Middle Ages Quiz Study Guide

The Middle Ages

  1. William the conqueror was a Norman. Where did the Normans come from?
  2. What does the term “Anglo-Norman” mean?
  3. In terms of language and social structure, how did the Normans influence England?
  4. How did the Normans change England’s relationship to the rest of Europe?
  5. According to the gray/blue inset, how might England be different if they had not lost the Battle of Hastings to William?

Feudalism and Knighthood

  1. Define the different castes that make up the feudal social structure: serf, peasant, vassal, knight, baron. What is the function of each of these groups?
  2. Which is the highest in the social order?
  3. What is the main function of the knight?
  4. Which is the lowest?
  5. What is chivalry (this is very important)?

Women in Society; Chivalry and Courtly Love;

  1. What is chivalry?
  2. What is courtly love?
  3. How is courtly love different than a normal love affair?
  4. What rule of warfare that knights have to follow is given as an example?

The New City Classes: Out from Under the Overlords.

  1. What caused the feudal system to become obsolete?
  2. How do many of Chaucer’s characters relate to the feudal system?
  3. Once the social system was changed and the feudal structure began to be less important, how and why were the arts affected?

The Crusades 83-85

  1. What were the Crusades?
  2. Europe did not win the Crusades. However, they did benefit from the experience. How did Europe benefit from the Crusades?

The Magna Carta: 85

  1. What does Magna Carta mean?
  2. When was it signed?
  3. Who did not like the Magna Carta? Why not?
  4. What were a couple of the rights given by the Magna Carta?

The Martyrdom of Thomas a Becket

  1. What does Chaucer’s Canterbury tales have to do with Thomas Becket?
  2. In those days, who was so powerful that he even controlled kings?
  3. What religious denomination were all English expected to observe?
  4. Why did King Henry appoint Becket as the archbishop of Canterbury?
  5. Why was Becket killed by King Henry?
  6. What is a martyr? Make sure you tell the class that Becket became a martyr.

The Hundred Years War: 86-87

  1. What was the purpose of the Hundred Years War?
  2. Who won the Hundred Years War?
  3. How did warfare in England change as a result of the Hundred Years War?
  4. How did England benefit from the Hundred Years War as a nation?

The Black Death: 88

  1. What is the “Black Death” another name for?
  2. How was it spread?
  3. How serious was the Black Death?
  4. What was the social impact of the Black Death? (Even though it killed so many, it had a result that helped the lower classes—what was it?)

Fleas, Money, and Gunpowder: 86-87

  1. In the early Middle Ages much business was conducted using something called a “barter” system.
  2. What is a “barter system”?
  3. Why did the Crusades bring about a financial system based on coins?
  4. What was the advantage of having coins instead of bartering?
  5. What caused a major change in warfare in the 1300’s? Where did it come from?
  6. When the feudal system began to disappear, what took its place?