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Frederick II, king of Prussia

(Encyclopedia)Frederick II or Frederick the Great, 1712–86, king of Prussia (1740–86), son and successor of Frederick William I. Frederick was tolerant in religious matters, personally professing atheism to h...

Grillparzer, Franz

(Encyclopedia)Grillparzer, Franz fränts grĭlˈpärtsər [key], 1791–1872, Austrian dramatist. His work combines German classicism and exuberant lyricism. Considered Austria's greatest playwright, he wrote Der T...

Grail, Holy

(Encyclopedia)Grail, Holy, a feature of medieval legend and literature. It appears variously as a chalice, a cup, or a dish and sometimes as a stone or a caldron into which a bleeding lance drips. It was identified...

George William

(Encyclopedia)George William, 1597–1640, elector of Brandenburg (1619–40). Mild and irresolute, he was a Calvinist, yet he ruled a Lutheran people. He failed to turn the strategic position of Brandenburg to adv...

Friedrich Schiller University of Jena

(Encyclopedia)Friedrich Schiller University of Jena frēˈdrĭkh shĭlˈər, yāˈnə [key], at Jena, Germany; founded 1548 as an academy; became the Univ. of Jena 10 years later. The school gained an international...

Oecolampadius, Johannes

(Encyclopedia)Oecolampadius, Johannes yōhänˈəs ökōlämpäˈdēo͝os, ĕkˌəlămpāˈdēəs [key], 1482–1531, German Protestant reformer, associate of Huldreich Zwingli in the Reformation in Switzerland. He...

Lohengrin

(Encyclopedia)Lohengrin lōˈən-grĭn [key], in medieval German story, a knight of the Holy Grail, son of Parzival. He is sent to rescue Princess Elsa of Brabant from an unwanted suitor. Led to Antwerp by a swan, ...

Brüning, Heinrich

(Encyclopedia)Brüning, Heinrich hīnˈrĭkh brünˈĭng [key], 1885–1970, German chancellor. Elected to the Reichstag in 1924, he was a leader of the Catholic Center party and a fiscal expert. In 1930 he was app...

Regiomontanus

(Encyclopedia)Regiomontanus rēˌjēōmŏnˌtāˈnəs [key] [Lat.,=belonging to the royal mountain, i.e., to Königsberg], 1436–76, German astronomer and mathematician, b. Königsberg. His original name was Johan...

Schomberg, Frederick Herman, 1st duke of

(Encyclopedia)Schomberg, Frederick Herman, 1st duke of schŏmˈbərg [key], Ger. Friedrich Hermann von Schönberg, 1615–90, German soldier of fortune. After serving on the Protestant side in the Thirty Years War,...