(Encyclopedia) Diane de PoitiersDiane de Poitiersdyän də [key]Diane de Poitierspwätyāˈ [key], 1499–1566, duchess of Valentinois, mistress of King Henry II of France. Noted for her beauty, Diane, who…
(Encyclopedia) Brèche de RolandBrèche de Rolandbrĕsh də rôläNˈ [key], narrow gorge (alt. 9,200 ft/2,804 m), Hautes-Pyrénées dept., SW France, in the Pyrenees. It leads into the Cirque de Gavarnie, a…
(Encyclopedia) Vaudreuil-Cavagnal, Pierre de Rigaud, marquis deVaudreuil-Cavagnal, Pierre de Rigaud, marquis depyĕr də rēgōˈ märkēˈ də vōdröˈyə-kävänyälˈ [key], 1698–1765, last French governor of New…
(Encyclopedia) Bourmont, Louis Auguste, comte de Ghaisnes deBourmont, Louis Auguste, comte de Ghaisnes delwē ôgüstˈ kôNt də gân də b&oomacr;rmôNˈ [key], 1773–1846, marshal of France. An émigré,…
(Encyclopedia) Witt, Jan deWitt, Jan deyän [key], 1625–72, Dutch statesman. Like his father, Jacob de Witt, burgomaster of Dort, he became a leading opponent of the house of Orange and played a vital…
(Encyclopedia) Mena, Juan deMena, Juan dehwän dā māˈnä [key], 1411–56, Spanish poet and scholar. Influenced by the Italian school, he modeled his chief work Laberinto de Fortuna (1444) upon Dante.…
(Encyclopedia) Sacrobosco, Johannes deSacrobosco, Johannes deyōhänˈəs də săkrōbŏsˈkō [key], or John of Hollywood, c.1200–1256, English mathematician and astronomer. He wrote several widely read and…
(Encyclopedia) Guérin, Maurice de (Georges Maurice de Guérin)Guérin, Maurice dezhôrzh mōrēsˈ də gārăNˈ [key], 1810–39, French writer. At his early death he left two fragmentary prose poems, Le…
(Encyclopedia) Medici, Francesco de'Medici, Francesco de'fränchāsˈkō [key]Medici, Francesco de' dā mĕˈdĭchē, Ital. māˈdēchē [key], 1541–87, grand duke of Tuscany (1574–87); son and successor of…
