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Lully, Jean Baptiste

(Encyclopedia)Lully, Jean Baptiste zhäN bätēstˈ lülēˈ [key], 1632–87, French operatic composer, b. Florence, Italy. His name originally was Giovanni Battista Lulli. A self-taught violinist, he went to Fran...

Beaufort, François de Vendôme, duc de

(Encyclopedia)Beaufort, François de Vendôme, duc de fräNswäˈ də väNdōmˈ dük də bōfôrˈ [key], 1616–69, French courtier and politician; grandson of King Henry IV of France and his mistress Gabrielle d...

Charles II, king of England, Scotland, and Ireland

(Encyclopedia)Charles II, 1630–85, king of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1660–85), eldest surviving son of Charles I and Henrietta Maria. Charles was a ruler of considerable political skill. His reign was m...

Foreign Legion

(Encyclopedia)Foreign Legion, French volunteer armed force composed chiefly, in its enlisted ranks, of foreigners. Its international character and the tradition of not revealing enlistees' backgrounds have helped t...

Maximilian I, 1756–1825, king and elector of Bavaria

(Encyclopedia)Maximilian I, 1756–1825, king (1806–25) and elector (1799–1806) of Bavaria as Maximilian IV Joseph. His alliance with French Emperor Napoleon I earned him the royal title and vast territorial in...

Nantes, Edict of

(Encyclopedia)Nantes, Edict of, 1598, decree promulgated at Nantes by King Henry IV to restore internal peace in France, which had been torn by the Wars of Religion; the edict defined the rights of the French Prote...

Gustavus III

(Encyclopedia)Gustavus III, 1746–92, king of Sweden (1771–92), son and successor of Adolphus Frederick. When Gustavus ascended the throne, he found his kingdom torn by civil strife. To the conflicting interests...

Broglie

(Encyclopedia)Broglie brôˈyə, brôglēˈ [key], French noble family of Piedmontese origin, who settled in France in the 17th cent. Victor Maurice, comte de Broglie, 1647–1727, was marshal of France and fought ...

Mayenne, Charles de Lorraine, duc de

(Encyclopedia)Mayenne, Charles de Lorraine, duc de shärl də lôrĕnˈ dük də mäyĕnˈ [key], 1554–1611, French Catholic general in the Wars of Religion (see Religion, Wars of); brother of Henri, 3d duc de Gu...

Montgomery, Gabriel, seigneur de Lorges, comte de

(Encyclopedia)Montgomery, Gabriel, seigneur de Lorges, comte de gäbrēĕlˈ sānyörˈ də lôrzh kôNt də môNgômərēˈ [key], c.1530–1574, French soldier. Captain of the Scottish guards of King Henry II of ...