Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

237 results found

Hertford, William Seymour, 1st marquess and 2d earl of

(Encyclopedia)Hertford, William Seymour, 1st marquess and 2d earl of härˈfərd, härtˈ– [key], 1588–1660, English nobleman; great-grandson of Edward Seymour, duke of Somerset, and grandson of Lady Catherine ...

Anhalt

(Encyclopedia)Anhalt änˈhält [key], former state, c.900 sq mi (2,330 sq km), central Germany, surrounded by the former Prussian provinces of Saxony and Brandenburg. Dessau, the capital, and Köthen were the chie...

Anna Leopoldovna

(Encyclopedia)Anna Leopoldovna kärˈləvnə [key], 1718–46, duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, regent of Russia (1740–41); daughter of Charles Leopold, duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and of Catherine, sister o...

John IV, king of Portugal

(Encyclopedia)John IV, 1604–56, king of Portugal (1640–56). He succeeded as duke of Braganza in 1630. Descended from Manuel I and in illegitimate line from John I, he had the strongest claim to the Portuguese t...

stigmata

(Encyclopedia)stigmata stĭgˈmətə, stĭgmătˈə [key] [plural of stigma, from Gr.,=brand], wounds or marks on a person resembling the five wounds received by Jesus at the crucifixion. Some 300 cases of stigmati...

Basilian monks

(Encyclopedia)Basilian monks bəzĭlˈēən [key], monks primarily of the Eastern Church. They follow the Rule of St. Basil the Great, which has been universal among them since the 7th cent. They have no centralize...

Howard

(Encyclopedia)Howard, English noble family. Landowners in Norfolk from the 13th cent., the Howards obtained the duchy of Norfolk through the marriage of Sir Robert Howard to Margaret Mowbray, daughter of Thomas Mow...

Medici, Lorenzo de', 1492–1519, duke of Urbino

(Encyclopedia)Medici, Lorenzo de', 1492–1519, duke of Urbino (1516–19); son of Piero de' Medici. His uncle, Pope Leo X, made the youthful Lorenzo duke of Urbino. After his early death, however, Urbino reverted ...

Zwickau

(Encyclopedia)Zwickau tsvĭkˈou [key], city (1994 pop. 107,988), Saxony, E central Germany, on the Mulde River. It is an industrial city and until the late 1970s was the center of a coal mining region. Manufacture...

Diane de Poitiers

(Encyclopedia)Diane de Poitiers pwätyāˈ [key], 1499–1566, duchess of Valentinois, mistress of King Henry II of France. Noted for her beauty, Diane, who was much older than Henry, retained her influence over hi...