Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Zähringen tsĕrˈĭng-ən [key], noble German family. It took its name from a now ruined castle near Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden, and can be traced to the 10th cent. The family held extensive fiefs i...

(Encyclopedia) Home, 14th earl of: see Douglas-Home, Alexander Frederick, Baron Home of the Hirsel. ...

(Encyclopedia) William I, 1797–1888, emperor of Germany (1871–88) and king of Prussia (1861–88), second son of the future King Frederick William III of Prussia and Louise of Mecklenburg. Essentially conservati...

(Encyclopedia) impressment, forcible enrollment of recruits for military duty. Before the establishment of conscription, many countries supplemented their militia and mercenary troops by impressment. In England, imp...

(Encyclopedia) Brühl, Heinrich, Graf von hīnˈrĭkh gräfˈ fən brül [key], 1700–1763, Saxon statesman. He was adviser to Augustus II, king of Poland and elector of Saxony, and gained control of both governmen...

(Encyclopedia) Hochkirch hōkhˈkĭrkh [key], village, Dresden dist., E central Germany. At Hochkirch in 1758 the Austrians under Daun defeated Frederick II of Prussia. In 1813, Napoleon I defeated a Prussian-Russia...

(Encyclopedia) Altamura älˌtämo͞oˈrä [key], city, Apulia, S Italy. It is a commercial and agricultural center. The imposing Romanesque cathedral, with twin campaniles, was begun by...

(Encyclopedia) Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel bäkh [key], 1714–88, German composer; second son of J. S. Bach, his only teacher. While harpsichordist at the court of Frederick the Great, where his chief duty for 28 y...

(Encyclopedia) Griffenfeld, Peder Schumacher, Count pāˈᵺər sho͞oˈmäkhər, grĭfˈənfĕlt [key], 1635–99, Danish politician. The son of a merchant, he became (1665) secretary to Frederick III. In 1665 Grif...

(Encyclopedia) Maximilian I, 1573–1651, elector (1623–51) and duke (1597–1651) of Bavaria, one of the outstanding figures of the Thirty Years War and an ardent supporter of the Counter Reformation. His occupat...