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Hugh Capet

(Encyclopedia)Hugh Capet kāˈpĭt, kăpˈĭt [key], c.938–996, king of France (987–96), first of the Capetians. He was the son of Hugh the Great, to whose vast territories he succeeded in 956. After the death ...

Gabriel, Jacques Ange

(Encyclopedia)Gabriel, Jacques Ange zhäk äNzh gäbrēĕlˈ [key], 1698–1782, French architect of the classical tradition. Descendant of a long line of architects, he ranks as one of the most distinguished Frenc...

Battenberg

(Encyclopedia)Battenberg bătˈənbûrg [key], German princely family, issued from the morganatic union of Alexander, a younger son of Louis II, grand duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, and Countess Julia von Hauke, who was ...

Nantes, Edict of

(Encyclopedia)Nantes, Edict of, 1598, decree promulgated at Nantes by King Henry IV to restore internal peace in France, which had been torn by the Wars of Religion; the edict defined the rights of the French Prote...

Maintenon, Françoise d'Aubigné, marquise de

(Encyclopedia)Maintenon, Françoise d'Aubigné, marquise de fräNswäzˈ dōbēnyāˈ märkēzˈ də măNtənôNˈ [key], 1635–1719, second wife of the French king Louis XIV. Her grandfather was Théodore Agrippa...

Barrault, Jean-Louis

(Encyclopedia)Barrault, Jean-Louis zhäN-lwē bärōˈ [key], 1910–94, French actor and director. A pupil of Charles Dullin, he joined the Comédie Française in 1940. After World War II he organized his own comp...

Artagnan, Charles de Batz-Castelmore d'

(Encyclopedia)Artagnan, Charles de Batz-Castelmore d' shärl də bäts–kästĕlmôrˈ därtänyäNˈ [key], c.1620–1673, French soldier under King Louis XIV. He fell at the siege of Maastricht. Dumas père used...

Reims

(Encyclopedia)Reims or Rheims răNs, rēmz [key], city (1990 pop. 185,164), Marne dept., NE France, in Champagne. The center of the champagne industry, Reims is situated amid large vineyards. Before the champagne i...

Swiss Guards

(Encyclopedia)Swiss Guards, Swiss mercenaries who fought in various European armies from the 15th cent. until the 19th cent. These mercenaries, who were not volunteers, were put at the disposal of foreign powers by...
 

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