35 Documented Facts About The Life in 1500s

The word "swagger" was first used in 1590 by William Shakespeare in "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

27. There is a "prophecy" written in 1595 that predicts the future Popes. The next Pope to be corresponds with the last one on the list.

28. In 1599, a Spanish governor in early colonial Ecuador was executed by having molten gold poured down his throat. Native Indians of the Jivaro tribe believed that they were unfairly taxed in their gold trade and as a result, attacked the settlement of Logrono and executed the governor.

29. In 1599, Andrew Báthory, Prince of Transylvania, was killed and his head cut off. The head was then painted by a Greek artist and sewn back onto his body, before his burial.

30. A community of monks in the Austrian Alps in the 16th century invented a method of painting on canvas made from spider webs, and today less than 100 known examples exist.

The expression "Yo" has been in use since the 16th century.

32. Martin Guerre, a French peasant of the 16th century, was at the center of a famous case of imposture. Several years after Martin Guerre had left his wife, child, and village, a man claiming to be him reappeared. He lived with Guerre's wife and son for 3 years. The false Martin Guerre was eventually suspected of the impersonation. He was tried, discovered to be a man named Arnaud du Tilh, and executed. The real Martin Guerre returned during the trial.

33. Leonardo DaVinci, who is now renowned as a great Italian artist and inventor of the 16th century, also worked as a party planner.

34. To avoid capture and persecution in England in the 16th century, Catholic priests would hide in “priest holes”, which were secret spaces in many homes that were constructed to hide a priest during a search. Sometimes priests died from starvation or asphyxiation.

35. The coats of arms of the islands Åland and Öland are almost identical because the islands got mixed up in the 16th century since their names are so similar.