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Canute the Saint

(Encyclopedia)Canute the Saint, d. 1086, king (1080–86) and patron saint of Denmark. He built churches and cathedrals and raised the bishops to the rank of prince. In 1085 he made an unsuccessful attempt to invad...

Hugh the Great

(Encyclopedia)Hugh the Great, d. 956, French duke; son of King Robert I and father of Hugh Capet. Excluded from the succession on his father's death by his brother-in-law Raoul, he supported the candidacy of Louis ...

Agrippina the Elder

(Encyclopedia)Agrippina the Elder ăgˌrĭpīˈnə [key], d. a.d. 33, Roman matron; daughter of Agrippa and Julia and granddaughter of Augustus. She was the wife of Germanicus Caesar and accompanied him on his prov...

will-o'-the-wisp

(Encyclopedia)will-o'-the-wisp, phenomenon known also as ignis fatuus and jack-o'-lantern. It is seen at night as a pale, flickering light over marshland. There is no generally accepted explanation for it; it may r...

Billy the Kid

(Encyclopedia)Billy the Kid, 1859–81, American outlaw, b. New York City. His real name was probably Henry McCarty; he was known as William H. Bonney. His family moved to Kansas and then to New Mexico when he was ...

Louis the Pious

(Encyclopedia)Louis the Pious: see Louis I, emperor of the West. ...

Charles the Great

(Encyclopedia)Charles the Great, Frankish king, emperor of the West: see Charlemagne. ...

Charles the Bald

(Encyclopedia)Charles the Bald, French king: see Charles II, emperor of the West. ...

Charles the Fat

(Encyclopedia)Charles the Fat, French king: see Charles III, emperor of the West. ...

Ogier the Dane

(Encyclopedia)Ogier the Dane ōˈjēər, ōzhyāˈ [key], in the chansons de geste, a paladin of Charlemagne. Although his military feats save emperor and kingdom, he is for a time at odds with Charlemagne. In some...