Vasily \'va-so-le\ I Russian Vasily Dmitriyevich (b. 1371—d. Feb¬ ruary 1425, Moscow) Grand prince of Moscow (1389-1425). After help¬ ing the Tatar khan Tokhtamysh fight Timur, he succeeded his father as grand prince of Moscow and Vladimir. He enlarged his realm to include Nizhny Novgorod and Murom in the central Volga region, but his efforts to expand westward brought him into conflict with Lithuania and Novgorod. He prepared to fight Timur in 1395, but the Mongol leader withdrew from Russian lands without a battle. Vasily kept his state inde¬ pendent until the Tatars reasserted control in 1408.
Vasily II Russian Vasily Varilyevich known as Vasily the Blind
(b. 1415—d. March 27, 1462, Moscow) Grand Prince of Moscow (1425- 62). At age 10 he was named to succeed his father, Vasily I, but for many years his uncle and cousins struggled to wrest the throne from him. Despite being blinded by his cousin Dmitry Shemyaka, he regained power in 1447 and ruled Muscovy for another 15 years. Vasily quelled internal strife in his realm by 1452 and enlarged his state’s territory by absorbing nearby principalities. During his reign the Russian church asserted its independence from the patriarch at Constantinople. Vasily signed a treaty with Lithuania (1449) but fought Tatar hordes on his southern and east¬ ern borders.
vassal See feudalism
Vassar College Private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. It was founded as a college for women by Matthew Vassar (1792-1868) in 1861 but did not open until 1865. It became coeducational in 1968. Vas¬ sar offers undergraduate studies in most major disciplines, and it has mas¬ ter’s degree programs in biology, chemistry, and drama. The F.L. Loeb Art Center houses one of the oldest art collections in the U.S.
Vatican City in full State of the Vatican City Independent papal state, southern Europe, within the commune of Rome, Italy. Area: 109 acres (44 hectares). Population (2005 est.): 800. Its medieval and Renais¬ sance walls form its boundaries except on the southeast at St. Peter’s Square. Within the walls is the world’s smallest independent nation-state, with its own diplomatic missions, newspaper, post office, radio station, banking system, army of 100 Swiss Guards, and publishing house. Extra¬ territoriality of the state extends to Castel Gandolfo and to several churches and palaces in Rome proper. Its independent sovereignty was recognized in the Lateran Treaty of 1929. The pope has absolute executive, legislative, and judicial powers within the city. He appoints the members of the Vatican’s government organs, which are separate from those of the Holy See, the name given to the government of the Roman Catholic
Church. The many imposing buildings include St. Peter's Basilica, the Vat¬ ican Palace, and the Vatican Museums. Frescoes by Michelangelo in the Sis- tine Chapel, by Pinturicchio in the Borgia Apartment, and by Raphael in the Stanze (rooms in the papal apartments) are also there. The Vatican Library contains a priceless collection of manuscripts from the pre-Chr istian and Christian eras. The pope and other representatives of the papal state travel widely to maintain international relations.
Belvedere
Palace
Academy
Vatican
Apostolic
Vatican
Gardens
JSSjSartment- ^ Sistine! / / ~V ,Cha pel
St. Peter's Basilica
Obelisk 0 St. Peter': Square
Ladio
station
Sacristy J LQJ C
uidien:
Palace of the Holy (Office © 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Vatican Council, First (1869-70) 20th ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. It was convoked by Pope Pius IX (1846-78) to address the rising influence of rationalism, materialism, and liberalism. The council, which was never formally dissolved, promulgated two doc¬ trinal constitutions: Dei filius, which deals with faith, reason, and their interrelations; and Pastor aeternus, which treats the authority of the pope. After long debate, the council approved the doctrine of papal infallibility. The council recessed in the summer of 1870 but was unable to reconvene because Italian troops had occupied Rome. Pius suspended the council indefinitely on Oct. 20, 1870.
Vatican Council, Second (1962-65) 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic church, announced by Pope John XXIII. It has come to symbolize the church’s readiness to acknowledge the circumstances of the modern world. Among the most notable of the 16 documents enacted were the “Dogmatic Constitution on the Church,” which treats church hierarchy and provides for greater involvement of laypeople in the church; the “Dogmatic Constitution of Divine Revelation,” which maintains an open attitude toward scholarly study of the Bible; the “Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy,” which provides for the use of vernacular languages in the mass in place of Latin; and the “Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the World of Today,” which acknowledges the profound changes humanity has experienced in the modern world and attempts to relate the church to contemporary culture. Observers from other Christian churches were invited to the council in a gesture of ecumenism.
Vatican Museums and Galleries Institutions and papal palaces in Vatican City housing the art collections of the popes since the beginning of the 15th century. Among the many separate museums are the 18th- century Pio-Clementino Museum, which exhibits the collection of Clas¬ sical sculpture that originated in 1503-13 with Julius II; the exhibition rooms in the Vatican Library; and the Sistine Chapel. The Vatican collec¬ tions are most famous for their Classical statues (including Apollo Belve¬ dere, Belvedere Torso , and Laocoon ) but also contain important examples of Egyptian and early Christian art. The Pinacoteca (“Picture Gallery”), founded by Pius VI in 1797, contains Italian religious paintings and Rus¬ sian and Byzantine art. In 1956 a modem-art collection was begun with secular works by such artists as Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Georges Seurat, Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso. The Vatican collec¬ tions are among the largest and most important in the world.
Vatican Palace Pope’s residence since the late 14th century, located north of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. First enclosed in 850, the irregu¬ larly walled compound contains gardens (begun by Nero), courtyards, living quarters, galleries, the Vatican Museums and Library, and other facilities. The residence, with more than 1,400 rooms, was begun in the
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
1990 I Vatnajokull ► vaulting
13th century by Pope Nicholas III. Nicholas V founded the Vatican Library. Under Julius II, Giovanni dei Dolci built the Sistine Chapel, noted for its spectacular interior artwork including Michelangelo’s ceiling; Donato Bramante completed the palace’s northern facade and planned the immense Belvedere court; and Raphael painted his masterpieces in the palace. Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, employed by Paul III. designed the Sala Regia (Royal Hall) and Pauline Chapel, decorated by Michelan¬ gelo. Several chapels, along with Ottaviano Mascherino’s famous Gallery of Maps, date from the late 16th century. Domenico Fontana added a wing of apartments and the present library building under Sixtus V. In the Baroque period. Urban VIII built the Matilda Chapel and, under Alex¬ ander VII, Gian Lorenzo Bernini built the Scala Regia (Royal Stairway).
Vatnajokull Yvat-na-,yce-ku-t 3 l\ Extensive ice field, southeastern Ice¬ land. It covers an area of 3,200 sq mi (8,400 sq km) and has an average ice thickness of more than 3,000 ft (900 m). It contains several moun¬ tains, including Hvannadalshnukur (6,952 ft, or 2,119 m), the highest peak in Iceland. There are numerous active volcanoes throughout the ice field.
Vattern Vve-tornN Lake, south-central Sweden, southeast of Lake Vanern. With a length of 81 mi (130 km), a width of about 19 mi (31 km), and an area of 738 sq mi (1,912 sq km), it is Sweden’s second largest lake, though only one-third the size of Vanern. Its maximum depth is 420 ft (130 m). Known for its dangerous currents, it is connected with the Baltic Sea by the Gota Canal.