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Aloysius, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Aloysius, Saint ălōĭˈshəs [key], 1568–91, Italian Jesuit, b. Luigi Gonzaga, heir to the marchese de Castiglione. Highly devout from childhood, he renounced his title and entered (1585) the Soci...

Chryseis

(Encyclopedia)Chryseis krīsēˈĭs [key], in the Iliad, a woman captured by Agamemnon. When ransom efforts failed, her father, the priest Chryses, appealed to Apollo, who promptly sent a plague to terrorize the Gr...

Vesoul

(Encyclopedia)Vesoul vəzo͞olˈ [key], town (1990 est. pop. 19,404), capital of Haute-Saône dept., E France, in Franche-Comté. Agricultural and mechanical equipment and metal products are the chief manufactures....

Obrecht, Jacob

(Encyclopedia)Obrecht, Jacob yäˈkōp ōˈbrĕkht [key], c.1450–1505, Flemish composer. Obrecht was ordained as a priest in 1480. He wrote an early four-part setting of the St. Matthew Passion. His sacred music ...

Villani, Giovanni

(Encyclopedia)Villani, Giovanni jōvänˈnē vēl-läˈnē [key], c.1275–1348, Italian historian of Florence. As a Florentine government functionary, he participated in some of the events he narrates. His 12-volu...

Claudius II

(Encyclopedia)Claudius II (Marcus Aurelius Claudius), d. 270, Roman emperor (268–70), called Gothicus. A successful general under Valerian, Claudius put down the revolt in which Gallienus was killed. He succeeded...

Jelenia Góra

(Encyclopedia)Jelenia Góra yĕlĕˈnyä go͞oˈrä [key], Ger. Hirschberg, city (1992 est. pop. 93,500), Dolnośląskie prov., SW Poland. It is an industrial and commercial center known for its woolen textiles. Ch...

Nostradamus

(Encyclopedia)Nostradamus nŏsˌtrədāˈməs [key], 1503–66, French astrologer and physician, whose real name was Michel de Nostredame. He is reputed to have effected remarkable cures during outbreaks of the pla...

Joel, book of the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Joel, prophetic book of the Bible. It is a collection of the oracles of an otherwise unknown prophet, dated variously from the 9th to the 3d cent. b.c., though a date in c.400 b.c. is likely. A locust...

Oberammergau

(Encyclopedia)Oberammergau ōˌbərämˈərgou [key], town (1994 pop. 5,343), Bavaria, S Germany, in the Bavarian Alps. It has been a noted center of woodcarving since the 12th cent. Oberammergau is famous for the ...

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