Jacobean
/ˌdʒakəˈbiːən
/adjective
1Relating to the reign of James I of England: a Jacobean mansion...
- Machiavelli himself, author of groundbreaking comedies such as the Mandragola, became a proverbial figure of evil on the Elizabethan and Jacobean stage.
- Britain's leading composer during the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods, Byrd's large, varied output included English anthems and consort songs, Latin motets and masses, and keyboard and instrumental consort music.
- Shakespeare studies call for a thorough knowledge of a wide spectrum of pre-Shakespearean, Elizabethan and Jacobean drama, the Elizabethan stage and dramaturgy.
1.1Denoting the architectural style prevalent during the reign of James I, consisting of a blend of Gothic and classical features.One of the finest examples of Jacobean architecture in Ireland, it dates from 1625, and looks like a castle ought to look, complete with crenellations and an adjacent ruined abbey, covered in wild roses....
- The agents say that internally the features are equally eye catching, with some stylish Jacobean decorative plaster ceilings, Louis XV marble fireplaces and wooden floors.
- The ornate state room on the ground floor, complete with Jacobean oak panelling and moulded ceiling, was rescued when the building was demolished three centuries later and can now be seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
1.2(Of furniture) in the style prevalent during the reign of James I, characterized by the use of dark oak.Church dates from 1436 and contains attractive Jacobean pews and pulpit....
- Other Cottier furniture in the Jacobean or northern Renaissance style is made of ebonized or painted mahogany.
- A large, open-arm, upholstered armchair is in the corner, and a wooden armchair with a pierced back splat in the Jacobean / colonial revival mode is in front of the chimney-piece.
noun
A person who lived in the Jacobean period.The approach of Elizabethans and Jacobeans to non-Europeans was normally commercial and pragmatic....
- For Dryden, the contrast between the First and Second Temples is symbolic of the relationship between contemporary Caroline poetry and that of the great Jacobeans.
- He compares the preoccupation with the extremes of the Jacobeans to the extremes of recent playwrights.
Origin
Mid 19th century (in use earlier with reference to St James): from modern Latin Jacobaeus (from ecclesiastical Latin Jacobus 'James', from Greek Iakōbos 'Jacob') + -an.