Masquerade

A party or dance at which fancy masks and costumes are worn. The masquerade originated in Italy, and was introduced into France by Catherine de Medici; reaching England during the reign of Henry VIII, where it flourished under Elizabeth I, giving rise to a new kind of play - the masque. Forbidden in France in 1535, it was reintroduced by Louis XIV, and again proscribed in 1789.

The masquerade continues to this day in Mardi Gras, Carnival, Halloween, Masquerade Balls, parties, parades, festivals and more.

A fictional event created by Robert A. Heinlein.

Forseeing bigotry and persecution on the part of those who were not part of the Howard breeding experiment and thus not eligible for the Howard's exceptional longevity, the Howard Foundation instituted a policy where each member of the Families would change identities every several years. This way, the actual age of the individual (which could potentially be several decades above the apparent and assumed ages) would not be ascertainable. It was this policy that led Woodrow Wilson Smith to adopt the nom de guerre of Lazarus Long. The theory behind the Masquerade was validated when the Masquerade was ended and widespread persecution of Howards did indeed take place.

The Masquerade includes events in both To Sail Beyond the Sunset and Methuselah's Children.

Mas`quer*ade" (?), n. [F. mascarade, fr. Sp. mascarada, or It. mascherata. See Mask.]

1.

An assembly of persons wearing masks, and amusing themselves with dancing, conversation, or other diversions.

In courtly balls and midnight masquerades. Pope.

2.

A dramatic performance by actors in masks; a mask. See 1st Mask, 4.

[Obs.]

3.

Acting or living under false pretenses; concealment of something by a false or unreal show; pretentious show; disguise.

That masquerade of misrepresentation which invariably accompanied the political eloquence of Rome. De Quincey.

4.

A Spanish diversion on horseback.

 

© Webster 1913.

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Mas`quer*ade", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Masqueraded; p. pr. & vb. n. Masquerading.]

1.

To assemble in masks; to take part in a masquerade.

2.

To frolic or disport in disquise; to make a pretentious show of being what one is not.

A freak took an ass in the head, and he goes into the woods, masquerading up and down in a lion's skin. L'Estrange.

 

© Webster 1913.

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Mas`quer*ade", v. t.

To conceal with masks; to disguise.

"To masquerade vice."

Killingbeck.

 

© Webster 1913.