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James I, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona

(Encyclopedia)James I (James the Conqueror), 1208–76, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona (1213–76), son and successor of Peter II. After a minority was disturbed by private wars among the nobles, James soon...

Arthurian legend

(Encyclopedia)Arthurian legend, the mass of legend, popular in medieval lore, concerning King Arthur of Britain and his knights. Although there are innumerable variations of the Arthurian legend, the basic story...

Stafford, Henry, 2d duke of Buckingham

(Encyclopedia)Stafford, Henry, 2d duke of Buckingham, 1454?–1483, English nobleman. He was the grandson of Humphrey Stafford, the 1st duke, whom he succeeded in 1460. He passed the death sentence on George, duke ...

Ferdinand I, king of the Two Sicilies

(Encyclopedia)Ferdinand I, 1751–1825, king of the Two Sicilies (1816–25). He had previously been king of Naples (1759–99, 1799–1805, 1815–16) as Ferdinand IV and king of Sicily (1759–1816) as Ferdinand ...

Abbadids

(Encyclopedia)Abbadids ăˈbədĭdz [key], Arab dynasty in Spain that ruled Seville from 1023 to 1091. Taking advantage of the disintegration of the caliphate of Córdoba, the cadi [judge-governor] of Seville seize...

Otto IV, Holy Roman emperor

(Encyclopedia)Otto IV, 1175?–1218, Holy Roman emperor (1209–15) and German king, son of Henry the Lion, duke of Saxony. He was brought up at the court of his uncle King Richard I of England, who secured his ele...

Akrotiri

(Encyclopedia)Akrotiri āˌkrōtēˈrē [key], Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area, or Western Sovereign Base Area, British air force base (2004 est. pop. 6,300), 47 sq mi (123 sq km), located on a peninsula on the SW Cyp...

Rákóczy

(Encyclopedia)Rákóczy räˈkôtsĭ [key], noble Hungarian family that played an important role in the history of Transylvania and Hungary in the 17th and 18th cent. Sigismund Rákóczy, 1544–1608, was elected (...

Tweeddale, John Hay, 2d earl and 1st marquess of

(Encyclopedia)Tweeddale, John Hay, 2d earl and 1st marquess of, 1626–97, Scottish statesman. In the English civil war he left the party of Charles I and fought for Parliament at Marston Moor (1644), but when Char...
 

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