MaryAnn Bernal's Blog, page 554

History Trivia

October 29, 437 Valentinian III, Western Roman Emperor, married Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of his cousin Theodosius II, Eastern Roman Emperor in Constantinople unifying the two branches of the House of Theodosius. 969 Byzantine troops occupied Antioch Syria. 1268 Conradin, the last legitimate male heir of the Hohenstaufen dynasty of Kings of Germany and Holy Roman Emperors, was executed along with his companion Frederick I, Margrave of Baden by Charles I of Sicily, a political rival and ally to the hostile Roman Catholic church. 1390 First trial for witchcraft in Paris. 1618 English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh was executed for treason under a sentence passed 15 years earlier. He was a known writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer who was also largely known for popularizing tobacco in England. He fell out of favor with Queen Elizabeth I when his secret marriage to Bess Throckmorton was discovered. Because they were wed without the Queen's permission, they were imprisoned in the Tower of London. After being released, they retired to his estate at Sherborne, Dorset.

History Trivia

October 28, 306 Maxentius was proclaimed Roman Emperor. 312 Constantine I became the sole ruler of the Roman empire in the west with victory at the Milvian Bridge. 1017 Emperor Henry III was born. Holy Roman Emperor and German King, Henry was the last emperor to effectively dominate the papacy. 1216 Henry III of England was crowned. Henry was the first English monarch to be crowned while still a minor.

History Trivia

October 27, 97 To placate the Praetorians of Germany, Roman emperor Nerva adopted Trajan, the Spanish-born governor of lower Germany, as his successor. 312 Constantine the Great was said to have received his famous Vision of the Cross. 625 Honorius I was elected Pope. Honorius sponsored the restoration of Roman buildings, worked to Christianize the Anglo-Saxons, and reorganized the Visigoths. He was deeply involved in the controversies over monophysitism and monothelitism. 710 Saracen invasion of Sardinia. 939 Athelstan died. Athelstan was the first West Saxon king to have effective rule over the whole of England. He was succeeded by Edmund I as King of England. 1401 Catherine of Valois was born. The neglected daughter of King Charles VI of France, Catherine married King Henry V of England and gave birth to his son, Henry VI. After her husband's untimely death, she began a relationship with Owen Tudor, and married him in secret. One of their sons was the father of King Henry VII. 1662 Charles II sold the strategic port of Dunkirk to Louis XIV of France because he needed money.

History Trivia

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October 26, 899 King Alfred the Great died in Wessex. The actual year is not certain, but the year 901 as stated in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is suspect. How he died is unknown. He was originally buried temporarily in the Old Minster in Winchester, then moved to the New Minster. When the New Minster moved to Hyde, a little north of the city, in 1110, the monks transferred to Hyde Abbey along with Alfred's body and those of his wife and children. Soon after the dissolution of the abbey in 1539, during the reign of Henry VIII, the church was demolished, leaving the graves intact. The royal graves and many others were probably rediscovered by chance in 1788 when a prison was being constructed by convicts on the site. Coffins were stripped of lead, bones were scattered and lost, and no identifiable remains of Alfred have subsequently been found. Further excavations in 1866 and 1897 were inconclusive.

History Trivia

October 25, 1147 The Portuguese, under Afonso I, and Crusaders from England and Flanders conquered Lisbon after a four-month siege. 1154 King Stephen of Blois (grandson of William the Conqueror) died. After the death of King Henry I, Stephen took the throne, preventing Henry's daughter Matilda from ruling, and setting off a civil war. 1400 Geoffrey Chaucer died at the age of 57. He was the first poet to be buried in Westminster Abbey. 1415, in Northern France, England led by Henry V won the Battle of Agincourt over France during the Hundred Years' War. Almost 6000 Frenchmen were killed while fewer than 400 were lost by the English.

History Trivia

October 24, 51 Roman Emperor Domitian was born. 69 Second Battle of Bedriacum, forces under Antonius Primus, the commander of the Danube armies, loyal to Vespasian, defeated the forces of Emperor Vitellius. 439 Carthage, the leading Roman city in North Africa, fell to Genseric and the Vandals. 1147 After a siege of 4 months crusader knights led by Afonso Henriques, reconquered Lisbon. 1260 The spectacular Cathedral of Chartres was dedicated in the presence of King Louis IX of France; the cathedral is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 1360 The Treaty of Brétigny was ratified at Calais, marking the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years' War. 1375 King Valdemar IV died. He united Denmark after a brief period of domination by foreign rulers. 1537 Jane Seymour, the third wife of England's King Henry VIII, died after giving birth to Prince Edward. Prince Edward became King Edward VI.

History Trivia

October 23, 42 BC Roman Republican civil wars: Second Battle of Philippi – Mark Antony and Octavian decisively defeated Brutus' army. Brutus committed suicide. 425 Valentinian III was elevated as Roman Emperor, at the age of 6. 502 The Synodus Palmaris, called by Theodoric the Great (king of the Ostrogoths, ruler of Italy, regent of the Visigoths , and a viceroy of the Eastern Roman Empire), discharged Pope Symmachus of all charges, thus ending the schism of Antipope Laurentius. 1456 St. John of Capistrano died. A great Franciscan preacher, St. John led an army that liberated Belgrade from a Turkish invasion. 1641 Rebellion in Ireland: Catholics, under Phelim O'Neil, rose against the Protestants and massacred men, women and children to the number of 40,000 (also reported at 100,000). 1642 Royalist forces defeated the Parliamentarians at Edgehill, the first major battle of the English Civil War.

History Trivia

October 22, 362 A mysterious fire destroyed the temple of Apollo at Daphne outside Antioch. 741 King Charles Martel, the grandfather of the great emperor Charlemagne, died at age 53. 1303 Benedict XI was elected Pope. The brief pontificate of Benedict was dominated by difficulties with King Philip IV the Fair of France.

History Trivia

October 21, 1096 The People's Crusade (part of the First Crusade also known as the Peasants' Crusade or the Paupers' Crusade), led by Peter the Hermit, was slaughtered by Seljuk Turks at the Battle of Civetot. 1422 when Henry VI was eight months old he succeeded to the English throne, and shortly afterwards, by the death in 1422 of his maternal grandfather, Charles VI, he became titular king of France. 1529 The Pope named Henry VIII of England Defender of the Faith after he defended the seven sacraments against Luther.

History Trivia

October 20, 480 BC The Greeks defeated the Persians in a naval battle at Salamis, an island in the Saronic Gulf near Athens. It marked the high-point of the second Persian invasion of Greece which had begun in 480 BC. 1097 First Crusaders arrived in Antioch. The first siege, by the crusaders against the Muslim city, lasted from October 21, 1097, to June 2, 1098. 1524 Thomas Linacre, physician and classical scholar, who founded the Royal College of Physicians in London died. 1548 The city of Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Our Lady of Peace) was founded by Alonso de Mendoza by appointment of the King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V.