ALEXANDER III


Meaning of ALEXANDER III in English

I

born Sept. 2, 1241

died March 18/19, 1286, near Kinghorn, Fife, Scot.

King of Scotland (1249–86).

Son of Alexander II , he came to the throne at age 7. In 1251 he was married to Margaret, daughter of England's King Henry III , who sought to gain control over Scotland. In 1255 Alexander was seized by a pro-English party in Scotland; in 1257 the anti-English party gained control of the government until he came of age (1262). In 1263 he repulsed a Norwegian invasion, and in 1266 he acquired the Hebrides and the Isle of Man from Norway. His reign was later viewed as a golden age by Scots caught up in the long conflict with England.

II

Russian Aleksandr Aleksandrovich

born March 10, 1845, St. Petersburg, Russia

died Nov. 1, 1894, Livadiya, Crimea

Tsar of Russia (1881–94).

He assumed the throne after the assassination of his father, Alexander II . The internal reforms he instituted were designed to correct what he saw as the too-liberal tendencies of his father's reign. He thus opposed representative government and ardently supported Russian nationalism. His political ideal was a nation containing a single nationality, language, religion, and form of administration, and accordingly he instituted programs such as the Russification of national minorities in the Russian Empire and the persecution of non-Orthodox religious groups.

III

orig. Rolando Bandinelli

born с 1105, Siena, Tuscany

died Aug. 30, 1181, Rome

Pope (1159–81).

A member of the group of cardinals who feared the growing strength of the Holy Roman Empire , he helped draw up an alliance with the Norman s (1156). As the representative of Pope Adrian IV, he angered Frederick I (Frederick Barbarossa) by referring to the empire as a "benefice," implying that it was a gift of the pope. On Alexander's election as pope in 1159, a minority of cardinals supported by Frederick elected the first of several St. Thomas Becket against {{link=Henry">Henry II of England. He returned to Rome in 1165 but was exiled again the following year. He gained support with the formation of the Lombard League , which defeated Frederick at Legnano in 1176, paving the way for the Peace of Venice and the end of the papal schism. Alexander stood in the reform tradition and presided at the third Lateran Council (1179).

Britannica English dictionary.      Английский словарь Британика.