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Bourbon, Antoine de

(Encyclopedia)Bourbon, Antoine de bo͞orbôNˈ [key], 1518–62, duc de Vendôme, king of Navarre through his marriage to Jeanne d'Albret; father of Henry IV of France. He converted to Protestantism after his marr...

Maintenon, Françoise d'Aubigné, marquise de

(Encyclopedia)Maintenon, Françoise d'Aubigné, marquise de fräNswäzˈ dōbēnyāˈ märkēzˈ də măNtənôNˈ [key], 1635–1719, second wife of the French king Louis XIV. Her grandfather was Théodore Agrippa...

Conti

(Encyclopedia)Conti kôNtēˈ [key], cadet branch of the French royal house of Bourbon. Although the title of prince of Conti was created in the 16th cent., the founder of the continuous line was Armand de Bourbon,...

Soult, Nicolas Jean de Dieu

(Encyclopedia)Soult, Nicolas Jean de Dieu nēkôläˈ zhäN də dyö so͞olt [key], 1769–1851, marshal of France. Having won distinction in the Napoleonic Wars, especially at the battle of Austerlitz, he was crea...

Rochefort, Victor Henri, marquis de Rochefort-Luçay

(Encyclopedia)Rochefort, Victor Henri, marquis de Rochefort-Luçay vēktôrˈ äNrēˈ rôshfôrˈ märkēˈ də rôshfôrˈ-lüsāˈ [key], 1831–1913, French journalist and politician. The editor of Le Figaro in...

Talleyrand, Charles Maurice de

(Encyclopedia)Talleyrand or Talleyrand-Périgord, Charles Maurice de tălˈērăndˌ, Fr. shärl mōrēsˈ də tälāräNˈ-pārēgôrˈ [key], 1754–1838, French statesman and diplomat. Born into the high nobilit...

Musset, Alfred de

(Encyclopedia)Musset, Alfred de (Louis Charles Alfred de Musset) älfrĕdˈ də müsāˈ [key], 1810–57, French romantic poet, dramatist, and fiction writer. His first collection of poems, Contes d'Espagne et d'I...

Desmoulins, Camille

(Encyclopedia)Desmoulins, Camille kämēˈyə dāmo͞olăNˈ [key], 1760–94, French revolutionary and journalist. His oratory of July 12, 1789, contributed to the storming of the Bastille two days later. His pamp...

Mancini, Laura, duchesse de Mercœur

(Encyclopedia)Mancini, Laura, duchesse de Mercœur märēˈ än, bo͞oyôN [key], 1649–1714, was famous for her vivacity and wit. She became the center of a literary circle in Paris and was the patroness of La Fo...

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