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Athelney, Isle of

(Encyclopedia)Athelney, Isle of ăthˈəlnē [key], small area formerly surrounded by marshland, Somerset, SW England. King Alfred took refuge from the Danes there in 878 and founded a Benedictine abbey in 888. Rel...

Merom, Waters of

(Encyclopedia)Merom, Waters of: see Hula, Lake. ...

Mersen, Treaty of

(Encyclopedia)Mersen, Treaty of, 870, redivision of the Carolingian empire by the sons of Louis I, Charles the Bald (later Charles II) of the West Franks (France) and Louis the German of the East Franks (Germany), ...

Messina, Strait of

(Encyclopedia)Messina, Strait of, channel, c.20 mi (32 km) long and from 2 to 10 mi (3.2–16 km) wide, separating the Italian peninsula from Sicily and connecting the Ionian and Tyrrhenian seas. Reggio di Calabria...

letter of credit

(Encyclopedia)letter of credit: see credit, letter of. ...

Arnold of Brescia

(Encyclopedia)Arnold of Brescia brĕshˈə [key], c.1090–1155, Italian monk and reformer, b. Brescia. A priest of irreproachable life, Arnold studied at Paris, where according to tradition he was a pupil of Peter...

Malacca, Strait of

(Encyclopedia)Malacca, Strait of məläkˈə [key], c.500 mi (800 km) long and from c.30 to 200 mi (50–320 km) wide, between Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. Linking the Indian Ocean with the South China Sea, it ...

Malplaquet, battle of

(Encyclopedia)Malplaquet, battle of mälpläkāˈ [key], a major engagement in the War of the Spanish Succession (see Spanish Succession, War of the). On Sept. 11, 1709, the combined forces of England and the Holy ...

Malta, Knights of

(Encyclopedia)Malta, Knights of: see Knights Hospitalers. ...

Louis of Baden

(Encyclopedia)Louis of Baden bäˈdən [key], 1655–1707, margrave of Baden (1677–1707), military commander in the service of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1689 he was made chief commander of the imperial army in Hu...