Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

York, Richard, duke of

(Encyclopedia) York, Richard, duke of, 1411–60, English nobleman, claimant to the throne. He was descended from Edward III through his father, Richard, earl of Cambridge, grandson of that king, and also through hi...

Mercer, Hugh

(Encyclopedia) Mercer, Hugh mûrˈsər [key], c.1725–1777, American Revolutionary general, b. Aberdeen, Scotland. A physician, he was a surgeon in the forces of Charles Edward Stuart (the Young Pretender) and afte...

Brétigny, Treaty of

(Encyclopedia) Brétigny, Treaty of brātēnyēˈ [key], 1360, concluded by England and France at Brétigny, a village near Chartres, France. It marked a low point in French fortunes in the Hundred Years War. After ...

Comyn, John (Red Comyn), d. 1306, Scottish nobleman

(Encyclopedia) Comyn, John, d. 1306, Scottish nobleman. He was called the Red Comyn, to distinguish him from his father, the Black Comyn. Aiding his uncle, John de Baliol, in the struggle against Edward I, he was fo...

chronicle plays

(Encyclopedia) chronicle plays, dramas based upon 16th-century chronicles in English, particularly those of Edward Hall and Raphael Holinshed. These plays became very popular late in the reign of Elizabeth I, when, ...

Strand, Mark

(Encyclopedia) Strand, Mark, 1934–2014, American poet, b. Prince Edward Island, Canada, grad. Antioch College (B.A., 1957), Yale (B.F.A., 1959), Iowa Writers' Workshop (M.A., 1962). Meditative and death-haunted, h...

David II, king of Scotland

(Encyclopedia) David II (David Bruce), 1324–71, king of Scotland (1329–71), son and successor of Robert I. David's guardians were not strong enough to prevent the invasion (1332) of Scotland by Edward de Baliol,...