The Eagle

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

Gaudenzio Ferrari (1481-1549), the Milanese painter. The Eagle of the doctors of France. Pierre d'Ailly (1350-1420), French cardinal and astrologer, who calculated the horoscope of Our Lord, and maintained that the stars fore- told the deluge.

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Common questions

What does “The Eagle” mean?

Gaudenzio Ferrari (1481-1549), the Milanese painter. The Eagle of the doctors of France. Pierre d'Ailly (1350-1420), French cardinal and astrologer, who calculated the horoscope of Our Lord, and maintained that the stars fore- told the deluge.

Is “The Eagle” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.