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Gryphius, Andreas

(Encyclopedia)Gryphius, Andreas ändrāˈäs grüˈfēo͝os [key], 1616–64, German poet-dramatist, originally named Andreas Greif. He wrote in Latin, new High German, and Silesian dialect. Among his many sonnets,...

Valentinian III

(Encyclopedia)Valentinian III, 419–55, Roman emperor of the West (425–55). Two years after the death of his uncle, Honorius, he was placed on the throne by his cousin Theodosius II, who deposed the usurper John...

Alfonso VI, king of Portugal

(Encyclopedia)Alfonso VI, 1643–83, king of Portugal (1656–83), son and successor of John IV. Slightly paralyzed and mentally defective, he led a dissolute youth until he came under the influence of the count of...

John II, king of Aragón and Sicily

(Encyclopedia)John II, 1397–1479, king of Aragón and Sicily (1458–79), king of Navarre (1425–79), count of Barcelona. He succeeded his brother, Alfonso V, in Aragón, Catalonia, and Sicily and became king of...

Artevelde, Jacob van

(Encyclopedia)Artevelde, Jacob van yäˈkôp vän ärˈtəvĕldə [key], c.1290–1345, Flemish statesman, of a wealthy family of Ghent. In 1337 the Flemish cloth industry underwent a severe crisis. The pro-French ...

Reed, Thomas Brackett

(Encyclopedia)Reed, Thomas Brackett, 1839–1902, American legislator, b. Portland, Maine. A lawyer, he served in the state assembly (1868–69) and state senate (1870) and became (1870–73) state attorney general...

Moscow Art Theater

(Encyclopedia)Moscow Art Theater, Russian repertory company founded in 1897 by Constantin Stanislavsky and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko. Its work created new concepts of theatrical production and marked the beginn...

Rolland, Romain

(Encyclopedia)Rolland, Romain rômăNˈ rôläNˈ [key], 1866–1944, French novelist, biographer, playwright, and musicologist. After studying in Paris he spent two crucial years in Rome, where he was influenced b...

Hainaut

(Encyclopedia)Hainaut ĕnōˈ [key], Du. Henegouwen, province, 1,437 sq mi (3,722 sq km), S Belgium, border...

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