Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Langham, Simon

(Encyclopedia)Langham, Simon lăngˈəm [key], d. 1376, English prelate and statesman, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He ruled the abbey of Westminster with such skill that Edward III appointed (1360) him t...

benediction

(Encyclopedia)benediction [Lat.,=blessing], solemn blessing usually administered in the name of God by a priest or a minister. The temple worship at Jerusalem had fixed forms of benedictions, and Christians have al...

Benedictus

(Encyclopedia)Benedictus bĕnədĭkˈtəs [key], hymn of Zachary, taken from Luke 1.68–79. It begins in Latin, “Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel” [blessed be the Lord God of Israel]. It is used at funerals and ...

White Mountain

(Encyclopedia)White Mountain or White Hill, Czech Bílá Hora, hill near Prague, Czech Republic. There, in Nov., 1620, the Czech Protestants under Christian of Anhalt were routed by the combined armies of the empir...

Butler, Alban

(Encyclopedia)Butler, Alban, 1710–73, English Roman Catholic priest, compiler of lives of the saints. He was educated at Douai and was president of the English seminary at Saint-Omer. His monumental work, The Liv...

Byrd, William, English composer

(Encyclopedia)Byrd, William, 1543–1623, English composer, organist at Lincoln Cathedral and, jointly with Tallis, at the Chapel Royal. Although Roman Catholic, he composed anthems and services for the English Chu...

Branly, Édouard

(Encyclopedia)Branly, Édouard ādwärˈ bräNlēˈ [key], French physicist and physician. He was professor of physics at the Catholic Institute, Paris, from 1875. He developed (1890) a coherer for the detection of...

Trnava

(Encyclopedia)Trnava tûrˈnävä [key], Ger. Tyrnau, Hung. Nagyszombat, city (1991 pop. 71,783), W central Slovakia. The market for a fertile agricultural region, it produces motor vehicles, refined sugar, agricul...

Throckmorton, Francis

(Encyclopedia)Throckmorton or Throgmorton, Francis, 1554–84, English conspirator; nephew of Sir Nicholas Throckmorton. A Roman Catholic, he began (1580) a tour of Europe, spent largely in discussing cooperative m...

Beernaert, Auguste

(Encyclopedia)Beernaert, Auguste ōgüstˈ bârnärtˈ, bârˈnärt [key], 1829–1912, Belgian statesman. A member of the liberal wing of the Catholic party, he served in several cabinets and was prime minister fr...