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Flanders

(Encyclopedia)Flanders flănˈdərz [key], former county in the Low Countries, extending along the North Sea and W of the Scheldt (Escaut) River. It is divided among East Flanders and West Flanders provs., Belgium;...

biography

(Encyclopedia)biography, reconstruction in print or on film, of the lives of real men and women. Together with autobiography—an individual's interpretation of his own life—it shares a venerable tradition, meeti...

fascism

(Encyclopedia)fascism făshˈĭzəm [key], totalitarian philosophy of government that glorifies the state and nation and assigns to the state control over every aspect of national life. The name was first used by t...

Crusades

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Crusader States (c.1140) Crusades kro͞oˈsādz [key], series of wars undertaken by European Christians between the 11th and 14th cent. to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims. After...

Sweden

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Sweden, Swed. Sverige, officially Kingdom of Sweden, constitutional monarchy (2015 est. pop. 9,764,000), 173,648 sq mi (449,750 sq km), N Europe, occupying the eastern part of the Scandinavian ...

Christianity

(Encyclopedia)Christianity, religion founded in Palestine by the followers of Jesus. One of the world's major religions, it predominates in Europe and the Americas, where it has been a powerful historical force and...

church and state

(Encyclopedia)church and state, the relationship between the religion or religions of a nation and the civil government of that nation, especially the relationship between the Christian church and various civil gov...

Orthodox Eastern Church

(Encyclopedia)Orthodox Eastern Church, community of Christian churches whose chief strength is in the Middle East and E Europe. Their members number some 300 million worldwide. The Orthodox agree doctrinally in acc...

Holy Roman Empire

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Holy Roman Empire (c.1100) CE5 Holy Roman Empire, designation for the political entity that originated at the coronation as emperor (962) of the German king Otto I and endured until the renu...

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