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Trent, Council of

(Encyclopedia)Trent, Council of, 1545–47, 1551–52, 1562–63, 19th ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, convoked to meet the crisis of the Protestant Reformation. Earlier efforts at reforming the ch...

Wounded Knee

(Encyclopedia)Wounded Knee, creek, rising in SW S.Dak. and flowing NW to the White River; site of the last major battle of the Indian wars. The ...

Somme, Battles of the

(Encyclopedia)Somme, Battles of the, two engagements fought during World War I near the Somme River, N France. The first battle (July–Nov., 1916) was an Allied offensive. The British, commanded by Field Marshal S...

Bjørnson, Bjørnstjerne

(Encyclopedia)Bjørnson, Bjørnstjerne byörnˈstyĕrnə byörnˈsōn [key], 1832–1910, Norwegian writer and political leader, one of the major figures of Norwegian literature. He was an influential journalist, w...

Mithra

(Encyclopedia)Mithra mĭthˈrə [key], ancient god of Persia and India (where he was called Mitra). Until the 6th cent. b.c., Mithra was apparently a minor figure in the Zoroastrian system. Under the Achaemenids, M...

magnolia, in botany

(Encyclopedia)magnolia, common name for plants of the genus Magnolia, and for the Magnoliaceae, a family of deciduous or evergreen trees and shrubs, often with showy flowers. They are principally of north temperate...

Port-Royal

(Encyclopedia)Port-Royal Fr. pôr-rwäyälˈ [key], former abbey of women, c.17 mi (27 km) W of Paris, founded in 1204. It was at first Benedictine, later Cistercian. In 1608 the abbess, Angélique Arnauld (see Arn...

Charles of Blois

(Encyclopedia)Charles of Blois (Charles of Châtillon) blwä, shätēyôNˈ [key], c.1319–1364, duke of Brittany; nephew of Philip VI of France. He was one of the chief participants in the War of the Breton Succe...

Concord, cities, United States

(Encyclopedia)Concord kŏngˈkərd, kŏnˈkôrdˌ [key]. 1 city (2020 pop. 125,410), Contra Costa c...

Alexander of Pherae

(Encyclopedia)Alexander of Pherae fērˈē [key], d. 358 b.c., tyrant of the city of Pherae in Thessaly after 369 b.c. He was opposed by other Thessalian cities and by the Thebans. Pelopidas failed (368 b.c.) in on...