Eponymous Clergymen Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ambrose and Gregory

St. Ambrose was of noble Roman birth and converted to Christianity as a youth. His humility and sanctity were such that he was created bishop of Milan in 374, even though he had as yet not been baptized. He was the author of numerous hymns, a few of which still survive and are still in use today, in various forms. Although he did not compose any music himself, he is believed to have introduced Eastern hymnody to the Western church, and to have popularized the antiphonal tradition, in which a solo voice alternates with the choir and congregation. Ambrosian chant, as it came to be called, was the dominant style of liturgical chant in the Western church until the rise of Gregorian chant in the 9th century.

Gregory I (surnamed "The Great") was also a native of Rome, and was the first pontiff to have come from a monastic background. He ascended to the papacy in 590 A.D. and, among his other achievements, undertook to reform liturgical music by collecting the melodies which formed the basis of what is now known as Gregorian chant. Many of these melodies had their origin in the Jewish tradition; significantly, Gregory was known to have been more respectful of the Jews than many of his contemporaries, protecting their synagogues from desecration and discouraging forced conversions.

Answer: John Duns Scotus

Duns Scotus was born c. 1266, probably in Duns, Scotland (though some sources have given his birthplace as England or Ireland). He was ordained in 1291, and lectured at the University of Paris, though he was expelled during a dispute over the taxation of church property, in which he sided with the Pope against Philip the Fair.

He gave his name to a system of thought known as Scotism, whose features were the concepts of what he called the "univocity of being" and of haecceity, a theory regarding the uniqueness of each individual.

Although he was long regarded as a great philosopher and theologian, his teachings fell from favor during the sixteenth century and came to be ridiculed by much of the intelligentsia of that period. They coined the term "dunce", derived from "Duns", to designate the direct opposite of a scholar.

This led to such later practices as fitting dull or lazy students with a conical hat known as a "dunce cap", which actually resembles hats worn during the Inquisition, many years after Duns Scotus' death.

This practice has largely fallen into disuse, and the contemptuous disregard for Scotus' teachings has likewise undergone a reversal. In 1993 Duns Scotus was beatified by Pope John Paul II, himself known as a literate and erudite theologian and philosopher.

Answer: A chair

The "Savonarola Chair" as it is generally known is an X-shaped chair composed of interlacing S-shaped wooden slats which crisscross each other to form a stylized X-shape. At the back is usually a carved back-rail which typically featured a coat-of-arms, and a velvet seat cushion is usually placed at the center. The name seems to have arisen in the 19th century to designate the style of chair as belonging to the Italian Renaissance; however similar chairs were known in Ancient Egypt, as well as Greece and Rome. In Italy it is alternatively known as a "Dante Chair" after the famous author, and in Germany it is usually referred to as a "Luther Chair" after the great reformer. Its actual connection to any of these historic figures is rather vague; at best, it is likely that each of them may have used such a chair at one time or other. An alternate- and more practical- name is the "Scissor Chair", since such chairs were usually made in such a way that they could be folded for storage.

Savonarola was a Dominican friar known for his apocalyptic sermons decrying the corruption, vice, and hedonism of Florentine society. His fiery oratory did not spare even the formidable Medici family or the Church hierarchy, including Pope Alexander VI (Roderigo Borgia). Following a Lenten sermon in 1497 the famous "Bonfire of the Vanities" took place, as Florentines burned irreligious books, gaming tables, jewelry, Carnival masks, and other "sinful" items in the Piazza della Signoria. By the following year, however, public opinion turned against him, and the powerful enemies he had made within the church took action. He was excommunicated by Pope Alexander and sentenced to death for heresy, along with two companions. The execution- a gruesome affair which included hanging, burning, and stoning the unfortunate prisoners- took place in the same Piazza where his bonfire had occurred the previous year.

Martin Luther was equally fearless, but more fortunate; though excommunicated by the pope for his defiance of Papal authority and legally declared an outlaw by the Diet of Worms in 1521, he had a defender in Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, who gave him sanctuary in Wartburg Castle. During his stay there, Luther translated the New Testament into German. The following year he returned to Wittenburg, where his preaching aroused great enthusiasm, but also inadvertently created unwanted radicalism, resulting in the Peasant's War. In 1525 he married the former nun Katherina von Bora, by whom he fathered six children, of whom 4 survived to adulthood. He died in 1546 at the age of sixty-two, having seen his reforms and teachings take hold throughout Germany.

Answer: Capuchin

The Capuchin order was founded in 1520 by Matteo da Bascio, who noted that the Franciscan order had, in his view, departed considerably in spirit and practice from the asceticism and simplicity of its founder. At first, the church authorities were resistant to the reforms and practices of this new branch of the order, but in 1528 they were granted official approval by Pope Clement VII. During the previous eight difficult years, the friars had received the protection of the Camaldolese monks, in gratitude for which they adopted the dark brown hoods of that order. It is this hood- capuccio in Italian- from which the order derives its name.

The Capuchin monkey (Cebus Capucinus), of which there are several varieties, was given its name by European explorers of the Americas in the 15th century. They noted how the animal's dark brown fur contrasting with the pale-colored fur of the face resembled the cowl of a Capuchin friar.

The Italian beverage known as Cappuccino is created by combining espresso with a quantity of hot, frothy milk. The appearance of this beverage, with its dark outer circle of coffee enclosing the creamy, frothy center may have suggested to some the face of a dark-hooded friar.

Another feature of the order is the wearing of beards, which typically are allowed to grow to some length. A particularly curly type of chicory, which is usually blanched to produce a pale color and delicate flavor, is known as "barbe de Capucine" from its resemblance to the white, curly beard of an elderly friar.

Answer: Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

"Lobe den Herren, den Mächtigen König der Ehren" is Neander's best-known hymn, and is still widely sung in English-speaking countries in the 19th century translation by Catherine Winkworth. Neander spent many hours in the valley which now bears his name, seeking inspiration for his many hymns and sermons, and also held prayer services there. The later years of Neander's short life were embittered by conflicts with church authorities over his supposed Pietist leanings. He died of tuberculosis in 1680, at the age of only thirty.

In 1856, the remains of the primate now known as "Neanderthal Man" were discovered in Neander's beloved valley, which had been renamed in his honor earlier in the 19th century. It was discovered during one of numerous mining operations that had radically transformed the appearance of the valley since Neander's time. More remains were discovered there as recently as 1999 and a prehistory museum now stands in the valley.

Answer: Louis XIV

Lachaise used his position as confessor to the "Sun King" to effect certain changes and reforms. He set about to end the king's affair with the notorious Madame de Montespan with great resourcefulness. Each year, when Louis sought absolution at Easter time in order to receive the sacrament, Lachaise would come down with a convenient "illness" which rendered him unable to do so. Eventually, Lachaise succeeded in breaking Mme de Montespan's hold on the King and encouraged his relationship with the devout and straight-laced Madame de Maintenon. The latter, however, grew to distrust and dislike Lachaise, who encouraged her to begin a liaison with Louis "for the greater good", even though it went strongly against her principles (Mme de Maintenon eventually married Louis in secret after the death of his wife, Maria Theresa). Lachaise likely also used his influence to convince Louis to revoke the Edict of Nantes, which granted basic rights to Protestants. Although Lachaise himself was moderate and even tolerant regarding religious differences, the revocation of the Edict resulted in widespread and intolerable persecutions of Protestants.

Although it bears his name, the Cimitiere de Pere Lachaise was established by Napoleon in 1804, nearly a century after Lachaise's death, on land which he had never owned (though he did reside in the Jesuit house on the site of what is now the chapel). The Cimitiere's illustrious "residents" include Heloise and Abelard, Moliere, Balzac, Bellini, Bizet, Chopin, Delacroix, Ingres, Dore, Modigliani, Max Ernst, Daudet, Proust, Colette, Sarah Bernhardt, Oscar Wilde, Isadora Duncan, Edith Piaf, Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, Edith Piaf, Jim Morrison, Simone Signoret, and Yves Montand, among many, many others.

Answer: Moet et Chandon

Perignon was the cellar master at the Abbey of Hautvillers near Epernay. Numerous myths have become attached to his name, chief of which is that he actually invented sparkling wine (in fact it was likely invented in England in 1695 by the scientist Christoper Merret) and that he was the first to use corks.

He is also credited with having made the statement "Come quickly! I am tasting the stars!" upon first tasting his invention; in fact this was invented by an advertising agency in the late 19th century.

He is known to have worked to improve the quality of sparkling wines, advocating the use of the Pinot Noir grape, using natural processes in wine production, and avoiding such practices as treading the grapes and secondary fermentation. (The latter caused the buildup of pressure inside the bottle, causing it to explode).

His rules for producing wine were published in 1718, three years after his death, and are still consulted today. In honor of his achievements, he was buried in a section of the Abbey usually reserved for abbots, and many years later a statue of him was erected at Moet et Chandon, which named its 1921 prestige cuvee in his honor.

Answer: Garden Peas

Between 1856 and 1863, Mendel cultivated nearly 30,000 different varieties of the garden pea (Pisum Sativum) in order to experiment with hybridization and study the manner in which traits are inherited from parent organisms. Among other things, he discovered that cross-breeding a white-flowered variety with a purple-flowered variety did not produce a hybrid offspring, but rather a purple-flowered plant.

This was the basis for what ultimately became the theory of dominant and recessive genes (Mendel called them "factors"). Mendel was also a beekeeper and conducted experiments using bees as well.

He described his experiments and the theories he formulated from them in an essay entitled "Experiments in Plant Hybridization", which he published in 1866. Mendel's work attracted little attention in his time, and was criticized by most of those few who did bother to give it any notice.

It was not until the beginning of the 20th century- some fifteen years after his death- that his theories were rediscovered and reevaluated by such scientists as the Dutch Hugo de Vries and the German Carl Correns. Mendel's theories and laws were rescued from obscurity and recognized as the seminal work in the study of what is now known as genetics.

They were also re-named in his honor, and are thus recognized to this day.

Answer: Horatio Alger

Alger began attending Harvard Divinity School in 1857, and became a minister at the First Parish Unitarian Church of Brewster. Rumors began to circulate concerning an inappropriate relationship between Alger and two teenage boys in the parish. An investigation proved the allegations to be true, and when confronted, Alger admitted his wrongdoing. To avoid a major scandal, he agreed to resign the ministry at the urging of his father, who was a pastor of a parish in South Natick, in return for which the church officials and the parents of the boys in question agreed to keep the matter quiet.

Alger turned to writing and went to New York, where he made the acquaintance of numerous young working-class men who worked menial jobs and lived in considerable poverty. His interest in these young men may well have been partly sexual, but he also seems to have empathized with their struggles and dreams. They became the inspiration for a string of novels, of which the prototype was "Ragged Dick", which first appeared in serialized form in 1867 and was published in novel form the following year. The eponymous hero of the story is a poor young bootblack who saves a young boy from drowning. The boy's father is a wealthy businessman, who rewards Dick with a position as a clerk in his office, enabling him to leave his vagabond life on the streets behind. Although many assume that a "Horatio Alger-type story" usually involves a rags-to-riches reversal of fortune, Alger's actual stories usually end with the protagonist substantially bettering his position in life, but not living in luxury and wealth. Alger himself never became wealthy, despite the popularity of his novels; he gave away much of his income to various charities which assisted foundlings, runaways, and also lost some of it to the occasional con artist. He spent his last years living with his married sister in Natick, Massachusetts, where he died in 1899, aged 67. Although his novels are seldom read today, being very much of their time, the term "Horatio Alger hero" has come to define an embodiment of the American ideal of hard work, virtue, and enthusiasm, which ultimately receives its reward.

Answer: "He is the very pineapple of politeness!"

The "pineapple" quote (in which the correct word should be "pinnacle") was made by the fictional Mrs. Malaprop in Richard Brinsley Sheridan's "The Rivals". The others were made by, or have been attributed to, Spooner. The "queer old Dean" was supposed to be the "dear old Queen", "Is the Bean dizzy?" was supposed to be "Is the Dean busy?", and "It is kisstomary to cuss the bride." should have been "It is customary to kiss the bride." It is generally agreed that most of the gaffes attributed to Spooner were likely apocryphal, and he is said to have resented the rather foolish reputation which he had acquired because of them.

In later years, however, he developed a sense of humor about the matter, and is even said to have obliged with a deliberate "spoonerism" or two on occasion.

In an interview in 1930, the year of his death, he acknowledged at least one spoonerism as accurate, when he introduced the hymn "Conquering Kings Their Titles Take" as "Kinkering Congs Their Titles Take".