Mighty Monarchs VII (Poland) Multiple Choice Quiz | European

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In 966 AD this prince of Poland converted to Christianity (Roman Catholicism). Which individual was it?

Answer: Mieszko I

Mieszko I (r. 960-992 AD) was married to Dobravka, daughter of Wenceslaus, the Saint, Duke of Bohemia. He estalished the Piast dynasty which held the throne of Poland until 1370 AD.

2. Which prince of Poland began a plan to eliminate pagans who lived in Prussia?

Answer: Boleslaus IV, the Curly

Boleslaus IV wanted to acquire some of the land that was inhabited by Prussian pagans. His crusade was not successful, although later rulers attempted similar campaigns to Christianize the Prussians from 1217-1274.

3. The cultural height of the medieval Kingdom of Poland was during the reign of this monarch. They were the last of the Piast dynasty. Which individual was it?

Answer: Casimir III, the Great

Casimir III (r. 1333-1370 AD) truly earned his title of Great. He issued the first Polish legal code, abolished serfdom, and the University of Cracow was founded (1364 AD). He also encouraged European Jews to settle in his kingdom (the countries of western Europe were periodically persecuting and expelling their Jewish populations).

This increase led to Poland being the center of Jewish culture in eastern Europe. His only major failure - he left no legitimate heir to the throne.

4. On Feb 18, 1386 AD Jadwiga, the young Queen of Poland (she was 12), married this Grand Prince of Lithuania. This marriage would unite the two states to form the largest territorial power in all of Europe. Which individual was it?

Answer: Jagiello

Jadwiga (r. 1384-1399 AD) marriage terms: the queen was to receive a powerful protector (a husband) and in return Jagiello would convert to Christianity (Roman Catholicism) along with his people. For Jagiello the marriage offered an alliance against the Teutonic Knights. Jagiello was baptized (Feb 15, 1386 AD) and took the Christian name of Ladislaus. Ladislaus II (r. 1386-1434 AD) would outlive his wife.

Note: the union of Poland and Lithuania was only a personal union. Each were ruled separately until the Union of Lubin (1569 AD) officially united the crowns into a single kingdom.

5. On July 15, 1410 AD at the Battle of Tannenberg (Grunwald), a combined Polish and Lithuanian force under the command of Ladislaus II, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, defeated this enemy, effectively ending it as a military threat in eastern Europe. Which enemy of Poland and Lithuania was it?

Answer: Teutonic Knights

With the conversion of the Lithuanians (the last pagan state of Europe) by the marriage of 1386 AD, the Teutonic Knights had lost their main purpose - "crusading" to convert the pagan. Their "holy mission" was soon exposed for what it was (and had always been) - land hunger!

6. In 1574 AD after only reigning for a few months, Henry III, King of Poland, abdicated. Why?

Answer: he went to assume the crown of France

After the death of Sigismund II Augustus, King of Poland (r. 1548-1572 AD), a struggle over the succession ensued between two factions. Orthodox Christians and Protestants favored Ivan IV - even though he was not interested. Roman Catholics supported Henry, of Anjou, brother of Charles IX, King of France.

Henry was eventually crowned (Feb 1574 AD) but soon abandoned the throne after the death of his brother. He would reign as king of France til 1589 AD. Charles IX is best known as the Catholic king who ordered the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre.

7. This Prince of Transylvania was elected king of Poland in 1576 AD and successfully defend his kingdom's borders against both the Russians and the Ottoman Turks until his death in 1586 AD. Which individual was it?

Answer: Stephen Bathory

Stephen was the cousin of Elizabeth Bathory, the infamous Blood Countess of Transylvania (she had reportedly bathed in the blood of approx. 650 young girls to keep herself young). Vlad II, Dracul (the Dragon), Prince of Wallachia, had two sons who struggled over the throne of Wallachia after his death (c. 1447 AD): Vlad III, Tepes (the Impaler) (more commonly referred to as Dracula - son of the Dragon) and Radu III, his youngest son.

8. In 1683 AD, the Ottoman forces of the Sultan Mohammed IV laid siege to Vienna, capital of the Austrian Hapsburg family empire and the last bastion against the advancing tide of Islam. Which Polish king led the relieving force that raised the siege and saved the city?

Answer: John III Sobieski

John III Sobieski (r. 1674-1696 AD) was hailed as a Christian hero for stemming the tide of Islam. He had quickly gathered together an allied army of various nationalities and marched them so quickly to Vienna that he completely surprised Kara Mustafa and his Turkish soldiers. Mustafa, not wanting to be trapped between the walls of the city and the new Christian army, ordered the retreat.

The retreat was so sudden that the Turks left a large amount of their supplies and weaponry. So much coffee was found that the first Viennese coffee shops were opened. To commemorate the victory the French chefs in the city invented the croissant (represented the crescent of Islam).

9. In 1772 AD and again in 1793 AD portions of a weakened Poland were annexed by three major European powers. Which one of these does not belong?

Answer: Kingdom of Sweden

Russia, Prussia, and Austria took part in the First Partition (1772 AD) but only Russia and Prussia in the Second Partition (1793 AD). By this time Sweden's European ambitions had been defeated and the kingdom had become a second-rate power.

10. During his reign (1763-1795 AD) he witnessed his neighbors eat away at his kingdom little by little. Finally, in 1795 AD with the Third Partition of Poland, Poland as a political entity ceased to exist. Who was the final king of Poland?

Answer: Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski

Stanislaus (r. 1763-1795 AD) had once been a lover of Catherine II, Czarina of Russia. She had him elected as king of Poland. The First Partition (1772 AD) seized 30 percent of the kingdom, the Second Partition (1793 AD) seized 40 percent of the kingdom, and the Third Partition (1795 AD) seized the rest. Napoleon would briefly revive Polish nationalism when he created the Grand Duchy of Warsaw (1807-1815 AD). Poland as a political entity would not be revived until the Treaty of Versailles (1919 AD).

Source: Author hund

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Terry before going online.
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Mighty Monarchs VII (Poland) Trivia Quiz

Mighty Monarchs VII covers the various princes and then kings and queens of the Kingdom of Poland from its conversion to Christianity in 966 AD to its extinction in 1795 AD. Good Luck!

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