Tales of Madness Trivia Quiz

Answer: Nebuchadnezzar II

Historically the Chaldean King Nebuchadnezzar II is known for rebuilding the ancient city of Babylon with marvels such as the Ishtar Gate and Hanging Gardens, as well as conquering Jerusalem, destroying Solomon's First Temple, and deporting the Jews to Babylon to work on his projects.

These actions are recorded in the Old Testament Book of 2 Kings and Book of Jeremiah. Very little is written of his reign during the time of his supposed madness; this information is found in the Book of Daniel, who wrote of his friends being thrown into and saved from a fiery furnace and King Nebuchadnezzar's madness. According to Daniel, the madness lasted for a period of seven years, during which time Nebuchadnezzar was punished by the Hebrew God for his pride and ate grass like an ox.

While some historians believe that this episode was fabricated by Daniel in order to teach that God reigns supreme over all men, others believe that the fact that there are few records concerning the King's reign during this period may indicate that indeed the event took place.

Answer: Caligula

The Roman people were quite relieved when Caligula became emperor. They were rid of the absent Tiberius, and Caligula, the son of a very popular military leader named Germanicus, showed great promise as a leader - at first. He abolished the unpopular Tibrius' treason trials and provided assistance to those who had suffered under his tax program.

After a short time in office, however, Caligula was stricken with a serious illness, which appears to have left him mad. He began a series of expensive building projects that had little purpose and paid undue attention to the comfort of his favorite horse.

Many family members and government officials were executed at this time and the practice of treason trials was revived. About a year before his death, Caligula led an invasion of Britain, which was essentially an order to his soldiers to collect "Neptune's spoils", the seashells, from the shore to carry back to Rome; some historians believe this may have been a metaphor for boats, however, others believe that Caligula was insane, depraved, sadistic, and cruel.

In 41 AD he was assassinated by a group that included members of his own Praetorian Guard, who hoped to restore Rome to a Republic.

Answer: Henry VI

Henry VI became King of England before the age of one; it was during the time when the Hundred Years War with France was concluding. Although England claimed the victory, many of the lands that had claimed in France were lost. In 1453, when Henry heard of the loss of Bordeaux, it was written that he went into a stupor and remained unresponsive for a year.

This was his first bout of an apparent reoccurring mental illness that many today believe was schizophrenia, especially because it was said that the King suffered from hallucinations. During the Battle of Wakefield, fought during the War of the Roses, it was written that Henry both laughed and sang.

In 1461 he was deposed by the Duke of York, Edward IV, however, he was temporarily reinstated in 1470-71 before being imprisoned and possibly murdered the following year. Did he inherit a propensity toward mental illness from his French maternal grandfather, Charles VI? What is certain is that he did inherit the throne of France from Charles VI - and to this day is the only King of England to also be crowned King of France, which occurred at the end of the Hundred Year's War.

Answer: Zhengde Emperor

The son of the compassionate Hongzhi Emperor, Zhu Houzhao, also known as the Zhengde Emperor, was nothing like his father. Although considered to be an organized and competent ruler, Zhu Houzhao was uninterested in ruling his empire and rarely attended affairs of state.

Instead he overindulged in a luxurious lifestyle, which included the keeping of numerous concubines and exotic animals, as well as traveling. He engaged in tiger hunts, and it was written that the Emperor's harem was so large that some of the women starved to death due to lack of adequate supplies! During the Lantern Festival, a spring celebration to celebrate the end of winter, he burned his palace to the ground due to his poor decision to store gunpowder there.

At one point he created an alter ego for himself, which enabled him to lead military expeditions that were successful in defending his empire from Mongol invaders.

After a late arrival to put down a rebellion of a rival prince, he suggested that the culprit be set free so that his army could capture him - again! Was the Zhengde Emperor insane, childish, or spoiled? It is difficult to tell.

Answer: Joanna

The second daughter of the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand II and Isabella I of Spain, Joanna was well educated and eventually became the heiress to both Castile and Aragon. It is said that Joanna became especially fearful of her mother; after displaying a skeptical approach to religion, Joanna was punished by being suspended on a rope with weights attached to her feet. Nevertheless, upon her mother's death, Joanna became Queen of Castile. Is it possible that Ferdinand was jealous of Joanna's inheritance? Isabella's will said that he would rule Castile if Joanna was absent or unwilling.

He imprisoned her for years at the Castle of Tordesillas, claiming that she inherited madness from her grandmother, Isabella of Portugal. Nevertheless, in 1516 she did inherit the rule of Aragon from her father.

Historians today believe that even though Joanna hoped to be rescued by her son, the future Charles I of Spain, he also benefited from her incarceration and stories of her insanity. He confined his mother to the Royal Convent of Santa Clara for the remainder of her life, ruling her domains in her place.

Answer: Ivan IV

While historians today point out that "grozny" in Russian means dangerous or formidable rather than terrible, there is no doubt that Ivan suffered from bouts of rage, paranoia, and mental instability. Even though he suffered through a difficult childhood and lost both of his parents at a young age, it is believed that his personality changed after the death of his first wife, Believing that she had been poisoned, he consequently tortured and executed many high-ranking boyars, or nobles; after examining the remains of Anastasia Romanovna, modern historians have found high levels of mercury in her hair, which could indicate that Ivan's suspicions were correct.

His beating of his daughter-in-law led to an argument with his son, Ivan; during the course of the confrontation, the Czar hit his son on the head with a pointed staff and killed him. Was Ivan Grozny mad? Or were his actions calculated in an attempt to end the power of the boyars in Russia? One thing is for certain - he rule would solidify the absolute power of the Russian Czar for centuries to come.

Answer: Rudolf II

Was Rudolf II mad or were his interests just unusual? It seems that he was definitely not interested in being Holy Roman Emperor, even though the title did make him a very powerful man! It does appear, however, that he suffered from occasional bouts of depression, a problem which, apparently, many of his Hapsburg family members also experienced.

As he aged, he would withdraw from politics and pursue his other interests, which included being a patron of the arts and sciences, and collecting numerous objects (clocks, swords, musical instruments, exotic animals), as well as dabbling in the occult sciences, such as alchemy and astrology.

His support of scientists, such as Tycho Brahe, however, is credited with helping begin the Scientific Revolution.

Answer: George III

George III lived to be the oldest, longest-ruling monarch of the UK until, of course, the reigns of Victoria and Elizabeth II. He ruled during times of crisis, including the American Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. Even though he was overcome by periods of mental illness that began very early in his reign, he was a very popular monarch; by 1810, however, he was completely incapacitated and agreed that his son, the future George IV, should serve as Prince Regent in his place. By this time he was negatively affected by the death of his favorite daughter, Amelia, and was virtually blind from cataracts.

There has been much discussion as to the nature of the illness. While porphyria, a rare hereditary disease, has been suggested as a cause in recent years, many historians believe that George III did suffer from some type of mental illness.

Answer: Carlota

Born Princess Charlotte of Belgium, Carlota (Spanish for Charlotte) was married to her cousin, Austrian Archduke Maximilian von Hapsburg, who eventually was appointed Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico by Napoleon III of France. The couple began to initiate changes and reform there, however, shortly after the appointment, Napoleon III withdrew his support from the couple, as well as his army from Mexico. Carlota made an unsuccessful, frantic trip to Europe in order to solicit help for her husband. It was at this time that she became paranoid and depressed, believing that her food was poisoned; she supposedly kept chickens tied to the legs of a table, watching while her servants cleaned and cooked them.

After the execution of her husband in 1867, Carlota made her way back to Belgium, where she lived at Bouchout Castle until her death in 1927.

Answer: Ludwig II

Ludwig II certainly appears to have engaged in eccentric behavior. He was described as being extremely shy and reportedly wore heavy coats in the summertime and ate outside year-round. His building projects, such as the famous Neuschwanstein which was to be his home, were built with funds from his own personal account, but left him perpetually in debt, mostly to members of his own family.

The problem was that he was uninterested in carrying out his political duties, and refused to curb his spending.

He had even gone so far as to suggest asking other monarchs for loans to construct his many projects. Fearing dismissal, his cabinet members decided to dismiss their King instead and deposed Ludwig on the charge of insanity. A report from four psychiatrists, including Dr. Von Gudden, who had never met the King, declared that he was suffering from paranoia, and Ludwig was deposed. Three days later Von Gudden and the King were found drowned in a lake on the grounds of Berg Castle, where the King had been taken after losing power. King Ludwig was succeeded by his brother, Otto, who really was considered to be insane.