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Guelphs and Ghibellines

(Encyclopedia)Guelphs and Ghibellines gwĕlfs, gĭbˈəlēnz, –lĭnz [key], opposing political factions in Germany and in Italy during the later Middle Ages. The names were used to designate the papal (Guelph) pa...

Zadar

(Encyclopedia)Zadar zäˈdär [key], Ital. Zara, city (2011 pop. 75,062), W Croatia, on the Dalmatian coast of the Adriatic Sea. A seaport and a tourist center, it has industries that produce liqueur, processed fis...

Borromini, Francesco

(Encyclopedia)Borromini, Francesco fränchāˈskō bōr-rōmēˈnē [key], 1599–1677, major Italian baroque architect. His first independent commission (begun 1634) was San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Rome, one o...

Alaric I

(Encyclopedia)Alaric I ălˈərĭk [key], c.370–410, Visigothic king. He headed the Visigothic troops serving Emperor Theodosius I. After the emperor's death (395) the troops rebelled and chose Alaric as their le...

Henry IV, Holy Roman emperor and German king

(Encyclopedia)Henry IV, 1050–1106, Holy Roman emperor (1084–1105) and German king (1056–1105), son and successor of Henry III. He was the central figure in the opening stages of the long struggle between the ...

Pontus, ancient country, Asia

(Encyclopedia)Pontus, ancient country, NE Asia Minor (now Turkey), on the Black Sea coast. On its inland side were Cappadocia and W Armenia. It was not significantly penetrated by Persian or Hellenic civilization. ...

Lombards

(Encyclopedia)Lombards lŏmˈbərdz, –bärdz [key], ancient Germanic people. By the 1st cent. a.d. the Lombards were settled along the lower Elbe. After obscure migrations they were allowed (547) by Byzantine Emp...

Rijeka

(Encyclopedia)Rijeka fēo͞oˈmē, Ital. fyo͞oˈmā [key], city (2011 pop. 128,624), W Croatia, on the Adriatic Sea and the Gulf of Quarnero. Croatia's largest seaport, the city's industries include shipbuilding, ...

Twombly, Cy

(Encyclopedia)Twombly, Cy (Edwin Parker Twombly, Jr.), 1928–2011, American painter, b. Lexington, Va., studied Boston Museum School, Washington and Lee Univ., Lexington, Va., Art Students' League, New York City. ...

Vulgar Latin

(Encyclopedia)Vulgar Latin, vernacular form of the Latin language spoken in ancient Rome and the Roman Empire, as distinguished from classical or literary Latin. Vulgar Latin, rather than classical Latin, is the tr...