Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Benno, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Benno, Saint, d. 1106, German prelate. He was bishop of Meissen and an ardent supporter of Pope Gregory VII against Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, and the emperor had him deposed. He was reinstated on G...

Ptolemy II

(Encyclopedia)Ptolemy II (Ptolemy Philadelphus) fĭlədĕlˈfəs [key], c.308–246 b.c., king of ancient Egypt (285–246 b.c.), of the Macedonian dynasty, son of Ptolemy I and Berenice (c.340–281 b.c.). He cont...

Pius VI

(Encyclopedia)Pius VI, 1717–99, pope (1775–99), an Italian named G. Angelo Braschi, b. Cesena; successor of Clement XIV. He was created cardinal in 1774. Early in his reign he was faced with the attempts of Hol...

Boniface IX

(Encyclopedia)Boniface IX, c.1345–1404, pope (1389–1404), a Neapolitan named Pietro Tomacelli; successor of Urban VI. The Avignon antipopes Clement VII and Benedict XIII were his contemporaries during the Great...

Herophilus

(Encyclopedia)Herophilus hĭrŏfˈələs [key], fl. 300 b.c., Greek anatomist, called by some the father of scientific anatomy. A contemporary of Erasistratus at Alexandria, he made public dissections, comparing hu...

Benedict XI

(Encyclopedia)Benedict XI, d. 1304, pope (1303–4), an Italian (b. Treviso) named Niccolo Boccasini; successor of Boniface VIII. Prior to his election he had been master general of the Dominican order. As pope he ...

Neoplatonism

(Encyclopedia)Neoplatonism nēˌōplāˈtənĭzəm [key], ancient mystical philosophy based on the doctrines of Plato. Neoplatonism was an early influence on Christian thinkers. The Christian apologists Clement...

Jesuit Estates Act

(Encyclopedia)Jesuit Estates Act jĕzhˈəwĭt, jĕzˈ– [key], law adopted in 1888 by the Quebec legislature, partly to indemnify the Society of Jesus for Jesuit property confiscated by the British during the per...

Adrian VI, pope

(Encyclopedia)Adrian VI, 1459–1523, pope (1522–23), a Netherlander (b. Utrecht) named Adrian Florensz; successor of Leo X. He taught at Louvain and was tutor of the young prince, later Holy Roman Emperor Charle...

Hypatia

(Encyclopedia)Hypatia hīpāˈshə [key], d.415, Alexandrian Neoplatonic philosopher and mathematician, a woman renowned for her learning, eloquence, and beauty. Little is known of her writings. Her fame is largely...