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Brewer's: Rape of the Lock

Lord Petre, in a thoughtless moment of frolic gallantry, cut off a lock of Arabella Fermor's hair; and this liberty gave rise to a bitter feud between the two families, which Alexander…

epic

(Encyclopedia) epic, long, exalted narrative poem, usually on a serious subject, centered on a heroic figure. The earliest epics, known as primary, or original, epics, were shaped from the legends of…

Pearl, The

(Encyclopedia) Pearl, The, one of four Middle English alliterative poems, all contained in a manuscript of c.1400, composed in the West Midland dialect, almost certainly by the same anonymous author…

Brewer's: Rape

(1 syl.). The division of a county. Sussex is divided into six rapes, each of which has its river, forest, and castle. Herepp is Norwegian for a parish district, and rape in Doomsday Book…

Owl and the Nightingale, The

(Encyclopedia) Owl and the Nightingale, The, Middle English poem written probably by Nicholas de Guildford of Dorsetshire about the beginning of the 13th cent. Written in 2,000 lines of octosyllabic…

Lady of the Lake

(Encyclopedia) Lady of the Lake, in Arthurian legend, a misty, supernatural figure endowed with magic powers, who gave the sword Excalibur to King Arthur. She inhabited a castle in an underwater…

lock and key

(Encyclopedia) lock and key, fastening fitted to an entryway, such as a gate or door, or a container, such as a cabinet, drawer or safe, to keep it closed and/or prevent unauthorized access or use.…

Havelok the Dane

(Encyclopedia) Havelok the Dane, English 13th-century metrical romance. It concerns a prince brought up as a scullion, who, after discovering his true identity, wins the kingdoms of Denmark and…

Beardsley, Aubrey Vincent

(Encyclopedia) Beardsley, Aubrey VincentBeardsley, Aubrey Vincentôˈbrē, bĭrdzˈlē [key], 1872–98, English illustrator and writer, b. Brighton. Beardsley exemplifies the aesthetic movement in English…

lock, canal

(Encyclopedia) lock, canal, stretch of water enclosed by gates, one at each end, built into a canal or river for the purpose of raising or lowering a vessel from one water level to another. A lock…