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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...

U , letter of the alphabet

(Encyclopedia)U, 21st letter of the alphabet, corresponding to the Greek upsilon [Gr.,=u without the aspirate]. Until the late Middle Ages the capital was V, the minuscule u, no distinction being made between the c...

Beggars of the Sea

(Encyclopedia)Beggars of the Sea: see Gueux.

Toggenburg, War of the

(Encyclopedia)Toggenburg, War of the: see under Toggenburg. ...

Thames, battle of the

(Encyclopedia)Thames, battle of the, engagement fought on the Thames River near Chatham, Ont. (Oct. 5, 1813), in the War of 1812. Gen. William H. Harrison led an American force of about 3,000 against a British army...

theater of the absurd

(Encyclopedia)theater of the absurd: see drama, Western. ...

queen of the meadow

(Encyclopedia)queen of the meadow or queen of the prairie: see spiraea. ...

Pyrenees, Peace of the

(Encyclopedia)Pyrenees, Peace of the, 1659, treaty ending the warfare between France and Spain that, continuing after the Peace of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years War, had been complicated by French interv...

Rhine, Confederation of the

(Encyclopedia)Rhine, Confederation of the: see Confederation of the Rhine. ...

obliquity of the ecliptic

(Encyclopedia)obliquity of the ecliptic: see inclination. ...