Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Amalric I əmôˈrē, Fr. ämōrēˈ [key], c.1137–1174, Latin king of Jerusalem (1162–74); brother and successor of Baldwin III. He spent his reign in attempts to gain and hold the suzerainty of ...

(Encyclopedia) Grey, Charles Grey, 2d Earl, 1764–1845, British statesman. Elected to Parliament in 1786, he was one of those appointed to manage the impeachment of Warren Hastings. From 1792 he was a leader of the...

(Encyclopedia) Charles the Bold, 1433–77, last reigning duke of Burgundy (1467–77), son and successor of Philip the Good. As the count of Charolais before his accession, he opposed the growing power of King Loui...

(Encyclopedia) John II (John Casimir), 1609–72, king of Poland (1648–68), son of Sigismund III. He was elected to succeed his brother, Ladislaus IV. The turbulent period of his reign is known in Polish history a...

(Encyclopedia) Richard III, 1452–85, king of England (1483–85), younger brother of Edward IV. Created duke of Gloucester at Edward's coronation (1461), he served his brother faithfully during Edward's lifetime�...

(Encyclopedia) Louis XI, 1423–83, king of France (1461–83), son and successor of Charles VII. A born diplomat, Louis skillfully checked his foreign and domestic enemies and set up an efficient central administ...

(Encyclopedia) serf, under feudalism, peasant laborer who can be generally characterized as hereditarily attached to the manor in a state of semibondage, performing the servile duties of the lord (see also manorial ...

(Encyclopedia) Isaac I (Isaac Comnenus) īˈzək kŏmnēˈnəs [key], c.1005–1061, Byzantine emperor (1057–59), first of the Comnenus dynasty. Proclaimed emperor by the army, he deposed Michael VI, who had succe...

(Encyclopedia) M'Carthy, Justin, 1830–1912, Irish historian, politician, and novelist. After a long career in journalism, he entered the British Parliament in 1879, advocating home rule for Ireland. He was at firs...

(Encyclopedia) Newman, Barnett, 1905–70, American artist, b. New York City. A member of the New York school, Newman was one of the first to reject conventional notions of spatial composition in art. Often using mo...