(Encyclopedia) Zacharias or Zachary, SaintZacharias or Zachary, Saintzăkərīˈəs, zăkˈərē [key], pope (741–52), a Calabrian Greek; successor of St. Gregory III. He was the first pope after Gregory the…
(Encyclopedia) Leopold II, 1797–1870, grand duke of Tuscany (1824–59). Liberally inclined at first, he granted some reforms and undertook public works. In 1848 he approved a constitution and joined…
Saint Oliver Plunket The last Catholic martyr to die at Tyburn, he was canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1975 by Ann-Marie Imbornoni St. Oliver Plunket (1629–1681) Born in County Meath, Oliver…
WHY WAS THE FIRST CRUSADE CALLED? WHAT DID THE CRUSADERS BRING BACK TO EUROPE? FIND OUT MOREIn 1095, Pope Urban II called for a war against the Muslim rulers of Jerusalem. This was the First…
(Encyclopedia) Ferdinand II, 1810–59, king of the Two Sicilies (1830–59), son and successor of Francis I. Although initially he sought to improve the wretched conditions of his kingdom, he soon…
(Encyclopedia) Benno, Saint, d. 1106, German prelate. He was bishop of Meissen and an ardent supporter of Pope Gregory VII against Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, and the emperor had him deposed. He was…
(Encyclopedia) Scanderbeg or SkanderbegScanderbegboth: skănˈdərbĕg [key], c.1404–1468, Albanian national hero. His original name was George Castriota or Kastriotes, but the Ottomans called him…
(Encyclopedia) Worms, Concordat of, 1122, agreement reached by Pope Calixtus II and Holy Roman Emperor Henry V to put an end to the struggle over investiture. By its terms the emperor guaranteed free…
(Encyclopedia) Baldwin II (Baldwin of Le Bourg), d. 1131, Latin king of Jerusalem (1118–31), count of Edessa (1100–1131); cousin and successor of Baldwin I. He accompanied Godfrey of Bouillon on the…
