The Castle of Otranto Trivia Quiz

Answer: Conrad

The tale opens on the wedding day of Conrad, the prized son of Manfred, who would be marrying a princess, Isabella. While many of the guests are already in the church waiting for the ceremony to begin, a villager informs the party that Conrad has been killed in the most peculiar way: crushed to death under an obscurely large helmet covered in black plumes. An ancient prophecy foreshadows the fact that Manfred's lineage may lose the throne in Otranto, and the death of his treasured son on this day shows his true feelings in the matter.

It is later revealed that the murder weapon, an obscurely large helmet taken from the statue of a past prince, was taken from its resting place. No one man could have performed the murder on his own. Manfred retires to his room to mourn, instructing that no one enter. Later that day, Manfred's sole daughter and descendant, Matilda, dares to check on her father and she is soon told to leave.

Instead, Manfred calls upon Isabella, the bride of the wedding.

He tells her that he plans to give her a much older, experienced husband, unlike his frail, once-celebrated son. When he vows to marry her instead, Isabella worries and flees when he tries to force himself upon her. She only escapes when Manfred is distracted by a picture on the wall. Inevitably, he discovers that this moving picture is the spectre of his grandfather who leads him down the path he must take.

Answer: To the Church of St. Nicholas

Isabella races through the castle in an attempt to escape. Realizing that she can take a subterranean passage to the Church of St. Nicholas, she decides to hide amongst the nuns working there. When she reaches the cloister containing the trapdoor, she runs into a peasant whom Manfred had earlier accused of moving the statue's helmet. The peasant decides to help Isabella and she finds the trapdoor, making her way into the tunnel. The peasant accidentally closes the door, locking it and alerting Manfred to his whereabouts. Luckily, he is able to speak to the prince, avoiding his entry into the passage and letting Isabella escape.
Manfred is angry with the peasant, but his mind is set astray when two servants, Jaques and Diego, enter the cloister and note the eerie incident in the great chamber in which they witnessed a rather large statue laying on the floor. Diego saw the arms and a leg of the object and noted that it would have matched with the helmet that killed Conrad earlier. While they ran from the room, they swore they heard it following.
Manfred says that he will investigate the room shortly after and the peasant volunteers to investigate himself. Later, when they actually check the chamber, they find everything in its regular place. Manfred places the peasant into a room under a stairwell (locking him in for the night and requiring his services the next day) and while he is ashamed with himself over the Isabella incident, he plans to get his wife, Hippolita, to encourage the girl to join him in marriage.

Answer: Bianca

While mourning over the loss of her younger sibling, Matilda receives news from her closest servant, Bianca, about the events that transpired in the night. Evidently, the servants saw the leg and arm in the great chamber and Isabella had fled from the Castle of Otranto. Matilda is surprised by this and the two of them hear singing from outside the window. Bianca fears it may be the spirit of Conrad, but Matilda opens the window and speaks to the person below.

As it turns out, it is the peasant who has been placed into the room by Manfred. From what he says, the women assume that his mood is down because he is in love, but Matilda is skeptical about asking him questions about the events.

As it turns out, Bianca knows that he is the peasant who was blamed by Manfred for the death of Conrad and many believe him to have magical powers, thus allowing him to lift the giant helmet and drop it on the prince's son. Matilda realizes that he couldn't have done this though as he speaks so piously and would not, if he had respect for the Gods, have done this deed. Before she can inquire any more about the whereabouts of Isabella, a bell rings in her tower and she is forced to withdraw.

They later learn that she has made it to the Church of St. Nicholas and soon, Matilda is summoned to Hippolita's room.

Answer: The discovery of a birthmark

Manfred and Hippolita are visited by the friar of the Church of St. Nicholas, Jerome, who comes with the news that Isabella is with his convent. Manfred insists upon Isabella's return to the castle as her guardian, but the friar says that he can not do so as it would betray her trust in him, and doing so would go against the church.

When Jerome and Manfred retire to the prince's chamber, Manfred reveals his plan, knowing that Isabella would have done so herself. The friar simply says that if prophecy foretells what must be, then Manfred should just resign his place on the throne.

When the friar notes the peasant's participation in the escape, Manfred quickly rushes downstairs and instructs the boy to tell the truth. The peasant reveals that his name is Theodore and that he had only helped Isabella to distract the prince, throwing him off her trail to allow time for escape. Matilda and Bianca walk by shortly after this and notice the peasant's resemblance to the late King Alfonso. Both of them stop to listen to the goings-on. Manfred decides to decapitate Theodore, and when Matilda overhears this from nearby, she faints and causes Bianca to scream that she had died.

Although this temporarily distracts Manfred, he sends her to her room and proceeds onward with the killing, asking the friar to hear his last confession. In this, it is discovered that through the notice of a birthmark that Theodore is the friar's estranged father. The friar begs the prince to take his life instead of his son's (and the onlookers echo this sentiment), but Manfred tells the friar that he will only spare both their lives in exchange for the return of Isabella. As Manfred does this, a trumpet sounds in the distance, and as he looks towards the giant helmet across the courtyard, its plumes shake.

Answer: False

Manfred casts the friar away after the trumpet sounds and sends him to retrieve Isabella from the church. Sending Theodore to the Black Tower for imprisonment, he rushes to the hall to await the herald for which the trumpets sounded. This herald informs the prince that Frederic, the marquis of Vicenza, has challenged him in order to take the throne since there are no descendants. Manfred agrees to let him in in order to speak to him about his plan. Knowing that Isabella is currently in the church, he attempts to turn the tables and convince Frederic that his marriage to her would be the best option.
Meanwhile, the friar, Jerome, returns to the convent to discover that Isabella is missing and word is about of Hippolita's death. While he searches for the princess (coming up with nothing), he assures the others that he left the princess of Otranto in good health when he departed.
The knights of Frederic, the marquis of Vicenza, arrive at the castle and Manfred shows genuine hospitality to the group. After dinner, he leads three of the knights into the great chamber to discuss the lineage of the family, how King Alfonso gave the castle to his grandfather after producing no descendants, and how he 'discovered' that he and his wife were no longer suitable to be married to one another. Explaining that he had consent from the Church of St. Nicholas to separate from her, he asks if he shall wed the princess Isabella to carry on the lineage. Before Manfred receives a response from the knights (who have only spoken one sentence in their entire stay in the castle), a servant informs him that Jerome and others from the church request his immediate attention.

Answer: Matilda

The friar intrudes on Manfred's meeting with the knights, and while Jerome never actually mentions any condemning statements, his peers make note of the situation and the knights discover that Isabella has fled from the prince. In the heat of the moment, Manfred employs his guards in assisting himself and the knights of Vicenza in finding Isabella, and this allows Matilda the opportunity to reach Theodore in the Black Tower.

She frees him to his disbelief that piety can be found in Manfred's blood, but nonetheless he calls her an angel.

She takes him to the armory and bestows upon him a suit of armor, and though he vows to stand up against Manfred, she warns him against it and tells him to find his way to the sea. He agrees and vows to return as her knight. Departing from the castle, Theodore heads first to the Church of St. Nicholas (discovering that his father is absent), then to a labyrinth of caves near the sea reputed to be haunted by evil spirits.

Here, he stumbles across Isabella, who has also taken to the cave for shelter. Before the two can reacquaint themselves, a knight of Vicenza appears at the mouth of the cave and Theodore fights him to protect the princess.

He fights valiantly and wins, wounding the knight and causing him to faint. Soon though, it is revealed that he is also Manfred's enemy due to the situation, and he is, in fact, Frederic, Isabella's father and the rightful descendant of King Alfonso. Both Frederic and Theodore note the error of their ways and Theodore escorts the wounded soldier to the castle for medical treatment out of honor and remorse.

Answer: Rome

Arriving at the castle, Theodore and Isabella reunite with Hippolita and Matilda while Frederic is placed in his own chamber. They all go to check on the man and he informs them that he had a prophetic dream that his daughter was in danger. Following the dream and a series of events that followed, he came across a saber buried underground. Engraved on this blade was a message saying that in order to save the princess, a long-restless prince must be defeated.
At this point, Manfred enters with Jerome following behind and the prince is shocked to see Theodore clad in armor, noting that the boy looks identical to Alfonso. Hippolita calms her lord down saying that he is not a spectre, but the man who found Frederic. Though Manfred tries to exert his power over Theodore, the peasant recounts the story of his life, stating how he lost his mother at a young age and searched for his father until this point. Everyone later retires to their chambers to sleep.
That night, both Isabella and Matilda converse about the recent events. Both of them argue over Theodore (who loves who, how one can forgive his actions against Frederic, etc.) until the two of them once more talk like friends. It is at this point that Hippolita enters the room.

Answer: The nose

Hippolita speaks with her daughter and Isabella about the situation at hand and Isabella lets Manfred's plans to divorce his lady and marry her in her place out of the bag. All three women fear that this plan may come into effect and decide to prevent it in whichever way they can, but it is also revealed that Matilda is planned to be wed to Frederic (another scheme by Manfred to solidify his place in Otranto). Matilda, now set on being with Theodore, is strongly against the idea but tells her mother that she will do whatever she is asked by her matriarch. Hippolita decides to head to the Church of St. Nicholas for guidance in approach of the divorce and Jerome, knowing full well of the motivation behind it, warns her not to succumb to the idea, that she will be cast away from Heaven as a sinner.

While separation may seem like the best option due to Manfred's usurping, it is still not right in the eyes of their God. Manfred enters at once and demands that his wife return with him to the castle.

While Hippolita claims she was only seeking counsel regarding the matter, Manfred states that the friar has no business in their domestic troubles. As they turn to leave, the three of them witness three drops of blood fall from the nose of the statue of Alfonso. The friar dubs is as a sort of miracle, parallel to the crying statue of the Virgin Mary, but this foreboding idea doesn't stop Manfred. He leaves with his lady and tells a guard to make sure that no one leave the grounds of the church to make way for Otranto.

Answer: Frederic

Manfred speaks with his wife upon returning to the castle and she states that she will not be in strict favor of separation unless all parties are unanimous in the decision, but she will do what she must. At this, Manfred decides to speak with Bianca, Matilda's servant, about Isabella's liking of Theodore. Bianca never gives the prince an easy answer, and when she departs to dig up answers, Manfred decides to speak with Frederic about his daughter. Bianca interrupts the two though, running into the room with terror.

While Manfred says that nothing is wrong, she insists and Frederic listens to her story. As it turns out, Bianca was on her way to Isabella's chamber, but upon entering one of the rooms of the castle, she witnessed a large arm, much like the foot seen by Diego in the great chamber, upon the balcony.

She speaks of the possibility of the ancient prophecy, and though Manfred assures her that nothing of the sort is true, Frederic states that she shows genuine, believable fear and that he will not help Manfred because of the foretold prophecy.

After Bianca is calmed down, they sit for dinner. Later that night, Frederic decides to inquire from Hippolita about the separation and he is told to check her chamber for her. When he arrives, he finds silence, but he also sees a person kneeling at her altar. When he investigates, he discovers the animated skeleton of a hermit he met (and saved) before obtaining the cryptic saber. When Frederic begs for mercy, the hermit states that he saved him once, so he will not harm the poor marquis. Instead, he warns Frederic not to pursue Matilda and vanishes at that.

Answer: Theodore

While Frederic discusses the apparition with Hippolita, Manfred receives word from his guard that someone has entered the Church of St. Nicholas with another person. Quickly, Manfred steals away to the Tomb of Alfonso and he overhears Theodore's conversation with the mystery person. Taking his dagger, he plunges it into the breast of this woman and find that it is not Isabella as he expected, but his own daughter, Matilda. Realizing what he has done, Manfred is shocked. Theodore attempts to slay Manfred, but instead decides to preserve the life of his love. At this point, Jerome and the monks arrive and state that Manfred has assassinated his own daughter, shedding his own blood on holy ground. They quickly return to the castle so as to inform Hippolita and the others and let Matilda die in her mother's presence. Though Theodore begs his father to wed them before she expires, he says that he can not do so. Matilda passes away in her mother's presence.
Manfred, in grief and shame, crosses to the great chamber and an Earth-shattering quake destroys the wall of the castle. In the ruin, everyone is shocked to find the animated statue of Alfonso. Speaking over the thunder, the statue informs the citizens of Otranto that Manfred will no longer be their prince, having killed his own daughter on holy grounds. Now, Theodore, revealed to be the only descendant of the prince, Alfonso, shall reign in the castle. Jerome explains that on a voyage, Alfonso met and married a tempting young woman near Sicily and she gave birth after discovering he had been poisoned and passed his kingdom to Ricardo (in the same lineage as Manfred). This woman's daughter was wed to Jerome many years before he became friar and she gave birth to Theodore, and thus, he is the youngest descendant.
Manfred and Hippolita retire to separate convents to show their faithfulness to the Lord. Theodore does take the role as Prince of Otranto and eventually marries Isabella (with the consent of Frederic). They realize that their love comes from the events that transpired, strengthened by the fact that they lost someone dear to them.