Daily Quiz for March 17, 2009

Aleksandr Prince of Novgorod (1220-1263) was given the name Aleksandr Nevski (of the Neva) after defeating the Swedish army led by Birger Magnusson at the Neva River in 1240. He defeated an invading Teutonic army in 1242 at the famous battle on the ice of Lake Peipus. He spent the rest of his life maintaining in uneasy truce with the Mongol overlords of Russia. He was canonized by the Orthodox Church in 1380. In 1938 Russian director Sergei Eisenstein made his film Alexander Nevsky and composer Sergei Prokofiev provided the score. Later Prokofiev composed a cantata from his score for Eisenstein?s film.