877 Louis the Stammerer is crowned King of the West Franks
Louis the Stammerer was the son of Charles the Bald, the brother of Louis the Child, the father of Charles the Simple. In the Middle Ages before kings got publicity agents and all ended up with nicknames like “the Great” or “the Just”, royal labels were colourful and, presumably, accurate. Take, for example, Constantine V of the Byzantine Emperor who crapped in the baptismal font as a baby. He was henceforth dubbed “Copronymus” or “the Poop-Named”.
Let us take this opportunity, therefore, to salute those in history who ended up saddled with less-than-attractive sobriquets. Hats off to
Wilfred the Hairy of Barcelona, Alfonso the Slobberer of Leon, Arnulf the Unlucky of Flanders, Harald Blue-Tooth of Norway
Charles the Fat, Holy Roman Emperor, Sigurd the Slimy of Norway, Sviatopolk the Accursed of Kiev, Catherine the Sad of Bosnia
Gleb the Damned of Riazan, Gothelo the Sluggard of Lorraine, Guy de Beauchamp the Black Cur of Arden, Maria Isabel the Ugly of Aragon
What recent leader has had more ill nicknames than Margaret Thatcher? Attila the Hen, She Who Must be Obeyed, TBW (That Bloody Woman), the Great She-Elephant, the Iron Lady, the Iron Maiden, the la Passionara of Privilege, the Milk Snatcher.
Lately, Justin Trudeau has been termed the “Prime Minstrel” after his habit of blacking-up, also Mr Dress-Up, Prime Minister Zoolander, and (in China) Little Potato.