The Most Interesting and Intriguing Facts About Mona Lisa

The Most Interesting and Intriguing Facts About Mona Lisa

One of the most popular paintings in the world is the “Mona Lisa” by the universal genius and Renaissance man – Leonardo de Vinci. After more than 500 years since its creation, the painting continuously captured and captivated the attention of millions of people most especially by art enthusiasts and lovers.  It was very popular and controversial for several reasons. Keep that mouse rolling to find the most intriguing and controversial facts about the classical “Mona Lisa”.

1. The Mona Lisa, which is one of the most expensive paintings in the world, is also known as La Gioconda or La Joconde

2. In some instances, it is also called the Portrait of Lisa Gherardini and has been acclaimed as the most sung about, the best known, the most written about, the most parodied and the most visited work of art in the world.

3. La Gioconda is the Italian for “the jocund one”. Jocund means jovial or happy.

4. Lisa Gherardini was the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, a rich merchant who lived in the City of Florence in Italy. The city is one of the most famous cities in the world during the Renaissance period.

5. This extremely famous painting is a half-length portrait of a woman in oil on a poplar panel and was painted between 1503 and 1506.

6. It is currently on permanent display at the Musee du Louver in Paris, the capital of France which is the most visited country in the world.

7. It is a property of the French Republic and was purchased by King Francois I of France after Leonardo da Vinci’s death from his student and assistant Salai, who inherited the painting including his other works.

8. It was bought by King Francois I for 4,000 ecus and kept it at Palace of Fontainebleau and then it was given to Louis XIV and was kept at the Palace of Versailles.

9. The term “Mona Lisa” is taken from the Italian “Ma Donna Lisa” which means “My Lady Lisa”. Mona is the contraction of Madonna.

10. The painting is thought to have been commissioned for the new home of Francesco del Giocondo and Lisa and to celebrate the birth of their second son, Andrea. 

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11. The “Mona Lisa” is an unfinished painting by Leonardo da Vinci like many of his work.

12. The painting also spent a short period of time in the bedroom of Napoleon Bonaparte in the Palace of Tuileries.

13. It was moved to the Louvre after the French Revolution and was move again at the Brest Arsenal during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871.

14. After the Franco-Prussian War it was moved back to the Louvre but was move again to several places such Chateau d’Amboise, Loc-Dieu Abbey, Chateau de Chambord and Ingres Museum.

15. When the painting was stolen on August 21, 1911, the Louvre was closed for an entire week to aid in investigation of the theft.

16. The French poet Guillaume Appollinaire was arrested and jailed but was released due to lack of evidence to prove his guilt. His fiend, the famous painter – Pablo Picasso, was also brought in for questioning but was also freed.

17. It took 2 years to finally capture the real thief – Vincenzo Peruggia, an employee of Louvre. He was captured when he tried to sell it to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.

18. This Italian patriot’s main reason for stealing the painting is that he believed Leonardo's painting should be returned to Italy for display in an Italian museum.

19. The Mona Lisa painting was exhibited all over Italy and returned to Louvre in 1913. Peruggia was hailed for his patriotism and served only 6 months in jail for stealing the painting.

20. Mona Lisa was among the first portraits to depict the sitter before an imaginary landscape and Leonardo was one of the first painters to use aerial perspective. 

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21. One more thing that makes Mona Lisa uniquely intriguing is the fact that it has no clearly visible eyebrows or eyelashes.

22. The painting had suffered several minor damages especially its frame but was repaired carefully accurately by experts.

23. The painting has had many different decorative frames in its history and had undergone several cleaning, re-varnishing, and touch-up.

24. Another fascinating fact and great manifestation of Mona Lisa’s popularity is that about 6 million people view this masterpiece at the Louvre each year.Visitors generally spend about 15 seconds viewing the Mona Lisa.

25. Mona Lisa was exhibited in New York City and Washington D.C. in the United States from December 1962 to March 1963 for a period of 3 months. It was also exhibited in Moscow and Tokyo in 1974.

26. Mona Lisa is the 5^th most expensive painting in the world. Its 1962 price of $100 million is approximately $700 million in 2010.

27. A Mona Lisa smoking a pipe was created by Sapeck in 1883 while Marcel Duchamp created a Mona Lisa with a moustache and a goatee and added the inscription "Elle a chaud au cul" which literally mean "she has a hot ass".

28. Some parts of the painting were damaged in several occasions. The first was in 1956, when the lower part of the painting was severely damaged by a vandal who doused the painting with acid.

29. The second was on December 30, 1956, when a rock was thrown by a young man named Ugo Ungaza Villegas from Bolivia that resulted in the loss of a speck of pigment near the left elbow. The damaged was later painted over.

30. The third attack on the painting occurred in April 1974 at the Tokyo National Museum when a lame woman sprayed red paint at the painting because she was upset by the museum's policy for disabled people. The painting was undamaged. 

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31. The most recent attack on the painting was on August 2, 2009 when a Russian woman threw a terra cotta mug at the painting because of disappointment when she was denied French citizenship. The mug was purchased at the museum. The painting was undamaged.

32. To avoid further attacks and damages, the painting is now shielded by a bulletproof glass.

33. To avoid future damages, the painting is currently kept under strict, climate-controlled conditions maintaining humidity at 50% ±10%, and temperature between 18 and 21 °C.

Interesting Facts About Saint Lorenzo Ruiz: The First Filipino Saint

Perhaps, the most famous religious Filipino ever is Saint Lorenzo Ruiz. Here are some of the most interesting facts about this Filipino saint.

1.) Saint Lorenzo Ruiz was born in 1600 CE in Binondo, Manila.

2.) He served as an altar boy at the convent of Binondo Church.

3.) Ruiz is also known as San Lorenzo de Manila.

4.) Lorenzo Ruiz is the first Filipino saint venerated in the Roman Catholic Church.

5.) He was martyred during persecution of Japanese Christians under the Tokugawa Shogunate in the 17^th century.

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6.) Ruiz’s father was a Chinese and his mother was a Filipina.

7.) His parents were both Catholics and Ruiz was both fluent in Chinese and Tagalog.

8.) Lorenzo was educated by the Dominican friars and earned the title of escribano (calligrapher) because of his skillful hand and unsurpassed penmanship.

9.) Lorenzo Ruiz was a member of the Cofradia del Santissimo Rosario or Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary.

10.) He married and had two sons and a daughter with his Filipino wife.

11.) Life for the Ruiz family was generally peaceful, religious and full of contentment.

12.) In 1636, while working as a clerk at the Binondo Church, Ruiz was falsely accused of killing a Spaniard.

13.) Because of the allegation, Ruiz sought asylum on board a ship with three Dominican priests.

14.) His companions were Saint Antonio Gonzalez; Saint Guillermo Courtet; Saint Miguel de Aozaraza, a Japanese priest; Saint Vicente Shiwozuka de la Cruz; and a layman named Saint Lazaro of Kyoto, a leper.

15.) Ruiz and his companions left for Japan on June 10, 1636, with the aid of the Dominican fathers and Fr.Giovanni Yago.

16.) Ruiz and company was arrested and persecuted for their Christian religion upon reaching Okinawa, Japan.

17.) They were brought to Nagasaki on July 10, 1636 and were tortured in many ways.

18.) They were hanged by their feet, submerged in water until near death and by water torture.

19.) Needles were also inserted in their finger nails and they were beaten until unconscious.

20. Because of the excruciating pain from these methods, some of Ruiz's companions recant their faith, but Ruiz never did.

21.) On September 27, 1637, Ruiz and his companions were taken to the "Mountain of Martyrs" and they were hung upside down into a pit known as horca y hoya, or tsurishi.

22.) TSURISHI was considered as the most painful way to die at the time because it involved the use of rocks to add weight to the person being punished.

23.) The individual being tortured suffocated quickly while being crushed by his own weight.

24.) On September 29, 1637, Lorenzo Ruiz died from hemorrhage and suffocation.

25.) Ruiz’s body was cremated and his ashes were thrown into the sea

See also

• Holy Pilgrimage Sites in the Philippines
• Top 15 Most Beautiful Churches in the Philippines
• Famous and Historical Churches in the Philippines
• Architecturally Unique Churches in the Philippines
• Who Were the Bad Popes in History: The Eight Most Controversial Popes

Interesting Facts About Leonardo Da Vinci: Creator of Mona Lisa and The Last Supper

Leonardo Da Vinci is one of the most famous men in history. He is well remembered for his Mona Lisa and The Last Supper – considered as the world’s greatest painting.

1.) Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in Florence, Italy. He was never married and had no children.

2.) Da Vinci was left-handed. He is regarded as the most universally recognized left-handed artist of all time. Amazingly, he wrote in mirror image because of his left handedness.

3.) He was a person of exceptional talent and skills. He was a polymath, sculptor, painter, musician, architect, mathematician, scientist, inventor, engineer, geologist, anatomist, writer, cartographer and botanist.

4.) He is regarded as a “Renaissance Man”, a man of "unquenchable curiosity" and "feverishly inventive imagination".

5.) He is widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time and perhaps the most diversely talented person ever to have lived.

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6.) Leonardo appears to have had no close relationships with women except for his friendship with the two Este sisters, Beatrice and Isabella.

7.) Beyond friendship, Leonardo kept his private life secret.

8.) Da Vinci’s sexuality has been the subject of satire, analysis, and speculation.

9.) Leonardo's most intimate relationships were perhaps with his pupils Salai and Melzi.

10.) Melzi, writing to inform Leonardo's brothers of his death, described Leonardo's feelings for his pupils as both loving and passionate.

11.) Gian Giacomo Caprotti da Oreno, nicknamed Salai or Il Salaino ("The Little Unclean One" i.e., the devil), entered Leonardo's household in 1490.

12.) After only a year, Leonardo made a list of his misdemeanors, calling him "a thief, a liar, stubborn, and a glutton", after he had made off with money and valuables on at least five occasions, and spent a fortune on clothes.

13.) Nevertheless, Leonardo treated him with great indulgence and he remained in Leonardo's household for the next thirty years.

14.) Salai executed a number of paintings under the name of Andrea Salai, but although Vasari claims that Leonardo "taught him a great deal about painting".

15.) In 1515, Salai painted a nude version of the Mona Lisa, known as Monna Vanna.

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16.) Salai owned the Mona Lisa at the time of his death in 1525, and in his will it was assessed at 505 lire the equivalent of £200,000, an exceptionally high valuation for a small panel portrait.

17.) In 1506, Leonardo took on another pupil, Count Francesco Melzi, the son of a Lombard aristocrat, who is considered to have been his favorite student.

18.) Melzi traveled to France with Leonardo, and remained with him until the latter's death.

19.) Upon Leonardo's death, Melzi inherited the artistic and scientific works, manuscripts, and collections of Leonardo, and faithfully administered the estate. His brothers received piece of lands. Salai received half of Leonardo’s vineyards.

20.) Based on Florentine court records of 1476, Leonardo and three other young men were charged with sodomy with a male prostitute but were acquitted.

21.) Leonardo da Vinci was born out of wedlock to a Piero da Vinci, a legal notary and Caterina, a peasant woman.

22.) Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” is the most famous and most parodied portrait in the world.

23.) His “The Last Supper” is the most reproduced religious painting of all time.

24.) At the age of twenty, Leonardo qualified as a master in the Guild of St. Luke, the guild of artists and doctors of medicine.

25.) He died on May 2, 1519 at the age of 67. Da Vinci was buried in the Chapel of Saint-Hubert in Château d'Amboise.

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26.) Da Vinci’s Codex Leicester was bought in an auction for $30.8 million by Bill Gates in 1994. Presently, Codex Leicester is the most expensive book ever sold.

27.) Codex Arundel and Codex Atlanticus are other well known compilations of Da Vinci.

28.) Vitruvian Man is Leonardo Da Vinci’s most famous drawing. It is a study of the proportions of the human body, linking art and science.

29.) Leonardo Da Vinci was a vegetarian and wore brightly-colored clothes.

30.) He is tall, athletic and extremely handsome man.

31.) Leonardo drew the plans for the first armored car and also designed the cannon, a machine gun, gliders, turnspit for roasting meat and canal system to irrigate fields.

32.) Da Vinci was as much an inventor as an artist. Many of the inventions he designed are in use today such as the helicopters and parachutes.

33.) Leonardo Da Vinci was dyslexic.

34.) Leonardo was 23 when Michelangelo was born and 31 when Raphael was born.

35.) Raphael only lived until the age of 37 and died in 1520, the year after Leonardo, but Michelangelo went on creating for another 45 years.

 

Vitruvian Man

See also

• 50 Interesting Facts About Thomas Alva Edison
• 35 Interesting Facts About Alexander Graham Bell

Controversial and Famous Same Sex Relationships in World History

You may not believe it but there are some historical figures that were known as homosexuals. They’ve been romantically and sexually involved to same sex.

Here are some of the most famous and controversial homosexuals in history and literature.

Alexander the Great and Hephaeston

Alexander the Great

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One of the most popular figures in history is Alexander III of Macedon (20/21 July 356 – 10/11 June 323 BC). He is more popularly known as Alexander the Great. He have had a few relationship with the opposite sex but the greatest emotional relationship of Alexander’s life was with his friend, general and bodyguard Hephaestion, the son of a Macedonian noble.

Hephaeston

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Hephaestion had been brought up with Alexander and shared all his secrets. This friendship lasted their whole lives. His death devastated Alexander, sending him into a six month period of grieving.  Upon the death of Hephaestion, Alexander sacked a nearby town, and put all of its inhabitants to the sword, as a ‘sacrifice’ to Hephaestion’s ghost.

Hadrian and Antinous

Hadrian

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Hadrian or Publius Aelius Trajanus Hadrianus Augustus (24 January 76 – 10 July 138), was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian’s Wall. Hadrian had a close relationship with a Bithynian Greek youth, Antinous, which was most likely sexual. When Antinous died in 130 CE during a journey on the Nile, Hadrian wept like a woman.

Antinous

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Antinous, born on November 27, 111 CE, was deified after his death. The grief of the emperor knew no bounds, causing the most extravagant veneration to be paid to his memory. Cities were founded in his name, medals struck with his likeness, and cities throughout the east commissioned godlike images of the dead youth for their shrines and sanctuaries. Hadrian had Antinous proclaimed a god.

Elton John and David Furnish

Elton John

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Sir Elton Hercules John, born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947, is an English singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor, is one of the most successful artists of all time having been sold more than 250 million records. Elton John entered into a civil partnership with David Furnish on December 21, 2005 and continues to be a champion for LGBT social movement. Their son, Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John, was born to a surrogate mother on December 25, 2010 in California, USA.

David James Furnish

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David James Furnish was born on October 25, 1962. He is a Canadian/British filmmaker, former advertising executive.

Helen De Generes and Portia Lee James

Helen De Generes

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Ellen Lee DeGeneres, born January 26, 1958, is an American stand-up comedian, television host and actress. She hosts the talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show. She was also a judge on American Idol for one year, having joined the show in its 19^th season. She came out publicly as a lesbian in 1997. She is currently married to Portia de Rossi.

Portia Lee James DeGeneres

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Portia Lee James DeGeneres was born Amanda Lee Rogers on January 31 1973. She is known professionally as Portia de Rossi. This Australian-American actress, best known for her roles as lawyer Nelle Porter on the television series Ally McBeal, is openly gay.

Achilles and Patroclus

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The relationship between Achilles and Patroclus, the two heroes of the Trojan War, had a deep and extremely meaningful friendship. Achilles is tender towards Patroclus, while he is callous and arrogant towards others. These "war buddies" are often said as an egalitarian homosexual couples. In Iliad, Homer described clearly the strong connection of Achilles and Patroclus.

Achilles

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Achilles is the central character and the greatest warrion of Homer’s Iliad. He was named the most handsome of the heroes assembled against Troy by Plato. He was invulnerable in all of his body except for his heel. Like Alexander the Great, Achilles have had sexual relationships with women.

Patroclus

Patroclus was the beloved comrade and brother-in-arms of Achilles. Patroclus is cremated on a funeral pyre, and his bones are collected into a golden urn in two layers of fat. When Achilles died, his bones were mingled with those of Patroclus so that the two would be companions in death as in life and the remains were transferred to Leuke, an island in the Black Sea.

Hercules and Iolaus

Heracles

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Heracles was a divine hero in Greek Mythology. He is known as Hercules in Roman Mythology. Heracles was the son of Zeus and Alcmene. He was the foster son of Amphitryon and great-grandson (and half-brother) of Perseus. He was the greatest of the Greek heroes, a paragon of masculinity. His extraordinary strength, courage, ingenuity, and sexual prowess with both males and females were among Heracles notable characteristic. As symbol of masculinity and warriorship, Heracles also had a number of male lovers. Notable male lovers of Heracles were Hylas, Elacatas, Abderus, Sostratus and many others.

Iolaus

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Iolaus is one of the most controversial lovers of Heracles. He was a Theban divine hero in Greek mythology. He was the son of Iphicles, Heracles’ brother, and Automedusa. Iolaus was a nephew of Heracles. He often acted as Heracles' charioteer and companion. He was popularly regarded as Heracles' lover, and the shrine to him in Thebes was a place where male couples worshiped and made vows.

Orestes and Pylades

Pylades

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Pylades is the son of King Strophius of Phocis and Anaxibia, daughter of Atreus and sister of Agamemnon and Menelaus in Greek mythology. Pylades is mostly known for his strong friendship or homosexual relationship with his cousin Orestes, son of Agamemnon.

Orestes

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Orestes was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon. He is the cousin and lover of Pylades.

Theseus and Pirithus

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Theseus was the mythical founder-king of Athens, son of Aethra, and fathered by Aegeus and Poseidon, both of whom Aethra had slept with in one night. 

His best friend was Pirithous, prince of the Lapiths. These great heroes, the strongest men on earth were allegedly lovers.

Castor and Pollox

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Castor and Pollux were the Gemini/Dioscuri or twin brothers in Roman mythology, taken from Greek Mythology. Their mother was Leda but they had different fathers, Sparta's King Tyndareus and the god Zeus, respectively. They were brothers to Clytemnestra and Helen of Troy, and the half-brothers of Hercules, Phoebe, Timandra and Philonoe. The pair were regarded as the patrons of sailors, to whom they appeared as St. Elmo’s fire.

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100 Interesting and Amazing Things AboutAlexander the Great

30 Interesting Facts About Constantine the Great

Constantine the Great is one of the most prominent personalities in history. He was the first emperor to rule in the name of Christ and he was a major figure in the foundation of medieval Christian Europe.

Here are some interesting facts about this great leader in human history.

1.) Constantine the Great was born about 274 CE and died 337 CE.

2.) He was Roman emperor for 31 years from 306-337 CE.

3.) Constantine the Great was the first Roman ruler to be converted to Christianity.

4.) In 330, he founded Constantinople, now known as İstanbul, as a capital of the Roman Empire.

5.) Constantinople remained the seat of the Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman until 1453.

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6.) He was born in Nis, now part of Serbia and Montenegro,

7.) Constantine’s complete name is Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus Augustus. He is also known as Constantine I or Saint Constantine.

8.) His father is Constantius I (Constantius Chlorus), a former military commander.

9.) Constantine’s mother is Helena who became Saint Helena.

10.)  His father, Constantius, became co-emperor in 305 CE but died the following year.

11.) Upon the death of Constantius in 306 CE, Constantine was proclaimed emperor by his troop.

12.) For almost 20 years, he fought his rivals for the throne and finally established himself as sole ruler in 324 CE.

13.) Constantine was a solar henotheist early in his life – meaning he believed that the Roman sun god, Sol, was the visible manifestation of an invisible “Highest God” (summus deus), who was the principle behind the universe.

14.)  In 312 CE, on the eve of a battle against Maxentius, his rival in Italy, Constantine is reported to have dreamed that Christ appeared to him and told him to inscribe the holy sign ΧΡ, the first two letters of the Greek word ΧΡΙSΤΟS (Christos), on the shields of his troops.

15.) The next day he is said to have seen a cross superimposed on the sun and the words “in this sign you will be the victor” (usually given in Latin, in hoc signo vinces).

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16.) Constantine then defeated Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, near Rome and the Senate hailed the victor as savior of the Roman people.

17.) Through the Edict of Milan, which was issued in 313 CE, persecutions of the Christians ended. This edict mandated the toleration of Christians.

18.) As guardian of Christianity, the church was then given legal rights and large financial donations by Constantine.

19.) Administrative reforms introduced by Constantine include the separation of civil and military authority.

20.) During his reign, the central government was run by Constantine and his council, known as the sacrum consistorium.

21.) The powers of the Senate were given back and new gold coins (solidi) were issued and remained the standard of exchange until the end of the Byzantine Empire.

22.) Constantine built churches in the Holy Land, where his mother Helena supposedly found the True Cross on which Jesus was crucified.

23.) Constantine the Great fell ill in April 337 CE and died one month later on May 22, 337 CE.

24.) He was baptized shortly before his death by the Arian bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia (now İzmit, Turkey).

25.) Although he was already a complete Christian by the time of the council at Nicaea in 325 CE, he still tolerated paganism among his subjects.

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26.) The Arch of Constantine, a triumphal arch situated between the Colosseum and the Palatne hill in Rome, was erected to commemorate his victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge on October 28, 312.

27.) In June 326, Constantine had his eldest son Crispus, by Minervina, seized and put to death by "cold poison" at Pola (now Pula, Croatia)

28.)  In July 326, Constantine had his wife, the Empress Fausta, killed at the behest of his mother, Helena. Fausta was left to die in an over-heated bath.

29.) At the time of the executions of Crispus and Fausta, it was commonly believed that the Empress Fausta was either in an illicit relationship with Crispus, or was spreading rumors to that effect.

30.) The Byzantine Empire considered Constantine its founder and the Holy Roman Empire reckoned him among the venerable figures of its tradition. 

See also 

• 70+ Interesting Facts About Jesus Christ
• 100 Amazing and Interesting Things About Alexander the Great
• 50 Interesting Facts About Julius Caesar
• Interesting Facts About Augustus Caesar
• 100 Interesting Facts About Temujin or Genghis Khan
• 100+ Interesting and Controversial Facts About Napoleon Bonaparte
• 70+ Interesting Facts About Nelson Mandela
• 40 Interesting Facts About Charles The Great

40 Interesting Facts About Charlemagne

Charlemagne or Charles the Great is one of the most popular figures in history. Charlemagne is well remembered as the absolute sovereign ruler of the state, as well as head of the church.  

Here’s a long list of interesting things about this great leader in history.

1.) Charlemagne was born on April 2, 742 CE and his name in Latin is Carolus Magnus, Charles the Great in English and Carlo Magno in Spanish.

2.) His father is the Frankish leader – Pepin the Short, mayor of the palace under the Merovingian dynasty of Frankish kings and became king of the Franks in 751 CE.

3.) Pope Stephen II officially crowned Pepin in 754 and anointed both Charlemagne and his younger brother Carloman.

4.) Charles the Great was king of the Franks from 768 up to the time of his death in 814 CE.

5.) He was also emperor of the Romans for 14 years from 800 to 814 CE.

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6.) The empire that Charlemagne built included almost all of western and central Europe.

7.) He presided over a cultural and legal revival that came to be known as the Carolingian Renaissance.

8.) Modern-day France and Germany emerged from Charlemagne’s empire, the former as West Francia and the latter as East Francia.

9.) When Pepin died, Charlemagne shared rule of the kingdom with his brother, Carloman and became sole king of the Franks after the death of the latter in 771 CE.

10.) It took 32 years before Charlemagne completely conquered the Saxons from 772 to 804 CE.

11.) He also conquered the Bavarians, Slavs and Avars and obliged them to pay him tribute.

12.) Charlemagne also defeated and ruled the Lombards of Italy in 773 and northern part of Spain in 778 CE.

13.) On December 25, 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne and anointed him emperor of the Romans after crushing a rebellion in Rome.

14.) Charlemagne introduced many reforms in his empire such as judicial and legal reforms.

15.) He ordered bishops and abbots to set up schools for the training of monks and other clerics.

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16.) He made Latin the standard written and spoken language in his huge empire of several languages and dialects.

17.) Charlemagne played a key role in preserving much of the literary heritage of ancient Rome.

18.) After Charlemagne’s death in 814, his sole heir, Louis I, the Pious, ruled until his death in 840.

19.) The Treaty of Verdun of 843 divided Charlemagne’s empire among his three grandsons – Charles, Lothair and Louis.

20.) Louis II, the German, received East Francia.

21.) Charles II, the Bald, received West Francia

22.) Lothair I acquired the title of emperor and an area running from the North Sea through Lotharingia (Lorraine) and Burgundy to northern Italy

23.) The warrior-king image of Charlemagne was the inspiration for all subsequent empire builders in Europe during the Middle Ages.

24.) The word for “king” in several modern Slavic languages such as Krol in Polish and Kral in Czech are based upon the German name of Charlemagne, Karl.

25.) Charles the Great died at the age of 71 in January 28, 814 CE.

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26.) Charles the Great was married 4 times. His first marriage was annulled.

27.) He had 11 legitimate children; two were twins and 9 illegitimate children.

28.) Charles the Great had no children with his first wife and fourth wife.

29.) He had two children with his first relationship which is described as concubinage.

30.) Charles the Great had 5 other known concubines. The first 3 bore him a child each; the 4^th gave him 2 children and the 5^th bore him 4 children.

31.) Physically, Charles the Great was heavily built, sturdy, and of considerable stature.

32.) He had a round head, large and lively eyes, and a slightly larger nose than usual with white but still attractive hair.

33.) He has a bright and cheerful expression, a short and fat neck, and he enjoyed good health.

34.) Charles the Great stood 1.84 meters making him a very tall person during his time.

35.) He wore blue cloak and always carried a sword with him which is typically of a golden or silver hilt.

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36.) Charles the Great wore fancy jeweled swords to banquets or ambassadorial receptions.

37.) He despised elaborated and expensive cloths and usually dressed like the common people.

38.) Charles the Great’s favorite food is roasted meat.

39.) He died of Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, an inflammation of the pleura, the lining of the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs which is often cause by infections.

40.) Charlemagne was buried the same day he died.

See also

100 Amazing and Interesting ThingsAbout Alexander the Great

50 Interesting Facts About JuliusCaesar

Interesting Facts About AugustusCaesar

100 Interesting Facts About Temujinor Genghis Khan

100+ Interesting and Controversial FactsAbout Napoleon Bonaparte

70+ Interesting Facts About NelsonMandela