Canon

The term Canon, from the Greek word κανών (Kanon), meaning "reed" or "measuring rod", has multiple definitions in the literary world, the most common of which are specified as Literary Canon, Canon Fiction, and Biblical Canon (Landow).

Literary Canon

The term Literary Canon generally refers to a work or works of fiction that are widely respected by critics or scholars or are considered important to a genre, period, or study of literature. It can also refer to the popular works from a period, regardless of scholastic value (WiseGEEK).

Canon Fiction

Canon Fiction refers to works that fit into an author's 'official' (or widely recognized) continuity (Landow). A good example of this is the Sherlock Holmes Canon.

Biblical Canon

In religious terms, Biblical Canon is used in reference to books of the Bible that are officially recognized by The Church (Keathley).

Works Cited

Landow, George P. "The Literary Canon." The Literary Canon. The Victorian Web. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. <http://www.victorianweb.org/gender/canon/litcan.html>

"What Is a Literary Canon?" WiseGEEK. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. <http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-a-literary-canon.htm>

Keathley, J. Hampton, III. "The Bible: The Holy Canon of Scripture | Bible.org." Bible.org. 3 June 2004. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. <https://bible.org/seriespage/bible-holy-canon-scripture>