A French Toast Trivia Quiz

Answer: Marianne

Dating from the time of the French Revolution, Marianne is an allegorical personification of the revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality, fraternity, and reason. One of her earliest portrayals is the Goddess of Liberty ("Liberté") in Eugène Delacroix's famous painting "Liberty Leading the People" (1830). The choice of a female figure as a personification of the French Republic was motivated by a wish to break with the old monarchy (which only allowed kings to rule the country), and also by the simple fact that, in the French language, the words for France, republic, liberty, and reason are all feminine. The name "Marianne" was likely chosen because it combined the two women's names that were most common in France at the time - Marie and Anne.

As in Delacroix's painting, Marianne is often depicted wearing a Phrygian cap, one of the symbols of the French Revolution. As a personification of the Republic and republican ideals, in the past she was often contrasted with Joan of Arc, who instead represented the monarchy and the values associated with it (such as religion and militarism). Marianne's profile appears on the official logo of France; she has also been depicted on postage stamps, on French franc and euro coins, and in many statues and sculptures gracing open spaces and public buildings all over the country.

"Liberty Leading the People" is on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris. The painting, created to celebrate the July 1830 Revolution (which ousted King Charles X), is believed to have been the inspiration for the Statue of Liberty.

Answer: Valois

The House of Valois was a cadet branch of the House of Capet, a dynasty of Frankish origin that ruled France between 987 and 1328. The House took its name from its founder, Charles, Count of Valois, the fourth son of King Philip III of France; the Valois was a region in the northern part of the country. When the last Capetian king, Charles IV, died in 1328 without male heirs, there were three plausible candidates for the throne - one of whom was Edward III of England, whose mother, the notorious Isabella of France, was a sister of Charles IV. Edward's claim led directly to the Hundred Years' War between France and England, which ravaged large areas of France for over a century. In 1429, Charles VII of Valois was crowned King of France, thanks to Joan of Arc's support. The war eventually ended in 1453, with the expulsion of the English from France with the exception of Calais.

The Valois kings who ruled after Charles VII (including Henry II, who was Mary, Queen of Scots' father-in-law) became embroiled in various conflicts - first the Italian Wars, then the bloody French Wars of Religion, which marked the final phase of the House's rule. The male line died out completely when Henry III was assassinated in 1589, leaving no issue. He was succeeded by Henry III of Navarre, head of the House of Bourbon (another cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty), and spouse of Margaret of France, Henry III's sister, who became King of France as Henry IV.

The photo shows the coat of arms of the House of Valois, depicting three "fleur-de-lis" - the floral symbol associated with the French monarchy since the crowning of Frankish king Clovis I in the late 5th century. The three wrong answers are also European royal houses, though none of them ruled France.

Answer: Reims

Located in the department of Marne, 129 km (80 mi) northeast of Paris, Reims was founded by the Belgic Remi tribe around 80 BC, then became a Roman city with the name of Durocortum. The name "Reims" derives from "Remos", the accusative form of "Remi". The city's towering Gothic cathedral, dedicated to Our Lady of Reims, was built on the site of the Merovingian church where Clovis I, King of the Franks (see Q. 2) was baptized in 496 AD by Bishop Remigius. Construction of the present cathedral, built in the High Gothic style, started in 1211, and was completed in the mid-14th century. For centuries, French monarchs were anointed (consecrated) and crowned in Reims Cathedral by the city's archbishop; the last king to be anointed there was Charles X in 1825. The cathedral, the Romanesque Basilica and former Abbey of Saint-Remi, and the 17th-century Palace of Tau (next to the cathedral in the photo) were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991.

Besides its rich cultural heritage, Reims's other claim to fame is the production and export of champagne. The city lies on the northern edge of the Champagne region, which has been an important wine-producing area since the early Middle Ages owing to its unique environment (called "terroir" in French). Many of the major Champagne houses - such as Piper Heidsieck, Pommery, Taittinger, and Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin - are headquartered in Reims; the prized sparkling wine ages in the caves and tunnels carved in the chalky soil beneath the city.

Bordeaux and Dijon are located south of Paris, while Strasbourg lies directly east of the capital, close to the German border.

Answer: Paul Cézanne

Born in 1839 in Aix-en-Provence (where he also died in 1906), Paul Cézanne was one of the most influential painters of the late 19th century, seamlessly bridging the gap between Impressionism and the artistic trends of the early 20th century. Though his work was not always favourably received in his lifetime, his highly individual use of colour and geometric forms, as well as his signature small, repetitive brushstrokes, paved the way for the development of movements such as Fauvism and Cubism.

Throughout his career, Cézanne concentrated on a few subjects, such as portraits, studies of bathers, and his iconic still lifes and landscapes. Many of the latter depict various parts of Provence, where Cézanne lived on and off most of his life. The painting in the photo, part of the collection of the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, is part of a series inspired by Mont Sainte-Victoire, a limestone ridge overlooking Aix-en-Provence, which Cézanne could view from his studio windows. These paintings, created during the artist's final years, were probably influenced by Japanese "ukiyo-e" prints, especially Hokusai's views of Mount Fuji.

Like Cézanne, Seurat and Rousseau were also Post-Impressionist painters, while Courbet was the leader of the Realist movement in the mid-19th century.

Answer: Breton

Breton ("brezhoneg") belongs to the Brittonic, or British Celtic, branch of the Celtic language family. Besides Breton and Welsh, the Brittonic branch includes Cornish, as well as the extinct Cumbric and Pictish languages of Scotland; the other extant Celtic languages - Irish, Manx and Scottish Gaelic - belong to the Goidelic branch. Breton was brought to Brittany (at the time called Armorica) from Great Britain in the Early Middle Ages. Until the 12th century, Breton was spoken by the upper classes, then lost status in favour of French and Latin, and became the language of commoners and peasants. Unfortunately, like all minority languages spoken in France, Breton has no official status, as regional languages have long been seen as a threat to national unity.

Breton is the only Celtic language still used in continental Europe, and also the only one of the surviving Celtic languages that is not recognized as an official or regional language. At the time of writing, it has about 200,000 native speakers (most of whom are over 60 years old) - a sharp decline from the about 1 million speakers of the mid-20th century, which has led UNESCO and other organizations to classify Breton as severely endangered. There have been attempts to revive the language, such as offering instruction in Breton to school-age children, and installing bilingual signage, as shown in the photo.

The three wrong answers are also regional languages spoken in various parts of France. Basque has no known relatives, while Alsatian is a German dialect, and Occitan a Romance language.

Answer: macarons

In spite of the similarity in their names, French macarons are quite different from American-style macaroons, which contain shredded coconut, and are soft and dense rather than light and airy. Macarons are two-tiered cookies made of almond flour, sugar and egg whites, usually tinted in delicate pastel colours, as shown in the photo. The basic mixture can be flavoured in a variety of ways - coffee, chocolate, vanilla, and raspberry being especially popular flavourings. Ganache (a chocolate and cream icing), buttercream or jam are used to sandwich the two halves of this delectable confection.

Though macarons are considered quintessentially French sweets, they are believed to be of Italian origin, introduced to France in the 16th century by a chef of Catherine de' Medici, Queen consort of Henry II of Valois. However, at the time they were served as single cookies: the modern "Paris macaron", consisting of two meringue layers sandwiched with jam or a creamy filling, was not created until the early 20th century. The French company Ladurée, founded in Paris in 1862, is one of the best-known manufacturers of macarons, which are sold all over the world. Various local versions of macarons are manufactured in other parts of the world, especially in Japan, South Korea, and the US.

Interestingly, the words "macaron" and "macaroon" are related to "macaroni" (the pasta): all three words derive from the Greek "makaria" ("blessed"). The three wrong answers are all well-known French pastries: however, beignets and éclairs are made of choux pastry, while croissants are flaky, yeast-leavened pastries.

Answer: Charles Perrault

Born in Paris in 1628, Charles Perrault is considered one of the founders of the literary fairy tale, a genre that became very fashionable in France in the 17th and 18th centuries. Most of Perrault's stories were based on traditional European folk tales, though expanded and adapted to the taste of his aristocratic contemporaries. Perrault wrote his most famous work, titled "Histoires ou Contes du Temps passé" ("Tales and Stories of the Past"), but mostly known by its subtitle of "Les Contes de Ma Mère l'Oye" ("Tales of Mother Goose"), when he was already well in his sixties. The book was published in 1697: the photo shows the title page of the original 1695 manuscript. Today Perrault (who died in 1703) is remembered mainly for this work, which has provided artists, composers, filmmakers, and other writers with an endless source of inspiration.

The first edition of Perrault's tales includes the best-known versions of "Sleeping Beauty" ("La Belle au bois dormant"), "Cinderella" ("Cendrillon"), and "Bluebeard" ("Barbe Bleue"). In spite of the title, the stories in Perrault's collection were not truly meant for children, but rather for the sophisticated attendees of Parisian literary salons. One of the distinguishing features of these tales, besides their elaborate style and references to contemporary society, is the addition of a moral at the end, with overt Christian elements.

The three authors listed as incorrect answers all lived in the 19th century. Dumas and Verne are known as novelists, while Rimbaud was one of the major Symbolist poets.

Answer: horse

Although its origin is still debated, the Camargue horse is believed to be one of the world's oldest breeds. These equines are characterized by their pale grey coat (white hairs overlaying black skin), large head, and small size (135-150 cm/53-59 in at the withers); however, their compact, muscular bodies are quite strong, and can easily carry adult people. In fact, these semi-feral horses that roam the rugged, marshy territory of the Camargue are traditionally used as mounts by the "gardians", the cattle herdsmen that lead the "manades", herds of black Camargue cattle used in the "course camarguaise", a kind of bloodless bullfighting. The Provençal dialect uses specific terms to refer to these horses and their breeding: for example, a Camargue stallion is called "grignoun", and a wild horse "rosso".

In order to preserve the purity of this ancient breed, in the 1970s, the French government started registering breeders of Camargue horses, and set up a stud book. In the same decade, the Camargue horse was introduced to the Po Delta in northeastern Italy, a region with similar characteristics to the Camargue, where it is called "Cavallo del Delta" ("Delta horse"), and considered a local race. Because of their sturdy conformation, agility, and calm temperament, Camargue horses are also used for long-distance riding and equestrian games.

Answer: Guerlain

The Guerlain perfume house was founded in 1828 by Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain, a perfumer who opened a store in Rue de Rivoli, in the heart of Paris. He was helped by his two sons, Aimé and Gabriel, in composing original fragrances that became very popular with the Parisian high society. This successful outcome allowed Guerlain to open a larger store in the fashionable Rue de la Paix. Among Guerlain's earliest creations there was "Eau de Cologne Impériale", created for Emperor Napoleon III and his wife, Empress Eugénie. The first modern perfume, which employed synthetic ingredients as well as natural extracts, was "Jicky", created by Aimé Guerlain in 1889, and still produced today.

"Mitsouko" (1919) and "Shalimar" (1925) were both created by Jacques Guerlain, one of the sons of Gabriel Guerlain. Both of these iconic fragrances were extremely popular in the 1920s. "Shalimar", whose name was inspired by the gardens built by Shah Jahan in Lahore for his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal (of Taj Mahal fame), eventually became the house's flagship fragrance; its bottle, also inspired by Eastern art, was manufactured by Baccarat Crystal. "Samsara" (a Sanskrit word for the cycle of reincarnation and rebirth) was launched in 1989, a few years before the Guerlain family sold the company to LMVH, a multinational corporation specializing in luxury goods. Guerlain's flagship store is now located on the prestigious Avenue des Champs-Elysées; the brand also produces high-end cosmetics and skincare that are marketed internationally. Since its foundation, the house has created over 600 fragrances, many of them still regularly produced today.

Of the three wrong answers, Floris is a British perfume house, not a French one. Givenchy and Chanel, though they also produce perfumes and cosmetics, are primarily fashion houses.

Answer: Juliette Binoche

Born in Paris in 1964, Juliette Binoche has starred in many successful films, both in France and on the international scene. She made her debut in 1983, and in 1988 had her first English-language role as one of the main characters of "The Unbearable Lightness of Being", which launched her international career. In the 1990s, Binoche starred in a number of high-profile movies, such as "Les amants du Pont-Neuf" (1991), "Damage" (1992), "Three Colours: Blue" (1993) - which earned her the Best Actress Prize at the Venice Film Festival - and "The English Patient" (1996), in which she played French-Canadian nurse Hana. Four years after winning the Best Supporting Actress award, Binoche was nominated for Best Actress for her performance in Lasse Hallström worldwide hit "Chocolat" (2000), though she lost to Julia Roberts; the photo is a reference to this delightful movie. In 2010, she also won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Festival for her role in Abbas Kiarostami's movie "Certified Copy", a French-majority production filmed in French, English, and Italian.

Between 1995 and 2000, Binoche was also featured in the advertising campaign for the perfume "Poème", created by famed French house Lancôme; the TV advert for the perfume was directed by Anthony Minghella, the director of "The English Patient", who sadly passed away in 2008. Her daughter, born in 1999, was given the name Hana, after Binoche's Academy Award-winning role.

The three French actresses listed as wrong answers have all starred in English-language films as well as French ones.