Source: The U.S. Geological SurveyMERCURY Named for the winged Roman god of travel because it appears to move so swiftly.VENUS Roman name for the goddess of love. This planet was considered to be…
Roman martyr Born: 2nd or 3rd century A Roman martyr, St. Cecilia is the patron saint of music in the Catholic tradition. Her name is often taken by musical associations. In paintings—most famously…
Archbishop of GreeceDied: January 28, 2008 (Athens, Greece) Best Known as: reformist turned conservative Archbishop of Greece Head of the Greek Orthodox Church,…
(Encyclopedia) Innocent VIII, 1432–92, pope (1484–92), a Genoese named Giovanni Battista Cibo; successor of Sixtus IV. He was made a cardinal in 1473. His close friend, Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere…
Bubonic PlagueEpidemics of the PastSmallpox: 12,000 Years of TerrorBubonic PlagueInfluenza: A Twentieth-Century Epidemic Ring around the rosy, A pocket full of posies, Ashes … ashes, We all…
Pagan festivals, Christian saints, Chaucer's love birds, and the Greeting Card Association of America by Borgna Brunner Roman Roots The history of Valentine's Day is obscure, and further…
(Encyclopedia) Julius I, Saint, pope (337–52), a Roman; successor of St. Marcus. In the controversy over Arianism, when both sides appealed to him for support, he convened a synod at Rome (340), at…
(Encyclopedia) Nogaret, Guillaume deNogaret, Guillaume degēyōmˈ də nôgärāˈ [key], 1265?–1313, French statesman. A jurist, he was a member of the royal council of King Philip IV. During Philip's…
(Encyclopedia) TolentinoTolentinotōlāntēˈnō [key], town (1991 pop. 18,346), in the Marche, central Italy, on the Chienti River. In 1797, Pope Pius VI signed at Tolentino a humiliating treaty with…
(Encyclopedia) Norman Conquest, period in English history following the defeat (1066) of King Harold of England by William, duke of Normandy, who became William I of England. The conquest was…
