History Trivia - Martin Luther burns copy of the papal bull Exsurge Domine

December 10,

1520 Martin Luther burned his copy of the papal bull Exsurge Domine outside Wittenberg's Elster Gate.  

The Tudors

1541 Thomas Culpepper and Francis Dereham were executed for having affairs with Catherine Howard, Queen of England and fifth wife of Henry VIII. Culpepper was beheaded and Dereham was hanged, drawn, and quartered, and their heads were placed on top of London Bridge. Catherine remained imprisoned in Syon Abbey until Parliament passed a bill of attainder on 7 February 1542. The bill made it treason, and punishable by death, for a queen consort to fail to disclose her sexual history to the king within twenty days of their marriage, or to incite someone to commit adultery with her. This solved the matter of Catherine's supposed precontract and made her unequivocally guilty. She was subsequently taken to the Tower on 10 February and was executed on February 13th.

History Trivia - Greek king Odysseus' returns home

April 16

1178 BC The calculated date of the Greek king Odysseus' return home from the Trojan War.

1071 Bari, (coastal region off the Adriatic Sea) fell to Norman Robert Guiscard, ending five centuries of Byzantine rule in southern Italy.

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.

History Trivia - Henry III of England marries Eleonora of Provence

January 14,

1131 King Valdemar I of Denmark was born. In addition to winning independence from the Holy Roman Empire, he also gained the approval of the church for the dynastic rule of his family, the Valdemars.

1236 Henry III of England married Eleonora of Provence.

1501 Martin Luther (age 17) entered the University of Erfurt (founded in 1379, it was the first university in modern day Germany, and for some time was the largest university in the country).

History Trivia - Leonardo da Vinci unsuccessfully tests a flying machine.

January 3

1098 Walkelin, first Norman bishop of Winchester, died. 

 1431 Joan of Arc was handed over to Bishop Pierre Cauchon. Legal proceedings began on 9 January 1431 at Rouen, the seat of the English occupation government where Joan was found guilty of heresy, and was burned at the stake on May 30.

1496 Leonardo da Vinci unsuccessfully tested a flying machine.

1521  Pope Leo X excommunicated Martin Luther, German theologian and Protestant reformer for heresy, in the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem.

History Trivia - Martin Luther burns his copy of the papal bull Exsurge Domine

December 10

 1520 Martin Luther burned his copy of the papal bull Exsurge Domine outside Wittenberg's Elster Gate. 

1541 Thomas Culpeper and Francis Dereham were executed for having affairs with Catherine Howard, Queen of England and fifth wife of Henry VIII. Culpeper was beheaded and Dereham was hanged, drawn, and quartered, and their heads were placed on top of London Bridge. Catherine remained imprisoned in Syon Abbey until Parliament passed a bill of attainder on 7 February 1542. The bill made it treason, and punishable by death, for a queen consort to fail to disclose her sexual history to the king within twenty days of their marriage, or to incite someone to commit adultery with her. This solved the matter of Catherine's supposed precontract and made her unequivocally guilty. She was subsequently taken to the Tower on 10 February and was executed on February 13th.

History Trivia - Romulus Augustulus proclaimed Western Roman Emperor

October 31

 834 1st All Hallows Eve (Halloween) observed to honor the saints.

475 Romulus Augustulus was proclaimed Western Roman Emperor. His deposition by Odoacer in 476 traditionally marks the end of the Western Roman Empire, the fall of ancient Rome, and the beginning of the Middle Ages in Western Europe.

1517 Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther published his 95 theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, sparking the Protestant Reformation.  

1541 Michelangelo Buonarroti finishes painting The Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican

History Trivia - Henry VIII of England named Defender of the Faith

October 21,

1096 The People's Crusade (part of the First Crusade also known as the Peasants' Crusade or the Paupers' Crusade), led by Peter the Hermit, was slaughtered by Seljuk Turks at the Battle of Civetot. 

1422 When Henry VI was eight months old he succeeded to the English throne, and shortly afterwards, by the death in 1422 of his maternal grandfather, Charles VI, he became titular king of France.

 1449 George, Duke of Clarence, brother of Edward IV and Richard III was born.

1529 The Pope named Henry VIII of England Defender of the Faith after he defended the seven sacraments against Luther.

History Trivia - Odysseus returns home from the Trojan War.

April 16

 1178 BC The calculated date of the Greek king Odysseus' return home from the Trojan War. 

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.

History Trivia - Goths lay siege to Rome

March 11

 

222  Emperor Elagabalus was assassinated, along with his mother, Julia Soaemias, by the Praetorian Guard during a revolt. Their mutilated bodies were dragged through the streets of Rome before thrown into the Tiber.

537 Goths laid siege to Rome.

1302 Romeo & Juliet's wedding day, according to Shakespeare.

1513 Giovanni de'Medici (Pope Leo X) was elected to the papacy. During his pontificate, he raised the papacy to significant political power and excommunicated Martin Luther. 

1669 Mount Etna (Sicily) erupted. 990,000,000 cubic yards of lava were thrown out over four months, destroying a dozen villages. Ashes formed a double cone more than 150 ft high, now called Monti Rossi.

History Trivia- Henry Tudor (Henry VIII) was created Prince of Wales.

February 18

 1229 The Sixth Crusade: Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor signed a ten-year truce with al-Kamil, regaining Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem with neither military engagements nor support from the papacy.

1478 George, Duke of Clarence, convicted of treason against his older brother Edward IV of England, was executed.

1503 Henry Tudor (Henry VIII) was created Prince of Wales.

1516 Mary Tudor, daughter of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, was born.

1546 Martin Luther died.

1564 Michelangelo Buonarrotti died.

History Trivia - Leonardo da Vinci unsuccessfully tests a flying machine.

January 3

106 BC Marcus Tullius Cicero was born.

1098 Walkelin, first Norman bishop of Winchester, died. 

1431 Joan of Arc was handed over to Bishop Pierre Cauchon. Legal proceedings began on 9 January 1431 at Rouen, the seat of the English occupation government where Joan was found guilty of heresy, and was burned at the stake on May 30.

1496 Leonardo da Vinci unsuccessfully tested a flying machine.

1521  Pope Leo X excommunicated Martin Luther, German theologian and Protestant reformer for heresy, in the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem.