The funniest historical nickname

Erasmo of Narni had a pretty stupid nickname. Gattamelata, the honeyed cat.

Although if we were going for rulers I'd say Caligula (not really a nickname though). How does a man named "little boots" get to be ruler of the largest empire in the world?

Olof of Sweden's mother was Sigrid the Strong-Minded. She was a very strong-willed and controlling woman and Olof's nickname soon was Olof the Lap-King. Later, he got into all manner of expensive wars and his pitiless subjects changed the moniker to Olof the Tax-King.

Poor France, beset by Charles the Bald, Charles the Fat, and Charles the Simple...

Byzantine Emperor Constantine V Kopronymous (Κωνσταντίνος Ε' ο Κοπρώνυμος), nickname Kopronymous meaning "Dung Named" 

Edited by alexISS - 10-Oct-2006 at 06:50

William the Bastard, also known as William the Conquerer.

Julian the Apostate is a pretty bad one too, true he did despise Christianity but fought and died for the good of Constantinople.

I dont think Ethelred the Unready was such a bad king, he just had a LOT of bad luck... If he would have been a really bad king, he would not have reigned that long. The name comes from Old-English, and apparently 'Unprepared' would have been a better translation, and was given because he became king at such a young age.

Let's not forget Byzantine Emperor Michael the Sot (the 3rd), earning his nickname through extravegant debauchery and drinking.

BTW, I rather like Julian the Apostate, he was a good deal more inspired than most of the Emperors of his age.

Originally posted by Brainstorm Originally posted by Constantine XI Let's not forget Byzantine Emperor Michael the Sot (the 3rd), earning his nickname through extravegant debauchery and drinking. BTW, I rather like Julian the Apostate, he was a good deal more inspired than most of the Emperors of his age. Both of them called so,by their enemies and their puppet-historians. Julian by christian historians, and Michael by those of the new Macedonian dynasty-iconophils. Its surprising how some capable and good emperors where treated by byzantine historians. For example those of the "Isaurian" dyansty. Leo III and his son Constantine,won some brilliant battles,actually saving the empire by Saracens and Bulgarians, but they were called "isaurians"-a tribe of southeastern asia minor ,although its probable that they were from Byzantine Syria. Isaurians had a really bad reputation as a tribe of thiefs and murderers ,so these bad iconoclast emperors deserved this nickname!

I think Michael probably did earn his nickname through his behaviour. He was an iconodule himself and the son of the arch-iconodule the Empress Theodora. Besides, the Emperor Leo VI was thought to perhaps have harboured loyalty to Michael through the possibility of being his son.

The Isaurians were indeed a bunch with a bad reputation, earnt in the 5th century when these ruly warriors were used to replace the German foederati. Though it was not unsual to name dynasties after their place of origin and to do so in a mistaken fashion. The Amorium dynasty was, whilst the Macedonian dynasty was also (and wrongly named at that).

That got me thinking, how about Alexius V Murtzuphlus, Murtzuphlus meaning "bushy eyebrowed" or something like that. Where his nickname came from is rather obvious.

The wallachian ruler Radu Praznaglava (1421, 1423, 1424 - 1426, 1427)

Prazna glava means "Empty head"(in bulgarian).

Originally posted by Constantine XI BTW, I rather like Julian the Apostate, he was a good deal more inspired than most of the Emperors of his age.

Inspired to murder!