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bull, papal letter

(Encyclopedia)bull [Lat. bulla=leaden seal], papal letter. As the diplomatic organization of the papal chancery progressed in the Middle Ages, the papal bull came to be more solemn than the papal brief or encyclica...

Star Chamber

(Encyclopedia)Star Chamber, ancient meeting place of the king of England's councilors in the palace of Westminster in London, so called because of stars painted on the ceiling. The court of the Star Chamber develop...

Seymour of Sudeley, Thomas Seymour, Baron

(Encyclopedia)Seymour of Sudeley, Thomas Seymour, Baron, 1508?–1549, English nobleman. After the marriage (1536) of his sister Jane to Henry VIII, he served on various diplomatic missions, was in command of the E...

Sicilian Vespers

(Encyclopedia)Sicilian Vespers, in Italian history, name given the rebellion staged by the Sicilians against the Angevin French domination of Sicily; the rebellion broke out at Palermo at the start of Vespers on Ea...

Pole, Reginald

(Encyclopedia)Pole, Reginald, 1500–1558, English churchman, archbishop of Canterbury (1556–58), cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was a cousin of the Tudors, being the son of Sir Richard Pole and of Mar...

Cateau-Cambrésis, Treaty of

(Encyclopedia)Cateau-Cambrésis, Treaty of kätōˈ-käNbrāzēˈ [key], 1559, concluded at Le Cateau, France, by representatives of Henry II of France, Philip II of Spain, and Elizabeth I of England. It put an end...

Pico della Mirandola, Giovanni, Conte

(Encyclopedia)Pico della Mirandola, Giovanni, Conte jōvänˈnē kōnˈtā pēˈkō dĕlˈlä mēränˈdōlä [key], 1463–94, Italian philosopher and humanist. To many in the age of the Renaissance, Pico was the ...

Pilgrimage of Grace

(Encyclopedia)Pilgrimage of Grace, 1536, rising of Roman Catholics in N England. It was a protest against the government's abolition of papal supremacy (1534) and confiscation (1536) of the smaller monastic propert...

Wolsey, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Wolsey, Thomas wo͝olˈzē [key], 1473?–1530, English statesman and prelate, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. From 1514 to 1529 Wolsey virtually controlled domestic and foreign policy for th...

Rulers of France since 987 (table)

(Encyclopedia)Rulers of France since 987(including dates of reign) The Capetians House of Valois House of Bourbon The First Republic The First Empire Bourbon Restoration House of Bourbon-Orléans T...