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Mortimer's Cross

(Encyclopedia)Mortimer's Cross, battlefield, Herefordshire, W England, near Leominster. It was the scene of a battle (Feb. 2, 1461) in the Wars of the Roses (see Roses, Wars of the), which ended with a decisive vic...

Roches, Peter des

(Encyclopedia)Roches, Peter des dā rōsh [key], d. 1238, English churchman and statesman, b. Poitou. A chamberlain under Richard I of England, then entered the service of King John, who gave him rich estates and m...

Sponde, Jean de

(Encyclopedia)Sponde, Jean de zhäN də spôNd [key], 1557–95, French poet and humanist. He held various posts in the court of Henry IV but died destitute because of his reckless nature. His Sonnets of Love and D...

Warham, William

(Encyclopedia)Warham, William wôrˈəm [key], 1450?–1532, English churchman, archbishop of Canterbury. He studied at Oxford and became widely known in England for his legal ability, went often on diplomatic miss...

Rhys ap Gruffydd

(Encyclopedia)Rhys ap Gruffydd rēs äp grĭfˈĭᵺ [key], 1132?–1197, ruler of South Wales and, after the death (1170) of Owain Gwynedd, leader of the Welsh princes. The failure (1165) of the English troops und...

Blanche of Castile

(Encyclopedia)Blanche of Castile bläNsh, kăstēlˈ [key], 1185?–1252, queen of Louis VIII of France and regent during the minority (1226–34) of their son Louis IX. A forceful and capable ruler, she checked th...

Vieira, Antonio

(Encyclopedia)Vieira, Antonio əntôˈnyo͝o vyāˈērə [key], 1608–97, Portuguese Jesuit orator and missionary. Born in Lisbon, he grew up in Brazil. He was sent by the Jesuits to Portugal to salute the new kin...

Guelphs and Ghibellines

(Encyclopedia)Guelphs and Ghibellines gwĕlfs, gĭbˈəlēnz, –lĭnz [key], opposing political factions in Germany and in Italy during the later Middle Ages. The names were used to designate the papal (Guelph) pa...

William II, king of England

(Encyclopedia)William II or William Rufus ro͞oˈfus [key], d. 1100, king of England (1087–1100), son and successor of William I. He was called William Rufus or William the Red because of his ruddy complexion. Hi...

James I, king of Majorca

(Encyclopedia)James I, 1243–1311, king of Majorca (1276–1311), count of Roussillon and Cerdagne, lord of Montpellier, son of James I of Aragón. In 1278 he was forced to become a vassal of his brother, Peter II...
 

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