[Castren, Mathias Alexander], an eminent philologist, born in Finland, professor of the Finnish Language and Literature in Helsingfors; travelled all over Northern Europe and Asia, and left accounts of the races he visited and their languages; translated the "[Kalevala]" (q. v.) the epic of the Finns; died prematurely, worn out with his labours (1813-1852).
[Castres] (22), a town in the dep. of Tarn, 46 m. E. of Toulouse; was a Roman station, and one of the first places in France to embrace Calvinism.
[Castro, Guillen de], a Spanish dramatist, author of the play of "The Cid," which gained him European fame; he began life as a soldier, got acquainted with Lope de Vega, and took to dramatic composition (1569-1631).
[Castro, Inez de], a royal heiress of the Spanish throne in the 14th century, the beloved wife of Don Pedro, heir of the Portuguese throne; put to death out of jealousy of Spain by the latter's father, but on his accession dug out of her grave, arrayed in her royal robes, and crowned along with him, after which she was entombed again, and a magnificent monument erected over her remains.
[Castro, Juan de], a Portuguese soldier, born at Lisbon, distinguished for his exploits in behalf of Portugal; made viceroy of the Portuguese Indies, but died soon after in the arms of Francis Xavier (1500-1548).
[Castro, Vaca de], a Spaniard, sent out by Charles V. as governor of Peru, but addressing himself to the welfare of the natives rather than the enrichment of Spain, was recalled, to pine and die in prison in 1558.
[Castrogiovanni] (18), a town in a strong position in the heart of Sicily, 3270 ft. above the sea-level; at one time a centre of the worship of Ceres, and with a temple to her.
[Castruccio-Castracani], Duke of Lucca, and chief of the Ghibelline party in that town, the greatest war-captain in Europe in his day; lord of hundreds of strongholds; wore on a high occasion across his breast a scroll, inscribed, "He is what God made him," and across his back another, inscribed, "He shall be what God will make"; d. 1328, "crushed before the moth."
[Catacombs], originally underground quarries, afterwards used as burial-places for the dead, found beneath Paris and in the neighbourhood of Rome, as well as elsewhere; those around Rome, some 40 in number, are the most famous, as having been used by the early Christians, not merely for burial but for purposes of worship, and are rich In monuments of art and memorials of history.
[Catalani, Angelica], a celebrated Italian singer and prima donna, born near Ancona; began her career in Rome with such success that it led to engagements over all the chief cities of Europe, the enthusiasm which followed her reaching its climax when she came to England, where, on her first visit, she stayed eight years; by the failure of an enterprise in Paris she lost her fortune, but soon repaired it by revisiting the capitals of Europe; died of cholera in Paris (1779-1840).