Time Travel Through History Trivia Quiz

Answer: The coronation of Charlemagne as Emperor.

On Christmas Day, 800 AD, Charlemagne was crowned by Leo III and proclaimed "Emperor", a title Charlemagne himself never used. Contrary to a widedpread misconception he was simply proclaimed "August Emperor": the first references to "Holy Roman" date from at least 230 years later! Charlemagne, the son of Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, grew tall and strong, merry and wise, and administered his vast domains from his capital, Aachen.

Answer: The execution of Mary, Queen of Scots in Fotheringhay Castle.

Mary faced her execution with great courage and dignity. It took three strokes of the axe to decapitate her; the first glancing off the base of her skull, upon which she was heard to whisper, "Dear Jesu!" the second almost severed the head from the body, the third, a sawing motion, completed the task.

The headsman picked up Mary's head to show to the spectators, and found himself holding a wig, while Mary's head rolled around on the floor. When her son, James VI of Scotland inherited the throne of England, he had his mother's remains removed to a fitting tomb in Westminster Abbey, where she lies not far from the Queen who signed her death warrant, Elizabeth I.

Answer: We will perform the Bull Dance.

From the murals found on the walls of the labyrinthine Palace of Knossos on Crete, it would appear that youths, both male and female, took part in the Bull Dance, gripping the horns of a charging bull and leaping up and over onto the bull's back then gracefully jumping back to earth.

It was a dangerous sport, and it is theorized that the youths taken as tribute by the Cretans were used in this way.

Answer: The opening of the tomb of King Tutankhamun.

When Howard Carter was asked if he could see anything through the opening in the wall, he replied, "Yes, wonderful things!" And so the tomb of the 18-year-old Pharoah was opened and catalogued; his mummy was examined, and it appeared he had been killed by a fierce blow to the head.

The young king now rests in his original burial place in one of the beautiful sarcophagi which encased his body.

Answer: The formal abdication of King Edward VIII.

Edward VIII signed the Articles of Abdication on the night of December 10th, 1936 at Fort Belvedere, witnessed by his three brothers, Albert, Duke of York who became King George VI, George, Duke of Kent, and Henry, Duke of Gloucester. He thus became the only British monarch to resign voluntarily.

As the Duke of Windsor, he then married Wallis Simpson, the American divorcee whom he could not marry and remain king.

Answer: The burning of Joan of Arc in the old market square of Rouen.

Joan, acting upon the tasks laid upon her by God, was instrumental in returning France to the French in the last years of the Hundred Years' War between England and France. Her capture and subsequent trial by pro-English clergy was tainted by bribery. Joan was only 18 or 19 when she was convicted on various charges - among them, claiming to hear voices of saints, the wearing of men's clothing, both considered heretical - and burned at the stake in Rouen on May 30th, 1431.

In 1456, following a lengthy posthumous re-trial process, Joan was declared innocent by the Inquisition on July 7th; it took the church until 1920 before naming Joan a Saint. Today, she is revered as both a hero and saint.

Answer: President John F. Kennedy has just been assassinated.

In Dallas, Texas on Friday 22nd November, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald, who in turn was shot by Jack Ruby following Oswald's arrest. Many theories still abound about shots coming from the "Grassy Knoll" while it is widely believed that Oswald acted alone, shooting from the Texas Book Depository Building.

Answer: The first playing of the hymn "Silent Night".

At the midnight mass on Christmas Eve, 1818, in the church of St. Nicholas in Oberndorf, Austria the lovely carol "Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!" was heard for the first time. The words were written by Father Joseph Mohr in 1816 and the choir director of St. Nicholas', Franz Gruber, composed the tune for guitar in 1818.

The two men sang it that night and the choir joined in at the last two lines. "Silent Night" is probably the most loved Christmas carol and has been translated into over 300 languages and dialects.

Answer: Murder the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket.

Henry II of England was notorious for his temper tantrums, and this one got him into serious trouble. Tired of fighting with his old friend Thomas, he is alleged to have roared, "Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?" and the four knights went and did just that on the night of December 29th, 1170.

They received no thanks from their king who ended up doing public penance for instigating the murder of the "holy blissful martyr", later St. Thomas Becket.

Answer: The ride of Lady Godiva naked through the marketplace of Coventry.

The basic facts of Godiva's ride are correct. She was the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, whom she had begged to remit the heavy taxes on the townspeople. He said he would if she would ride naked through the streets of the town. She did, and he did.

The story has been embellished over the years; that she asked for everyone to stay indoors and not look; that a tailor used a peephole in his shutter to see her - Peeping Tom who was struck blind; that her long hair covered her nakedness. In fact, her hair was in two long braids; she was accompanied by two ladies riding on each side of her and a little farther back; the people watched respectfully, but they watched nevertheless, and probably blessed her as she passed.