History Trivia

May 15, 1213 King John named Stephen Langton Archbishop of Canterbury after submitting to the Pope's authority and offering to make England and Ireland papal fiefs, which resulted in Pope Innocent III lifting the interdict of 1208. 1252 Pope Innocent IV issued the papal bull ad exstirpanda, which authorized, but also limited, the torture of heretics in the Medieval Inquisition. 1265 Dante Alighieri, author of the Divine Comedy, was born. 1536 Anna Boleyn and Lord Rochford stood trial on the charges of adultery/incest. 1567 Mary, Queen of Scots, married James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, her third husband. 1649 The 'Rump Parliament' under Oliver Cromwell declared England a 'commonwealth' or free state.