Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Nicholas I, Saint, pope

(Encyclopedia)Nicholas I, Saint, c.825–867, pope (858–67), a Roman; successor of Benedict III. He was a vigorous and politically active pope who arbitrated both temporal and religious disputes. His decisions of...

Paul VI, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Paul VI, Saint, 1897–1978, pope (1963–78), an Italian (b. Concesio, near Brescia) named Giovanni Battista Montini; successor of John XXIII. The broader international outlook of the Vatican unde...

Frederick II, Holy Roman emperor and German king

(Encyclopedia)Frederick II, 1194–1250, Holy Roman emperor (1220–50) and German king (1212–20), king of Sicily (1197–1250), and king of Jerusalem (1229–50), son of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI and of Consta...

Stucley, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Stucley or Stukely, Thomas both: styo͞oˈklē [key], 1525?–1578, English adventurer. He was rumored to be an illegitimate son of Henry VIII. He was in the service of Edward Seymour, duke of Somerse...

Saint Paul's Cathedral

(Encyclopedia)Saint Paul's Cathedral, London, masterpiece of Sir Christopher Wren and one of the finest church designs of the English baroque. It stands at the head of Ludgate Hill, where, according to tradition, a...

John Chrysostom, Saint

(Encyclopedia)John Chrysostom, Saint krĭsˈəstəm, krĭsŏsˈ– [key] [Gr.,=golden-mouth], c.347–407, Doctor of the Church, one of the greatest of the Greek Fathers. He was born in Antioch and studied Greek cl...

Leo III, Byzantine emperor

(Encyclopedia)Leo III (Leo the Isaurian or Leo the Syrian), c.680–741, Byzantine emperor (717–41). He was probably born in N Syria (rather than in Isauria, as once thought). He held diplomatic and military post...

Saint-Germain-en-Laye

(Encyclopedia)Saint-Germain-en-Laye săN-zhĕrmăNˈ-äN-lā [key], town (1990 pop. 41,710), Yvelines dept., N central France, on the Seine River, a residential suburb W of Paris. It is the last station on the expr...

Saint Peter's Church

(Encyclopedia)Saint Peter's Church, Vatican City, principal and one of the largest churches of the Christian world. The present structure was built mainly between 1506 and 1626 on the original site of the Vatican c...

William II, king of England

(Encyclopedia)William II or William Rufus ro͞oˈfus [key], d. 1100, king of England (1087–1100), son and successor of William I. He was called William Rufus or William the Red because of his ruddy complexion. Hi...