Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Frederick III, elector palatine

(Encyclopedia)Frederick III (Frederick the Pious), 1515–76, elector palatine (1559–76). The first German prince to accept Calvinism, he ordered the Heidelberg Catechism (1563) drawn up (see under Heidelberg). H...

John of Gaunt

(Encyclopedia)John of Gaunt [Mid. Eng. Gaunt=Ghent, his birthplace], 1340–99, duke of Lancaster; fourth son of Edward III of England. He married (1359) Blanche, heiress of Lancaster, and through her became earl (...

Shore, Jane

(Encyclopedia)Shore, Jane, or Elizabeth Shore, d. 1527?, mistress of Edward IV of England. The wife of William Shore, a goldsmith, she became c.1470 mistress to Edward IV and exerted a great influence over the king...

North, George

(Encyclopedia)North, George, fl. 1561–81, English gentleman, man of letters, and diplomat. A minor figure in the court of Queen Elizabeth I, he served as an ambassador to Sweden in 1564 and translated or adapted ...

Walpole, Horace, 4th earl of Orford

(Encyclopedia)Walpole, Horace or Horatio, 4th earl of Orford, 1717–97, English author; youngest son of Sir Robert Walpole. Educated at Eton and Cambridge, he toured the Continent with his friend Thomas Gray from ...

Perrers, Alice

(Encyclopedia)Perrers, Alice pĕrˈərz [key], d. 1400, mistress of Edward III of England. She entered the service of Edward's queen, Philippa of Hainaut, and married a courtier, Sir William de Windsor. Becoming th...

Grantham

(Encyclopedia)Grantham grănˈtəm, –thəm [key], town, in the Parts of Kesteven, Lincolnshire, E central England, on ...

Richardson, Sir Ralph

(Encyclopedia)Richardson, Sir Ralph, 1902–83, English stage and film actor. Since his first professional stage appearance in The Merchant of Venice (1921), Richardson has played a variety of classic and modern ro...

Norfolk, John Howard, 1st duke of

(Encyclopedia)Norfolk, John Howard, 1st duke of nôrˈfək [key], 1430?–1485, English nobleman. The grandson of Thomas Mowbray, 1st duke of Norfolk, he held considerable estates in Norfolk. A faithful adherent of...