Charles, Charles, or Charles Trivia Quiz

Answer: Charles Aznavour

Charles Aznavour's parents were Armenian immigrants to France, his mother escaping the genocide in Turkey. He received Armenian citizenship in 2008, served as permanent Armenian delegate to UNESCO, and founded a charity called Aznavour for Armenia which helped the country following the 1988 Armenian earthquake. De Gaulle's family came from a long line of gentry from Normandy and Burgundy - very French. Charles Martel's father was the Frankish Mayor of the Palace.

His heritage is less clear, though given the transportation options available in the 8th century it's unlikely any of his closest relatives were Armenian.

Answer: Charles Aznavour

While he never did battle with Germans, Charles Aznavour and his family hid a number of people sought by the Nazis during WW II including Jews and Armenians, and he was involved in rescue activities that led to him receiving the Raoul Wallenberg Award. De Gaulle of course led the Free French resistance to Nazi occupation of France, and Charles Martel fought battles with Germanic tribes across what is now Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia.

Answer: Charles Martel

Begun in the 7th century by Muhammad, Muslim military conquests extended from the Arabian peninsula, across the Middle East and North Africa, and into the Iberian peninsula. The battle of Tours in 732 saw a force led by Charles Martel defeat an army of the Umayyad Caliphate, led by Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi.

Many historians pointed to this as a key turning point, stopping the advance of Islam into Europe, although more recent historians seem to think that is overstated. In any event it did begin to establish the Frankish empire as the predominant power in Western Europe.

Answer: All three died in France

De Gaulle died in his home at Colombey-les-Deux-Églises in Northeastern France in 1970, Aznavour died in Mouriès in southern France in 2018, and Charles Martel died in Quierzy in Northern France in 741.

Answer: Charles Martel

Martel means "hammer" in Old French, and Charles Martel got that nickname because of his many military victories, most notably at the Battle of Tours. Aznavour had several nicknames including "France's Frank Sinatra" and "le petit Charles". But de Gaulle had the best nickname of all - "la grande asperge" - or the tall asparagus, because of his height, tall forehead, and prominent nose.

Answer: Charles de Gaulle

From his experience facing artillery in WWI, de Gaulle wrote this book in 1934 proposing the mechanization of the infantry, with an emphasis on the tank in warfare. This did not make him popular with his superiors in the army, but it was certainly prescient. There were reports that more of the books were sold in Germany than in France, but that is more legend than fact.

Answer: Charles Martel

The Legion of Honor is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. It was established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte. Charles de Gaulle received it in 1945 and Charles Aznavour in 1989. Since Charles Martel died about 1000 years before Napoleon, he would not have had the opportunity to receive the Legion of Honor.

Answer: Charles Martel

Charles Martel's son Pepin the Short was Charlemagne's father. Charlemagne of course was crowned as the first Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III on Christmas day in the year 800. As of the writing of this quiz, de Gaulle's eldest son Philippe Henri Xavier Antoine de Gaulle is still alive at 102 years old, his two sisters having died. Aznavour had five children from three different marriages.

Answer: Charles de Gaulle

De Gaulle was a passionate French nationalist, opposed to anything that would make France subordinate to other nations or other multinational organizations. He withdrew French forces from the NATO Command Structure, forced the removal of Allied bases from France, and initiated France's own independent nuclear program.

He particularly opposed any overarching European entity, such as the EU. Charles Aznavour had political views, but none that would indicate an opposition to the EU. In fact as a representative in UNESCO he did actively participate in a multinational organization. Charles Martel would probably be supportive of European unity as long as he could have ruled over it all.

Answer: Charles Aznavour

We don't have a lot of information on songs written by Charles Martel, so apologies to him if he did write 1000+ songs. But I kind of doubt it. There are many songs about Charles de Gaulle, or that mention him, but no evidence that he wrote any. One of the more recent songs about him is by Letts called simply Charles de Gaulle. Meanwhile Charles Aznavour is considered one of the greatest song writers of the 20th century, having written or co-written more than 1,000 songs, and having sold over 180 million records. I remember Yesterday When I Was Young as one of his biggest hits (in English),