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Abbott, Greg

(Encyclopedia)Abbott, Greg (Gregory Wayne Abbott), 1957–, U.S. lawyer and politician, b. Wichita Falls, Tex. A conservative Republican, he worked in private practice and served as a state judge, including terms (...

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...

Lyons, Second Council of

(Encyclopedia)Lyons, Second Council of, 1274, 14th ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. It was summoned by Pope Gregory X to discuss problems in the Holy Land, to remove the schism of East and West, and...

Constantinople, First Council of

(Encyclopedia)Constantinople, First Council of, 381, second ecumenical council. It was convened by Theodosius I, then emperor of the East and a recent convert, to confirm the victory over Arianism. The council drew...

Otto III, Holy Roman emperor

(Encyclopedia)Otto III, 980–1002, Holy Roman emperor (996–1002) and German king (983–1002), son of Holy Roman Emperor Otto II and the Byzantine princess Theophano. On Otto's accession Henry the Wrangler, the ...

La Trémoille, Georges de

(Encyclopedia)La Trémoille or La Trimouille, Georges de zhôrzh də lä trāmoiˈyə or trēmo͞oˈyə [key], c.1385–1446, favorite of King Charles VII of France, sometime chamberlain to John the Fearless of Bur...

Vergil, Polydore

(Encyclopedia)Vergil or Virgil, Polydore, 1470?-1555?, historian and humanist, b. Urbino, Italy. He studied at Bologna and Padua, served as secretary to the duke of Urbino, was chamberlain to Pope Alexander VI, and...

patristic literature

(Encyclopedia)patristic literature, Christian writings of the first few centuries. They are chiefly in Greek and Latin; there is analogous writing in Syriac and in Armenian. The first period of patristic literature...

Armagnacs and Burgundians

(Encyclopedia)Armagnacs and Burgundians, opposing factions that fought to control France in the early 15th cent. The rivalry for power between Louis d'Orléans, brother of the recurrently insane King Charles VI, an...

Langham, Simon

(Encyclopedia)Langham, Simon lăngˈəm [key], d. 1376, English prelate and statesman, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He ruled the abbey of Westminster with such skill that Edward III appointed (1360) him t...