MaryAnn Bernal's Blog, page 550

History Trivia

December 4, 771 Austrasian King Carloman died, leaving his brother Charlemagne sole ruler of the Frankish empire. 1093 Anselm of Canterbury was consecrated as Archbishop. 1110 First Crusade: The Crusaders sacked the Syria harbor city Saida (Sidon). 1154 Nicholas Breakspear was elected Pope Hadrian IV, the only Englishman to become pope. 1259 Kings Louis IX of France and Henry III of England agreed to the Treaty of Paris, in which Henry renounced his claims to French-controlled territory on continental Europe (including Normandy) in exchange for Louis withdrawing his support for English rebels. 1563 The final session of the Council of Trent was held (it opened on December 13, 1545).

History Trivia

December 3, 741 St. Zachary began his reign as Catholic Pope succeeding Gregory III. 1347 Pope Clemens VI declared the Roman tribunal Coke di Rienzo as heretics. 1368 Charles VI of France was born. Known as "Mad" and as "Well-Beloved," Charles had a long reign during which he remained primarily a figurehead because of his occasional fits of madness. 1468 Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother Giuliano succeeded their father, Piero de Medici, as rulers of Florence, Italy. 1557 First Covenant of Scottish Protestants formed. 1586 Sir Thomas Herriot introduced potatoes to England, from Colombia. 1621 Galileo invented the telescope.

History Trivia

December 2,537 Pope Saint Silverius died. When Silverius refused to restore Anthimus as Patriarch of Constantinople, Empress Theodora ordered him deposed. He was banished and died on the island of Palmaria, allegedly murdered or starved to death. 1409 The University of Leipzig was founded by Frederick I, Elector of Saxony and his brother William II, Margrave of Meissen, and originally comprised four faculties. Since its inception the university has enjoyed over 600 years of uninterrupted teaching and research. 1697 St Paul's Cathedral opened in London.

History Trivia

December 1, The Festival of Juno occurred on this day. 193 Pertinax became emperor. 800 Charlemagne was called to the Vatican to judge the accusations against Pope Leo III whose enemies stated he was unfit to hold the sacred office. 1135 Henry I of England died and the crown was passed to his nephew Stephen of Blois instead of his daughter Matilda which resulted in civil war (the Anarchy). The dispute was settled when Stephen named Matilda's son Henry Plantagenet as his heir. 1170 Becket returned to Canterbury. After establishing an uneasy reconciliation with Henry II, the Archbishop returned to his See, ending a six-year-long self-imposed exile. 1420 Henry V of England entered Paris.

History Trivia

November 30, Saint Andrew, one of the Twelve Disciples of Christ was martyred on an X-shaped cross during the reign of Vespasian. The day is celebrated as St. Andrew's feast day. 1016 Cnut, king of Denmark, claimed the throne of all England after Edmund 'Ironside', king of England, died. 1406 Gregory XII became Pope. Gregory was the last of the Roman line of popes during the Western Schism. 1630 16,000 inhabitants of Venice died this month of plague. 1648 English army captured King Charles I. 1700 at the Battle of Narva, a Swedish army of 8,500 men under Charles XII defeated a much larger Russian army at Narva. 1718 Swedish king Charles XII died during a siege of the fortress Fredriksten in Norway.

History trivia

November 29, 526 - Antioch in modern day Syria was struck by an Earthquake, about 250,000 died. 799 Pope Leo III, aided by Charles the Great, returned to Rome. 800 Charlemagne arrived at Rome to investigate the alleged crimes of Pope Leo III. 939 Edmund was crowned as king of England as his half-brother Aethelstan died. 1268 Clement IV died. Upon the death of Clement, no new pope was elected for almost three years. 1314 Philip IV of France died.

History Trivia

November 28, 741 St Gregory III ended his reign as Catholic Pope. 1095 On the last day of the Council of Clermont, Pope Urban II appointed Bishop Adhemar of Le Puy and Count Raymond IV of Toulouse to lead the First Crusade to the Holy Land. 1291 Edward I's wife, Eleanor of Castile, died. 1503 Julius II was officially crowned pope. Julius was the nephew of Pope Sixtus IV, who built the Sistine Chapel.

History Trivia

November 27, 8 BC, Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) the great Roman lyric poet, died at Venusia, in Apulia at age 56. 176 Emperor Marcus Aurelius granted his son Commodus the rank of Imperator and made him Supreme Commander of the Roman legions. 511 Clovis, King of the Franks (Merovingian Dynasty)died. 1095 Pope Urban II declared the First Crusade to reclaim sacred Christian sites from Islamic hands at the Council of Clermont. 1295 the first elected representatives from Lancashire were called to Westminster by King Edward I to attend what later became known as "The Model Parliament". 1582 William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway. 1703 The first Eddystone Lighthouse (south west of Rame Head, UK) was destroyed in the Great Storm of 1703.

History Trivia

November 26, 43 BC The Second Triumvirate alliance of Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (Octavian, later Caesar Augustus), Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and Mark Antony was formed. 579 Pelagius II became Pope. When assistance from Emperor Tiberius II of Byzantium was not forthcoming, Pelagius convinced the Christian Franks to defend Rome from encroaching Lombards. He attempted to end a schism in the Church over the Three Chapters Controversy and began a controversy of his own when St. John IV the Faster, Bishop of Constantinople, assumed the title of "ecumenical patriarch" (a position that made him the equal of Pelagius, if not his superior). Pelagius was also responsible for building projects in Rome and turned his home into a hospital that was of great assistance when the city was struck by a disastrous flood. He himself died of the plague. 783 the Asturian queen Adosinda was put up in a monastery to prevent her kin from retaking the throne from Mauregatus. 885 Danish Vikings attacked Paris and were paid by the Frankish emperor Charles the Fat not to destroy the city as they had in 845 and 856. 1476 Vlad III Dracula defeated Basarab Laiota with the help of Stephen the Great and Stephen V Bathory and became the ruler of Wallachia for the third time. 1703 Hurricane-force winds killed as many as 8,000 people as the Great Storm swept southern England. Bristol incurred heavy damage and the Royal Navy lost 15 warships.

History Trivia

November 25, 1034 Máel Coluim mac Cináeda, King of Scots died. Donnchad, the son of his daughter Bethóc and Crínán of Dunkeld, inherited the throne. 1120 The White Ship sank in the English Channel, drowning William Adelin, son of Henry I of England. 1177 Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and Raynald of Chatillon defeated Saladin at the Battle of Montgisard. 1185 Urban III became Pope. Urban inherited a tense diplomatic relationship with the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa, from his predecessor Lucius III. 1276 The Habsburg dynasty was founded as Rudolf of Habsburg seized Vienna and made it his capital. 1277 Nicholas III was elected Pope. Nicholas began an administrative reform of the Papal States, inducing Rudolf I to acknowledge that the Italian province of the Romagna belonged to the church. 1343 a tsunami, caused by an earthquake in the Tyrrhenian Sea, devastated Naples (Italy) and the Maritime Republic of Amalfi. 1491 The siege of Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, began.