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modernism

(Encyclopedia)modernism, in religion, a general movement in the late 19th and 20th cent. that tried to reconcile historical Christianity with the findings of modern science and philosophy. Modernism arose mainly fr...

Theresa, Saint (Theresa of Lisieux)

(Encyclopedia)Theresa or Thérèse, Saint (Theresa of Lisieux), 1873–97, French Carmelite nun, one of the most widely loved saints of the Roman Catholic Church, b. Alençon. Her original name was Marie-Françoise...

Wittenberg

(Encyclopedia)Wittenberg vĭtˈənbĕrkhˌ [key], city (1994 pop. 53,374), Saxony-Anhalt, E Germany, on the Elbe River. A city with a noted history, it is today an industrial and mining center and a rail junction. ...

Clausewitz, Karl von

(Encyclopedia)Clausewitz, Karl von kärl fən klouˈzəvĭts [key], 1780–1831, Prussian general and military strategist. Clausewitz was an original thinker most influenced by the Napoleonic wars in which he fough...

idealism

(Encyclopedia)idealism, the attitude that places special value on ideas and ideals as products of the mind, in comparison with the world as perceived through the senses. In art idealism is the tendency to represent...

Houellebecq, Michel

(Encyclopedia)Houellebecq, Michel mēshĕlˈ wĕlˈbĕk [key], b. 1958– or 1956–, French author, perhaps France's best-known contemporary novelist, b. Réunion as Michel Thomas. A literary pessimist and master ...

Medieval Latin literature

(Encyclopedia)Medieval Latin literature, literary works written in the Latin language during the Middle Ages. Many literary genres were already being taken over by writing in the vernacular, which had begun in...

Saint Lawrence

(Encyclopedia)Saint Lawrence, one of the principal rivers of North America, 744 mi (1,197 km) long. It issues from the northeastern end of Lake Ontario and flows northeast, first along the U.S.-Canadian border, the...

Conrad III, ruler of the Holy Roman Empire

(Encyclopedia)Conrad III, c.1093–1152, German king (1138–52), son of Frederick, duke of Swabia, and Agnes, daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV; first of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. He joined his brother Frede...

acropolis

(Encyclopedia)acropolis əkrŏpˈəlĭs [key] [Gr.,=high point of the city], elevated, fortified section of various ancient Greek cities. The Acropolis of Athens, a hill c.260 ft (80 m) high, with a flat oval top c...