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Virginia, in Roman legend

(Encyclopedia)Virginia, in Roman legend, daughter of the centurion Virginius. Her father stabbed her to save her from the lust of Appius Claudius Crassus, decemvir. This precipitated the fall of the decemvirs. The ...

Baldwin I, Latin emperor of Constantinople

(Encyclopedia)Baldwin I bôlˈdwĭn [key], 1171–1205, 1st Latin emperor of Constantinople (1204–5). The count of Flanders (as Baldwin IX), he was a leader in the Fourth Crusade (see Crusades). After the seizure...

Babenberg

(Encyclopedia)Babenberg bäˈbənbĕrk [key], ruling house of Austria (976–1246). It possibly descended from, or succeeded, a powerful Franconian family of the 9th cent. from whose castle the city of Bamberg prob...

Henry the Proud

(Encyclopedia)Henry the Proud, c.1108–1139, duke of Bavaria (1126–38) and of Saxony (1137–38). A member of the Guelph family, he inherited the duchy of Bavaria and enormous private wealth. By his marriage (11...

Paderborn

(Encyclopedia)Paderborn päˌdərbôrnˈ [key], city (1994 pop. 130,130), North Rhine–Westphalia, NW Germany. It is an agricultural market and industrial center; manufactures include chemicals, building materials...

Popes of the Roman Catholic Church (table)

(Encyclopedia)Popes of the Roman Catholic ChurchIn the following list, the date of election, rather than of consecration, is given. Before St. Victor I (189), dates may err by one year. Antipopes—i.e., those men...

Licinius, Roman plebian gens

(Encyclopedia)Licinius līsĭnˈēəs [key], Roman plebeian gens, of which several men were noteworthy. Caius Licinius Calvus Stolo, fl. 375 b.c., was tribune of the people with Lucius Sextius. Roman historians att...

Ferdinand IV, Spanish king of Castile and León

(Encyclopedia)Ferdinand IV, 1285–1312, Spanish king of Castile and León (1295–1312), son and successor of Sancho IV. His mother, María de Molina, was regent during his turbulent minority. He tried unsuccessfu...

Marie Louise

(Encyclopedia)Marie Louise, 1791–1847, empress of the French (1810–15) as consort of Napoleon I and duchess of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla (1816–47), daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Francis II (later Empero...

Field of the Cloth of Gold

(Encyclopedia)Field of the Cloth of Gold, locality between Guines and Ardres, not far from Calais, in France, where in 1520 Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France met for the purpose of arranging an alliance...