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Gregoras, Nicephorus

(Encyclopedia)Gregoras, Nicephorus nīsĕfˈərəs grĕgˈərəs [key], c.1295–c.1359, Byzantine historian and theologian, one of the most learned men of his time. Among his scientific and philosophical works is ...

Fortescue, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Fortescue, Sir John fôrˈtĭskyo͞o [key], c.1394–1476, English jurist. A supporter of the Lancastrian king Henry VI, he was chief justice of the Court of King's Bench from 1442 until 1461, when He...

Gardiner, Stephen

(Encyclopedia)Gardiner, Stephen, 1493?–1555, English prelate. He was educated at Cambridge. He became secretary to Thomas (later Cardinal) Wolsey and later secured the favor of Henry VIII by a mission to Rome to ...

Derby, Thomas Stanley, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Derby, Thomas Stanley, 1st earl of därˈbē [key], 1435?–1504, English nobleman. During the Wars of the Roses, Stanley was ostensibly a supporter of the Lancastrian Henry VI, but he had Yorkist sym...

Charles IV, king of France

(Encyclopedia)Charles IV (Charles the Fair), 1294–1328, king of France (1322–28), youngest son of Philip IV, brother and successor of Philip V. Charles continued his brother's work of strengthening the royal po...

Charles III, king of Naples

(Encyclopedia)Charles III (Charles of Durazzo), 1345–86, king of Naples (1381–86) and, as Charles II, of Hungary (1385–86); great-grandson of Charles II of Naples. Adopted as a child by Joanna I of Naples, he...

Alba Iulia

(Encyclopedia)Alba Iulia älˈbä-yo͞oˈlyä [key], Hung. Gyulafehérvár, Ger. Karlsburg, town, W central Romania, in Transylvania, on the Mureşul River. It is a rail junction ...

Segovia, city, Spain

(Encyclopedia)Segovia, city (1990 pop. 55,188), capital of Segovia prov., central Spain, in Castile and León, on the Eresma River. It stands on a rocky hill (3,297 ft/1,005 m high) crowned by the cathedral and the...

Pio of Pietrelcina, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Pio of Pietrelcina, Saint, 1887–1968, Italian Capuchin friar and mystic known as Padre Pio. Born Francesco Forgione, he was a sickly child who experienced visions and ecstasies at a young age and en...

Parker, Matthew

(Encyclopedia)Parker, Matthew, 1504–75, English prelate, archbishop of Canterbury. At Cambridge he was influenced by the writings of Martin Luther and other reformers. In 1535 he was appointed chaplain to Anne Bo...