Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

James I, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona

(Encyclopedia)James I (James the Conqueror), 1208–76, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona (1213–76), son and successor of Peter II. After a minority was disturbed by private wars among the nobles, James soon...

Alfonso III, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona

(Encyclopedia)Alfonso III, 1265–91, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona (1285–91), son and successor of Peter III. He was forced to grant wide privileges to the cortes of the Aragonese nobles. At first he su...

Elizabeth, Saint, daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary

(Encyclopedia)Elizabeth, Saint, 1207–31, daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary and wife of Landgrave Louis II of Thuringia. She is called St. Elizabeth of Hungary. She led a simple life, personally tended the sic...

William I, emperor of Germany and king of Prussia

(Encyclopedia)William I, 1797–1888, emperor of Germany (1871–88) and king of Prussia (1861–88), second son of the future King Frederick William III of Prussia and Louise of Mecklenburg. Essentially conservati...

William II, emperor of Germany and king of Prussia

(Encyclopedia)William II, 1859–1941, emperor of Germany and king of Prussia (1888–1918), son and successor of Frederick III and grandson of William I of Germany and of Queen Victoria of England. After the out...

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...

Philip of Swabia

(Encyclopedia)Philip of Swabia swāˈbēə [key], 1176?–1208, German king (1198–1208), son of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I. After the death (1197) of his brother, German King and Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI, ...

Montluc, Blaise de Lasseran-Massencôme, seigneur de

(Encyclopedia)Montluc or Monluc, Blaise de Lasseran-Massencôme, seigneur de blĕz də läsräNˈ-mäsäNkômˈ, sānyörˈ də môNlükˈ [key], c.1502–1577, marshal of France. A Gascon soldier of fortune, he fo...

Roses, Wars of the

(Encyclopedia)Roses, Wars of the, traditional name given to the intermittent struggle (1455–85) for the throne of England between the noble houses of York (whose badge was a white rose) and Lancaster (later assoc...

Margaret Maultasch

(Encyclopedia)Margaret Maultasch moulˈtäsh [key] [Ger.,=pocket mouth], 1318–69, countess of Tyrol, called the Ugly Duchess, probably because of her unattractive appearance, especially her mouth. When Margaret's...