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Northampton, city, England

(Encyclopedia)Northampton, city (1991 pop. 154,172) and district, Northamptonshire, central England, on the Nene River. The city of Northampton is the county seat. Shoemaking has long been the chief industry; engin...

Aunis

(Encyclopedia)Aunis ōnēsˈ [key], small region and former province, W France, on the Atlantic coast. It is now part of the Charente-Maritime and Deux-Sèvres depts. and includes the islands of Ré and Oléron. La...

Carloman, d. 754, mayor of the palace in the kingdom of Austrasia, brother of Pepin the Short

(Encyclopedia)Carloman, d. 754, mayor of the palace in the kingdom of Austrasia after the death (741) of his father, Charles Martel. Ruling with his brother, Pepin the Short, he carried on successful wars against t...

Anjou

(Encyclopedia)Anjou äNzho͞oˈ [key], region and former province, W France, coextensive roughly with Maine-et-Loire and parts of Indre-et-Loire, Mayenne, and Sarthe depts. Angers, the historic capital, and Saumur ...

Berry, former province, France

(Encyclopedia)Berry bĕrēˈ [key], former province, central France. Bourges, the capital, and Châteauroux are the chief towns. Cattle are raised on the Champagne Berrichonne, a semiarid plateau that covers most o...

Gwyn, Nell

(Encyclopedia)Gwyn or Gwynn, Nell (Eleanor Gwyn), 1650–87, English actress. Once an orange-seller at the Theatre Royal, she became a member of Killigrew's company, making her debut there in 1665. Her charm and vi...

Louis I, emperor of the West

(Encyclopedia)Louis I or Louis the Pious, Fr. Louis le Pieux or Louis le Débonnaire, 778–840, emperor of the West (814–40), son and successor of Charlemagne. He was crowned king of Aquitaine in 781 and co-empe...

Burbidge, Margaret

(Encyclopedia)Burbidge, Margaret, 1925–2020, Anglo-American astronomer, b. England as Eleanor Margaret Peachey. Burbidge; her husband, Geoffrey Burbidge; William Fowler; and Sir Fred Hoyle showed (1956) how heavi...

Velay

(Encyclopedia)Velay vəlāˈ [key], region, E central France, in the Massif Central and partly in Haute-Loire dept. Partly volcanic in origin, the region has many high arid plateaus, some of startling beauty. Le Pu...

Alfonso VIII, Spanish king of Castile

(Encyclopedia)Alfonso VIII (Alfonso the Noble), 1155–1214, Spanish king of Castile (1158–1214), son and successor of Sancho III. Chaos prevailed during his minority, but he quickly restored order after assuming...