Deck 9: The Recovery and Growth of European Society in the High Middle Ages

Question 1

Compare and contrast the Romanesque church and the Gothic cathedral. What importance should be attached to the differences you note?

Answer 1

Answers will vary.

Question 2

What practices, ideas, requirements, and activities shaped the life of a medieval peasant family?

Answer 2

Answers will vary.

Question 3

What similarities and differences do you seen between the medieval and modern university?

Answer 3

Answers will vary.

Question 4

Explain the relationships between weather patterns, technological innovation, agriculture, and society in the High Middle Ages.

Question 5

In what ways does the artistic and literary culture of the High Middle Ages reflect the religious preoccupations and problems of medieval society?

Question 6

Who were the scholastics and what was their overarching goal?

Question 7

What were the consequences for Europe of the rediscovery of Justinian's Body of Civil Law ?

Question 8

Discuss the revival of trade in the High Middle Ages, giving special attention to the connection between trade and urbanization.

Question 9

Do you agree with the statement, "The Gothic cathedral was the supreme accomplishment of the High Middle Ages world"? Why or why not?

Question 10

In your opinion, would life in a medieval city have been preferable to living as a serf?

Question 11

Why, where, and by whom were new cities and towns founded in the High Middle Ages? What were their major features? And what role did cities play in this time period?

Question 12

Discuss the structures and changes in daily life of the ordinary European medieval village. How did most Europeans live and what were the material factors shaping their behavior at the communal level?

Question 13

To what extent was Thomas Aquinas emblematic of his era, and to what extent did he challenge mainstream medieval intellectual culture?

Question 14

What was life like in a Medieval City? How was urban society organized and governed?

Question 15

What were some of the reasons for the revival of Classical antiquity in the High Middle Ages?

Question 16

What burdens did medieval female aristocrats have to confront and what freedoms did they enjoy?

Question 17

What role did the Muslim world play in the revival of Greek scholarship in medieval Europe?

Question 18

What were some of the reasons for the revival of trade and the growth of cities in the High Middle Ages?

Question 19

What were the causes and what were the consequences of the development of the early medieval universities?

Question 20

Assume that you are a European peasant sharing your thoughts with your fellow farmers. What grievances might you collectively have with your local lord and with local church officials, and for what might you be thankful or appreciative?

Question 21

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
vernacular

Question 22

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
journeymen

Question 23

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
the liberal arts

Question 24

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
scholasticism

Question 25

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
artium magister

Question 26

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Averroës

Question 27

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
borough/burgh

Question 28

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Flanders

Question 29

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
troubadours

Question 30

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
charters of liberty

Question 31

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
chivalry

Question 32

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
three-field system

Question 33

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
knighthood

Question 34

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
University of Bologna

Question 35

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
carruca

Question 36

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
guilds

Question 37

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
The Song of Roland

Question 38

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Venice

Question 39

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Eleanor of Aquitaine

Question 40

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Thomas Aquinas

Question 41

In the High Middle Ages, European society was dominated by the aristocracy, best described as

A)"men of prayer."
B)"men of work."
C)"men of war."
D)"men of reason."
E)All of these are correct.

Question 42

The "new agriculture" of the High Middle Ages

A)resulted from a sharp decline in the total acreage available for farming.
B)was in part brought about by a change from the two-field to the three-field system.
C)led to the demise of the cooperative agricultural villages.
D)was in large part due to the development of a cheap, nonwheeled wooden plow for peasants.
E)was the result of grain imported from the east.

Question 43

Between 1000 and 1300, the population of Europe

A)remained static.
B)roughly quintupled.
C)steadily fell.
D)increased by about 10 percent.
E)roughly doubled.

Question 44

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Gothic

Question 45

All of the following is true of the ideal of civilized behavior known as chivalry EXCEPT

A)knights were to fight to defend the church.
B)knights were to protect the weak and defenseless.
C)chivalry was developed without the influence of the church.
D)winning glory should be the knight's highest aim and motivating force.
E)knights should treat captives as honored guests.

Question 46

What was an advantage of the three-field system?

A)It kept prices for crops high.
B)It kept more land in cultivation at any given time.
C)It required less water for irrigation.
D)It made crops easier to plant and harvest.
E)It required fewer workers than other systems.

Question 47

Many agricultural improvements in the Middle Ages depended on the production of tools made from what material?

A)Wood
B)Iron
C)Steel
D)Copper
E)Silver

Question 48

Blanche of Castile served as regent of

A)Catalan.
B)Tuscany.
C)Spain.
D)England.
E)France.

Question 49

The role of peasant women in the medieval economy is best described as

A)economically inconsequential.
B)important, with a variety of contributions.
C)limited to the household.
D)mostly at home with some labor outside the home.
E)more important than men.

Question 50

What was the main job of the village priest?

A)To serve as a judge on manorial courts
B)To identify potential heretics
C)To teach villagers the basic elements of Christianity
D)To settle disputes between villagers
E)To collect taxes for the lord

Question 51

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Romanesque

Question 52

Eleanor of Aquitaine was married to two kings, first Louis VII of France, and then

A)Louis VIII of France.
B)Henry II of England.
C)Philip I of Spain.
D)Richard II of England.
E)Ferdinand IV of Spain.

Question 53

In which of the following places was significant land "reclaimed" from the sea?

A)Ireland
B)Genoa
C)Netherlands
D)Spain
E)Russia

Question 54

What was the basic staple of the peasant diet?

A)Potatoes
B)Rice
C)Pork
D)Beef
E)Bread

Question 55

In the three-field system, one field was planted with winter grains, a second with spring grains and vegetables, and the third field was

A)planted with corn.
B)allowed to lie fallow.
C)used to graze animals.
D)used for markets and fairs.
E)planted with cotton or sugar.

Question 56

Which statement best describes combative tournaments involving knights?

A)They were sanctioned by the church as a testing ground for religious faith.
B)They consisted of the "melee" in which knights with a grudge fought to the death.
C)They were considered excellent and necessary training for warfare.
D)They were banned by 1100.
E)They were popular only in England but not on the continent.

Question 57

What was the carruca ?

A)A new type of blast furnace
B)A Spanish dance involving four partners
C)A heavy-wheeled, iron-tipped plow
D)A harness for draft animals without collars
E)A slender blade

Question 58

What was true of almost all medieval castles?

A)They served as residences for noble families.
B)They had little military value.
C)They were enormous, usually housing thousands of people.
D)They were owned and operated by the church.
E)They had high towers that soared more than 300 feet in the air.

Question 59

What allowed for a more diversified and intelligent use of farmland?

A)The two-field system
B)The iron-tipped plow
C)Serfdom
D)Riparian water rights
E)The three-field system

Question 60

What was the most common drink of the medieval peasant in northern European countries?

A)Ale
B)Beer
C)Wine
D)Cider
E)Milk

Question 61

By 1300, the population of London was about

A)5,000.
B)20,000.
C)80,000.
D)400,000.
E)one million.

Question 62

What area assumed the leading role in the revival of trade in the Early Middle Ages?

A)England
B)Spain
C)Germany
D)France
E)Italy

Question 63

Where was the first university in Europe established?

A)Cambridge
B)Paris
C)Oxford
D)Frankfurt
E)Bologna

Question 64

What was the first step for a person who wanted to learn a trade in a medieval city?

A)To complete an arduous initiation
B)To consult the clergy
C)To consult the city elders
D)To buy a license
E)To become an apprentice

Question 65

Marriages among the aristocracy of the High Middle Ages

A)were frequently motivated by the love brides and grooms felt for one another.
B)still included violent blood rituals of betrothal dating back to pagan times.
C)usually occurred when both bride and groom were in their teens.
D)were expected to establish political alliances between families and increase their wealth.
E)required to be always performed by archbishops and popes.

Question 66

The University of Bologna was most famous for teaching which of the following subjects?

A)Medicine
B)Theology
C)Law
D)Astronomy
E)Mathematics

Question 67

Medieval cities typically had

A)a population exceeding 100,000.
B)no distinct sections.
C)streets that were dedicated to specific crafts.
D)no public or private baths.
E)greater cleanliness than most modern cities.

Question 68

All of the following were consequences of the revival of trade EXCEPT

A)the development of a money economy.
B)the establishment of trading companies and banking firms.
C)the use of contracts and insurance.
D)the final abandonment of old Roman cities.
E)the creation of new techniques such as double-entry bookkeeping.

Question 69

What is the main reason for the growing independence of medieval urban areas?

A)The refusal of lords and kings to grant liberties to the townspeople
B)The granting of self-government to the townspeople by bishops, especially in cathedral cities
C)Huge populations of High Medieval cities
D)The revival of commerce
E)The increase of manorialism

Question 70

Which city was home to the first university in northern Europe?

A)Paris
B)Oxford
C)Cambridge
D)Heidelberg
E)Bruges

Question 71

Flanders played a key role in the revival of trade in

A)northern Europe.
B)southern Europe.
C)the Mediterranean.
D)Italy.
E)the Black Sea.

Question 72

Why did the counts of Champagne in northern France establish a series of annual fairs?

A)To fulfill their religious obligations
B)To offer direct competition to Italian merchants
C)To facilitate the collection of taxes
D)To exert their control over the regional economy
E)To encourage trade between Flanders and Italy

Question 73

What was a major cause of pollution in medieval cities?

A)The smell and waste of animals and humans
B)Spills of oil, a common fuel of the era
C)The production of iron in urban smelters
D)The use of lead paint in private and public buildings
E)The lack of any sanitation facilities

Question 74

Which statement best describes medieval cities?

A)They were huge, rivaling modern cities in population.
B)They were relatively undemocratic with the wealthy usually ruling and voting in civic elections.
C)They were totally dominated by rural nobles.
D)They were devoid of sophisticated internal systems of government.
E)The remained under the control of democratic communes.

Question 75

Guilds were organizations of

A)artisans who directed almost every aspect of the production process of certain trades.
B)citizens trying to defend their political rights.
C)agricultural laborers seeking to improve their wages.
D)consumers attempting to control inflation.
E)nobles working to keep a tight rein on society.

Question 76

Which counts sponsored the most important six-times-a-year trade fair during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries?

A)Languedoc
B)Provence
C)Gascony
D)Champagne
E)Flanders

Question 77

What contributed to the emergence of Venice as a major commercial city?

A)Its abundant natural resources
B)Its willingness to trade with non-Italians
C)Its close ties to the Roman papacy
D)Its large and growing rural population
E)Its close trading ties the Byzantine Empire

Question 78

Merchant cities in northern Europe, frequently ending in "-burg" or "-borough", grew up in the 1100s around

A)clearings deep in the forests.
B)national universities.
C)the castles of noblemen.
D)abandoned monasteries.
E)large rivers.

Question 79

By 1100 charters of liberties granted townspeople such privileges as

A)the right for women to buy and sell property.
B)the right of serfs to become free after residing in a city for one month.
C)written urban law that guaranteed their freedom.
D)the ability to train as a knight.
E)All of these are correct.

Question 80

The electoral process in medieval cities ensured that which of the following groups would monopolize political power?

A)Landed nobles
B)Scholars
C)Wealthy merchants
D)Journeymen
E)The clergy