Deck 8: European Civilization in the Early Middle Ages, 750-1000

Question 1

Where did the Swedish Vikings tend to concentrate on conquests and trade?

A)Spain
B)Russia
C)Scotland

Answer 1

Russia

Question 2

Which of the following happed after the death of Louis the Pious?

A)Muslim forces captured eastern German lands.
B)An incessant struggle broke out between Louis the German, Charles the Bald, and their heirs over disputed territories weakened the Carolingian world.
C)Two centuries of relative calm began.

Answer 2

An incessant struggle broke out between Louis the German, Charles the Bald, and their heirs over disputed territories weakened the Carolingian world.

Question 3

In feudal Europe, what was a vassal?

A)A man who was in the church as a monk, priest, or bishop
B)A man who farmed his own land and lived his own life
C)A man who served another as a warrior

Answer 3

A man who served another as a warrior

Question 4

What was the greatest effect of the church on Frankish marriage initially?

A)To make it one of the sacraments
B)To limit sexual license and concubinage
C)To emphasize the indissolubility of marriage

Question 5

Which of the following of Otto I's policies clearly benefited the kingship of Germany?

A)His creation and effective government of a new "Roman Empire" with the aid of the eastern Slavs
B)Refusing to employ high church officials as royal administrators
C)Defeat of the Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955 and Christianization of eastern Europe

Question 6

In the early Middle Ages, the cultivation of new land was hard for all of the following reasons EXCEPT which one?

A)The heavy soils of northern Europe were difficult to plow.
B)Climatic changes, including frequent heat waves, caused much of the land to be unfit for agricultural cultivation.
C)Crude tools of the era made land clearing arduous.

Question 7

Which of the following was a similarity between Christian and pagan medical practices in the early Middle Ages?

A)Both relied heavily on primitive surgery.
B)In both periods, magical rites, charms, and amulets were used.
C)Anesthesia was unknown in both eras.

Question 8

Socially and culturally, the church's advocacy of indissoluble marriage resulted in which outcome?

A)More bachelors who never married
B)The development of the nuclear family at the expense of the extended family
C)A great proportion of widows in communities

Question 9

In feudal Europe, what was a serf?

A)A man who farmed his own land and possessed a wide range of personal freedoms
B)A man who owed military service to a lord
C)A man who was bound to the land as a farmer

Question 10

Which of the following is true of the Magyars?

A)They helped end Muslim expansion in northern Spain.
B)They were originally from western Asia.
C)They won their most successful victory at the Battle of Lechfeld against German troops.

Question 11

In 987, the western Frankish nobility met and elected whom as their king, contributing to the formation of a new dynasty to rule France for centuries?

A)Louis the Pious
B)Conrad of Franconia
C)Hugh Capet

Question 12

Regarding sexuality, the Catholic Church's position in the early Middle Ages is best described as which of the following?

A)It accepted that it was unable to enforce clerical celibacy.
B)It accepted the practice of homosexuality, but only between adults.
C)It accepted sex for the purpose of pleasure within marriage only.

Question 13

Where did the most successful Muslim raids in the ninth century occur?

A)Northern Italy
B)The western Frankish territories
C)Sicily

Question 14

How is the lord-vassal relationship in the Germanic practice of medieval Europe best described?

A)It was an honorable relationship between free men.
B)It meant fiefs could never become hereditary.
C)It was a direct form of servitude.

Question 15

Under feudalism of the early Middle Ages, which of the following was true?

A)The major obligation of a vassal to his lord was to provide military service.
B)A vassal was not required to provide legal assistance at his lord's court.
C)A lord has no formal responsibilities toward his vassals.

Question 16

The Carolingian scholar Alcuin is best noted for which of the following?

A)His help to lay the foundation for medieval education
B)His influential views on the "indissoluble nature" of marriage
C)His emphasis on Frankish languages over classical Latin

Question 17

What was the result of the Treaty of Verdun in 843?

A)It established peace with the Spanish caliphate.
B)It divided the Carolingian Empire.
C)It reunited the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.

Question 18

In western Europe, what was the chief political repercussion of frequent Viking raids?

A)The strengthening of centralized royal authority
B)An increase in the power of the church
C)An increase in the power of local aristocrats to whom threatened populations turned for effective protection

Question 19

The percentage of European land cultivated in the early Middle Ages is estimated at what number?

A)Less than 10 percent
B)Slightly more than 20 percent
C)35 percent

Question 20

Carolingian society was marked by all EXCEPT which of the following?

A)The use of bleeding to cure illness
B)A total disinterest in bodily cleanliness
C)Different patterns of consumption of foodstuffs among rich and poor

Question 21

What was the outcome of the Treaty of Verdun in 843?

Question 22

How is manorialism's significance best described?

A)It marked an end to the fief-holding system of the early Middle Ages.
B)It was an economic system based upon landed estates.
C)It brought about a rejuvenated increase in European slavery.

Question 23

The Slavic people of the Rus were best known for what?

A)Their defeat of Rurik, head of the Swedish Vikings, in 862
B)Founding the state that became known as Russia
C)Their unflinching loyalty to the Roman Catholic Church

Question 24

How are the medieval Slavs are best described?

A)They were originally a single people in central Europe.
B)They adopted Roman Catholicism as their sole religion.
C)They were completely absorbed by the Bulgars in the ninth century.

Question 25

Describe how Charlemagne built his kingdom.

Question 26

How did church teachings on marriage change during the early medieval period?

Question 27

Who was the first Frankish king to be anointed in holy ceremony by an agent of the pope?

A)Zacharias
B)Charlemagne
C)Charles Martel

Question 28

Who was the best known of the Abbasid caliphs?

A)Al-Ma'mun
B)Ibn Fadlan
C)Harun al-Rashid

Question 29

What focuses and themes did Carolingian literature exhibit?

Question 30

Who was the English king who helped establish a unified Anglo-Saxon monarchy by defeating the Danish army?

A)Hugh Capet
B)Alfred the Great
C)King Edgar

Question 31

Which city was the capital of the Abbasid caliphate during the high point of Islamic culture?

A)Mecca
B)Medina
C)Baghdad

Question 32

Describe how Charlemagne governed his kingdom.

Question 33

Which of the following statements was true of trade during the early Middle Ages?

A)During the early centuries of the Middle Ages, trade drastically increased.
B)During the sixth and seventh centuries, silk and perfumes were brought from China.
C)By the ninth century, luxury goods were brought in from the Byzantine Empire.

Question 34

How is the economic structure of the early Middle Ages best described?

A)Feudalism was quickly replacing manorialism.
B)Nearly the entire free peasant class became serfs.
C)It was underdeveloped and predominantly agricultural.

Question 35

Why did Europe's dense clay soils prove such a barrier to farming?

Question 36

By the early eleventh century, how is the Byzantine Empire best described?

A)Having achieved a new brilliance of power and influence under the Macedonians
B)Had been conquered by the Abbasids
C)In terminal decline

Question 37

Which of the following best describes the early Middle Ages?

A)A large population was sustained by a thriving trading economy.
B)A small population subsisted on a limited agricultural economy.
C)A large population relied on an expanding agricultural economy.

Question 38

Which of the following is NOT an accurate characteristic of Islamic civilization in the eighth and ninth centuries?

A)The Arabs were heirs to the Greco-Roman culture of the Roman Empire.
B)Men and women were equally dominant in Muslim society.
C)The Muslims created a brilliant urban culture.

Question 39

The Poles, Czechs, and Hungarians shared which of the following attitudes?

A)They ignored all efforts of German kings to Christianize them.
B)They were united by their cultural links to the Byzantine Empire.
C)They were greatly influenced by assimilation into the Catholic Church and Latin culture.

Question 40

The Abbasids adopted which of the following policies?

A)They chose all officials exclusively from the Arabic community.
B)They translated the Qur'an into Persian, making it the official language of Islam.
C)They broke down the distinctions between Arab and non-Arab Muslims.

Question 41

How were religious differences between eastern and western Churches resolved?

Question 42

Describe religious differences among eastern Europeans in the medieval period.

Question 43

What is a king?

Question 44

How did environmental and climate-related factors help or hinder European food production in the early medieval period?

Question 45

What was the relationship between kings and lords?

Question 46

What was the result of conflicts between existing kingdoms in western Europe and Muslims, Magyars, and Vikings?

Question 47

Why did Vikings begin settling in western Europe?

Question 48

Why did Charlemagne's empire break apart?

Question 49

What importance did religion play in the formation and maintenance of the Carolingian empire?

Question 50

How important was military service to the feudal system?

Question 51

What are fiefs?

Question 52

How was the Anglo-Saxon king different to the French king?

Question 53

How is the expansion of the Carolingian Empire under Charlemagne best described?

A)It was carried out with the largest army in history up to its time.
B)It was most successful against the German tribes to the east.
C)It resulted in the quick destruction of the Saxons.

Question 54

What is the manor system, or manorialism?

Question 55

What is vassalage?

Question 56

Describe the medieval Islamic world.

Question 57

How did Viking and Magyar experiences promote the rise of kings?

Question 58

How did the Abbasids govern their empire?

Question 59

Who wrote The Life of Charlemagne, an account of Charlemagne's achievements?

A)Notker the Stammerer
B)Alcuin of York
C)Einhard

Question 60

What measures did Charlemagne take to ensure his subordinates were obeying his wishes? Was he successful? Why or why not?

Question 61

From a noble's perspective, what were the advantages and disadvantages of creating a strong king during the medieval period?

Question 62

How did religious differences help or hinder the establishment of Rus? How did such differences affect Rus's religious alignment?

Question 63

Why did Charlemagne's empire fragment after his death? Was this intentional or not?

Question 64

Are western European conflicts with Muslims, Magyars, and Vikings best understood as invasions or migrations? Why?

Question 65

How is the coronation of Charlemagne in 800 as emperor of the Romans best described?

A)It was performed by Pope Zacharias I.
B)It was defended by the Donation of Constantine .
C)It symbolized the fusion of Roman, Germanic, and Christian cultures.

Question 66

How did Viking settlement affect western Europeans? How did western European customs affect Viking settlements?

Question 67

How did the Islamic world participate in a regional and even global circulation of knowledge, goods, and people during the medieval period?

Question 68

How are the Carolingian monks best described?

A)They were known for the production of scriptoria, a type of paper.
B)They preserved the works of classical Latin authors through their copying of manuscripts.
C)They were best known for their hospitality to travelers.

Question 69

Was the feudal system primarily intended to develop military relationships or economic production? Why?

Question 70

How did the east Frankish, west Frankish, and Anglo-Saxon kings differ? Why?

Question 71

Charlemagne's Carolingian Renaissance was characterized by which of the following?

A)Outstanding creativity and original thought
B)Illuminated manuscripts written in Merovingian cursive script
C)Looking to Italy for inspiration and keeping the classical heritage alive

Question 72

To what extent is it appropriate to refer to the Carolingian Renaissance? Why?

Question 73

What challenges did the Abbasid dynasty face, and how were they resolved? To what extent were these problems created internally, and to what extent were they external?

Question 74

For which task did Charlemagne institute the missi dominici?

A)To administer the palace school at Aachen
B)To review the liturgy for errors
C)To ensure his counts were following his wishes

Question 75

Which of the following groups was most important to the functioning of the manor, peasants, lords, or the church?

Question 76

Why did church teachings on family life change during the Carolingian period? How effective were these changes at addressing underlying concerns?

Question 77

How were the Macedonians able to revive the Byzantine Empire? What were their key policies and successes? How enduring was their resurgence?