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Grand Alliance, War of the

(Encyclopedia)Grand Alliance, War of the, 1688–97, war between France and a coalition of European powers, known as the League of Augsburg (and, after 1689, as the Grand Alliance). Louis XIV of France took advanta...

Triple Alliance

(Encyclopedia)Triple Alliance, in European history, any of several coalitions. 1 The Triple Alliance of 1668 was formed by the Netherlands, England, and Sweden against France after Louis XIV had invaded the Spanish...

Swiss Guards

(Encyclopedia)Swiss Guards, Swiss mercenaries who fought in various European armies from the 15th cent. until the 19th cent. These mercenaries, who were not volunteers, were put at the disposal of foreign powers by...

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...

intendant

(Encyclopedia)intendant ĭntĕnˈdənt [key], French administrative official who served as the chief royal representative in the provinces under the ancien régime. The intendants first gained importance under Card...

Le Vau, Louis

(Encyclopedia)Le Vau, Louis lwē lə vō [key], 1612–70, French architect, involved in most of the important building projects for Louis XIV. He settled on the Île Saint-Louis, where he built his own house and t...

Chambord

(Encyclopedia)Chambord, château, park, and village (1993 est. pop. 200), all owned by the state, in Loir-et-Cher dept., N central France. The huge Renaissance château, built by Francis I and set in an immense par...

Artagnan, Charles de Batz-Castelmore d'

(Encyclopedia)Artagnan, Charles de Batz-Castelmore d' shärl də bäts–kästĕlmôrˈ därtänyäNˈ [key], c.1620–1673, French soldier under King Louis XIV. He fell at the siege of Maastricht. Dumas père used...

Boulle, André Charles

(Encyclopedia)Boulle or Buhl, André Charles both: äNdrāˈ shärl bo͞ol [key], 1642–1732, French cabinetmaker, the master of a distinctive style of furniture, much imitated, for which his name has become a syn...

Charles XI, king of Sweden

(Encyclopedia)Charles XI, 1655–97, king of Sweden (1660–97), son and successor of Charles X. Charles ascended the throne at the age of five, so a council of regency ruled until 1672. The regency ended Swedish w...