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Quiz about General European Medieval History

General European Medieval History Quiz

How well do you know Medieval and Early Modern History? Give this quiz a shot and see how you do.

A multiple-choice quiz by enchkevi. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
enchkevi

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
26,887

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
15

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
8 / 15

Plays
2917

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 15

1. How many Popes were named Adrian? Hint

NEXT>

Question 2 of 15

2. What was the name of King Henry II's wife? Hint

Eleanor of Aquitaine

Lady Jane Grey

Blanche of Castile

Beatrice Sforza

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Question 3 of 15

3. What famous castle did the ruling family of Austria take their name from? Hint

Emmenthaler Castle

Montsalvat Castle

Habsburg Castle

Nymphenburg Castle

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Question 4 of 15

4. What was the capital of the Muslim empire in Spain? Hint

Granada

Cordova

Damascus

Acre

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Question 5 of 15

5. Which two kings did the sisters of King Henry the VIII of England marry? Hint

Frederick Barbarosa and Charles V

Phillip of Burgandy and Lorenzo de Medici

Rudolph II and Ivan III

Louis XII and James IV

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Question 6 of 15

6. Who invented the system of solfeggio? Hint

Guido d'Arezzo

Perotin

Josquin de Pres

Machaut

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Question 7 of 15

7. In what country was Richard Coeur de Lion imprisoned on his return from the Crusades? Hint

Andorra

Transylvania

Liechtenstein

Austria

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Question 8 of 15

8. What country were the Tudors of England originally from? Hint

Scotland

Italy

Greece

Wales

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Question 9 of 15

9. What miracle was St. Francis of Assisi canonized for? Hint

Curing lepers

Having a vision of the Immaculate Conception

Giving his money to the poor

Receiving the stigmata

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Question 10 of 15

10. William the Conqueror's coat of arms included the "bar sinister".

True

False

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Question 11 of 15

11. Which of these kings was openly bisexual or homosexual? Hint

Ferdinand of Aragon

Louis IX of France

Henry V of England

Edward II of England

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Question 12 of 15

12. Which Arab philosopher did St. Thomas Aquinas credit as the greatest influence on his 'Summa Theologica'? Hint

Omar Khayyam

Averroes

Suleiman

Maimonides

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Question 13 of 15

13. What was the name of the friar who helped Ferdinand and Isabella begin the Spanish Inquisition? Hint

Juana la Loca

Torquemada

St. John of the Cross

St. Charles Borremeo

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Question 14 of 15

14. What form of Medieval music involves singing in parallel fifths and fourths? Hint

Conductus

Hocket

Organum

Rondelai

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Question 15 of 15

15. What was the 'French Disease'? Hint

Bubonic plague

Syphilis

Gout

Scrofula

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. How many Popes were named Adrian?

Answer: 6

Adrian VI, the last of the Adrians was only Pope for a month.

2. What was the name of King Henry II's wife?

Answer: Eleanor of Aquitaine

Eleanor of Aquitaine was queen of England and France, and was also the mother of two of England's kings: Richard I Lionheart and King John.

3. What famous castle did the ruling family of Austria take their name from?

Answer: Habsburg Castle

The word "Habsburg" means 'Hawk's Fortress'.

4. What was the capital of the Muslim empire in Spain?

Answer: Cordova

Under Muslim rule Cordova was the greatest seat of learning in Europe from the 8th to 12th century, and was one of few cities in Europe where Jews, Christians and Muslims lived together in tolerance.

5. Which two kings did the sisters of King Henry the VIII of England marry?

Answer: Louis XII and James IV

Henry's younger sister married Louis XII of France who died less than a year after they were married. He was 72 and she was 14. Henry's older sister Margaret married James IV of Scotland. Their grand-daughter was Mary, Queen of Scots. (Her parents were James V of Sctland and Mary of Guise).

6. Who invented the system of solfeggio?

Answer: Guido d'Arezzo

Solfeggio is the system of assigning a sung syllable to an actual pitch. Originally the system was based on the Guidoian hand, where every syllable related to a different finger.

7. In what country was Richard Coeur de Lion imprisoned on his return from the Crusades?

Answer: Austria

Richard I Lionheart was held captive by the Hapsburg Duke of Austria for a period of years to extract ransom from his brother, Prince John. Contrary to popular legend, Robin Hood did not raise the money to bring Richard back to England.

8. What country were the Tudors of England originally from?

Answer: Wales

When Henry VII killed Richard III on Bosworth Field, he killed the last of the 'purely' Anglo-French kings.

9. What miracle was St. Francis of Assisi canonized for?

Answer: Receiving the stigmata

Stigmata is an unexplained appearance of Christ's wound's. The wounds are usually bleeding holes in the hand and feet. There are still many documented case of people receiving the Stigmata.

10. William the Conqueror's coat of arms included the "bar sinister".

Answer: False

The "bar sinister" - a bar going from the top left of the shield to the bottom right, indicating illegitimacy - is a nineteenth-century (!) invention. After all, it sounds so Romantic, mysterious, hints at evil and is, well, just so *sinister*. It is unknown in heraldry.

Moreover, no illustration or undisputed description of William the Conqueror's coat of arms survives, and it is possible that he didn't even have one.

11. Which of these kings was openly bisexual or homosexual?

Answer: Edward II of England

Although Edward II was married to Queen Isabella of France, he flagrantly promoted his lover Piers Gaveston to the high office, thus making himself unpopular, at least among the aristocracy. He was deposed and brutally murdered in 1327. His consort, Queen Isabella, who tried to raise an army in France to fight her husband and who was widely believed to be behind the murder of her husband, became even more unpopular and gained the nickname of th "She-Wolf of France".

12. Which Arab philosopher did St. Thomas Aquinas credit as the greatest influence on his 'Summa Theologica'?

Answer: Averroes

Averroes formulated most of the ideas and the essential method of debate now known as Scholasticism.

13. What was the name of the friar who helped Ferdinand and Isabella begin the Spanish Inquisition?

Answer: Torquemada

Torquemada was Isabella's personal confessor, and it was he who counseled the greatest of Spanish monarchs not only to bring the Inquisition to Spain, but to expel the Jews and the remaining Muslims. He was the archetypal fanatic.

14. What form of Medieval music involves singing in parallel fifths and fourths?

Answer: Organum

Organum is the earliest kind of polyphonic singing, and was brought to its most elaborate form at Notre Dame, Paris.

15. What was the 'French Disease'?

Answer: Syphilis

It got its nickname in the Middle Ages from the belief that the French were particularly promiscuous.

Source: Author enchkevi

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