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Northumbria, kingdom of

(Encyclopedia)Northumbria, kingdom of nôrthŭmˈbrēˈə [key], one of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in England. It was originally composed of two independent kingdoms divided by the Tees River, Bernicia (including mod...

Trianon, Treaty of

(Encyclopedia)Trianon, Treaty of, 1920, agreement following World War I in which the Allies disposed of Hungarian territories. The internal chaos in Hungary that followed the dissolution (1918) of the Austro-Hungar...

Scotland, Church of

(Encyclopedia)Scotland, Church of, the established national church of Scotland, Presbyterian (see Presbyterianism) in form. The first Protestants in Scotland, led by Patrick Hamilton, were predominantly Lutheran. H...

Trent, Council of

(Encyclopedia)Trent, Council of, 1545–47, 1551–52, 1562–63, 19th ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, convoked to meet the crisis of the Protestant Reformation. Earlier efforts at reforming the ch...

William of Occam

(Encyclopedia)William of Occam or Ockham both: ŏkˈəm [key], c.1285–c.1349, English scholastic philosopher. A Franciscan, Occam studied and taught at Oxford from c.1310 until 1324, when he was summoned to the p...

Vincent of Beauvais

(Encyclopedia)Vincent of Beauvais bōvāˈ [key], c.1190–c.1264, French Dominican friar. He was the author of three of the four parts of the Speculum majus, of great value as a summary of the knowledge of his tim...

Hildebert of Lavardin

(Encyclopedia)Hildebert of Lavardin hĭlˈdəbərt, lăvˈərdĭn; lävärdăNˈ [key], c.1056–1133, French churchman, bishop of Le Mans (1096–1125), and archbishop of Tours (1125–33). He was taken prisoner w...

Henry of Burgundy

(Encyclopedia)Henry of Burgundy, d. 1112, count of Portugal. One of a group of French nobles called by Alfonso VI of León to assist in the fight against the Moors, he arrived in Spain c.1095. He was assigned a por...

standard of living

(Encyclopedia)standard of living, level of consumption that an individual, group, or nation has achieved. The evaluation of a standard of living is relative, depending upon the judgment of the observer as to what c...

Berlin, Conference of

(Encyclopedia)Berlin, Conference of, 1884–85, international meeting aimed at settling the problems connected with European colonies in Africa. At the invitation of the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck, represe...