• PET scanning (imaging technique)

    positron emission tomography (PET), imaging technique used in diagnosis and biomedical research. It has proved particularly useful for studying brain and heart functions and certain biochemical processes involving these organs (e.g., glucose metabolism and oxygen uptake). In PET a chemical compound

  • Pet Sematary (film by Lambert [1989])

    Fred Gwynne: …performances in the horror film Pet Sematary (1989) and the comedy My Cousin Vinny (1992).

  • Pet Sematary (film by Kölsch [2019])

    John Lithgow: Other credits, including The Crown: …his films from 2019 were Pet Sematary, an adaptation of the Stephen King novel, and Bombshell, in which he played media executive Roger Ailes, who resigned from the Fox News Channel amid allegations of sexual misconduct. Lithgow also had roles in The Tomorrow Man and Late Night (both 2019). He…

  • Pet Shop Boys (British music duo)

    Pet Shop Boys, British pop music duo that produced a string of international hits beginning in the 1980s. The band comprised Neil Tennant (b. July 10, 1954, North Shields, Tyne and Wear, England) and Chris Lowe (b. October 4, 1959, Blackpool, Lancashire). Formed in London in 1981 by vocalist

  • Pet Sounds (album by the Beach Boys)

    Glen Campbell: …recording of the breakthrough album Pet Sounds (1966).

  • Peta (Indonesian organization)

    Indonesia: Japanese occupation: The Sukarela Tentara Pembela Tanah Air (Peta; “Volunteer Army of Defenders of the Homeland”) would become the core military force of the Indonesian revolution.

  • PETA (organization)

    People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), nongovernmental organization (NGO) committed to ending abusive treatment of animals in business and society and promoting consideration of animal interests in everyday decision making and general policies and practices. PETA was founded in 1980 by

  • Petah Tikva (Israel)

    Petah Tikva, city, west-central Israel, on the Plain of Sharon, east-northeast of Tel Aviv-Yafo and part of that city’s metropolitan area. Situated in the valley of Achor near the Yarqon River, the city takes its name (meaning “Door of Hope”) from the biblical allusion in Hosea 2:15: “…and make the

  • Pétain, Henri-Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph (French general)

    Philippe Pétain was a French general who was a national hero for his victory at the Battle of Verdun in World War I but was discredited as chief of state of the French government at Vichy in World War II. He died under sentence in a prison fortress. Born into a family of farmers in northern France,

  • Pétain, Philippe (French general)

    Philippe Pétain was a French general who was a national hero for his victory at the Battle of Verdun in World War I but was discredited as chief of state of the French government at Vichy in World War II. He died under sentence in a prison fortress. Born into a family of farmers in northern France,

  • petal (plant anatomy)

    petal, in flowering plants, a sterile floral part that usually functions as a visually conspicuous element of a flower. Petals are modified leaves and are often brightly colored or white to attract specific pollinators to the flower. Petals often come in multiples of three in monocots or in

  • Petaling Jaya (Malaysia)

    Petaling Jaya, city, Peninsular (West) Malaysia, about 7 miles (11 km) southwest of Kuala Lumpur, the national capital. Established (1953) originally as a satellite settlement for squatters of Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya is among the most industrialized and prosperous cities in Malaysia. Local

  • Petals of Blood (work by Ngugi)

    Ngugi wa Thiong’o: Petals of Blood (1977) deals with social and economic problems in East Africa after independence, particularly the continued exploitation of peasants and workers by foreign business interests and a greedy indigenous bourgeoisie.

  • Petaluma (California, United States)

    Petaluma, city, Sonoma county, western California, U.S. It lies at the head of navigation on the Petaluma River, 39 miles (63 km) north of San Francisco. The area was once part of Rancho Petaluma, granted to Mexican General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo in 1834. Founded in 1852, the city (like the

  • pétanque (French game)

    boules, French ball game, similar to bowls and boccie. It is thought to have originated about 1910, but it is based on the very old French game of jeu Provençal. Boules is played between two players or teams. Players take turns throwing or rolling a ball (boule) as close as possible to the target

  • Petar Karaðorðević (king of Yugoslavia)

    Peter II was the last king of Yugoslavia. The son of Alexander I, who was assassinated during a visit to France on October 9, 1934, Peter became titular king at age 11, but the actual rule was in the hands of a regent, his uncle Prince Paul. After Paul was deposed by a coup of officers led by Gen.

  • Petare (Venezuela)

    Petare, city, northwestern Miranda estado (state), Venezuela. It is located in the central highlands of northern Venezuela. The city originated from a grant of land to a conquistador in the 16th century. By 1621 there were several Spanish landowners in the area, and they formed a settlement, Dulce

  • petasos (hat)

    petasos, wide-brimmed hat with a conical crown worn in ancient Greece. The petasos worn by men had a rather low crown, while that worn by women had a tall one. A hat used for traveling, the petasos was made of felt or straw and had a chin strap, so that when not in use it could be hung down the

  • petasus (hat)

    petasos, wide-brimmed hat with a conical crown worn in ancient Greece. The petasos worn by men had a rather low crown, while that worn by women had a tall one. A hat used for traveling, the petasos was made of felt or straw and had a chin strap, so that when not in use it could be hung down the

  • Petauridae (marsupial family)

    marsupial: Classification: Family Petauridae (gliders and striped possums)10 or so species in 3 genera. Terrestrial and arboreal. 1st and 2nd digits of the forelimbs are opposable to the other digits. Molars adapted for chewing leaves. Family Potoroidae (rat kangaroos, potoroos, and bettongs)

  • Petaurillus (rodent genus)

    flying squirrel: The smallest are the dwarf flying squirrels (Petaurillus) of northern Borneo and the Malay Peninsula; their bodies are just 7 to 9 cm (about 2.8 to 3.5 inches) long and their tails 6 to 10 cm (about 2.4 to 4 inches). When seen in the tall trees of the…

  • Petaurista (rodent genus)

    flying squirrel: …feet) have been recorded for Giant flying squirrels (Petaurista). Ample loose skin and underlying muscle typically form a fur-covered membrane between each forelimb and hind limb; some species have smaller membranes between the head and wrists and between the hind limbs and tail. A cartilaginous rod that extends from the…

  • Petaurus breviceps (marsupial)

    glider: An example is the short-headed glider (P. breviceps) found from New Guinea to Tasmania; it is blue-gray with a dark centre stripe and has a long bushy tail. These animals can glide 55 m (180 feet). The greater glider (Schoinobates volans) of eastern Australia may be 105 cm long;…

  • Petavatthu (Buddhist text)

    Khuddaka Nikaya: Petavatthu (“Stories of Spirits of the Dead”), 51 similar poems on those whose misdeeds have condemned them to a sorrowful fate after death. This and the preceding work are among the latest in the canon.

  • Petchaburi (Thailand)

    Phetchaburi, town, south-central Thailand, located in the northern portion of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 65 miles (105 km) southwest of Bangkok. Phetchaburi is located near the mouth of the Phet Buri River and lies along the southern railway and highway. Before the sea route around the Malay

  • PETE (chemical compound)

    polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE), a strong, stiff synthetic fibre and resin and a member of the polyester family of polymers. PET is spun into fibres for permanent-press fabrics and blow-molded into disposable beverage bottles. PET is produced by the polymerization of ethylene glycol and

  • Pete ’n’ Tillie (film by Ritt [1972])

    Carol Burnett: …Sleeping in My Bed? (1963), Pete ’n’ Tillie (1972), The Four Seasons (1981), and Annie (1982). She displayed her dramatic skill in the television movie Friendly Fire (1979), for which she received an Emmy nomination. Aside from her work on The Carol Burnett Show, Burnett was best known for a…

  • Pete Davidson (American comedian, actor, and writer)

    Pete Davidson is an American comedian, actor, and writer best known for his role on Saturday Night Live (SNL). He became known for his relatively young age among the cast, his self-effacing style, and his personal monologues. Davidson grew up on Staten Island, a borough of New York City. When he

  • Pete’s Dragon (film by Lowery [2016])

    Robert Redford: Later films: …starred in a remake of Pete’s Dragon, a family film from Disney.

  • Pete, Megan Jovon Ruth (American rapper)

    Megan Thee Stallion is an American rapper who rose to prominence in the 2010s as part of a growing cohort of women hip-hop artists. She is known for her bodacious lyrics and viral songs, including “Hot Girl Summer” and “Savage.” Journalist Lola Ogunnaike described Megan Thee Stallion’s charm in a

  • petechia (medicine)

    cardiovascular disease: Diseases of the capillaries: …hemorrhages are referred to as petechiae when small; if large, they may become a large area of discoloration of the skin. Vitamin C deficiency and a variety of blood disorders may be associated with increased capillary fragility. Small petechial hemorrhages occur in bacterial endocarditis and certain other infectious processes. In…

  • petechiae (medicine)

    cardiovascular disease: Diseases of the capillaries: …hemorrhages are referred to as petechiae when small; if large, they may become a large area of discoloration of the skin. Vitamin C deficiency and a variety of blood disorders may be associated with increased capillary fragility. Small petechial hemorrhages occur in bacterial endocarditis and certain other infectious processes. In…

  • Petel, Georg (German sculptor)

    Western sculpture: Central Europe: …in the Mannerist style, whereas Georg Petel, who came under the influence of Peter Paul Rubens, is almost the only sculptor to reveal the impact of the Baroque. Petel’s importance lies mainly in his ivories, and Leonard Kern in Franconia developed a similar Rubensian style for his small statuettes.

  • Petén (department, Guatemala)

    Petén, region of northern Guatemala, bounded by Mexico to the north and west and by Belize to the east. It constitutes more than one-third of the country’s territory. Petén is a low limestone plateau, varying in elevation between 500 and 700 feet (150 and 210 metres) above sea level at the base of

  • Petén forest (forest, Guatemala)

    Middle American Indian: Cultural areas: …Mexico and the jungle of Petén in Guatemala. The Maya of these two regions form a continuous territorial and historical entity. (There are also contemporary Maya people in Veracruz and San Luis Potosí in Mexico, known as the Huastec.) The monumental ruins left by the pre-Columbian Maya are one of…

  • Petén Itzá, Lake (lake, Guatemala)

    Lake Petén Itzá, lake, northern Guatemala, 160 miles (260 km) northeast of Guatemala City. A depression in the low limestone plateau at an elevation of 262 feet (80 metres) above sea level, it measures about 22 miles (35 km) from east to west and 10 miles (16 km) from north to south and is 165 feet

  • Peter (king of Hungary)

    St. Gerard: …1031, Stephen appointed his nephew, Peter Orseolo, to be his successor. But when Stephen died in 1038, anarchy ensued as various parties vied for the crown. Gerard stood up against both Peter and the usurper Samuel Aba, a native Hungarian, for control of the throne. Peter reclaimed the throne, however,…

  • Peter (Russian Orthodox metropolitan)

    Peter was the Russian Orthodox metropolitan of Kiev and Moscow (1308–26) and the first metropolitan to reside in Moscow. Until Peter’s tenure as metropolitan, the centre of the Russian Orthodox Church had for many years been in Kiev, the ancient capital of Rus, and then for a while in Vladimir.

  • Peter (king of Castile and Leon)

    Peter was a celebrated king of Castile and Leon from 1350 to 1369, charged by his contemporary enemies with monstrous cruelty but viewed by later writers as a strong executor of justice. He succeeded his father, Alfonso XI, at the age of 15, and John II of France saw the chance to force Castile

  • Peter (Byzantine emperor)

    Peter was briefly Latin emperor of Constantinople, from 1217 to 1219. The son of Peter of Courtenay (died 1183) and a grandson of the French king Louis VI, he obtained the counties of Auxerre and Tonnerre by his first marriage. He later married Yolande (died 1219), sister of Baldwin I and Henry of

  • Peter (bishop of Alexandria)

    Meletius of Lycopolis: …was deposed about 306 by Peter, bishop of Alexandria, who formerly had fled arrest and whom Meletius charged with abandoning the community of the faithful. Meletius, however, was accused of fomenting discord by his criticism of the light penances imposed by Peter on “lapsed” Christians. When the persecution was resumed…

  • Peter and Gordon (British musical duo)

    British Invasion: Behind the conquering Beatles, Peter and Gordon (“A World Without Love”), the Animals (“House of the Rising Sun”), Manfred Mann (“Do Wah Diddy Diddy”), Petula Clark (“Downtown”), Freddie and the Dreamers (“I’m Telling You Now”), Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders (“Game of Love”),

  • Peter and Jerry (play by Albee)

    Edward Albee: (The play was retitled At Home at the Zoo in 2009.) The absurdist Me, Myself, & I (2007) trenchantly analyzes the relationship between a mother and her twin sons.

  • Peter and Paul Disputing (painting by Rembrandt)

    Rembrandt: The Leiden period (1625–31) of Rembrandt: …1628, in particular in the Peter and Paul Disputing, Rembrandt developed a method by which the lit elements in the painting are basically clustered in one area, in such a manner that little shadow is needed to separate the various forms. By assembling light hues of yellow, blue, pink, green,…

  • Peter and Paul, Feast of Saints (religious festival)

    Malta: Daily life and social customs: Mnarja, the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, takes place on the weekend preceding June 29 in Buskett Gardens in Rabat. It is the country’s principal folk festival and is highlighted by folksinging (għana) contests and fried-rabbit picnics. The annual Carnival is celebrated in various villages…

  • Peter and the Wolf (work by Prokofiev)

    Peter and the Wolf, children’s theatre composition for orchestra and narrator by Sergey Prokofiev. The work, which tells a Russian folk tale, premiered May 2, 1936, in Moscow. Since that time it has introduced many young listeners to classical music and helped train them to recognize the distinct

  • Peter Asen II (tsar of Bulgaria)

    Ivan Asen I: He and his brother Peter II were founders of the Asen dynasty, which survived until the latter half of the 13th century.

  • Peter Barsymes (Byzantine minister)

    Justinian I: Internal policy of Justinian I: …Minor, and the other was Peter Barsymes, a Syrian. John was praetorian prefect from 531 to 541, Peter from 543.

  • Peter Bartholomew (French pilgrim)

    Peter Bartholomew was a medieval French pilgrim who claimed to discover the Holy Lance, the purported remnant of the weapon that pierced the side of Jesus Christ during his Crucifixion, and who galvanized soldiers during the First Crusade before ultimately being discredited. Peter, who was probably

  • Peter Bell (work by Wordsworth)

    William Wordsworth: Late work of William Wordsworth: …a Thanksgiving Ode (1816); and Peter Bell (1819), a poem written in 1798 and then modulated in successive rewritings into an experiment in Romantic irony and the mock-heroic and colored by the poet’s feelings of affinity with his hero, a “wild and woodland rover.” The Waggoner (1819) is another extended…

  • Peter Bell the Third (work by Shelley)

    Percy Bysshe Shelley: Political protest works and poets as the unacknowledged legislators of the world: …1819 he sent to England Peter Bell the Third, which joins literary satire of William Wordsworth’s Peter Bell to attacks on corruptions in British society. He also drafted A Philosophical View of Reform, his longest (though incomplete) prose work, urging moderate reform to prevent a bloody revolution that might lead…

  • Peter Camenzind (novel by Hesse)

    Hermann Hesse: …brought out his first novel, Peter Camenzind, about a failed and dissipated writer. The novel was a success, and Hesse returned to the theme of an artist’s inward and outward search in Gertrud (1910) and Rosshalde (1914). A visit to India in these years was later reflected in Siddhartha (1922),…

  • Peter Canisius Association (Roman Catholic organization)

    biblical literature: Dutch versions: …superseded by that of the Peter Canisius Association (1929–39), now in general use. A fresh translation of the New Testament into modern Dutch appeared in 1961.

  • Peter Chrysologus, Saint (archbishop of Ravenna)

    Saint Peter Chrysologus ; feast day July 30) was the archbishop of Ravenna, whose orthodox discourses earned him the status of doctor of the church. The title Chrysologus (Golden Orator) was added to his name at a later date, probably to create a Western counterpart to the Eastern patriarch St.

  • Peter Claver, St. (Spanish missionary)

    St. Peter Claver ; canonized 1888; feast day September 9) was a Jesuit missionary to South America who, in dedicating his life to the aid of enslaved Africans, earned the title of “apostle of the Negroes.” Peter entered the Society of Jesus in 1602 and eight years later was sent to Cartagena, where

  • Peter Damian, St (Italian cardinal)

    St. Peter Damian ; feast day February 21) was a Roman Catholic cardinal and a forceful figure in the Gregorian Reform movement. His personal example and many writings exercised great influence on religious life in the 11th and 12th centuries. In 1828 Pope Leo XII declared him a doctor of the

  • Peter Des Rivaux (English noble)

    Peter Des Rivaux was one of the Poitevin administrators who dominated the government of young King Henry III of England from 1232 to 1234; Peter failed in his efforts to create an all-powerful central administration. His father (or uncle), Peter des Roches (bishop of Winchester, 1205–38), became

  • Peter Des Roches (English diplomat)

    Peter Des Roches was a Poitevin diplomat, soldier, and administrator, one of the ablest statesmen of his time, who enjoyed a brilliant but checkered career, largely in England in the service of kings John and Henry III. As bishop of Winchester from 1205 to 1238, he organized and added to the

  • Peter Fats (Samoan athlete)

    Peter Fatialofa was a Samoan rugby player who captained the national team of Western Samoa (now Samoa) in 1993 in its first rugby union international match. Fatialofa was born in New Zealand and spent part of his childhood with his father in Western Samoa before returning to Auckland. He played

  • Peter Grimes (opera by Britten)

    Catholic imagination: Overview of the Catholic imagination: …observation to contrast the opera Peter Grimes (1945) by Benjamin Britten (an English Protestant) with La traviata (1853) by Giuseppe Verdi (an Italian Catholic). Greeley argues that while in Britten’s work, “there is no salvation for anyone at the end of the opera, no hint of hope,” in Verdi’s work…

  • Peter Gunn (American television program)

    Blake Edwards: Early life and work: …series: the stylish detective drama Peter Gunn (1958–61), which began his long collaboration with composer Henry Mancini, and Mr. Lucky (1959–60), which was about a floating casino. Returning to the big screen, he directed The Perfect Furlough (1959), with Curtis and Janet Leigh, before registering his first box-office hit with…

  • Peter I (duke or count of Brittany)

    Peter I was the duke or count of Brittany from 1213 to 1237, a French prince of the Capetian dynasty, and the founder of a line of French dukes of Brittany who ruled until the mid-14th century. Married by his cousin King Philip II Augustus of France to Alix, heiress to Brittany, Peter did homage

  • Peter I (prince-bishop of Montenegro)

    Peter I was the great vladika, or prince-bishop, of Montenegro from 1782 to 1830, who won full independence of his country from the Turks. As successor to his saintly but inept uncle Sava, Peter became the reigning prince in theocratic Montenegro in 1782 and was consecrated bishop two years later.

  • Peter I (king of Castile and Leon)

    Peter was a celebrated king of Castile and Leon from 1350 to 1369, charged by his contemporary enemies with monstrous cruelty but viewed by later writers as a strong executor of justice. He succeeded his father, Alfonso XI, at the age of 15, and John II of France saw the chance to force Castile

  • Peter I (king of Aragon and Sicily)

    Peter III was the king of Aragon from July 1276, on the death of his father, James I, and king of Sicily (as Peter I) from 1282. In 1262 he had married Constance, heiress of Manfred, the Hohenstaufen king of Sicily; and after the revolt of the Sicilians in 1282 he invaded the island and was

  • Peter I (king of Serbia)

    Peter I was the king of Serbia from 1903, the first strictly constitutional monarch of his country. In 1918 he became the first king of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later called Yugoslavia). Born the third son of the reigning prince Alexander Karadjordjević (1842–58), Peter became

  • Peter I (tsar of Bulgaria)

    Peter I was the tsar of Bulgaria (reigned 927–969). The second son of Simeon I, he inherited the throne on his father’s death in 927. Early in his reign, Peter faced revolts by his brothers, which he suppressed, and also endured raids by the Magyars, who crossed Bulgaria on their way to the

  • Peter I (king of Cyprus)

    Lusignan Family: …who ruled in Cyprus was Peter I (Pierre I; d. 1369), who set forth on various expeditions against the Muslims in a last attempt to gain the Holy Lands. He was assassinated by discontented nobles in Cyprus.

  • Peter I (king of Portugal)

    Peter I was the king of Portugal from 1357 to 1367. The son of Afonso IV and his consort Beatriz of Castile, Peter was married in 1336 to Constanza of Castile; but she died in 1345, and Peter is chiefly remembered for his tragic amour with Inês de Castro (q.v.), whose death he savagely avenged

  • Peter I (king of Aragon)

    Peter I was the king of Aragon from June 1094. The son of Sancho Ramírez, the third in order of the historic kings of Aragon, Peter belonged to times anterior to the authentic written history of his kingdom; and little is known of him save that he conquered Huesca (1096) and Barbastro (1100) from

  • Peter I (emperor of Russia)

    Peter I was the tsar of Russia who reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V (1682–96) and alone thereafter (1696–1725) and who in 1721 was proclaimed emperor (imperator). He was one of his country’s greatest statesmen, organizers, and reformers. Peter was the son of Tsar Alexis by his second

  • Peter II (king of Yugoslavia)

    Peter II was the last king of Yugoslavia. The son of Alexander I, who was assassinated during a visit to France on October 9, 1934, Peter became titular king at age 11, but the actual rule was in the hands of a regent, his uncle Prince Paul. After Paul was deposed by a coup of officers led by Gen.

  • Peter II (king of Aragon)

    Peter II was the king of Aragon from 1196 to 1213, the eldest son and successor of Alfonso II. Peter married (1204) Mary, lady of Montpellier, and thus greatly extended Aragonese power in southern France. Despite the violent objections of his subjects, he had himself crowned by Pope Innocent III in

  • Peter II (king of Portugal)

    Peter II was the king of Portugal whose reign as prince regent (1668–83) and as king (1683–1706) was marked by the consolidation of royal absolutism and the reduction of the significance of the Cortes (National Assembly); at the same time he encouraged economic development and guided his nation

  • Peter II (emperor of Russia)

    Peter II was the emperor of Russia from 1727 to 1730. Grandson of Peter I the Great (ruled 1682–1725), Peter II was named heir to the Russian throne by Catherine I (ruled 1725–27) and was crowned at the age of 11 (May 18 [May 7, Old Style], 1727). Because Catherine had named the Supreme Privy

  • Peter II (tsar of Bulgaria)

    Ivan Asen I: He and his brother Peter II were founders of the Asen dynasty, which survived until the latter half of the 13th century.

  • Peter II (prince-bishop of Montenegro)

    Peter II was the vladika, or prince-bishop, of Montenegro from 1830 to 1851, renowned as an enlightened ruler and intrepid warrior and especially as a poet. His principal works were “The Ray of the Microcosm,” “The False Tsar Stephen the Small,” and “The Mountain Wreath.” On succeeding his uncle

  • Peter II (duke of Brittany)

    Peter II was the duke of Brittany (from 1450), son of John V (or VI) and brother of his predecessor Francis I. He made an important innovation in limiting the right of asylum in churches and monasteries, enabling him to pursue his enemies at will. To preserve the family line, he adhered to the

  • Peter III (king of Portugal)

    Peter III was the king consort of Portugal from 1777, with Queen Maria I. The younger son of John V of Portugal, he was married in July 1760 to the daughter of his elder brother, King Joseph. When she became queen as Maria I (February 1777), Peter became nominally king. He devoted himself entirely

  • Peter III (king of Aragon and Sicily)

    Peter III was the king of Aragon from July 1276, on the death of his father, James I, and king of Sicily (as Peter I) from 1282. In 1262 he had married Constance, heiress of Manfred, the Hohenstaufen king of Sicily; and after the revolt of the Sicilians in 1282 he invaded the island and was

  • Peter III (emperor of Russia)

    Peter III was the emperor of Russia from January 5, 1762 (December 25, 1761, Old Style), to July 9 (June 28, Old Style), 1762. Son of Anna, one of Peter I the Great’s daughters, and Charles Frederick, Herzog (duke) von Holstein-Gottorp, the young duke was brought to Russia by his aunt Elizabeth

  • Peter IV (king of Aragon)

    Peter IV was the king of Aragon from January 1336, son of Alfonso IV. Peter was the most cultivated of Spanish 14th-century kings but was also an inveterate political intriguer whose ability to dissemble was notorious. Through his voluminous correspondence, the workings of his mind are far better

  • Peter IV of Portugal (emperor of Brazil)

    Pedro I was the founder of the Brazilian empire and first emperor of Brazil, from Dec. 1, 1822, to April 7, 1831, also reckoned as King Pedro (Peter) IV of Portugal. Generally known as Dom Pedro, he was the son of King John VI of Portugal. When Napoleon conquered Portugal in 1807, Pedro accompanied

  • Peter Leopold (Holy Roman emperor)

    Leopold II was the Holy Roman emperor from 1790 to 1792, one of the most capable of the 18th-century reformist rulers known as the “enlightened despots.” The third son of the Habsburg Maria Theresa and the emperor Francis I, Leopold succeeded his father as duke of Tuscany when his eldest brother

  • Peter Lombard (French bishop)

    Peter Lombard was a 12th-century bishop whose Four Books of Sentences (Sententiarum libri IV) was the standard theological text of the Middle Ages. After early schooling at Bologna, he went to France to study at Reims and then at Paris. From 1136 to 1150 he taught theology in the school of Notre

  • Peter Martyr (name referring to several important persons)

    Peter Martyr, name commonly used in English for: (1) St. Peter Martyr, who was killed in 1252 by the Cathari, a heretical Christian sect; (2) Peter Martyr d’Anghiera, who was an Italian historian; and (3) Peter Martyr Vermigli, who was one of the greatest Italian reformers and a leading exponent of

  • Peter Martyr d’Anghiera (Italian chaplain and historian of the Spanish court)

    Peter Martyr d’Anghiera was a chaplain to the court of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile, and historian of Spanish explorations, who became a member of Emperor Charles V’s Council of the Indies (1518). He collected unidentified documents from the various discoverers,

  • Peter Martyr, St. (Italian preacher)

    St. Peter Martyr ; canonized 1253; feast day April 29) was an inquisitor, vigorous preacher, and religious founder who, for his militant reformation, was assassinated by a neo-Manichaean sect, the Cathari (heretical Christians who held unorthodox views on the nature of good and evil). Peter’s

  • Peter Mauclerc (duke or count of Brittany)

    Peter I was the duke or count of Brittany from 1213 to 1237, a French prince of the Capetian dynasty, and the founder of a line of French dukes of Brittany who ruled until the mid-14th century. Married by his cousin King Philip II Augustus of France to Alix, heiress to Brittany, Peter did homage

  • Peter Nolasco, St (Roman Catholic saint)

    St. Peter Nolasco ; canonized 1628; feast day January 28; Mercedarian order feast day May 6) was the founder of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy (formerly the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the Ransom of Captives; also known as Mercedarians or Nolascans), a religious institute

  • Peter of Albano (Italian professor)

    Aristotelianism: From the late 13th century through the 15th century: …and philosophical studies; for example, Peter of Abano, a professor of medicine at Padua who had been trained at Paris, pushed Aristotle’s cosmology to the brink of determinism in human affairs and used his logic to suggest that Jesus’ death was only apparent. Political science, which had been a field…

  • Peter of Alcántara, Saint (Spanish mystic)

    Saint Peter of Alcántara ; canonized 1669; feast day October 19) was a Franciscan mystic who founded an austere form of Franciscan life known as the Alcantarines or Discalced (i.e., barefooted) Friars Minor. He is the patron saint of Brazil. Of noble birth, he entered the Franciscan order at

  • Peter of Blois (French medieval writer)

    Latin literature: The 12th to the 14th century: Peter of Blois is found in the section of satirical verse and the section of love poetry. His verse forms achieve a new degree of delicacy and sophistication, and his erotic poetry owes much to a close study of classical poets, particularly Ovid. Yet many…

  • Peter of Candia (antipope)

    Alexander (V) was an antipope from 1409 to 1410. Alexander became a Franciscan theologian and then archbishop of Milan (1402). Pope Innocent VII appointed him cardinal (1405) and papal legate to Lombardy. Unanimously elected by the invalid Council of Pisa in 1409 when he was 70 years old, Alexander

  • Peter Of Castelnau (French martyr)

    Peter Of Castelnau was a Cistercian martyr, apostolic legate, and inquisitor against the Albigenses, most particularly the Cathari (heretical Christians who held unorthodox views on the nature of good and evil), whose assassination led to the Albigensian Crusade. Peter became an archdeacon in 1199

  • Peter of Colechurch (English curate)

    London Bridge: Old London Bridge: …fame dates from 1176, when Peter of Colechurch, a priest and chaplain of St. Mary’s of Colechurch, began construction of the foundation. Replacing a timber bridge (one of several built in late Roman and early medieval times), Peter’s structure was the first great stone arch bridge built in Britain. It…

  • Peter of Corbara (antipope)

    Nicholas (V) was the last imperial antipope, whose reign (May 1328 to August 1330) in Rome rivalled the pontificate of Pope John XXII at Avignon. An assembly of priests and laymen in Rome under the influence of the Holy Roman emperor Louis IV the Bavarian, whom John had excommunicated, elected the

  • Peter of Courtenay (Byzantine emperor)

    Peter was briefly Latin emperor of Constantinople, from 1217 to 1219. The son of Peter of Courtenay (died 1183) and a grandson of the French king Louis VI, he obtained the counties of Auxerre and Tonnerre by his first marriage. He later married Yolande (died 1219), sister of Baldwin I and Henry of

  • Peter of Dreux (duke or count of Brittany)

    Peter I was the duke or count of Brittany from 1213 to 1237, a French prince of the Capetian dynasty, and the founder of a line of French dukes of Brittany who ruled until the mid-14th century. Married by his cousin King Philip II Augustus of France to Alix, heiress to Brittany, Peter did homage

  • Peter of Montboissier, Blessed (French abbot)

    Peter the Venerable was an outstanding French abbot of Cluny whose spiritual, intellectual, and financial reforms restored Cluny to its high place among the religious establishments of Europe. Peter joined Bernard of Clairvaux in supporting Pope Innocent II, thereby weakening the position of the