scape, known asView of Toledo, that re-
mains one of the best known paintings of
his time. His elongated and rapturous fig-
ures are cast in a pale, luminous light. This
unique and personal style was startlingly
advanced for its day and had few imitators
until the Expressionist school of painting
developed in the twentieth century.
Grey, Lady Jane ...............................
(1537–1554)
The reigning queen of England for nine
days, Lady Jane Grey was the great-
granddaughter of King Henry VII and the
grandniece of King Henry VIII. She was
born in Leicester, the daughter of the Mar-
quess of Dorset, who sent her to the royal
court when she was nine to tend to Cathe-
rine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry VIII. In
July 1553, she was proclaimed as queen—
although never officially crowned—after
the death of Edward VI, the young Protes-
tant son of Henry who had passed the
monarchy to Jane in his will. Under the
protection of the Duke of Northumber-
land, she was supported by English Protes-
tants who opposed the Catholic princess
Mary, a daughter of Henry who was
threatening to return property seized by
the Church of England to the Catholics.
When her accession was found unlawful,
Grey was deposed from the throne. In
1554, a rebellion against Queen Mary
broke out. Suspecting Grey of taking part
in the plot against her, Mary had her
young cousin arrested, imprisoned, and
beheaded.
Gritti, Andrea ..................................
(1455–1538)
The Doge of Venice from 1523 to 1538,
Gritti was born in Bardolino, a town near
Verona, and traveled widely in Europe as
part of his education. He lived for a time
in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman
Empire, where he made his living as a mer-
chant and served as a representative of the
merchants and traders from western Eu-
rope who were doing business with the
Turks. He first served the Venetian Repub-
lic as an envoy to Sultan Beyezid. At this
time the Ottoman Empire and Venice were
vying for control of ports and trade in the
eastern Mediterranean. The conflict wors-
ened in 1499, when Gritti was arrested on
charges of spying. He was imprisoned for
several years and, thanks to his acquain-
tance with the sultan, narrowly escaped
execution. After returning to Italy, he be-
came the podesta (mayor and governor)
of the city of Padua. In 1509, shortly after
Venice lost the Battle of Agnadello against
the armies of the pope and the League of
Cambrai, Gritti was given command of the
Venetian army.
Gritti’s great skill both as diplomat and
military strategist earned him election to
the post of doge in 1523. A forceful per-
sonality, who ruled Venice much as a feu-
dal lord rules his private domains, he was
determined to make the republic influen-
tial and indispensable in the political af-
fairs of Europe. He also embellished Ven-
ice with skilled musicians, artists, and
architects, and hired renowned scholars
and humanists, including Pietro Bembo,
to serve the city. Venice and Emperor
Charles V concluded an important peace
agreement during Gritti’s term, but Gritti
failed in his efforts to unite Charles, the
king of France, and Venice against the Ot-
toman Empire, which would soon eclipse
Venice in Greece and the Mediterranean.Grotius, Hugo .................................
(1583–1645)
A Dutch jurist and historian, Hugo Gro-
tius (born Huig de Groot) was the first toGrotius, Hugo