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Comyn, John (Red Comyn), d. 1306, Scottish nobleman

(Encyclopedia)Comyn, John, d. 1306, Scottish nobleman. He was called the Red Comyn, to distinguish him from his father, the Black Comyn. Aiding his uncle, John de Baliol, in the struggle against Edward I, he was fo...

chronicle plays

(Encyclopedia)chronicle plays, dramas based upon 16th-century chronicles in English, particularly those of Edward Hall and Raphael Holinshed. These plays became very popular late in the reign of Elizabeth I, when, ...

David II, king of Scotland

(Encyclopedia)David II (David Bruce), 1324–71, king of Scotland (1329–71), son and successor of Robert I. David's guardians were not strong enough to prevent the invasion (1332) of Scotland by Edward de Baliol,...

Strand, Mark

(Encyclopedia)Strand, Mark, 1934–2014, American poet, b. Prince Edward Island, Canada, grad. Antioch College (B.A., 1957), Yale (B.F.A., 1959), Iowa Writers' Workshop (M.A., 1962). Meditative and death-haunted, h...

Brétigny, Treaty of

(Encyclopedia)Brétigny, Treaty of brātēnyēˈ [key], 1360, concluded by England and France at Brétigny, a village near Chartres, France. It marked a low point in French fortunes in the Hundred Years War. After ...

Young Pretender

(Encyclopedia)Young Pretender: see Stuart, Charles Edward. ...

Preston

(Encyclopedia)Preston, city and district (1991 pop. 166,675), county seat of Lancashire, N England, on the Ribble River. Preston has an active port and is a center of cotton and rayon manufacturing. Some mills have...

Osceola

(Encyclopedia)Osceola ŏsēōˈlə, ō– [key], c.1800–1838, leader of the Seminole. He was also called Powell, the surname of his supposed white father. In the early 1830s, Osceola was living close to Fort King...

suttee

(Encyclopedia)suttee sŭˌtēˈ, sŭˈtēˌ [key] [Skt. sati=faithful wife], former Indian funeral practice in which the widow immolated herself on her husband's funeral pyre. The practice of killing a favorite wif...

Western Union Telegraph Company

(Encyclopedia)Western Union Telegraph Company, enterprise created (1851) to provide telegraphic communications services in the United States. Originally known as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegra...