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Cromwell, Thomas, earl of Essex

(Encyclopedia)Cromwell, Thomas, earl of Essex, 1485?–1540, English statesman. While a young man he lived abroad as a soldier, accountant, and merchant, and on his return (c.1512) to England he engaged in the wool...

Orestes, Roman general

(Encyclopedia)Orestes ōrĕstˈēz [key], d. 476, Roman general. With the help of barbarians he deposed (475) the Roman emperor of the West, Julius Nepos, and raised his own son, Romulus Augustulus, to the throne. ...

German literature

(Encyclopedia)German literature, works in the German language by German, Austrian, Austro-Hungarian, and Swiss authors, as well as by writers of German in other countries. The postwar decades saw a gradual litera...

Paschal II

(Encyclopedia)Paschal II păsˈkəl [key] [Lat.,=of Easter], d. 1118, pope (1099–1118), an Italian (b. near Ravenna) named Ranieri; successor of Urban II. He was a monk and, as a reformer, was made a cardinal by ...

Swabian League

(Encyclopedia)Swabian League, association of Swabian cities and other powers in SW Germany for the protection of trade and for regional peace. The Swabian League of 1488–1534 is the best known of the long series ...

Ferdinand V, Spanish king of Castile

(Encyclopedia)Ferdinand V, Spanish king of Castile: see Ferdinand II, king of Aragón. ...

Honorius II

(Encyclopedia)Honorius II, d. 1130, pope (1124–30), an Italian named Lamberto, b. Bologna; successor of Calixtus II. Before becoming pope he spent several years in Germany adjusting the quarrel over investiture b...

Lothair, king of Lotharingia

(Encyclopedia)Lothair, sometimes called Lothair II, d. 869, king of Lotharingia (855–69), second son of Emperor of the West Lothair I. He inherited the region bounded by the Rhine, Scheldt, Alps, and North Sea, w...

Arciniegas, Germán

(Encyclopedia)Arciniegas, Germán hĕrmänˈ ärsēnyāˈgäs [key], 1900–1999, Colombian historian and diplomat. A leading Latin American intellectual, he gained prominence as a journalist and publisher. A criti...

Welser

(Encyclopedia)Welser vĕlˈzər [key], German family of wealthy merchants and bankers at Augsburg. It reached the height of its prosperity under Bartholomäus Welser, 1488–1561, who had advanced large sums to Hol...