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Roman Catholic Church

(Encyclopedia)Roman Catholic Church, Christian church headed by the pope, the bishop of Rome (see papacy and Peter, Saint). Its commonest title in official use is Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. “Roman Cathol...

John VIII, pope

(Encyclopedia)John VIII, d. 882, pope (872–82), a Roman; successor of Adrian II. John strenuously opposed the activities of St. Ignatius of Constantinople in Bulgaria. When Ignatius died, John recognized Photius ...

Vehmgericht

(Encyclopedia)Vehmgericht fāˈmĭk [key], in medieval Germany, a type of criminal tribunal. The inability of the Holy Roman emperors to exercise effective central control over their lands and the extensive feudal ...

Cambrai, League of

(Encyclopedia)Cambrai, League of, 1508–10, alliance formed by Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, King Louis XII of France, Pope Julius II, King Ferdinand V of Aragón, and several Italian city-states against the re...

Lyons, First Council of

(Encyclopedia)Lyons, First Council of lyôNˈ [key], 1245, 13th ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, convened at Lyons, France, by Pope Innocent IV to deal with his struggle with Holy Roman Emperor Fred...

Sylvester II

(Encyclopedia)Sylvester II, c.945–1003, pope (999–1003), a Frenchman (b. Auvergne) named Gerbert; successor of Gregory V. In his youth he studied at Muslim schools in Spain and became learned in mathematics and...

Index, in the Roman Catholic Church

(Encyclopedia)Index, in the Roman Catholic Church, list of publications forbidden to be read, called Index librorum prohibitorum [list of forbidden books]. This censorship was exercised by the Holy See. Catholics a...

Anne of Brittany

(Encyclopedia)Anne of Brittany, 1477–1514, queen of France as consort of Charles VIII from 1491 to 1498 and consort of Louis XII from 1499 until her death. The daughter of Duke Francis II of Brittany, she was hei...

Utrecht , city, Netherlands

(Encyclopedia)Utrecht, city (1994 pop. 234,106), capital of Utrecht prov., central Netherlands, on a branch of the Lower Rhine (Neder Rijn) River. It is a transportation, financial, and industrial center. Manufactu...

Charles the Great

(Encyclopedia)Charles the Great, Frankish king, emperor of the West: see Charlemagne. ...