260 résultats pour "religious"
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Military Religious Orders .
Hospitalers’ charitable functions were playing a secondary role to their military duties. Successes in war defending the Holy Land enriched the order with vast gifts ofproperty in Europe and Palestine. In the 12th century the Hospitalers acquired three impressive fortresses in Palestine at Krak des Chevaliers, Belvoir, and Margat. Atthe height of their power in the 13th century, the Hospitalers regularly supplied 500 knights to defend the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem against the Empire. The Crusad...
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God.
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INTRODUCTION
God, the center and focus of religious faith, a holy
C Islam Islam arose as a powerful reaction against the ancient pagan cults of Arabia, and as a consequence it is the most starkly monotheistic of the three biblically rootedreligions. The name Allah means simply “the God.” He is personal, transcendent, and unique, and Muslims are forbidden to depict him in any creaturely form. The primary creed is that “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the apostle of Allah.” Allah has seven basic attributes: life, knowledge, power, will, hearing, se...
- art, religious
- drama, religious
- architecture, religious
- clothing, religious
- Clowns, religious
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Roman Mythology
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INTRODUCTION
Roman Mythology, the religious beliefs and practices of the people of ancient Rome.
Aeneas and AnchisesAccording to mythology, Aeneas was a Trojan prince. After Troy fell to the Greeks during the Trojan War, Aeneas traveledto Italy and met and married a woman in the kingdom that occupied the region that would one day become Rome.Through this marriage, Aeneas was the direct ancestor of Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome. In thispainting he is carrying his father, Anchises, on his back while fleeing from Troy. This painting by Lionello Spada is in theLouvre Museum...
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- epics, religious
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Scandinavian Mythology
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INTRODUCTION
Scandinavian Mythology, pre-Christian religious beliefs of the Scandinavian people.
Werner Forman/Corbis Many ancient mythological heroes, some of whom may have been derived from real persons, were believed to be descendants of the gods; among them were Sigurdthe Dragon-slayer; Helgi Thrice-Born, Harald Wartooth, Hadding, Starkad, and the Valkyries. The Valkyries, a band of warrior-maidens that included Svava andBrunhild, served Odin as choosers of slain warriors, who were taken to reside in Valhalla. There the warriors would spend their days fighting and nights feasting untilR...
- Cults and sects, religious
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Martin Luther
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INTRODUCTION
Martin Luther (1483-1546), German theologian and religious reformer, who
VI THEOLOGY Luther was not a systematic theologian, but his work was subtle, complex, and immensely influential. It was inspired by his careful study of the New Testament, but itwas also influenced in important respects by the great 4th-century theologian Saint Augustine. A Law and Gospel Luther maintained that God interacts with human beings in two ways—through the law and through the Gospel. The law represents God’s demands—as expressed, for example, in the Ten Commandments and the golden r...
- New religious movements in Africa
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African Music
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INTRODUCTION
Sacred Christian Music of Nigeria
Among the Igede people of Nigeria, Christianity has been syncretized with the existing religious belief system.
III INSTRUMENTS Traditional Timbila of MozambiqueAmong the Chopi, who have lived for centuries along the coast of Mozambique, there is a highly developed tradition ofsongwriting and composing for timbila (xylophone) orchestras. Elaborate migodo (dance suites), interspersed with poeticsongs pertaining to village life, are often performed to these compositions. Timbila music is now recognized as the nationalmusic of Mozambique."Eduardo Durao Mauaia" from Eduardo Durao and Orquestra Durao: Timbil...
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Religion.
By the end of the 19th century, scholars were making religion an object of systematic inquiry. Müller’s comparative approach was adopted in many European andJapanese universities, and as a result the common features of world religions (such as gods, prayer, priesthood, and creation myths) were the subjects of sustainedscholarly investigation. In addition, field anthropologists had begun to compile firsthand accounts of the religions of peoples who previously had been dismissed assavages. The stu...
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Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
A Religious Freedom Although religious freedom has not generally been curtailed in the United States, Roman Catholics, Jews, and members of such unconventional Protestant groups as theOneida Community and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have historically been discriminated against and sometimes have even been persecuted,although today overt discrimination has almost vanished. The federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, as well as many state and local laws, prohibits religious discrimi...
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Millennium.
Postmillennialism, also referred to as progressive millennialism, interprets the Bible less literally than premillennialism does. Postmillennialists regard the millennium as a1,000-year reign of Christian ideals that will end with the return of Christ. In this view, the millennium will not start suddenly through an apocalypse, but graduallythrough the efforts of human beings. Postmillennialists believe that through social reform and by upholding Christian ideals, the kingdom of God will be built...
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Roman Mythology.
Her temple on the Aventine Hill in Rome was a center for organizations of skilled craftspeople. According to tradition, in 509 BC the dynasty of Etruscan kings ended and the Roman Republic was founded. The republic was ruled by two chief magistrates, called consuls, who were elected by the people to one-year terms. During the time of the republic, the Capitoline temple became the most important public shrine of theRoman people and the focus of public worship. Each January, the new consuls offer...
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Reformation .
Saxony, he made war against the Schmalkaldic League, a defensive association of Protestant princes. The Roman Catholic forces were successful at first. Later,however, Duke Maurice went over to the Protestant side, and Charles V was obliged to make peace. The religious civil war ended with the religious Peace of Augsburg in1555. Its terms provided that each of the rulers of the German states, which numbered about 300, choose between Roman Catholicism and Lutheranism and enforcethe chosen faith up...
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Protestantism.
F England The Anglican Church became the established church in England when Henry VIII assumed (1534) the ecclesiastical authority over the English church that had previouslybeen exercised by the pope. Henry’s motive was to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragón rather than to reform church doctrine, and he imposed severe lawsupholding the major tenets of medieval Catholicism. Under King Edward VI and Queen Elizabeth, however, the Anglican Church developed a distinctly Protestant creedthat w...
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Bill of Rights.
accused has the right to “confront”—that is, to cross-examine witnesses who testify against him or her at trial. Those accused also have a right to subpoena (compel)supporting witnesses to testify in court and to have a lawyer assist in their legal defense. G Seventh Amendment In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall beotherwise re-examined in any Court of the United Stat...
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Bill of Rights - U.
accused has the right to “confront”—that is, to cross-examine witnesses who testify against him or her at trial. Those accused also have a right to subpoena (compel)supporting witnesses to testify in court and to have a lawyer assist in their legal defense. G Seventh Amendment In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall beotherwise re-examined in any Court of the United Stat...
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Henry VIII
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INTRODUCTION
Henry VIII (1491-1547), king of England (1509-1547), the image of the Renaissance king as immortalized by German artist Hans Holbein, who painted him hands on
hips, legs astride, exuding confidence and power.
that was completed by 1540. The crown then took possession of all their property, paying small pensions to the approximately 10,000 monks and nuns who weredeprived of their homes. In a reversal of roles, many towns were forced to assist the same people who had once provided charity to the less fortunate. To pay for hiscontinued wars, Henry sold the former monastic lands to nobles and gentry, who thereby gained an interest in the success of Henry’s reformation and becamedependent upon the king. T...
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Henry VIII.
that was completed by 1540. The crown then took possession of all their property, paying small pensions to the approximately 10,000 monks and nuns who weredeprived of their homes. In a reversal of roles, many towns were forced to assist the same people who had once provided charity to the less fortunate. To pay for hiscontinued wars, Henry sold the former monastic lands to nobles and gentry, who thereby gained an interest in the success of Henry’s reformation and becamedependent upon the king. T...
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Henry VIII .
that was completed by 1540. The crown then took possession of all their property, paying small pensions to the approximately 10,000 monks and nuns who weredeprived of their homes. In a reversal of roles, many towns were forced to assist the same people who had once provided charity to the less fortunate. To pay for hiscontinued wars, Henry sold the former monastic lands to nobles and gentry, who thereby gained an interest in the success of Henry’s reformation and becamedependent upon the king. T...
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Greek Art and Architecture - USA History.
The struggle between these two city-states and their allies ultimately led to the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC), which Sparta won. Despite this conflict, the 5th century, often called the Classical period, is usually considered the culmination of Greek art, architecture, and drama, with its highest achievements being the Temple ofZeus at Olympia, the Parthenon in Athens, and the plays of Athenian dramatists Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes. The 4th century, or Late Classical p...
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Shang Dynasty - History.
The dynastic ancestors belonged to an elaborate religious pantheon that also included various nature powers and the Shang high god, Di. The higher powers were lessconcerned with the well-being of Shang society than the ancestors were. Di, whose wishes were often hard to determine, could even cause the Shang harm. The naturepowers could occasionally influence the wind, rain, and harvests, but only Di could actually order the weather. For an agricultural society such as the Shang, this wasperhaps...
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Greek Art and Architecture - history.
powerful independent city-states. From 334 to 323 BC, Alexander the Great extended his father's empire into Asia Minor (now Turkey), Syria, Egypt, Persia, Afghanistan, and as far as India. D The Hellenistic Period (323-31 BC) Although Alexander the Great extended Greek civilization far beyond the Greek mainland and the boundaries of the Aegean Sea, his empire did not survive his death in 323.After Alexander died, his generals and successors divided the empire into a number of kingdoms: Ptolem...
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Estonia - country.
protest the expansion of open-pit phosphorite mining in northeastern Estonia. Their success in stopping the expansion prompted further demonstrations as part of thecountry’s independence movement. Since independence Estonia has taken measures to protect the environment. The government has ratified international agreementsto reduce emissions of hazardous wastes and greenhouse gases, as well as to protect biodiversity, wetlands, and endangered species. Estonians cherish thecountryside, and 31 perc...
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locke-montesquieu
I shall leave the question of Montesquieu's influence for another day. My purpose here is to give an account of the argument for religious toleration in the Persian Letters . But before I celebrate the virtues of Montesquieu, I’m afraid I have a few unpleasant things to say about Locke, whose treatment of the subject seems to me to be generally overrated. It’s a common observation that Locke's treatment of toleration is unhappily limited. His subject is "mutual toleration among Christ...
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Mesoamerica.
for cooking. In other regions, the earliest ceramics are more sophisticated technically and aesthetically. At around 1800 BC in the Pacific coastal region of Soconusco (in what is now southeastern Chiapas State, Mexico), the earliest pottery was very complex both in forms and decoration. It seems to have had a social function and beenused primarily for ritual feasting. III MAJOR CIVILIZATIONS Over a period of 3000 years, beginning in about 1500 BC, a number of important cultures emerged in M...
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Oliver Cromwell
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INTRODUCTION
Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658), leader in the English Revolution (1640-1660) and the first commoner to rule England.
as well as to the abolition of the House of Lords. He was an active member of the High Court of Justice set up for the king’s trial and boldly signed the king’s deathwarrant. For Cromwell, Charles’s execution was a divine judgment against a tyrant. Following the king’s execution, the Commonwealth of England was formed, ruled bya Council of State that included members of the Rump Parliament. For the next two years Cromwell remained a soldier in service to the state. The new Commonwealth had power...
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Oliver Cromwell.
as well as to the abolition of the House of Lords. He was an active member of the High Court of Justice set up for the king’s trial and boldly signed the king’s deathwarrant. For Cromwell, Charles’s execution was a divine judgment against a tyrant. Following the king’s execution, the Commonwealth of England was formed, ruled bya Council of State that included members of the Rump Parliament. For the next two years Cromwell remained a soldier in service to the state. The new Commonwealth had power...
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Christmas.
The new custom of Christmas gift giving allowed the marketplace to exert an unprecedented influence on holiday celebrations. Commercial innovations such asdepartment stores and mass advertising further expanded the custom of exchanging Christmas gifts. Seasonal retail sales helped fuel the economy, causing merchantsand advertisers to become some of the season’s most ardent promoters. Many holiday celebrants regretted these changes, however, and began voicing the nowcommon lament that Christmas h...
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English Literature
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INTRODUCTION
English Literature, literature produced in England, from the introduction of Old English by the Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century to the present.
evident. That feature is typical of other Old English literature, for almost all of what survives was preserved by monastic copyists. Most of it was actually composed byreligious writers after the early conversion of the people from their faith in the older Germanic divinities. Sacred legend and story were reduced to verse in poems resembling Beowulf in form. At first such verse was rendered in the somewhat simple, stark style of the poems of Caedmon, a humble man of the late 7th century who w...
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Ancient Egypt.
around 4500 BC. The style and decoration of the pottery found at these sites differ from those of pottery found in Upper Egypt. The northern type eventually fell out of use. Other differences between the peoples in Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt include the nature of their architecture and the arrangements for burial of the dead, thelatter perhaps signifying differing religious beliefs. B Unification and Early Dynastic Period By 3500 BC, the settlement of Hierakonpolis, located on the west bank...
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Ancient Egypt - USA History.
around 4500 BC. The style and decoration of the pottery found at these sites differ from those of pottery found in Upper Egypt. The northern type eventually fell out of use. Other differences between the peoples in Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt include the nature of their architecture and the arrangements for burial of the dead, thelatter perhaps signifying differing religious beliefs. B Unification and Early Dynastic Period By 3500 BC, the settlement of Hierakonpolis, located on the west bank...
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Native Americans of Middle and South America.
A line that snakes across central Mexico near the Tropic of Cancer forms the northern boundary of Mesoamerica; north of this line rainfall sharply declines and theclimate is much drier. The ancient civilizations of Mesoamerica all arose and developed in the area between this line and the Guatemalan highlands far to the south. Richvolcanic soils are found throughout much of the region. A2 People and Languages Mesoamerica was a great melting pot, home to many peoples and interrelated cultures. In...
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Albania - country.
Joining the international community in its concern over the degradation of the environment, Albania is party to international agreements concerning biodiversity, climatechange, and wetlands. III THE PEOPLE OF ALBANIA In 2008 Albania’s population estimate was 3,619,778, resulting in an average density of 132 persons per sq km (342 per sq mi). More and more people have left ruralareas for urban ones, particularly in the northern districts, such that in 2005 some 45 percent of the population live...
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Jerusalem - geography.
There are many other artifacts in the city, tied to various periods of history; those of Canaanite, Israelite, Greek, Roman, Arab, Crusader, and Ottoman origin areamong the more prominent. Modern attractions include the Israel Museum (completed in 1965), which houses the Shrine of the Book, where the Dead Sea Scrolls areexhibited; the Rockefeller Museum (opened in 1938), which contains archaeological finds; the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum; the Museum of Biblical Archaeology; theMuseum of Islamic...
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Ukraine - country.
a major hazard, especially to Ukraine’s water supply. The Chernobyl’ complex was finally shut down completely in December 2000, with the financial assistance ofWestern nations. The funds were to pay for the completion of two other nuclear power plants that would produce enough power to make up for the loss of the powersupply from the Chernobyl’ plant. III PEOPLE OF UKRAINE The population of Ukraine was estimated in 2008 at 45,994,287, giving the country a population density of 76 persons per s...
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Public Education in the United States.
opportunities for them to break out from whatever social or economic circumstances constrained their development. IV HIGHER EDUCATION During the 20th century participation in higher or postsecondary education in the United States increased as dramatically as it did in American high schools. At thebeginning of the century about 2 percent of Americans from the ages of 18 to 24 were enrolled in a college. There were fewer than 1,000 colleges then, with enrollmenttotaling about 157,000 students. N...
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Indian Literature
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INTRODUCTION
Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things
Indian author Arundhati Roy poses with a copy of her acclaimed first novel, The God of Small Things (1997).
Mathura BuddhaMany of the earliest texts of Indian literature were religious writings of Buddhism. This Buddha figure carved out ofsandstone is from Mathura, a city in northern India that was at the center of Buddhist sculptural activity from the 2ndcentury bc to the 6th century ad.Angelo Hornak/Corbis The sacred Vedas were composed in Old Sanskrit by Aryan poet-seers between about 1500 BC and about 1000 BC. The Vedas are compilations of two major literary forms: hymns of praise to nature deit...
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Saudi Arabia - country.
C Natural Resources Some of the world’s largest oil and natural gas fields lie beneath Saudi Arabia and its offshore waters, representing the country’s most economically important naturalresource. In 2007 Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves were estimated at 264 billion barrels. Before the discovery and exploitation of these reserves in the mid-20th century,Saudi Arabia was one of the poorest countries in the world. Its relatively small population subsisted in a harsh environment with little agricultur...
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Holy Roman Empire
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INTRODUCTION
Holy Roman Empire, political entity of lands in western and central Europe, founded by Charlemagne in
AD
800 and dissolved by Emperor Francis II in 1806.
acquired the imperial title and an area running from the North Sea through Lotharingia (Lorraine) and Burgundy to northern Italy; Louis II received East Francia (theGerman duchies of Saxony, Swabia, and Bavaria). In 870 Lothair’s middle kingdom was divided by the Treaty of Mersen, which gave Lotharingia to East Francia and therest to West Francia. This division created the foundation for today’s states of Germany and France, respectively; however, in the 9th century these were highly fractured d...
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Holy Roman Empire .
acquired the imperial title and an area running from the North Sea through Lotharingia (Lorraine) and Burgundy to northern Italy; Louis II received East Francia (theGerman duchies of Saxony, Swabia, and Bavaria). In 870 Lothair’s middle kingdom was divided by the Treaty of Mersen, which gave Lotharingia to East Francia and therest to West Francia. This division created the foundation for today’s states of Germany and France, respectively; however, in the 9th century these were highly fractured d...
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Terrorism.
exploitation, ethnic discrimination, and religious persecution. Perceived inequities in the distribution of wealth and political power have led some terrorists to attempt tooverthrow democratically elected governments. To achieve a fairer society, they would replace these governments with socialist or communist regimes. Left-wingterrorist groups of the 1960s and 1970s with such aims included Germany’s Baader-Meinhof Gang, Italy’s Red Brigades, and the Weather Underground ( see Weathermen) in the...
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Orthodox Church.
formally defined by an ecumenical council, as it was in Catholicism, some Orthodox theologians have taught that the act of becoming a monk or the service of burial canalso be sacraments. The sacramental practice of the Orthodox differs in many details from Western customs. Baptism is administered by immersing the child or adult three times under thewater, each time in the name of one of the persons of the Trinity. It is followed immediately by anointment with chrism, a sacred perfumed oil that r...
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Islamic Art and Architecture
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INTRODUCTION
Córdoba Mosque Courtyard
This mosque and courtyard with its repeated horseshoe arches was built between the 8th and 10th centuries in Córdoba,
Spain.
Süleymaniye MosqueThe Süleymaniye Mosque in İstanbul was built in 1550. The architect, Sinan, based his design on Byzantine churches, inparticular the Hagia Sophia. The large central dome above a square opens to smaller spaces vaulted by buttressing half-domes. The four tapering minarets with balconies are characteristic of the architectural style of later Islamic mosques.Gian Berto Vanni/Art Resource, NY The few and relatively simple rituals of the Islamic faith gave rise to a unique religious...
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Elizabeth I
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INTRODUCTION
Elizabeth I (1533-1603), queen of England and Ireland (1558-1603), daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn.
Catholic challenges and plots persisted through much of Elizabeth’s reign, and Elizabeth reacted to them strongly. In 1569 a group of powerful Catholic nobles innorthern England rose in rebellion but were savagely repressed. The northern earls were executed, their property and those of their followers was confiscated, and theirheirs were deprived of their inheritance. In 1570 the pope excommunicated Elizabeth, sanctioning Catholic efforts to dethrone her. In 1571 an international conspiracywas u...