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Saintonge

(Encyclopedia)Saintonge săNtôNzhˈ [key], region of W France, on the Bay of Biscay. It is now part of the Charente-Maritime dept. Cattle and sheep raising, dairying, and the manufacture of cognac from grapes grow...

Simnel, Lambert

(Encyclopedia)Simnel, Lambert sĭmˈnəl [key], c.1475–1525, imposter and pretender to the English throne. Little is known of his early life, but before 1486 he caught the attention of an Oxford priest, Richard S...

Louise of Savoy, duchesse d'Angoulême

(Encyclopedia)Louise of Savoy, duchesse d'Angoulême düshĕsˈ däNgo͞olĕmˈ [key], 1476–1531, regent of France; daughter of Duke Philip II of Savoy and mother of King Francis I of France and Margaret, queen o...

Aymer of Valence

(Encyclopedia)Aymer of Valence āˈmər, vəlĕnsˈ, väläNsˈ [key], d. 1260, bishop of Winchester; son of Isabella (widow of King John of England) and Hugh X, count of La Marche. He was thus half-brother of King...

Meissen

(Encyclopedia)Meissen mīsˈən [key], city (1994 pop. 33,075), Saxony, E central Germany, on the Elbe River. A porcelain manufacturing center since 1710, Meissen is famous for its delicate figurines (often called ...

Mendoza, Pedro González de

(Encyclopedia)Mendoza, Pedro González de māndōˈthä [key], 1428–95, Spanish cardinal and archbishop of Toledo. He was the son of the poet Iñigo López de Mendoza, marqués de Santillana. He supported Henry ...

Dana, Richard Henry

(Encyclopedia)Dana, Richard Henry, 1787–1879, American poet and essayist, b. Cambridge, Mass.; son of Francis Dana. After studying law, he was admitted to the bar in 1811. Critic and poet, Dana was a founder and ...

William the Lion

(Encyclopedia)William the Lion, 1143–1214, king of Scotland (1165–1214), brother and successor of Malcolm IV. Determined to recover Northumbria (lost to England in 1157), he supported the rebellion (1173–74) ...

Wirt, William

(Encyclopedia)Wirt, William wûrt [key], 1772–1834, U.S. Attorney General and author, b. Bladensburg, Md. He had little formal schooling but was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1792. His first book was an anonymo...

Westminster Abbey

(Encyclopedia)Westminster Abbey, originally the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery (closed in 1539) in London. One of England's most important Gothic structures, it is also a national shrine. The first church ...
 

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