Concordat of 1516. An agreement between Francis I of France and Leo X, by which the King obtained the right of nominating archbishops, bishops and mitred abbots, the inferior clergy being appointed by the bishops as before. In return for this, Francis granted the Pope annates and the right to levy a yearly tribute. Concordat of 1855. An agreement between Francis Joseph of Austria and Pius IX, by which the control of public education was entrusted to the priesthood, and all offences against canon law were sent for trial before ecclesiastical courts. This concordat was abrogated in 1870. Concordats. _See_ Aschaffenburg, Bec, German, Worms. Condottieri. Soldiers of fortune who hired themselves out to the various petty states of Italy, during the wars of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Confederate Catholics. A federation of Irish Catholics formed in 1642, at the commencement of the Great Rebellion. They formed a provisional government, consisting of a general assembly, with two houses, and appointed a judicial body for each county under their control, with an appeal to a supreme council of twenty-four persons. Confederate States. The independent republic formed, under the presidency of Jefferson Davis, by the states which seceded from the Union prior to the American Civil War of 1860. Confederation of 1573. An enactment of the Polish Diet, granting to all sects liberty of conscience and equal rights and privileges. This is the first instance of the establishment of complete religious toleration. Confederation, Treaty of. An agreement entered into in 1643, by Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Haven, and later joined by Plymouth, uniting the four communities under the title of the United Colonies of New England. Confines, Audiencia de los. During the Spanish domination, the Supreme Court of Central America. It was established in 1542. Confirmatio Cartarum. The confirmation by Edward I in 1297 of Magna Charta and the Charter of Forests, to which was added an article known as “De Tallagio non Concedendo,” sometimes referred to as a separate statute, and denying the right of the king to levy Tallages without the consent of Parliament. Conflans, Treaty of. A treaty between Louis XI and his nobles, signed in 1465, putting an end to the Guerre du Bien Public. Louis ceded the Duchy of Normandy to his brother, the Duc de Berri, to be held as a fief of France, and made certain concessions to the Duc de Bretagne, the Comte de Charolais, and others. Congé d’Elire. The invitation sent by the Crown to a cathedral chapter to elect a certain person as bishop of the diocese. Congo Conference.