Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Ramayana

(Encyclopedia)Ramayana rämäˈyənə [key] [story of Rama], classical Sanskrit epic of India, probably composed in the 3d cent. b.c. Based on numerous legends, it is traditionally the work of Valmiki, one of the m...

Reynolds, Debbie

(Encyclopedia) Reynolds, Debbie, 1932-2016, American actress, singer, and dancer, b. El Paso, Tx., as Mary Frances Reynolds. Reynolds’ family relocated from El Paso...

Henry I, king of France

(Encyclopedia)Henry I, c.1008–1060, king of France (1031–60), son and successor of King Robert II. To defend his throne against his mother, his brothers Robert and Eudes, and subsequently against the count of B...

Acca Larentia

(Encyclopedia)Acca Larentia –tīˈnə [key], in Roman mythology, wife of the shepherd Faustulus and foster mother of Romulus and Remus. Her 12 sons founded the priesthood of the Arval Brothers. According to one l...

Messalina

(Encyclopedia)Messalina (Valeria Messalina) mĕsəlīˈnə [key], d. a.d. 48, Roman empress, wife of Claudius I. She was the mother of his children, Britannicus and Octavia. Her reputation for greed and lust was su...

Charles XVI Gustavus

(Encyclopedia)Charles XVI Gustavus (Carl Gustaf), 1946–, king of Sweden (1973–), grandson and successor of Gustavus VI; son of Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Brought up...

Charles of Viana

(Encyclopedia)Charles of Viana vēäˈnä [key], 1421–61, Spanish prince, heir of Navarre; son of Blanche of Navarre and John (later John II) of Aragón. After his mother's death (1441) he ruled Navarre for his f...

Juliana of Norwich

(Encyclopedia)Juliana of Norwich nôrˈĭch [key], d. c.1443, English religious writer, an anchoress, or hermit, of Norwich called Mother (or Dame) Juliana or Julian. Her work, completed c.1393, Revelations of Divi...

Linus, in Greek mythology

(Encyclopedia)Linus, in Greek mythology. 1 Son of Apollo and Psamathe of Argos. He was deserted by his mother on a hillside and devoured by dogs. When Psamathe's father learned what his daughter had done, he had he...
 

Browse by Subject