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Comyn, John (Black Comyn), d. c.1300, Scottish nobleman

(Encyclopedia)Comyn, John kŭmˈĭn [key], d. c.1300, Scottish nobleman, known as the Black Comyn. In 1286 he became one of the six regents for Margaret Maid of Norway and, as such, agreed to the treaty of 1290, by...

Joan of Kent

(Encyclopedia)Joan of Kent, 1328–85, English noblewoman; daughter of Edmund of Woodstock, earl of Kent, youngest son of Edward I. She early gained wide note for her beauty and charm, though the appellation Fair M...

Robert of Jumièges

(Encyclopedia)Robert of Jumièges zhümyĕzhˈ [key], fl. 1037–52, Norman churchman in England, b. Normandy. As abbot of Jumièges he won the favor of Edward (later Edward the Confessor) during Edward's exile in ...

Grafton, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Grafton, Richard, d. c.1572, London publisher and printer. In 1539 with Edward Whitchurch he printed the Great Bible in black letter (see type). He printed the first edition of the Book of Common Pray...

Kent, George Edward Alexander Edmund, duke of

(Encyclopedia)Kent, George Edward Alexander Edmund, duke of, 1902–42, fourth son of George V of Great Britain. He traveled extensively as “salesman of the empire.” A member of the Royal Air Force after 1940, ...

Robert I, king of Scotland

(Encyclopedia)Robert I or Robert the Bruce, 1274–1329, king of Scotland (1306–29). He belonged to the illustrious Bruce family and was the grandson of that Robert the Bruce who in 1290 was an unsuccessful claim...

Albrechtsberger, Johann Georg

(Encyclopedia)Albrechtsberger, Johann Georg yōˈhän gāˈôrk älˈbrĕkhtsbĕrˌgər [key], 1736–1809, Austrian musical theorist, teacher, and composer. He became (1772) court organist in Vienna and later was ...

Andronicus III

(Encyclopedia)Andronicus III (Andronicus Palaeologus), c.1296–1341, Byzantine emperor (1328–41), grandson of Andronicus II, whom he deposed after a series of civil wars. His chief minister was John Cantacuzene ...

Gervase of Canterbury

(Encyclopedia)Gervase of Canterbury jûrˈvāz, jərvāzˈ [key], d. c.1210, English chronicler. A monk of Christ Church, Cambridge, he wrote an account of the reigns of Stephen, Henry II, and Richard I. His Chroni...

Otis, Bass

(Encyclopedia)Otis, Bass, 1784–1861, American portrait painter and mezzotint engraver, b. Bridgewater, Mass. He probably produced the first lithograph in America, a portrait of the Rev. Abner Kneeland, in a volum...