Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Isabel of Bavaria, 1371–1435, French queen, consort of Charles VI, daughter of the duke of Bavaria. After her marriage (1385) she was several times regent for her demented husband. Sympathizing with...

(Encyclopedia) Bank of England, central bank and note-issuing institution of Great Britain. Popularly known as the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street, its main office stands on the street of that name in London. The ba...

(Encyclopedia) Council of Europe, international organization founded in 1949 to promote greater unity within Europe and to safeguard its political and cultural heritage by promoting human rights and democracy. The c...

(Encyclopedia) Knights of Labor, American labor organization, started by Philadelphia tailors in 1869, led by Uriah S. Stephens. It became a body of national scope and importance in 1878 and grew more rapidly after ...

(Encyclopedia) Reginald of Châtillon shätēyôNˈ [key], d. 1187, Crusader, lord of Krak and Montreal in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. He came to the Holy Land in the Second Crusade and married (1153) Constance,...

(Encyclopedia) sphere of influence, term formerly applied to an area over which an outside power claims hegemony with the intention of subsequently gaining more definite control, as in colonization, or with the inte...

(Encyclopedia) Ephesus, Council of, 431, 3d ecumenical council, convened by Theodosius II, emperor of the East, and Valentinian III, emperor of the West, to deal with the controversy over Nestorianism. Adherents of ...

(Encyclopedia) England, Church of, the established church of England and the mother church of the Anglican Communion. In the first half of the 19th cent., the Catholic and apostolic character of the Church of Engl...

(Encyclopedia) Westphalia, Peace of, 1648, general settlement ending the Thirty Years War. It marked the end of the Holy Roman Empire as an effective institution and inaugurated the modern European state system. The...

(Encyclopedia) Robert of Courtenay kôrtˈnē, ko͝ortənāˈ [key], d. 1228, Latin emperor of Constantinople (1218–28). His father, Peter of Courtenay, was elected by the Latin nobles to succeed Henry of Flanders...