History Trivia

March 14, On this day the Equirria took place, which consisted of horse-racing in Campus Martius ("Field of Mars", Italian Campo Marzio; which was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome, about 490 acres) In 221 BC, the Circus Flaminius was built on the southern side of the Campus Martius, near the Tiber. This large track for chariot racing was named after Gaius Flaminius Nepos, who also constructed the Via Flaminia. 840 Einhard, historian and court scholar, and a friend of Charlemagne as well as his biographer, died. 1471 Sir Thomas Malory died. It is believed that Thomas Malory of Newbold Revell, Warwickshire, is the "Syr Thomas Maleore knyght" mentioned in the colophon to Le Morte Darthur, although there is no certain proof.