Cardinal Richelieu summary
Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Cardinal Richelieu.
Roman Catholicism Summary
Roman Catholicism, Christian religion that has been the decisive spiritual force in the history of Western civilization. Along with Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism, it is one of the three major branches of Christianity. It is led by the pope, as the bishop of Rome, and the Holy See forms the
cardinal Summary
Cardinal, a member of the Sacred College of Cardinals, whose duties include electing the pope, acting as his principal counselors, and aiding in the government of the Roman Catholic Church throughout the world. Cardinals serve as chief officials of the Roman Curia (the papal bureaucracy), as
absolutism Summary
Absolutism, the political doctrine and practice of unlimited centralized authority and absolute sovereignty, as vested especially in a monarch or dictator. The essence of an absolutist system is that the ruling power is not subject to regularized challenge or check by any other agency, be it
Languedoc Summary
Languedoc, historical and cultural region encompassing the southern French départements of Hérault, Gard, and Ardèche and parts of Haute-Loire, Lozère, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne, Haute-Garonne, and Ariège and coextensive with the former province of Languedoc. Languedoc is a center of the distinctive