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Warham, William

(Encyclopedia)Warham, William wôrˈəm [key], 1450?–1532, English churchman, archbishop of Canterbury. He studied at Oxford and became widely known in England for his legal ability, went often on diplomatic miss...

Medici, Alessandro de'

(Encyclopedia)Medici, Alessandro de' mĕˈdĭchē, Ital. māˈdēchē [key], 1510?–37, duke of Florence (1532–37); probably an illegitimate son of Lorenzo de' Medici, duke of Urbino. His prominence began when ...

Bohemia

(Encyclopedia)Bohemia, Czech Čechy, historic region (20,368 sq mi/52,753 sq km) and former kingdom, in W and central Czech Republic. Bohemia is bounded by Austria in the southeast, by Germany in the west and north...

Henry II, Spanish king of Castile and León

(Encyclopedia)Henry II or Henry of Trastámara trăstəmărˈə [key], 1333?–1379, Spanish king of Castile and León (1369–79), illegitimate son of Alfonso XI. After taking part in several unsuccessful revolts ...

Henry III, Spanish king of Castile and León

(Encyclopedia)Henry III, 1379–1406, Spanish king of Castile and León (1390–1406), son and successor of John I. His marriage (1388) to Catherine, daughter of John of Gaunt, ended a long dynastic conflict. Henry...

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...

Bucer, Martin

(Encyclopedia)Bucer or Butzer, Martin byo͞oˈsər, bo͞otˈsər [key], 1491–1551, German Protestant reformer born Martin Kuhhorn. At 14 years of age he joined the Dominican order, and he studied at Heidelberg, w...

Mieszko I

(Encyclopedia)Mieszko I –chĭsläf [key], c.922–992, duke of Poland (962–92), the first important member of the Piast dynasty. The first German invasions of Poland began in 963. To avert this threat, Mieszko ...

Louis II, king of Hungary and Bohemia

(Encyclopedia)Louis II, 1506–26, king of Hungary and Bohemia (1516–26), son and successor of Uladislaus II. He was the last of the Jagiello dynasty in the two kingdoms. In the face of intensified attacks by Sul...

Howard

(Encyclopedia)Howard, English noble family. Landowners in Norfolk from the 13th cent., the Howards obtained the duchy of Norfolk through the marriage of Sir Robert Howard to Margaret Mowbray, daughter of Thomas Mow...

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