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.

History Trivia

November 24, 380 Theodosius I made his adventus, or formal entry, into Constantinople. 1429 Joan of Arc unsuccessfully besieged La Charité. 1434 Thames River froze from London Bridge to Gravesend; the frost lasted from November 24th to February 10th. 1542 at the Battle of Solway Moss: The English army defeated the Scots. The English force of approximately 3,000 was far outnumbered by an army of at least 10,000 Scots, but in-fighting among the invaders helped the English commander, Wharton, rout his foes in this surprising victory.

History Trivia

November 23, 534 BC Thespis of Icaria became the first actor to portray a character onstage. 800 Charlemagne arrived at Rome to investigate the alleged crimes of Pope Leo III. 912 Otto I (The Great) was born. He was King of Germany from 936-983 and was the first king to become Holy Roman Emperor in 961. 955 King Eadred died. King of Wessex and acknowledged as overlord of Mercia, and the Danelaw Eadred brought Northumbria permanently under English rule. 1165 Pope Alexander III returned from exile to Rome. 1248 Conquest of Seville by the Christian troops under King Ferdinand III of Castile. 1499 Pretender to the throne Perkin Warbeck was hanged for reportedly attempting to escape from the Tower of London. He had invaded England in 1497, claiming to be the lost son of King Edward IV of England.

History Trivia

November 22,498 Symmachus Consecrated. Christian convert Symmachus was chosen by the Roman Church to succeed Pope Anastasius II at the same time a Byzantine faction selected Laurentius. Both individuals were consecrated on the same date, and the Ostrogothic King Theodoric the Great was asked to choose the new pope. He chose Symmachus. 845 the first King of all Brittany, Nominoe, defeated the Frankish king Charles the Bald at the Battle of Ballon near Redon. 1307 Pope Clement V issued the papal bull Pastoralis Praeeminentiae which instructed all Christian monarchs in Europe to arrest all Templars and seize their assets. 1221 Frederik II Hohenstaufen crowned Roman-German Emperor. 1428 Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick and also known as known as Warwick the Kingmaker, was born.

History Trivia

November 21, 164 BC Judas Maccabaeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family, restored the Temple in Jerusalem. This event is commemorated each year by the festival of Hanukkah. 235 St. Anterus became Roman Catholic pope. He was Pope from November 21, 235 to January 3, 236, and succeeded Pope Pontian, who had been deported from Rome along with the antipope Hippolytus to Sardinia. Anterus was the son of Romulus, born in Petilia, and is thought to have been of Greek origin, but the name could indicate that he was a freed slave. He died on January 3, 236 of undetermined causes. 1272, following Henry III of England's death on November 16, his son Prince Edward became King of England.

History Trivia

November 20, 284 Diocletian was chosen as Roman Emperor. 870 Edmund the Martyr died. Saint Edmund was king of East Anglia. His gruesome death at the hands of the Danes led to legends and a shrine at what is now Bury St. Edmund's, West Suffolk. 1194 Palermo was conquered by Emperor Henry VI. 1272 Barons swore fealty to Edward I. Upon the death of his father, King Henry III, Edward received the fealty of the English barons and succeeded to the throne. 1407 a truce between John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy and Louis of Valois, Duke of Orleans was agreed under the auspices of John, Duke of Berry. Orleans was assassinated three days later by Burgundy.

November 19

November 19, 1095 The Council of Clermont, called by Pope Urban II to discuss sending the First Crusade to the Holy Land, began. 1367 League of Cologne (medieval military alliance against Denmark signed by cities of the Hanseatic League on their meeting called Hansetag in Cologne) approved war against Denmark and Norway.

History Trivia

November 18, 326 Old St. Peter's Basilica in Rome was consecrated. 942 Saint Odo of Cluny died. The second abbot of the great monastery at Cluny, Odo achieved exemption from all but papal authority for his monastic community and reformed monasteries in Gaul and Italy. 1105 Maginulf elected the Antipope Sylvester the IV. 1210 Pope Innocent III excommunicated Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV. 1302 Pope Boniface VIII issued the Papal bull Unam sanctam (One Faith). 1307 William Tell shot an apple off of his son's head. 1421 A seawall at the Zuiderzee dike in the Netherlands broke, flooding 72 villages and killing about 10,000 people. 1477 William Caxton produced Dictes or Sayengis of the Philosophres, the first book printed on a printing press in England. 1494 French King Charles VIII occupied Florence, Italy. 1626 St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome was officially dedicated on the same day the Old Basilica was consecrated 1300 years earlier.

History Trivia

November 17, 284 Diocletian was proclaimed emperor by his soldiers. 375 Enraged by the insolence of barbarian envoys, Valentinian, the Emperor of the West, died of apoplexy in Pannonia in Central Europe. 473 The future Leo II was named associate emperor of the Byzantine Empire by Leo I. 680 Saint Hild of Whitby died. Hild or Hilda founded Streaneshalch Abbey (now Whitby) and was one of the most renowned abbesses of Anglo-Saxon England. 1292 Edward I of England made John Balliol king of Scotland, marking the start of increased English control. 1511 Spain and England ally against France. 1558 Elizabethan era began. Queen Mary I of England died and was succeeded by her half-sister Elizabeth I of England who was not officially crowned until January.

History Trivia

November 16, 42 BC Tiberius was born. He was Roman Emperor from 14-37 AD, during the adult life of Christ. 13 Tiberius' triumphant procession through Rome after his siege of Germany occurred this day. 534 A second and final revision of the Codex Justinianus (collection of the Roman imperial constitutions mainly referring to those of the age of Hadrian) was published. 1272 King Henry III of England died. Only nine years old when his father, King John, died, Henry was the first English monarch to be crowned while still a child. Upon reaching adulthood, his indifference to tradition and lack of effective ruling ability resulted in the barons forcing him to agree to a series of reforms known as the Provisions of Oxford.

History Trivia

November 15, 655 Battle of Winwaed: Penda of Mercia was defeated by Oswiu of Northumbria. Although the battle was said to be the most important between the early northern and southern divisions of the Anglo-Saxons in Britain, few details are available. Significantly, the battle marked the effective demise of Anglo-Saxon paganism. 1397 Pope Nicholas V was born. Known as the Humanist Pope, he had a significant role in the founding of the Vatican Library. 1515 England's Thomas Wolsey was invested as a Cardinal.

History Trivia

November 14,565 Emperor Justinian died. Ruler of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium) from 527 to 565, Justinian was dynamic and ambitious, and shared many policy-making decisions with his wife, Theodora. They reclaimed much of the western empire, reformed Roman law, and rebuilt Constantinople. 1501 Arthur Tudor of England married Katherine of Aragon.

History Trivia

November 13, 354 Saint Augustine was born. He was one of the earliest Christian theologians, and author of The City of God, and, Confessions, two of the best-known religious writings of all time. 867 Pope Nicholas I died. 1002 Ethelred the Unready (Ethelred II) ordered the St Brice's Day Massacre - the murder of all Danes in England. 1093, Malcolm III MacDuncan, King of Scots, was killed while laying siege to Alnwick in an invasion of England. He was succeeded by his brother Donald Bane. 1160 Louis VII of France married Adele of Champagne. 1312 King Edward III of England was born. 1553 English Lady Jane Grey and Bishop Cranmer were accused of high treason. 1642 First English Civil War: Battle of Turnham Green – the Royalist forces withdrew in the face of the Parliamentarian army and failed to take London.

History Trivia

November 12, 607 Boniface III died. Before he became Pope, Boniface went as a legate to Constantinople and obtained from the emperor Phocas an edict that recognized the See of Rome as the head of all the churches. 1035 Canute the Great died. King Canute I of England was also King Canute II of Denmark and King Canute of Norway, and was known as "the Great" because of the empire he built in Britain and Scandinavia. 1276 Suspicious of the intentions of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, the Prince of Wales, English King Edward I resolves to invade Wales 1439 Plymouth, England, became the first town incorporated by the English Parliament. 1555 The English Parliament re-established Catholicism.

November 11, 308 At Carnuntum, Emperor emeritus Diocletian conferred with Galerius, Augustus of the East, and Maximianus, the recently returned former Augustus of the West, in an attempt to restore order to the Roman Empire. 887 Asser began Instructing King Alfred. The Welsh monk who taught and counseled the King, became his friend and biographer, and began teaching him Latin on St. Martin's Day. Alfred went on to translate the work of Boethius into English. 1050 AD Henry IV was born. He was King of Germany 1056-1106, who tried to depose Pope Gregory VII, and had to stand barefoot in the snow for three days before Gregory would pardon him, although Henry got his revenge later. 1215 The Fourth Lateran Council met and defined the doctrine of transubstantiation, the process by which bread and wine are transformed into the body and blood of Christ. 1417 Martin V Elected Pope. Elected unanimously during the Council of Constance, Martin was faced with the enormous task of restoring the Western church, the Papal States, and the papacy itself. 1499 Pretender to the British throne Perkin Warbeck was executed. 1572 Tycho's Nova. Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe observed the Nova Cassiopeiae and, although other observers claimed to have spotted it earlier, his precise measurements revealed it was a distant phenomenon and that changes could occur among stars.

History Trivia

November 10, 461 St Leo I ended his reign as Catholic Pope. 627 Saint Justus died. The fourth archbishop of Canterbury, Justus had a role in converting Northumbria to Christianity. 911 Conrad I was elected German King. 1444 The Battle of Varna: The Turkish victory over a Hungarian force ended the efforts of European powers to save Constantinople from Turkish conquest. 1483 Martin Luther was born. 1520 Danish King Christian II executed dozens of people in the Stockholm Bloodbath after a successful invasion of Sweden. 1619 René Descartes had the dreams that inspired his Meditations on First Philosophy.

History Trivia

November 9, 694 Egica, a King of the Visigoths of Hispania, accused the Jews of aiding Muslims, and sentenced all Jews to slavery. 1282 Pope Martin IV excommunicated King Peter III of Aragon. 1492 Peace of Etaples (northern France) between Henry VII and Charles VIII.The treaty served to end an English invasion of France launched in order to stop France's support for the pretender Perkin Warbeck. By this treaty, France agreed to expel Warbeck and pay England an indemnity of £159,000. The treaty was ratified in December. 1494 The de' Medici family were expelled from Florence. 1541 Queen Catharine Howard was confined in London Tower.

History Trivia

November 8, 392 Roman Emperor Theodosius passed legislation prohibiting all pagan worship in the empire. 618 St Deusdedit I ended his reign as Catholic Pope. 911 Duke Koenraad I was chosen German king. 1097 Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, went into exile after a breach with William II over papal supremacy. 1308 John Duns Scotus died. He was an influential Franciscan philosopher and theologian who pioneered the theory of the Immaculate Conception. 1520 Stockholm Bloodbath began: A successful invasion of Sweden by Danish forces resulted in the execution of around 100 people.

History Trivia

November 7, 680, The Sixth Ecumenical Council commenced in Constantinople. 1492 The Ensisheim Meteorite, the oldest meteorite with a known date of impact, struck the earth around noon in a wheat field outside the village of Ensisheim, Alsace, France. 1619 Elizabeth Stuart of Scotland and England was crowned Queen of Bohemia. 1665 The London Gazette, the oldest surviving journal, was first published.

History Trivia

November 6, 355 Roman Emperor Constantius II promoted his cousin Julian to the rank of Caesar, entrusting him with the government of the Prefecture of the Gauls. 1153 Treaty of Wallingford was signed. This agreement effectively ended the civil war known as the Anarchy, caused by a dispute between Empress Matilda and her cousin King Stephen of England over the English crown. The Treaty of Wallingford forced Stephen to recognize Matilda's son Henry of Anjou, who became Henry II, as his heir, while Stephen kept the throne until he died. 1429 Henry VI was crowned King of England.

History Trivia

November 5, 1219 The port of Damietta (Egypt) fell to the Crusaders after a siege.1530 St Felix Flood ravaged the Dutch coast, destroying the city of Reimerswaal in the Netherlands. 1605 Guy Fawkes Day, the Catholic convert conspired to blow up Parliament and the British royal family. The gunpowder plot was discovered and Fawkes was arrested before the event was to take place. Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Bonfire Night, is an annual celebration, primarily in Great Britain, traditionally and usually held on the evening of 5 November. Festivities are centered on the use of fireworks and the lighting of bonfires. It is also celebrated in former British Colonies such as Australia and New Zealand.

History Trivia

November 4,1333 The River Arno flooding caused massive damage in Florence as recorded by the Florentine chronicler Giovanni Villani. 1429 Joan of Arc liberated Saint-Pierre-le-Moûtier. 1501 Catherine of Aragon (later Henry VIII's first wife) met Arthur Tudor, Henry VIII's older brother – they would later marry. 1520 Christian II Crowned King of Sweden. Already king of Denmark and Norway, Christian conquered Sweden as well. But the subsequent massacre of his opponents led to a Swedish war of liberation, which was achieved a mere three years later. 1576 Eighty Years' War: In Flanders, Spain captured Antwerp (after three days the city was nearly destroyed). 1677 the future Mary II of England married William, Prince of Orange. They would later jointly reign as William and Mary.

History Trivia

November 3, 1394 Jews were expelled from France by Charles VI.1468 Liège was sacked by Charles I of Burgundy's troops. 1493 Christopher Columbus first sighted the island of Dominica in the Caribbean Sea. 1507 Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned to paint the Mona Lisa.

All Souls Day

The origins of All Souls' Day (Day of the Dead) in European folklore and folk belief are related to customs of ancestor veneration practiced worldwide, such as the Chinese Ghost Festival or the Latin American Day of the Dead. The Roman custom was that of the Lemuria.

The theological basis for the feast is the doctrine that the souls which, on departing from the body, are not perfectly cleansed from venial sins, or have not fully atoned for past transgressions, are debarred from the Beatific Vision, and that the faithful on earth can help them by prayers, almsdeeds and especially by the sacrifice of the Mass.

History Trivia

November 2, 1164 Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, left Britain because of a quarrel with King Henry II. He fled to Flanders and stayed away from England for 6 years. 1093 Malcolm III MacDuncan, King of Scots, was killed while laying siege to Alnwick in an invasion of England. He was succeeded by his brother Donald Bane. 1355 English invasion army under King Edward landed at Calais. 1541 Henry VIII was informed that Katherine Howard was involved in two affairs before their marriage.1570 A tidal wave in the North Sea destroyed the sea walls from Holland to Jutland. More than 1,000 people were killed.

All Saints Day

The origins of the holiday commemorating all the saints of the church are obscure, but by the mid-eighth century, November 1st was the day to honor all known and unknown saints in the Catholic Church. In 837, its general observance was ordered by Pope Gregory IV. The date may have been selected for its coincidence with pagan observations of the harvest, including the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain and the ancient Finnish celebration of Kekri.

History Trivia

November 1, Festival of Juno occurred on this day. 193 Pertinax became emperor of Rome whose reign lasted three months. He was known as the first emperor of the tumultuous Year of the Five Emperors. He tried to restore discipline in the Praetorian Guards who rebelled and killed him. 866 the Vikings seized control of Eboracum (York), the first major city to fall in their conquest of England. 1512 Michelangelo's paintings on the ceiling of Sistine Chapel was first exhibited. 1570 Netherlands was hit by a flood disaster and thousands were killed. 1604 William Shakespeare's tragedy "Othello" was first presented. 1611 Shakespeare's romantic comedy "Tempest" was first presented.