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# Canon

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A canon in one sense is a rule adopted by a council? of the Catholic or [Eastern Orthodox]? churches. From Greek kanon, for rule or measure. See [canon law]?.

In another sense, a canon is a list of books accepted as authoritative or divinely inspired by a religion. The term was originally Christian, referring to books declared divinely inspired by the canons of Church councils. The term has however come to be extended to other religions as well with compound scriptures, thus one can speak for instance of the Pali canon in Buddhism. See biblical canon for a discussion of the canon of Christianity.

In usually academic, non-religious contexts, the so-called Western canon is often spoken of. This is a body of literature and art recognized as definitive of [Western civilization]?.

In music, a canon is a round in which 2 or more voices sing the same melody at different times, but in a canon, the voices also begin at different pitches.

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Last edited August 13, 2001 6:57 am (diff)
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