Washington Irving Trivia

1. The story begins stating the castle of Baron Von Landshort was on a summit in the Odenwald. Where does it say the Odenwald is?

From Quiz The Spectre Bridegroom

Answer: Upper Germany

The Odenwald is a mountain range located between the Upper Rhine Plain in the west and the Bauland in the east. Its north-south boundaries lay between the Hanau-Seligenstadt Basin in the north and the Kraichgau in the south Located in the states of Hesse, Bavaria, and Baden-Württemberg, the Odenwald's highest peak at 2,054 feet (626 meters) is the extinct volcano Katzenbuckel. Irving's later mention of a noble from Bavaria and Wurtzburg may further give us an idea just where the story takes place. Wurtzburg may be another spelling for Würzburg, a city in northern Bavaria. Given the closeness of the baron's castle to Wurtzburg it may place "The Spectre Bridegroom" as happening in that part of the Odenwald along the Main River (as Würzburg is one of the largest cities on the Main). Irving's use of the Odenwald as a setting for his story seems rather appropriate as there are many stories of sites within the Odenwald that are reputed to be haunted or in some way connected with the supernatural. Nor was he to be the only American author at that time who may have been inspired by that part of Germany. In southern Hesse atop one of the peaks of the Odenwald overlooking the city of Darmstadt is a castle which is reputed to have been one of the inspirations for a novel released the year before Irving published the first stories in "The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent." (Among the stories from the book which were first published in 1819 was "The Spectre Bridegroom"). The name of the castle is none other than Burg Frankenstein (Frankenstein Castle). It is reputed that the castle, and particularly one of its 17th century inhabitants, was among the inspirations for Mary Shelley's 1818 novel "Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus".

From Quiz The Devil Take Me

Answer: Boston, MA

Prior to the 1750s Boston was the largest town in British North America and the busiest seaport. Ironically, though Boston's population at the time the story begins would qualify Boston for city status, it was not incorporated as a city until the early 1820s, two years before the book "Tales of a Traveller", in which the short story "The Devil and Tom Walker" appears, came out. By contrast the city which surpassed Boston as the largest town and seaport in British North America in the 1750s, Philadelphia, was incorporated as a city in 1701. Irving places the beginning of the story a few miles from Boston and several miles from something he calls Charles Bay. Exactly where this Charles Bay is seems to be a guess unless Irving was referring to Boston Harbor and the mouth of the Charles River.

From Quiz Rip van Winkle

Answer: "The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent."

"The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.", or simply "The Sketch Book", was originally published in serial form between June 1819 and July 1820. Geoffrey Crayon was the pen name under which Irving published "The Sketch Book". In fact it is the pen name he used for a number of his books including "Tales of a Traveler" and "The Alhambra". "Astoria: Or, Enterprise Beyond the Rocky Mountains" was written under Irving's own name and is a history of John Jacob Astor's company's expedition to Oregon. Not all stories in the "The Sketch Book" were written under the Geoffrey Crayon pen name.

From Quiz Do You Know "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow?"

Answer: Hudson

The Hudson River was discovered by an Englishman, Henry Hudson, who was exploring for the Dutch. The Savannah River flows through Augusta, Georgia, before emptying into the Atlantic at the city of Savannah. The Mohawk River Valley, also in New York, saw its share of conflict during the French and Indian War as well as the Revolutionary War. The Delaware river rises in the state of New York.

From Quiz The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Answer: Diedrich Knickerbocker

"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a part of Irving's "The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.", which he wrote under the pen name Geoffrey Crayon. Published in seven parts from June of 1819 to September of 1820, "The Sketch Book" would first begin printing just shy of ten years after another popular Irving work, "A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty" (or simply "A History of New York"), which he first published in December of 1809 under the pen name Diedrich Knickerbocker. Knickerbocker's "A History of New York" is also known as "Knickerbocker's History of New York" and the "Knickerbocker Tales." "The Sketch Book" features what are perhaps Irving's two best known short stories, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle". Both of these, Irving (as Geoffrey Crayon) makes clear, are supposed to be posthumous works by Knickerbocker. In fact it is in the introduction to "Rip Van Winkle" that Crayon states Knickerbocker died just after his "A History of New York" was published. Irving himself did not pass away until 1859. As for Tom Walker, he's one of the tite characters in Irving's short story "The Devil and Tom Walker"

From Quiz "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving

Answer: Gunpowder

Daredevil was the name of Brom Bones' horse.

From Quiz Washington Irving's "Sleepy Hollow"

Answer: Crane

Ichabod Crane is the story's main character. I thought a simple question would be a nice way to start things off.

From Quiz The Devil Take Me

Answer: William Kidd

Richard Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont (or Bellamont), was one of Captain William Kidd's financial sponsors in the 1690s. At the time he was also the governor of the colonies of Massachusetts, New York, and New Hampshire. When accusations that Kidd had shifted from privateering to outright piracy reached Bellomont, he feared that he would be implicated in piracy himself. In order to avoid this he brought Kidd to Boston, under false pretenses, where he had him arrested. He had Kidd imprisoned at Stone Prison (Boston Gaol) for about a year before shipping him to England to stand trial for the charges against him. So Kidd had certainly spent time in the Boston area before his death in 1701. Tales of Kidd's treasure inspired legends of it being buried in various locations including Nova Scotia's Oak Island, Connecticut's Thimble Islands, and even Suffolk County, Long Island, NY. Suffolk County, Long Island is home to Gradiner's Island (or Gardiners Island) where Kidd did bury some treasure that Bellomont would use as evidence in the trial against him. The tales of the treasure inspired not only Irving, but also Edgar Allan Poe and Robert Louis Stevenson, among others.

From Quiz Rip van Winkle

Answer: Diedrich Knickerbocker

This is a little bit of a trick question. Geoffrey Crayon is the pen name under which Irving wrote "The Sketch Book", but it is the pen name under which he published both "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" but not under which he wrote both stories. As Crayon he claims that "Rip Van Winkle" is "A posthumous writing of Diedrich Knickerbocker" and that "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" was "Found among the papers of the late Diedrich Knickerbocker". Also as Crayon he does a brief introduction to "Rip Van Winkle" in which he explains who Knickerbocker supposedly was and how he died shortly after writing the book he's known for. That was Irving's 1809 satirical "A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty", which he wrote as Knickerbocker. Jonathan Oldstyle was the pen name used for the "Letter of Jonathan Oldstyle, Gent.", a collection of nine letters Irving wrote which appeared in the New York Morning Chronicle between November 1802 and April 1803. These letters would mark Irving's literary debut as well his use of a pen name. Irving's use of the Jonathan Oldstyle pen name could be compared to Benjamin Franklin's use of the Silence Dogood pen name. Launcelot Langstaff would be one of the pen names he would use in the Mad Magazine of its day, "Salmagundi; or The Whim-whams and Opinions of Launcelot Langstaff, Esq. & Others". "Salmagundi" was a satirical magazine published by Irving, his brother William, and James Kirke Paulding that poked fun at the culture of New York City. Besides the Launcelot Langstaff pen name, Irving also used the pen name William Wizard in "Salmagundi". This magazine is noted today as where Irving first called NYC Gotham. "Salmagundi" was last published in 1808, a year before "A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty" was published. In 1962 Robert Boyer founded the modern "Salmagundi", naming it after the historical publication.

From Quiz Do You Know "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow?"

Answer: schoolmaster

Ichabod's name means "The glory has departed from Israel." (see 1 Samuel 4:21,22)

From Quiz The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Answer: Abraham Van Brunt

Irving explains that Brom Bones' given name is Abraham Van Brunt, with the Dutch abbreviation for Abraham being Brom. The nickname Brom Bones is said to have been given to Brom both for his muscular body, which is said to resemble that of Hercules from Greek and Roman myth, and also for his powerful arms and legs.

From Quiz "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving

Answer: Hans Van Ripper

Ichabod borrowed the horse from Hans Van Ripper.

From Quiz Washington Irving's "Sleepy Hollow"

Answer: teacher

He taught school and he was a fair teacher so everyone liked him.

From Quiz The Spectre Bridegroom

Answer: Count Von Altenburg

Count Von Altenburg is the son of a nobleman from Bavaria. The marriage between Baron Von Landshort's daughter and the young Count Von Altenburg has been arranged by the two fathers to unite their houses. Unsurprisingly for such arranged marriages, the bride and bridegroom had never laid eyes on each other. Washington Irving wrote under a number of pennames, his two most famous being Diedrich Knickerbocker and Geoffrey Crayon. Among the wrong answers was another of Irving's pennames: Launcelot Langstaff, one of the pennames he used in the satirical magazine "Salmagundi" which he published with his brother William and James Kirke Paulding. The magazine's full title was "Salmagundi; or The Whim-whams and Opinions of Launcelot Langstaff, Esq. & Others" and only ran from 1807 to 1808 (the modern Salmagundi was founded in 1965). Those familiar with history probably eliminated one of the wrong names out of hand, that of the last German president before Hitler took control of Germany and World War I, Field Marshal Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg. Better known as Paul von Hindenburg.

From Quiz The Devil Take Me

Answer: Earthquakes

In the fall of 1727 an earthquake struck just off the Massachusetts-New Hampshire coastline that has come to be known as the Great 1727 Earthquake, though ministers of the time referred to it as the "Wrath of God." Cotton Mather, of the Salem Witchcraft Trials fame, wrote that in Boston the quake struck at a quarter of 11 on the night of October 29th and that it was followed by four or five aftershocks, the last of these being felt between 5 and 6 the following morning (today we know that according to the Gregorian calendar the quake happened November 10th but the October 29th date Mather recorded comes from the Julian calendar still in use at the time). About 39 miles north of Boston in Newbury, Massachusetts the quake caused fissures and the residents of the town reported that the quake sounded like a cannon blast. In Newcastle, NH the quake set the church bell to ringing, while on Massachusetts' Nantucket Island a boat builder put to sea because he believed the island was sinking. A Reverend Nathaniel Gookin of Hampton, NH would quote from Psalm 55:5 in a sermon following the quake when describing the terror it caused. The quake would be felt along the New England coast from Connecticut to Maine and even up into Canada and as far south as the NY-Pennsylvania border. Despite the fear and damage it caused, no one was seriously harmed by this quake.

From Quiz Do You Know "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow?"

Answer: Abraham Van Brunt

Diedrich Knickerbocker was another of Irving's creations, the purported author of "Knickerbocker's History of New York." Hans Brinker was the youthful protagonist of Mary Mapes Dodge's "Hans Brinker, or, The Silver Skates." Peter Stuyvesant was the last Dutch governor of New Amsterdam (now New York).

From Quiz The Spectre Bridegroom

Answer: Herman Von Starkenfaust

Although she's betrothed to Count Von Altenburg, the daughter of Baron Von Landshort ultimately marries Herman Von Strarkenfaust. In fact she can't marry Count Von Altenburg, as he's killed before they have a chance to meet. All four answers are Irving characters, but only Count Von Altenburg and Herman Von Starkenfaust appear in "The Spectre Bridegroom". The two remaining appear in Irving's two most famous short stories, both of which appear in "The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent." alongside "The Spectre Bridegroom". Derrick Van Bummel is the schoolteacher turned militia general and Congressman in "Rip Van Winkle". And Hans Van Ripper was the farmer and owner of Gunpowder, the horse Ichabod Crane borrows to make an appearance on at Van Tassel's party in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". He's also the farmer whose family Ichabod was staying with at the time of the Van Tassel party.

From Quiz The Devil Take Me

Answer: Farthing

Farthing comes from the Anglo-Saxon feorthing, which roughly means fourth part. Historically a farthing was equal to a quarter of an old British penny, which would make it worth half a halfpenny. Given as the story ends some time after 1727, the farthings Tom Walker references most likely had the image of King George II on them.

From Quiz Rip van Winkle

Answer: Catskill Mountains

All are mountain ranges in New York. Though in the story Irving uses the spelling Kaatskill, in the postscript, as Knickerbocker, he uses Catskill as well as Kaatsberg. And Irving even says that the name Kaatskill comes from a tributary of the Hudson River named Kaaterskill. A peak in the Hudson Highlands is also mentioned in the story.

From Quiz Do You Know "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow?"

Answer: The Sleepy Hollow Boys

The Fairview Diamonds was a gang in my childhood neighborhood--the worst they were ever known for was tipping over trash cans and soaping windows on Mischief Night (celebrated on October 30 in that time and place). Ahh, for the old days when 'gangs' were so innocent! The Gang of Four were part of Mao Zedong's inner circle, accused of corruption and tried by the Chinese government following Mao's death. The Ghostly Trio appeared in the cartoons and comic books featuring Casper the Friendly Ghost.

From Quiz The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Answer: Gunpowder

Gunpowder, who had been Van Ripper's favorite mount when the horse was younger, served primarily as Van Ripper's plow horse by the time the story takes place. He was said to be ewe-necked (that is, to have a thin-concave neck) with a hammer like head, a rusty mane, one eye pupil-less and spectral while the other had the gleam of a devil in it, and a tail which was tangled and knotted. Irving claims that the only thing Gunpowder hadn't yet outlived about himself was his own viciousness.

From Quiz "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving

Answer: A bowl of punch

Brom and the Hessian, according to Brom's story, raced for a bowl of punch. Brom also claimed that he beat the ghost rider.

From Quiz Washington Irving's "Sleepy Hollow"

Answer: Katrina Van Tassel

Katrina Van Tassel is the only daughter of the town's wealthiest landowner.

From Quiz The Spectre Bridegroom

Answer: The Army

The young Count Von Altenburg was returning from the army for his wedding. As this was an arranged marriage, it is possible he'd been in the army at the time his father and Baron Von Landshort arranged the marriage between him and the baron's daughter. Irving doesn't make it clear when the two young people were betrothed, only that they had never laid eyes on each other. The night before the marriage was to take place would have been the first time they'd ever seen each other.

From Quiz Rip van Winkle

Answer: Either Stony Point or Antony's Nose

"Oh, he went off to the army in the beginning of the war; some say he was killed at the storming of Stony-Point-others say he was drowned in a squall at the foot of Antony's Nose. I don't know-he never came back again." Antony's Nose is a peak in the Hudson Highlands a little north of Stony Point. It forms the eastern side of the South Gate of the Hudson Highlands while Dunderberg Mountain forms the western side. Dunderberg Mountain is on the same side of the Hudson River as Stony Point and like Antony's nose is also a little north of Stony Point. The Battle of Stony Point took place July 16, 1779. Colonial forces under Anthony Wayne defeated British forces under Henry Johnson. The march to the Battle of Stony Point by Wayne's forces began seven miles north at Fort Montgomery, located on the western side of the Hudson across from Antony's Nose and north of Dunderberg Mountain.

From Quiz "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving

Answer: The American Revolutionary War

The Hessian's head was carried away by a cannonball during some nameless battle of the American Revolution.

From Quiz The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Answer: Connecticut

Irving describes Connecticut at the time the story takes place as a state which supplied the nation with pioneers of both the mind and the forest. He further asserts that the state yearly sent forth frontier woodmen and country schoolmasters.

From Quiz "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving

Answer: Cotton Mather

Ichabod Crane was interested in Mather's accounts of the Salem Witch Trials.

From Quiz Washington Irving's "Sleepy Hollow"

Answer: The Galloping Hessian of the Hollow

The Headless Horseman is sometimes called The Galloping Hessian of the Hollow.

From Quiz The Spectre Bridegroom

Answer: Katzenellenbogen

In the footnote Irving tells us this translates as "Cat's Elbow" and had been awarded to a dame of the family as a compliment for her "fine arm". Katzenellenbogen is a real surname. Originating in the Rhineland, it comes from the Holy Roman immediate state of County of Katzenelnbogen as well as Castle Katzenelnbogen (note the spelling difference between the surname and the county and castle). Immediate states were imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire which were free of a local lord's authority and under the direct authority of the Holy Roman Empire. The County of Katzenelnbogen existed from 1095 to 1479. Among members of the Katzenellenbogens were William III, Prince of Orange and King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. The three other choices I made up (at least I think I made them up as surnames) using Google translate, altering them into a single word each. Hässlicherhund was actually Hässlicher hund and is supposed to translate as "ugly dog". Weisealteeule was actually Weise alte Eule and is supposed to translate as "wise old owl". Finally, Sturwieeinesel was actually Stur wie ein Esel which is supposed to translate as "stubborn as a mule".

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Last Updated Apr 22 2024 11:04 AM

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