Saturday, March 8, 2008

Quiz #1

Okay, time for some fun!

Below are five questions to test your knowledge of the Renaissance in France. Some of the answers you will know from reading this blog; others you might know from university course work or general reading. Post your answers in a comment; in a day or so, once the comments stop, I'll post the correct answers.

NO GOOGLING ALLOWED!!! Let's see who knows what off the top of his/her head.

1. Who reigned as King of France from 1515 to 1547?

a) Henri IV
b) François I
c) Louis XVI
d) Henri II

2. François I's sister Marguerite is famous for being

a) the author of the Heptaméron, a collection of tales modeled after Boccaccio's Decameron
b) Queen of Navarre
c) patroness of several Evangelical reformers, including Guillaume Farel and Jean Calvin
d) all of the above (don't you hate that choice?!)

3. Which Italian artist did NOT work in France at François I's invitation?

a) Michelangelo
b) Leonardo Da Vinci
c) Andrea del Sarto
d) Cellini

4. Which French city rivaled Paris as a center of commerce and culture in the 16th century?

a) Rouen
b) Lyon
c) Bordeaux
d) Tours

5. Which adjective derives from the name of the giant in François Rabelais's controversial second
book, published in 1534?

a) gargantuan
b) colossal
c) grandiose
d) titanic

Have at it! Prize is the satisfaction of knowing you know as much useless information as I do! {s}

4 comments:

Rachel Walsh said...

Ok. I'm game (and very likely to be wrong (g)).

1. Francois 1
2. Queen of Navarre (I remember that from the French film, "Queen Margot". Hmmm, she was a bit of a force of nature though, and she could well have done "all of the above"...)
3.Cellini (that's a wild guess!)
4. Lyon (yet another stab in the dark)
5.Gargantuan

Rachel

Julianne Douglas said...

Yeah, Rachel!! Thanks for breaking the ice. You'll have to hang a bit for the answers, though. Let's see if any one else tries. I'll post the answers tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

1. b) François I
2. d) all of the above (definitely author of Heptaméron, though on the other answers I may be confusing her with Jeanne (?) Q of Navarre, Henri IV's mother, who supported protestant reformers)
3. a) Michelangelo (definitely not Leonardo or Cellini -- IIRC his autobio covers time in France)
4. b) Lyon (see Dunnett's Checkmate)
5. a) gargantuan

Julianne Douglas said...

Brave soul number two! I'm impressed with everyone's choices. Keep the responses coming! Answers tomorrow.