Abstract

Charles the Bald, Charles the Fat, Harald Bluetooth, King Cape, Edward Longshanks, the Moneybag, Vlad Dracula, Old Goat …… The nicknames given to 55 kings talked about even today teach us the origin modern Europe. The magnificent and barbarous medieval and early-modern European history painted by gossips and scandals!

Kenichi Sato, Naoki Prize winner who has many fans for his large-scale historical novels including “Novel French Revolution” and “Napoleon”, wrote the history essay to explain in a chronological order of reign about the anecdotes of the nicknames of European kings from the Middle Ages to early-modern times. Compiling columns full of esprit (4-page each), the book covers anecdotes one after another beyond time and space through witty telling like puzzle-solving in vaudeville. While reading, you just are impressed or can’t help but burst out laughing.

There are 55 kings appearing in this book, from the King of Frankish Kingdom in 9th century that later divided into France, Germany, and Italy, to the Citizen King of France who was overthrown in the February Revolution in 19th century. Also covering the Viking in North Europe and the king of the Iberian Peninsula with continual war, it vividly describes 1,000 years when medieval Europe in nebulous state transformed to the almost current power landscape of countries. Involving abominable and cruel conspiracies, family quarrels, and scandals around marriage and succession, as well as religions like Catholic Church, it sometimes expanded to the war lasting for 100 years. It is indeed a history of blood feuds.

Frederick Barbarossa (means red beard in Italian), Richard the Lionheart, Ivan the Terrible, Luis XIV Sun King…… Each nickname shows the state of country and social condition at the time of their reign. Together with vulgarness painted by magnificent gossips and barbarous scandals.

You can enjoyably read the book that is strewing everywhere the profound knowledges about king’s nicknames. For example ---
“Volodymyr” which is a name of “Saint Grand Duke” who made the golden age of Kievan Rus', an origin of current Ukraine, is first name of Ukraine President Zelensky, but if changing it to Russian, it is “Vladimir”, which is a first name of President Putin. There is a bronze statue of “Saint Grand Duke” bestriding the capital city of Kiev now and you will find one in Moscow too……

Author’s Information

Writer
Born in 1968 in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture. He made his debut in 1993 by winning the Novel Subaru Newcomer Award for ``The Man Who Became a Jaguar.'' In 1999, he received the Naoki Prize for ``The Queen's Divorce.'' In 2014, he received the Mainichi Publishing Culture Award Special Award for ``Novel French Revolution.'' In 2020, he received the Shiba Ryotaro Prize for ``Napoleon'' (all three volumes). In 2013, he received the Chuo Prize for ``Chambara.'' Received the Public Papers and Arts Award. Author of many works.