PEPIN THE SHORT, king of the Franks, was the son of Charles Martel, and at first shared with his brother Carloman the viceroyalty of the kingdom under Hilderik III.; in 747 Carloman retired to a monastery, and five years later Pepin deposed Hilderik and ascended the throne; his kingdom embraced the valleys of the Rhine, the Rhone, and the Seine; he united his interests with those of the Church, and in 756 entered Italy to rescue the Pope from the threatened domination of the Lombards; reduced Aistulf of Lombardy to vassalage, assumed the title of Patrician of Rome, and by bestowing on Pope Stephen III. the “Exarchate” of the Roman empire, laid the foundation of papal temporal sovereignty, five cities being placed under his jurisdiction; his subsequent exploits included the conquest of the Loire Valley and the expulsion of the Moors from France; his fame was overshadowed by that of his son Charlemagne; d. 678.

PEPSIN, an essential constituent of the gastric juice extracted from the stomach of the calf, sheep, and pig, and used in medicine to supply any defect of it in the stomach of a patient.

PEPYS, SAMUEL, author of a famous Diary, a scholarly man and respected as connected with different grades of society; held a clerkship in the Admiralty, and finally the secretaryship; kept a diary of events from 1660 to 1669, which remained in MS. till 1826, when it was published in part by Lord Braybrooke, and is of interest for the insight it gives into the manners of the time and the character of the author; the latest and completest edition of this Diary is that of H. B. Wheatley, published in 1893-96, in eight vols. (1633-1703).

PERA, a suburb of Constantinople, on the N. side of the Golden Horn, and the foreign diplomatic quarter.

PERAEA, “the country beyond,” designated that part of Palestine beyond or E. of the Jordan.

PERCEVAL, a hero of the legends of chivalry, famed for his adventures in quest of the Holy Graal.

PERCEVAL, SPENCER, English statesman, born in London, son of the Earl of Egmont; bred to the bar; entered Parliament as a supporter of Pitt, and held a succession of posts under different administrations, attaining the Premiership, which he held from 1800 to 1812, on the 11th of May, of which year he was shot dead by a madman of the name of Bellingham in the lobby of the House; he was devoted to the throne, and a man of upright character but narrow sympathies (1762-1812).

PERCIVAL, JAMES GATES, American poet and geologist, born at Kensington, Connecticut; took his degree at Yale in 1815, and qualified as a medical practitioner; he was for a few months professor of Chemistry at West Point, but retired and gave himself to literature and geology; his scientific works are valuable; “Prometheus and Clio” appeared in 1822, “Dream of a Day” in 1843; he died at Hazel Green, Wisconsin (1795-1856).

PERCY, a noble English family of Norman origin, the founder of which accompanied the Conqueror, and was rewarded with grants of land for his services; a successor of whom in the female line, Henry, the father of the famous Hotspur, was created Duke of Northumberland in 1377.