[Roeskilde], an interesting old Danish city, situated on a fjord, 20 m. W. by S. of Copenhagen, dates back to the 10th century; has a fine 13th-century cathedral, the burying-place of most of the Danish kings.
[Rogation Days], the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday preceding Ascension Day, on which special litanies are sung or recited by the Roman Catholic clergy and people in public procession; has its origin in an old custom dating from the 6th century. In England the practice ceased after the Reformation.
[Roger I.], the youngest of the 12 sons of Tancred of Hauteville; conquered Sicily from the Saracens after a war of 30 years, and governed it under the title of count in part from 1071 and wholly from 1089 to 1101.
[Roger II.], son and successor of the preceding, was crowned king of the two Sicilies by the Pope; waged war advantageously against the Emperor of the East and the Saracens of North Africa; ruled the country well and promoted industry (1097-1154).
[Roger of Wendover], an early English chronicler, lived in the 13th century; was a monk of St. Albans and subsequently prior of Belvoir; wrote a history of the world down to Henry III.'s reign, the only valuable portion of it being that which deals with his own times.
[Rogers, Henry], English essayist; contributed for years to the Edinburgh Review; author of the "Eclipse of Faith" (1806-1877).
[Rogers, James E. Thorwold], political economist, born in Hampshire; became professor of Political Economy at Oxford; author of a "History of Agriculture and Prices in England" and "Six Centuries of Work and Wages," an abridgment of it (1823-1890).
[Rogers, John], the first of the Marian martyrs, born at Birmingham; prepared a revised edition of the English Bible, preached at Paul's Cross against Romanism the Sunday after Mary's entrance into London, and was after a long imprisonment tried for heresy, and condemned to be burned at Smithfield (1505-1555).
[Rogers, Samuel], English poet, born in London, son of a banker, bred to banking, and all his life a banker—took to literature, produced a succession of poems: "The Pleasures of Memory" in 1792, "Human Life" in 1819, and "Italy," the chief, in 1822; he was a good conversationalist, and told lots of good stories, of which his "Table-Talk," published in 1856, is full; he issued at great expense a fine edition of "Italy" and early poems, which were illustrated by Turner and Stothard, and are much prized for the illustrations (1763-1855).
[Roget, Peter Mark], physician, born in London; was professor of Physiology at the Royal Institution; wrote on physiology in relation to natural theology; was author of a "Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases" (1779-1869).