King of France beginning in 1483, Charles VIII began the French expeditions into Italy that lasted until the mid-16th century.

First referred to as "the Beloved" and later "the Mad," Charles VI ascended to the throne at the age of eleven and increasingly suffered from psychotic episodes that rendered him an ineffectual ruler. Although Charles signed the Treaty of Troyes shortly after the French defeat at the Battle of Agincourt, making his future son-in-law Henry V heir to the French throne, Henry died shortly before Charles, leading to the French re-entering the Hundred Years' War and earning victory for the French House of Valois.

Archduke of Austria, King of Spain, and Holy Roman Emperor beginning in 1519. His reign was largely characterized by his struggle to hold the Catholic empire together in the wake of the Protestant Reformation in Europe.

Exiled to France during the English Civil Wars and Interregnum, Charles II returned to England in 1660 to be crowned king, bringing French court culture as well as artistic and cultural sophistication with him to inaugurate a reign of relative political stability and flourishing arts but characterized by detractors as profligate and immoral.

Member of the French Capetian dynasty, King of Sicily and Naples, also known as "Charles of Anjou." Charles I created an impressive empire through his exploits in Italy, though it dissolved prior to his death.

King of England, Scotland, and Ireland of the House of Stuart, son of King James VI of Scotland. Charles I's authoritarian rule led to the English Civil War which resulted in his execution.

King of the Franks from 768 and legendary figure of La Chanson de Roland (The Song of Roland) (c. 1100), which narrates the Battle of Roncesvalles (Roncevaux) in 778.

Born Hester Mulso, Chapone became a significant figure in Elizabeth Montague's eighteenth-century bluestocking circle. Her Letters on the Improvement of the Mind (1773) proposed a rigorous course of self education for women.

English dramatist, poet, and translator. Chapman's translations of Homer remained the standard for centuries.

A clergyman and literary critic, Channing was friend to a number of important literary figures of the American Renaissance.