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Stafford, Henry, 2d duke of Buckingham

(Encyclopedia)Stafford, Henry, 2d duke of Buckingham, 1454?–1483, English nobleman. He was the grandson of Humphrey Stafford, the 1st duke, whom he succeeded in 1460. He passed the death sentence on George, duke ...

Biron, Ernst Johann von

(Encyclopedia)Biron or Biren, Ernst Johann von ĕrnst yōhänˈ fən bēˈrôn, bēˈrən [key], 1690–1772, duke of Courland (1737–43, 1763–69), favorite of Czarina Anna of Russia. A Baltic nobleman, he rose ...

Breton Succession, War of the

(Encyclopedia)Breton Succession, War of the, 1341–65, an important episode of the Hundred Years War. Duke John III of Brittany died in 1341 without heirs. The succession was contested by his half-brother, John de...

Alfonso IX, Spanish king of León

(Encyclopedia)Alfonso IX, 1171–1230, Spanish king of León (1188–1230), son and successor of Ferdinand II. He conquered from the Moors several cities in Extremadura and was frequently at war with Alfonso VIII o...

Neuwied

(Encyclopedia)Neuwied noiˈvētˌ [key], city (1994 pop. 65,047), Rhineland-Palatinate, W Germany, a port at the confluence of the Rhine and Wied rivers. Manufactures of this industrial city include building materi...

Jagiello

(Encyclopedia)Jagiello yägĕˈlō [key], dynasty that ruled Poland and Lithuania from 1386 to 1572, Hungary from 1440 to 1444 and again from 1490 to 1526, and Bohemia from 1471 to 1526. It took its name from Ladis...

Leo IV, Saint, pope

(Encyclopedia)Leo IV, Saint, d. 855, pope (847–55), a Roman; successor of Sergius II. He had seen the Saracen attack on Rome (846), and to prevent its recurrence he fortified the city and its suburbs. He built a ...

Godfrey of Viterbo

(Encyclopedia)Godfrey of Viterbo vētĕrˈbō [key], 12th cent., German or Italian priest. He was long attached to the courts of Holy Roman emperors Conrad III, Frederick I, and Henry VI in Italy. His Gesta Frideri...

Pomponius Laetus, Julius

(Encyclopedia)Pomponius Laetus, Julius pŏmpōˈnēəs lēˈtəs [key], 1425–1498?, Italian humanist, also called Giulio Pomponio Leto. His knowledge of ancient Rome was immense and his works numerous; they inclu...

Pantoja de la Cruz, Juan

(Encyclopedia)Pantoja de la Cruz, Juan hwän päntōˈhä ᵺā lä kro͞oth [key], 1553–1608, Spanish portrait painter, court painter to Philip II and Philip III; pupil and follower of Alonzo Sánchez Coello. Th...