Written by Robert L. Collison
Written by Robert L. Collison

Encyclopaedia

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Alternate title: encyclopedia
Written by Robert L. Collison

The modern encyclopaedia

The period of the encyclopaedic dictionary was brilliant, but it gradually became apparent that, in abandoning the systematic encyclopaedia of the earlier period in favour of the quick reference dictionary form, quite as much had been lost as had been gained. The comparatively brief entries in the encyclopaedic dictionary had, by accident of the alphabet, fragmented knowledge to such an extent that users received only a disjointed knowledge of the things in which they were interested. Nor had the willful and extremely individualistic effort of the French encyclopaedists Diderot and d’Alembert done more than confuse the issue, for they had bent the principles of encyclopaedia making to their own purposes.

In the 18th century an initial solution to the problem was found by Andrew Bell, Colin Macfarquhar, and William Smellie, three Scotsmen who were responsible for the first edition (1768–71) of Encyclopædia Britannica. Aware of the shortcomings of the Encyclopédie, they devised a new plan. Their encyclopaedia was to include about 45 principal subjects (distinguished by titles printed across the whole page), supported by another 30 lengthy articles, the whole being contained within one alphabetical sequence interspersed with numerous brief entries enhanced by references, where appropriate, to the principal subjects. Some of the principal articles, notably those on medical subjects, extended to more than 100 pages each. The three collaborators had thus incorporated the comprehensive treatment of important subjects accorded by the earliest form of encyclopaedias and had supplemented this with the attraction of the brief informative notices of minor topics that had been the chief feature of the encyclopaedic dictionary. The key to their success was, however, their retention of the single alphabetical sequence.

Meanwhile, Renatus Gotthelf Löbel was planning to compile an encyclopaedia that could supersede Hübner. It was Sinold von Schütz who, in the fourth edition of Hübner, had introduced the word Conversations-Lexikon into the title, and it was Löbel who decided to give it pride of place in his new encyclopaedia. The Konversationslexikon was designed to provide the rapidly growing German bourgeoisie with the background knowledge considered essential for entry into the polite society of the day. When Brockhaus took over Löbel’s bankrupt and incomplete encyclopaedia, he saw the value and appeal of this evocative word and retained it (in various spellings) for many years afterward. Löbel’s and Brockhaus’s solution to the problem of the form of the modern encyclopaedia was not the same as the Britannica’s; it is interesting to note that, whereas the Britannica model has widely prevailed throughout the English-speaking world, Brockhaus has been the model for most of the encyclopaedias prepared in countries in which English is not widely spoken.

Brockhaus, throughout its existence, has faithfully followed a system in which the whole of knowledge has been categorized into very specific topics. These topics are arranged alphabetically, and, under each heading, condensed entries convey the essential information. By ingenious cross-references, entries are linked with other entries under which further information can be found, thus avoiding the inclusion of an index. There is no difficulty in distinguishing encyclopaedias of the Konversationslexikon form from encyclopaedic dictionaries. The former are usually of considerable size (Der grosse Brockhaus, 1928–35, included 200,000 articles by more than 1,000 authors) and possess elaborate cross-reference schemes. Moreover, whenever a really important subject occurs, considerable space is allowed, though the same principle of concentrated text is followed.

Although the Britannica and Brockhaus examples eventually became the models for 19th- and 20th-century encyclopaedias, there were many survivals from the previous periods. Ersch and Gruber’s enormous Allgemeine Encyclopädie (1818–89; “General Encyclopaedia”) has been cited as a true example of the medieval “summa”—it is famed for including one of the longest articles in any encyclopaedia, that on Greece, which fills 3,668 pages in volumes 80–87. The Encyclopédie française is an even later example of this form, and, as Samuel Taylor Coleridge planned it, the Encyclopaedia Metropolitana could have proved the supreme example of this type of treatment. Meanwhile, the encyclopaedic dictionary has never died, and, at the very time when Brockhaus and the Britannica were building their markets, Noah Webster was developing his dictionary’s reputation for reliability.

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