Deck 10: Life in Villages and Cities of the High Middle Ages 1000-1300

Question 1

How did the development of the grain mill aid cloth production?

A)It freed men from the grueling task of grinding grain, permitting them to better care for sheep, which produced the wool needed for cloth.
B)As a center for grinding grain, it encouraged the development of trade over longer distances, which encouraged individuals to produce other merchandise such as cloth.
C)It expanded wealth for peasants, permitting them to purchase more items such as cloth, which stimulated demand.
D)It freed women from grinding grain by hand, permitting them to spend more time spinning yarn, which was the bottleneck in cloth production.

Answer 1

It freed women from grinding grain by hand, permitting them to spend more time spinning yarn, which was the bottleneck in cloth production.

Question 2

What was the purpose of the hagiographies popular in the late Middle Ages?

A)They told the lives of saints based on myths, legends, and popular stories.
B)They explained the teachings of the church in a series of workbooks.
C)They served to resolve technical matters of doctrine through a process of biblical interpretation.
D)They offered mystical expressions of God as recorded by monks who sought a spiritual ecstasy.

Answer 2

They told the lives of saints based on myths, legends, and popular stories.

Question 3

How did peasants benefit from the opening of new lands for agriculture?

A)They did not have to produce as much food.
B)They were able to work shorter days.
C)They opened small businesses such as sawmills and lumber mills to develop these new lands.
D)They had greater opportunity to purchase their freedom as a result of the opening of new lands.

Answer 3

They had greater opportunity to purchase their freedom as a result of the opening of new lands.

Question 4

What distinguished the health care one could receive in a city from the health care received outside of a city?

A)Health care within a city could be enjoyed only by official residents of that city.
B)Physicians only had licenses to work within city walls.
C)Contagious diseases were only handled outside of the city walls.
D)The unsanitary conditions within cities made them too dangerous for any significant health care.

Question 5

In the open-field system, who decided what crop would be planted in each field?

A)Royal officials
B)The local priest
C)The village as a whole
D)The lord of the manor

Question 6

The production of ale was dominated by

A)monasteries.
B)burghers.
C)women.
D)city merchants.

Question 7

What role did women have in peasant villages?

A)Women had the right to speak and be heard at village council meetings but were denied all economic rights.
B)Women had no official role in running villages but could own, buy, and sell land independently and head households.
C)Women were considered property of their fathers and husbands and thus lacked all rights.
D)Women had full political rights within village assemblies and could act in the same fashion economically as any man.

Question 8

How did Christian priests in the twelfth century seek to undermine the fear that souls returned to earth after death?

A)They emphasized the idea of purgatory as the place souls went before reaching heaven.
B)They adopted the phrase "rest in peace" as part of the funeral ritual.
C)They preached sermons denying the existence of ghosts and other spiritual forms.
D)They created the sacrament of "last rites" to assure parishioners that the dead were immediately welcomed into heaven.

Question 9

Which of the following did medieval Jews believe the soul might experience upon death?

A)The very righteous might go directly to a place of spiritual reward.
B)The soul may be reincarnated.
C)The soul might be sent back to earth to redeem itself through good works.
D)The completely wicked would do penance for their bad acts in purgatory.

Question 10

What was the demesne?

A)The "inner economy" of noble households
B)The boundary line between individual peasants' land holdings
C)The lord's court
D)The part of the manor that was cultivated for the lord

Question 11

Typically, the parish priest in rural areas of Europe

A)used the power of the church to control local landlords.
B)was a poor peasant.
C)rejected the local cults of the saints.
D)had trained at a monastic seminary.

Question 12

The right of lords to deflower virgin brides in the "right of first night"

A)was a common law across Europe but rarely enacted.
B)does not appear in any legal source.
C)was strictly enforced by lords.
D)was strongly resisted by priests, who protected brides in the weeks preceding the marriage.

Question 13

What was the most important source of care for the ill in the High Middle Ages?

A)Public hospitals managed by city governments
B)Monasteries and convents
C)Schools of medicine at universities
D)The private nursing care of relatives and friends

Question 14

Which of the following characterizes marriage in the High Middle Ages?

A)Because couples had little choice in marriage arrangements, the dissolution of marriages was a common practice after the couple's parents had died.
B)Couples largely chose their own marriage partners, except for the high nobility, where political considerations dominated.
C)The best marriages typically involved a couple who had little interaction beyond the necessities of managing a household.
D)The best marriages offered companionship and love, but these were understood to grow out of the marriage and not necessarily precede it.

Question 15

How did the institution of the sacramental system in Christianity affect the role of priests?

A)The sacramental system diminished priestly authority as the sacraments replaced the priest as a source of holiness.
B)The sacramental system enhanced priestly authority, for only a priest could normally dispense the sacraments.
C)The sacramental system undermined the authority of priests, for priests lost the ability to adopt the church's teaching to local religious traditions.
D)The sacramental system enhanced priestly authority because it replaced strong, personal devotion to the saints.

Question 16

What is the term from old English that identifies "a walled or fortified place"?

A)Manor
B)Fief
C)Borough
D)Village

Question 17

During a Christian wedding party in the High Middle Ages, why would a family untie all the knots in the house?

A)To represent the division of property that occurred as the new couple received a dowry
B)To mark the wedding couple as separating from paternal authority
C)To symbolize a woman becoming disunited from her birth family
D)To ensure that a man's reproductive ability would not be inhibited

Question 18

Within Judaism, what was the purpose of the brit milah, or covenant of circumcision?

A)It was a hygienic practice meant to represent physical and spiritual cleanliness before God.
B)It was a symbol of the Exodus from Egypt and escaping the bonds of slavery described in the Hebrew Scripture.
C)It was a reminder of the covenant between God and Abraham described in the Hebrew Scripture.
D)It was a practice required by Christian rulers so that they could identify Jews.

Question 19

Which of the following tasks was generally carried out by women on medieval manors?

A)Care for cattle
B)Preparation of food
C)Clearing land
D)Plowing fields

Question 20

Between the fifth and thirteenth centuries, agricultural yields

A)decreased substantially.
B)increased substantially.
C)increased marginally.
D)remained stagnant.

Question 21

The typical peasant household in western and central Europe consisted of

A)a simple nuclear family.
B)a family and a few servants.
C)a three-generation family.
D)ten or more members, bound by kinship ties.

Question 22

The growth of the University of Bologna coincided with a revival of interest in

A)Islamic medicine.
B)Greek philosophy.
C)Roman law.
D)Germanic folklore.

Question 23

What were the laws regulating the wearing of clothing and jewelry?

A)Canon laws
B)Sumptuary laws
C)Status laws
D)Feudal laws

Question 24

Which of the following architectural designs was typical of the Romanesque style?

A)Rounded barrel vaults of stone for the ceiling
B)A roof made of stone ribs and plaster
C)Flying buttresses
D)Large windows

Question 25

What eleventh-century university grew rapidly during the Middle Ages, specializing in the study of law?

A)Notre Dame
B)Salerno
C)Paris
D)Bologna

Question 26

In the following passage from the records of the manor of Bernehorne (Thinking Like a Historian), an unknown author cataloged the activities of the peasant John of Cayworth: "John of Cayworth holds a house and 30 acres of land and owes yearly 2 s., at Easter and Michaelmas; and he owes a cock and two hens at Christmas, of the value of 4 d.
And he ought to harrow for 2 days at the Lenten sowing with one man and his own horse and his own harrow; the value of the work being 4 d.; and he is to receive from the lord on each day 3 meals, of the value of 5 d., and then his food will be at a loss of 1 d. Thus his harrowing is of no value to the service of the lord.
And he ought to carry the manure of the lord for 2 days with one cart, with his own 2 oxen, the value of the work being 8 d.; and he is to receive from the lord each day 3 meals of the price as above. And thus the service is worth 3 d. clear."
Based on this passage, the author saw the relationship between serf and lord primarily in which of the following ways?

A)As a familial bond
B)As an expression of political loyalty
C)As a religious obligation
D)As an economic transaction

Question 27

In the following passage, an unknown French author describes the people of the Iberian kingdom of Navarre (Evaluating the Evidence 10.1): "These people, in truth, are repulsively dressed, and they eat and drink repulsively. For in fact all those who dwell in the household of a Navarrese, servant as well as master, maid as well as mistress, are accustomed to eat all their food mixed together from one pot, not with spoons but with their own hands, and they drink with one cup. If you saw them eat you would think them dogs or pigs. If you heard them speak, you would be reminded of the barking of dogs. For their speech is utterly barbarous. . . ."
The author's description of the Navarrese focused on which of the following?

A)Cultural differences between the French and the Navarrese
B)Economic differences between the French and the Navarrese
C)Political differences between the French and the Navarrese
D)Religious differences between the French and the Navarrese

Question 28

"And so, O glorious God, you didst inspire my father Odeleric to renounce me utterly and submit me in all things to thy governance. So, weeping, he gave me, a weeping child, into the care of the monk Reginald, and sent me away into exile for love of thee." This quote from Orderic Vitalis provides an example of what aspect of childhood in medieval society?

A)The apprenticing of a child to a master craftsman
B)The donation of a child to a monastery
C)The punishment of a child for repeated transgressions
D)The reward of a child with a special trip

Question 29

What was the name given to the transformation of the European economy as a result of changes in business procedures and increasing trade?

A)Compagnie
B)Manorialism
C)Mercantilism
D)Commercial revolution

Question 30

Most peasants, free and serf, lived in

A)family groups in small villages.
B)the lord's castle.
C)large, communal barracks.
D)isolated huts, scattered about the countryside.

Question 31

What was the Hanseatic League?

A)A craft association among cities of Europe
B)An association of European monarchs
C)A military alliance of southern European nobles
D)A mercantile association established in northern Europe

Question 32

What is the term given to medieval writings in the author's local language and dialect?

A)Gothic literature
B)Common literature
C)Vernacular literature
D)Romanesque literature

Question 33

What was the name given the distinctive clothing colors of nobles that their military and servants wore?

A)Tunics
B)Livery
C)Doublets
D)Uniforms

Question 34

Which of the following inventions helped boost agricultural yields beginning in the twelfth century?

A)Artificial fertilizer
B)The stirrup
C)The grain mill
D)The iron plow

Question 35

In what institutions did the medieval university find its roots?

A)Monastery and cathedral schools
B)Craft guilds
C)Muslim intellectual circles
D)Manorial schools

Question 36

"To the bailiffs of the abbot of St. Mary's York . . . the air is so corrupted and infected by the pigsties situated in the king's highways and in the lanes . . . by dung and dunghills and many other foul things placed in the streets." What does this quote describe?

A)Hygienic conditions in a medieval city
B)Hygienic conditions at a lord's manor
C)Hygienic conditions at a monastery
D)Hygienic conditions at court

Question 37

What did the Scholastics create?

A)A new method of thinking and reasoning
B)A mill for grinding grain
C)Improved trading agreements
D)The astrolabe

Question 38

"When we are in the tavern, we do not think how we will go to dust. . . . Here no-one fears death, but they throw the dice in the name of Bacchus." Whose views does this quote describe?

A)Mercenaries
B)Tradesmen
C)University students
D)Knights

Question 39

What Dominican professor drew on ancient Greek philosophers for arguments in his work Summa Theologica?

A)Chrétien de Troyes
B)Peter Abelard
C)Thomas Aquinas
D)Orderic Vitalis

Question 40

The following is an excerpt from The Pilgrim's Guide to Santiago de Compostela (Evaluating the Evidence 10.1): "[T]his church is renewed by the light of the miracles of the blessed James. In it, indeed, health is given to the sick, sight restored to the blind, the tongue of the mute is loosened, hearing is given to the deaf."
What experience does this quote describe?

A)The healing power of relics
B)A visit to a medieval physician
C)The miraculous power of private prayer
D)The curative power of the Mass

Question 41

Which of the following was true of almost all medieval towns?

A)They grew up around monasteries.
B)They began as military fortifications.
C)They had a cathedral.
D)They had a marketplace.

Question 42

Describe the role played by Venice in Europe's long-distance trade. What advantages did Venice enjoy in this context?

Question 43

Ancient Greek physicians linked disease to

A)an imbalance in bodily humors.
B)bacteria and viruses.
C)the displeasure of the gods.
D)the vices of the sick person.

Question 44

Which of the following was usually a medieval town or city's greatest expense?

A)Street building and repair
B)Taxes owed to the church
C)Repair of town or city walls
D)Alms for the poor

Question 45

Which of the following was typical of the open-field system?

A)The purchase of new lands by village collectives
B)The cultivation of crops for international markets
C)The division of arable land into two or three fields
D)The use of fences and hedges to establish property lines

Question 46

How did monasteries and cathedral schools evolve into universities?

Question 47

How did peasants come to understand the ideas of Christianity?

Question 48

What were the benefits and detriments of the open-field system?

Question 49

What was the typical diet of peasants in medieval times, and why?

Question 50

How did the status of the serf differ from that of the slave?

Question 51

What was the importance of merchant and craft guilds to medieval society?

Question 52

For most Europeans, which of the following was at the center of community life?

A)The local courthouse
B)The local market
C)The manor house
D)The village church

Question 53

What was the significance of the cathedral in medieval society?

Question 54

In the early Middle Ages, ______________ offered most of the available formal instruction.

A)public colleges
B)universities
C)monasteries and cathedral schools
D)village cooperatives

Question 55

Describe the development of the typical medieval city. What problems were associated with city growth?

Question 56

Sumptuary laws were

A)frequently broken.
B)rigorously enforced.
C)more common in rural than urban communities.
D)opposed by the church.

Question 57

Which of the following was true of the veneration of saints during the Middle Ages?

A)Ordinary people venerated numerous unofficial saints.
B)The veneration of saints was only popular in rural communities.
C)Only ten individuals were recognized as saints by the Roman Catholic Church.
D)The veneration of saints was considered heresy by the church.

Question 58

Describe popular religion during the High Middle Ages. How did church authorities respond to these popular beliefs and practices? What do these popular beliefs and practices reveal about medieval society?

Question 59

In the Middle Ages, the word liberties meant

A)individual freedoms.
B)special privileges.
C)economic exemptions.
D)religious rights.

Question 60

What were sumptuary laws, and what were they intended to do?

Question 61

Answer the following questions:
commercial revolution

A)System in which the arable land of a manor was divided into two or three fields without hedges or fences to mark individual holdings.
B)A band of merchants in a town that prohibited nonmembers from trading in that town.
C)A band of producers in a town that regulated most aspects of production of a good in that town.
D)A mercantile association of towns begun in northern Europe that allowed for mutual protection and trading rights.
E)The transformation of the European economy as a result of changes in business procedures and growth in trade.
F)Laws that regulated the value and style of clothing and jewelry that various social groups could wear as well as the amount they could spend on celebrations.
G)University professors in the Middle Ages who developed a method of thinking, reasoning, and writing in which questions were raised and authorities cited on both sides of a question.
H)Writings in the author's local dialect, that is, in the everyday language of the region.
I)The church of a bishop and the administrative headquarters of a diocese.
J)An architectural style with rounded arches and small windows.

Question 62

Answer the following questions:
Hanseatic League

A)System in which the arable land of a manor was divided into two or three fields without hedges or fences to mark individual holdings.
B)A band of merchants in a town that prohibited nonmembers from trading in that town.
C)A band of producers in a town that regulated most aspects of production of a good in that town.
D)A mercantile association of towns begun in northern Europe that allowed for mutual protection and trading rights.
E)The transformation of the European economy as a result of changes in business procedures and growth in trade.
F)Laws that regulated the value and style of clothing and jewelry that various social groups could wear as well as the amount they could spend on celebrations.
G)University professors in the Middle Ages who developed a method of thinking, reasoning, and writing in which questions were raised and authorities cited on both sides of a question.
H)Writings in the author's local dialect, that is, in the everyday language of the region.
I)The church of a bishop and the administrative headquarters of a diocese.
J)An architectural style with rounded arches and small windows.

Question 63

Most people believed that the role of the clergy was to pray for the rest of society. Is this an accurate description the clergy's function? Why or why not? What contributions did the monastic orders make to medieval society? How did monastic organization reflect and reinforce these functions? What did other members of the clergy contribute to society?

Question 64

Answer the following questions:
merchant guild

A)System in which the arable land of a manor was divided into two or three fields without hedges or fences to mark individual holdings.
B)A band of merchants in a town that prohibited nonmembers from trading in that town.
C)A band of producers in a town that regulated most aspects of production of a good in that town.
D)A mercantile association of towns begun in northern Europe that allowed for mutual protection and trading rights.
E)The transformation of the European economy as a result of changes in business procedures and growth in trade.
F)Laws that regulated the value and style of clothing and jewelry that various social groups could wear as well as the amount they could spend on celebrations.
G)University professors in the Middle Ages who developed a method of thinking, reasoning, and writing in which questions were raised and authorities cited on both sides of a question.
H)Writings in the author's local dialect, that is, in the everyday language of the region.
I)The church of a bishop and the administrative headquarters of a diocese.
J)An architectural style with rounded arches and small windows.

Question 65

The Scholastic agenda played a crucial role in the development of the medieval university. Who were the Scholastics? What did they believe? How did their methods and beliefs shape the experiences of medieval university students?

Question 66

Medieval agriculture was based on the manor. Describe a typical manor. What changes had European agriculture undergone and with what consequences? How effective was manor-based agriculture in meeting the needs of Europeans at the time?

Question 67

Answer the following questions:
Scholastics

A)System in which the arable land of a manor was divided into two or three fields without hedges or fences to mark individual holdings.
B)A band of merchants in a town that prohibited nonmembers from trading in that town.
C)A band of producers in a town that regulated most aspects of production of a good in that town.
D)A mercantile association of towns begun in northern Europe that allowed for mutual protection and trading rights.
E)The transformation of the European economy as a result of changes in business procedures and growth in trade.
F)Laws that regulated the value and style of clothing and jewelry that various social groups could wear as well as the amount they could spend on celebrations.
G)University professors in the Middle Ages who developed a method of thinking, reasoning, and writing in which questions were raised and authorities cited on both sides of a question.
H)Writings in the author's local dialect, that is, in the everyday language of the region.
I)The church of a bishop and the administrative headquarters of a diocese.
J)An architectural style with rounded arches and small windows.

Question 68

Answer the following questions:
open-field system

A)System in which the arable land of a manor was divided into two or three fields without hedges or fences to mark individual holdings.
B)A band of merchants in a town that prohibited nonmembers from trading in that town.
C)A band of producers in a town that regulated most aspects of production of a good in that town.
D)A mercantile association of towns begun in northern Europe that allowed for mutual protection and trading rights.
E)The transformation of the European economy as a result of changes in business procedures and growth in trade.
F)Laws that regulated the value and style of clothing and jewelry that various social groups could wear as well as the amount they could spend on celebrations.
G)University professors in the Middle Ages who developed a method of thinking, reasoning, and writing in which questions were raised and authorities cited on both sides of a question.
H)Writings in the author's local dialect, that is, in the everyday language of the region.
I)The church of a bishop and the administrative headquarters of a diocese.
J)An architectural style with rounded arches and small windows.

Question 69

Answer the following questions:
sumptuary laws

A)System in which the arable land of a manor was divided into two or three fields without hedges or fences to mark individual holdings.
B)A band of merchants in a town that prohibited nonmembers from trading in that town.
C)A band of producers in a town that regulated most aspects of production of a good in that town.
D)A mercantile association of towns begun in northern Europe that allowed for mutual protection and trading rights.
E)The transformation of the European economy as a result of changes in business procedures and growth in trade.
F)Laws that regulated the value and style of clothing and jewelry that various social groups could wear as well as the amount they could spend on celebrations.
G)University professors in the Middle Ages who developed a method of thinking, reasoning, and writing in which questions were raised and authorities cited on both sides of a question.
H)Writings in the author's local dialect, that is, in the everyday language of the region.
I)The church of a bishop and the administrative headquarters of a diocese.
J)An architectural style with rounded arches and small windows.

Question 70

How did church reforms and the papacy's drive to centralize the church and increase its influence among laypeople impact the lives of ordinary peasants?

Question 71

Answer the following questions:
craft guild

A)System in which the arable land of a manor was divided into two or three fields without hedges or fences to mark individual holdings.
B)A band of merchants in a town that prohibited nonmembers from trading in that town.
C)A band of producers in a town that regulated most aspects of production of a good in that town.
D)A mercantile association of towns begun in northern Europe that allowed for mutual protection and trading rights.
E)The transformation of the European economy as a result of changes in business procedures and growth in trade.
F)Laws that regulated the value and style of clothing and jewelry that various social groups could wear as well as the amount they could spend on celebrations.
G)University professors in the Middle Ages who developed a method of thinking, reasoning, and writing in which questions were raised and authorities cited on both sides of a question.
H)Writings in the author's local dialect, that is, in the everyday language of the region.
I)The church of a bishop and the administrative headquarters of a diocese.
J)An architectural style with rounded arches and small windows.

Question 72

Answer the following questions:
Romanesque

A)System in which the arable land of a manor was divided into two or three fields without hedges or fences to mark individual holdings.
B)A band of merchants in a town that prohibited nonmembers from trading in that town.
C)A band of producers in a town that regulated most aspects of production of a good in that town.
D)A mercantile association of towns begun in northern Europe that allowed for mutual protection and trading rights.
E)The transformation of the European economy as a result of changes in business procedures and growth in trade.
F)Laws that regulated the value and style of clothing and jewelry that various social groups could wear as well as the amount they could spend on celebrations.
G)University professors in the Middle Ages who developed a method of thinking, reasoning, and writing in which questions were raised and authorities cited on both sides of a question.
H)Writings in the author's local dialect, that is, in the everyday language of the region.
I)The church of a bishop and the administrative headquarters of a diocese.
J)An architectural style with rounded arches and small windows.

Question 73

Answer the following questions:
vernacular literature

A)System in which the arable land of a manor was divided into two or three fields without hedges or fences to mark individual holdings.
B)A band of merchants in a town that prohibited nonmembers from trading in that town.
C)A band of producers in a town that regulated most aspects of production of a good in that town.
D)A mercantile association of towns begun in northern Europe that allowed for mutual protection and trading rights.
E)The transformation of the European economy as a result of changes in business procedures and growth in trade.
F)Laws that regulated the value and style of clothing and jewelry that various social groups could wear as well as the amount they could spend on celebrations.
G)University professors in the Middle Ages who developed a method of thinking, reasoning, and writing in which questions were raised and authorities cited on both sides of a question.
H)Writings in the author's local dialect, that is, in the everyday language of the region.
I)The church of a bishop and the administrative headquarters of a diocese.
J)An architectural style with rounded arches and small windows.

Question 74

Answer the following questions:
cathedral

A)System in which the arable land of a manor was divided into two or three fields without hedges or fences to mark individual holdings.
B)A band of merchants in a town that prohibited nonmembers from trading in that town.
C)A band of producers in a town that regulated most aspects of production of a good in that town.
D)A mercantile association of towns begun in northern Europe that allowed for mutual protection and trading rights.
E)The transformation of the European economy as a result of changes in business procedures and growth in trade.
F)Laws that regulated the value and style of clothing and jewelry that various social groups could wear as well as the amount they could spend on celebrations.
G)University professors in the Middle Ages who developed a method of thinking, reasoning, and writing in which questions were raised and authorities cited on both sides of a question.
H)Writings in the author's local dialect, that is, in the everyday language of the region.
I)The church of a bishop and the administrative headquarters of a diocese.
J)An architectural style with rounded arches and small windows.