Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Napoleon III (Louis Napoleon Bonaparte), 1808–73, emperor of the French (1852–70), son of Louis Bonaparte (see under Bonaparte, family), king of Holland. Napoleon III was a complex figure. H...

(Encyclopedia) Albert II, 1934–, king of the Belgians (1993–2013), the younger son of Leopold III. He married Donna Paola Ruffo de Calabria in 1959; they have three children. Albert became king when Baudouin, hi...

(Encyclopedia) Cressent, Charles shärl krĕsäNˈ [key], 1685–1768, French cabinetmaker, one of the chief creators of the régence style. Although at first a sculptor and bronze craftsman, he studied under the fu...

(Encyclopedia) Étampes, Anne de Pisseleu, duchesse d' än də pēslöˈ düshĕsˈ dātäNpˈ [key], 1508–1580?, official mistress of Francis I of France from 1526. Intelligent as well as beautiful, she patronize...

(Encyclopedia) Canadian literature, French, the body of literature of the French-speaking population of Canada. Except for the narratives of French explorers (such as Samuel de Champlain and Pierre Esprit Radisson) ...

(Encyclopedia) overture, instrumental musical composition written as an introduction to an opera, ballet, oratorio, musical, or play. The earliest Italian opera overtures were simply pieces of orchestral music and w...

(Encyclopedia) Anglo-Norman literature, body of literature written in England, in the French dialect known as Anglo-Norman, from c.1100 to c.1250. Initiated at the court of Henry I, it was supported by the wealthy, ...

(Encyclopedia) Mountbatten, Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma mountbătˈən [key], 1900–1979, British admiral; great-grandson of Queen Victoria and uncle of Philip Mountbatten, d...

(Encyclopedia) Carloman, d. 884, king of the West Franks (France), son of King Louis II (Louis the Stammerer). He became joint ruler with his brother Louis III in 879. His reign was disturbed by revolts in Burgundy,...

(Encyclopedia) Frederick the Fair, c.1286–1330, German antiking (1314–26), duke of Austria, son of Albert I, German king. On the death of Henry VII, Holy Roman emperor and German king, the split between the supp...