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phalanx

(Encyclopedia)phalanx, ancient Greek formation of infantry. The soldiers were arrayed in rows (8 or 16), with arms at the ready, making a solid block that could sweep bristling through the more dispersed ranks of t...

Salome

(Encyclopedia)Salome səlōˈmē [key], in the New Testament. 1 Daughter of Herod Philip and Herodias. She is generally supposed to be the daughter who danced to obtain the head of John the Baptist. See Herod 2 One...

Roosebeke, battle of

(Encyclopedia)Roosebeke, battle of rōˈzəbāˌkə [key], 1382, in the modern-day village of Westrozebeke, Staden commune, West Flanders prov., W Belgium. The French under Olivier de Clisson defeated Flemish weave...

Nivernais

(Encyclopedia)Nivernais nēvĕrnāˈ [key], region and former province, central France. It roughly coincides with Nièvre dept. Drained by the Loire and the Yonne, it is a hilly plateau, rising to the Morvan Mts. i...

Castello, Giovanni Battista

(Encyclopedia)Castello, Giovanni Battista kästĕlˈlō [key], c.1509–c.1569, Italian painter and architect; called Il Bergamasco to distinguish him from Bernardo Castello, who also worked in Genoa. Giovanni was...

Berenice, b. c.340 b.c., d. 281 or 271 b.c., consort and half-sister of Ptolemy I, king of ancient Egypt

(Encyclopedia)Berenice bĕrənīˈsē [key], b. c.340 b.c., d. 281 or 271 b.c., consort and half-sister of Ptolemy I, king of ancient Egypt. A Macedonian, she was the widow of Philip, one of the officers of Alexand...

Brooke, Fulke Greville, 1st Baron

(Encyclopedia)Brooke, Fulke Greville, 1st Baron fo͝olk grĕvˈĭl [key], 1554–1628, English author and statesman. A favorite of Queen Elizabeth I, he held many official positions during his lifetime. His Life of...

Bry, Théodore de

(Encyclopedia)Bry, Théodore de tēōdôrˈ də brē, brī [key], 1528–98, Flemish engraver and publisher, b. Liège. He spent most of his life in Frankfurt-am-Main. He visited London, where he executed a series ...

Athabasca, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Athabasca, Lake, fourth largest lake of Canada, c.3,120 sq mi (8,100 sq km), c.200 mi (320 km) long and from 5 to 35 mi (8–56 km) wide, NE Alta., and SW Sask., at the edge of the Canadian Shield. A ...

Leverett, John

(Encyclopedia)Leverett, John lĕvˈərĭt [key], 1616–79, American colonial governor, b. Boston, England. He went to Boston, Mass., with his father in 1633, but went back (1644) to England to serve in the parliam...