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feudalism

(Encyclopedia)feudalism fyo͞oˈdəlĭzəm [key], form of political and social organization typical of Western Europe from the dissolution of Charlemagne's empire to the rise of the absolute monarchies. The term fe...

scholasticism

(Encyclopedia)scholasticism skōlăsˈtĭsĭzəm [key], philosophy and theology of Western Christendom in the Middle Ages. Virtually all medieval philosophers of any significance were theologians, and their philoso...

Caesar, Julius

(Encyclopedia)Caesar, Julius (Caius Julius Caesar), 100? b.c.–44 b.c., Roman statesman and general. Caesar has always been one of the most controversial characters of history. His admirers have seen in him the ...

fascism

(Encyclopedia)fascism făshˈĭzəm [key], totalitarian philosophy of government that glorifies the state and nation and assigns to the state control over every aspect of national life. The name was first used by t...

church and state

(Encyclopedia)church and state, the relationship between the religion or religions of a nation and the civil government of that nation, especially the relationship between the Christian church and various civil gov...

Paris, city, France

(Encyclopedia)Paris pârˈĭs, Fr. pärēˈ [key], city (1999 pop. 2,115,757; metropolitan area est. pop. 11,000,000), N central France, capital of the country, on the Seine River. It is the commercial and industri...

Norway

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Norway, Nor. Norge, officially Kingdom of Norway, constitutional monarchy (2015 est. pop. 5,200,000), 125,181 sq mi (324,219 sq km), N Europe, occupying the western part of the Scandinavian pen...

history

(Encyclopedia)history, in its broadest sense, is the story of humanity's past. It also refers to the recording of that past. The diverse sources of history include books, newspapers, printed documents, personal pap...

Georgia, country, Asia

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Georgia jôrˈjə [key], Georgian Sakartvelo, Rus. Gruziya, officially Republic of Georgia, republic (2015 est. pop. 3,952,000), c.26,900 sq mi (69,700 sq km), in W Transcaucasia. Georgia borde...

Sweden

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Sweden, Swed. Sverige, officially Kingdom of Sweden, constitutional monarchy (2015 est. pop. 9,764,000), 173,648 sq mi (449,750 sq km), N Europe, occupying the eastern part of the Scandinavian ...

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