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Peter II, king of Portugal

(Encyclopedia)Peter II, 1648–1706, king of Portugal (1683–1706), younger son of John IV; brother and successor of Alfonso VI. In 1667, he seized power from his incompetent brother and ruled the country as princ...

investiture

(Encyclopedia)investiture, in feudalism, ceremony by which an overlord transferred a fief to a vassal or by which, in ecclesiastical law, an elected cleric received the pastoral ring and staff (the symbols of spiri...

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...

Navarre

(Encyclopedia)Navarre näväˈrä [key], autonomous community and province (2011 pop. 640,129), 4,012 sq mi (10,391 sq km), N Spain, bordering on France, between the W Pyrenees and the Ebro River. Pamplona is the c...

Crillon, Louis des Balbes de Berton de

(Encyclopedia)Crillon, Louis des Balbes de Berton de lwē dā bälb də bĕrtôNˈ də krēyôNˈ [key], c.1541–1615, French soldier. He fought under François de Guise in the retaking (1558) of Calais; served in...

Altair

(Encyclopedia)Altair ăltäˈĭr [key], brightest star in the constellation Aquila (Eagle); Bayer designation α Aquilae; 1992 position R.A. 19h50.5m, Dec. +8°51′. Its apparent magnitude is 0.74, making it one o...

Hastings, Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st marquess of

(Encyclopedia)Hastings, Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st marquess of hāˈstĭngz [key], 1754–1826, British soldier and administrator. He fought with distinction against the colonists in the American Revolution. Crea...

Harpestreng, Henrik

(Encyclopedia)Harpestreng, Henrik, or Henricus Dacus, d. 1244, Danish herbalist and medical writer. He probably studied at the medical school in Salerno, and was a canon at Roskilde Cathedral, then Denmark's eccles...

James II, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona

(Encyclopedia)James II, c.1260–1327, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona (1291–1327), king of Sicily (1285–95). He succeeded his father, Peter III, in Sicily and his brother, Alfonso III, in Aragón. James...

Jeanne d'Albret

(Encyclopedia)Jeanne d'Albret zhän dälbrāˈ [key], 1528–72, queen of Navarre (1555–72), daughter of Henri d'Albret and Margaret of Navarre, and mother of King Henry IV of France (Henry III of Navarre). She b...