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Italian Wars

(Encyclopedia)Italian Wars, 1494–1559, series of regional wars brought on by the efforts of the great European powers to control the small independent states of Italy. Renaissance Italy was split into numerous ri...

Menelik II

(Encyclopedia)Menelik II mĕnˈəlĭk [key], 1844–1913, emperor of Ethiopia after 1889. He was originally ras (ruler) of Shoa (central Ethiopia). After the death (1868) of Emperor Tewodros II, Menelik, with Itali...

Narses

(Encyclopedia)Narses närˈsēz [key], c.478–c.573, Byzantine official and general, one of the eunuchs of the palace. He assisted in the suppression of the Nika riot (532) by bribing the Blues of the Circus (see ...

sausage

(Encyclopedia)sausage, food consisting of finely chopped meat mixed with seasonings and, often, other ingredients, all encased in a thin membrane. Although sausages were made by the ancient Greeks and Romans, they ...

Totila

(Encyclopedia)Totila bădyo͞oĭlˈə [key], d. 552, last king of the Ostrogoths (541–52). By defeating the Byzantines at Faenza and Mugello (542) and by taking Naples (543) and Rome (546), he became master of ce...

Apulia

(Encyclopedia)Apulia əpyo͞oˈlēə [key], Ital. Puglia, region, 7,469 sq mi (19,345 sq km), S Italy, bordering on the Adriatic Sea in the east and the Strait of Otranto and Gulf of Ta...

Konstanz

(Encyclopedia)Konstanz kônˈstänts [key], Fr. Constance, city (1994 pop. 75,980), Baden-Württemberg, SW Germany, on the Rhine River at the western end of Lake Constance (Bodensee), and near the Swiss border. Its...

Wright, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Wright, Charles, 1935–, American poet, b. Pickwick Dam, Tenn. While in the army in Italy (1957–61), he began reading Pound's Cantos, which, along with his Southern roots and ancient Chinese poetry...

Lautrec, Odet de Foix, vicomte de

(Encyclopedia)Lautrec, Odet de Foix, vicomte de ôdāˈ də fwä vēkôNtˈ də lōtrĕkˈ [key], 1485–1528, marshal of France. In the Italian Wars he fought at Marignano (1515) and was subsequently governor of M...

Custoza

(Encyclopedia)Custoza –tôtˈtsä [key], village, Venetia, N Italy, near Verona. It was the scene of an Austrian victory over Sardinia in 1848 (see Risorgimento) and of an Austrian victory over Italy in 1866 (see...