Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Vatican City

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Vatican City vătˈĭkən [key] or Holy See, officially Holy See (State of the Vatican City), independent state (2015 est. pop. 1,000), 108.7 acres (44 hectares), within the city of Rome, Italy...

Ladislaus I, king of Hungary

(Encyclopedia)Ladislaus I or Saint Ladislaus lädˈĭslousˌ [key], 1040–95, king of Hungary (1077–95). He supported Pope Gregory VII against Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, but rejected Gregory's suggestion that ...

Stuart, Henry Benedict Maria Clement

(Encyclopedia)Stuart or Stewart, Henry Benedict Maria Clement, known as Cardinal York, 1725–1807, claimant to the British throne, b. Rome. Second son of James Francis Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender), he was the...

papacy

(Encyclopedia)CE5 papacy pāˈpəsē [key], office of the pope, head of the Roman Catholic Church. He is pope by reason of being bishop of Rome and thus, according to Roman Catholic belief, successor in the see ...

Martin IV, d. 1285, pope

(Encyclopedia)Martin IV, d. 1285, pope (1281–85), a Frenchman named Simon de Brie; successor of Nicholas III. He was chancellor under Louis IX of France and was created cardinal by Urban IV. He was thus a support...

Sixtus V

(Encyclopedia)Sixtus V, 1521–90, pope (1585–90), an Italian (b. near Montalto) named Felice Peretti; successor of Gregory XIII. He entered the Franciscan order in early youth. After ordination (1547) he became ...

Rabelais, François

(Encyclopedia)Rabelais, François răbˈəlā, Fr. fräNswäˈ räblāˈ [key], c.1490–1553, French writer and physician, one of the great comic geniuses in world literature. His father, a lawyer, owned several e...

Fontainebleau

(Encyclopedia)Fontainebleau fôNtĕnblōˈ [key], town, Seine-et-Marne dept., N France, SE of Paris. It is a favorite ...

Reims

(Encyclopedia)Reims or Rheims răNs, rēmz [key], city (1990 pop. 185,164), Marne dept., NE France, in Champagne. The center of the champagne industry, Reims is situated amid large vineyards. Before the champagne i...

Innocent XI

(Encyclopedia)Innocent XI, 1611–89, pope (1676–89), an Italian named Benedetto Odescalchi, b. Como; successor of Clement X. He was elected because of his great saintliness and desire for reform. His election ha...