March 12,538 – Witiges, king of the Ostrogoths ended his siege of Rome and retreated to Ravenna, leaving the city in the hands of the victorious Roman general, Belisarius. 604 Pope Gregory I died. Saint Gregory was the foremost influence in shaping the medieval papacy, drawing on Augustine's City of God for his theological foundation. Strongly involved with monasticism, Gregory also reformed the mass, which enabled the development of Gregorian Chant. 1088 Pope Urban II elected.
Urban continued the ecclesiastical reforms begun by his predecessor Gregory VII and strengthened the papacy as a political entity. He is perhaps best known for beginning the Crusade movement.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
History Trivia
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. 1387 Battle of Castagnaro: English condottiero Sir John Hawkwood leads Padova to victory in a factional clash with Verona. 1513 Giovanni de'Medici elected to the papacy
Upon the death of Julius II in February, the Sacred College of Cardinals wanted a peace-loving successor to the warlike pope. They chose Cardinal Giovanni de'Medici, son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, who became Pope Leo X. Leo had led a distinguished career as a cardinal; as pope he made Rome a center of European culture (depleting the treasury in the process), raised the papacy to significant political power, and excommunicated Martin Luther. 1544 Torquado Tasso was born. One of the greatest Italian poets of the Renaissance, Tasso is best known for his Gerusalemme liberata (Jerusalem liberated), an epic poem about the capture of Jerusalem during the First Crusade. 1669 Mount Etna erupted. The volcano in Sicily has been active for 2.5 million years, but this was the most violent eruption ever recorded in history. During the next four months about 990,000,000 cubic yards of lava were thrown out, destroying a dozen villages. Ashes formed a double cone more than 150 ft high, now called Monti Rossi. Workers dug a trench above the village of Catania in what may be the first attempt ever to divert a lava stream.
Upon the death of Julius II in February, the Sacred College of Cardinals wanted a peace-loving successor to the warlike pope. They chose Cardinal Giovanni de'Medici, son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, who became Pope Leo X. Leo had led a distinguished career as a cardinal; as pope he made Rome a center of European culture (depleting the treasury in the process), raised the papacy to significant political power, and excommunicated Martin Luther. 1544 Torquado Tasso was born. One of the greatest Italian poets of the Renaissance, Tasso is best known for his Gerusalemme liberata (Jerusalem liberated), an epic poem about the capture of Jerusalem during the First Crusade. 1669 Mount Etna erupted. The volcano in Sicily has been active for 2.5 million years, but this was the most violent eruption ever recorded in history. During the next four months about 990,000,000 cubic yards of lava were thrown out, destroying a dozen villages. Ashes formed a double cone more than 150 ft high, now called Monti Rossi. Workers dug a trench above the village of Catania in what may be the first attempt ever to divert a lava stream.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
History Trivia
March 10, 241 BC A crushing Roman naval victory over the Carthaginians in the Battle of Aegusa ended the First Punic War. 1173 Richard of St. Victor died.A theologian, philosopher and monk at the Abbey of St. Victor, Richard profoundly influenced
medieval and modern mysticism with his writings and teachings, which made the school of St. Victor renowned through Europe in the 12th century. 1302 Dante Alighieri was condemned to death.1452 Ferdinand II of Aragon was born. The marriage of Ferdinand to Isabella of Castile eventually resulted in a united Spain. During their reign the monarchs completed the reconquest of Muslim Spain by taking back Granada, sponsored the expeditions of Columbus, expelled the Jews from the kingdom and established the Spanish Inquisition to enforce religious uniformity. 1586 Saint Margaret Clitherow was arrested.Raised in Protestant England, Margaret converted to Roman Catholicism and was repeatedly fined for refusing to attend the Anglican Church. She allowed secret masses to be held in her home and hid Roman Catholic missionary priests. She was imprisoned and released on several occasions, until during a raid on her home she was seized and, according to a recent law, sentenced to death for aiding Jesuits. She was executed on March 25, 1586. 1629 Charles I began 11 years of personal rule - the 'Eleven Years Tyranny' - by dissolving parliament.
medieval and modern mysticism with his writings and teachings, which made the school of St. Victor renowned through Europe in the 12th century. 1302 Dante Alighieri was condemned to death.1452 Ferdinand II of Aragon was born. The marriage of Ferdinand to Isabella of Castile eventually resulted in a united Spain. During their reign the monarchs completed the reconquest of Muslim Spain by taking back Granada, sponsored the expeditions of Columbus, expelled the Jews from the kingdom and established the Spanish Inquisition to enforce religious uniformity. 1586 Saint Margaret Clitherow was arrested.Raised in Protestant England, Margaret converted to Roman Catholicism and was repeatedly fined for refusing to attend the Anglican Church. She allowed secret masses to be held in her home and hid Roman Catholic missionary priests. She was imprisoned and released on several occasions, until during a raid on her home she was seized and, according to a recent law, sentenced to death for aiding Jesuits. She was executed on March 25, 1586. 1629 Charles I began 11 years of personal rule - the 'Eleven Years Tyranny' - by dissolving parliament.
History Trivia
March 9 1074 Reforming Pope Gregory VII excommunicated all married Roman Catholic priests. 1440 Saint Frances of Rome died.Although she early felt the call to a spiritual life, Frances obeyed her family and married Lorenzo de' Ponziani. When the Ponzianis lost their fortune due to the Great Schism of the Western church, she founded the Oblates of Mary.1444 Leonardo Bruni died.Humanist scholar and secretary to the papal chancery, Bruni wrote the first history of Florence based on a critical examination of source materials, translated Greek classics into Latin, and wrote Italian-language biographies of Dante, Boccaccio, and Petrarch. 1566 David Riccio was murdered.Riccio (or Rizzio) was secretary and advisor to Mary, Queen of Scots, and arranged her marriage to Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley. After Mary became pregnant with her only son (who would be the future James I of England), Darnley grew increasingly unstable and, manipulated by Scottish lords who sought the eventual deposition of Mary, became jealous of Riccio's relationship with his wife.
While Darnley was present and did nothing to stop them, armed men dragged Riccio from Mary in her supper room in Holyroodhouse and stabbed him to death.
While Darnley was present and did nothing to stop them, armed men dragged Riccio from Mary in her supper room in Holyroodhouse and stabbed him to death.
History Trivia
March 8,1126 Alfonso VII was proclaimed king of Castile and León, after the death of his mother Urraca. 1144 Pope Celestine III died.Celestine studied under Abelard but was unable to accomplish very much in his six-month pontificate.1495: Saint John of God was born. A shepherd and a soldier, John was so moved by the sermons of John of Avila that he decided to devote himself to the care of the poor and the sick. He was named by Pope Leo XIII as patron of hospitals and the dying. 1702 Anne Stuart, sister of Mary II, becomes Queen regnant of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
History Trivia
March 7,161 the emperor Antoninus Pius died peacefully of fever after a peaceful and prosperous reign. A rare occurrence for an emperor of Rome. He was succeeded by his adopted sons Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. 238 Roman subjects in Africa revolted against Maximinus Thrax and elected Gordian I as emperor. 321 Emperor Constantine I decreed that the dies Solis Invicti (sun-day) was the day of rest in the Empire. 1111Bohemond I of Tarente died. Bohemond was a leader of the First Crusade and prince of Antioch. 1274 Thomas Aquinas died. 1277 Stephen Tempier, Bishop of Paris, condemned 219 philosophical and theological theses.
History Trivia
March 6,1454 Thirteen Years' War: Delegates of the Prussian Confederation pledged allegiance to King Casimir IV of Poland who agreed to commit his forces in aiding the Confederation's struggle for independence from the Teutonic Knights. 1475 Michelangelo Buonarrotti was born. 1619 Cyrano de Bergerac was born. The real Cyrano was a soldier, duellist, dramatist and satirist, and inspired several romantic legends, the most famous of them Edmund Rostand's play. While the fictional and factual Cyrano share some traits, including a large nose, much of the legend is pure speculation.
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