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Ten, Council of

(Encyclopedia)Ten, Council of, in the republic of Venice, a special tribunal created (1310) to avert plots and crimes against the state. It was a direct result of the unsuccessful Tiepolo conspiracy against the Ven...

credit, letter of

(Encyclopedia)credit, letter of, commercial instrument through which a bank or other financial institution instructs a correspondent institution to advance a specified sum of money to the bearer. The document is ca...

Reign of Terror

(Encyclopedia)Reign of Terror, 1793–94, period of the French Revolution characterized by a wave of executions of presumed enemies of the state. Directed by the Committee of Public Safety, the Revolutionary govern...

Churches of Christ

(Encyclopedia)Churches of Christ, conservative body of evangelical Protestants in the United States. Its founders were originally members of what is now the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) who gradually with...

Alexander of Aphrodisias

(Encyclopedia)Alexander of Aphrodisias ăfrōdĭshˈēəs [key], fl. a.d. 200, Greek Peripatetic philosopher. A celebrated ancient commentator on Aristotle, he was often called the Exegete. Among his extant writing...

Guinea, Gulf of

(Encyclopedia)Guinea, Gulf of gĭnˈē [key], large open arm of the Atlantic Ocean formed by the great bend of the coast of W Africa. It extends from the western coast of Côte d'Ivoire to the Gabon estuary and is ...

balm of Gilead

(Encyclopedia)balm of Gilead gĭlˈēəd [key], name for several plants belonging to different taxonomic families. The historic Old World balm of Gilead, or Mecca balsam, is a small evergreen tree (Commiphora gilea...

Geoffrey of Monmouth

(Encyclopedia)Geoffrey of Monmouth mŏnˈməth [key], c.1100–1154, English author. He was probably born at Monmouth and was of either Breton or Welsh descent. In 1152 he was named bishop of St. Asaph in Wales. Hi...

museums of art

(Encyclopedia)museums of art, institutions or buildings where works of art are kept for display or safekeeping. The word museum derives from the Greek mouseion, meaning temple to the works of the Muses. This articl...

Pressburg, Treaty of

(Encyclopedia)Pressburg, Treaty of, 1805, peace treaty between Napoleon I of France and Holy Roman Emperor Francis II (also emperor of Austria), signed at Pressburg (now Bratislava, Slovakia). Defeated at Austerlit...