(Encyclopedia) balm of Gileadbalm of Gileadgĭlˈēəd [key], name for several plants belonging to different taxonomic families. The historic Old World balm of Gilead, or Mecca balsam, is a small…
(Encyclopedia) Geoffrey of MonmouthGeoffrey of Monmouthmŏnˈməth [key], c.1100–1154, English author. He was probably born at Monmouth and was of either Breton or Welsh descent. In 1152 he was named…
(Encyclopedia) museums of art, institutions or buildings where works of art are kept for display or safekeeping. The word museum derives from the Greek mouseion, meaning temple to the works of the…
(Encyclopedia) Pressburg, Treaty of, 1805, peace treaty between Napoleon I of France and Holy Roman Emperor Francis II (also emperor of Austria), signed at Pressburg (now Bratislava, Slovakia).…
(Encyclopedia) Sardinia, kingdom of, name given to the possessions of the house of Savoy (see Savoy, house of) in 1720, when the island of Sardinia was awarded (by the Treaty of London) to Duke…
(Encyclopedia) Zeno of EleaZeno of Eleazēˈnō, [key]Zeno of Eleaēˈlēə [key], c.490–c.430 b.c., Greek philosopher of the Eleatic school. He undertook to support in his only known work, fragments of…
(Encyclopedia) Nicholas of Cusa (Nicolaus Cusanus), 1401?–1464, German humanist, scientist, statesman, and philosopher, from 1448 cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. The son of a fisherman,…
(Encyclopedia) Margaret of ValoisMargaret of Valoisvälwäˈ [key], 1553–1615, queen of France and Navarre, daughter of King Henry II of France and of Catherine de' Medici. She was known as Queen Margot…
(Encyclopedia) Margaret of AnjouMargaret of Anjouănˈj&oomacr;, Fr. äNzh&oomacr;ˈ [key], 1430?–1482, queen consort of King Henry VI of England, daughter of René of Anjou. Her marriage, which…
(Encyclopedia) Trebizond, empire of, 1204–1461. When the army of the Fourth Crusade overthrew (1204) the Byzantine Empire and established the Latin Empire of Constantinople, several Greek successor…
