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Parmigianino

(Encyclopedia)Parmigianino –jäˈnō [key], 1503–40, Italian painter and etcher, one of the most sensitive mannerist artists (see mannerism) and one of the period's finest draftsmen. His real name was Girolamo ...

Rainier III

(Encyclopedia)Rainier III rĕnyāˈ [key], 1923–2005, prince of Monaco (1949–2005), a member of the Grimaldi family, which has ruled the tiny principality since 1297. Fiercely anti-Nazi, Ranier served with dist...

Douglas, Archibald, 6th earl of Angus

(Encyclopedia)Douglas, Archibald, 6th earl of Angus, 1489–1557, Scottish nobleman; grandson of Archibald Douglas, 5th earl of Douglas. His marriage (1514) to Margaret Tudor alienated the Scottish noblemen and cau...

Thatcher, Margaret Hilda Roberts Thatcher, Baroness

(Encyclopedia)Thatcher, Margaret Hilda Roberts Thatcher, Baroness, 1925–2013, British political leader. Great Britain's first woman prime minister, nicknamed the “Iron Lady” for her uncompromising political s...

predestination

(Encyclopedia)predestination, in theology, doctrine that asserts that God predestines from eternity the salvation of certain souls. So-called double predestination, as in Calvinism, is the added assertion that God ...

sacrament

(Encyclopedia)sacrament [Lat.,=something holy], an outward sign of something sacred. In Christianity, a sacrament is commonly defined as having been instituted by Jesus and consisting of a visible sign of invisible...

original sin

(Encyclopedia)original sin, in Christian theology, the sin of Adam, by which all humankind fell from divine grace. Saint Augustine was the fundamental theologian in the formulation of this doctrine, which states th...

Fox sisters

(Encyclopedia)Fox sisters, family of American spiritualists including Margaret, 1836–93, Leah, 1814–90, and Catherine, 1841–92. In 1848, Margaret and Catherine claimed to hear mysterious rappings in their Arc...

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