Age of Enlightenment

The Enlightenment, known in French as the Siècle des Lumières (Century of Enlightenment) and in German as the Aufklärung, was a philosophical movement which dominated the world of ideas in Europe in the 18th century. The principal goals of Enlightenment thinkers were liberty, progress, reason, tolerance, fraternity, and ending the abuses of the church and state. In France, the central doctrines of the Lumières were individual liberty and religious tolerance, in opposition to the principle of absolute monarchy and the fixed dogmas of the Roman Catholic Church. The Enlightenment was marked by increasing empiricism, scientific rigor, and reductionism, along with increased questioning of religious orthodoxy.

French historians traditionally place the Enlightenment between 1715, the year that Louis XIV died, and 1789, the beginning of the French Revolution. Some recent historians begin the period in the 1620s, with the start of the scientific revolution. The Philosophes, the French term for the philosophers of the period, widely circulated their ideas through meetings at scientific academies, Masonic lodges, literary salons and coffee houses, and through printed books and pamphlets. The ideas of the Enlightenment undermined the authority of the monarchy and the church, and paved the way for the revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries. A variety of 19th-century movements, including liberalism and neo-classicism, trace their intellectual heritage back to the Enlightenment.

Dragon Age

Dragon Age is a high fantasy role-playing video game series created by BioWare. The first game, Dragon Age: Origins, was released in 2009. Dragon Age II, a sequel to Origins, was released in March 2011. Dragon Age: Inquisition was released in November 2014. The series' fantasy setting has also been used by a variety of other media, including books and tabletop games, and the three main games have been joined by a variety of downloadable content (DLC) add-ons.

Video games

Main series

Spin-offs

Dragon Age Legends

Dragon Age Legends is a strategy RPG developed by EA for the Facebook Platform. Dragon Age Legends gives players their experience of the Free Marches, the setting of Dragon Age II. Dragon Age Legends gameplay will unlock items within Dragon Age II. The game features character customization and an upgrade system that isn't similar to the real game.

Dragon Age Journeys

A three-episode Flash game spin-off by EA 2D is under development, entitled Dragon Age Journeys. The first chapter of the game, The Deep Roads was released for free. Players can unlock achievements in the game, which will unlock unique items in Dragon Age: Origins. The second and third chapters are purchase-only.

Dragon Age: Inquisition

Dragon Age: Inquisition is an action role-playing video game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts. The third major game in the Dragon Age franchise, Dragon Age: Inquisition is the sequel to Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age II. The game was released in November 2014 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

The story of Dragon Age: Inquisition follows a player character known as the Inquisitor on a journey to settle the civil unrest in the continent of Thedas and close a mysterious tear in the sky called the "Breach", which is unleashing dangerous demons upon the world. The Inquisitor is viewed by some as the 'chosen one', as they have a 'Mark' on their hand capable of closing the Breach. The Inquisitor assembles the titular Inquisition in an attempt to stop Corypheus, an ancient darkspawn, who opened the breach in an attempt to conquer Thedas.

Gameplay of Dragon Age: Inquisition is similar to its predecessors and mostly consists of elements found in a typical action role-playing game; players control their customized Inquisitor, and the companions they meet. They can defeat enemies with swords and magic, complete side quests, interact with non-playable characters, and progress through the main story. Players mainly control their protagonists in a third-person view, though a traditional role-playing game top down camera angle is also available.

Dragon

A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that features in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern mythologies, and the Chinese dragon, with counterparts in Japan (namely the Japanese dragon), Korea and other East Asian countries.

The two traditions may have evolved separately, but have influenced each other to a certain extent, particularly with the cross-cultural contact of recent centuries. The English word dragon derives from Greek δράκων (drákōn), "dragon, serpent of huge size, water-snake".

Name

The word dragon entered the English language in the early 13th century from Old French dragon, which in turn comes from Latin draconem (nominative draco) meaning "huge serpent, dragon", from the Greek word δράκων, drakon (genitive drakontos, δράκοντος) "serpent, giant seafish". The Greek and Latin term referred to any great serpent, not necessarily mythological, and this usage was also current in English up to the 18th century.

17th-century philosophy

17th-century philosophy in the Western world is generally regarded as being the start of modern philosophy, and a departure from the medieval approach, especially Scholasticism.

Early 17th-century philosophy is often called the Age of Reason or Age of Rationalism and is considered to succeed the Renaissance philosophy era and precede the Age of Enlightenment.

Europe