History Trivia - Pope Leo III attacked in Rome

April 25

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

History Trivia - Richard I of England ransomed

February 4

 1194 King Richard I of England was freed by Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor, after being ransomed. Richard did return to England but soon set sail for France where he died five years later.
 

History Trivia - Third Crusade initiated

January 21

1189 King Philip Augustus of France, King Henry II of England, King Richard I, and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa initiated the Third Crusade in response to the victory of Saladin in 1187. 

History Trivia - Cicero executed

December 7

 43 BC Roman orator and advocate Cicero was executed on the orders of Mark Antony. 

983 German King Otto III took the throne after his father's death in Italy. He was the fourth ruler of the Saxon (Ottonian) dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire, being crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 997.

1254 Pope Innocent IV died. The pontificate of Innocent was marked by a long struggle with Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, characteristic of the conflict between empire and papacy.

History Trivia - Battle of Maldon - Vikings victorious

August 10

955 Battle of Lechfeld: Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor defeated the Magyars (Hungarians), ending 50 years of Magyar invasion of the West.

991 Battle of Maldon: the English, led by Byrhtnoth, Ealdorman of Essex, were defeated by a band of inland-raiding Vikings near Maldon in Essex.

1316 The Second Battle of Athenry during the Bruce campaign in Ireland. The Second Battle of Athenry marked the definitive end of the power of the Ua Conchobair (O'Connor's) as Kings of Connacht. The decades following marked the high point of Norman rule in Connacht, and the rise of the towns of Athenry and Galway as centers of economic and political power and wealth. Unlike the First Battle of Athenry in 1249, no account is given of the battle itself in any surviving account, and even the site of the battle itself is uncertain.

History Trivia - Francis II, the last Holy Roman Emperor, abdicates

 August 6

939 Battle at Simancas - Spain defeated the Moors. Arab witnesses reported a spectacular eclipse of the sun that took place on the first day of the battle, a bad omen.

1284 The Republic of Pisa was defeated in the Battle of Meloria by the Republic of Genoa, thus losing its naval dominance in the Mediterranean.

1806 Francis II, the last Holy Roman Emperor, abdicated, ending the Holy Roman Empire.

History Trivia - Alexander the Great dead at age 32

June 10

 323 BC (or June 11) Alexander the Great, Macedonian king, died from either fever or excessive wine at the age of 32.

1190 Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa drowned while crossing a river on a crusade to the Holy Land.

1540 Tho

mas Cromwell arrested in Westminster after falling out of favor with Henry VIII for having arranged the King's marriage to Anne of Cleves, which was quickly annulled.

History Trivia - process of making Roquefort cheese discovered

June 4

 781 BC – The first historic solar eclipse was recorded in China.

1039 Henry III became Holy Roman Emperor.

 1070 the process of making Roquefort cheese was discovered by an anonymous shepherd in a cave near Roquefort, France.

 

History Trivia - Spanish and German troops sack Rome

May 6

973 Henry II (the Saint), the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, was born.

1527 Spanish and German troops sacked Rome, ending the Renaissance.  

1536 King Henry VIII ordered English language Bibles to be placed in every church.

History Trivia - Battle of Boroughbridge

March 16

37  Emperor Tiberius died at the age of 78 and was succeeded by Caligula.

1072 Adalbert, archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen and guardian and tutor to Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, died.  

1322 The Battle of Boroughbridge took place in the First War of Scottish Independence. 

History Trivia - Riots of Lynn in Norfolk spread to Norwich England

February 6

 337 St Julius I began his reign as Catholic Pope. Julius is credited with setting Jesus' birthday on December 25th. 

1189 Riots of Lynn in Norfolk spread to Norwich England.  The riots began in Lynn when the Jews attempted to attack a baptized coreligionist who had taken refuge in a church. The seafaring population rose against them, fired their houses, and put them to the sword.1508 Maximilian I crowned Holy Roman Emperor.

1685 James II of England and VII of Scotland became King upon the death of his brother Charles II.

History Trivia - Pompey the Great murdered

September 28

48 BC Pompey the Great was murdered on the orders of King Ptolemy of Egypt.

351 Battle of Mursa Major: the Roman Emperor Constantius II defeated the usurper Magnentius in one of the bloodiest battles in Roman military history.

365 Roman usurper Procopius proclaimed himself Roman emperor.

855 The Emperor Lothar died in Gaul (present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine), and his kingdom was divided between his three sons.

1066 William the Conqueror and his Norman army arrived in England, landing at Pevensey, beginning the Norman Conquest.

 

1106 The Battle of Tinchebrai: Henry I of England defeated his brother, Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy. Henry's knights won a decisive victory, capturing Robert and imprisoning him in England and then Wales until Robert's death in Cardiff Castle. England and Normandy remained under a single ruler until 1204.

1322 Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor defeated Frederick I of Austria in the Battle of Mühldorf.

History Trivia - Henry V of England army lands on mouth of the Seine River, and organizes the siege of the town of Harfleur

August 13

523 John I was elected Roman Catholic pope. He ended the Acacian Schism, bringing reunification of the Eastern and Western churches by restoring peace between the papacy and the Byzantine Emperor Justin I. He also set the rules for the Alexandrian calendar computation of the date of Easter, which was eventually accepted throughout the West.

1415 Hundred Years War: King Henry V of England army landed on mouth of the Seine River, and organized the siege of the town of Harfleur (now part of Le Havre).

1422 William Caxton, first English printer, was born. 1

Francis I of France

516 The Treaty of Noyon between France and Spain was signed. Francis I of France recognized Charles's claim to Naples, and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor recognized Francis' claim to Milan.

History Trivia - The Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte signed

July 11

472 after being besieged in Rome by his own generals, Western Roman Emperor Anthemius was captured in the Old St. Peter's Basilica and put to death.

 911 The Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between Charles the Simple of France and Rollo leader of the Vikings was signed. The treaty protected Charles kingdom from further invasion and created the duchy of Normandy; the Vikings became known as Normans. Also Rollo agreed to be baptized and to marry the illegitimate daughter of Charles, thus becoming the king's vassal.

1346 Charles IV of Luxembourg was elected Holy Roman Emperor in Germany.

1533 Pope Clement VII excommunicated England's King Henry VIII.

History Trivia - Swedish Vikings attack Constantinople

June 18

 860 Swedish Vikings attacked Constantinople.

1053 Pope Leo IX was taken prisoner by the Normans.

1155 German King Frederick Barbarossa was crowned Holy Roman Emperor.

1178 Proposed time of origin of the lunar crater Giordano Bruno - five Canterbury monks reported an explosion on  the moon (only known observation).

1264 The Parliament of Ireland met at Castledermot in County Kildare, the first definitively known meeting of this Irish legislature.