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Charles I, king of England, Scotland, and Ireland

(Encyclopedia)Charles I, 1600–1649, king of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1625–49), second son of James I and Anne of Denmark. There were no decisive victories in the civil war until Charles was defeated at...

guilds

(Encyclopedia)guilds or gilds, economic and social associations of persons engaging in the same business or craft, typical of Western Europe in the Middle Ages. Membership was by profession or craft, and the primar...

Mass, in Christianity

(Encyclopedia)Mass, religious service of the Roman Catholic Church, which has as its central act the performance of the sacrament of the Eucharist. It is based on the ancient Latin liturgy of the city of Rome, now ...

French Revolution

(Encyclopedia)French Revolution, political upheaval of world importance in France that began in 1789. The French Revolution, though it seemed a failure in 1799 and appeared nullified by 1815, had far-reachin...

Panama Canal

(Encyclopedia)Panama Canal, waterway across the Isthmus of Panama, connecting the Atlantic (by way of the Caribbean Sea) and Pacific oceans, built by the United States (1904–14, on territory leased from the repub...

Romanesque architecture and art

(Encyclopedia)Romanesque architecture and art, the artistic style that prevailed throughout Europe from the 10th to the mid-12th cent., although it persisted until considerably later in certain areas. The term Roma...

Charles II, king of England, Scotland, and Ireland

(Encyclopedia)Charles II, 1630–85, king of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1660–85), eldest surviving son of Charles I and Henrietta Maria. Charles was a ruler of considerable political skill. His reign was m...

Iroquois Confederacy

(Encyclopedia)Iroquois Confederacy or Iroquois League ĭrˈəkwoiˌ, –kwäˌ [key], North American confederation of indigenous peoples, initially comprising the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca; the n...

earth, in geology and astronomy

(Encyclopedia)CE5 A. Cross section of the earth, showing its shells B. Detailed cross section of the crust and upper mantle: The lithosphere consists of the hard rock in the crust and upper mantle, lying above t...

comedy

(Encyclopedia)comedy, literary work that aims primarily to provoke laughter. Unlike tragedy, which seeks to engage profound emotions and sympathies, comedy strives to entertain chiefly through criticism and ridicul...