(Encyclopedia) La Vallière, Louise Françoise de La Baume Le Blanc deLa Vallière, Louise Françoise de La Baume Le Blanc delwēz fräNswäzˈ də lä bōm lə bläN də lä välyĕrˈ [key], 1644–1710, mistress of…
(Encyclopedia) Charles III or Charles the Fat, 839–88, emperor of the West (881–87), king of the East Franks (882–87), and king of the West Franks (884–87); son of Louis the German, at whose death he…
(Encyclopedia) Carloman, d. 754, mayor of the palace in the kingdom of Austrasia after the death (741) of his father, Charles Martel. Ruling with his brother, Pepin the Short, he carried on…
(Encyclopedia) Du Barry, Jeanne Bécu, comtesseDu Barry, Jeanne Bécu, comtessezhän bāküˈ kôNtĕsˈ dü bärēˈ, d&oomacr;bărˈē [key], 1743–93, mistress of King Louis XV of France. A courtesan of…
(Encyclopedia) Montespan, Françoise Athénaïs, marquise deMontespan, Françoise Athénaïs, marquise defräNswäzˈ ätānäēsˈ märkēzˈ də môNtəspäNˈ [key], 1641–1707, mistress of King Louis XIV of France. She…
(Encyclopedia) Hamilton, Emma, Lady, 1765?–1815, mistress of the British naval hero Horatio Nelson. Born Emma Lyon, she became the mistress of Charles Greville, then of Sir William Hamilton,…
(Encyclopedia) Sills, Beverly, 1929–2007, American coloratura soprano, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., as Belle Silverman. Her childhood career as a radio singer (when she was first nicknamed “Bubbles”) led to…
(Encyclopedia) Charles II or Charles the Bald, 823–77, emperor of the West (875–77) and king of the West Franks (843–77); son of Emperor Louis I by a second marriage. The efforts of Louis to create a…
(Encyclopedia) Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, a fundamental document of French constitutional history, drafted by Emmanuel Sieyès, adopted by the Constituent Assembly on Aug. 26, 1789…