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James I, king of Majorca

(Encyclopedia)James I, 1243–1311, king of Majorca (1276–1311), count of Roussillon and Cerdagne, lord of Montpellier, son of James I of Aragón. In 1278 he was forced to become a vassal of his brother, Peter II...

Du Bartas, Guillaume de Salluste

(Encyclopedia)Du Bartas, Guillaume de Salluste gēyōmˈ də sälüstˈ dü bärtäsˈ [key], 1544–90, French poet. A Huguenot soldier under Henry IV, Du Bartas is known chiefly for his epic poems La Sepmaine; ou...

Estrées, Gabrielle d'

(Encyclopedia)Estrées, Gabrielle d' gäbrēĕlˈ dĕstrāˈ [key], 1573–99, famous beauty, mistress (1592–99) of Henry IV of France, who made her marquise of Monceaux and duchess of Beaufort. She divorced her ...

Eudocia Macrembolitissa

(Encyclopedia)Eudocia Macrembolitissa măkˌrəmbŏlˌĭtĭsˈə [key], fl. 11th cent., Byzantine empress. At the death of her husband, Constantine X, she married Romanus IV. ...

Northumberland, Henry Percy, 4th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Northumberland, Henry Percy, 4th earl of, 1446–89, English nobleman. When his father, the 3d earl, was killed fighting in the Lancastrian army at Towton (1461), he was imprisoned by Edward IV and th...

Peri, Jacopo

(Encyclopedia)Peri, Jacopo yäˈkōpō pĕˈrē [key], 1561–1633, Italian composer and singer. Dafne (c.1597), perhaps the first opera, was composed by both Peri and Jacopo Corsi. The librettist, Ottavio Rinuccin...

Miguel

(Encyclopedia)Miguel mēgĕlˈ [key], 1802–66, Portuguese prince; son of John IV of Portugal and younger brother of Pedro I of Brazil. He led an unsuccessful revolt against his father in 1824. On John's death (18...

Isabella

(Encyclopedia)Isabella, 1296–1358, queen consort of Edward II of England, daughter of Philip IV of France. She married Edward in 1308. Neglected and mistreated by her husband, Isabella nourished hatred for the ro...

Fersen, Count Hans Axel

(Encyclopedia)Fersen, Count Hans Axel, 1755–1810, Swedish soldier and diplomat; son of Count Fredrik Axel Fersen. He entered (1779) the French service, was aide-de-camp of comte de Rochambeau in the American Revo...

Valois, royal house of France

(Encyclopedia)Valois välwäˈ [key], royal house of France that ruled from 1328 to 1589. At the death of Charles IV, the last of the direct Capetians, the Valois dynasty came to the throne in the person of Philip ...