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.

History Trivia

March 13, 483 Felix III became pope. He repudiated the Henoticon, a deed of union originating with Patriarch Acacius of Constantinople and published by Emperor Zeno with the view of allaying the strife between the Miaphysite Christians and Chalcedonian Christians. This renunciation initiated the Acacian schism between the Eastern and Western Christian Churches that lasted thirty-five years. 607,12th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.

History Trivia

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, and also reformed the mass, which enabled the development of the Gregorian Chant. 1088 Pope Urban II elected. He is perhaps best known for beginning the Crusade movement. 1507 Cesare Borgia was killed while fighting for the Navarrese king in the city of Viana, Spain.

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. 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

March 10, 241 BC A crushing Roman naval victory over the Carthaginians in the Battle of Aegus ended the First Punic War. 49 BC Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon and invaded Italy. 418 Jews were excluded from public office in the Roman Empire. 1452 Ferdinand II of Aragon was born. The marriage of Ferdinand to Isabella of Castile eventually resulted in a united Spain. 1624 England declared war on Spain. 1629 Charles I began the Eleven Years Tyranny when he dissolved parliament.

History Trivia

March 9 1074 Reforming Pope Gregory VII excommunicated all married Roman Catholic priests. 1440 Saint Frances of Rome, founder of the Oblates of Mary, died. 1566 David Riccio, secretary and advisor to Mary, Queen of Scots, was murdered in the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh, Scotland.

History Trivia

March 8,1144 Pope Celestine III, whose pontificate lasted six months, died. 1495 Saint John of God, patron of hospitals and the dying, was born. 1702 Anne Stuart, sister of Mary II, became Queen regnant of England, Scotland, and Ireland.