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Aelfgifu
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Topic: The funniest historical nickname Posted: 09-Oct-2006 at 09:35 |
Ever wondered how on earth to keep Louis VIII and X apart? Henry IV and V? George I to V?
Of course the numbers are relatively new, people did not use to number their kings. But to keep them apart they had to do something, and the answer was nick-naming....
You thought Charles the Fat, William the Silent and Ethelred the Unready had bad luck in names?
How about Ketil Flat-nose, or Olaf the Peacock....
So, what is the single most stupid, embarassing and wildly funny nickname for a historical person you ever came across?
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JanusRook
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Posted: 09-Oct-2006 at 11:15 |
Erasmo of Narni had a pretty stupid nickname. Gattamelata, the honeyed cat.
Although if we were going for rulers I'd say Caligula (not really a nickname though). How does a man named "little boots" get to be ruler of the largest empire in the world?
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Economic Communist, Political Progressive, Social Conservative.
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The Chargemaster
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Posted: 09-Oct-2006 at 11:56 |
In that case, it is not a nickname, but a family: Well, maybe it is not "historical" name yet, but i will be ahead of the history: The name of the
russian admiral, who is the commander of Russia's Baltic Fleet is
Vladimir Kuroedov. In bulgarian language " Kuroedov" means: " dick-eater"(who eat dicks). But i doubt, that he knows how famous is his family name in Bulgaria. Just for an evidence: http://www.wps.ru/en/pp/kursk/2001/04/19/2.htmlhttp://newsfromrussia.com/main/2003/04/23/46262.html
Edited by The Chargemaster - 09-Oct-2006 at 12:01
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Timotheus
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Posted: 09-Oct-2006 at 23:01 |
Olof of Sweden's mother was Sigrid the Strong-Minded. She was a very strong-willed and controlling woman and Olof's nickname soon was Olof the Lap-King. Later, he got into all manner of expensive wars and his pitiless subjects changed the moniker to Olof the Tax-King. Poor France, beset by Charles the Bald, Charles the Fat, and Charles the Simple...
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Aelfgifu
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Posted: 10-Oct-2006 at 05:09 |
Originally posted by Timotheus
Olof of Sweden's mother was Sigrid the Strong-Minded. She was a very strong-willed and controlling woman and Olof's nickname soon was Olof the Lap-King. Later, he got into all manner of expensive wars and his pitiless subjects changed the moniker to Olof the Tax-King.
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You mean Olof Skotkonung? I thought he was called 'tribute' king because he was forced to pay tribute to the Danish kings...
Poor France, beset by Charles the Bald, Charles the Fat, and Charles the Simple...
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As well as Louis the Pious, Louis the Stammmerer, Louis the Fat, Louis the Saint, Robert the Pious, Philips the Beautiful, John the Good and Louis the Spider King....
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Women hold their councils of war in kitchens: the knives are there, and the cups of coffee, and the towels to dry the tears.
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alexISS
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Posted: 10-Oct-2006 at 06:48 |
Byzantine Emperor Constantine V Kopronymous (Κωνσταντίνος Ε' ο Κοπρώνυμος), nickname Kopronymous meaning "Dung Named"
Edited by alexISS - 10-Oct-2006 at 06:50
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"Military justice is to justice what military music is to music" Groucho
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Constantine XI
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Posted: 10-Oct-2006 at 07:02 |
Originally posted by alexISS
Byzantine Emperor Constantine V Kopronymous (Κωνσταντίνος Ε' ο Κοπρώνυμος), nickname Kopronymous meaning "Dung Named"
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That's right, that one is just awful. Apparently given to him after he
made a most unfortunate accident in the baptismal waters as an infant,
hostile Byzantine iconodule historians spitefully attached it to the
Emperor.
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Emperor Barbarossa
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Posted: 10-Oct-2006 at 18:15 |
William the Bastard, also known as William the Conquerer.
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gcle2003
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Posted: 11-Oct-2006 at 07:17 |
Ethelred the Unready?
The oddity recently, made much of in Britain, was when Luxembourg's Jacques Santer became President of the EC in 1995. Jacques Santer is of course a French translation of John Lackland, the name given to King John (of England, that is).
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vulkan02
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Posted: 11-Oct-2006 at 17:44 |
Julian the Apostate is a pretty bad one too, true he did despise Christianity but fought and died for the good of Constantinople.
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Timotheus
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Posted: 12-Oct-2006 at 00:04 |
Ethelred the Unready was undoubtedly one of the most incompetent kings ever, and Julian the Apostate undoubtedly one of the most evil.
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Aelfgifu
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Posted: 12-Oct-2006 at 04:47 |
I dont think Ethelred the Unready was such a bad king, he just had a LOT of bad luck... If he would have been a really bad king, he would not have reigned that long. The name comes from Old-English, and apparently 'Unprepared' would have been a better translation, and was given because he became king at such a young age.
Or perhaps he was a bad king...
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Women hold their councils of war in kitchens: the knives are there, and the cups of coffee, and the towels to dry the tears.
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Brainstorm
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Posted: 12-Oct-2006 at 08:06 |
Bigus Dickus.
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Constantine XI
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Posted: 12-Oct-2006 at 08:10 |
Let's not forget Byzantine Emperor Michael the Sot (the 3rd), earning his nickname through extravegant debauchery and drinking.
BTW, I rather like Julian the Apostate, he was a good deal more inspired than most of the Emperors of his age.
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Brainstorm
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Posted: 12-Oct-2006 at 08:28 |
Originally posted by Constantine XI
Let's not forget Byzantine Emperor Michael the Sot (the 3rd), earning his nickname through extravegant debauchery and drinking.
BTW, I rather like Julian the Apostate, he was a good deal more inspired than most of the Emperors of his age.
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Both of them called so,by their enemies and their puppet-historians.
Julian by christian historians,
and Michael by those of the new Macedonian dynasty-iconophils.
Its surprising how some capable and good emperors where treated by byzantine historians.
For example those of the "Isaurian" dyansty.
Leo III and his son Constantine,won some brilliant battles,actually saving the empire by Saracens and Bulgarians, but they were called "isaurians"-a tribe of southeastern asia minor ,although its probable that they were from Byzantine Syria.
Isaurians had a really bad reputation as a tribe of thiefs and murderers ,so these bad iconoclast emperors deserved this nickname!
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Constantine XI
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Posted: 12-Oct-2006 at 09:40 |
Originally posted by Brainstorm
Originally posted by Constantine XI
Let's not forget Byzantine
Emperor Michael the Sot (the 3rd), earning his nickname through
extravegant debauchery and drinking.
BTW, I rather like Julian the Apostate, he was a good deal more inspired than most of the Emperors of his age.
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Both of them called so,by their enemies and their puppet-historians.
Julian by christian historians,
and Michael by those of the new Macedonian dynasty-iconophils.
Its surprising how some capable and good emperors where treated by byzantine historians.
For example those of the "Isaurian" dyansty.
Leo III and his son Constantine,won some brilliant battles,actually
saving the empire by Saracens and Bulgarians, but they were called
"isaurians"-a tribe of southeastern asia minor ,although its probable
that they were from Byzantine Syria.
Isaurians had a really bad reputation as a tribe of thiefs and
murderers ,so these bad iconoclast emperors deserved this nickname!
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I think Michael probably did earn his nickname through his behaviour.
He was an iconodule himself and the son of the arch-iconodule the
Empress Theodora. Besides, the Emperor Leo VI was thought to perhaps
have harboured loyalty to Michael through the possibility of being his
son.
The Isaurians were indeed a bunch with a bad reputation, earnt in the
5th century when these ruly warriors were used to replace the German
foederati. Though it was not unsual to name dynasties after their place
of origin and to do so in a mistaken fashion. The Amorium dynasty was,
whilst the Macedonian dynasty was also (and wrongly named at that).
That got me thinking, how about Alexius V Murtzuphlus, Murtzuphlus
meaning "bushy eyebrowed" or something like that. Where his nickname
came from is rather obvious.
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Brainstorm
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Posted: 12-Oct-2006 at 09:54 |
Originally posted by Constantine XI
Originally posted by Brainstorm
Originally posted by Constantine XI
Let's not forget Byzantine
Emperor Michael the Sot (the 3rd), earning his nickname through
extravegant debauchery and drinking.
BTW, I rather like Julian the Apostate, he was a good deal more inspired than most of the Emperors of his age.
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Both of them called so,by their enemies and their puppet-historians.
Julian by christian historians,
and Michael by those of the new Macedonian dynasty-iconophils.
Its surprising how some capable and good emperors where treated by byzantine historians.
For example those of the "Isaurian" dyansty.
Leo III and his son Constantine,won some brilliant battles,actually
saving the empire by Saracens and Bulgarians, but they were called
"isaurians"-a tribe of southeastern asia minor ,although its probable
that they were from Byzantine Syria.
Isaurians had a really bad reputation as a tribe of thiefs and
murderers ,so these bad iconoclast emperors deserved this nickname!
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I think Michael probably did earn his nickname through his behaviour.
He was an iconodule himself and the son of the arch-iconodule the
Empress Theodora. Besides, the Emperor Leo VI was thought to perhaps
have harboured loyalty to Michael through the possibility of being his
son.
The Isaurians were indeed a bunch with a bad reputation, earnt in the
5th century when these ruly warriors were used to replace the German
foederati. Though it was not unsual to name dynasties after their place
of origin and to do so in a mistaken fashion. The Amorium dynasty was,
whilst the Macedonian dynasty was also (and wrongly named at that).
That got me thinking, how about Alexius V Murtzuphlus, Murtzuphlus
meaning "bushy eyebrowed" or something like that. Where his nickname
came from is rather obvious.
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You are right MIchael was iconophil/dule ,but the historians of the Macedonian dynasty really destroyed his reputation,in order to "purify" his asassination by Basil I,the founder of the macedonian dynasty.
(The story is really old-take a look at "bad Saul" ,who was trying to kill "poor David" ..bad poor David,just asassinate the legal king and took his place
As for the Isaurians,i ve written that they were named so,although probably Syrians.
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The Chargemaster
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Kishokan
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Posted: 12-Oct-2006 at 16:30 |
The wallachian ruler Radu Praznaglava (1421, 1423, 1424 - 1426, 1427)
Prazna glava means "Empty head"(in bulgarian).
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Chilbudios
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Posted: 12-Oct-2006 at 16:50 |
The wallachian ruler Radu Praznaglava (1421, 1423, 1424 - 1426, 1427)
Prazna glava means "Empty head"(in bulgarian). |
Actually the usual translation is Radu the Bald
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Timotheus
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Posted: 13-Oct-2006 at 00:13 |
Originally posted by Constantine XI
BTW, I rather like Julian the Apostate, he was a good deal more inspired than most of the Emperors of his age.
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Inspired to murder!
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