Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Lotto, Lorenzo

(Encyclopedia)Lotto, Lorenzo lōrĕnˈtsō lôtˈtō [key], c.1480–1556, Venetian painter. His work reflects the influence of several great contemporaries from Bellini to Titian, but preserves throughout a fine s...

Settlement, Act of

(Encyclopedia)Settlement, Act of, 1701, passed by the English Parliament, to provide that if William III and Princess Anne (later Queen Anne) should die without heirs, the succession to the throne should pass to So...

Joachim of Fiore

(Encyclopedia)Joachim of Fiore jōˈəkĭm [key], c.1132–1202, Italian Cistercian monk. He was abbot of Corazzo, Italy, but withdrew into solitude. He left scriptural commentaries prophesying a new age. In his �...

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...

Sheppey, Isle of

(Encyclopedia)Sheppey, Isle of, c.30 sq mi (80 sq km), Kent, SE England, at the mouth of the Thames, separated from the mainland by The Swale, a narrow strait. It is largely flat, with wave-eroded cliffs to the nor...

Hermas, Shepherd of

(Encyclopedia)Hermas, Shepherd of herˈməs [key], Christian apocalyptic work, composed in Rome c.a.d. 139–a.d. 155. It is a collection of revelations given to Hermas, a devout Christian, by an angel (Shepherd) a...

Frederick IX, king of Denmark

(Encyclopedia)Frederick IX, 1899–1972, king of Denmark (1947–72), son and successor of Christian X. He married (1935) Princess Ingrid of Sweden. Because he did not have a son the constitution was amended in 195...

Song of Solomon

(Encyclopedia)Song of Solomon, Song of Songs, or Canticles, book of the Bible, 22d in the order of the Authorized Version. Although traditionally ascribed to King Solomon, many scholars date it as late as the 3d c...

creed

(Encyclopedia)creed [Lat. credo=I believe], summary of basic doctrines of faith. The following are historically important Christian creeds. 1 The Nicene Creed, beginning, “I believe in one God the Father Almighty...

anointing of the sick

(Encyclopedia)anointing of the sick, sacrament of the Orthodox Eastern Church and the Roman Catholic Church, formerly known as extreme unction. In it a sick or dying person is anointed on eyes, ears, nostrils, lips...