JOHN. 



C>eivcd a very liberal education, and vifited the politeft; 

 courts in Europe. Ho afcended, through the feveral gra- 

 dations, to tlip highcft pofl: in the army, and fignali/.ed 

 himfeif in many important aftions. In the battle of Clioczim, 

 in 1673, 'f'^'' three days fighting-, he giive the Turks a total 

 and bloody defeat. In the foUowingyear, after many didi- 

 culties, and llniggling through much oppofition, he lucceeded 

 to the crown of Poland, and immediately applied his refources 

 in the profccution of the Turkifli war, and bv a ferics of 

 brilliant futcelTes foon induced the Porte to agree to a 

 treaty, which completely revoked the difhonourable terms 

 of a former one. His coronation followed the rdloration 

 of peace, and he employed the interval of tranquillity in the 

 re-ellablilhment of the finances of the kingdom, and inpre- 

 parations for a future war, which his own martial difpofitiou 

 rendered no dilhmt event. In i6!<^, he made an alliance, 

 offenfive and defenfive, with tlic court of Vienna, and with- 

 out hefifation expended the troafures which he had accumu- 

 lated in levying troops, and putting his army into the bed 

 pofTible (late. The 'I'urks having laid fiege to Vienna, and 

 reduced it to grL^at (Iraits, he marched to its relief, l-'orming 

 arjunftion with the imperial general, the duke of Lorraine, 

 they attacked the Turkifti camp on September nth, l68j, 

 entirely routed the Grand Vilir, took poflelVion of all his 

 cannon, warhke-ftores, &c. and broke up the fiege. The 

 people of Vienna regarded John as their faviour, afid all 

 Europe has rendered him the homage due to his heroifm 

 on this important occaiion ; but the pride of the emperor 

 Leopold produced from him a cold and ungracious acknow- 

 ledgment of the fervice. Between this a;id the year 1686 

 he performed many other noble deeds of valour ; but from 

 that period he paffed life witliout glory, in pro'iecls for the 

 advancement of his family by alliances, and efpecially for 

 fecuring the crown to his fon, by which he was involved in 

 many doineftic inquietudes, and civil diffentions. He died 

 in 1 696, lefs regretted than might have been expefted ; 

 but he had been accufed, in his latter years, of confulting 

 the interefts of his own power and ambition, rather than 

 "thofe of his country. It was, however, univerfaJiy admitted 

 that he was not only a brave warrior and coiifummate 

 commander, but poflefied ail the j.ccomphihments that are 

 fitted to adorn a throne. As a literary man, he was elo- 

 quent and well informed on moft fubjects. He was a good 

 Latin fcholar, converfant in feveral modern languages, and 

 acquainted with feience bevond moil of his countrymen- 

 Mod. Univ. Hill. 



Joiiy of Gaunt, or Ghent, duke of Lancafler, was the 

 third fon of Edward III. king of England, and born at 

 Ghent in 1:540. He married Conlhince, a natural daughter 

 cf Peter the Cruel, king of Callile and Leon ; and on the 

 death of that monarch he laid claim to the throne in right 

 of his wife, in oppofition to Henry of Tranllamare, but 

 without fuccefs. He ferved with confiderable glory in 

 France with his brother the Black Prince, and on his death 

 the management of public affairs was committed to the care 

 cf John during the life of his father. On the accelfion of 

 Richard II. he retired ; but the envy of the courtiers, 

 particularly the ecclefiallics, who hated him for protecting 

 Wickliffe, followed him with falfe accufations of a defign 

 to ufurp the liirone, from which, however, he fatisfadlorily 

 vindicated himfeif. In 1386 his only daughter was married 

 to the heir apparent of the king of Callile, and John re- 

 nounced his claim to that crown in conlideration of a very 

 large fum of money and penfion. John took for his third 

 wite Catherine Swinford, filler to the wife of his friend 

 Chaucer the poet. He died in 1399, leaving a high charafter 

 for valour, prudence,, and geiierofity. Hia Ion afterwardsi 



became king, under the title of Henry IV. See Hume's 

 Hia. and Godwin's Life of Chaucer. 



Joii.v of Aujir'm, Don, the natural fon of the emperor 

 Charles V^. was born at Ratilbon in 1547. He firll ap- 

 peared as a public charafter in 1569, during the revolt of 

 the Moors of Granada, v\'iien he was appointed captain- 

 general of the Spanifli galleys, and was fent to Carthagena 

 to take the command. He aifilled in the operations of the 

 war, which was brought to a happy termination the following 

 year. The holy league againll the Turks for the protcdliou 

 of the Venetians, being formed between the king of Spain, 

 the pope, and the Italian Itates, don John was nominated, 

 in 1571, general in chief, and alfembled the united fleet at 

 Corfu. In October he engaged with the Turkifh fleet in 

 the gulph of Lepanto, and obtained that viclory whicli 

 Hands conlpicuous in the f.ries of adions between the 

 Chrillian and Miihonietan powers. Don John, in perfor, 

 fought with and took the Turkifli admiral's galley, and the 

 battle terminated in the lofs, on the part of the Turks, of 

 130 galleys taken, J^ dcftroyed, 25,000 men killed, and 

 X 0,000 made prifoners, befides achieving tlie liberty of 

 I), GOO Chriilian flaves. Divifions arofe as to the future 

 operations of the war: the advice of John was over-ruled, 

 and the advantages obtained by this fplendid viclory by 

 no means equalled the public expectation. In 1576 he \\m 

 appointed governor of the Low Countries. The Catliolic 

 provinces had united with Holland and Zealand againft the 

 Spaniards, and don John was direcled openly to concur in 

 this convention, and caufe the Spanifli troops to leave the 

 country. Shortly after this don John took poifeflion of 

 Namur, Charleiiiont, and Marienburg, contrary to the in- 

 tei-flls of the itates, who, in 1577, relumed their arms, de- 

 pofed don Jolm, and declared the archduke Matthias their 

 govi-rnor. A war commenced, and John gave the army 

 of the Netherlands a very fignal defeat, and made himfeif 

 mafter of many llrong places. He was proceeding iu his- 

 military career, when, in October 1578, lie was taken off, 

 after a fliort illnefs, in his camp at Namur, in the 3 2d year 

 of his age. He refembled his father in perfon, whom he 

 equalled in activity and enterprife, and whom he greatly 

 furpafled in generofity and humanity.. 



John I. pope, was a native of Tufcany,.and afcended the 

 papal chair on the death of Hormifdas, in the year 523. 

 His pontificate was ihort and wretched, owing to the in- 

 temperate zeal of the emperor Juflin for the extirpafion of 

 all the fefts who would not conform to the Catholic faith: 

 he even attempted to extirpate the Arians, of which party 

 Theodoric, king of the Gotlis, avowed himfeif a defender. 

 This prince wrote to the emperor moft preiTing letters in 

 favour of his perfecuted fal^jecls, and when he "found that 

 no regard w^ paid to thefe, knowing the influence which 

 the pope had'^at the imperial court, he ordered Jotui to at- 

 tend him at Ravenna : from thence he went- in qualitv of 

 ambaflador to Conilantinople, where he was very horiourably 

 received, but the main objedl of his embafly was condurted 

 in a way wliich gave his employer very little fatisfat'lion ;. 

 and on his return Theodorii. caufed him to be conducted 

 from the palace to a prifon. He died in confinement in the. 

 year 526,_ after a pontificate of little more than two years 

 and a half. 



John. II. was elevated to the papal throne in 533, upon 

 the death of pope Boniface II. In the following year the 

 difpute, " whether one of the perfons of the Trinity fullered 

 iu the flefli," was carried on with great bitternefs. In this 

 difpute the emperor Jullinian took a part ; he not only 

 maintained the aflirmative fide of the qucftion, but declared, 

 ajl thofe who diilenied from him to be heretics. He alio. 



. wrotel 



