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Okmok

(Encyclopedia)Okmok, shield volcano on Umnak, SW Alaska, in the Aleutian Islands. Rising to 3,520 ft (1,073 m) and extending over most of NE Umnak, the 22-mi-wide (35-km) volcano contains two 6-mi-wide (10-km) part...

Arval Brothers

(Encyclopedia)Arval Brothers ärˈvəl [key], in Roman religion, college of 12 priests chosen from the most distinguished senatorial families. It was said that the original brothers were sons of Acca Larentia. Thei...

Lyons, First Council of

(Encyclopedia)Lyons, First Council of lyôNˈ [key], 1245, 13th ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, convened at Lyons, France, by Pope Innocent IV to deal with his struggle with Holy Roman Emperor Fred...

Leo I, Byzantine emperor

(Encyclopedia)Leo I, d. 474, Byzantine or East Roman emperor (457–74). Chosen by the senate to succeed Marcian, he sought to counteract the preponderance of Germans in the Roman army by enlisting Isaurians. A nav...

Campagna di Roma

(Encyclopedia)Campagna di Roma kämpäˈnyä dē rôˈmä [key], low-lying region surrounding the city of Rome, c.800 sq mi (2,070 sq km), Campania, central Italy. A favorite residential area in Roman times, it was...

Verrius Flaccus, Marcus

(Encyclopedia)Verrius Flaccus, Marcus märˈkəs vĕrˈēəs flăkˈəs [key], fl. 20 b.c., Roman grammarian. A freedman, he was appointed by Augustus to educate his grandsons and died at an advanced age during the...

Weissenburg in Bayern

(Encyclopedia)Weissenburg in Bayern vīˈsənbo͝ork ĭn bīˈyərn [key] or Weissenburg, town, Bavaria, S Germany. It is a manufacturing center of Middle Franconia; products include gold and silver lace, processed...

Timgad

(Encyclopedia)Timgad tĭmˈgăd [key], ancient Thamugadi, ruined city, Algeria, S of Constantine. It is sometimes called the Pompeii of North Africa because of the extensive remains of the Roman city founded here b...

Advent

(Encyclopedia)Advent [Lat.,=coming], season of the Christian ecclesiastical year preceding Christmas, lasting in the West from the Sunday nearest Nov. 30 (St. Andrew's Day) until Christmas Eve. In the Roman Catholi...

Rogation Days

(Encyclopedia)Rogation Days, in the calendar of the Western Church, four days traditionally set apart for solemn processions to invoke God's mercy. They are Apr. 25, the Major Rogation, coinciding with St. Mark's D...