Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

John III, king of Poland

(Encyclopedia)John III (John Sobieski) sôbyĕˈskē [key], 1624–96, king of Poland (1674–96), champion of Christian Europe against the Ottomans. Born to an ancient noble family, he was appointed (1668) command...

John XXII, pope

(Encyclopedia)John XXII, 1244–1334, pope (1316–34), a Frenchman (b. Cahors) named Jacques Duèse; successor of Clement V. Formerly, he was often called John XXI. He reigned at Avignon. John was celebrated as a ...

Alaric II

(Encyclopedia)Alaric II, d. 507, Visigothic king of Spain and of S Gaul (c.484–507), son and successor of Euric. He issued (506) at Toulouse the Breviary of Alaric for his Roman subjects. Alaric's adherence to Ar...

Granvelle, Antoine Perrenot de

(Encyclopedia)Granvelle, Antoine Perrenot de äNtwänˈ pĕrənōˈ də gräNvĕlˈ [key], 1517–86, statesman in the service of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and of King Philip II of Spain; cardinal of the Roman C...

Jiménez de Cisneros, Francisco

(Encyclopedia)Jiménez de Cisneros, Francisco fränthēsˈkō hēmāˈnāth dā thēsnāˈrōs [key], 1436–1517, Spanish prelate and statesman, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. An austere Franciscan, he was...

Bavarian Succession, War of the

(Encyclopedia)Bavarian Succession, War of the, between Austria and Prussia, 1778–79. With the extinction of the Bavarian line of the house of Wittelsbach on the death of Elector Maximilian Joseph in 1777, the duc...

Leo III, Saint, pope

(Encyclopedia)Leo III, Saint, pope (795–816), a Roman; successor of Adrian I. He was attacked about the face and eyes by members of Adrian's family, who hoped to render him unfit for the papacy. Leo recovered and...

Theodore II , Byzantine emperor of Nicaea

(Encyclopedia)Theodore II (Theodore Lascaris), 1222–58, Byzantine emperor of Nicaea (1254–58), son and successor of John III. He fought the Bulgarians and temporarily regained parts of Thrace. He made Nicaea a ...

Thököly, Imre

(Encyclopedia)Thököly, Imre ĭmˈrĕ töˈkölyə [key], 1656–1705, Hungarian rebel, of a noble family of N Hungary. His father, Stephen Thököly, took an important part in the unsuccessful conspiracy of Franc...

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, ...