Monday, April 30, 2012

History Trivia

April 30, 311 Emperor Galerius legal recognition of Christians in the Roman Empire. 313 Roman emperor Licinius unified the entire Eastern Roman Empire under his rule. 1006 Supernova was observed in Europe, China, Japan, and Egypt. 1513 Edmund de la Pole, Yorkist pretender to the English throne, was executed on the orders of Henry VIII. 1527 Henry VIII of England and King Francis of France signed the treaty of Westminster.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

History Trivia

April 29, 711 Islamic conquest of Hispania: Moorish troops led by Tariq ibn-Ziyad land at Gibraltar to began their invasion of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus). 1109 Hugh of Cluny died. Hugh was the driving force in bringing the monastery of Cluny to preeminence in medieval France. 1347 Catherine of Siena was born. Catherine, the patron saint of Italy, played a significant role in returning the Papacy from Avignon to Rome. She was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1970. 1429 Joan of Arc led French forces to victory over English at Orleans.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

History Trivia

April 28,32 Emperor Otho (second emperor of the Year of the Four Emperors) was born. His reign lasted three months - January 15 - April 16, 69. 357 Emperor Constantius II, after dealing with the Franks, visited Rome before moving his army north to campaign against the Sarmatians, Suevi and the Quadi along the Danube. Constantius spent most of his reign quelling uprisings throughout the Roman Empire, succumbing to a fever in the winter of 361 at Mopsucrene (central Turkey). 585 War between Lydia (modern Turkish provinces of Manisa and inland İzmir) and Media (modern northwest Iran) ended by solar eclipse. 1192 Assassination of Conrad of Montferrat (Conrad I), King of Jerusalem, in Tyre, two days after his title to the throne was confirmed by election. 1442 King Edward IV of England was born. The first half of his rule was marred by the violence associated with the Wars of the Roses, but he overcame the Lancastrian challenge to this throne at Tewkesbury in 1471 to reign in peace until his sudden death.

Friday, April 27, 2012

Independent Author Index

Mary Ann Bernal - featured author http://indaindex.com/mary-ann-bernal/

History Trivia

April 27, 1124 David I became King of Scots. 1296 Battle of Dunbar: The Scots were defeated by Edward I of England. This battle was the only significant field action in the campaign of 1296 when King Edward I of England had invaded Scotland to punish King John Balliol for his refusal to support English military action in France.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

History Trivia

April 26, 121 Marcus Aurelius (Roman Emperor 161-180) was born. He was the last of the "Five Good Emperors", and is also considered one of the most important Stoic philosophers. 757 Paolo Orsini replaced his brother Pope Stephen II, as Paul I. 1220 German king Frederick II granted bishops sovereign rights. 1467 The miraculous image in Our Lady of Good Counsel appeared in Genazzano, Italy. 1478 Pazzi conspirators attacked Lorenzo and killed Giuliano de'Medici. 1514 Copernicus made his first observations of Saturn. 1564 William Shakespeare was baptized.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

History Trivia

April 25, 404 BC Athens surrendered to Sparta, ending the Peloponesian War. 32 Emperor Otho was born. 799 Pope Leo III was attacked during a procession in Rome due, in part, for recognizing Charlemagne as patricius of the Romans, which upset the delicate balance between the Byzantines and the west that his predecessor had established. He fled to Charlemagne, who escorted the Pope safely back to Rome where he oversaw a commission that vindicated Leo and deported his enemies. Leo would later crown Charlemagne the first Holy Roman Emperor. 1214 King Louis IX of France was born. 1284 King Edward II of England was born.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

History Trivia

April 24, 1479 BC Thutmose III ascended to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifted to Hatshepsut (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty). 1184 BC The Greeks entered Troy using the Trojan Horse (traditional date). 709 Saint Wilfrid died. A monk of Lindisfarne Abbey and later Bishop of Hexham, Wilfrid spread the Benedictine Rule and worked to establish Roman Catholicism over the influence of the Celtic Church in England. 858 Nicholas I "the Great" was elected Roman Catholic pope. 1061 Halley's Comet caused an English monk to predict the country would be destroyed. 1558 Mary, Queen of Scots, married the Dauphin of France, François, at Notre Dame de Paris. 1585 Pope Sixtus V elected. Sixtus was unanimously elected successor to Gregory XIII, who had left the Papal States in disarray. He defined the college of Cardinals and is considered the founder of the Counter-Reformation.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Dispatches from La-La Land: Interview with Steven Novak, Author of Goats Eat C...

Dispatches from La-La Land: Interview with Steven Novak, Author of Goats Eat C...: Those of you who know me on Facebook know that I've become a Steven Novak groupie.  I don't know how to explain why.  Maybe you should know ...

History Trivia

April 23, 215 BC A temple was built on the Capitoline Hill and dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at Lake Trasimene. 1014 Battle of Clontarf Brian Boru (High King of Ireland in 1002) defeated Viking invaders, but was killed during the battle. 1348 The founding of the Order of the Garter by King Edward III was announced on St George's Day. 1509 Henry VIII was proclaimed King of England. 1661 King Charles II was crowned in London.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

History Trivia

April 22, 238 Year of the Six Emperors: The Roman Senate outlawed emperor Maximinus Thrax for his bloodthirsty proscriptions in Rome and nominated two of its members, Pupienus and Balbinus, to the throne. 960 Basil II was crowned Emperor of the Byzantine Empire. 1073 Gregory VII was elected pope. 1056 Supernova Crab nebula last seen by the naked eye. 1370 First stone of the Bastille laid. The fortress that was later to become a prison was built on the orders of King Charles V of France. It was intended as a fortification to help protect the wall around Paris against English attack during the Hundred Years' War. 1509 Henry VIII ascended to throne of England.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

History Trivia

April 21, 753 BC – Romulus and Remus founded Rome (traditional date). 43 BC Battle of Mutina: Mark Antony was again defeated in battle by Aulus Hirtius, who was killed. Antony failed to capture Mutina and Decimus Brutus was murdered shortly after. 1509 Henry VIII ascended the throne of England on the death of his father, Henry VII.

Friday, April 20, 2012

History Trivia

April 20, 295 - 8th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. 1303 The University of Rome La Sapienza was instituted by Pope Boniface VIII. 1314 Clement V died. Clement, who owed his election largely to King Philip IV of France, chose to move the Papacy to Avignon, where it remained for more than 60 years. He also had a hand in the trial of the Templars. 1453 The last naval battle in Byzantine history occurred, as three Genoese galleys escorting a Byzantine transport fought their way through the huge Ottoman blockade fleet.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Coming Soon: The Briton and the Dane: Concordia



Travel back in time to late Ninth Century Anglo-Saxon Britain and the reign of Alfred the Great, where the Danish King Guthrum’s successor honors the terms of peace, where trade flourishes despite the heathen threat, where a multicultural seat of learning is established in the capital city of Winchester, where scholars and students throughout the known civilized world flock to Britannia’s shores.

Follow the adventures of Concordia, daughter of Aurelius and Arista, as she comes of age in an era of enlightenment, where religious beliefs are tolerated and the pursuit of knowledge defies cultural differences.

Share Concordia’s plight when she is captured by Saracen pirates while sailing the Mediterranean Sea, and revel in her good fortune when her life is spared as she is reunited with the exotic Moor who once held her heart.

But will love be enough to sustain her when she is denied her Christian beliefs? Will she be rescued from the Infidel’s grasp or will she spend her days enslaved in a foreign country where followers of the Christian faith are condemned to death?


Available 2013

History Trivia

April 19, 607 - Comet Halley approached within 0.0898 AUs of Earth. 1012 Viking raiders killed Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury before being bought off with a huge bribe. 1054 Pope Leo IX died. He was able to transform the papacy from a local power in Rome to a major influence in Europe.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

History Trivia

April 18, 310 St Eusebius began his reign as Catholic Pope. 387 Bishop Ambrosius of Milan baptized Augustinus who was a Latin philosopher and theologian from Roman Africa. His writings were very influential in the development of Western Christianity. 1480 Lucrezia Borgia was born. 1506 First stone laid in St. Peter's Basilica and was completed in 1615.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

History Trivia

April 17,69 After the First Battle of Bedriacum, Vitellius became Roman Emperor. 858 Pope Benedict III died. 1397 Geoffrey Chaucer told the Canterbury Tales for the first time at the court of Richard II. 1521 Martin Luther spoke to the assembly at the Diet of Worms where he refused to recant his teachings, and was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church. 1534 Sir Thomas More was confined in London Tower.

Monday, April 16, 2012

History Trivia

April 16, 1178 BC The calculated date of the Greek king Odysseus' return home from the Trojan War. 73 Roman troops breached the walls of Masada fortress to find the Jewish defenders had committed mass suicide, which ended the Jewish revolt. 556 Pelagius I began his reign as Catholic Pope. 778 Louis the Pious was born. 1071 Bari, (coastal region off the Adriatic Sea) fell to Norman Robert Guiscard, ending five centuries of Byzantine rule in southern Italy. 1209 Franciscan order founded. 1521 Martin Luther made his first appearance before the Diet of Worms to be examined by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. According to tradition, April 16th was the day that Pope Innocent III gave his oral approbation to the rule of the order founded by St. Francis of Assisi.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Featured Author

Mary Ann is the featured author at Crypto & Co.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=204208926361108&set=a.135675423214459.26787.135669733215028&type=1

History Trivia

April 15, 69 - Battle at Bedriacum, North-Italy fought during the Year of the Four Emperors, which resulted in Vespasian ascending the throne near the end of the bloody year of crisis. 1450 Battle of Formigny: Toward the end of the Hundred Years' War, the French attacked and nearly annihilated English forces, ending English domination in Northern France. 1452 Leonardo da Vinci was born.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

History Trivia

April 14, 43 BC Battle of Forum Gallorum: Mark Antony, besieged Julius Caesar's assassin Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus in Mutina and defeated the forces of the consul Pansa, who was wounded. 69 Vitellius, commander of the Rhine armies, defeated Emperor Otho in the Battle of Bedriacum and seized the throne. 70 Siege of Jerusalem: Titus, son of Emperor Vespasian, surrounded the Jewish capital, with four Roman legions. 73 after two years of defending the fortress of Masada, the Jews committed mass suicide rather than surrender to the Roman Tenth Legion. 979 Challenge to throne of King Aethelred II of England. 1028 Henry III, son of Conrad, was elected king of the Germans. 1205 Battle of Adrianople between Bulgarians and Crusaders. 1434 The foundation stone of Cathedral St. Peter and St. Paul in Nantes, France was laid. 1471 In England, the Yorkists under Edward IV defeated the Lancastrians under the Earl of Warwick (the Kingmaker) at the Battle of Barnet; the Earl was killed and Edward IV resumed the throne.

Friday, April 13, 2012

History Trivia

April 13, 837 Best view of Halley's Comet in 2000 years. 1111 Henry V was crowned Holy Roman Emperor. 1204 Constantinople fell to the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade, temporarily ending the Byzantine Empire. 1250 The Seventh Crusade was defeated in Egypt; Louis IX of France was captured. 1256 The Grand Union of the Augustinian order formed when Pope Alexander IV issues a papal bull Licet ecclesiae catholicae. 1598 Henry IV of France issued the Edict of Nantes, allowing freedom of religion to the Huguenots. (Edict repealed in 1685.) 1640 Charles I's eleven years of personal rule end with the calling of the 'Short Parliament' at Westminster.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

History Trivia

April 12, 238 Gordian II lost the Battle of Carthage against the Numidian forces loyal to Maximinus Thrax and was killed. Gordian I, his father, committed suicide. 467 Anthemius was elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. 1204 The Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade breached the walls of Constantinople and entered the city, which they completely occupied the following day. 1606 The combined English-Scottish 'Union Jack' was created by royal decree, originally for use at sea only.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

History Trivia

April 11, 146 Lucius Septimius Severus, Emperor of Rome 193-211, was born. 491 Flavius Anastasius became Byzantine Emperor, with the name of Anastasius I. 1240Llywelyn ap Iorweth, Prince of Gwynedd, died. Llywelyn the Great managed to unite most of Wales under his control, but most of his reign was marked by conflict with King John of England, whose illegitimate daughter Joan was Llywelyn's wife. 1471 King Edward IV of England conquered London from Henry VI. 1689 William III and Mary II were crowned as joint sovereigns of Britain.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

History Trivia

April 10, 837 Comet 1P/837 F1 (Halley) approached within 0.0334 AUs of Earth. 847 St Leo IV began his reign as Catholic Pope. 879 Louis III became King of the Western Franks. 1500 Ludovico Sforza was captured by the Swiss troops at Novara and was handed over to the French. 1512 James V of Scotland was born. His only legitimate child to survive to adulthood was Mary, Queen of Scots. His illegitimate son, the Earl of Moray, became regent of Scotland when Mary abdicated.

Monday, April 9, 2012

History Trivia

April 9, 193 Septimius Severus was proclaimed Roman Emperor by the army in Illyricum (Balkans). 475 Byzantine Emperor Basiliscus issued a circular letter (Enkyklikon) to the bishops of his empire, supporting the Monophysite Christological position. 491 Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno died at an approximate age of 65. 999 Gerbert of Aurillac became Pope Sylvester II. 1413 Henry V was crowned King of England. 1440 Christopher of Bavaria was appointed King of Denmark. 1483 King Edward IV of England died. 1492Lorenzo de' Medici died.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

History Trivia

April 8, 217 Roman Emperor Caracalla was assassinated and succeeded by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus. 1093 The new Winchester Cathedral was dedicated by Walkelin. 1341, Petrarch was crowned Poet Laureate in Rome. 1364 Charles V crowned King of France. He led France in recovery from the devastation of the first part of the Hundred Years' War. 1378, Urban VI was elected Roman Catholic pope.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

History Trivia

April 7, 30 Scholars' estimated date for Jesus' crucifixion by Roman troops in Jerusalem. 451 Attila the Hun plundered Metz, France. 529 First draft of the Corpus Juris Civilis (a fundamental work in jurisprudence) was issued by Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I. 1348 Charles University was founded in Prague. 1506 St. Francis Xavier was born. A passionate missionary of Catholicism, Francis was instrumental in establishing Christianity in India and Japan. He was also one of the earliest members of the Society of Jesus.

Friday, April 6, 2012

History Trivia

April 6, 46 BC – Julius Caesar defeated Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato in the battle of Thapsus. 402 Stilicho stymied the Visigoths under Alaric in the Battle of Pollentia. 774 Charles the Great affirmed Pippins promise of Quiercy, protecting the States of the Church. 1199 England's King Richard I, the Lion-Hearted, died from an infection following the removal of an arrow from his shoulder. 1320 The Scots reaffirmed their independence by signing the Declaration of Arbroath. 1453 Mehmed II began his siege of Constantinople (Istanbul), which fell on May 29. 1483 Raphael was born.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

History Trivia

April 5, 456 St. Patrick returned to Ireland as a missionary bishop. 1242 Russian troops repelled an invasion by Teutonic knights. 1291 a Muslim army attacked Acre in the tiny Latin kingdom of Jerusalem, beginning the end of the history of the Crusader states in the East. 1603 New English king James I left Edinburgh for London.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

History Trivia

April 4,186 Caracalla, Emperor of Rome, (211-217) was born. 527 Justinian I was created co-emperor. 1081 Alexius Comnenus crowned emperor. Alexius seized the throne from Nicephorus III. During his reign, he would succeed in reviving the Eastern Roman Empire after half a century of ineffective rule. 1460 University of Basle in Switzerland founded. 1541 Ignatius of Loyola became the first superior-general of the Jesuit Order. 1581 Francis Drake was knighted for completing a circumnavigation of the world. 1588 Christian IV succeeded Frederik II as king of Denmark.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

History Trivia

April 3, 1043 Edward the Confessor was crowned King of England. Edward had Norman sympathies and had supposedly named William the Conqueror his successor, before choosing Harold Godwinson on his death-bed. 1367 John of Gaunt and Edward the Black Prince won the Battle of Najara, in Spain. 1559 Philip II of Spain and Henry II of France signed the peace of Cateau-Cambresis, ending a long series of wars between the Hapsburg and Valois dynasties.

Monday, April 2, 2012

History Trivia

April 2, 68 the Emperor Galba was declared Imperator by his legion. 742 Charlemagne, King of the Franks from 768-814, first Holy Roman Emperor, from 800-814, was born. 999 Sylvester II was elected pope. He was the first French pope, and was said to have played a major role in popularizing Arabic numerals in the West. 1234 Edmund Rich became Archbishop of Canterbury. Raised to the Archbishopric by Pope Gregory IX, Edmund was an outspoken figure who clashed with King Henry III of England and preached for the Sixth Crusade. 1285 Honorius IV elected pope. Honorius was old and crippled when elected but in his brief two years as pope he worked toward reuniting the Western and Eastern churches and supported the mendicant orders.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

History Trivia

April 1,374 Comet 1P/374 E1 (Halley) approached within 0.0884 AUs of Earth. 527 Byzantine Emperor Justin I named his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne. 705 Greek pope John VII was chosen to succeed John VI. 1204 Eleanor of Aquitaine died. 1293 Robert Winchelsey left England for Rome, to be consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury. 1318 Berwick-upon-Tweed was captured by the Scottish from the English. 1340 Niels Ebbesen killed Gerhard III of Holstein in his bedroom, ending the 1332-1340 interregnum(period of discontinuity)in Denmark. 1578 William Harvey of England discovered blood circulation.