encyclopedia

Dictionary of the Khazars

antoinette — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 11:59:11 -0700

The Dictionary of the Khazars: A Lexicon Novel was written by the Serbian novelist Milorad Pavic (1984). As the subtitle impies, the novel takes the form of a lexicon or encyclopedia; indeed, it comprises three parallel, cross-referenced lexicons, in each of which the entries are constructed from the point of view of one of the three religions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Tlön Uqbar Orbis Tertius

byeongsam — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 12:42:11 -0700

"Tlön Uqbar Orbis Tertius" is the title of a short story by the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges that revolves around a rare (possibly unique) edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica containing an entry on an otherwise unknown country called Uqbar. As the story unfolds, it appears that Uqbar is part of a conspiracy of thinkers to create an entire new world, Tlön, by imagining it in all its details.

Codex Seraphinianus

byeongsam — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 12:41:10 -0700

The Codex Seraphinianus is an exhaustively illustrated encyclopedia pertaining to an imaginary universe, created by the Italian artist and designer Luigi Serafini. It is written in a unique script, and its underlying language (if any) has not yet been deciphered. It may have been inspired in part by the Voynich Manuscript.