Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Henry III, 1551–89, king of France (1574–89); son of King Henry II and Catherine de' Medici. He succeeded his brother, Charles IX. As a leader of the royal army in the Wars of Religion (see Religi...

(Encyclopedia) Lebrun, Charles François ləbröNˈ [key], 1739–1824, French statesman. A moderate member of the Constituent Assembly after the start of the French Revolution, he was imprisoned during the Reign o...

(Encyclopedia) Westphalia, Peace of, 1648, general settlement ending the Thirty Years War. It marked the end of the Holy Roman Empire as an effective institution and inaugurated the modern European state system. The...

(Encyclopedia) Akershus äˈkərs-ho͞osˌ [key], county, 1,895 sq mi (4,908 sq km), SE Norway, bordering on the Oslofjord in the south and on Sweden in the east. The capital is Oslo. Th...

(Encyclopedia) Sør-Trøndelag sörˈ-trönˈdəläg [key], county (1995 pop. 256,266), c.7,250 sq mi (18,800 sq km), central Norway, bordering on Sweden in the east. Trondheim is the capital. The county has product...

(Encyclopedia) Arctic Council, intergovernmental forum established to promote cooperation, coordination, and interaction among the arctic nations, with the involvement of indigenous peoples and others inhabiting the...

(Encyclopedia) Ferdinand VII, 1784–1833, king of Spain (1808–33), son of Charles IV and María Luisa. Excluded from a role in the government, he became the center of intrigues against the chief minister Godoy an...

(Encyclopedia) Ursins, Marie Anne de la Trémoille, princesse des märēˈ än də lä trāmwäˈyə prăNsĕsˈ dāzürsănˈ [key], 1642–1722, French noblewoman and unofficial diplomat. After the death of her fi...

(Encyclopedia) Patkul, Johann Reinhold von yōˈhän rīnˈhôlt fən pätˈko͝ol [key], 1660–1707, Livonian nobleman. He incurred the wrath of Charles XI of Sweden by championing the rights of the Livonian gentr...

(Encyclopedia) Charles IV, 1316–78, Holy Roman emperor (1355–78), German king (1347–78), and king of Bohemia (1346–78). The son of John of Luxemburg, Charles was educated at the French court and fought the E...