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Geoffrey

(Encyclopedia)Geoffrey jĕfˈrē [key], 1158–86, duke of Brittany (1171–86); fourth son of Henry II of England. Betrothed (1166) to Constance, heiress of Brittany, he was recognized as heir to the duchy in 1169...

Maurice, Byzantine emperor

(Encyclopedia)Maurice môrˈĭs [key], c.539–602, Byzantine emperor (582–602). He was a successful general when, on his deathbed, Tiberius II, his father-in-law and the successor of Justin II, proclaimed him em...

Bentivoglio

(Encyclopedia)Bentivoglio bānˈtēvōˈlyō [key], Italian noble family, one of several powerful clans in the struggle for control of Bologna during most of the 15th cent. Its greatest member was Giovanni II, who ...

Holy Roman Empire

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Holy Roman Empire (c.1100) CE5 Holy Roman Empire, designation for the political entity that originated at the coronation as emperor (962) of the German king Otto I and endured until the renu...

Angevin

(Encyclopedia)Angevin ănˈjəvĭn [key] [Fr.,=of Anjou], name of two medieval dynasties originating in France. The first ruled over parts of France and over Jerusalem and England; the second ruled over parts of Fr...

Potsdam

(Encyclopedia)Potsdam pŏtsˈdăm [key], city (1994 pop. 139,262), capital of Brandenburg, E Germany, on the Havel River, near Berlin. It is an industrial center and rail junction. Manufactures include processed fo...

Andronicus I

(Encyclopedia)Andronicus I (Andronicus Comnenus) ăndrənīˈkəs kŏmnēˈnəs [key], 1120?–1185, Byzantine emperor (1183–85), nephew of John II. He acceded to the throne by strangling his cousin Alexius II. T...

Berenice, c.280–46 b.c., queen-consort of ancient Syria

(Encyclopedia)Berenice, c.280–46 b.c., queen-consort of ancient Syria; wife of Antiochus II. She was called Berenice Syra. She was the daughter of Ptolemy II, and her marriage (252) to Antiochus II marked a tempo...

disease

(Encyclopedia)disease, impairment of the normal state or functioning of the body as a whole or of any of its parts. Some diseases are acute, producing severe symptoms that terminate after a short time, e.g., pneumo...

Charles I, king of Romania

(Encyclopedia)Charles I and Charles II, kings of Romania: see Carol I and Carol II. ...