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Wittelsbach

(Encyclopedia)Wittelsbach vĭˈtəlsbäkh [key], German dynasty that ruled Bavaria from 1180 until 1918. The family takes its name from the ancestral castle of Wittelsbach in Upper Bavaria. In 1180 Holy Roman Emper...

Henry VII, Holy Roman emperor and German king

(Encyclopedia)Henry VII, c.1275–1313, Holy Roman emperor (1312–13) and German king (1308–13). A minor count of the house of Luxembourg, Henry was elected German king on the death of King Albert I after the el...

Brandenburg, state, Germany

(Encyclopedia)Brandenburg bränˈdənbo͝ork [key], state (1994 est. pop. 2,540,000), c.10,400 sq mi (26,940 sq km), E Germany. Potsdam is the capital; other leading cities include Cottbus, Frankfurt-an-der-Oder, a...

Holberg, Ludvig, Baron

(Encyclopedia)Holberg, Ludvig, Baron lo͞oᵺˈvē bärōnˈ hōlˈbĕr [key], 1684–1754, Danish dramatist, essayist, poet, and historian, apostle of the Enlightenment in Scandinavia. Born in Norway, he studied t...

Hamar

(Encyclopedia)Hamar häˈmär [key], city, capital of Hedmark co., SE Norway, on Lake Mjøsa. It is a comme...

Thirty Years War

(Encyclopedia)Thirty Years War, 1618–48, general European war fought mainly in Germany. The general results of the war may be said to have been a tremendous decrease in German population; devastation of G...

Olaf V

(Encyclopedia)Olaf V, 1903–91, king of Norway (1957–91), son and successor of Haakon VII. In 1929 he married Princess Martha of Sweden (d. 1954). Following the German invasion of Norway, Olaf took an active par...

Bruce

(Encyclopedia)Bruce, Scottish royal family descended from an 11th-century Norman duke, Robert de Brus. He aided William I in his conquest of England (1066) and was given lands in England. His son was granted fiefs ...

Gustavus III

(Encyclopedia)Gustavus III, 1746–92, king of Sweden (1771–92), son and successor of Adolphus Frederick. When Gustavus ascended the throne, he found his kingdom torn by civil strife. To the conflicting interests...

John III, king of Poland

(Encyclopedia)John III (John Sobieski) sôbyĕˈskē [key], 1624–96, king of Poland (1674–96), champion of Christian Europe against the Ottomans. Born to an ancient noble family, he was appointed (1668) command...