Interesting Royal Nicknames Online Quiz | People

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Henry II of Castille, who ruled solo from 1369-79 in that Iberian land, has carried with him a murderous nickname through the ages. Which of these sobriquets is his?

Answer: Fratricide

Henry II, also known as Enrique, murdered his brother in 1369, assuming control of the throne of Castille in that same year. Because Henry was born out of wedlock, he is also known as 'The Bastard', which may seem bad...but hardly so when compared to the nickname of Peter/Pedro, the brother he killed. Pedro was known as 'The Cruel'.

2. Antiochus II, who ruled the ancient Seleucid Empire from 261 to 246 B.C., did not mince with words when it came to his elevated status. He was known as 'Theos', which means which of the following in Greek?

Answer: God

Antiochus figured that if you are going to have a nickname, why not pick the best? Perhaps he was attempting to outdo his father, Antiochus I, who took the nickname 'Soter', which means 'savior' in Greek. Both rulers were very successful in their war against the Galatians and the Egyptians, so perhaps they somehow earned such lofty appellations.

3. Which Roman emperor could fittingly be called 'Bootsy' in English, based on the familiar name assigned to him?

Answer: Caligula

Born Gaius Caesar Germanicus, he was given the nickname Caligula (meaning 'little boots' or, better yet, 'bootsy') at a very young age. As the mascot of the imperial army, he was dressed in a child's version of the current soldier uniform, boots included. Caligula reviled this nickname, but then, he didn't like much, did he?

4. For the best royal sobriquets, one needs to turn to the French. Case in point is poor Louis II, the king of France from 877 to 879 A.D. What was his unfortunate epithet?

Answer: The Stammerer

Louis was a frail man, sickly and infirm. On top of that, he had a penchant for stuttering, thus the nickname (in French, 'le B�gue'). Nothing of significance occurred during his short reign.

5. Yazdgird I, ruler of the ancient Sassanian kingdom of Persia from 399 to 420 A.D., had conflicting nicknames. One of his informal titles was Izdigerdes, or 'made by God'. His other nickname was less flattering, however. What was it?

Answer: The Wicked

Yazdgird I was called 'The Wicked' because he spent much of his reign quarrelling with the Zoroastrian clergy (then the state religion) in favor of Christians and Jews.

6. As if not to be outdone by the French, the English have come up with several good epithets for their less fortunate rulers. Which ruler of England was given the title 'Lackland' because, well, he lacked his own land?

Answer: John

Poor King John (r. 1199 - 1216), he's been given such a bum rap in the annals of history. Along with his 'lackland' (sans terre) nickname, gained because he was the youngest son of Henry II (and hence would not inherit any land from his parents), he was also called 'Soft Sword'. To make matters, worse, John is most famous for having capitulated to the barons in signing the Magna Carta. His treatment in history is a far cry from his brother, Richard I (The Lion Hearted)!

7. Some of the greatest royal nicknames were provided by the Scandinavians. For example, Sven I, one of the greatest rulers of Denmark, had what interesting sobriquet attached to his name?

Answer: Forked Beard

Sven I (985-1014) was called 'Forked Beard', probably because he had a creative barber. Sven's father Harald II was called 'Bluetooth', an equally nifty agnomen. Sven I was no historical flash-in-the-pan, during his reign he defeated the Norwegians, the Swedes and the Wends, and managed to conquer England in 1013.

8. Aside from being called 'The Conquerer', William I of England was also saddled with a much less flattering nickname, 'The Bastard'.

Answer: True

William of Normandy, who would go on to become William I (The Conquerer), King of England, was not always so fortunate in the choice of epithets selected to represent him. He was the illegitimate son of Robert (The Magnificent) of Normandy and a woman of common origin. Perhaps his desire to find a new appellation led him to seize the throne of England as 'The Conquerer'?

9. Back to France and another fascinating sobriquet, this time for Louis XI, who is known in history by what creepy nickname?

Answer: The Spider

Louis XI was one of the great rulers in French history. Ruling from 1461 until his death in 1483, Louis managed to unite France under his firm grip. He was called 'The Spider' because of his political cunning and artfulness, not because he was born with eight arms.

10. King George III of Great Britain, Queen Juana of Castile and King Charles VI of France were all given what somewhat less than flattering royal nickname?

Answer: The Mad

Most of us know the story about poor King George III, who suffered from a disease called porphyria. Less is known about Charles the Mad, who was ruler of France from 1380 to 1415. He could also have been called Charles the Glass Figure (at some point he imagined himself to be constructed of glass). Queen Juana (or Joan) of Castile, who ruled for a time in the 16th century, and whose story was documented in the 2001 film 'Juana la Loca', was also called 'mad' (and locked away for 49 years because of it!) Hmm...I wonder if she was truly mad? Thank you for trying this quiz, I hope you enjoyed it and will try more of my stuff.

Source: Author thejazzkickazz

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Interesting Royal Nicknames Trivia Quiz

Everyone always talks about rulers with nicknames like 'The Great' or 'The Magnificent', but less is said about others with much more interesting sobriquets. This quiz will provide equal time for those other fellows...good luck!

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