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Alfonso X, Spanish king of Castile and León

(Encyclopedia)Alfonso X (Alfonso the Wise), 1221–84, Spanish king of Castile and León (1252–84); son and successor of Ferdinand III, whose conquests of the Moors he continued, notably by taking Cádiz (1262). ...

Alfonso XI, Spanish king of Castile and León

(Encyclopedia)Alfonso XI, 1311–50, Spanish king of Castile and León (1312–50), son and successor of Ferdinand IV. His vigorous campaign against Granada provoked an invasion by the Moors from Morocco; they took...

Charles II, king of Spain, Naples, and Sicily

(Encyclopedia)Charles II, 1661–1700, king of Spain, Naples, and Sicily (1665–1700), son and successor of Philip IV. The last of the Spanish Hapsburgs, he was physically crippled and mentally retarded. His mothe...

Ferdinand I, Spanish king of Castile and León

(Encyclopedia)Ferdinand I or Ferdinand the Great, d. 1065, Spanish king of Castile (1035–65) and León (1037–65). He inherited Castile from his father, Sancho III of Navarre, conquered León, and took parts of ...

Ferdinand IV, Spanish king of Castile and León

(Encyclopedia)Ferdinand IV, 1285–1312, Spanish king of Castile and León (1295–1312), son and successor of Sancho IV. His mother, María de Molina, was regent during his turbulent minority. He tried unsuccessfu...

Philip II, king of Spain, Naples, and Sicily

(Encyclopedia)Philip II, 1527–98, king of Spain (1556–98), king of Naples and Sicily (1554–98), and, as Philip I, king of Portugal (1580–98). Philip was not the bloodthirsty tyrant portrayed by his enemi...

Philip IV, king of Spain, Naples, and Sicily

(Encyclopedia)Philip IV, 1605–65, king of Spain, Naples, and Sicily (1621–65) and, as Philip III, king of Portugal (1621–40); son and successor of Philip III of Spain. Philip IV was intelligent but lacked int...

Sancho IV, Spanish king of Castile and León

(Encyclopedia)Sancho IV (Sancho the Brave) sänˈchō [key], 1257?-1295, Spanish king of Castile and León (1284–95), son and successor of Alfonso X. On the death (1275) of his elder brother, Ferdinand de la Cerd...

oratory

(Encyclopedia)oratory, the art of swaying an audience by eloquent speech. In ancient Greece and Rome oratory was included under the term rhetoric, which meant the art of composing as well as delivering a speech. Or...

Culdees

(Encyclopedia)Culdees kəldēzˈ [key] [Irish,=servants of God], ancient monks of Ireland and Scotland, appearing after the 8th cent. Little is known of their origin, and their relationship to the monks of the Celt...