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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 25 general entries.
Special Topics
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Renaissance
1536. In 1536 the potato was introduced to Spain and soon became popular throughout Europe.
Michelangelo . It is reported that he painted the ceiling while lying flat on his back on a scaffold.
1474. Often called 'The Inferno', the correct title in 'The Divine Comedy'.
1455. It was Francois Villon's 'Le Petit Testament.'
Moveable type. This revolutionized education as more books were readily available.
1414. The Medicis began their rise to power at the very beginning of the Renaissance.
Clovis. The Merovingian king, Clovis (reigned, 481-511) laid the foundations of what later became the Frankish Empire. In particular, he defeated the last wannabee "Roman governor of Gaul" at the Battle of Soissons in 486,
Theodora. Theodora and Emperor Justinian I helped to improve Byzantium, where they built the "Haghia Sophia" (St. Sophia's Basilica), a major cathedral, and established a definitive codification of Roman law. Procopius in "The Secret History" presents a most unflattering picture of Theodora's life as a dancer prior to her marriage. There has been much speculation about its accuracy and about the author's motives ...
Martin Luther . The 95 theses was a form of a petition against the Catholic church during Luther's time period. It listed 95 different complaints or accusations agains the church. The paper was nailed right to the wooden door of the parish church in the university city of Wittenberg, where Luther was a professor. At the time, he hoped that the Church would reform itself and the notion of setting up a new demonination only arose in the face of complete and stubborn refusal by the Papacy to make any real reforms or even concessions.
Habsburgs. German royal family, prominent between the 13th and 20th centuries in Europe, that included rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, and later Austria-Hungary. Famous Habsburgs include: Charles V (Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain), Maria Theresa, Marie-Antoinette, Philip I (of Castille), and Philip II (of Spain).
1000. Erikson, Leif (975-1020), was an Icelandic explorer and is thought to have been the first European to have set foot on North American soil.
843. The Treaty of Verdun was signed in order to partition Charlemagne's crumbling empire among three sons of Louis I, the nominal "Emperor of the West".
1215. The Magna Carta was signed in order to limit the king's power. Many barons believed that the King had become far too powerful. Contrary to widespread misunderstandings, the document didn't establish civil liberties or democracy, but in the view of many historians it established the first beginnings of the principle of the rule of law in England.
Huguenots. On St. Bartholomew's feast day, August 24, 1572 Catherine de Medici (originally from Italy, but by then the widowed Queen of France) ordered French Protestants, Huguenots, to be killed by the hundred. Later the term 'Huguenots' was sometimes used to refer to more generally to Calvinists who were fleeing or had fled persecution.
Julius II. Michelangelo Buonarroti was commissioned by Pope Julius II della Rovere in 1508 to repaint the ceiling; the work was completed between 1508 and 1512.
Brunelleschi. Fillipo Brunelleschi lived from 1377-1446 in Florence, Italy. In 1420, the he was awarded the commision to design a dome to top Florence Cathedral.
Henry II. Henry II or Henry Plantagenet suggested to his knights that he wanted to be rid of Archbishop Thomas Becket.
Geoffrey Chaucer. Geoffrey Chaucer wrote the Canterbury tales after 1387. It is an unfinished poem in which the various memebers of a group of pilgrims journeying from London to the shrine of St Thomas Becket at Canterbury each tells a story in verse.
Actium. This battle took place in 31 B.C. off the West coast of Greece. Octavian became Rome's first emperor, and Augustus after defeating Marc Antony and Cleopatra's joint forces.
Pax Romana. The Pax Romana started when Augustus Caesar became the emperor, therefore making Rome an Empire. During the Pax Romana the 5 "good emperors" ruled. There were many developments in lifestyles, and the Roman alphabet became the basis for the western world's alphabet.
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