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Dies irae

(Encyclopedia)Dies irae dēˈās ēˈrā [key] [Lat.,=day of wrath], hymn of the Roman Catholic Church. A part of the Requiem Mass, it is a powerful description of the Judgment and a prayer to Jesus for mercy. Sugg...

Vambery, Arminius

(Encyclopedia)Vambery, Arminius or Hermann ärˈmĭn [key], 1832–1913, Hungarian philologist and traveler. In Constantinople (1857–63) he learned several languages and dialects of Asia Minor and then traveled t...

publican

(Encyclopedia)publican [Lat.,=state employee], in ancient Rome, man who was employed by the state government under contract. As early as c.200 b.c. there was a class of men in Rome accustomed to undertaking contrac...

Patterson, Elizabeth

(Encyclopedia)Patterson, Elizabeth, 1785–1879, American wife of Jérôme Bonaparte, b. Baltimore. On a visit to America, Jérôme Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, met and married her (1803). Jérôme was...

Heraclea Pontica

(Encyclopedia)Heraclea Pontica pŏnˈtĭkə [key], ancient Greek city, a port on the southern shore of the Black Sea. Founded in the 6th cent. b.c. by colonists from Megara and Boeotia, it rose to a position of gre...

Perrot, Georges

(Encyclopedia)Perrot, Georges zhôrzh pĕrōˈ [key], 1832–1914, French archaeologist. He was professor at the Sorbonne from 1875, director of the École normale supérieure, Paris, from 1888 to 1902, and permane...

orders, holy

(Encyclopedia)orders, holy [Lat. ordo,=rank], in Christianity, the traditional degrees of the clergy, conferred by the Sacrament of Holy Order. The episcopacy, priesthood or presbyterate, and diaconate were in gene...

Locke, John

(Encyclopedia)Locke, John lŏk [key], 1632–1704, English philosopher, founder of British empiricism. Locke summed up the Enlightenment in his belief in the middle class and its right to freedom of conscience and ...

Nur ad-Din

(Encyclopedia)Nur ad-Din no͞or äd-dēn [key], 1118–74, ruler of Syria. He was the son of the conqueror Zangi, and he succeeded to power in 1145. He defeated the Seljuk Turks in Asia Minor and fought with Baldwi...

Liu Pang

(Encyclopedia)Liu Pang lyo͞o bäng [key], Chinese emperor (206–195 b.c.), founder of the Han dynasty. Liu was of peasant origin and had been a minor official before joining the free-for-all struggle that attende...