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Henry IV, Holy Roman emperor and German king

(Encyclopedia)Henry IV, 1050–1106, Holy Roman emperor (1084–1105) and German king (1056–1105), son and successor of Henry III. He was the central figure in the opening stages of the long struggle between the ...

Barnave, Antoine Pierre Joseph Marie

(Encyclopedia)Barnave, Antoine Pierre Joseph Marie äNtwänˈ pyĕr zhōzĕfˈ märēˈ bärnävˈ [key], 1761–93, French revolutionary. A member of the States-General of 1789 from Grenoble, he was a brilliant sp...

Mornay, Philippe de, seigneur du Plessis-Marly

(Encyclopedia)Mornay, Philippe de, seigneur du Plessis-Marly fēlēpˈ də môrnāˈ sānyörˈ dü plĕsēˈ-märlēˈ [key], 1549–1623, diplomat and publicist for the French Protestants, or Huguenots, during th...

Charles III, king of Spain, and of Naples and Sicily

(Encyclopedia)Charles III, 1716–88, king of Spain (1759–88) and of Naples and Sicily (1735–59), son of Philip V and Elizabeth Farnese. Recognized as duke of Parma and Piacenza in 1731, he relinquished the duc...

Bart, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Bart, Jean zhäN bär [key], 1650–1702, French naval hero, b. Dunkirk. Of a seafaring family, he enlisted in the Dutch navy but entered French service as a privateer at the outbreak of the Dutch War...

Fra Diavolo

(Encyclopedia)Fra Diavolo frä dēäˈvōlō [key] [Ital.,=friar devil], 1771–1806, Italian bandit and soldier, whose real name was Michele Pezza. He entered the service of the king of Naples in 1798 and with Car...

Ursins, Marie Anne de la Trémoille, princesse des

(Encyclopedia)Ursins, Marie Anne de la Trémoille, princesse des märēˈ än də lä trāmwäˈyə prăNsĕsˈ dāzürsănˈ [key], 1642–1722, French noblewoman and unofficial diplomat. After the death of her fi...

Navarre

(Encyclopedia)Navarre näväˈrä [key], autonomous community and province (2011 pop. 640,129), 4,012 sq mi (10,391 sq km), N Spain, bordering on France, between the W Pyrenees and the Ebro River. Pamplona is the c...

Sorel, Agnès

(Encyclopedia)Sorel, Agnès änyĕsˈ sôrĕlˈ [key], c.1422–1450, mistress (1444–50) of Charles VII of France. She was the first mistress of a French king to be officially recognized as such. Witty and astute...

Tourville, Anne Hilarion de Cotentin, comte de

(Encyclopedia)Tourville, Anne Hilarion de Cotentin, comte de än ēläryôNˈ də kôtäNtăNˈ kôNt də to͞orvēlˈ [key], 1642–1701, French naval commander. He served in the wars of King Louis XIV and was mad...