometimes they merge or overlap, sometimes one or the other predominates. The three meanings are derived from: (i) the creative power of the spider, as exemplified in the weaving of its web; (ii) the spider's aggressiveness; and (iii) the spider's web as a spiral net converging towards a central point. The spider sitting in its web is a symbol of the centre of the world, and is hence regarded in India as Maya, the eternal weaver of the web of illusion. The spider's destructive powers are also connected with its significance as a symbol of the world of phenomena. Marius Schneider points out, spiders, in their ceaseless weaving and killing-building and destroying-symbolize the ceaseless alternation of forces on which the stability of the universe depends. For this reason, the symbolism of the spider goes deep, signifying, as it does, that 'continuous sacrifice' which is the means of man's continual transmutation throughout the course of his life. Even death itself merely winds up the thread of a old life in order to spin a new one. The spider is a lunar animal because the moon (owing to its passive character, in the sense that it merely reflects light, and because of its waxing and waning phases, taking these in the positive and negative sense) is related to the world of phenomena, and, on the psychic level, to the imagination. Thus the moon, since it holds sway over the whole phenomenal world (for all phenomenal forms are subject to growth and death), weaves the thread of each man's destiny. Accordingly, the moon is depicted as a gigantic spider in many myths.

Stardust

Stardust n : a dreamy romantic or sentimental quality.

Sword

A weapon of offense and defense in personal combat, consisting of a blade with a sharp point and one or two cutting edges, set in a hilt with a handle protected by a metal case or cross guard. The sword may have developed from the dagger at the beginning of the Bronze Age. It was not, however, until the more durable iron sword was introduced in the early Iron Age that the sword became an effective weapon. Greek and Roman swords were very short, with pointed ends, and had two cutting edges. Medieval knights used two types of swords: a short sword with a pointed end that was used with one hand and a heavy two-handed sword with a rounded end. During the Middle Ages the best blades were those made by the Arabs in Damascus and Toledo. Swords were widely used in the Middle East and E Asia as well as in Europe. The scimitar, used by the Persians and Arabs, is a curved steel sword. One of the best known of the East Asian swords is the Japanese samurai sword, consisting of a curved single-edged tempered steel blade set in a long handle. As a highly personal weapon the sword attained symbolic importance; surrendering one's sword became a token of submission, and the custom of taking an officer's sword away from him and breaking the blade when he was dismissed from the service in disgrace arose because a sword is the mark of an officer and a gentleman. During the Crusades and later, the sword, because of its shape, frequently was used to symbolize the Cross. The sword is now obsolete as a weapon and is carried in some military units for decorative purposes in times of peace. Special types of swords are the rapier, the épée, and the saber.

Symbeline

Commonly spelled Cymbeline. The name owes its existence to a character in Shakespeare's Cymbeline (1609), but in earlier accounts of the events on which the play is based this character is named as Innogen. The modern form of the name is thus due to a misreading of these sources by Shakespeare, or of the play's text by his printer. The name Innogen is of Celtic origin, from Gaelic inghean 'girl', 'maiden'.

Back to Top

---

T

Taffeta

Cloth, originally silk but now also made of synthetic fibers, supposed to have originated in Persia. The name, derived from Persian, means twisted woven.Taffeta is in the same class and demand as satin made of silk. The cloth is made of a plain or tabby weave, and the textures vary considerably. In addition there are two types of silk taffeta. Piece-dyed taffeta is often used in linings and is quite soft. Yarn-dyed taffeta is much stiffer and is often used in evening dresses. Taffeta is also used in ribbons, umbrellas, and some electrical insulation.

Talisman

A figure cut or engraved on metal or stone, under the influence of certain planets. In order to free any place of vermin, the figure of the obnoxious animal is made in wax or consecrated metal, in a planetary hour, and this is called the talisman. (Warburton.)
"He swore that you had robbed his house,
And stole his talismanic louse."
S. Butler; Hudibras. part iii. 1.
Talisman. The Abraxas Stone is a most noted talisman. In Arabia a talisman is still used, consisting of a piece of paper, on which are written the names of the Seven Sleepers and their dog, to protect a house from ghosts and demons. The talisman is supposed to be sympathetic, and to receive an influence from the planets, which it communicates to the wearer.

Tamberlayne

Tapestry

Tapestry,hand-woven fabric of plain weave made without shuttle or drawboy, the design of weft threads being threaded into the warp with fingers or a bobbin. The name has been extended to cover a variety of heavy materials, such as imitation tapestries woven on Jacquard looms, tapestry carpets, and upholstery and drape...

Tassels

[Fr. L. taxillus a little die, dim. of talus a die of a longish shape, rounded on two sides and marked only on the other four, a knuckle bone.]
(Tas"sel), n. [OE., a fastening of a mantle, OF. tassel a fastening, clasp, F. tasseau a 1. A pendent ornament, attached to the corners of cushions, to curtains, and the like, ending in a tuft of loose threads or cords.
2. The flower or head of some plants, esp. when pendent.
And the maize field grew and ripened, Till it stood in all the splendor
Of its garments green and yellow,
Of its tassels and its plumage.
Longfellow.
3. A narrow silk ribbon, or the like, sewed to a book to be put between the leaves.

Templar

Templars or Knights Templars. Nine French knights bound themselves, at the beginning of the twelfth century, to protect pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land, and received the name of Templars, because their arms were kept in a building given to them for the purpose by the abbot of the convent called the Temple of Jerusalem. They used to call themselves the "Poor Soldiers of the Holy City." Their habit was a long white mantle, to which subsequently was added a red cross on the left shoulder. Their famous war-cry was "Bauseant," from their banner, which was striped black and white, and charged with a red cross; the word Bauseant is old French for a black and white horse.
Seal of the Knights Templars (two knights riding on one horse). The first Master of the Order and his friend were so poor that they had but one horse between them, a circumstance commemorated by the seal of the order. The order afterwards became wealthy and powerful.

Temptation

(Temp*ta"tion) n. [OF. temptation, tentation, F. tentation, L. tentatio.]
1. The act of tempting, or enticing to evil; seduction.
When the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.
Luke iv. 13.
2. The state of being tempted, or enticed to evil.
Lead us not into temptation.
Luke xi. 4.
3. That which tempts; an inducement; an allurement, especially to something evil.
Dare to be great, without a guilty crown;
View it, and lay the bright temptation down.
Dryden.

Textiles

Yarn, fabrics, and tools for spinning and weaving have been found among the earliest relics of human habitations. Linen fabrics dating from 5000 BC have been discovered in Egypt. Woolen textiles from the early Bronze Age in Scandinavia and Switzerland have also been found. Cotton has been spun and woven in India since 3000 BC, and silk has been woven in China since at least 1000 BC About the 4th cent. AD, Constantinople began to weave the raw silk imported from China. A century later silk culture spread to the Western countries, and textile making developed rapidly. By the 14th cent. splendid fabrics were being woven on the hand looms of the Mediterranean countries in practically all the basic structures known to modern artisans, and there has been no change in fundamental processes since that time, although methods and equipment have been radically altered.

Theatrical

(The*at"ric*al) a. [L. theatricus, Gr. .] Of or pertaining to a theater, or to the scenic representations; resembling the manner of dramatic performers; histrionic; hence, artificial; as, theatrical performances; theatrical gestures. - The*at`ri*cal"i*ty n. - The*at"ric*al*ly adv.
No meretricious aid whatever has been called in - no trick, no illusion of the eye, nothing theatrical.
R. Jefferies.

Thespian

Thespian, Thespis Dramatic. Thespis was the father of Greek tragedy.
"The race of learned men,
... oft they snatch the pen,
As if inspired, and in a Thespian rage;
Then write."
Thomson: Castle of Indolence, c. i. 52.
"Thespis, the first professor of our art,
At country wakes sang ballads from a cart."
Dryden: Prologue to Sophonisba.

Touchstone

Touchstone A dark, flinty schist, called by the ancients Lapis Lydius; called touchstone because gold is tried by it, thus: A series of needles are formed (1) of pure gold; (2) of 23 gold and 1 copper; (3) of 22 gold and 2 copper, and so on. The assayer selects one of these and rubs it on the touchstone, when it leaves a reddish mark in proportion to the quantity of copper alloy. Dr. Ure says: "In such small work as cannot be assayed ... the assayers; ... ascertain its quality by `touch.' They then compare the colour left behind, and form their judgment accordingly."
The fable is, that Battus saw Mercury steal Apollo's oxen, and Mercury gave him a cow to secure his silence on the theft. Mercury, distrustful of the man, changed himself into a peasant, and offered Battus a cow and an ox if he would tell him the secret. Battus, caught in the trap, told the secret, and Mercury changed him into a touchstone. (Ovid: Metamorphoses, ii.)
"Gold is tried by the touchstone, and men by gold."- Bacon.
Touchstone. A clown whose mouth is filled with quips and cranks and witty repartees. (Shakespeare: As You Like It.) The original one was Tarlton.

Tournament

Tournament or Tournay. A tilt of knights; the chief art of the game being so to manoeuvre or turn your horse as to avoid the adversary's blow. (French, tournoiement, verb, tournoyer.)
Tournament of the Drum. A comic romance in verse by Sir David Lindsay; a ludicrous mock tournament.
Tournament of Tottenham. A comic romance, printed in Percy's Reliques. A number of clowns are introduced, practising warlike games, and making vows like knights of high degree. They ride tilt on cart-horses, fight with plough-shares and flails, and wear for armour wooden bowls and saucepan-lids. It may be termed the "high life below stairs" of chivalry.

Trapeze

1. (Geom.) A trapezium.
2. 2. A swinging horizontal bar, suspended at each end by a rope; - used by gymnasts.

Troubadour

(troo´bedôrz), aristocratic poet-musicians of S France (Provence) who flourished from the end of the 11th cent. through the 13th cent. Many troubadours were noblemen and crusader knights; some were kings, e.g., Richard I, Cur de Lion; Thibaut IV, king of Navarre; and Alfonso X, king of Castile and León.
Troubadour lyrics were sung and accompanied by instruments that probably duplicated the melody (all the music preserved is monophonic). The poems were written in the southern dialect called langue d'oc. The most common forms were sirventes (political poems), plancs (dirges), albas (morning songs), pastorals, and Jeux-partis (disputes); the favorite subjects were courtly love, war, and nature. After the Albigensian Crusade, in which many troubadours were caught up because their noble patrons were either sympathetic to the heretics or heretics themselves, Provençal culture declined. The influence of the widely traveling troubadours spread to central and N France, where their counterparts were the trouvères . In Germany they were imitated by the minnesingers . The tradition was also carried to Spain and Italy.

Trumpet

Its origin is ancient; records of a type of simple valveless trumpet are found in China from as early as 2000 BC, and it is mentioned in the Bible and in Greek and Roman history. It attained its present shape early in the 15th cent., at which time it became an important ceremonial instrument. It was used in the opera orchestra as early as Monteverdi's Orfeo (1607) and became a standard orchestral instrument later in the century. At this time the trumpet lacked valves, and a highly developed technique existed for playing in the upper register of the instrument, where a complete diatonic scale was available.

Tuxedo

Tuxedo coat \Tux*e"do coat`\, or Tuxedo \Tux*e"do\, n. A kind of black coat for evening dress made without skirts; -- so named after a fashionable country club at Tuxedo Park, New York. [U. S.]

n : semiformal evening dress for men [syn: dinner jacket, tux, black tie]
A dinner jacket (abbreviation DJ) (Am tuxedo) is a man's black jacket worn with a bow tie at formal social events, esp. in the evening.

Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night.,Jan. 5, the vigil or eve of Epiphany, so called because it is the 12th night from Christmas, counting Christmas as the first. In England, Twelfth Night has been a great festival marking the end of the Christmas season, and popular masquerading parties are typical entertainment.

Twilight

Period between sunset and total darkness or between total darkness and sunrise. Total darkness does not occur immediately when the sun sinks below the horizon because light from the sun that strikes the atmosphere is scattered (both by the air itself and by suspended matter, e.g., dust and smoke). Civil twilight ends when the center of the sun is 6° below the horizon. Although it is still not very dark, it is necessary to use artificial light to carry out most activities. Nautical twilight ends when the sun's center is 12° below the horizon; at about this time the light is too dim for the user of a sextant to see a sharp horizon. Astronomical twilight ends when the sun's center is 18° below the horizon; by this time even the faintest stars overhead can be seen. (Similar definitions apply to morning twilight.) During twilight, Venus or Mercury is often seen as the evening star or morning star. The length of twilight depends on latitude and the time of year. Twilight is generally shorter at the equator, where the sun's path toward the horizon is more nearly vertical than at higher latitudes; typically, astronomical twilight may last for 1 hr at the equator and 112hr in New York City.

Back to Top

---

U

Underworld

Tammuz. Tammuztä´mez, ancient nature deity worshiped in Babylonia. A god of agriculture and flocks, he personified the creative powers of spring. He was loved by the fertility goddess Ishtar, who, according to one legend, was so grief-stricken at his death that she contrived to enter the underworld to get him back.

Osiris. Osirisosi´ris, in Egyptian religion, legendary ruler of predynastic Egypt and god of the underworld. He was the son of the sky goddess Nut and the earth god Geb. The great benefactor of mankind, Osiris brought to the people knowledge of agriculture and civilization.

(persef´ene)or Proserpine, in Greek and Roman religion and mythology, goddess of fertility and queen of the underworld. She was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. When she was still a beautiful maiden, Pluto seized her and held her captive in his underworld. Though Demeter eventually persuaded the gods to let her daughter return to her, Persephone was required to remain in the underworld for four months because Pluto had tricked her into eating a pomegranate (food of the dead) there. When Persephone left the earth, the flowers withered and the grain died, but when she returned, life blossomed anew. This story, which symbolizes the annual vegetation cycle, was celebrated in the Eleusinian Mysteries in which Persephone appeared under the name Kore.

Utopian

The name utopia is applied retroactively to various ideal states described before More's work, most notably to that of the Republic of Plato. St. Augustine's City of God in the 5th cent. enunciated the theocratic ideal that dominated visionary thinking in the Middle Ages. With the Renaissance the ideal of a utopia became more worldly, but the religious element in utopian thinking is often present thereafter, such as in the politico-religious ideals of 17th-century English social philosophers and political experimenters. Among the famous pre-19th-century utopian writings are François Rabelais's description of the Abbey of Thélème in Gargantua (1532), The City of the Sun (1623) by Tommaso Campanella , The New Atlantis (1627) of Francis Bacon , and The Oceana (1656) of James Harrington .In the 18th-century Enlightenment, Jean Jacques Rousseau and others gave impetus to the belief that an ideal society a Golden Age had existed in the primitive days of European society before the development of civilization corrupted it.

The adjective utopian has come into some disrepute and is frequently used contemptuously to mean impractical or impossibly visionary. The device of describing a utopia in satire or for the exercise of wit is almost as old as the serious utopia. The satiric device goes back to such comic utopias as that of Aristophanes in The Birds. Bernard Mandeville in The Fable of the Bees (1714) and Jonathan Swift in parts of Gulliver's Travels (1726) are in the same tradition. Pseudo-utopian satire has been extensive in modern times in such novels as Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (1932). The rise of the modern totalitarian state has brought forth several works, notably Nineteen Eighty-four (1949), by George Orwell, which describe the unhappy fate of the individual under the control of a supposedly benevolent despotism.

Back to Top

---

V

Velvet

Velvet, a fabric having a soft, thick, short pile, usually of silk, and a plain twill or satin weave ground. The pile surface is formed by weaving an extra set of warp threads that are looped over wires as in Wilton carpet, the rods being withdrawn after the weft thread is placed, leaving a row of loops or tufts across the breadth. The loops may remain uncut, forming terry velvet, or be cut, automatically in machine weaving or by a special tool in handlooming. The fabric may also be woven double, face to face, then cut apart. Velvet is supposedly one of the silk weaves developed on the ancient shuttle looms of China. The most beautiful weaves, such as brocades, are still done by hand. India has produced velvet from remote times, often richly embroidered, for the furniture and trappings of royalty. Many fine velvets were made in Turkey, and Persia was famous for its beautiful designs and colors. Magnificent velvets were used in Europe in 12th- and 13th-century religious and court ceremonials. Lucca and Genoa apparently were the first cities to make fine velvets and excelled through the 16th and 17th cent. Genoese velvet was notable for designs formed by contrasts of cut and uncut pile. Venetian and Florentine fabrics were sumptuous brocades, floral designs on contrasting grounds or on cloth of gold. Utrecht made a rich, heavy velvet used for wall and furniture coverings. Modern velvets are of many types and grades. Lyons velvet has a stiff ground and erect pile. Transparent velvet has a sheer foundation. Panne velvet is a long-napped weave, pressed. Plush and velveteen resemble velvet and are sometimes used as substitutes; the weft loops, rather than the warp loops, form the pile on these substitutes.

Venetian

Founding and Rise of Venice With Istria, Venice formed a province of the Roman Empire. In the 6th cent. refugees fleeing the Lombard invaders of N Italy sought safety on the largely uninhabited islands.

Venice was comparatively unaffected by the elegant, tortuous forms of mannerism. At the beginning of the 16th cent. two superlative Venetian masters, the mysterious, short-lived Giorgione and the long-lived, prolific Titian, continued the tradition established by Giovanni Bellini of sumptuous, poetic coloring. They created sensuous figures whose contours melted into luminous, atmospheric landscapes. Their stylistic effects influenced the works of Palma Vecchio, Pordenone, the Bassano family, the Ferrarese Dosso Dossi, and the lavish banquet scenes of Paolo Veronese. Only Tintoretto veered away from the harmonious canvases that were typical of the Venetians.

Venus

The Roman goddess of love and beauty, she was identified with the Etruscan Turan and the Greek Aphrodite (q.v.). To the ancient Italians, she was originally a fertility spirit.

Love; the goddess of love; courtship. Copper was called Venus by the alchemists.
"Venus smiles not in a house of tears." Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet, iv.l.
Venus is the name of the second planet from the sun, and the nearest heavenly body to the earth except the moon.
Statues of Venus. The most celebrated statues of this goddes are the Venus de Medici, the Aphrodite of Praxiteles, the Venus of Milo, The Venus Victorious of Canova, and the Venus of Gibson.
Capitoline Venus (The). In the Capitoline Museum of Rome.
Canova's Venus is the most noted of modern sculpture. (1757-1822.)
Uranian Venus of the Lusiad is the impersonation of heavenly love. She pleads to Destiny for the Lusians, and appears to them in the form of "the silver star of love." Plato says she was the daughter of Heaven (Uranos), and Xenophon adds that "she presided over the love of wisdom and virtue, the pleasures of the soul." Nigidius says that this "heavenly Venus" was not born from the sea-foam, but from an egg which two fishes conveyed to the seashore. This egg was hatched by two pigeons whiter than snow, and have birth to the Assyrian Venus, who instructed mankind in religion, virtue, and equity.
Venus in astrology "signifiethe white men or browne ... joyfull, laughter, liberall, pleasers, dauncers, entertayners of women, players, perfumers, musitions, messengers of love."
"Venus loveth ryot and dispense." Chaucer: Canterbury Tale, 6, 282.
The Island of Venus in the Lusiad is a paradisaical island raised by "Divine Love," as a reward for the heroes of the poem. Here Venus, the ocean-goddess, gave her hand to Gama, and committed to him the empire of the sea. It was situate "near where the bowers of Paradise are placed," not far from the mountains of Imaus, whence the Ganges and Indus derive their source. This paradise of Love is described in the ninth book.

Versailles

(versi´, Fr. versi´), city, capital of Yvelines dept., N central France. It was an insignificant village made famous by Louis XIV, who built (mid-17th cent.) the palace and grounds that have become almost synonymous with the name Versailles. The growth of the town began in 1682, when Louis moved his court there. The huge structure, representing French classical style at its height, was the work of Louis Le Vau, J. H. Mansart, and Charles Le Brun. André Le Nôtre laid out the park and gardens, which are decorated with fountains, reservoirs, and sculptures by such artists as Antoine Coysevox.

Vestments

Vestments, garments worn by ecclesiastics in ceremonial functions. The cassock, a close-fitting gown buttoning down the front and reaching to the feet, is not a vestment so much as the daily uniform of the Western priest. Among most Protestants the vestments are generally limited to full gowns, much like academic gowns, sometimes with white bands worn around the neck and tied in front. Some Anglicans and Lutherans approximate the Roman Catholic use. In the Roman Catholic Church the priest's vestments at Mass are the most important. They are often elaborately worked and are usually made of linen or silk. They have remained largely the same since the early Middle Ages; in origin they are the upper-class Sunday dressof the late Roman Empire. Certain of them match in color; this liturgical colorvaries according to the Mass being said for that day, e.g., white for Easter and black for requiem Masses. The vestments for Mass are put on over the cassock as follows: the amice, a rectangular white strip covering the shoulders and having strings put around the neck; over this the alb, a long white gown with tight sleeves; the girdle, a rope of hemp or linen with tassels, usually white, confining the alb; the maniple (of the liturgical color), a broad band hanging over the left forearm; the stole (of the liturgical color), a long band hanging around the neck and crossed in front and over all the chasuble (of the liturgical color), a cloak with a hole for the head, cut in at the sides to give the arms freedom of action, often covering only the shoulders and reaching only part way down in front and back. The stole is worn uncrossed when the alb is not worn (as when the priest distributes communion), or diagonally from the left shoulder to the right side (by a deacon). The deacon's vestment par excellence is the dalmatic (of the liturgical color), a coat reaching to the knees, with wide, short sleeves. The cope is a great cape worn by the priest in processions, in giving absolution to the dead, at benediction, and on some other occasions. The vestments proper to a bishop celebrating Mass, in addition to the priest's vestments, are miter, gloves, buskins (stockings), and sandals (slippers). Not properly a vestment but frequently seen in churches is the surplice or cotta, a loose-fitting, white, linen garment reaching to the waist or knees. The only vestment peculiar to the Anglican communion is the chimer worn by some bishops, a black gown with white balloon sleeves of lawn. Related to the chimer, but shorter and sleeveless, is the manteletta of Roman Catholic bishops.

Victorian

Victorian style. In British and American architecture, an eclectic mode based on the revival of older styles, often in new combinations. Although the style is named after the reign (1837-1901) of Queen Victoria, it was her husband Prince Albert who was the actual promoter of taste. Because of its nationalist associations, the Gothic revival style was favored for churches, universities, and public buildings in England, exemplified by Charles Barry and A. W. N. Pugin's Houses of Parliament (1837-67). The writings of John Ruskin influenced a shift in taste from the Perpendicular English Gothic to the polychromy of Italian Gothic. Classicism in its numerous historical forms remained a viable alternative, and other styles that were revived included the Byzantine and the Romanesque. New materials, such as iron and glass, were often incorporated into the design of buildings during the Victorian period, but they were often hidden. In domestic architecture, the Arts and Crafts revival, based on the writings and decorative designs of William Morris, synthesized aspects of Queen Anne, Tudor, and English vernacular design. The Victorian style is used to describe any of a number of analogous historical revivals in the United States in the second half of the 19th cent.

Viscount

1.In England, a title of nobility ranking between those of earl and baron. 2. Formerly, a representative or deputy of a count or earl in the government of a district.

Back to Top

---

W

White Veils

A feature of female costume from antiquity, especially in the East, where it was worn primarily to conceal the features. In modern times it is worn to enhance the face. The Egyptian woman of rank, after Muslim influence, wore a transparent white gauze veil; the Greek woman wore a linen veil over the back of her head; the Roman woman favored the beautiful palliolum,a veil that was arranged over the hair and fell to the shoulders. The Middle Ages saw an abundance of veils decorating the extravagant headdresses (see hat ) of the times. In England, during the reign of Elizabeth I, veils of a shawllike nature were fashionable, and it was at that time that the white bridal veil probably became popular in England. The black crepe veil has been worn for mourning since early times. The Spanish mantilla, usually a black or white triangular veil of blonde lace, is worn on the head and falling over the shoulders. The veils of nuns and nurses are patterned after the early forms of the veil. The 20th cent. brought forth a great variety of veilsfrom large veils worn during the early years of the automobile to delicate, decorative nose veils. The modern veil, of chiffon or net, is often embroidered or embossed. Veils have often had symbolic meanings of modesty, of religious humility, of bondage.

Wild Orchids

The expensive wild orchid of the florists' trade is usually the large cattleya; species of this genus (Cattleya) are epiphytic plants native to tropical America. Among the other cultivated orchids are several of the terrestrial rein orchids (genus Habenaria) and many epiphytic tropical genera, e.g., the Asian Dendrobium, with pendant clusters of flowers; Epidendrum, represented in the SE United States by the greenfly orchid; and Odontoglossum, indigenous to the Andes Mts. About 140 species of orchid are native to North America, usually as bog plants or flowers of moist woodlands and meadows. Species of lady's-slipper, or moccasin flower (Cypripedium) [Lat.,slipper of Venus], include the pink-blossomed common, or stemless, lady's-slipper (C. acaule) and the showy lady's-slipper (C. reginae), both of the Northeast, and varieties of the yellow lady's-slipper (C. calceolus), which grow in all but the warmest regions of the continent. Other terrestrial genera that grow as American wildflowers are the fringe orchids (Blephariglottis); the small-blossomed twayblades (species of Liparis and Listera); the pogonias, or beard-flowers (Pogonia); the wild pinks, or swamp rose orchids (Arethusa), of northeastern sphagnum bogs; the grass pinks (Limodorum) of eastern bogs and meadows; and the ladies'-tresses, or pearl-twists (Spiranthes), with a distinctive spiral arrangement of yellowish or white flowers. The coral-roots (Corallorhiza), named for the corallike branching of their underground rhizomes, are a nongreen saprophytic genus which includes some North American species. Because orchids are characteristically slow growing and difficult to seed, excessive picking and futile attempts to transplant have depleted native species in some areas.

Women's Dress

The ancient Egyptian costume women first wore the kalasiris, a one-piece, narrow sheath of transparent linen, which was later adopted by men as the tunic. The Egyptian costume evolved into a highly decorative mode of dress characterized by the use of fluted linen, of jewelry (especially the beaded yoke collar), and of cosmetics and perfume ; the wig was also worn. The basic Greek garment, noted for its simplicity and graceful draping, consisted of the chiton and girdle. Roman dress, influenced by that of the Greeks, was simple and dignified; the toga, which was worn over the tunic, was the distinctive garment of the Roman citizen.
The change from ancient to medieval costume began (c. 400) with the disintegration of the Roman Empire. Roman attire, which had previously assimilated the elaborate features of Byzantine dress, was gradually affected by the austere costume of the barbaric invader. Both men and women wore a double tunic; the under tunic, or chemise, had long tight sleeves (a feature that remained until the 17th cent.) and a high neck; the girded wool overtunic, or robe, often had loose sleeves. A mantle, or indoor cloak, was also worn.After 1200 a great variety of fine fabrics from the East were available as a result of the Crusades, and the elegant dress of feudal Europe was evolved. With the introduction of various ways of cutting the basic garment, fashion , or style, began. A long, girded tunic, then called the cote or cotte, continued to be worn over the chemise by both men and women; a surcote (sleeveless and with wide armholes) was often worn over it. At this time family crests, or coats of arms (see blazonry ; heraldry ; crest ), became popular, and particolored garments came into vogue.Proper fit was increasingly emphasized, and by 1300 tailoring had become important and buttons had become useful as well as ornamental. The belted cote-hardie, with a close-fitting body and short skirt, was worn over a tighter, long-sleeved doublet and a chemise. The introduction (c.1350) of the houppelande, or overcoat, marked the first real appearance of the collar. Over a chemise and corset women wore a gown with a V neck and a long, flowing train; the front of the skirt was often tucked into the high-waisted belt. In its extreme, the style of the period was typified by profuse dagging (scalloped edges), exaggerated, hanging sleeves, pointed slippers, and fantastic headdresses (see headdress and veil ).

After 1450 there was a reversal in fashion from the pointed Gothic look to the square look of the Renaissance. The style in its exaggerated form is best represented in Holbein's paintings of the English court of Henry VIII. Women wore a square-necked gown with the bodice laced up the front and attached to the gathered skirt at the hips; the front of the skirt was often open, to reveal decorative petticoats. These, together with a preference for rich, heavy materials, especially velvet, and a fad for profuse slashing and puffing of the under material seen through the slash, created a massive and bulky appearance. In Elizabethan England (c.1550) the costume was stiffened, and the appearance was less bulky. Both men and women wore the characteristic shoulder wings, pointed stomacher, and starched ruff and cuffs made of lace . Materials were heavy and lustrous and considerable ornamentation was used. Women wore exaggerated farthingales, or hoops.
The early 17th-century English costume was less formal, with a softer line created by satin and silk materials. In women's costume, the arms began to be displayed and necklines were lower. The bodice was finished with a wide, round collar, or bertha, at the neck, and a flared, pleated, or ruffled skirtlike section, or peplum, was added at the waist. The apron was often a permanent part of the skirt.In England after 1660 the dress of the Restoration period became extravagantly decorative, using ribbons, flounces, and feathers.

In the 18th cent. France, under the rule of Louis XIV, became the costume center of the world, with Mme Pompadour, Mme du Barry, and Marie Antoinette successively dictating the fashions of the day. It was the age of the wig, of rococo settings, of delicate pastels and flower-patterned silks, and of embroidery . Early in the century Rousseau's ideas affected style of dress. Women's costume became graceful and pastoral; the pointed bodice, tightly laced, was finished with a triangular scarf, or fichu, at the neck, and sleeves were ruffled at the elbow. The bell-shaped hoop appeared c.1710, and c.1735 side hoops, or panniers, were popular. Women's costume, which at this period became extremely formal, was gradually softened into a romantic look (as in portraits by Gainsborough) that anticipated the Empire style .The 18th-century man first wore a knee-length cassock that buttoned all the way down over an equally long waistcoat, and buckled knee breeches. As the century progressed, the waistcoat became shorter, the skirt of the coat began to form tails, the collar became higher, and the sleeves and breeches became tighter.
The Empire style, associated in early 19th-century France with Josephine, was an attempt to recapture classic simplicity. Women wore a thin muslin dress with a high waist, a low round neck, and puffed short sleeves. After 1815 women, emphasizing their fragility, achieved an hourglass shape with an extremely tight corset. Their dresses had wide collars, sloping shoulders, leg-of-mutton sleeves, and full skirts. After 1840 Victorian women wore layers of decorative crinoline and after 1855 the hoop; sleeves were bell-shaped, and waist and necklines were pointed. After 1865 the bustle became fashionable for women; at this time, too, women first wore a tailored jacket with collar and lapels the forerunner of the suit. After 1890 women most often wore the suit or the shirtwaist with balloon sleeves and wasp waist: the dress of the Gibson girl. After 1910, as women's feet and legs began to be exposed, shoes were colored to match the outfit. The nightgown, for women, gave way for a time to pajamas. Women's dress after 1914 was characterized by straight lines, e.g., the floor-length hobble skirt and the flapper's boyish, short-skirted costume and matching accessories were popular in the 1920s.The following decades produced radical changes in women's wear, from the flowing skirts of the 1930s and the box-jacketed suits of the 40s to the sack dress of the early 60s. Since then the fluctuating hemline has been a predominant concern of fashion. The abbreviated miniskirt has vied for popularity with the full-length maxi and the calf-length midi in coats, skirts, and dresses. Women's clothing has become less restrictive and more casual than in previous eras.

Back to Top

---

XYZ

Yin Yang

Yang, the light, active, masculine principle, and Yin, the dark, passive, and feminine, in their interaction underlie and constitute the whole world of forms ("the ten thousands things"). They proceed from and together make manifest Tao: the source and law of being. Tao means "road' or "way." Tao is the way or course of nature, destiny, cosmic order: the Absolute made manifest. Tao is therefore also "truth," "right conduct." Yang and Yin together as Tao are depicted thus: Tao underlies the cosmos. Tao inhabits every created thing.

York

York,city (1991 pop. 123,126) and district, North Yorkshire, N England, at the confluence of the Ouse and Foss rivers. It is located at the junction of the three ridings of Yorkshire. The city of York, a rail center, is especially noted for the manufacture of cocoa, chocolate, and confections. Instrument making.

Richard, duke of,1411-60, English nobleman, claimant to the throne. He was descended from Edward III through his father, Richard, earl of Cambridge, grandson of that king, and also through his mother, Anne Mortimer, great-granddaughter of Lionel, duke of Clarence, who was the third son of Edward III.

Zodiac

A band passing around the celestial sphere, extending about 9 degrees on either side of the *ecliptic. It thus includes the apparent annual path of the sun from earth and also the orbit of the moon and principal planets apart from Pluto. The band was divided by the ancient Greeks into 12 parts,each 30 degree wide, known as the sign of the zodiac. The signs originally corresponded in position to 12 constellations bearing the same name- the zodiac constellations.

Back to Top

---

A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S

BULFINCH'S MYTHOLOGY
THE AGE OF FABLE
OR STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES
by Thomas Bulfinch
[1855]

The History of Underclothes
C.Willett & Phillis Cunnington

The History of Costume
Carl Kohler

The Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages
Norman F. Cantor/General Editor

A Dictionary of Symbols
J.E.Cirlot

The Devil's Dictionary
Ambrose Bierce

The Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
E. COBHAM BREWER
FROM THE NEW AND ENLARGED EDITION OF 1894

 

Websters Unabridged Dictionary 1913