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Ferdinand IV, Spanish king of Castile and León

(Encyclopedia)Ferdinand IV, 1285–1312, Spanish king of Castile and León (1295–1312), son and successor of Sancho IV. His mother, María de Molina, was regent during his turbulent minority. He tried unsuccessfu...

Rosamond, mistress of Henry II of England

(Encyclopedia)Rosamond (Rosamond Clifford), d. 1176, mistress of Henry II of England. She was not openly acknowledged by the king until 1174, after he had imprisoned his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine. On Rosamond's de...

Setúbal

(Encyclopedia)Setúbal səto͞oˈbəl [key], city (1991 pop. 83,548), capital of Setúbal district, S central Portugal, on the Bay of Setúbal at the mouth of the Sado River, in Estremadura. One of Portugal's most ...

Minho, historical province, Portugal

(Encyclopedia)Minho mēnˈyo͞o [key], historical province, NW Portugal, between the Minho and Douro rivers. Braga is the capital. This region was settled by the Celts, who left many hill forts, and by the Romans. ...

Beira, former province, Portugal

(Encyclopedia)Beira bāˈrə [key], region and former province, N central Portugal, S of the Douro River. The old capital was Coimbra. The province extended to the Atlantic coast between the Douro and the Mondego a...

Borgia, Lucrezia

(Encyclopedia)Borgia, Lucrezia bōrˈjä [key], 1480–1519, Italian noblewoman, famous figure of the Italian Renaissance; daughter of Pope Alexander VI. Her first marriage (1492) to Giovanni Sforza of Pesaro was ...

Jeroboam II

(Encyclopedia)Jeroboam II, in the Bible, king of Israel, son of Jehoash, whom he succeeded. His reign was marked by increasing prosperity and expansion northward, but also by corruption. Amos and Hosea appeared und...

Kenneth II

(Encyclopedia)Kenneth II, d. 995, Scottish king (971–995). The son of Malcolm I (reigned 943–54), he became king of the united Picts and Scots in 971 and immediately led a savage raid on the British in Northumb...

Mieszko II

(Encyclopedia)Mieszko II or Mieczyslaw II, 990–1034, king of Poland (1025–34), son and successor of Boleslaus I. His reign was marked by internal and external strife. Moravia was lost to Bohemia, Lusatia to Ger...

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