Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

William the Lion

(Encyclopedia)William the Lion, 1143–1214, king of Scotland (1165–1214), brother and successor of Malcolm IV. Determined to recover Northumbria (lost to England in 1157), he supported the rebellion (1173–74) ...

Derby, Thomas Stanley, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Derby, Thomas Stanley, 1st earl of därˈbē [key], 1435?–1504, English nobleman. During the Wars of the Roses, Stanley was ostensibly a supporter of the Lancastrian Henry VI, but he had Yorkist sym...

Prussia

(Encyclopedia)Prussia prŭshˈə [key], Ger. Preussen, former state, the largest and most important of the German states. Berlin was the capital. The chief member of the German Empire (1871–1918) and a state of t...

Innocent IV

(Encyclopedia)Innocent IV, d. 1254, pope (1243–54), a Genoese named Sinibaldo Fieschi, a distinguished jurist who studied and later taught law at the Univ. of Bologna; successor of Celestine IV. He was of a noble...

Honthorst, Gerrit van

(Encyclopedia)Honthorst, Gerrit van gĕrˈĭt vän hōntˈhôrst [key], 1590–1656, Dutch portrait, genre, and allegorical painter. In Italy (c.1610–1620) he gained a sound understanding of the works of Caravagg...

Baganda

(Encyclopedia)Baganda bägänˈdə [key], also called Ganda, the largest ethnic group in Uganda. Bagandas comprise about 17% of the population and have the country's highest standard of living and literacy rate. Th...

Faeroe Islands

(Encyclopedia)Faeroe Islands or Faröe Islands both: fârˈō [key], Dan. Færøerne, Faeroese Føroyar, group of volcanic islands (2015 est. pop. 49,000), 540 sq mi (1,399 sq km), Denmark, in the N Atlantic, betwe...

John the Fearless

(Encyclopedia)John the Fearless, 1371–1419, duke of Burgundy (1404–19); son of Philip the Bold. He fought against the Turks at Nikopol in 1396 and was a prisoner for a year until he was ransomed. He continued h...

Frankfurt Parliament

(Encyclopedia)Frankfurt Parliament, 1848–49, national assembly convened at Frankfurt on May 18, 1848, as a result of the liberal revolution that swept the German states early in 1848. The parliament was called by...

Harpestreng, Henrik

(Encyclopedia)Harpestreng, Henrik, or Henricus Dacus, d. 1244, Danish herbalist and medical writer. He probably studied at the medical school in Salerno, and was a canon at Roskilde Cathedral, then Denmark's eccles...