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Charles III, king of Naples

(Encyclopedia)Charles III (Charles of Durazzo), 1345–86, king of Naples (1381–86) and, as Charles II, of Hungary (1385–86); great-grandson of Charles II of Naples. Adopted as a child by Joanna I of Naples, he...

Swiss Guards

(Encyclopedia)Swiss Guards, Swiss mercenaries who fought in various European armies from the 15th cent. until the 19th cent. These mercenaries, who were not volunteers, were put at the disposal of foreign powers by...

Joanna I

(Encyclopedia)Joanna I, 1326–82, queen of Naples (1343–81), countess of Provence. She was the granddaughter of King Robert of Naples, whom she succeeded with her husband, Andrew of Hungary. The murder (1345) of...

Caesalpinus, Andreas

(Encyclopedia)Caesalpinus, Andreas ändrĕˈä chāzälpēˈnō [key], 1519–1603, Italian botanist and physiologist. He was physician to Pope Clement VIII. He described, in part and as a theory only, the circulat...

Urban II

(Encyclopedia)Urban II, c.1042–1099, pope (1088–99), a Frenchman named Odo (or Eudes) of Lagery; successor of Victor III. He studied at Reims and became a monk at Cluny. He went to Rome, as prior of Cluny, earl...

Schism, Great

(Encyclopedia)Schism, Great, or Schism of the West, division in the Roman Catholic Church from 1378 to 1417. There was no question of faith or practice involved; the schism was a matter of persons and politics. Sho...

Henry IV, Holy Roman emperor and German king

(Encyclopedia)Henry IV, 1050–1106, Holy Roman emperor (1084–1105) and German king (1056–1105), son and successor of Henry III. He was the central figure in the opening stages of the long struggle between the ...

Louis IV, Holy Roman emperor

(Encyclopedia)Louis IV or Louis the Bavarian, 1287?–1347, Holy Roman emperor (1328–47) and German king (1314–47), duke of Upper Bavaria. After the death of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII the Luxemburg party amo...

Jansen, Cornelis

(Encyclopedia)Jansen, Cornelis kôrnāˈlĭs yänˈsən [key], 1585–1638, Dutch Roman Catholic theologian. He studied at the Univ. of Louvain and became imbued with the idea of reforming Christian life along the ...

Jesus, Society of

(Encyclopedia)Jesus, Society of, religious order of the Roman Catholic Church. Its members are called Jesuits. St. Ignatius of Loyola, its founder, named it Compañia de Jesús [Span.,=(military) company of Jesus];...