European History Mix Trivia Quiz

Answer: Gregory I

Gregory I the Great (lived c. 540-604) did not have any desire to become Pope. However, in this book he asserted the primacy of the papacy and stressed the importance of strict hierarchy in the Church. In the English-speaking countries he is well known for a remark attributed to him by Bede.

When he saw fair-haired slaves for sale in Rome he asked where they came from, and on being informed that they were Angles, he replied: 'They are not Angles, but angels' ('Non Angli, sed angeli sunt'). He sent St. Augustine to Canterbury to convert the Kingdom of Kent.

Answer: Romans

This devastating defeat for the Romans is often said to have set in train the events which culminated in the collapse of the Western Empire in 476 CE. The Eastern (Byzantine) Empire lasted for another 1,000 years.

Answer: St. Thomas Aquinas

Thomas of Aquino (Thomas Aquinas) lived between 1225-1274 CE. He was born into an affluent family, but left it to become a monk. The "Summa Theologica" is the most comprehensive medieval summary of theology. He was made a Doctor of the Church and is often referred to as the Angelic Doctor.

Answer: Sir Thomas More

"Utopia" translates as "nowhere" in Greek. In 1535 he was beheaded for refusing to accept the Act of Supremacy (1534) which made Henry VIII head of the Church of England. He was canonized in 1935 for his loyalty to the papacy at the time of the English Reformation.

Answer: Halloween 1517

Although this has been widely distributed as fact, some historians think it may have been a legend that he actually nailed them to door. Some think this was a form of dramatization or exaggeration intended to help spread the news.

Answer: Helping King Henry VIII attempt to receive an annulment from his first marriage

Henry VIII was trying to free himself of his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, so that he could marry Anne Boleyn and produce a male heir. When Wolsey failed in this, Henry simply broke away from the Roman Catholic church.

Answer: Portuguese

He was a Portuguese prince (1394-1460) who spent a great deal of his own money in order to finance voyages of exploration and discovery, especially on the western coast of Africa.

Answer: Edict of Nantes

This edict was issued in 1598 King Henry IV of France. However, it was revoked in 1685 by Louis XIV and many French Huguenots fled abroad..

Answer: Great Britain

It was preceded by (and to some extent ran parallel to) the Agricultural Revolution that took place in Britain from about 1760 onwards. Improvements in agricultural productivity freed labour for the new factories.

Answer: Robespierre

The Terror lasted from 1793-1794. Those who were suspected to be counter-revolutionaries were tried and killed. Ultimately, Robespierre himself was tried and executed, and the Reign of Terror ended.