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Italic languages

(Encyclopedia)Italic languages, subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages that may be divided into two groups. The first group consists of the ancient Italic languages and dialects that were once spoken in...

Frederick Augustus I, 1750–1827, king and elector of Saxony

(Encyclopedia)Frederick Augustus I, 1750–1827, king (1806–27) and elector (1763–1806) of Saxony, grand duke of Warsaw (1807–14). He sided with the allies in the French Revolutionary Wars and joined Prussia ...

Zrinyi

(Encyclopedia)Zrinyi zrĭnˈyē [key], noble Hungarian family of Croatian origin. Nicholas Zrinyi, 1508–66, distinguished himself in the defense of Vienna (1529) against Sultan Sulayman I, took part in the campai...

Lang, Cosmo Gordon

(Encyclopedia)Lang, Cosmo Gordon, 1864–1945, English churchman, archbishop of York (1908–28), archbishop of Canterbury (1928–42), b. Aberdeen, Scotland. From 1901 to 1908, while suffragan bishop of Stepney, L...

Este, Italian noble family

(Encyclopedia)Este ĕsˈtā [key], Italian noble family, rulers of Ferrara (1240–1597) and of Modena (1288–1796) and celebrated patrons of the arts during the Renaissance. Probably of Lombard origin, they took ...

Alexius I

(Encyclopedia)Alexius I (Alexius Comnenus) əlĕkˈsēəs, kəmnēˈnəs [key], 1048–1118, Byzantine emperor (1081–1118). Under the successors of his uncle, Isaac I, the empire had fallen prey to anarchy and fo...

Ennius, Quintus

(Encyclopedia)Ennius, Quintus kwĭnˈtəs ĕnˈēəs [key], 239–169? b.c., Latin poet, regarded by the Romans as the father of Latin poetry, b. Calabria. His birthplace was the meeting point of three civilization...

Jerome, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Jerome, Saint jərōmˈ, jĕrˈəm [key], c.347–420?, Christian scholar, Father of the Church, Doctor of the Church. He was born in Stridon on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia of Christian parent...

Shirley, Sir Anthony

(Encyclopedia)Shirley or Sherley, Sir Anthony, 1565–1636?, English adventurer. He fought in the Netherlands (1586) under the earl of Leicester and in France (1591) under the earl of Essex, who became his patron. ...

pawnbroker

(Encyclopedia)pawnbroker, one who makes loans on personal effects that are left as security. The practice of pawnbroking is ancient, as is recognition of the danger it involves of oppressing the poor. In fact, the ...