Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Arnold of Brescia

(Encyclopedia)Arnold of Brescia brĕshˈə [key], c.1090–1155, Italian monk and reformer, b. Brescia. A priest of irreproachable life, Arnold studied at Paris, where according to tradition he was a pupil of Peter...

Fathers of the Church

(Encyclopedia)Fathers of the Church, collective name for the Christian writers of early times whose work is considered generally orthodox. A convenient definition includes all such writers up to and including St. G...

Henry VIII, king of England

(Encyclopedia)Henry VIII, 1491–1547, king of England (1509–47), second son and successor of Henry VII. Henry was a supreme egotist. He advanced personal desires under the guise of public policy or moral rig...

Wenceslaus, Saint, duke of Bohemia

(Encyclopedia)Wenceslaus, Saint wĕnˈsəsləs [key], d. 929, duke of Bohemia. He was reared in the Christian faith by his grandmother, St. Ludmilla. He became duke at an early age, and during his minority his moth...

part of speech

(Encyclopedia)part of speech, in traditional English grammar, any one of about eight major classes of words, based on the parts of speech of ancient Greek and Latin. The parts of speech are noun, verb, adjective, a...

Aquitaine

(Encyclopedia)Aquitaine ăkˈwĭtān, äkētĕnˈ [key], Lat. Aquitania, former duchy and kingdom in SW France. Julius Caesar conquered the Aquitani, an Iberian people of SW Gaul, in 56 b.c. The province that he cr...

Mexico, National Autonomous University of

(Encyclopedia)Mexico, National Autonomous University of, at Mexico City, Mexico; founded 1551 by the Spanish king Charles I (Holy Roman Emperor Charles V). It has faculties of accounting and business administration...

Gentz, Friedrich von

(Encyclopedia)Gentz, Friedrich von frēˈdrĭkh fən gĕnts [key], 1764–1832, German conservative political theorist. Admirer of the English political system of checks and balances, Gentz was critical of the Fren...

Statius, Publius Papinius

(Encyclopedia)Statius, Publius Papinius pŭbˈlēəs pəpĭnˈēəs stāˈshəs [key], c.a.d. 45–c.a.d. 96, Latin poet, b. Naples. A favorite of Emperor Domitian, he won the poetry prize at an annual festival und...

Frederick III, elector of Saxony

(Encyclopedia)Frederick III or Frederick the Wise, 1463–1525, elector of Saxony (1486–1525). At Wittenberg he founded (1502) the university where Martin Luther and Melanchthon taught. At a crucial period for th...