Henry's Medieval Mix - Part 2 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Roger Bacon

Although he is well respected today, Roger Bacon did speak of some odd inventions. He believed that in time, ships would be moved without rowers and carriages would be propelled without animals to draw them. It is also said that he experimented with some sort of powder that would burst into flames when lit!

Answer: Good Queen Maude

Good Queen Maude, the daughter of Malcolm Greathead, King of Scotland, was married to Henry I, son of Matilda of Flanders and William the Conqueror. She was known for her devotion to religion; it is said that she went to church barefoot during Lent and washed the feet of the sick. Also a champion of the poor, she founded two leper hospitals.

Answer: Robert the Bruce

It is well-known that Robert the Bruce was inspired by the persistence of a spider, and that he led Scottish forces to victory at the Battle of Bannockburn, but he narrowly missed an assassination attempt right before that battle! An English knight named Henry de Bohun tried to strike him down with a spear.

A quick swipe of his battle ax saved Robert's life, and his army went on to win the battle, even though outnumbered three to one.

Answer: Red Beard

Frederick Barbarossa was the leader of a great Crusade, but he died while crossing a river before even reaching the Holy Land. My lord, the Earl of Warwick, has told me this story before, stressing the need for patience. Frederick did not want to wait for a bridge to clear, so he plunged his horse in the water. Unfortunately he was wearing heavy armour, and when swept away by the current, he drowned.

There is a long-standing German legend that Frederick did not die; some say that he is simply sleeping in a secret cave in Germany, guarded by his brave knights. Someday he will awaken and restore Germany to its ancient greatness. Until the disastrous outcome of "Operation Barbarossa" (the invasion of the Soviet Union by Germany in World War II) he was a favorite figure among German nationalists and a massive, showy monument was erected to him (and Kaiser William I) in Thuringia in 1890-1896 (the Kyffhäuserdenkmal).

Answer: Battle of Roncevaux Pass

My lord, the Earl of Warwick, has told us this story many times! Charlemagne's army was in Spain fighting against the Muslim Saracens. Their king, Marsilla, offered a peace treaty, saying that he would give treasure and convert to Christianity if Charlemagne would take his army back to France. Tired of fighting, Charlemange accepted the terms. Working their way through the Pyrenees Mountains, the Frankish army was indeed vulnerable.

A traitor told the Saracens where to ambush the rearguard, which was led by Roland.

He was to blow the horn, Olifant, three times if his army was ambushed (as feared). However, Roland waited too long to signal for help. When Charlemagne reached the battlefield, he found all of the rearguard, including Roland, dead.

Answer: Spain

Eleanor was the daughter of King Fernando III of Castile, which was a kingdom in Spain, and was married to Edward I of England. Succeeding her mother, she was also Countess of Ponthieu in France, which she ruled with her husband. She was known in England as a fine businesswoman; one of her chroniclers says she was "a Spaniard, by birth, who acquired many fine manors." Today we can see her Eleanor Crosses, a series of twelves crosses erected by her husband in her honor as her body was taken from Harby, where she died, to London for burial.

Answer: Venerable Bede

It was the Venerable Bede (672 or 673 till 735), a Benedictine monk, who left us much of the knowledge of early English history that we can learn today. He wrote "The Ecclesiastical History of the English People" and a book about science called "De Natura Rerum". We have traveled to Durham Cathedral, where his remains were taken, to pay our respects to this great scholar.

Factoid: Bede was among the first to number years using the A.D. system rather than by the regnal years of the kingdoms under discussion, though he sometimes used both datings. To avoid misunderstanding, it should be stressed that Bede did *not* invent the A.D. system, which had been in existence since c. 500, but previously not widely used.

Answer: Provence

Wow, there are sure a lot of queens named Eleanor, aren't there? It's difficult sometimes to keep them all straight! Eleanor, from Provence in France, did not meet her husband until the day they were married, but she was a faithful wife and staunch supporter.

Her unpopularity came from the fact that many members of her family came to England with her, and many believed she had way too much influence on the king. One time, as she was sailing down the Thames, she was attacked by some Londoners, who threw rotten food, mud, and stones at her.

Answer: China

When Marco Polo was just seventeen years old, he traveled to China with his father and uncle to the court of the great Kublai Khan. The journey took three years! Marco stayed in China for quite some time, working as an envoy for the king. He was even entrusted with the escorting of the Khan's daughter, Princess Cocachin, to Persia, where she was to marry the king. Marco Polo wrote a book about his travels. I hope one day to read it!

Answer: Jerusalem

A Templar knight during the First Crusade, it is said that Godfrey of Bouillon did not wish to be king, saying "that he would never wear a crown of gold in the city where his Lord and Master had worn a crown of thorns". Sadly, he was killed by a arrow while fighting at Acre just a year after taking Jerusalem.