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Ferdinand I, king of Portugal

(Encyclopedia)Ferdinand I, 1345–83, king of Portugal (1367–83), son and successor of Peter I. His ambitions and his private life plunged the realm into disaster, although during his reign agricultural reform wa...

Worcester, Thomas Percy, earl of

(Encyclopedia)Worcester, Thomas Percy, earl of wo͝osˈtər [key], c.1344–1403, English nobleman; brother of Henry Percy, 1st earl of Northumberland. He served with considerable success in the wars in France and ...

Ferdinand I, king of Naples

(Encyclopedia)Ferdinand I or Ferrante fār-ränˈtā [key], 1423–94, king of Naples (1458–94), illegitimate son and successor (in Naples) of Alfonso V of Aragón. His succession was challenged by Pope Calixtus ...

Brunswick, former state, Germany

(Encyclopedia)Brunswick brounˈshfīk [key], former state, central Germany, surrounded by the former Prussian provinces of Saxony, Hanover, and Westphalia. The region of Braunschweig is situated on the North German...

Lüdenscheid

(Encyclopedia)Lüdenscheid lüˈdənshīt [key], city (1994 pop. 80,280), North Rhine–Westphalia, W Germany. It is an industrial center; manufactures include aluminum, metal products, plastics, and synthetics. L�...

Marl, city, Germany

(Encyclopedia)Marl märl [key], city (1994 pop. 92,590), North Rhine–Westphalia, W Germany. It is an industrial and mining (coal, lead, and zinc) center, and also supports a number of chemical factories. Now a mo...

Gladbeck

(Encyclopedia)Gladbeck glätˈbĕk [key], city, North Rhine–Westphalia, W Germany, an industrial center o...

Thirty Years War

(Encyclopedia)Thirty Years War, 1618–48, general European war fought mainly in Germany. The general results of the war may be said to have been a tremendous decrease in German population; devastation of G...

Catherine of Siena, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Catherine of Siena, Saint sēĕnˈə [key], 1347–80, Italian mystic and diplomat, a member of the third order of the Dominicans, Doctor of the Church. The daughter of Giacomo Benincasa, a Sienese dy...

Charles XII, king of Sweden

(Encyclopedia)Charles XII, 1682–1718, king of Sweden (1697–1718), son and successor of Charles XI. The regency under which he succeeded was abolished in 1697 at the request of the Riksdag. At the coronation he ...