Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment

This attractively designed and well-formatted encyclopedia is a translation of the 1997Dictionnaire européen des Lumières, edited by the noted French cultural historian Delon. Delon observes that the term Enlightenment simultaneously denotes an intellectual movement, the period in which this movement came to the fore, the issues we have inherited from it, and a system of values that still stirs debate. In this two-volume set, an international (though primarily French) group of scholars explore concepts and subjects related to these various denotations. There are no separate biographies; instead, articles present an overview under several rubrics: country (e.g., Germany), cultural (e.g., astronomy, libraries, salons, coffeehouses), aesthetic (e.g., baroque, grotesque), anthropological (e.g., love, work, children, surgery), and descriptive (e.g., night, reverie, gas). The text emphasizes the Enlightenment on the Continent, reflecting current interests and trends in European research, and bibliographical references at the end of most articles emphasize European-language materials. The writing throughout is clear, the translations flow smoothly, and each essay can stand alone. A system of cross references provides further guidance, and a well-organized index leads to biographical and other embedded information. Written in the grand tradition of the five-volume Dictionary of the History of Ideas, this encyclopedia is a major contribution to reference literature.It will provide useful and thought-provoking material for students and researchers for years to come.