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Rancé, Armand Jean le Bouthillier de

(Encyclopedia)Rancé, Armand Jean le Bouthillier de ärmäNˈ zhäN lə bo͞otēyāˈ də räNsāˈ [key], 1626–1700, French religious reformer, founder of the Trappists. He was of a noble family, was well educat...

Vélez de Guevara, Luis

(Encyclopedia)Vélez de Guevara, Luis lo͞oēsˈ vāˈlāth ᵺā gāväˈrä [key], 1579?–1644, Spanish playwright and novelist. He was a follower of Lope de Vega and wrote many popular plays noted for their poe...

Anne de Beaujeu

(Encyclopedia)Anne de Beaujeu də bōzhöˈ [key], c.1460–1522, regent of France, daughter of the French King Louis XI. With her husband, Pierre de Beaujeu, duc de Bourbon, she acted as regent for her brother, Ch...

Balzac, Honoré de

(Encyclopedia)Balzac, Honoré de bălˈzăk, bôl–, Fr. ōnôrāˈ də bälzäkˈ [key], 1799–1850, French novelist, b. Tours. Balzac ranks among the great masters of the novel. Of a bourgeois family, he himsel...

Machaut, Guillaume de

(Encyclopedia)Machaut, Guillaume de gēyōmˈ də mäshōˈ [key], c.1300–1377, French poet and composer. Variants of his name include Machault, de Machaudio, and de Mascaudio. He studied theology and took holy o...

Maine de Biran

(Encyclopedia)Maine de Biran mĕn də bēräNˈ [key], 1766–1824, French philosopher, member of the Council of Five Hundred (1797), and councilor of state (1816). His real name was Marie François Pierre Gonthier...

Renoir, Pierre Auguste

(Encyclopedia)Renoir, Pierre Auguste rənwärˈ [key], 1841–1919, French impressionist painter and sculptor, b. Limoges. Renoir went to work at the age of 13 in Paris as a decorator of factory-made porcelain, co...

Chapelain, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Chapelain, Jean zhäN shäplăNˈ [key], 1595–1674, French critic and poet. His works include La Pucelle (1656), an epic poem about Joan of Arc. Chapelain was a founding member of the French Academy...

Le Pen, Jean-Marie

(Encyclopedia)Le Pen, Jean-Marie zhŏnˌ-märēˈ lə pĕn, pŏN [key], 1928–, French politician. He graduated from law school, was elected (1956) a parliamentary deputy, and criticized President de Gaulle's Alge...

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