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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 65 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Medieval History
6. Adrian VI, the last of the Adrians was only Pope for a month.
Eleanor of Aquitaine. Eleanor of Aquitaine was queen of England and Burgundy, and also was the mother of two of England's kings: Richard I Lionheart and King John.
Habsburg Castle. The word "Habsburg" means 'Hawk's Fortress'.
Cordova. Under Muslim rule Cordova was the greatest seat of learning in Europe from the 8th to 12th century, and was one of few cities in Europe where Jews, Christians and Muslims lived together in tolerance.
Louis XII and James IV. Henry's younger sister married Louis XII of France who died less than a year after they were married. He was 72 and she was 14. Henry's older sister Margaret married James IV of Scotland. Their grand-daughter was Mary, Queen of Scots. (Her parents were James V of Sctland and Mary of Guise).
Guido d'Arezzo. Solfeggio is the system of assigning a sung syllable to an actual pitch. Originally the system was based on the Guidoian hand, where every syllable related to a different finger.
Austria. Richard I Lionheart was held captive by the Hapsburg Duke of Austria for a period of years to extract ransom from his brother, Prince John. Contrary to popular legend, Robin Hood did not raise the money to bring Richard back to England.
Wales. When Henry VII killed Richard III on Bosworth Field, he killed the last of the 'purely' Anglo-French kings.
Receiving the stigmata. Stigmata is an unexplained appearance of Christ's wound's. The wounds are usually bleeding holes in the hand and feet. There are still many documented case of people receiving the Stigmata.
Averroes. Averroes formulated most of the ideas and the essential method of debate now known as Scholasticism.
Torquemada. Torquemada was Isabella's personal confessor, and it was he who counseled the greatest of Spanish monarchs not only to bring the Inquisition to Spain, but to expel the Jews and the remaining Muslims. He was the archetypal fanatic.
Organum. Organum is the earliest kind of polyphonic singing, and was brought to its most elaborate form at Notre Dame, Paris.
Syphillis. It got its nickname in the Middle Ages from the belief that the French were particularly promiscuous.
| William I of England's successor came to a infamous end: shot through the heart whilst hunting alone with a favourite. Foul play? Court intrigue? Regardless: he is known to history by his nickname: ___________ . | Historical Miscellany
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William Rufus . A "new" theory (see Hugh Ross Williamson's "Historical Enigmas", reprinted by Penguin in 2000 as "Who was the Man in the Iron Mask and other Historical Mysteries") suggests that Rufus, a patron of Cathar troubadours from the south of France, could have "given" himself in a ritualistic self-sacrifice linked to the Cathar and Druidic belief that in times of crisis the king must give his blood for his land. Years of poor harvests and a general feeling of unease were recorded by period chroniclers. It is further interesting to note that William Rufus' nephew died in a similar manner the preceeding year: did he die trying to save his sovereign from having to participate in the ritual?
| According to ancient sources, what did the assassins of Caesar cry out while leaving the scene of the murder? | Historical Miscellany
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Cicero!. Cicero provided intellectual support for the anti-Caesarian faction and had sided with Pompey. He was, however, not trusted to keep his mouth shut and he had proved a bit of a grumbler before Pharsalus so the conspirators decided to surprise him: a fact he complained about bitterly in his letters afterwards.
David Riccio. Apparently, Darnley (Mary's husband) was worried about losing the throne to Mary's unborn child, so he orchestrated the brutal murder of her Italian secretary, Riccio, hoping the horror of it would cause her to lose her child. Riccio was stabbed some 57 times. Anyone who has ever been to Holyrood and seen the room where it happened will tell you that it sends a shiver down your spine.
India. The Duke's brother was a British East India Company executive who landed him the job of fighting the various aggressive indigenous princes and their French advisors.
Robespierre. Robespierre's foes bandaged his shattered jaw together, convicted him in a kangaroo court and executed him. Saint Just fell with him. Both were responsible for the executions of Danton and his friend Camille.
| Gaetano Donizetti named an opera he completed in 1836, after one of the most successful Byzantine generals. This general was born in 504 and died in 565. He conquered North Africa and much of Italy (including Ravenna). Who was this general, employed by Emperor Justinianus I? | Operatic Medieval History: I
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Belisarius. Donizetti (1797-1848) composed over 70 operas. His masterpieces include “Lucia di Lammermoor” and “L’Elisir d’Amore”.
Johannes Klimakos (579-649) was Abbot of the Sinaï convent. He had great influence on later Russian monastic life.
Petrus Sabbatius was the real name of Emperor Justinianus I (482-565, Emperor from 527 until his death).
Maxim Stroganov (1550-1623) was a Russian painter of icons.
Belisarius (born in 504) had his greatest triumphs in his early years, between 532 and 539. His last campaign was against the Bulgars in 559.
| In 1864 Auguste Mermet completed an opera about one of Charlemagne’s bravest vassals. While the main army retreated, this vassal guarded a mountain pass near the Spanish city Roncevalles. When the Muslim army attacked, he only blew his horn to call for help as soon as he was seriously wounded. Charlemagne returned to chase away the Muslim army, but his brave vassal succumbed before Charlemagne’s arrival.
Who was this much commemorated vassal?
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Roland. Auguste Mermet (1810-1889) was a French composer, of whom only 2 operas are registered at www.operone.de. The opera composed by Mermet in 1864 is entitled “Roland à Roncevaux” (“Roland at Roncevalles”).
Roland’s song was quite popular during the Dark Ages. The first version was probably written down about 1150. Its story emphasises on the bravery of the Christian soldiers against the Muslim army. As it was written during the "Reconquista" period, when the Iberian peninsula was reconquered, there was no praise for the Muslim soldiers.
| The Italian composer Vincenzo Manfredini created in 1763 an opera named after one of the most powerful monarchs of the 8th century. This Frankish sovereign was crowned Emperor in Rome on Christmas Day, 800. Who was this emperor, who died in 814? | Operatic Medieval History: I
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Charlemagne. Manfredini (1737-1799) was an Italian composer. He left us seven operas, two intermezzi, three cantatas and two masses.
Haroen al-Rasjid (766-809) was an Abbasidian caliph. His nickname “al-Rasjid” means “the righteous”.
Egbert (died 839) was king of Wessex. In 802, Northumbria and Mercia recognised him as "King of All England" (at least nominally).
Eric the Red was a Viking adventurer, who discovered Vinland (Canada) in 1002. Charlemagne (768-814) was a Frankish king. Pope Leo III has crowned him Emperor. Later generations have misinterpreted this title and gave Charlemagne the title of “Holy Roman Holy Empire” – but this Empire only evolved long after Charlemagne’s death.
| Albert Grisar composed an opera by the name of “L’an mil” (“The Year One Thousand”) in 1837. A few medieval people were unnerved by the approach of a certain year, but it wasn’t the year 1000. Which year was it then that frightened them? | Operatic Medieval History: I
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1033. Albert Grisar (1808-1869) was a Belgian composer who completed 19 operas.
Medieval people were not frightened by the approach of the year 1066 –this year became only famous after the facts. The English will certainly know what I mean.
1013 is not a very plausible year: the number 1013 is just the addition of the “unlucky” number 13 with a round figure. Wikipedia does not mention any shocking news for that year, except for the invasion of England by the Danish king Swein I.
999 could be a plausible date to frighten medieval people: it is one and a half times “the number of the beast” as described in the Book of Revelations. However, this is not the year we’re looking for.
The reason why some medieval people were scared of the approach of the year 1033, is that this year would be the one thousandth after Jesus’ death. The Book of Revelation mentions a Reign of thousand years before Judgment Day, but gives no indication of the start of this Reign. The Catholic Encyclopaedia (www.newadvent.org/cathen) states that the millenarianism was quite uncommon in the Middle Ages, whereas the “Kroniek van België” (“Belgian Chronicle”) explicitly mentions the fear arisen from the year 1033.
| Gian Francesco Malipiero named an opera after an Italian city where the German Emperor Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII met. This episode in the Investiture Controversy symbolised the submission of worldly powers to religious powers. It became almost proverbial. What was this city in northern Italy that gave its name to Malipiero’s opera of 1914? | Operatic Medieval History: I
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Canossa. Malipiero (1882-1973) was an Italian composer who left us ten operas.
All the places I’ve mentioned are in the Italian province of Reggio Emilia.
The city Reggio nell’Emilia is the capital of the province and has known a turbulent history. For more details, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggio_Emilia.
Novellara is a small town in which you can visit the summer residences of the Gonzaga family, rulers of Mantua from 1328 till 1708.
Correggio is the birthplace of the Renaissance painter Antonio Allegri (1489-1534), better known as “Il Correggio”.
The Investiture Controversy was a conflict between the German Emperor and the Pope as to who had the right to appoint the German bishops. This was a quite important issue, because the German bishops owned quite large pieces of land and also had a say in choosing the German Emperor.
The meeting place for Henry IV and Gregory VII was Canossa, owned by the Tuscan Countess Mathilda. Gregory VII agreed upon this city as a meeting-place, as it was quite safe for an attack by Henry’s army. Henry would have waited three days dressed as a penitent before being admitted. Pope Gregory pardoned Henry. Later, in the 19th century, German Protestants used the slogan "Nach Canossa gehen wir nicht!" Though a plain, literal translation - "We shall not go to Canossa" - is easy enough, the sentence is often used to illustrate the frequent difficulty of conveying meaning without a knowledge of the background.
For people not familiar with medieval history, something like "We shall never surrender" conveys much more!
| 1911 saw the first night of Mascagni’s opera “Isabeau”. This opera tells the story of a historical person who protested in an original way against high taxation. By what name do we know the main character of this opera? | Operatic Medieval History: I
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Lady Godiva. Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945) was an Italian composer best known for his opera “Cavalleria Rusticana” (1890). His total output amounts to about eighteen operas.
“Lady Charlatan” (by Adolf Müller, Junior, 1894), “Lady Fanny” (operetta by Theo Mackeben, 1934) and “Lady Melvil” (an opera by Albert Grisar and Friedrich von Flotow, 1838) are three pieces of theatre music you can find on the vast site of www.operone.de .
Mascagni’s opera is not the only one remembering the story of Lady Godiva: Samuel Arnold (1740-1802) named his 1784 pastiche “Peeping Tom of Coventry”.
Lady Godiva is a real historic person who lived from 990 to 1067. She was married to Leofric of Mercia (968-1057). Legend tells that Lady Godiva protested against Leofric’s taxation by riding naked on horseback across the market place at Coventry. By the way, a famous brand of Belgian chocolates was also named after Lady Godiva. The packaging of these Belgian chocolates is decorated with a silhouette of Lady Godiva’s ride.
| One of Giuseppe Verdi’s early operas has the First Crusade as its historical setting. Which tribe did Verdi name his 1843 opera after? | Operatic Medieval History: I
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Lombards. Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) is the most influential Italian opera composer of the 19th Century, and perhaps of all centuries. He is particularly well known for his choral arias. He left us twenty-six operas (not counting any revised versions).
Verdi’s opera “I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata” (“The Lombards at the First Crusade”) was an instant success. The chorale “Gerusalemme” will certainly sound familiar.
The First Crusade (1096-1099) was the only one to achieve its goal of liberating Jerusalem from the Muslims. During this Crusade, many people did send some Crusaders. The most important sovereigns of Western Europe however (Philip I of France, William II of England and Henry IV of the Holy Roman Empire) did not contribute.
| In 1885, Jules Massenet completed an opera named after Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar. This Spanish nobleman is better known by the nickname the Moors gave to him. What is this nickname, which is also the title of Massenet’s opera? You may answer in French or in Spanish (the orthography differs only very slightly). | Operatic Medieval History: I
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El Cid . Jules Massenet (1842-1912) was a French composer. Www.operone.de lists 41 operas of his. Classical music amateurs will certainly recognise “Manon” (1884), “Werther” (1891) and “Thais” (1898). By the way, Massenet wasn’t the only one to name an opera after El Cid. Other operas bearing the same title (in different languages) were composed by Peter Cornelius (1824-1874), Leonardo Leo (1694-1744), Giovanni Pacini (1796-1867) and Giuseppe Farinelli (1769-1836).
El Cid is the Moorish-Spanish equivalent of “Lord”. It was at that time complemented by the word “Campeador” (“champion”, with the connotation of having won duels against select adversaries).
Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, better known as El Cid, was born around 1040 and died in 1099. He became world famous for his battles against the Moors. Even during his lifetime, chroniclers wrote poems about him that later formed the basis of his legendary status.
| Nicholas Bochsa composed in 1814 an opera about a certain Alfonso I. He ruled one of the Spanish kingdoms around 1100. Which kingdom was it? | Operatic Medieval History: I
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Aragon. Bochsa (1786 -1856) was a French harpist and composer. He left us over 150 compositions, one of which is the work I’ve hinted at: “Alphonse de Aragon” (“Alfonso of Aragon”).
The first king of Navarre recorded in history was Sancho I, who ascended the throne in 905. He was one of the fervent champions of Christianity against the Moors. It was united with Aragon between 1076 and 1134.
Castile emerged during the 9th Century. Together with Leon, it would grow into one of the leading monarchies in Spain. Around 1100, it was ruled by King Alfonso VI.
Andalusia derives its name from the tribe of the Vandals, who settled there in the 5th century. In 711 the Moors defeated the local resistance. They turned Andalusia into the Caliphate of Cordoba in 756. Around 1100, Andalusia was divided in three separate Moorish monarchies.
Alfonso I of Aragon came to power in 1104. During his thirty-year reign, he conquered some neighbouring territories from the Moors.
| Jean-Claude Gillier composed in 1731 an opera about the first king of Sicily. In 1130, Roger II united the island of Sicily with the Duchy of Apulia and the region of Campania. To which people did Roger’s ancestors belong? | Operatic Medieval History: I
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Vikings. Jean-Claude Gillier (1667-1737) composed over 100 operas. However, almost all are very rarely performed these days. The opera I refer to is “Roger de Sicile”.
Roger II of Sicily was born in 1095 and died in 1154. His ancestors belonged to the Norman branch of the Vikings.
The French did control Sicily only for a while. Charles of Anjou became king of Naples and Sicily in 1266 and was expelled in 1282.
Spanish rule of Sicily and Campania lasted a very long time. Peter III of Aragon became King of Sicily in 1282, while the continental territories (Campania and Apulia) remained French. The Spanish stayed in Sicily until the start of the Italian reunification in 1860.
| The year 1958 saw the first night of Pizzetti’s opera “Assassinio nella Cattedrale” (“Murder in the Cathedral”). Who was killed in 1170 at the Canterbury Cathedral? | Operatic Medieval History: I
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Thomas Becket. Ildebrando Pizzetti (1880-1968) was an Italian composer. Www.operone.de lists sixteen compositions of his for theater music.
You would by now have guessed the victim of the murder was a certain Thomas. But which one of those four was it?
Thomas a Kempis (1379-1471) was a mystic author, who would have written the “Imitation of Christ”. Thomas was fascinated by the mystery of Redemption and by Jesus’ love for mankind even during the Passion.
Thomas of Celano (1200-1255) is probably the most obscure of this quartet. He was an Italian Friar Minor and a close friend of Saint Francis of Assisi. Thomas of Celano wrote some books on Saint Francis’ life.
Saint Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274) was an Italian Dominican. His masterpiece is the “Summa Theologiae” (This masterpiece has no English title. I would translate it as “Summary of Theology”). He is the patron saint of Catholic education. His feast is celebrated on January 28th.
Saint Thomas Becket was born in 1118. He was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 1162 at the instigation of King Henry II of England. As Henry tried to meddle with ecclesiastical affairs, the friendship between Thomas and Henry cooled off, up till the point where Thomas had to flee to France. After a few years, they were reconciled – or so it appeared. In 1170, Henry II exclaimed something like “Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest”. Soon after, four knights went to Canterbury and killed Thomas in the Cathedral. He is the patron saint of secular clergy and is celebrated on December 29th, the date of his death.
| In 1823, Carl Maria von Weber named an opera “Euryanthe” after Euryanthe of Savoye.
According to an ancient French story, she was betrothed to Adolar, the Count of Nevers, but Lysiart, Count of Forest fell in love with her. The opera is set somewhere between 1108 and 1137. Who was at that time the French King? One of the secondary characters in the opera is this French King.
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Louis VI the Fat. Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826) composed at least eight operas, of which the most famous is “Der Freischuetz” (1821).
The main characters in Euryanthe are Adolar, Lysiart and Euryanthe, and further more Eglantine of Puiset, the knight Rudolph, Bertha and finally the person whom we were looking for: King Louis VI the Fat.
All the options I gave were at one time French Kings.
Charles III the Simple (879-959) was King of France from 898 until his death. His kingdom was called West Francia and comprised about the same territory as twenty-first century France. During his reign, the Vikings occupied Normandy.
Robert II the Pious (972-1031) ascended the throne in 996. At that time, France did not include Aquitaine, Normandy or Burgundy.
Louis VI the Fat (1081-1137) became King in 1108. He fought many times against Normandy.
Philip IV the Fair (1268-1314) is perhaps the most famous of these four kings. He succeeded his father Philip III in 1285. He is best known for his conflict with the Knights Templar, and was solemnly cursed by their Grand Master, Jacques de Molay (1244-1314).
| André Grétry completed in 1784 an opera named after an English king who took part in the Third Crusade. Who was this king? | Operatic Medieval History: I
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Richard I Lion Heart. Grétry (1741-1813) was a Belgian composer who left us about fifty operas.
The Kings I’ve mentioned were all kings of England at one time or another.
William II Rufus (1056-1100) succeeded his father William the Conqueror in 1087. He was killed during a hunting expedition, in suspicious circumstances. The official version was that he was killed in a hunting accident, but murder was never ruled out.
Richard I Lion Heart (1157-1199) was King of England from 1189 onwards. The Third Crusade started in 1191 and was attended by the most prominent sovereigns of Western Europe: Richard I of England, Philip II August of France (1165-1223) and the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI (1165-1197).
Edward III (1312-1377) ascended the throne in 1327. He started what later became known as the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453) as he claimed the French throne on the grounds that he had inherited it through his grandfather King Philip IV the Fair of France (1268-1314). After all, Philip's daughter Isabella was the mother of the only male descendents of Philip.
Henry IV (1367-1413) ruled England from 1399 until his death. His life inspired a play in two parts by William Shakespeare (1564-1616).
For several questions in this quiz, I’ve consulted the following sources: “World History” by Carl Grimberg, “7000 Years of World History” edited by Christoph Columbus Verlag AG, “Verschueren Groot Encyclopedisch Woordenboek”, “Phaëton’s Great Opera Book”, “Le Petit Larousse”, the Encarta Encyclopedia on CD-ROM, www.operone.de, www.karadar.com, www.naxos.com, the Catholic Encyclopedia (www.newadvent.org/cathen) and of course Wikipedia (http:/en.wikipedia.org).
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