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

Question 1

An independent Umayyad dynasty survived in Spain until 1453.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The Magyars were the most prominent Slavic group.​

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The missi dominici were officials that Charlemagne used to

A)administer the palace school at Aachen.
B)review the liturgy for errors.
C)ensure his counts were following his wishes.
D)kill prisoners of war not deemed fit for redemption.
E)patrol dangerous border districts.

Answer 3

ensure his counts were following his wishes.

Question 4

In the Early Middle Ages, the cultivation of new land was hard for all of the following reasons EXCEPT

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.
D)German tribes traditionally considered trees sacred and resisted cutting them down.
E)All of these are correct.

Question 5

Charlemagne's most disappointing military campaign came against the

A)Basques.
B)Avars.
C)Saxons.
D)Lombards.
E)Ostrogoths.

Question 6

Climatic patterns improved around 700 after several centuries of colder and wetter conditions.

Question 7

When Hugh Capet became king of France, he immediately consolidated and centralized his rule by quickly bringing under his firm control the previously powerful semi-independent lords.

Question 8

In the Early Middle Ages, books were written on sheepskin, as papyrus was too expensive to be imported from Egypt, then under Muslim control.

Question 9

A vassal's primary loyalty was to the local church bishop rather than his secular lord.

Question 10

The lord's demesne on a medieval manor consisted of the common lands of the estate where the peasants and serfs had the right to graze their own domestic animals, hunt wild game, and gather wood and other natural items.

Question 11

The percentage of European land cultivated in the Early Middle Ages is estimated at

A)less than 10 percent.
B)slightly more than 20 percent.
C)35 percent.
D)50 percent.
E)slightly more than 75 percent.

Question 12

Under the Emperor Basil II, the Byzantine Empire ​was the largest that it had been since the seventh century.

Question 13

Muslims contributed little of importance in mathematics or philosophy, because of their refusal to draw on the texts and learning of other civilizations.

Question 14

The expansion of the Carolingian Empire under Charlemagne

A)was carried out with the largest army in history up to its time.
B)was most successful against the German tribes to the east.
C)resulted in the quick destruction of the Saxons.
D)resulted in the conquest of all of Europe except for Italy.
E)succeeded in capturing most of Spain from the Moors.

Question 15

In the early tenth century the French king granted the lands around mouth of the River Seine to a band of Vikings or Norsemen, and eventually that region became known as Normandy.

Question 16

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

A)Notker the Stammerer
B)Alcuin of York
C)Einhard
D)Charlemagne
E)Suetonius

Question 17

In the Early Middle Ages, the Catholic Church condemned infanticide as immoral and a sin, and because of the powerful position of the church in medieval society, the practice of the killing of infants disappeared.

Question 18

The premier scholar in Charlemagne's court was Alcuin of York.

Question 19

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

A)Zacharias.
B)Charlemagne.
C)Charles Martel.
D)Pepin.
E)Louis the Pious.

Question 20

In 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.
D)a small population lived primary in cities.
E)a large population experienced economic surplus and high life expectancy.

Question 21

After the death of Louis the Pious

A)Muslim forces captured eastern German lands.
B)an incessant struggle between Louis the German, Charles the Bald, and their heirs over disputed territories weakened the Carolingian world.
C)two centuries of relative calm began.
D)Lothar eventually emerged as the ruler of a united Europe.
E)the papacy gained political control over German lands.

Question 22

The most successful Muslim raids in the ninth century occurred in

A)northern Italy.
B)the western Frankish territories.
C)Sicily.
D)central Europe.
E)the Isle de France.

Question 23

In feudal Europe, a serf was a man who

A)farmed his own land and possessed a wide range of personal freedoms.
B)wandered the roads begging for his living.
C)was a slave owned by a priest.
D)owed military service to a lord in return for land.
E)was bound to the land as a farmer.

Question 24

The Magyars

A)helped end Muslim expansion in northern Spain.
B)were originally from western Asia.
C)won their most successful victory at the battle of Lechfeld against German troops.
D)were wiped out as a people in the tenth century for their rejection of Christianity.
E)became Muslims.

Question 25

Initially, the greatest effect of the church on Frankish marriage

A)was to make it one of the sacraments.
B)was to limit sexual license and concubinage.
C)emphasized the indissolubility of marriage.
D)prohibited the marriage of priests.
E)encouraged warriors, but not peasants, to have multiple wives.

Question 26

Carolingian society was marked by all of the following EXCEPT

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.
D)the vices of gluttony and drunkenness.
E)considerable violence.

Question 27

Charlemagne's Carolingian Renaissance was characterized by

A)outstanding creativity and original thought.
B)illuminated manuscripts written in Merovingian cursive script.
C)the works of Alcuin, who rejected all Classical educational ideals.
D)a preference for Greek over German.
E)looking to Italy for inspiration and keeping the Classical heritage alive.

Question 28

The Treaty of Verdun in 843

A)established peace with the Spanish caliphate.
B)divided the Carolingian empire.
C)reunited the Catholic and Orthodox churches.
D)created the Papal States.
E)ceded land to a party of Vikings.

Question 29

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.
D)Medical training was unknown in both periods.
E)Neither believed in divine intervention in healing.

Question 30

The staple food in the Carolingian diet was

A)bread.
B)fish.
C)beef.
D)pork.
E)vegetables.

Question 31

The Carolingian scholar Alcuin is best noted for

A)helping 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.
D)preaching against the lazy monastic orders.
E)his opposition to celibacy.

Question 32

In feudal Europe, a vassal was a man who

A)was in the Church as a monk, priest, or bishop.
B)farmed his own land and lived his own life.
C)served another as a warrior.
D)wandered the roads begging for his bread.
E)had been banned from a territory for life.

Question 33

The coronation of Charlemagne in 800 as emperor of the Romans

A)was performed by Pope Zacharias I.
B)was defended by the Donation of Constantine.
C)symbolized the fusion of Roman, Germanic, and Christian cultures.
D)greatly pleased the new emperor, who had long coveted this office.
E)was approved beforehand by the Byzantine Emperor.

Question 34

One of the most famous Vikings, who discovered Greenland, was

A)Leif Erikson.
B)Erik the Red.
C)Olaf the Bald.
D)Wilbur the Swede.
E)Ivar the Boneless.

Question 35

The Swedish Vikings tended to concentrate on conquests and trade in

A)Spain.
B)Russia.
C)Scotland.
D)France.
E)Ireland.

Question 36

Regarding sexuality, the Catholic Church in the Early Middle Ages

A)was unable to enforce clerical celibacy.
B)accepted the practice of homosexuality, but only between adults.
C)accepted sex for the purpose of pleasure within marriage only.
D)endorsed the practice of abortion to limit the number of children.
E)discouraged marriage because it weakened the spiritual practices of Christians.

Question 37

In Western Europe, the chief political repercussion of frequent Viking raids was

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.
D)a decline in the power of local aristocrats whose inability to stop the raids drove ordinary people into royal cities.
E)an increase in monasticism.

Question 38

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

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.
D)the birth of fewer children in medieval times.
E)a rapid increase in Europe's population.

Question 39

In the Middle Ages, monastic hospitality to travelers was

A)forbidden because monks were to be secluded from any contact with the outside world.
B)offered occasionally, but only with royal permission.
C)offered occasionally, but only with the permission of the abbot.
D)offered to men but not to women, as the latter were potentially too sexually threatening to the celibate monks.
E)a sacred duty.

Question 40

The Carolingian monks

A)were known for the production of scriptoria, a type of paper.
B)preserved the works of Classical Latin authors through their copying of manuscripts.
C)were best known for their hospitality to travelers.
D)rejected education in favor of a life of contemplation and prayer.
E)fought in the armies of Charlemagne and his successors.

Question 41

Manorialism

A)marked an end to the fief-holding system of the Early Middle Ages.
B)was an economic system based upon landed estates.
C)brought about a rejuvenated increase in European slavery.
D)devastated the social mobility of the lowest classes in European society.
E)ended with the Viking invasions.

Question 42

The Arabic name for Spain was

A)Córdoba.
B)al-Andalus.
C)al-jabr.
D)Berber.
E)al-Hakim.

Question 43

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

A)Mecca.
B)Medina.
C)Istanbul.
D)Damascus.
E)Baghdad.

Question 44

Among Otto I's more successful actions that clearly benefited the kingship of Germany was

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.
D)his conversion to Orthodox Christianity.
E)All of these are correct.

Question 45

Under feudalism of the Early Middle Ages

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.
D)there was no outlet for the breaking of the bond between lord and vassal.
E)lords and vassals were entirely independent of one another.

Question 46

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.
D)Arabic became a truly international tongue.
E)Muslims employed unique decorative art because their religion prohibited the making of graven images.

Question 47

The Slavic people of the Rus were best known for

A)their defeat of Rurik, head of the Swedish Vikings, in 862.
B)their preoccupation with cleanliness.
C)their unflinching loyalty to the Roman Catholic church.
D)founding the state that became known as Russia.
E)their monastic tradition and practice of celibacy.

Question 48

The lord-vassal relationship in the Germanic practice of medieval Europe

A)marked a complete separation from the German traditions of lordship and loyalty.
B)meant fiefs could never become hereditary.
C)was a direct form of servitude.
D)was an honorable relationship between free men.
E)was a relationship between warriors and peasants.

Question 49

The Swedish Vikings-the Varangians-became assimilated with which of the following groups?

A)Magyars
B)Czechs
C)Armenians
D)Bulgars
E)Slavs

Question 50

The German monarchy was restored in 919 when the German dukes elected Henry the Fowler, Duke of

A)Bavaria.
B)Swabia.
C)Franconia.
D)Naples.
E)Saxony.

Question 51

In 987, the Western Frankish nobility met and elected whom of the following 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
D)Charles of Navarre
E)Philip of Valois

Question 52

In feudal Europe, a manor was

A)a wheeled plow used to turn heavy clay soils.
B)a light chain mail vest, worn over a hauberk.
C)a traditional way of cultivating relationships between ruler and ruled.
D)an agricultural estate owned by a lord and worked by peasants.
E)a polite way of treating a man of low birth.

Question 53

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

A)Hugh Capet.
B)Alfred the Great.
C)King Edgar.
D)Conrad of Franconia.
E)Edward the Confessor.

Question 54

The ruthless Russian leader responsible for tying Russian political and religious ideals to the Byzantine Empire was

A)Oleg.
B)Vladimir.
C)Prince Mieszko.
D)Rurik.
E)Ivan.

Question 55

The Slavs

A)were originally a single people in central Europe.
B)adopted Roman Catholicism as their sole religion.
C)were completely absorbed by the Bulgars in the ninth century.
D)became bitter enemies of western European rulers for their rigid opposition to Christianity.
E)all eventually became Russians.

Question 56

The economic structure of the Early Middle Ages

A)saw feudalism replace manorialism.
B)saw nearly the entire free peasant class become serfs.
C)was underdeveloped and predominantly agricultural.
D)witnessed the complete disintegration of trade.
E)had silver coins replace gold coinage.

Question 57

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.
D)The Umayyads and the Byzantines eagerly sought manufactured goods produced  in western Europe in the seventh and eighth centuries
E)All of these are correct.

Question 58

The Poles, Czechs, and Hungarians

A)ignored all efforts of German kings to Christianize them.
B)were united by their cultural links to the Byzantine Empire.
C)were greatly influenced by assimilation into the Catholic church and Latin culture.
D)rejected western Christianity and became increasingly antagonistic toward Christianity.
E)became Orthodox Christians, unlike most of the other Slavic peoples.

Question 59

By the early eleventh century, the Byzantine Empire

A)was under the control of the western emperor.
B)had been conquered by the Abbasids.
C)was in terminal decline.
D)had achieved a new brilliance of power and influence under the Macedonians.
E)had finally adopted Catholic Christianity and accepted the leadership of the pope.

Question 60

After Constantinople, Europe's largest city was

A)Rome.
B)Paris.
C)London.
D)Lisbon.
E)Cordoba.

Question 61

What conditions led to the development of feudalism in the Middle Ages, and in what ways did feudalism give stability and order to the medieval West?

Question 62

The Abbasids

A)chose all officials exclusively from the Arabic community.
B)translated the Qur'an into Persian, making it the official language of Islam.
C)ruled Spain from Córdoba.
D)broke down the distinctions between Arab and non-Arab Muslims.
E)ruled as partners with the Umayyad dynasty.

Question 63

To what extent did the Catholic Church alter Germanic practices in regard to family, sexuality, and children?

Question 64

Was European civilization from 750 to 1000 characterized more by continuity or change?

Question 65

How did Viking raids and settlements impact the development of medieval Europe?

Question 66

Discuss the changing relations between Islam and the Byzantine Empire between 750 and 1000.

Question 67

Describe the conversion to Christianity of the various peoples of Eastern Europe, including a discussion about the responsibilities of Rome and of Constantinople in that process.

Question 68

In what ways is Byzantine civilization during the ninth and tenth centuries worthy of the title "zenith of Byzantine civilization"?

Question 69

Of what significance was the Carolingian intellectual renaissance to western European civilization?

Question 70

To what extent was the Carolingian world a continuation of the past, and to what extent did it represent change and innovation?

Question 71

The best known of the Abbasid caliphs was

A)al-Ma'mun.
B)Ibn Fadlan.
C)Abu al-Abbas.
D)al-Mas'udi.
E)Harun al-Rashid.

Question 72

Does the phrase "Middle Ages" overlook that which was unique about this phase of Western Civilization, treating these centuries only as an interlude between other times of greater significance and originality?

Question 73

Compare and contrast Islamic civilization with the civilization of Western Europe in the ninth and tenth centuries.How did they mutually affect one another?