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Riga

(Encyclopedia)Riga rēˈgə [key], city (2011 provisional pop. 657,424), capital of Latvia, on the Daugava (Western Dvina) River near its entry into the Gulf of Riga. A major Baltic port, it is also a rail junction...

Estienne

(Encyclopedia)Estienne, Étienne stĕfˈənəs [key], family of Parisian and Genevan printers of the 16th and 17th cent., distinguished through five generations in scholarship as well as in their craft. The first ...

Bull Run

(Encyclopedia)Bull Run, small stream, NE Va., c.30 mi (50 km) SW of Washington, D.C. Two important battles of the Civil War were fought there: the first on July 21, 1861, and the second Aug. 29–30, 1862. Both bat...

Birmingham, city, England

(Encyclopedia)Birmingham bûrˈmĭngəm [key], city and metropolitan borough (2021 city pop. 2,606,374; met...

monasticism

(Encyclopedia)monasticism mənăsˈtĭsĭzəm, mō– [key], form of religious life, usually conducted in a community under a common rule. Monastic life is bound by ascetical practices expressed typically in the vo...

Palatinate

(Encyclopedia)Palatinate pəlătˈĭnātˌ [key], Ger. Pfalz, two regions of Germany. They are related historically, but not geographically. The Rhenish or Lower Palatinate (Ger. Rheinpfalz or Niederpfalz), often c...

Brandenburg, state, Germany

(Encyclopedia)Brandenburg bränˈdənbo͝ork [key], state (1994 est. pop. 2,540,000), c.10,400 sq mi (26,940 sq km), E Germany. Potsdam is the capital; other leading cities include Cottbus, Frankfurt-an-der-Oder, a...

Mary, the mother of Jesus

(Encyclopedia)Mary, in the Bible, mother of Jesus. Christian tradition reckons her the principal saint, naming her variously the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady, and Mother of God (Gr., theotokos). Her name is the He...

Maximilian I, 1459–1519, Holy Roman emperor and German king

(Encyclopedia)Maximilian I, 1459–1519, Holy Roman emperor and German king (1493–1519), son and successor of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III. As emperor, he aspired to restore forceful imperial leadership and i...

Amsterdam, city, Netherlands

(Encyclopedia)Amsterdam ămˈstərdămˌ, Dutch ämstərdämˈ [key], city (2021 pop. 1,157,519), constitutional capital and largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Nort...