Rumour Has It... Trivia Quiz

Answer: Edward II

Much of Edward II's reign had been characterised by disputes between the king and his barons, particularly regarding the power accorded to Edward II's favourites. When Edward II's wife Isabella refused to return to England from France in 1326 and instead began to amass an invading force with the assistance of Roger Mortimer and William Count of Hainault, Edward II struggled to gather enough support to establish an effective defensive force. Consequently, when Isabella invaded England in 1326 her forces met with very little resistance and Edward II was forced to flee.

The king was soon captured and, in early 1327, he agreed to abdicate in favour of his young son, the future Edward III. It is the events which followed which have led to centuries of speculation as, for the last months of his life, the now deposed king was held prisoner in Berkeley Castle where he died suddenly in 1327.

His death was officially attributed to natural causes but the timing was suspiciously convenient since Isabella and Mortimer were growing concerned about forces loyal to the former king who were growing discontented and threatening rebellion. Rumours about the death of Edward II began to circulate very shortly after his death with contemporary accounts making mention of potential foul play.

The 'red-hot poker' theory gained particular popularity during the fourteenth century and has remained fairly prevalent even though many modern historians believe it to be an extremely unlikely possibility given the fact that there would have been many simpler ways of disposing of the captive king.

Answer: Caligula

Caligula or, to give him his full imperial title, Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, became the third Roman Emperor in AD 37. His rule came to an abrupt end in AD 41 when he was murdered by members of the Praetorian guard. Despite ruling for less than four years Caligula's alleged exploits as emperor have become the stuff of legend.

He was unpopular with contemporary chroniclers such as Seneca who wrote of his sexual depravity, blood-thirsty disregard for the lives of his subjects and extravagant habits. Later historians such as Suetonius added to Caligula's reputation by repeating the extant stories of his villainy while adding others, including the accusations that Caligula committed incest with his sisters, turned his palace into a brothel and, most famously of all, that he proposed to appoint his favourite horse as consul.

While Caligula was certainly an unpopular emperor, much of whose reign attracted controversy, it is difficult to ascertain how many of the colourful stories recounted by historians are true and how many are plausible myths. Accusations of insanity, sexual perversion and financial and military mismanagement were often used to discredit powerful figures in ancient Rome, and Caligula may have been the victim of some of this propaganda.

Answer: Walter Raleigh

Many colourful stories are told about the life and travels of Sir Walter Raleigh, most of which are probably apocryphal, but the story of Elizabeth I, the puddle and the cloak is probably the best known. While Raleigh did undertake many daring voyages during his life he also acted as principal chronicler of most of his exploits therefore it is difficult to be sure how accurate his accounts are and how much of the more exciting detail has been added for effect. Raleigh is certainly remembered as the quintessential Elizabethan English gentleman, a polymath with a taste for adventure but also an innate instinct of how to please at the Elizabethan court where he became one of the queen's favourites. Raleigh seems to have made a very favourable impression on Elizabeth I who rewarded him handsomely with gifts of land and, in 1585, with a knighthood. Unfortunately Raleigh caused himself to fall from favour rapidly in 1591 when he secretly married Elizabeth Throckmorton, one of the queen's ladies-in-waiting, without the monarch's permission for which husband and wife were both briefly banished to the Tower of London.

When Elizabeth's successor, James I of England, ascended to the throne in 1603 Raleigh found his fortunes adversely affected. James I apparently disliked Raleigh and he spent two spells in the Tower of London during the king's reign the second of which, in 1618, culminated in Raleigh's execution. While some of the stories about Raleigh may be apocryphal it is true that he played an important role in the colonisation of North America and that, somewhat unfortunately, he was largely responsible for the popularisation of tobacco in England.

Answer: George Washington

The story of the young Washington and the cherry tree has been the subject of much historical debate since it first appeared in print. The first written account of the cherry tree incident appeared in a biography of the first US president written by Parson Weems for which the author had interviewed friends and neighbours who had known the Washington family some fifty years earlier.

The story of the cherry tree and Washington's frank admission of his misdeed when confronted by his father caught the public's imagination and was widely reprinted in the nineteenth century when stories about the early lives of great historical figures were used to teach moral lessons to children.

The story of Washington was intended to illustrate the importance of being truthful, even when telling the truth may lead to recriminations.

However, later in the nineteenth century modern historians began to question the veracity of the tale, claiming that there were no other contemporary sources which mentioned the incident and also citing the story's similarities to earlier English folk tales, essentially accusing Weems of plagiarism.

Other historians, and even descendants of Washington, came to Weems' defence claiming that it was unlikely that a clergyman would deliberately make up a story which was intended to illustrate the uprightness and truthfulness of George Washington. Despite fierce debates historians remain unable to prove or disprove the veracity of the story.

Answer: Emily Davison

Emily Davison was a militant who had been an active campaigner for women's suffrage for some years. Like many of her fellow suffragettes she had become involved in a number of acts of civil disobedience which had seen her arrested on nine separate occasions.

However, Davison's motivations and the intentions which led to her stepping out in front of George V's horse during the 1913 Derby and which were the cause of her death, have been the subject of much speculation ever since. The contemporary view of Davison's actions was that she had deliberately planned to martyr herself in this public way by throwing herself in front of a racing horse but subsequent historians have argued that her intentions may have been to attach a banner representing the suffragette movement to the horse's bridle.

Some evidence has been brought forward to support the claim that Davison's death was an accident including the fact that she had bought a return train ticket and a ticket to a dance that night and that newsreel footage of the race appeared to show her attempting to grab the horse's bridle.

It is also believed that a trampled banner was found on the track, near the place where the tragedy had occurred, shortly after the race. However, while some of these factors do cast doubt on Davison's motivations, they are far from conclusive and it appears unlikely that the truth will ever be known. However, what is certain was that Davison was dedicated to the cause of women's suffrage and that her sacrifice served as a pivotal moment in the fight for equal voting rights. Five years after Davison's death, in 1918, women over the age of thirty were given the vote and ten years after that women finally earned the right to vote on the same terms as men.

Answer: Asp

The last active pharaoh of ptolemaic Egypt, Cleopatra has become something of a legendary figure, with the story of her extraordinary life and loves inspiring countless plays, books and films and holding the same fascination over two thousand years after her death. Cleopatra ruled Egypt during a particularly turbulent time in its history, shortly before it became a part of the Roman empire. Contemporary historians commonly wrote of Cleopatra's beauty, intelligence, charm and her diplomatic abilities.

She is known to have had relationships with two of the most powerful men in the world at that time, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, with both of whom she had children. Although some early chroniclers ascribe Cleopatra's death to the application of a poisonous ointment, most historical accounts of her death written relatively soon after the event ascribe her cause of death to the bite of an asp, or Egyptian cobra as it is also known, later historians have cast doubt on this explanation suggesting that if she had wished to kill herself she would have used a less painful and more reliable method such as drinking poison.

The reasons given for this view are that an asp bite is not always fatal and that the symptoms it engenders would not have been commensurate with the manner of death a queen of Cleopatra's reputation would have chosen. Some historians also believe that Cleopatra may have been murdered.

Answer: Second-best bed

The terms of Shakespeare's will have continued to provoke speculation and disagreements amongst Shakespeare scholars four hundred years after it was written. The mystery surrounding the bequest of the 'second-best bed' is not the only aspect of the Bard's will which has sparked discussion; there has also been much speculation as to why Shakespeare left the bulk of his estate to his and Anne's eldest daughter Susanna and her husband, leaving a considerably smaller bequest to Susanna's younger sister Judith.

It has been suggested that Shakespeare may have grown to dislike his wife. Those who have subscribed to this view have cited the fact that Shakespeare was only 18 when he married the older Hathaway who was pregnant with the couple's first child when the ceremony took place, leading to the suggestion that they had a 'shot gun wedding'.

Other historians have discredited this argument, pointing out that it was not unusual for legal marriages to take place when the bride was already pregnant, following an informal handfast wedding.

It has also been argued that Shakespeare's long absences from home, when he was pursuing his literary career in London, may have been due to a discontentment with his home-life, though this could easily be explained by the fact that he could hardly have enjoyed the same literary success had he remained in Stratford. It should also be noted that Shakespeare continued to invest in property in Stratford throughout his life and returned there when he retired. While the bequest of the 'second-best bed' has been interpreted by some as an insult to Anne, other historians such as the feminist academic Germaine Greer, have dismissed this interpretation as unfounded, saying that as Shakespeare's widow Hathaway would have automatically been entitled to a third of his estate so a direct bequest would not have been necessary. It has also been suggested that the mention of the 'second-best bed', far from being a slight, may have been an affectionate rememberance since that would have been their marital bed, the best bed being reserved for guests. Given the paucity of contemporary information available on Anne and her married life we may never know how relations between the couple stood. Our only knowledge of Anne comes from public records such as marriage and birth certificates since she was not a public figure and did not participate in Shakespeare's celebrity life in London.

Answer: Tycho Brahe

Tycho Brahe was a wealthy and influential nobleman who made considerable contributions to the study of astronomy during the sixteenth century and was famed in his lifetime for his extensive astronomical research. Brahe is still considered an important figure in the history of astronomical and planetary research, his observations are considered to have been far more accurate and meticulous than those of most of his contemporaries.

However, while Brahe's scientific achievements are celebrated, it is probably the story of his nose that has caused the most speculation and intrigue.

While Brahe was a student in 1566 he fought a sword duel with a fellow nobleman in which he lost part of his nose. For the rest of his life Brahe was known to have worn a prosthetic nose.

However, the material of which the nose was made has been the subject of some speculation. For hundreds of years it was widely believed that Brahe's nose was made of silver or gold however, in 2012, researchers claimed to have analysed traces taken from Brahe's body, which had been exhumed two years previously, which showed the nose to have actually been made of brass.

Answer: P. G. Wodehouse

Wodehouse is still affectionately remembered for his gently humorous books which are often evocative of the carefree lives of wealthy 'bright young things' in the first few decades of the twentieth century. Wodehouse was a prolific author of novels, plays and screenplays but he is probably best known for his novels featuring Jeeves and Wooster and those set at Blandings Castle.

However, Wodehouse did not always enjoy the reputation he enjoys today as his actions during the summer of 1941, while he was being held in Germany, caused the tide of opinion in wartime Britain to dramatically turn against him.

It is true that Wodehouse recorded five humorous anecdotes about his experiences as a prisoner of war which were broadcast in the UK in August of 1941 however, his motives for doing so have been fiercely disputed ever since. Given the contemporary stresses placed on British life by the war, it is unsurprising that public opinion of Wodehouse's light-hearted propaganda broadcasts at the time was furiously condemnatory.

The prevalent view was that Wodehouse had, at best, compromised his loyalty to his homeland in order to improve his own situation by collaborating with the Nazis and at worst that Wodehouse was a Nazi supporter who was actively conspiring against his own country. Some people at the time did attempt to argue that Wodehouse had been tricked into making the broadcasts without truly understanding their import, that he had been foolish rather than wicked, but anger against Wodehouse did not simmer down for some years. However, over time the more generous interpretation of Wodehouse's actions has steadily gained traction and he is now generally viewed as a naive foreigner who was caught up in an international intrigue of which he had very little understanding.

Answer: Pairs of shoes

Imelda Marcos was the wife of Philippine president and dictator Ferdinand Marcos who was in office from 1965 to 1986. Imelda and her husband fled the Philippines in 1986 after mass protests against suspected vote-rigging in that year's election had led to a popular uprising. It was reported that Imelda Marcos had left behind a costly collection of jewellery, clothes and shoes including five hundred dresses, a thousand handbags and fifteen minks.

However, it is Imelda's rumoured shoe collection that has proved the most persistent detail of this story. Estimates of the exact size of her shoe collection have varied widely with the maximum estimate being 7,500 pairs. However, "Time" magazine has placed the total at a far more modest 1,060 pairs. These stories about Ferdinand and Imelda's extravagant lifestyle have remain popular as they serve as evidence of their corruption and lack of concern for regular Filippino citizens. Imelda herself said the reason she had so many shoes is that a lot of shoe companies had manufacturing plants in the Philippines and would send her a complimentary pair whenever they made a new design. She said she 'd never worn most of them.