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John I, Spanish king of Castile and León

(Encyclopedia)John I, 1358–90, Spanish king of Castile and León (1379–90), son and successor of Henry II. He tried unsuccessfully to unite the Portuguese and Castilian crowns but was twice defeated by the Port...

John II, Spanish king of Castile and León

(Encyclopedia)John II, 1405–54, Spanish king of Castile and León (1406–54), son and successor of Henry III. He was little interested in government, which he entrusted to his favorite Alvaro de Luna. Literature...

Sancho IV, Spanish king of Castile and León

(Encyclopedia)Sancho IV (Sancho the Brave) sänˈchō [key], 1257?-1295, Spanish king of Castile and León (1284–95), son and successor of Alfonso X. On the death (1275) of his elder brother, Ferdinand de la Cerd...

Diamond Necklace, Affair of the

(Encyclopedia)Diamond Necklace, Affair of the, scandal that took place at the court of King Louis XVI of France just before the French Revolution. An adventuress who called herself the comtesse de La Motte duped Ca...

E, letter of the alphabet

(Encyclopedia)E, fifth letter of the alphabet. It is a usual symbol for a mid-front vowel, such as ĕ in the English step. A mid-front vowel was represented by Greek epsilon [Gr.,=e without the aspirate], to which ...

Common Market of the South

(Encyclopedia)Common Market of the South: see Mercosur. ...

Congo, Democratic Republic of the

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Congo, Democratic Republic of the, formerly Zaïre zīˈēr, zäērˈ [key], republic ...

Congress of the United States

(Encyclopedia)Congress of the United States, the legislative branch of the federal government, instituted (1789) by Article 1 of the Constitution of the United States, which prescribes its membership and defines it...

Daniel, book of the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Daniel, book of the Bible. It combines “court” tales, perhaps originating from the 6th cent. b.c., and a series of apocalyptic visions arising from the time of the Maccabean emergency (167–164 b...

Daughters of the American Revolution

(Encyclopedia)Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), a Colonial patriotic society in the United States, open to women having one or more ancestors who aided the cause of the Revolution. The society was organiz...