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Borghese

(Encyclopedia)Borghese bōrgāˈzā [key], Roman noble family, originally of Siena. It produced one pope, Paul V, several cardinals, and many prominent citizens. The Borghese were noted patrons of arts and letters....

Golden Bull

(Encyclopedia)Golden Bull, term translated from the Latin bulla aurea and generally referring to a bull (edict) with a golden seal. Golden bulls were promulgated by medieval Byzantine rulers and by Western European...

Valentinian II

(Encyclopedia)Valentinian II, 371?–392, Roman emperor of the West (375–92), son of Valentinian I. Upon the death of his father, he was proclaimed emperor with his brother Gratian as coregent. After the death (3...

Homs

(Encyclopedia)Homs hĭms [key], city (1995 est. pop. 455,000), capital of Homs governorate, W central Syria, on the Orontes River. A commercial center located in a fertile plain where wheat, grapes, fruit, and vege...

Charles VIII, king of France

(Encyclopedia)Charles VIII, 1470–98, king of France (1483–98), son and successor of Louis XI. He first reigned under the regency of his sister Anne de Beaujeu. After his marriage (1491) to Anne of Brittany, he ...

Cambrai, Treaty of

(Encyclopedia)Cambrai, Treaty of, called the Ladies' Peace, treaty negotiated and signed in 1529 by Louise of Savoy, representing her son Francis I of France, and Margaret of Austria, representing her nephew Holy R...

Wettingen

(Encyclopedia)Wettingen vĕtˈĭng-ən [key], town (1990 pop. 17,706), Aargau canton, N Switzerland. It is the site of the Zürich power station and of industries that produce textiles and metal goods. In the town ...

Diocletian

(Encyclopedia)Diocletian (Caius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus) dīˈəklēˈshən [key], 245–313, Roman emperor (284–305), b. near Salona, Dalmatia (the modern Split, Croatia). Of humble birth, he obtained hig...

civil war, in Roman history

(Encyclopedia)civil war, in Roman history: see Marius and Sulla; Pompey and Julius Caesar. ...

Roman de la Rose, Le

(Encyclopedia)Roman de la Rose, Le lə rōmäNˈ də lä rōz [key], French poem of 22,000 lines in eight-syllable couplets. It is in two parts. The first (4,058 lines) was written (c.1237) by Guillaume de Lorris a...