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John XII, pope

(Encyclopedia)John XII, c.937–964, pope (955–64), a Roman (count of Tusculum) named Octavian; successor of Agapetus II and predecessor of either Leo VIII or Benedict V. His father, Alberic, secured John's elect...

Gaveston, Piers

(Encyclopedia)Gaveston, Piers pērz găvˈəstən [key], d. 1312, favorite of Edward II of England. Son of a Gascon knight at the court of Edward I, he was a boyhood playmate of the future Edward II and acquired gr...

Dessau

(Encyclopedia)Dessau, city, Saxony-Anhalt, E Germany, at the confluence of the Elbe and Mulde rivers. It is an industrial city, river port, and rail and road transpor...

Constantine IV, Byzantine emperor

(Encyclopedia)Constantine IV, c.652–685, Byzantine emperor (668–85), son and successor of Constans II. He defended Constantinople against the annual naval attacks of the Muslims, who finally withdrew in 678; Gr...

Albert I, king of the Belgians

(Encyclopedia)Albert I, 1875–1934, king of the Belgians (1909–34), nephew and successor of Leopold II. He married (1900) Elizabeth, a Bavarian princess. In World War I his heroic resistance (1914) to the German...

Epaminondas

(Encyclopedia)Epaminondas ĭpămĭnŏnˈdəs [key], d. 362 b.c., Greek general of Thebes. He was a pupil of Lysias the Pythagorean, but his early life is otherwise obscure. As the Theban delegate to the peace confe...

Baganda

(Encyclopedia)Baganda bägänˈdə [key], also called Ganda, the largest ethnic group in Uganda. Bagandas comprise about 17% of the population and have the country's highest standard of living and literacy rate. Th...

Pillnitz

(Encyclopedia)Pillnitz pĭlˈnĭts [key], district of Saxony, E central Germany, on the Elbe River. It is the site of an 18th-century castle, formerly a royal residence, that today houses an art collection. In the ...

Peter Damian, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Peter Damian, Saint dāˈmēən [key], Ital. Pietro Damiani, 1007?–1072, Italian reformer, Doctor of the Church, b. Ravenna. He became a Camaldolese monk at Fonte-Avellino (near Gubbio) and because ...

Petre, Sir Edward

(Encyclopedia)Petre, Sir Edward pēˈtər [key], 1631–99, English Jesuit, confessor of James II of England. He attended the Jesuit seminary of Saint-Omer. He was imprisoned (1679–80) in connection with the Popi...