Valentine Quiz

Today is Valentine's Day, the day of love, so what better than a Valentine quiz?! History and love, a winning combination!

Q1) What was the name of the chivalric tradition which is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as "A highly conventionalized medieval tradition of love between a knight and a married noblewoman, first developed by the troubadours of southern France and extensively employed in European literature of the time"?

Courtly love

Knight's honour

The Arthurian tradition

L'amour de chevalier

Correct!

Wrong! It was courtly love.

Q2) Which creatures were said to choose their mates on Valentine's Day?

Dogs

Deer

Birds

Bears

Correct! Geoffrey Chaucer wrote in the 14th century of how birds would choose their mates on Valentine's Day and this theme has been repeated in other pieces of literature.

Wrong! Geoffrey Chaucer wrote in the 14th century of how birds would choose their mates on Valentine's Day and this theme has been repeated in other pieces of literature.

Q3) According to accounts in the 15th century "Paston Letters" what happened on Valentine's Day?

Nothing, it wasn't celebrated.

Valentines were chosen by lot and gifts were given.

People went to church and posies were given out to female members of the congregation.

Cards were given to sweethearts.

Correct!

Wrong! Valentines were chosen by lot and then a gift was purchased.

Q4) Who is Cupid?

A fallen angel

An angel

The god of love

A saint

Correct! He is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection.

Wrong! He is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection.

Q5) Which of his wives did Henry VIII describe as "our true and loving wife"?

Anne Boleyn

Catherine of Aragon

Catherine Howard

Jane Seymour

Correct!

Wrong! It was Jane Seymour.

Q6) What gift did Henry VIII send with one of his love letters to Anne Boleyn, in the hope that when she ate it she would think of him?

A deer he'd killed.

A punnet of strawberries

A fig

Marchpane

Correct - "I send you, by the bearer of this, a buck killed late last night by my own hand, hoping that when you eat of it you may think of the hunter...".

Wrong! It was a deer: ""I send you, by the bearer of this, a buck killed late last night by my own hand, hoping that when you eat of it you may think of the hunter...".

Q7) Who was married the longest?

Henry VII

Henry VIII

Edward IV

Correct! Edward IV was married to Elizabeth Woodville from 1st May 1464 until his death on 9th April 1483 (just under 19 years), Henry VII was married to Elizabeth of York from 18th January 1486 to her death on 11th February 1503 (17 years), and Henry VIII was married to Catherine of Aragon from 11th June 1509 until the annulment was declared on 23rd May 1533 (nearly 24 years).

Wrong! It was Henry VIII. Edward IV was married to Elizabeth Woodville from 1st May 1464 until his death on 9th April 1483 (just under 19 years), Henry VII was married to Elizabeth of York from 18th January 1486 to her death on 11th February 1503 (17 years), and Henry VIII was married to Catherine of Aragon from 11th June 1509 until the annulment was declared on 23rd May 1533 (nearly 24 years).

Q8) Elizabeth kept a letter from this courtier in a box by her bedside. She wrote on it "His last letter".

Robert Devereux

Thomas Seymour

Robert Dudley

Francis, Duke of Anjou

Correct!

Wrong! It was Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.

Q9) Which royal couple used honeysuckle and acorns as their private motif?

Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville

Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn

Henry VII and Elizabeth of York

Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon

Correct!

Wrong! It was Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.

Q10) Frances Grey, daughter of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, and Mary Tudor, Queen of France, caused a stir in 1554/5 by marrying Adrian Stokes - why?

He was a commoner

They were closely related

She was old enough to be his mother

She was pregnant when they married

Correct! He was her master of horse, or her steward, or her equerry.

Wrong! He was a commoner (her master of horse, or her steward, or her equerry).