Alexander the Great, Ivan the Terrible, Pedro the Cruel. Many countries in Europe choose to regularly identify their rulers with an adjective, so much so that in Russia it seems that all you had to do was to survive the coronation to earn the appellation “great”. Further west, descriptions tended to be more personal, Charles the Bald, Louis the Fat and Joanna the Mad among those who’ve graced the palaces of Western Europe.
The kings and queens of England have proved relatively immune to this trend, especially after the Saxon kings like Alfred the Great, Æthelread the Unready and Edward the Confessor were displaced by the Normans. Our rulers have tended to be known by number alone – roman numerals to emphasise their elevated status. So Henry VIII is the name that is recorded in the history books, not Henry the Wifekiller. The truly great royals are noted in other ways; such as the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award.
However, this is not the full story and many of our Kings and Queens did have contemporary nicknames based upon their personal, often sexual, peccadilloes that censorious historians, mindful of the impressionable minds of their young students, sought to suppress. They have been remarkably successful in this endeavour, with only the most evocative descriptions – like Richard Lionheart – remaining in popular consciousness, and then only distorted from its origins.
Now the true story is revealed. (more…)
