(Encyclopedia) Robertson, William, 1721–93, Scottish churchman and historian. As moderator (1762–80) of the general assembly of the Church of Scotland, he led the moderate party and enforced the…
(Encyclopedia) Rogers, John, 1500?–1555, English Protestant martyr, grad. Cambridge, 1526. He became a Roman Catholic priest, but under the influence of William Tyndale, whom he met in Antwerp, he…
(Encyclopedia) Damien, FatherDamien, Fatherdāˈmēən, dämyăNˈ [key] (Damien De Veuster), 1840–89, Belgian missionary priest and saint, originally named Jozef De Veuster. He went to Hawaii (1864) as a…
(Encyclopedia) Portland, William Bentinck, 1st earl of, 1649–1709, Dutch statesman in England. He was William III's most trusted personal adviser. In 1677 he engaged in negotiating the marriage of…
(Encyclopedia) pseudonympseudonyms&oomacr;ˈdənĭm [key] [Gr.,=false name], name assumed, particularly by writers, to conceal identity. A writer's pseudonym is also referred to as a nom de plume (…
(Encyclopedia) purification, in religion, the ceremonial removal of what the religion deems unclean. The usual agents of purification are water (as in baptism), bodily alteration (as in circumcision…
(Encyclopedia) Balfour, Sir James, d. 1583, Scottish judge and politician. Captured (1547) at St. Andrews after the murder of Cardinal Beaton, he served a sentence in the French galleys and on his…
(Encyclopedia) Orley, Bernard vanOrley, Bernard vanbĕrˈnärt vän ôrˈlī [key], or Barend van OrleyBarend van Orleybäˈrənt [key], c.1491–1542, Flemish painter. In 1515 he was settled in Brussels, where…
(Encyclopedia) Hildebert of LavardinHildebert of Lavardinhĭlˈdəbərt, lăvˈərdĭn; lävärdăNˈ [key], c.1056–1133, French churchman, bishop of Le Mans (1096–1125), and archbishop of Tours (1125–33). He…
(Encyclopedia) Hayes, Helen, 1900–1993, American actress, b. Washington, D.C., as Helen Hayes Brown. She made her New York stage debut at the age of nine. Performances in Caesar and Cleopatra (1925…
