TESTWEEK

• History
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 1

TEST: The Middle Ages

What event marks the beginning of the Middle Ages best?

1. The fall of the Western Roman Empire
2. The fall of the Eastern Roman Empire
3. The coronation (kroning) of Charlemagne as king of the Franks
4. The Viking attack on the British monastery of Lindisfarne.

Practise with the characteristic aspects.

Drag the hotspots to the correct symbol

Late Middle Ages

A

Rise of the first cities

B

Feudal system

C

Rise of Christianity

D

life of hunter-gatherers

E

ended in 500 AD

F

rise of Islam

G

the return of international trade and cities

H

clash between Romans and Germanic tribes

I

the first farmers

J

rise of citizenship and scientific thinking in city-states

K

manorial system

L

Drag the hotspots to their correct locations.

Christian monks are attacked by the Vikings

Crusaders conquer this city in 1099 AD

Residence of the Pope of the Catholic Church

homelands of the Vikings

Muhammad flees from this place

Kingdom of the Franks

residence of the Byzantine emperor

Here, the Black Death enters Europe 

The beginning of the Middle Ages was a period of big changes for the European people. Many things from the Roman empire had ended, while others continued.

Drag the letters A - F to the correct target.

continuity

discontinuity

Christianity

International trade

Living in cities

use of money

Rome as a political capital

Rome as a religious capital

Why did Muhammad flee to Medina?

1. Muhammad believed he had received a message from God to go to Medina
2. Because Muhammad disliked the way people lived in Mecca
3. To avoid persecution by the rich inhabitants of Mecca
4. Because he heard about the defeat at Poitiers

The Islamic calendar starts in

1. 422
2. 522
3. 622
4. 722

What does "Islam" literally mean?

1. Submission to the will of God
2. Spreading the word of God
3. Converting to monotheism
4. Being a pagan

Which of these modern countries was not part
of the Arab empire?

1. Libya
2. Spain
3. France
4. Turkey

Why did Charlemagne use the Feudal System?

1. to build up an army
2. for the administration of his kingdom
3. to build up a big empire
4. all reasons are correct

Under the feudal system, who, in theory, owned all the land?

1. the peasants
2. the nobles
3. the clergy
4. the monarch

What are vassals?

1. lords who gave their land to knights became the knights' vassals
2. lords who were granted a domain by the king became the king's vassals
3. vassals are kings who give parts of their land as a loan to loyal lords
4. vassals is just another word for nobles

Which of these statements is NOT correct?

1. the lords were vassals to the king
2. the king gave land in loan to the lords, who became his vassals
3. the vassals together formed a group that we call nobility
4. the king and his family did not belong to the nobility

Which sentence about serfs is NOT correct?

1. serfs needed to do servile duties
2. serfs were not allowed to leave the domain without the lord's permission
3. serfs owned their own farms and fields
4. serfs needed to give parts of their crops to the lord

There was autarchy in a domain. What was the reason?

1. it was cheaper to make everything yourself
2. there was hardly any trade
3. it was usually a long way to the city
4. each domain had some very good craftsmen

Why did Charlemagne call his empire (the Holy Roman Empire) “Roman”?

1. Charlemagne was a Roman emperor, crowned by the pope.
2. Charlemagne wanted to build an empire like the Romans
3. Charlemagne wanted people to use the Roman way of life in his empire
4. The Romans used the feudal system, and Charlemagne wanted to use that too.

Where was Charlemagne’s capital?

1. Aachen
2. Rome
3. Paris
4. Constantinople

Why was the pope grateful to Charlemagne?

I. because he spread Christianity in Europe
II. because the fought against the pope's enemies: the Longobards

1. I + II are correct
2. I + II are incorrect
3. I is correct and II is incorrect
4. I is incorrect and II is correct

Drag 7 (!) from the 8 hotspots to the correct box. One hotspot does not belong anywhere.

loyalty

knights

military aid

nobles / aristocrats

monarch

land

vassals

protection

sub vassals

What does this schematic
represent?

1. the 3 Estates
2. the Feudal System
3. the Manorial System
4. the Guild system

Which of these is NOT a country
where the Vikings came from?

1. Skandinavia
2. Denmark
3. Norway
4. Sweden

What was the main reason for the
Vikings to attack Europe?

1. There was not enough farmland in their homelands to feed the population
2. The Viking population was rising so there were more Vikings available to attack Europe
3. European monasteries held great, unprotected riches.
4. The Vikings were looking for new trade ports outside their homelands

Which of the following places was NOT attacked by the Vikings?

1. Constantinople
2. Dorestad
3. Paris
4. York

Which three Viking Gods have given their names to three of our week days?

1. Mars, Odin, Frey
2. Dinar, Thor, Wednar
3. Frey, Odin, Thor
4. Satar, Frey, Lunar

What was the best way for a Viking to enter Valhalla?

1. To die fighting
2. To die praying to Odin
3. To die making a sword
4. To convert to Christianity before dying

Read the sources.
What type of source is
Source A?

1. primary written source
2. primary non-written source
3. secondary written source
4. secondary non-written source

Which statement is true?
I. Source A can be reliable because it was written by
someone who may have witnessed the events
II Source A can be unreliable because the writer may be
biassed because he is an enemy of the Vikings

1. Both statements are true
2. Both statements are false
3. Statement I is false and statement II is true
4. Statement I is true and statement II is false

Read the sources.
What type of source is
Source B?

1. primary written source
2. primary non-written source
3. secondary written source
4. secondary non-written source

Source B gives a different view of
the Vikings.
Why ? Choose the most logical answer.

1. The writer is a modern historian, therefore he is unbiassed and can use multiple sources
2. The writer has more respect for the Vikings than a Medieval monk
3. all answers are correct
4. the writer based his account mostly on Viking written sources

Europe in 1000 AD

Europe in 1500 AD

Drag the hotspots to the correct boxes.

few people can read or write. Most of those who can are monks

goods are paid for with money

more people need basic numeracy and literacy. More schools in towns.

large walled towns and cities are an important part life

mostly barter trade

churchgoing is more common. Big cathedrals are built in cities

only local trade

local lords have much power, even more than the monarch

hardly any cities exist in Europe

international trade

To which of the following religions Jerusalem
is NOT a holy city

1. Islam
2. Judaism
3. Christianity
4. Hinduism

Look at the picture.
This wall is all that remains from:

1. the Jewish Temple
2. the Islamic Mosque
3. the Christian "Jesus' grave" Church
4. The Berlin Wall

Which of these names is the odd one out?
(= which one does not belong here?)

1. Byzantium
2. Istanbul
3. Jerusalem
4. Constantinople

Why did the Byzantine emperor call for the pope’s help?

1. He wanted to become a Christian empire
2. Crusaders were attacking Constantinople
3. The Turks were attacking his empire
4. The Vikings were attacking his empire

Towns needed a charter to set them up, who usually gave them the charter?

1. the church
2. the town council
3. the king
4. the local lord

Why did literacy become more important when trade and towns grew?

1. merchants needed to keep records of their supplies
2. craftsmen needed to read instructions to learn to make tools
3. everybody in a town needed to read and sign the Charter
4. children needed to be able to read and write to enter a guild later in life

Which of the following statements about guilds is incorrect?

1. Guilds were organizations that controlled a particular craft
2. You had to be a member of a guild in order to work in some crafts
3. Guilds were more popular in the countryside than in towns
4. Guilds fixed the quality and prices of their products

Put the following stages of becoming a guild master in the correct order. 

Passing the masterpiece test

Serving time as an apprentice

Becoming a master

Paying a fee

Becoming a journeyman

In the 14th century the Black Death swept Europe. Today we know the causes of this disease, but in the Middel Ages people could only guess.
What was NOT seen as a cause for the Black death in the 14th century?

1. The breath of an infected person
2. God’s anger
3. Infection by rat fleas
4. A bad line up of the planets

What was NOT seen as a possible cure for the Black Death in the 14th century?

1. prayer
2. Self punishment
3. Avoiding other people
4. Keeping houses clean from rats

Several events marked the end of the Middle Ages.
Here you see 4 events, but one of them is wrong.
Which one?

1. Columbus discovers America
2. the invention of the printing press
3. the invention of firearms
4. the invention of the steam engine

Put the following events in the correct chronological order

Black Death in Europe

Columbus discovers America

Vikings attack Lindisfarne

Charlemagne crowned emperor

Muhammad flees to Medina

Crusaders conquer Jerusalem

WORD DUTY.

Drag the 4 correct words to their definitions. Two words remain unused.

to swap something you do not need for something you want

not controlled by other people

to change from one religion to another

self-sufficiency

to convert

autarky

aristocracy

barter

independent

apprentice

congratulations

You can now check all your answers once more. After that, you can hand in the test.