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Ferdinand II, king of the Two Sicilies

(Encyclopedia)Ferdinand II, 1810–59, king of the Two Sicilies (1830–59), son and successor of Francis I. Although initially he sought to improve the wretched conditions of his kingdom, he soon relapsed into the...

Francis I, king of the Two Sicilies

(Encyclopedia)Francis I, 1777–1830, king of the Two Sicilies (1825–30), son and successor of Ferdinand I. He continued the ruthless and reactionary policy of his father, and his court was notorious for waste an...

Francis II, king of the Two Sicilies

(Encyclopedia)Francis II, 1836–94, last king of the Two Sicilies (1859–61), son and successor of Ferdinand II. A weak ruler, he let his ministers follow his father's reactionary policy. Faced with the growing m...

Rosamond, wife of the Lombard king Alboin

(Encyclopedia)Rosamond rŏzˈəmənd [key], fl. c.570, wife of the Lombard king Alboin. The daughter of King Kunimund of the Gepidae, a Germanic people, she was captured by Alboin, who had defeated and killed her f...

Widukind, Saxon leader

(Encyclopedia)Widukind wĭtˈə– [key], d. 807?, leader of the Saxons against the Frankish king Charlemagne (later emperor of the West). In 782, when Charlemagne organized Saxony as a Frankish province and ordere...

Louis II, French king

(Encyclopedia)Louis II or Louis the Stammerer, 846–79, French king. He succeeded (877) his father, Emperor of the West Charles II, as king. On Louis's death his kingdom was divided between his sons Carloman and L...

Charles the Fat

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

Frederick the Winter King

(Encyclopedia)Frederick the Winter King, 1596–1632, king of Bohemia (1619–20), elector palatine (1610–20) as Frederick V. The Protestant diet of Bohemia deposed the Roman Catholic King Ferdinand (Holy Roman E...

God Save the King

(Encyclopedia)God Save the King (or Queen), the English national anthem. The words and music are both of doubtful origin. The air, possibly derived from a folk tune, has been attributed to Henry Carey (whose claim ...

Alfonso III, Spanish king of Asturias

(Encyclopedia)Alfonso III (Alfonso the Great), 838?–911?, Spanish king of Asturias (866–911?). He recovered the territory of León from the Moors. The kingdom was consolidated in his reign, but after his forced...