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Nicholas II, pope

(Encyclopedia)Nicholas II (c.1010–61), pope (1058–61), a Roman named Gerard, b. Lorraine, France; successor to Pope Stephen IX. A strong proponent of papal reform, he issued (1059) the Papal Election Decree in ...

Michael, king of Romania

(Encyclopedia)Michael, 1921–2017, king of Romania (1927–30, 1940–47). His father, Prince Carol (later Carol II), renounced his right of succession in 1925, and young Michael ascended the throne under a regenc...

Two Sicilies, kingdom of the

(Encyclopedia)Two Sicilies, kingdom of the. The name Two Sicilies was used in the Middle Ages to mean the kingdoms of Sicily and of Naples (see Sicily and Naples, kingdom of). Alfonso V of Aragón, who in 1442 reun...

Christian of Anhalt

(Encyclopedia)Christian of Anhalt, 1568–1630, prince of Anhalt (1603–30). He was a firm Calvinist and a skilled diplomat. As adviser to Frederick IV, elector palatine, he sought to build a strong Protestant all...

Henry IV, Spanish king of Castile and León

(Encyclopedia)Henry IV, 1425–74, Spanish king of Castile and León (1454–74), son and successor of John II. His weakness opened the way to civil strife and anarchy. The Castilian nobles refused to recognize Hen...

Württemberg

(Encyclopedia)Württemberg vürˈtəmbĕrkˌ [key], former state, SW Germany. Württemberg was formerly also spelled Würtemberg and Wirtemberg. The former state bordered on Baden in the northwest, west, and southw...

Rulers of Spain since 1474 (table)

(Encyclopedia)Rulers of Spain since 1474(including dates of reign) Union of Castile and Aragón Hapsburg Dynasty Bourbon Dynasty French Intrusion Bourbon Restoration Elective Monarchy First Republic ...

Mary II, 1662–94, queen of England

(Encyclopedia)Mary II, 1662–94, queen of England, wife of William III. The daughter of James II by his first wife, Anne Hyde, she was brought up a Protestant despite her father's adoption of Roman Catholicism. In...

John George

(Encyclopedia)John George, 1585–1656, elector of Saxony (1611–56). A drunkard, he nonetheless ruled the leading German Protestant state during the Thirty Years War. He vacillated in his policy between support o...

Alfonso VII, Spanish king of Castile and León

(Encyclopedia)Alfonso VII (Alfonso the Emperor), 1104–57, Spanish king of Castile and León (1126–57), son and successor of Urraca. He recovered the places in Castile that his stepfather, Alfonso I of Aragón, ...