Monarchical Nicknames in England and Britain Quiz

Answer:

Alfred the Great (871 to 899) was the first Saxon king to receive a nickname. He was the son of Aethelwulf, who was the second Saxon king who ruled from 839 to 858. King Alfred was well-educated and well-traveled. There is a record of him traveling to Rome on at least two occasions. He fought, and won, in battles against Viking armies. This helped him to establish Christianity over much of England. Alfred the Great established England's first permanent army, the Royal Navy, and "The Anglo Saxon Chronicles", a series of manuscripts written in Old English that detail the history of the Anglo-Saxons.

When Alfred the Great died in 899, his son Edward the Elder succeeded to the throne and ruled until his own death in 924. According to the "Anglo Saxon Chronicles", he re-gained control of southeast England and the Midlands after removing the Vikings from that area. He was also able to unite the kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia. The "Anglo Saxon Chronicle" states that King Constantine II of Scotland recognized Edward as "father and lord". This may explain his nickname of "The Elder". Edward the Elder was killed in a battle against the Welsh in 924. His body was returned to Winchester for his funeral and burial.

Edward the Martyr was crowned king at the age of 12. This occurred because his father, King Edgar (959 to 975) had passed away. Edgar had three relationships that had resulted in four children. Edward was his oldest son and was rightful heir to the throne when Edgar passed away. This was contested by his younger half-brother Aethelred and a stepmother. This rivalry led to civil unrest, and an eventual civil war. Edward the Martyr was murdered by supporters of his half-brother when he was only 16 years of age in 978. "The Martyr" nickname was given to him because his early death was seen to be a direct result of his stepmother's ambitions for her own son.

Aethelred II the Unready ruled from 978 to 1016. He was the half-brother of Edward the Martyr who had contested that rule with his mother (Edward's stepmother). He succeeded to the throne when some of his supporters murdered the previous king. Aethelred II was only 10 years old when he became king. He was totally unprepared for the job, so was incapable of resisting a Viking invasion in 1013. Rather than resist the Vikings, he fled to Normandy, thus earning his nickname of "The Unready". Sweyn Forkbeard, King of the Danes had structured the Viking invasion, and was declared king of England in 1013. He died five weeks later, so Aethelred II returned and re-took the throne. He ended up fighting over the throne with Sweyn's son Canute through the end of his reign in 1016.

Edmund II Ironside was the son of Aethelred II. When his father died in 1016, he was chosen king by the people of London. However, the Witan, a council of high ranking nobles and religious leaders, elected the Danish invader Canute to the throne. After fighting over this decision in the Battle of Assandun, Edmund II and Canute agreed to divide the kingdom. Their treaty ceded control of all of England except Wessex to Canute, while Edmund II was given control over Wessex. The treaty also outlined that in the event that one of them would die, the other would reign over all of England. Edmund II died later that year having reigned for less than one year in 1016. Some historians believe that he was likely assassinated. Canute then became king of all of England.

Upon Edmund II's death, Canute the Dane (aka Cnut the Great) ruled all of England from 1016 to 1035. He sent his armies back to Denmark in order to gain favour with the English people. Perhaps in an attempt to ingrain himself as truly English, Canute married former royal Emma of Normandy, the widow of Aethelred II the Unready in 1017. Legend has it that in order to show the English people that he was their king and not a god, he ordered the tide not to come in. He knew that his order would fail, and felt that this would discourage his subjects from worshiping him like a god.

Edward the Confessor ruled England from 1042 to 1066. Edward was the son of Emma and Aethelred the Unready. He succeeded the throne when his half-brother died childless. Edward was very pious and focused on rebuilding Westminster Abbey from the Benedictine monastery that it had been into a place of worship for all. He spent so much time focused on the rebuilding of the Abbey that he did not have time for a wife. The Abbey was completed in 1065, but Edward the Confessor died childless one year later. Edward the Confessor was buried in a shrine behind the High Altar of Westminster Abbey. His remains are still there in the place of honour.

William I the Conqueror is also known as William the Bastard. He ruled England from 1066 to 1087. He was an illegitimate child who had succeeded his biological father to the position of Duke of Normandy in 1035. He went to England upon his second cousin Edward the Confessor's death, claiming that his cousin had promised him the throne. However, Harold II had been elected king by a Witan upon Edward the Confessor's death in 1066. William I the Conqueror defeated Harold II at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 to become king of England. William I the Conqueror died after falling from his horse in a battle near the French city of Nantes.

Richard I the Lionheart ruled England from 1189 to 1199. He always seemed to have a military focus on anything he did. Even though he had been crowned King of England, he spent all but about six months during his entire reign fighting abroad. Richard I the Lionheart was the Christian commander during the third crusade. He was captured on his way back from Palestine and held for ransom. The country paid his ransom, but that almost bankrupted England. Richard I the Lionheart ended up dying of an arrow wound during a fight in Châlus, France. He died childless.

Mary I, or Bloody Mary, was the daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. She ruled England from 1553 to 1558. Mary I succeeded the throne when her sickly half-brother died, likely from tuberculosis. She was a staunch Catholic. Even though her father had broken from the Catholic Church and had initiated Protestantism in England, she attempted to eradicate the religious actions that he had taken. In her attempts to enforce Catholicism, she had high-ranking church officials gathered and burned at the stake. Some historians say that her actions caused England to be plunged into a blood bath, thus her nickname of Bloody Mary.

King George IV was known as the First Gentleman of Europe. He reigned from 1820 to 1830. He had a love of fine art and architecture. Although he was seen on the outside as a gentleman, many suggest that his personal life was a mess. First, he fell in love with and married Mrs. Fitzherbert in 1785. That marriage was carried out in secret because she was Catholic. The marriage was considered invalid because the law at the time prevented Catholics or spouses of Catholics from becoming monarch. In 1795, he married his first cousin Caroline of Brunswick and they had one child, Princess Charlotte. Apparently, though, Mrs. Fitzherbert remained in his life, sending letters which he kept hidden away. It is reported that King George IV had a great wit, but was also seen as something of a buffoon.

King William IV ruled England from 1830 to 1837. He spent ten years in the Royal Navy when he was young, thus becoming known as the Sailor King. He had not expected to become king because his brother, King George IV, had a daughter named Princess Charlotte who was the rightful heir. However, Charlotte died in 1817, and given that he was next in line for the throne, was crowned when his brother died in 1840. At that point, he was the oldest newly-crowned monarch in England's history. He was 64 years old when he became king. Before he was crowned, he lived with an actress named Mrs. Jordan. They had ten children, but all were considered illegitimate because King William IV was not able to marry their previously-married mother. When Princess Charlotte died, he knew that he would have to marry in order to secure succession to the throne. In 1818, he married Adelaide of Saxe-Coburg. They had two children but they did not survive. A significant milestone was achieved in during William IV's reign in 1833 when Britain abolished slavery in the colonies.

Of the remaining options, all are nicknames that have been given to monarchs of countries outside of England and Britain. The Kind-hearted is the nickname of Eric I of Denmark; the Quiet is the nickname of Olaf III of Norway; the Mighty is the nickname of Stephen Uros IV Dusan of Serbia; the Learned is the nickname of Alfonso X of Castile; the Idle is the nickname of Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia; the Fighter is the nickname of Anthony I of Portugal; and the Stammerer is the nickname of Louis II of France.