The Facts on File Dictionary of Allusions - Green Valley High School

Charlemagne
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charity, such as beauty covers a multitude of
sins. “ ‘John is so sensible, I’m afraid he will think
I’m stupid if I ask questions about politics and
things.’ ‘I don’t believe he would. Love covers a
multitude of sins, and of whom could you ask
more freely than of him?’ ” (Louisa May Alcott,
Little Women, 1868–69).
Charlemagne (shahrlbmayn) Archetype of a
wise, chivalrous ruler. Charlemagne (742–814),
otherwise called Charles the Great, became the
fi rst Holy Roman Emperor in 800, and he and the
adventures shared by the paladins who joined his
court inspired many legends (see roland). Charlemagne
himself was said to be at least eight feet
tall and im mensely strong, being able to bend
three horse shoes at once with his bare hands.
“. . . at all events Steelkilt was a tall and noble
animal with a head like a Roman, and a fl owing
golden beard like the tasseled housings of your last
viceroy’s snorting charger; and a brain, and a
heart, and a soul in him, gentlemen, which had
made Steelkilt Charlemagne, had he been born
son to Charlemagne’s father” (Herman Melville,
Moby- Dick, 1851).
Charles Atlas (atlbs) A man with a welldeveloped
physique, a bodybuilder. <strong>The</strong> original
Charles Atlas (Angelo Siciliano; 1892–1972) was
a U.S. bodybuilder who transformed himself from
an underweight weakling into “the world’s strongest
man.” Subsequently he became widely known
through advertisements for a bodybuilding course
that he promoted under the slogan “You too can
have a body like mine.” His name deliberately
evoked comparison with the Greek Titan atlas,
especially as depicted in books of maps, supporting
the sky or the world itself on his muscle- bound
shoulders. As an old man he lost his Charles Atlas
physique and resembled once more the puny youth of his
early years.
Charles Manson (mansbn) Archetype of a
deranged serial killer, especially one who is
addicted to drugs. Charles Manson (b. 1934) was
the charismatic leader of an informal “cult” family
which, in August 1969, went on a drug- fuelled
killing spree in Beverly Hills. <strong>The</strong> so- called “Manson
gang” entered the home of fi lm director
Roman Polanski and there viciously murdered his
pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate, and four others.
Another spate of murders followed two nights
later before the gang were captured and sentenced
to death; their sentences were later commuted to
life imprisonment. <strong>The</strong> police are anxious to fi nd and
arrest the man before he turns into another Charles
Manson.
Charlie Chan A person of Chinese descent, especially
one who proves both resourceful and wellmannered.
<strong>The</strong> original Charlie Chan (properly,
Inspector Charles Chan) was a Chinese detective
created in 1925 by U.S. novelist Earl Derr Biggers.
He featured in six novels and was the star of
numerous movies of the 1930s and 1940s. A
native of Honolulu, Chan was distinguished by his
witty aphorisms and unfailing courtesy. He was
rumored to have been based upon a real Hawaiian
police detective, one Chang Apana. <strong>The</strong> bureau
badly needed a Charlie Chan who knew his way around
the immigrant Chinese community and understood the
cultural issues involved in the case.
Charon (karbn) Personifi cation of death; a ferryman.
According to Greek mythology, Charon
was the name of the ferryman who rowed the
dead across the rivers Styx or Acheron to Hades,
the abode of the dead. He was conventionally