William I of Sicily:
the Bad (It. Guglielmo il Mal):
--" . . . The author portrayed the king as an incompetent and his minister as a monster in human form. This brilliant but extremely partisan chronicler has had a great influence upon the historical verdict upon William I, from the late Middle Ages up to the present day. However, the epithet 'the Bad' -- as opposed to William II 'the Good' -- was only applied to the king in the fourteenth century." (Houben: 169)
--William I's posthumous reputation was certainly poor, and even a more balanced contemporary than prejudiced,'Falcandus' described him on his death as 'hateful to his kingdom and more feared than loved, very active in collecting money but not very generous in dispensing it'. He was to go down to posterity as 'King William the Bad', although this nickname was only coined some centuries later. . . ." (Luscombe & Riley-Smith: 454)
--"The sceptre of Roger successively devolved to his son and grandson: they might be confounded under the name of William; they are strongly discriminated by the epithets of the bad and the good: but these epithets, which appear to describe the perfection of vice and virtue, cannot strictly be applied to either of the Norman princes. When he was roused to arms by danger and shame, the first William did not degenerate from the valour of his race; but his temper was slothful; his manners were dissolute; his passions headstrong and mischievous; and the monarch is responsible, not only for his personal vices, but for those of Maio, the great admiral, who abused the confidence, and conspired against the life, of his benefactor. . . ." (Gibbon: 153)
Markezopoulos (Marchesopoulo): "In 1204 the Latin king of Thessalonika Boniface of Montferrat (1204-1207) ceded Bodonitsa as a fief to the marquis Guy Pallavicini (1204-1237), whom the Greeks of the region called 'Markezopoulos'. The aim thereof was to defend the pass of Thermopylae and the territories of the Latin king in Thessaly and Macedonia, which were menaced by the army of the Greek "guerrilla" Leo Sgouros. Initially, the marquisate of Bodonitsa was under the dominion of the Latin emperor of Constantinople. Possibly around 1248 it became tributary to the prince of Achaia until 1278, when it came under the rule of Charles I of Anjou (1278-1285). "The marquis of Bodonitsa Guy Pallavicini was the main counsellor of the widow of Boniface of Montferrat, Margaret. In 1207 he had participated in the movement of the Lombard lords of Thessalonika. Finally, he capitulated with the Latin emperor Henry of Flanders (1206-1216), when in 1209 the imperial troops reached the region." (Bodonitsa)
Guigues II of Albon & Grenoble (1025–1095)
the Fat
Guigues III of Albon (c.1050–1133)
Guigues III of Albon (c.1050–1133)
the Count
the Fat:
the Fat:
Guillaume I of Auvergne.
the Father of the Country:
the Lion:
William d'Hauteville:
William of Hauteville:
William Iron Arm: "The Normans were led by William of Hauteville, whose heroic exploits in Sicily had earned him the nickname 'Iron Arm.'. . . ." (Stark. How the West Won)
"When Byzantium made its last attempt to regain Sicily, their general George Maniaces landed at Messina with a large force including a group of Norman mercenaries. William, the eldest of the Hautevilles, was among them and gained his nickname of Iron Arm for killing the Arab emir of Syracuse with his lance. . . ." (Dummett. Palermo, City of Kings: The Heart of Sicily: 25)
William Ironarm: " . . . Among those Normans, William of Hauteville in particular began to stand out. A competent, unassuming soldiers' soldier, he apparently had a knack for attracting people's trust while not making enemies. But it was as a fighter that he made his name amongst the hard men of the invading army. When he dispatched the Emir of Syracuse in single combat outside that city, he was awarded the nickname of 'Ironarm' by which he would thereafter be called, in tribute to the strength of his sword hand. It was the first step in developing the leadership role from which his family would launch itself to royalty." (Brown. The Norman Conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily: 37)
the Rich: " . . . In the middle of the fourteenth century the county was ruled by William I, known as 'the Rich'. Unfortunately, William's nickname had less to do with an excess of income and more to do with his ostentatious lifestyle. . . ." (Magnanimous Dukes and Rising States: 91)
the Liberator: " . . . William [was] later called 'the Liberator' because of his victory over the Saracen pirate stronghold at La-Garde-Freinet. . . ." (The Origins of France: 189)
the German:
the Fat: [21]
Firebrace ( Fr. Fierbrace; Fier-a-Brass):
Firebrace ( Fr. Fierbrace; Fier-a-Brass):
the Fat:
the Eagle:
the Lion:
Guilhem de Peitieus.
Guillaume VII de Poitou
the Troubadour
the First Troubadour
the Whitehanded [114]
Guillaume of Bournonville (c1040–1071)
the Brown
Guillaume of Dampierre (1250–1311)
Guillaume of Dampierre (1250–1311)
the Landless:
the Little Wolf:
the Carpenter:
--Guillaume of Melun (was) " . . . [w]ell-known as 'William the Carpenter', for his dexterity managing the axe in the battles."
--" . . . the Earl of Melun slaughtered his opponents with a large axe, thus earning himself the nickname of 'The Carpenter.'. . . ."
--" . . . William, viscount of Melun, called the Carpenter, on account of his mighty battle-axe. . . ." (Guizot: 320)
Guilhem was the son of Aldana who was the daughter of Charles Martel.
the Vauban of Modern Times: [116]
the Savior of the Batavian Republic: [115]
Guillermo Raymundo II of Moncada (1090–1173)
the Great Seneschal:
the Fair:
Gunther of Lubdow-Ruppin (d.1284)
Gunther of Arnstei:
the Alcibiades of the North (Fr. l'Alcibiade du Nord):
--" . . . The other eighteenth-century figure known as Alcibiades was a favourite of King Gustavus III of Sweden and later friend of Tsar Alexander -- Count Armfeld was 'l'Alcibiade du Nord'. (Montefiore: 30)
--" . . . Now, too, appear that dashing adventurer, Gustavus Armfelt, the 'Alcibiades o the North,' whom Gustavus picked up at Spa in 1780. . . ." (Scandinavia: A Political History of Denmark, Norway and Sweden from 1513 to 1900: 371)
the Apollo: "...Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt was a handsome man with legendary charm, sometimes called Apollo, and appealing over decades to many a lady all over Europe. He was also a seasoned soldier, and the depiction of an opulent lady between two soldiers would have been a very suitable subject for Armfelt, especially if purchased in his last years in St. Petersburg, the two warriors perhaps referring to his career as a Swedish general, who later served his Finnish homeland in the Russian court." (Amden, 2002, p.222)
Gustav Vasa:
Gustav Cow Butt: "In 1519, Gustav Eriksson escaped from Kalø. He fled to the Hanseatic city of Lübeck where he arrived on 30 September. How he managed to escape is not certain, but according to a somewhat likely story, he disguised himself as a bullocky. For this, Gustav Eriksson got the nicknames "King Oxtail" and "Gustav Cow Butt", something he indeed disliked. When a swordsman drank to His Majesty "Gustav Cow Butt" in Kalmar in 1547, the swordsman was killed." (Wikipedia)
King Oxtail:
the Father of the Country:
the Father of the Nation: " . . . The first Gustav was the 'Father of the Nation,' a ruthless, ambitious king who declared Sweden an absolute monarchy, made the church and all its holdings part of the state, and established a first-rate army. . . ." (Aronson. 1789: Twelve Authors Explore a Year of Rebellion, Revolution, and Change: 24)
Gustavus Adolphus II of Sweden.
Falstaff (by Catherine the Great): " . . . For decades, Russi ahad developed close connections with (and paid bribes to ) large numbers of Swedish aristocrats, military officers, and spies. The empress believed it just a matter of time before she conquered Gustav; she considered him a weakling and an idiot, and gave him the nickname 'Falstaff' after Shakespeare's fat, vain, boastful and cowardly character. Like many, Catherine misjudged Gustav's talents." (Aronson. 1789: Twelve Authors Explore a Year of Rebellion, Revolution, and Change: 24)
the Deliverer of Germany: "To Protestants, Gustavus Adolphus is one of the greatest examples of a Christian king. He was known in his lifetime as “the Lion from the North”, “the Protector of Protestantism” and “the Deliverer of Germany”. His timely intervention stopped the onward march and devastation caused by the Catholic League and the Austrian Empire. There is no doubt that Gustavus Adolphus helped change the course of European history. He is comparable to other great Christian military commanders: Oliver Cromwell, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson, but as a Reformer-King he can also be compared to King Alfred the Great of England." (Hammond)
the Father of Modern Armies:
the Father of Modern Warfare:
the King of the North:
the Lion of the North: " . . . His [Gustav I's] grandson Gustav II---'the Lion of the North'---was a true warrior king, turning Sweden into a major European power and expanding its boundaries. He also pushed Sweden from an almost medieval society into modern times. (His daughter, Queen Christina, ruled Sweden for twenty-two years after his death.)." (Aronson. 1789: Twelve Authors Explore a Year of Rebellion, Revolution, and Change: 24)
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| Gustav III of Sweden @Wikipedia |
the Enlightened Despot:
--" . . . The earl's hostility to Gaveston is said to have been much increased by learning that the favorite had nicknamed him 'the Black Dog of Ardennes'" (McBride)
--" . . . Earl Guy also merits the distinction of being the only earl to have opposed Gaveston's influence at court consistently from Edward's coronation until Gaveston's death in 1312, which was largely engineered by the earl himself. His nick-name of ‘the black dog of Arden’, reputedly coined by Gaveston, probably refers to more than his swarthy complexion. Indeed the Chronicle of Lanercost claims that ‘when this was reported to the earl, he is said to have replied with calmness: 'If he call me a dog, be sure that I will bite him so soon as I shall perceive my opportunity’. . . ." (Barfield)
Guy Marcus Trundle.
Guy Trundell
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