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Hanover, house of

(Encyclopedia)Hanover, house of, ruling dynasty of Hanover (see Hanover, province), which was descended from the Guelphs and which in 1714 acceded to the British throne in the person of George I. George was the gra...

Golden Bull

(Encyclopedia)Golden Bull, term translated from the Latin bulla aurea and generally referring to a bull (edict) with a golden seal. Golden bulls were promulgated by medieval Byzantine rulers and by Western European...

Marie de' Medici

(Encyclopedia)Marie de' Medici mĕdˈĭchē [key], 1573–1642, queen of France, second wife of King Henry IV and daughter of Francesco de' Medici, grand duke of Tuscany. She was married to Henry in 1600. After his...

Woodville, Elizabeth

(Encyclopedia)Woodville, Elizabeth, 1437–92, queen consort of Edward IV of England. She was the daughter of Richard Woodville (later the 1st Earl Rivers). Her first husband, Sir John Grey, was killed fighting on ...

Aristides, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Aristides, Saint ârĭstīˈdēz [key], 2d cent., Greek philosopher, author of an early Christian apology. It was presented (c.126 or 136) to the emperor to protest anti-Christian slanders and persecu...

Prester John

(Encyclopedia)Prester John, legendary Christian priest and monarch of a vast, wealthy empire in Asia or in Africa. The legend first appeared in the latter part of the 12th cent. and persisted for several centuries....

Theodore II , Byzantine emperor of Nicaea

(Encyclopedia)Theodore II (Theodore Lascaris), 1222–58, Byzantine emperor of Nicaea (1254–58), son and successor of John III. He fought the Bulgarians and temporarily regained parts of Thrace. He made Nicaea a ...

Hugh the Great

(Encyclopedia)Hugh the Great, d. 956, French duke; son of King Robert I and father of Hugh Capet. Excluded from the succession on his father's death by his brother-in-law Raoul, he supported the candidacy of Louis ...

Gregory X

(Encyclopedia)Gregory X, d. 1276, pope (1271–76), an Italian named Tebaldo Visconti, b. Piacenza; successor of Clement IV. After Clement IV's death the cardinals took 34 months to elect a pope. Gregory was archde...

Fontainebleau

(Encyclopedia)Fontainebleau fôNtĕnblōˈ [key], town, Seine-et-Marne dept., N France, SE of Paris. It is a favorite ...