Chapter Egyptian Disposition to Eleven Thousand Virgins of E by Brewer's Readers Handbook

There is a tradition that Eleanor sucked the poison of a poisoned arrow from a wound of Edward I.

Eleazar the Moor, insolent, blood-thirsty, lustful, and vindictive.—Marlowe: Lust’s Dominion, or The Lascivious Queen (1588).

Eleazar, a famous mathematician, who cast out devils by tying to the nose of the possessed a mystical ring, which the demon no sooner smelled than he abandoned the victim. He performed before the emperor Vespasian; and to prove that something came out of the possessed, he commanded the demon in making off to upset a pitcher of water, which it did.

I imagine if Eleazar’s ring had been put under their noses, we should have seen devils issue with their breath, so loud were these disputants.—Lesage: Gil Blas, v. 12 (1724).

Elector (The Great), Frederick William of Brandenburg (1620–1688).

Elegy to an Unfortunate Lady, by Pope. The lady was Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Joseph Gage, and wife of John Weston of Sutton. They were separated; and Pope’s interest in the lady gave birth to considerable scandal.

Elegy written in a Country Church Yard, by Gray (1750). The “Church yard” was that of Stoke Pogis, near Eton.

(Many English poets have written elegies: as Michael Bruce (1770); Drayton (1593); John Scot (1782); Shenstone (1743–1746); and others.)

Elein, wife of king Ban of Benwick (Brittany), and mother of sir Launcelot and sir Lionell. (See Elain, p. 317.)—Sir T. Malory: History of Prince Arthur, i. 60 (1470).

Elephant in the Moon (The), by S. Butler (1654), a satire in verse on the Royal Society. It supposes that an insect crawling over the object-glass of a telescope was mistaken by the telescopist for an elephant in the moon.

Eleven Thousand Virgins (The), the virgins who followed St. Ursula in her flight towards Rome. They were all massacred at Cologne by a party of Huns, and even to the present hour “their bones” are exhibited to visitors through windows in the wall.

A calendar in the Freisingen codex notices them as “SS. M. XI. VIRGINUM,” that is, eleven virgin martyrs; but “M” (martyrs) being taken for 1000, we get 11,000. It is furthermore remarkable that the number of names known of these virgins is eleven: (1) Ursula, (2) Sencia, (3) Gregoria, (4) Pinnosa, (5) Martha, (6) Saula, (7) Brittola, (8) Saturnina, (9) Rabacia or Sabatia, (10) Saturia or Saturnia and (11) Palladia.