Western Civilization to 1648 (HIST-1500) Ch. 8

The "Song of Roland" is useful for historians because it:

Reflects the culture of the time in which it was written.

In the period 950-1100, the West’s center of gravity shifted from:

The Mediterranean to western Europe.

Europe’s first parliamentary democracy developed in:

Iceland.

The Viking kingdoms of Scandinavia were so successful because:

They continued to rely on traditional Viking networks of trade and kinship but combined them with newer models of governance.

Otto I’s victory over the Magyars:

Confirmed the position of the Saxon kings as heirs to Charlemagne’s Holy Roman Empire.

A major source of mechanical power in medieval Europe after 1050 was the:

Water mill, which was used to grind grain, crush paper pulp, and press oil.

The medieval economy was based primarily on:

Agriculture.

In northern Europe, increasing use of the heavy-wheeled plow between 800 and 1050 coincided with:

Fundamental changes in patterns of peasant settlement.

It was more difficult for serfs to improve their economic and social status because:

Serfs were tied to their lord’s manorial lands and so could not move.

One factor that contributed to the increase in agricultural output in the medieval period was:

A rise in average temperature that allowed for a longer growing season.

Aside from raising food yields from 50 to 67 percent, the movement from a two-field system to a three-field system resulted in:

Higher yields per acre and a more even distribution of labor throughout the year.

Although Viking raids often devastated towns, the Vikings also revitalized cities by:

Returning large amounts of gold and silver coin to the markets of medieval Europe.

Monasteries and secular lords often supported the founding of towns in their territories because:

They saw the economic advantages of having towns in their territory.

During the eleventh century, the most spectacular developments in long-distance trade took place in:

Italy.

One factor that contributed to the growth of some urban centers such as Paris and London was:

Their ability to draw on the wealth of the immediate area around the city.

Although money lending was an important factor in the success of early Italian merchant activity:

The Western Christian Church condemned the practice as usurious.

Many towns and cities in the High Middle Ages:

Grew through continuous immigration from the countryside.

Castles often formed the nucleus of new towns because:

Castles provided protection for merchants who lived close to the walls.

Local lords most frequently developed power bases in areas of western Europe where:

Royal authority was either weak or nonexistent.

Historians generally do not use the term "feudalism" today because it:

Means too many different things to be of use.

The exchange of land for service or money in the Middle Ages resulted in a political system that:

Created many different types of ties, both horizontal and hierarchal.

William the Conqueror was politically innovative in that he:

Used the highly centralized English administrative authority combined with the feudal structures of France.

Compared to their Carolingian predecessors, the kings of tenth- and eleventh-century Germany:

Relied heavily on ecclesiastical leaders to carry out royal administration.

Central to the establishment of feudal monarchies was the:

Personal relationship between individuals at each level of feudal society.

The term "feudal" comes from the Latin "feudum," which refers to:

A grant that creates a contractual relationship between a giver and a receiver.

At Canossa in the winter of 1077:

King Henry IV did penance before Pope Gregory VII.

The tenth century was known for ineffective kingship throughout Europe and:

An incompetent and largely corrupt papacy.

The monastic reform movement that began at Cluny in Burgundy was unique in that Cluniac monasteries:

Were free from control by local lords.

The first successful attempt to restore the spiritual authority of the Latin Church can be traced to the establishment of a new kind of monastery at:

Cluny in Burgundy.

Theft of relics occurred in the Middle Ages because:

Relics were extremely valuable, as pilgrims were attracted to the places that housed them.

Simony refers to:

The use of an ecclesiastical office for personal gain.

In 1059, Pope Nicolas II issued a new decree on papal elections, which gave the power to elect future popes to the:

College of Cardinals.

Taken literally, what did the term "investiture" mean to medieval Christians in the eleventh century?

The practice of appointing a bishop or abbot and dressing him with the symbols of his office.

In the eleventh century, the struggle for power in central Europe was, for the most part, between:

King and pope.

The importance of the Investiture Conflict was that it:

Formally, though not in practice, separated the "church" and the "state" in European politics.

The expansion of the Byzantine empire during the tenth and early eleventh centuries was assisted by:

Christian missionary activity in Russia and the Balkans.

The weakness of the Byzantine empire in the eleventh century was caused, in part, by:

The debasing of the empire’s gold coinage.

In 1071, Byzantium lost Armenia and wealthy Anatolia to the:

Seljuq Turks.

When Alexius Comnenus asked for western help against the Seljuq Turks, he was hoping for a:

Force of heavily armored knights to deploy against the lightly armored Turkish cavalry.

Which of the following was NOT a goal expressed by Pope Urban II for the First Crusade?

To slay Christ’s enemies wherever they could be found, especially Jews and Muslims.

When preaching the First Crusade, Pope Urban II suggested that those who fought in the service of Christ would receive:

Absolution of all their sins.

The First Crusade:

Further weakened Byzantine control over trade in the eastern Mediterranean.

The Crusades marked a fundamental turning point in the relationship between:

Byzantium and western Europe.

The most common reason for people to go on a Crusade was the desire:

To complete an armed pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

The most long-lasting consequence of the First Crusade was the:

Development of Islamic and Christian doctrines of holy war.

The Muslim world was far advanced over Europe in the area of medicine, as evidenced by the writings of:

Avicenna.

Arabic mathematics revolutionized European economies by introducing:

Arabic numerals, which replaced Roman numerals.

Muslim physicians were leaders in developing:

A system of licensing medical practitioners.

From the Islamic world come some of the best-known poetry in the world, among which is the poetry of:

Umar Khayyam.

The enormous legacy of Muslim learning for European commerce, literature, and science is most clearly seen in the:

Introduction of a large number of Arabic words into European languages.

T/F: The medieval epic, "The Song of Roland," is similar to Homer’s "Iliad" in that both were the product of a long oral tradition rather than having been composed in a written form.

True.

T/F: No new political entities arose in Europe as a direct result of the Viking raids of the previous century.

False. The opposite happened. In the aftermath of the Viking invasions, new political entities began to emerge in Europe.

T/F: Hugh Capet claimed the title of "King of the Franks" after he killed the last Carolingian king in 987.

False.

T/F: The agricultural revolution was the foundation on which the commercial revolution of the High Middle Ages rested.

True.

T/F: Due to the expansion of commerce and the availability of cheap and nutritious food, the largest European cities boasted populations of over 1 million people by 1300.

False. 100,000 people, not 1 million.

T/F: The European political structure in the tenth and eleventh centuries was typified by a social mobility and egalitarianism.

False.

T/F: All knights in the eleventh century came from the aristocracy.

False. Knighthood was actually a career that embraced men of widely varying status (sons of lords, peasants, etc.).

T/F: The Ottonian emperors were the first to be able to exercise actual control in the areas they claimed to rule.

False. The Ottonians were not able to control the territories they claimed to rule.

T/F: Although it represented a monumental struggle for power at the highest levels of society, the Investiture Conflict was a largely private affair that had little impact on local political or religious relationships.

False.

T/F: Beginning in the eleventh century, the Church asserted its independence from secular rulers.

True.

T/F: The Crusades take their name from the symbol of the Christian religion.

True.

T/F: Crusading knights needed a minimum of two years’ revenues in hand to go on crusade.

True.

T/F: The Christian doctrine of holy war developed during the First Crusade has helped shaped more modern narratives of conquest and colonization.

True.

T/F: Islamic theology and philosophy had no influence on Catholic philosophy and theology.

False. It did.

T/F: Of the three heirs to the Roman Empire, Europe was the most prosperous by 1000.

False. Before 1000, Europe was the least prosperous. It took until 1100 for Europe to be the "most prosperous."