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Stanislaus I

(Encyclopedia)Stanislaus I, 1677–1766, king of Poland (1704–1709, 1733–35) and duke of Lorraine (1735–66). He was born Stanislaus Leszczynski. Early in the Northern War (1700–1721), Charles XII of Sweden ...

Pius VII

(Encyclopedia)Pius VII, 1740–1823, pope (1800–1823), an Italian named Barnaba Chiaramonti, b. Cesena; successor of Pius VI, who had created him cardinal in 1785. He conducted himself ably during the period of t...

Pirandello, Luigi

(Encyclopedia)Pirandello, Luigi lwēˈjē pērändĕlˈlō [key], 1867–1936, Italian author, b. Sicily. One of the great figures in 20th-century European theater, Pirandello was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Li...

Knox, John

(Encyclopedia)Knox, John, 1514?–1572, Scottish religious reformer, founder of Scottish Presbyterianism. In 1557 the Scottish Protestant nobles signed their First Covenant, banding together to form the group kn...

Naples, kingdom of

(Encyclopedia)Naples, kingdom of, former state, occupying the Italian peninsula south of the former Papal States. It comprised roughly the present regions of Campania, Abruzzi, Molise, Basilicata, Apulia, and Calab...

Sicily

(Encyclopedia)Sicily sĭsˈĭlē [key], Ital. Sicilia, region (1991 pop. 4,966,386), 9,925 sq mi (25,706 sq km), S Italy, mainly situated on the island of Sicily, which is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the we...

Roman Catholic Church

(Encyclopedia)Roman Catholic Church, Christian church headed by the pope, the bishop of Rome (see papacy and Peter, Saint). Its commonest title in official use is Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. “Roman Cathol...

duel

(Encyclopedia)duel, prearranged armed fight with deadly weapons, usually swords or pistols, between two persons concerned with a point of honor. The duel may have originated in the wager of battle, an early mode of...

Sulla, Lucius Cornelius

(Encyclopedia)Sulla, Lucius Cornelius lo͞oˈshəs kôrnēˈlyəs sŭlˈə [key], 138 b.c.–78 b.c., Roman general. At the height of his career he assumed the name Felix. He served under Marius in Africa and becam...

Capetians

(Encyclopedia)Capetians kəpēˈshənz [key], royal house of France that ruled continuously from 987 to 1328; it takes its name from Hugh Capet. Related branches of the family (see Valois; Bourbon) ruled France unt...