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Sade, Donatien Alphonse François, comte de

(Encyclopedia)Sade, Donatien Alphonse François, comte de dônäsyăNˈ älfôNsˈ fräNswäˈ kôNt də säd [key], 1740–1814, French writer and libertine. He is known as the marquis de Sade —the title he held...

Gómez de la Serna, Ramón

(Encyclopedia)Gómez de la Serna, Ramón rämōnˈ gōˈmāth dā lä sĕrˈnä [key], 1888–1963, Spanish novelist, biographer, and critic, b. Madrid. One of the most prolific and imaginative of modern Spanish wr...

Marcos de Niza

(Encyclopedia)Marcos de Niza märˈkōs dā nēˈsä [key], c.1495–1558, missionary explorer in Spanish North America. A Franciscan friar, he served in Peru and Guatemala before going to Mexico. There he headed a...

Alain de Lille

(Encyclopedia)Alain de Lille älăNˈ də lēl [key], c.1128–c.1202, French scholastic philosopher, a Cistercian, honored by his contemporaries as the Universal Doctor. He was born in Lille; he taught at Paris an...

Cinq Mars, Henri Coëffier Ruzé d'Effiat, marquis de

(Encyclopedia)Cinq Mars, Henri Coëffier Ruzé d'Effiat, marquis de äNrēˈ kōĕfyāˈ rüzāˈ dĕfyäˈ märkēˈ də săNmärˈ [key], 1620–42, French conspirator. Introduced at court by Cardinal Richelieu a...

Diane de Poitiers

(Encyclopedia)Diane de Poitiers pwätyāˈ [key], 1499–1566, duchess of Valentinois, mistress of King Henry II of France. Noted for her beauty, Diane, who was much older than Henry, retained her influence over hi...

Retz, Gilles de Laval, seigneur de

(Encyclopedia)Retz or Rais, Gilles de Laval, seigneur de zhēl də lävälˈ sānyörˈ də rĕts, rĕs [key], 1404–40, marshal of France, a lord of the Breton marches. A noted soldier, he was at Orléans with Jo...

Brèche de Roland

(Encyclopedia)Brèche de Roland brĕsh də rôläNˈ [key], narrow gorge (alt. 9,200 ft/2,804 m), Hautes-Pyrénées dept., SW France, in the Pyrenees. It leads into the Cirque de Gavarnie, a natural amphitheater. A...
 

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