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Philip III, king of France

(Encyclopedia)Philip III (Philip the Bold), 1245–85, king of France (1270–85), son and successor of King Louis IX. He secured peaceful possession of Poitou, Auvergne, and Toulouse by a small cession (1279) to E...

rosemary

(Encyclopedia)rosemary [ultimately from Lat.,=dew of the sea], widely cultivated evergreen and shrubby perennial (Rosmarinus officinalis) of the family Labiatae (mint family), fairly hardy and native to the Mediter...

Tristan L'Hermite, François

(Encyclopedia)Tristan L'Hermite, François fräNswäˈ trēstäNˈ lĕrmētˈ [key], pseud. of François L'Hermite, 1601–55, French playwright and poet. Poor and plagued by ill health, he was a page in the court ...

Peter II, king of Portugal

(Encyclopedia)Peter II, 1648–1706, king of Portugal (1683–1706), younger son of John IV; brother and successor of Alfonso VI. In 1667, he seized power from his incompetent brother and ruled the country as princ...

Oldcastle, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Oldcastle, Sir John, 1378?–1417, English leader of Lollardry. He married the heiress of Lord Cobham in 1408 and was known as “the good Lord Cobham.” Under the rule of Henry IV he performed valua...

Castracani, Castruccio

(Encyclopedia)Castracani, Castruccio kästro͞otˈchō kästräkäˈnē [key], 1281–1328, duke of Lucca. His early life was spent in exile. After his return he was made captain (1316), then lord of Lucca (1320) f...

investiture

(Encyclopedia)investiture, in feudalism, ceremony by which an overlord transferred a fief to a vassal or by which, in ecclesiastical law, an elected cleric received the pastoral ring and staff (the symbols of spiri...

Roses, Wars of the

(Encyclopedia)Roses, Wars of the, traditional name given to the intermittent struggle (1455–85) for the throne of England between the noble houses of York (whose badge was a white rose) and Lancaster (later assoc...

Navarre

(Encyclopedia)Navarre näväˈrä [key], autonomous community and province (2011 pop. 640,129), 4,012 sq mi (10,391 sq km), N Spain, bordering on France, between the W Pyrenees and the Ebro River. Pamplona is the c...

Hastings, Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st marquess of

(Encyclopedia)Hastings, Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st marquess of hāˈstĭngz [key], 1754–1826, British soldier and administrator. He fought with distinction against the colonists in the American Revolution. Crea...