Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) John of Nepomuk, Saint nāˈpōmo͝ok [key], d. 1393, patron saint of Bohemia, a martyr. He is also called John Nepomucen. He was vicar general of Bohemia under King Wenceslaus IV (later Holy Roman Em...

(Encyclopedia) Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, Étienne ātyĕnˈ zhôfrwäˈ săNtēlĕrˈ [key], 1772–1844, French zoologist. He was professor at the Museum of Natural History (1793–1840) and also at the Faculty of Sc...

(Encyclopedia) Dunstan, Saint dŭnsˈtən [key], c.910–88, English monk, archbishop of Canterbury (960–88), b. near Glastonbury. He lived as a monk until called (940) to court by King Edmund of Wessex. He became...

(Encyclopedia) Damasus I, Saint dămˈəsəs [key], c.305–384, pope (366–84), a Spaniard; successor of Liberius. His election was opposed by the Arian Ursinus (antipope 366–67). The Roman emperor Valentinian I...

(Encyclopedia) Venantius Fortunatus, Saint (Venantius Honorius Clementianus Fortunatus) vēnănˈshəs fôrˌtyo͞onāˈtəs [key], d. c.600, Latin poet, b. near Treviso, Italy. A priest in Gaul and later bishop of ...

(Encyclopedia) Elizabeth II, 1926–2022, former queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1952–2022), elder daughter and successor of George VI, and Britain's lo...

(Encyclopedia) Lucy, Saint, d. 304?, Sicilian virgin martyr. According to legend, at an early age she vowed herself to God. She rejected a pagan suitor, who then denounced her during the persecutions under Diocletia...

(Encyclopedia) Saint-Denis săN-dənēˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 90,806), Seine–Saint-Denis dept., N central France. It is an industrial suburb N of Paris. Metals, chemicals, machinery, electronics, and food produc...

(Encyclopedia) Valentine, Saint, d. c.270, Roman martyr priest. The customs connected with him in English-speaking countries are probably a survival from a period when a pagan festival associated with love occurred ...

(Encyclopedia) Malachy, Saint mălˈəkē [key], 1095–1148, Irish churchman, reformer of the church in Ireland. His Irish name was Máel Máedoc ua Morgair. He was assistant to Cellach (Celsus), bishop of Armagh, ...