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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...

Notker Balbulus

(Encyclopedia)Notker Balbulus nōtˈkər bălˈbyo͝oləs [key], c.840–912, German monk and scholar, abbot of St. Gall (from 890). He composed liturgical poetry and music. Notker's life of Charlemagne preserves m...

Letteris, Meir ha-Levi

(Encyclopedia)Letteris, Meir ha-Levi mīr hä-lāˈvē lĕtârˈĭs [key], 1800–1871, Austrian-Jewish poet. He wrote about 30 volumes of prose and poetry. The poem called “Yonah Homiyah” [the plaintive dove] ...

Manrique, Jorge

(Encyclopedia)Manrique, Jorge hôrˈhā mänrēˈkā [key], c.1440–1479, Spanish poet and soldier. Most of his verse is undistinguished, but his Coplas [couplets], on his father's death, are among the treasures o...

Rogers, Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Rogers, Samuel, 1763–1855, English poet. Independently wealthy, he owned a beautiful home on St. James Street, Westminster, which became the center of literary society. He was famous for his convers...

Petőfi, Sándor

(Encyclopedia)Petőfi, Sándor shänˈdôr pĕˈtöfē [key], 1823–49, Hungarian poet and patriot. A failure as an actor, Petőfi became the author of exquisite lyrics. He composed the national poem “Talpra Mag...

Walcott, Derek Alton

(Encyclopedia)Walcott, Derek Alton, 1930–2017, West Indian dramatist and poet, b. Castries, St. Lucia, grad. Univ. of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica, 1953. His grandfathers were both white, one of English, the ot...

Italian literature

(Encyclopedia)Italian literature, writings in the Italian language, as distinct from earlier works in Latin and French. In the second half of the 19th cent. Francesco De Sanctis, literary critic and historian, la...

Dehmel, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Dehmel, Richard rĭkhˈärt dāˈməl [key], 1863–1920, German poet. An ardent mountain climber and soldier, he expressed his restless temperament in passionate and impressionistic poetry. His verse...

Aldana, Francisco de

(Encyclopedia)Aldana, Francisco de fränthēsˈkō ᵺā äldäˈnä [key], 1537–78, Spanish general, diplomat, and poet, b. Alcántara or Naples. He symbolizes the ideal of the Spanish Renaissance. As a soldier ...