Through History with The Monday Quiz: the 1150s

The 1150s -- a period marked by what seemed like ever more progress and social change, even if we've forgotten about most of it now.

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1. In 1150, the Sorbonne was founded. What, and where, is the Sorbonne?

A bit of the Sorbonne as it looks today.

2. 1153, or thereabouts, Islam became the dominant religion of this modern island nation. The international airport shown on this map was of course not built yet at that time. What is the country?

3. In 1154, the very smart guy Muhammad al-Idrisi finished a book commissioned by Roger II of Sicily, which has subsequently been known as the Tabula Rogeriana. It was almost certainly the most sophisticated book of its kind ever made up to that point in history. What kind of book was it?

4. On December 3, 1154, Nicholas Breakspear, an old boy of the St Albans School in Hertfordshire, was elected Pope and took the papal name Adrian IV. He held the office until his death on September 1, 1159. Pope Adrian IV is the only ___________ in history.

5. This famous building was completed sometime in the 1150s. What is its name, and where is it?

6. On June 18, 1155, Frederick I, the famous “Barbarossa,” was crowned. Quoth the Wiki, “He combined qualities that made him appear almost superhuman to his contemporaries: his longevity, his ambition, his extraordinary skills at organization, his battlefield acumen and his political perspicuity.” Of what political entity was Barbarossa the boss?

7. Here’s a little folk tale:

Lalli's wife Kerttu falsely told him that their guest Bishop Henry had stolen food from the oven and beer from the cellar. Lalli (who is drunk in some versions of the tale) went in pursuit of the thief, chasing Henry down on the ice of Lake Köyliönjärvi. There, on January 20, 1156, he killed the bishop with an axe. Lalli then stole the bishop's mitre and placed it on his own head. When he tried to take it off, it tore his scalp off with it. When Lalli put the bishop's ring on his finger, it likewise tore his finger off.

Or, to summarize,

Lalli on otaksuttavasti 1100-luvulla elänyt köyliöläinen talonpoika, joka kansanperinteen mukaan surmasi piispa Henrikin Köyliönjärven jäällä 20. tammikuuta noin vuonna 1156.

Of what country is the tale of Lalli a typically grim folk legend?

8. A new emperor ascended the throne on August 23, 1155, amid multifaceted power struggles in and between the clans of his country's aristocracy. In the Hōgen Rebellion of July 1156, he fended off an attempted coup. In 1158, he formally abdicated in favor of his son, but in practice he continued to hold all the power. He would in fact be the real power behind the throne for five subsequent emperors until his death in 1192.

That's pretty typical of how things were done in medieval _________.

9. In 1166, Lord of the Manor Peter de Bermingham obtained a royal charter to hold a market at his castle. He followed this with the creation of a planned market town on his manorial estate, around the site that became the “Bull Ring” (shown here in more modern times). This was the beginning of what modern city?

10. The origin of the Hanseatic League is usually considered the capture and rebuilding of Lübeck in 1159 by Henry the Lion. (Henry was not really a lion, of course. He was a Duke.) Roughly what and where was the Hanseatic League?

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The New Monday Quiz: Last Week

1. That's a map of Jamaica.
2. The city is Johannesburg, the decrepit spacecraft from the movie "District [I forget the number]."
3. What's a tenth of a percent of the mass of the sun?  Jupiter.  If that doesn't impress you about the size of Jupiter, then it should impress you about the size of the sun.
4. Jesus, who is not always as kind in scripture as some theologies would have you believe, killed the fig tree out of frustration.
5. Judgement at Nuremberg is worth seeing!
6. The Jurassic was a long time ago.
7. "It is usually worth eleven, but sometimes worth ten, and children sometimes slap it" is closer to a riddle than a proper Monday Quiz question.  Forgive me.  The answer is Jack.
8. Beware the Jabberwock, my son.
9. Mmm, jicama!  Like the love child of a potato and a watermelon.
10. Irish, ever-intellectual Stephen -- the trademark character of Irish, ever-intellectual James Joyce.

 And Irish, ever-intellectual DrSchnell emerged from a strong crowd to blast this one through the goal posts like a well-kicked jicama!  Out of ten possible marks, he earned ten, symbolized thusly: