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Macbeth, King of Scotland
Macbeth Macfinlay (aka Mac Bethad mac Findláig) reigned as the king of Scotland from 1040 to 1057 CE. The ruler of Moray, he took the throne via the battlefield from his predecessor Duncan I of Scotland (r. 1034-1040 CE). Macbeth reigned...
Definition
Anahita
Anahita is the ancient Persian goddess of fertility, water, health and healing, and wisdom. Owing to her association with life-giving properties, she also came to be connected with ancient Persian warfare as soldiers would pray to her for...
Definition
Desiderius Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1469-1536) was a Dutch humanist scholar considered one of the greatest thinkers of the Renaissance. A prolific writer who made full use of the printing press, he produced editions of classical authors, educational treatises...
Definition
Sam Houston - Man of Two Worlds
Sam Houston (1793-1863) was an American soldier in the War of 1812, a statesman, a general in the Texas Revolution, the first president of the Republic of Texas, and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. He was a White man who lived among Native...
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Oshun
Oshun (pronounced O-shan, also given as Osun) is a supernatural entity recognized as both a spirit and a goddess in the Yoruba religion of West Africa. She presides over fertility, love, and freshwater, is the patroness of the Osun River...
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Mary, Mother of Jesus
Mary of Nazareth, the mother of Jesus Christ, is one of the most venerated women from the ancient world. Her most common epithet is "the virgin Mary." She is celebrated by Eastern Orthodox Churches, Catholicism, and various Protestant denominations...
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Thomas Cromwell
Thomas Cromwell (l. c. 1485-1540 CE) served as chief minister to Henry VIII of England (r. 1509-1547 CE) from 1532 to 1540 CE. With his king and the Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer (in office 1533-55 CE), Cromwell masterminded the...
Definition
Picts
The Picts were a people of northern Scotland who are defined as a "confederation of tribal units whose political motivations derived from a need to ally against common enemies" (McHardy, 176). They were not a single tribe, nor necessarily...
Definition
Edward VI of England
Edward VI of England reigned as king from 1547 to 1553 CE. Succeeding his father Henry VIII of England (r. 1509-1547 CE), Edward was only nine years old at the time and so the kingdom was ruled by a council of nobles, foremost among whom...
Definition
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) was an American author of novels and short stories, who produced some of the most memorable works of American literature: the novels The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables as well as the short...