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Urban IV

(Encyclopedia)Urban IV, d. 1264, pope (1261–64), a Frenchman (b. Troyes) named Jacques Pantaléon; successor of Alexander IV. In the pontifical service he was sent on missions into N Germany; then he was made bis...

Sixtus IV

(Encyclopedia)Sixtus IV sĭkˈstəs [key], 1414–84, pope (1471–84), an Italian named Francesco della Rovere (b. near Savona); successor of Paul II. He was made general of his order, the Franciscans, in 1464 and...

Casimir IV

(Encyclopedia)Casimir IV, 1427–92, king of Poland (1447–92). He became (1440) ruler of Lithuania and in 1447 succeeded his brother Ladislaus III as king of Poland. He united the two nations more closely by plac...

Ptolemy IV

(Encyclopedia)Ptolemy IV (Ptolemy Philopator) fĭlŏpˈətər [key], king of ancient Egypt (221–205 b.c.), of the Macedonian dynasty, son of Ptolemy III and Berenice of Cyrene. He had his mother, his brother, his...

Pius IV

(Encyclopedia)Pius IV, 1499–1565, pope (1559–65), a Milanese named Giovanni Angelo de' Medici; successor of Paul IV. He was probably not related to the great Medici family. His career in Rome began in 1527, and...

Morton, John, English prelate and statesman

(Encyclopedia)Morton, John, 1420?–1500, English prelate and statesman, archbishop of Canterbury (1486–1500). He studied law at Oxford and practiced in the London ecclesiastical courts. A supporter of the Lancas...

Simnel, Lambert

(Encyclopedia)Simnel, Lambert sĭmˈnəl [key], c.1475–1525, imposter and pretender to the English throne. Little is known of his early life, but before 1486 he caught the attention of an Oxford priest, Richard S...

Hohenstaufen

(Encyclopedia)Hohenstaufen hōˌənshtouˈfən [key], German princely family, whose name is derived from the castle of Staufen built in 1077 by a Swabian count, Frederick. In 1079, Frederick married Agnes, daughter...

Clarendon, Constitutions of

(Encyclopedia)Clarendon, Constitutions of, 1164, articles issued by King Henry II of England at the Council of Clarendon defining the customs governing relations between church and state. In the anarchic conditions...

Mornay, Philippe de, seigneur du Plessis-Marly

(Encyclopedia)Mornay, Philippe de, seigneur du Plessis-Marly fēlēpˈ də môrnāˈ sānyörˈ dü plĕsēˈ-märlēˈ [key], 1549–1623, diplomat and publicist for the French Protestants, or Huguenots, during th...