Persons N

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

Nicocrates, a Tyrant of Cyrene in Libya, was a very cruel Prince. He put to death Phaedimus, to marry his Wife Aretaphile, with whom he was fallen in Love. He murthered Menelippus, High-priest of the Temple of Apollo, and took upon himself the Priesthood. His unheard-of Cruelties made his Wife desire to be rid of him; for which end she prepared a poisonous Draught, but that failing, she got Prince Leander to dispatch him.

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

Nicodemus, a Pharisee, and Senator of the Jewish Sanhedrin, who came and discoursed our Saviour by night: See John, ch. 3. who also took care of our Saviour's Burial, John, chap. 19. We have a Book called The Gospel of Nicodemus, which is supposititious.

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

Nicolai (Laurentius) a Jesuit born in Norway, who was sent from Rome to Sweden in 1577, to be subservient to Queen Catharine, the Wife of King John IIId. for the restoring the Roman Religion in that Kingdom; to which end he made Profession of Lutheranism, and had a Divinity Professor's Place bestowed upon him at Stockholm; having this opportunity put into his hands, he in his publick Lectures made it his business to undermine the Foundations of Lutheranism, which when the Principal of the College and the Curate of the Town perceived, they opposed him therein, but were put out of their Places, and Nicolai made a Principal; but two years after, when the King was informed of the Truth of the Matter, he banished Nicolai, and restor'd his Adversaries to their Places. Maimbourg's History of Lutheranism.

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

Nicolas I. Pope surnamed The Great, was a Roman, and succeeded Benedict. IIId. the 24th. of April, 858. He boldly withstood the Emperor Michael III. who had deposed Ignatius, Patriarch of Constantinople, and put Photius into his place; and being informed that Photius had a design to out him, he struck him with an Anathema. He excommunicated also John, Archbishop of Ravenna, but afterwards restored him. He was a strenuous Assertor and Promoter of the Celibacy of Priests; but was therein vigorously opposed by Huldericus, Bishop of Augsburg, so that notwithstanding the Pope's endeavours, the Priests had liberty of Matrimony allow'd them for 200 years after. He was a zealous Maintainer of the Pontifical Authority, and writ a vast number of Epistles. And died 867. See M. Chemnit. in Examine de Coelibatu. Platin. Anast. Biblioth. Onuphr. Ciacon. Hincmar. Rhemens. Possevin.

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

Nicolas II. called Gerard the Burgundian, a Frenchman, or as others a Savoyard, succeeded Stephen IX. in 1059, and at the same time the Count of Frescati set up Johan. Nincius, Bishop of Velitri, who took upon him the Name of Benedict X; but Nicolas condemn'd him in a Council held at Sutri, whereupon Benedict was fain to submit himself. He also celebrated a Council, wherein he oblig'd Berengarius to recant. He died 1061, after having govern'd the Church two years and 6 months. Baron.

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

Nicolas III. of the Family of the Ursini, called Johan. Cajetan. succeeded to John XXI. the See having been vacant six months and four days; he was chosen at Viterbo, the 25th. of Nomveb. 1277; he was Learned and a Favourer of Learning, and was of such a prudent behaviour, that before his coming to the Papacy he was commonly called Cardinalis Compositus, The Composed or Grave Cardinal. Many Popish Writers accuse this Pope of having been too forward in promoting and enriching his Relations; and for his unjust persecuting of Charles of Anjou, King of Sicily, and of having been the Author of the Massacre of the French in Sicily, called the Sicilian Vespers, tho' he died two years before it was executed, of an Apoplexy at Sutri, the 22d. of August, 1280. Platina. Du Chesne. Bzovius & Raynald. in Annal. Ludovic. Jacob. Biblioth. Pontific.

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

Nicolas IV. a Franciscan, called Hieronymus, born at Ascalon, succeeded Honorius IV. A. C. 1288, after XI months vacancy of the See. He appeased the Dissensions at Rome, reconciled the Kings of Sicily and Arragon, took care for the Conversion of the Tartars, and the Inhabitants of Dalmatia, and did his best endeavours for recovery of the Holy-land. He died in 1292. Commentaries upon the Scripture, and on the Master of the Sentences, Sermons, and other Treatises are attributed to him. Du Chesne in his Life. Bzovius. Spondan. & Raynald. in Annal. Eccles.

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

Nicolas V. before called Thomas, was chosen after Eugenius IV. the sixth of March, 1447, and crowned the ninteenth of the same month. He made the Anti-pope Felix V. to renounce all his Pretensions to the Papacy. He celebrated a Jubilee in 1450, and crowned the Emperor Frederick IVth. with his Wife Eleonora of Portugal; but being sorely troubled with a Conspiracy formed against him and the Cardinals by Stephanus Porcarius, and the News of the taking of Constantinople, he fell sick, and died 1455. He was a great Restorer and Favourer of Learning. He augmented the Vatican with 3000 Books, and made it his business, with incredible Charges, to collect a vast number of Greek and Latin Manuscripts. He was very liberal and magnificent to the Greeks, to Gentlemen fallen to decay, poor Maids, and especially to learned Men, whom he sent for from all parts to his Court. He w•s also very magnificent in his publick Buildings. He is highly commended by several Authors. Antonin. Aeneas Sylvius. Platina. Spondan. Raynald. Possevin. Du Chesne.

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

Nicolas I. surnamed Mysticus, which is a Name of dignity, Patriarch of Constantinople, succeeded Antonius in 890. He governed the Church with much Sincerity. The Emperor Leo VI. deposed him in 901, because he would not approve of the fourth Marriage of that Prince with Zoe; but Alexander restored him again in 911, and made him Tutor to Constantinus Porphyrogenetus. He sent Legates to Pope John X. for the Union of the Greek and Latin Church. He died in 930. Curopalat. in Compend. Histor. Baron. in Annal.

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

Nicolas II. surnamed Chrysoberges, was the Successor of Antonius Studita, in 981, and with great Sweetness governed the Church till 995. Curopalat. & Baron.

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

Nicolas III. surnamed Grammaticus, a Person highly esteemed amongst the Greeks, succeeded Eustathius in 1089. He died in 1117. Zonar. in Annal. Baron. in Annal.

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

St. Nicolas, Bishop of Mira in Lycia, who according to the Greek and Roman Legendaries lived at the beginning of the IVth. Century. He was taken during the Persecution of Licinius, and sent into Banishment; after the Death of that Tyrant he visited his Diocess, and destroyed all the Idol-Temples he found in it. It is said that he assisted at the General Council of Nice, where he strongly opposed Arius. Metaphrast. & Surius. Baron. in Annal. & Martyr. Godeau Hist. Eccles.

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

Nicolas-Stur, the Son, as 'twas said, of Steno-Stur, King of Sweden, and of Christina, was proclaimed King by the People of Dalecarlia, after the Death of Steno, who had been killed in a Battle against the Danes in 1520. But Christina who was resolved to marry Gustavus, persuaded the People that she had never a Son, and that Nicolas-Stur was an Impostor, whereupon he was forced to make his Escape to Norway, and from thence to Rostock, where Gustavus caused him to be seized, and tried, and upon many Informations brought in against him from Sweden, he was condemned to be beheaded. Varillas.

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

* Nicolas the Hermit, commonly called Brother Clauss, a Swisser, who being Father of five Sons, and as many Daughters, retired into a Wilderness in the Valley of Melchtal in 1481, where he lived 21 years in Meditation and Prayers, eating nothing but Roots, thinly cloathed, and always went bare-foot, and without either Hat or Cap; exhorting all that visited him to Penance and a Contempt of the World; wishing them never to be dejected at the Vicissitudes of Fortune: He foretold a great many things, and said, his Country if united in it self, would always flourish and prove invincible, especially if the Inhabitants did give over their foreign Alliances, and yearly Pensions, and furnishing Princes with mercenary Troops, and did apply them to cultivate their Land at Home. Tempted by the Bishop of Constance, he eat some Meat, which much prejudiced his Health. He kept nothing in his little Cell but two Stools on which he used to rest himself sometimes. His usual Prayer was, Domine, Rape me mihi, & redde me totum tibi: Lord, Deliver me from my self, and take me wholly to you. He died in 1502. Hoffman.

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

Nicolaus de Cusa, or Cusanus, was of great esteem in the fifteenth Century; he took his Name de Cusa from a small Village on the Mosell, in the Diocess of Trier. He was a Person of extraordinary Learning and Parts, and more particularly excelled in Law and Divinity, tho' withall a most abstruse Philosopher. He was made Cardinal and Bishop of Brixia by Nicolas the Fifth. In 1451 he was sent Legate into Germany to preach the Croisade, but without success. He died at Todi, a City of Umbria, in 1464, in the 63d. year of his Age. He founded the Hospital of St. Nicolas near Cusa the Place of his Birth, and furnished it with a most noble and ample Library of Greek and Latin Authors. He left many excellent Works which were Printed in three Volumes at Basil, 1565. Onuphr. Platina, Ciacon. Trithem. & Bellarm. de Script. Eccles. Spondan. & Raynald. in Annal. Possevin. in Apparat. Sixtus Senens. Biblioth. Sacra.

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

Nicolaus Damascenus was a Person highly esteemed amongst the Learned Men of his Age. He lived in the time of Augustus, and was in great favour with that Emperor, and Herod the Great, King of the Jews. He was a Peripatetick Philosopher, Poet and Historian, and writ the History of Assyria, whereof we have only some Fragments left, with many other considerable Pieces. Henry of Valois hath published at Paris, in Greek and Latin, the Collection which Constantinus Porphyrogennetus had made of the Works of this Author.

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

Nicolaus de Lyra, or Lyranus. His Surname was given him from his native Place Lyre, a Country Town in Normandy, and the Diocese of Evreux. He was born of Jewish Parents, but having got himself baptized, he enter'd the Order of St. Francis, in the Monastery of Verneuil, and afterwards was sent to Paris, where he taught many years with esteem and applause. He died in 1349, or as others say, in 1340. He hath left behind him of his Writing, Postils upon the whole Bible, A Treatise of the Body of Jesus Christ against the Jews, Commentaries upon the Master of the Sentences, Of the Beatifick Vision, Sermons, &c. Trithem. & Bellarm. de Script. Eccles. Henry Vill•t. in Athen. Franc. Luc. Wadinge in Bibl. & Annal. min. Val. Andr. Bibl. Belg.

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

Nicomachus, a Greek Historian, who lived in the time of the Emperour Aurelianus, in the IIId. Century, and is supposed to be the same that writ the Life of Apollonius Tyanaeus. Voss. lib. 2. de Hist. Graec. Also Nicomachus the Father of Aristotle, who had a Son of the same Name, to whom he dedicated his Ethicks.

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

Nicomedes, King of Bithynia, who was driven from his Dominions by Mithridates, but restored again to them by the Romans, and dying about 679 of Rome, he left the Romans Heir of his Estates. Veller. Paterc. Tit. Liv. Flor. Polyb.

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

Nicomedes II. surnamed Epiphanes, the fifth King of Bithynia, was sent to Rome, and recommended to the Senate by his Father Prusias, but having afterward gained the favour of the Senate and of the Bithynians, he conceived a mortal hatred against his Father, seized his Throne and caused him to be put to Death. He built Apamea in honour of his Mother, and at last was killed by his own Son, Nicomedes III. by a just effect of the Divine Retaliation. Appion. de Bello Mithrid.

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

Nicon, or Conqueror, the Name of an Ass, whose Story take as follows. The Morning before the Sea-fight at Actium, Augustus being gone abroad to take a View of his Fleet, met a Man upon an Ass, and having demanded of him who he was, answered, that his Name was Eutychus, that is, Fortunate; and his Ass, Nicon, that is, Conqueror, whence Augustus took a good Omen for the Undertaking he was going about. And after his Victory he caused a Brazen Statue of a Man sitting upon an Ass to be plac'd for a Trophy near the Place of that Victory. Plutarch. in Vita Augusti.

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

Nicon, a famous Wrestler, who having been Conquerour very often in the Plays of Greece had a Statue erected to him in Tasso an Island of the Archipelago. After his Death a certain fellow that envyed his Fame whipt the Statue, which happened to fall, and kill'd him, and being thereupon arraigned, was by Draco the Athenian's Laws, who ordered even inanimate things to be punished, condemned to Banishment, and cast into the Sea. But some years after, the Inhabitants of the Island lying under a Disaster, consulted the Oracle, which told 'em, that to be rid of what they labour'd under, They should seek and re-place Nicon's Statue. Suidas.

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

Nicostratus, an Orator mentioned by Suidas; also a Sophister of Trebizonde, who lived under the Empire of Claudius and Valerian, in the Third Century. He writ the History of the Philips, Gordianus, Decius, and of some others. Evagr. Voss. de Histor. Graecis.

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

Nicot (John) of Nismes in Languedoc, and Master of Requests to the French King, was Ambassador in Portugal in 1559, 60, and 61, from whence he brought the Plant called from his Name in Latin Nicotiana, and more commonly Tobacco. He writ several Works, viz. a French and Latin Dictionary in folio, a Treatise of Navigation, &c. He died at Paris, May 10. in 1600 Blancard.

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

* Niger (Dominicus Marius) a Venetian who lived about the Year 1490. He published Six and twenty Books of Geography, Eleven of Europe, as many of Asia, and four of Africa, but takes no notice of America, whence it appears he composed that work, before Americus Vesputius, had discovered that fourth part of the World in 1492. It was printed at Basil in 1557.