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Peter's pence

(Encyclopedia)Peter's pence, in the Roman Catholic Church, the annual voluntary laymen's contribution to the support of the pope. Formerly Peter's pence was a yearly tax of a penny levied by the Holy See on every h...

Geoffrey

(Encyclopedia)Geoffrey jĕfˈrē [key], 1158–86, duke of Brittany (1171–86); fourth son of Henry II of England. Betrothed (1166) to Constance, heiress of Brittany, he was recognized as heir to the duchy in 1169...

Pulcheria

(Encyclopedia)Pulcheria pəlkērˈēə [key], 399–453, Roman empress of the East (414–53), daughter of Arcadius and Eudoxia. She became coruler with her brother, Theodosius II, and regent in 414. Theodosius rem...

Boleslaus I

(Encyclopedia)Boleslaus I bōˈləslôs [key], c.966–1025, Polish ruler (992–1025), the first to call himself king; also called Boleslaus the Brave. He succeeded his father, Mieszko I, as duke of Poland, seized...

council, ecumenical

(Encyclopedia)council, ecumenical ĕkˌyo͞omĕnˈĭkəl [key] [Gr.,=universal], in Christendom, council of church leaders, the decisions of which are accepted by some segment of the church as authoritative, also c...

Garnett, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Garnett, Richard, 1835–1906, English librarian and author. From 1851 until his retirement in 1899 he was connected with the British Museum, which he served with great distinction. Besides writing vo...

Charles V, duke of Lorraine

(Encyclopedia)Charles V (Charles Leopold), 1643–90, duke of Lorraine; nephew of Duke Charles IV. Deprived of the rights of succession to the duchy, he was forced to leave France and entered the service of the Hol...

Honorius III

(Encyclopedia)Honorius III, d. 1227, pope (1216–27), a Roman named Cencio Savelli; successor of Innocent III. He was created cardinal in 1197 and was an able administrator of the papal treasury. He authored the o...

Eudoxia

(Encyclopedia)Eudoxia yo͞odŏkˈsēə [key], d. 404, Roman empress of the East (395–404), daughter of a Frankish general and wife of Arcadius. She had a great influence upon her weak husband. She helped bring ab...

Holstein

(Encyclopedia)Holstein, former duchy, N central Germany, the part of Schleswig-Holstein S of the Eider River. Kiel and Rendsburg were the chief cities. For a description of Holstein and for its history after 1814, ...