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Quiz about Eponymous Clergymen
Quiz about Eponymous Clergymen

Eponymous Clergymen Trivia Quiz


The names of these various and diverse men of the cloth have found their way into the vernacular, often in unexpected and unusual ways. Enjoy!

A multiple-choice quiz by jouen58. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
jouen58
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
310,016
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
830
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
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Question 1 of 10
1. This 4th century bishop of Milan and 6th century pontiff are both venerated as saints by the Catholic Church, and have been granted the title "Doctor of the Church" in honor of their theological writings. They also each have the distinction of having a school of chant which bears their name. Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. This 13th century Franciscan theologian was known as "Doctor Subtilis" for his subtlety and erudition and was one of the greatest scholars the Church has ever produced. A system of theosophy based on his teachings bears his name. Paradoxically, a derogatory name for one who is stupid and dull-witted also derives from his name. Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. The fiery 15th century Italian religious reformer Girolamo Savonarola and the fiery 16th century German religious reformer Martin Luther are the joint- or perhaps rival- namesakes of a certain type of this piece of furniture. Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. A type of salad green, a species of monkey native to Central and South America, and a hugely popular frothy type of coffee preparation are named for this particularly austere branch of the Franciscan order. Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Joachim Neander was a 17th century Calvinist Reformed minister who is best known for an event which occurred nearly 200 years after his death. The remains of what is now known as "Homo Neanderthalensis", or Neanderthal man, were discovered in 1856 in a valley near the Dussel river that had been named in his honor. During his lifetime, Neander was best known as a hymnwriter; one of his hymns is still in widespread use today. Which of these is Neander's hymn? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. The Cimitiere du Pere Lachaise is the largest cemetery in the city of Paris, and its "clientele" comprises a veritable "who's who" of celebrated artists, composers, literati, performers, and intelligentsia. Its namesake is Francois de la Chaise, a seventeenth century Jesuit priest, who has the distinction of having been the confessor to this French sovereign, known as the "Sun King". Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Dom Pierre Perignon was a 17th century Benedictine monk who has been credited (erroneously) with the invention of champagne, and who is the namesake of the prestige cuvee of what celebrated winery? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Gregor Mendel was an Austrian priest of the Augustinian order, whose avocations included science and gardening. Combining these two activities, he made several discoveries regarding heredity which are now known as "Mendel's Laws", and which have formed the basis of classical genetics. What type of plants did Mendel use in his experiments? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. This American popular author was at one time a Unitarian minister in Massachusetts, but was forced to resign following a pederasty incident. He turned to writing, and became famous for stories in which impoverished young men achieve a reversal of fortune, usually through the agency of a wealthy older man. These became known as "rags-to-riches" stories, and subsequently the author's name came to be applied to any such story- real or fictional- or to the hero of such a story. Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. William Archibald Spooner was an Anglican priest who served as a Dean at New College, Oxford from 1876-1889. Although contemporaries recalled him as an erudite and diligent man, he is most remembered for his occasional slips of the tongue, in which he would transpose the first letters of words, creating sentences that either made no sense or were comically inappropriate, as when he is said to have advised an underachieving student to leave by the "next town drain", instead of the "next down train". Which of these is NOT an example of a "spoonerism"? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. This 4th century bishop of Milan and 6th century pontiff are both venerated as saints by the Catholic Church, and have been granted the title "Doctor of the Church" in honor of their theological writings. They also each have the distinction of having a school of chant which bears their name.

Answer: Ambrose and Gregory

St. Ambrose was of noble Roman birth and converted to Christianity as a youth. His humility and sanctity were such that he was created bishop of Milan in 374, even though he had as yet not been baptized. He was the author of numerous hymns, a few of which still survive and are still in use today, in various forms. Although he did not compose any music himself, he is believed to have introduced Eastern hymnody to the Western church, and to have popularized the antiphonal tradition, in which a solo voice alternates with the choir and congregation. Ambrosian chant, as it came to be called, was the dominant style of liturgical chant in the Western church until the rise of Gregorian chant in the 9th century.

Gregory I (surnamed "The Great") was also a native of Rome, and was the first pontiff to have come from a monastic background. He ascended to the papacy in 590 A.D. and, among his other achievements, undertook to reform liturgical music by collecting the melodies which formed the basis of what is now known as Gregorian chant. Many of these melodies had their origin in the Jewish tradition; significantly, Gregory was known to have been more respectful of the Jews than many of his contemporaries, protecting their synagogues from desecration and discouraging forced conversions.
2. This 13th century Franciscan theologian was known as "Doctor Subtilis" for his subtlety and erudition and was one of the greatest scholars the Church has ever produced. A system of theosophy based on his teachings bears his name. Paradoxically, a derogatory name for one who is stupid and dull-witted also derives from his name.

Answer: John Duns Scotus

Duns Scotus was born c. 1266, probably in Duns, Scotland (though some sources have given his birthplace as England or Ireland). He was ordained in 1291, and lectured at the University of Paris, though he was expelled during a dispute over the taxation of church property, in which he sided with the Pope against Philip the Fair.

He gave his name to a system of thought known as Scotism, whose features were the concepts of what he called the "univocity of being" and of haecceity, a theory regarding the uniqueness of each individual.

Although he was long regarded as a great philosopher and theologian, his teachings fell from favor during the sixteenth century and came to be ridiculed by much of the intelligentsia of that period. They coined the term "dunce", derived from "Duns", to designate the direct opposite of a scholar.

This led to such later practices as fitting dull or lazy students with a conical hat known as a "dunce cap", which actually resembles hats worn during the Inquisition, many years after Duns Scotus' death.

This practice has largely fallen into disuse, and the contemptuous disregard for Scotus' teachings has likewise undergone a reversal. In 1993 Duns Scotus was beatified by Pope John Paul II, himself known as a literate and erudite theologian and philosopher.
3. The fiery 15th century Italian religious reformer Girolamo Savonarola and the fiery 16th century German religious reformer Martin Luther are the joint- or perhaps rival- namesakes of a certain type of this piece of furniture.

Answer: A chair

The "Savonarola Chair" as it is generally known is an X-shaped chair composed of interlacing S-shaped wooden slats which crisscross each other to form a stylized X-shape. At the back is usually a carved back-rail which typically featured a coat-of-arms, and a velvet seat cushion is usually placed at the center. The name seems to have arisen in the 19th century to designate the style of chair as belonging to the Italian Renaissance; however similar chairs were known in Ancient Egypt, as well as Greece and Rome. In Italy it is alternatively known as a "Dante Chair" after the famous author, and in Germany it is usually referred to as a "Luther Chair" after the great reformer. Its actual connection to any of these historic figures is rather vague; at best, it is likely that each of them may have used such a chair at one time or other. An alternate- and more practical- name is the "Scissor Chair", since such chairs were usually made in such a way that they could be folded for storage.

Savonarola was a Dominican friar known for his apocalyptic sermons decrying the corruption, vice, and hedonism of Florentine society. His fiery oratory did not spare even the formidable Medici family or the Church hierarchy, including Pope Alexander VI (Roderigo Borgia). Following a Lenten sermon in 1497 the famous "Bonfire of the Vanities" took place, as Florentines burned irreligious books, gaming tables, jewelry, Carnival masks, and other "sinful" items in the Piazza della Signoria. By the following year, however, public opinion turned against him, and the powerful enemies he had made within the church took action. He was excommunicated by Pope Alexander and sentenced to death for heresy, along with two companions. The execution- a gruesome affair which included hanging, burning, and stoning the unfortunate prisoners- took place in the same Piazza where his bonfire had occurred the previous year.

Martin Luther was equally fearless, but more fortunate; though excommunicated by the pope for his defiance of Papal authority and legally declared an outlaw by the Diet of Worms in 1521, he had a defender in Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, who gave him sanctuary in Wartburg Castle. During his stay there, Luther translated the New Testament into German. The following year he returned to Wittenburg, where his preaching aroused great enthusiasm, but also inadvertently created unwanted radicalism, resulting in the Peasant's War. In 1525 he married the former nun Katherina von Bora, by whom he fathered six children, of whom 4 survived to adulthood. He died in 1546 at the age of sixty-two, having seen his reforms and teachings take hold throughout Germany.
4. A type of salad green, a species of monkey native to Central and South America, and a hugely popular frothy type of coffee preparation are named for this particularly austere branch of the Franciscan order.

Answer: Capuchin

The Capuchin order was founded in 1520 by Matteo da Bascio, who noted that the Franciscan order had, in his view, departed considerably in spirit and practice from the asceticism and simplicity of its founder. At first, the church authorities were resistant to the reforms and practices of this new branch of the order, but in 1528 they were granted official approval by Pope Clement VII. During the previous eight difficult years, the friars had received the protection of the Camaldolese monks, in gratitude for which they adopted the dark brown hoods of that order. It is this hood- capuccio in Italian- from which the order derives its name.

The Capuchin monkey (Cebus Capucinus), of which there are several varieties, was given its name by European explorers of the Americas in the 15th century. They noted how the animal's dark brown fur contrasting with the pale-colored fur of the face resembled the cowl of a Capuchin friar.

The Italian beverage known as Cappuccino is created by combining espresso with a quantity of hot, frothy milk. The appearance of this beverage, with its dark outer circle of coffee enclosing the creamy, frothy center may have suggested to some the face of a dark-hooded friar.

Another feature of the order is the wearing of beards, which typically are allowed to grow to some length. A particularly curly type of chicory, which is usually blanched to produce a pale color and delicate flavor, is known as "barbe de Capucine" from its resemblance to the white, curly beard of an elderly friar.
5. Joachim Neander was a 17th century Calvinist Reformed minister who is best known for an event which occurred nearly 200 years after his death. The remains of what is now known as "Homo Neanderthalensis", or Neanderthal man, were discovered in 1856 in a valley near the Dussel river that had been named in his honor. During his lifetime, Neander was best known as a hymnwriter; one of his hymns is still in widespread use today. Which of these is Neander's hymn?

Answer: Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

"Lobe den Herren, den Mächtigen König der Ehren" is Neander's best-known hymn, and is still widely sung in English-speaking countries in the 19th century translation by Catherine Winkworth. Neander spent many hours in the valley which now bears his name, seeking inspiration for his many hymns and sermons, and also held prayer services there. The later years of Neander's short life were embittered by conflicts with church authorities over his supposed Pietist leanings. He died of tuberculosis in 1680, at the age of only thirty.

In 1856, the remains of the primate now known as "Neanderthal Man" were discovered in Neander's beloved valley, which had been renamed in his honor earlier in the 19th century. It was discovered during one of numerous mining operations that had radically transformed the appearance of the valley since Neander's time. More remains were discovered there as recently as 1999 and a prehistory museum now stands in the valley.
6. The Cimitiere du Pere Lachaise is the largest cemetery in the city of Paris, and its "clientele" comprises a veritable "who's who" of celebrated artists, composers, literati, performers, and intelligentsia. Its namesake is Francois de la Chaise, a seventeenth century Jesuit priest, who has the distinction of having been the confessor to this French sovereign, known as the "Sun King".

Answer: Louis XIV

Lachaise used his position as confessor to the "Sun King" to effect certain changes and reforms. He set about to end the king's affair with the notorious Madame de Montespan with great resourcefulness. Each year, when Louis sought absolution at Easter time in order to receive the sacrament, Lachaise would come down with a convenient "illness" which rendered him unable to do so. Eventually, Lachaise succeeded in breaking Mme de Montespan's hold on the King and encouraged his relationship with the devout and straight-laced Madame de Maintenon. The latter, however, grew to distrust and dislike Lachaise, who encouraged her to begin a liaison with Louis "for the greater good", even though it went strongly against her principles (Mme de Maintenon eventually married Louis in secret after the death of his wife, Maria Theresa). Lachaise likely also used his influence to convince Louis to revoke the Edict of Nantes, which granted basic rights to Protestants. Although Lachaise himself was moderate and even tolerant regarding religious differences, the revocation of the Edict resulted in widespread and intolerable persecutions of Protestants.

Although it bears his name, the Cimitiere de Pere Lachaise was established by Napoleon in 1804, nearly a century after Lachaise's death, on land which he had never owned (though he did reside in the Jesuit house on the site of what is now the chapel). The Cimitiere's illustrious "residents" include Heloise and Abelard, Moliere, Balzac, Bellini, Bizet, Chopin, Delacroix, Ingres, Dore, Modigliani, Max Ernst, Daudet, Proust, Colette, Sarah Bernhardt, Oscar Wilde, Isadora Duncan, Edith Piaf, Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, Edith Piaf, Jim Morrison, Simone Signoret, and Yves Montand, among many, many others.
7. Dom Pierre Perignon was a 17th century Benedictine monk who has been credited (erroneously) with the invention of champagne, and who is the namesake of the prestige cuvee of what celebrated winery?

Answer: Moet et Chandon

Perignon was the cellar master at the Abbey of Hautvillers near Epernay. Numerous myths have become attached to his name, chief of which is that he actually invented sparkling wine (in fact it was likely invented in England in 1695 by the scientist Christoper Merret) and that he was the first to use corks.

He is also credited with having made the statement "Come quickly! I am tasting the stars!" upon first tasting his invention; in fact this was invented by an advertising agency in the late 19th century.

He is known to have worked to improve the quality of sparkling wines, advocating the use of the Pinot Noir grape, using natural processes in wine production, and avoiding such practices as treading the grapes and secondary fermentation. (The latter caused the buildup of pressure inside the bottle, causing it to explode).

His rules for producing wine were published in 1718, three years after his death, and are still consulted today. In honor of his achievements, he was buried in a section of the Abbey usually reserved for abbots, and many years later a statue of him was erected at Moet et Chandon, which named its 1921 prestige cuvee in his honor.
8. Gregor Mendel was an Austrian priest of the Augustinian order, whose avocations included science and gardening. Combining these two activities, he made several discoveries regarding heredity which are now known as "Mendel's Laws", and which have formed the basis of classical genetics. What type of plants did Mendel use in his experiments?

Answer: Garden Peas

Between 1856 and 1863, Mendel cultivated nearly 30,000 different varieties of the garden pea (Pisum Sativum) in order to experiment with hybridization and study the manner in which traits are inherited from parent organisms. Among other things, he discovered that cross-breeding a white-flowered variety with a purple-flowered variety did not produce a hybrid offspring, but rather a purple-flowered plant.

This was the basis for what ultimately became the theory of dominant and recessive genes (Mendel called them "factors"). Mendel was also a beekeeper and conducted experiments using bees as well.

He described his experiments and the theories he formulated from them in an essay entitled "Experiments in Plant Hybridization", which he published in 1866. Mendel's work attracted little attention in his time, and was criticized by most of those few who did bother to give it any notice.

It was not until the beginning of the 20th century- some fifteen years after his death- that his theories were rediscovered and reevaluated by such scientists as the Dutch Hugo de Vries and the German Carl Correns. Mendel's theories and laws were rescued from obscurity and recognized as the seminal work in the study of what is now known as genetics.

They were also re-named in his honor, and are thus recognized to this day.
9. This American popular author was at one time a Unitarian minister in Massachusetts, but was forced to resign following a pederasty incident. He turned to writing, and became famous for stories in which impoverished young men achieve a reversal of fortune, usually through the agency of a wealthy older man. These became known as "rags-to-riches" stories, and subsequently the author's name came to be applied to any such story- real or fictional- or to the hero of such a story.

Answer: Horatio Alger

Alger began attending Harvard Divinity School in 1857, and became a minister at the First Parish Unitarian Church of Brewster. Rumors began to circulate concerning an inappropriate relationship between Alger and two teenage boys in the parish. An investigation proved the allegations to be true, and when confronted, Alger admitted his wrongdoing. To avoid a major scandal, he agreed to resign the ministry at the urging of his father, who was a pastor of a parish in South Natick, in return for which the church officials and the parents of the boys in question agreed to keep the matter quiet.

Alger turned to writing and went to New York, where he made the acquaintance of numerous young working-class men who worked menial jobs and lived in considerable poverty. His interest in these young men may well have been partly sexual, but he also seems to have empathized with their struggles and dreams. They became the inspiration for a string of novels, of which the prototype was "Ragged Dick", which first appeared in serialized form in 1867 and was published in novel form the following year. The eponymous hero of the story is a poor young bootblack who saves a young boy from drowning. The boy's father is a wealthy businessman, who rewards Dick with a position as a clerk in his office, enabling him to leave his vagabond life on the streets behind. Although many assume that a "Horatio Alger-type story" usually involves a rags-to-riches reversal of fortune, Alger's actual stories usually end with the protagonist substantially bettering his position in life, but not living in luxury and wealth. Alger himself never became wealthy, despite the popularity of his novels; he gave away much of his income to various charities which assisted foundlings, runaways, and also lost some of it to the occasional con artist. He spent his last years living with his married sister in Natick, Massachusetts, where he died in 1899, aged 67. Although his novels are seldom read today, being very much of their time, the term "Horatio Alger hero" has come to define an embodiment of the American ideal of hard work, virtue, and enthusiasm, which ultimately receives its reward.
10. William Archibald Spooner was an Anglican priest who served as a Dean at New College, Oxford from 1876-1889. Although contemporaries recalled him as an erudite and diligent man, he is most remembered for his occasional slips of the tongue, in which he would transpose the first letters of words, creating sentences that either made no sense or were comically inappropriate, as when he is said to have advised an underachieving student to leave by the "next town drain", instead of the "next down train". Which of these is NOT an example of a "spoonerism"?

Answer: "He is the very pineapple of politeness!"

The "pineapple" quote (in which the correct word should be "pinnacle") was made by the fictional Mrs. Malaprop in Richard Brinsley Sheridan's "The Rivals". The others were made by, or have been attributed to, Spooner. The "queer old Dean" was supposed to be the "dear old Queen", "Is the Bean dizzy?" was supposed to be "Is the Dean busy?", and "It is kisstomary to cuss the bride." should have been "It is customary to kiss the bride." It is generally agreed that most of the gaffes attributed to Spooner were likely apocryphal, and he is said to have resented the rather foolish reputation which he had acquired because of them.

In later years, however, he developed a sense of humor about the matter, and is even said to have obliged with a deliberate "spoonerism" or two on occasion.

In an interview in 1930, the year of his death, he acknowledged at least one spoonerism as accurate, when he introduced the hymn "Conquering Kings Their Titles Take" as "Kinkering Congs Their Titles Take".
Source: Author jouen58

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