Quiz Questions for Chapter 7

At the castle of Canossa in 1077, what critical event occurred?

(a) Emperor Henry IV humbled himself before Pope Gregory VII.

(b) King John of England captured Pope Boniface VIII.

(c) celibacy was declared as required for all clergy.

Of all early universities, the greatest was in

(a) Rome.

(b) Paris.

(c) Aachen.

The Papacy reached its greatest power under

(a) Urban II, c. 1100.

(b) Hadrian IV, c. 1150.

(c) Innocent III, c. 1200.

The Investiture Controversy involved

(a) lay authority over clergy.

(b) papal control of central Italy.

(c) kings becoming vassals of the pope.

The papalist position argued that the pope was the head of Christendom, the imperialist position argued that the Holy Roman Emperor should rule in matters religious as well as temporal, and the clericalist position argued that

(a) a representative assembly of clergy should govern Europe.

(b) Church and state should coexist.

(c) neither popes not emperors had legitimate authority to govern.

The shift “from memory to written record”

(a) facilitated the growth of papal power over lordly power.

(b) discouraged the growth of municipal schools.

(c) speaks to an increase in the use of government and personal documentation.

In consolidating the Papal States, popes faced

(a) rebellions in Rome.

(b) difficulties with the Holy Roman Empire.

(c) neither.

(d) both.

Lombardy is located

(a) north of Rome.

(b) south of Rome.

(c) east of Rome.

(d) west of Rome.

Quiz Questions for Chapter 6

Which best summarizes the circumstances of the medieval West, Byzantium, and Islamic states between 1000 and 1300?

(a) the West began to prosper, while the fortunes of Byzantium and Islam declined.

(b) the Byzantine state remained stable, but al-Andalus expanded at the expense of the medieval West.

(c) all three civilizations shrank, thanks to the invasions of the Huns.

Which of the following was NOT a result of the Agricultural Revolution?

(a) population growth.

(b) women began to outlive men.

(c) Europeans began to eat more vegetables than ever before.

Most medieval peasants lived within three critical institutions: manors, villages, and

(a) publicans.

(b) parishes.

(c) confraternities.

Masters, apprentices and journeymen were regulated by medieval

(a) guilds.

(b) manors.

(c) cathars.

Burghers or burgesses

(a) followed the Bogomil heresy.

(b) lived in cities and towns.

(c) worked as intermediaries between lords and peasants.

Manorialism allowed medieval elites

(a) to extract wealth from the peasantry.

(b) to dominate towns as well as the countryside.

(c) to recreate the latifundia of Roman times.

Godric of Finchale ended his life as a hermit, but before that he made a fortune as

(a) a crusader.

(b) a seafaring merchant.

(c) the sheriff of Norfolk.

Historians talk about a “communal movement” in medieval Europe. The medieval commune

(a) gave rise to the first major medieval heresy.

(b) was the equivalent of the modern Jewish ghetto.

(c) had a charter guaranteeing its own government, courts, taxes, and customs.

Usury was

(a) the loaning of money at interest.

(b) denial of the presence of Christ in the wine and bread of the mass.

(c) a required trait of a good courtly lover.

Lecturing with Chapter 6

I had only as one lecture this week, as I'm traveling off to give a paper. Since the students are discussing peasants at the end of the week, so I devoted the lecture to matters rural . . . and tried to cover 5 things:

1. Defined manorialism; discussed its murky origins; described how it worked; and considered its relationship to both “those who fight” and “those who pray.” In the process, I hope the students learned to distinguish village from manor from parish. 3. Briefly treated the matter of how elites saw peasants--that is, either as cursed descendants of Cain or Ham . . . or as blessed poor.

3. Discussed the first agricultural revolution, covering basically what's in the chapter, but with more oomph, good pictures, and lots of enthusiasm for humble peasants. (I set this up as a counter to the "Great Man Theory of History" I had offered up for Charlemagne.)

4. Reviewed some basic stuff about peasant lives, focusing on household, as well as village, parish, and manor. I emphasized how house and farmyard offered scope for individualized economic activity, which I set up in distinction to the cooperation required in village fields and pastures.

5. Primary Source prep. The students are reading a manorial court session, so I introduced them to the manor (Walsham) and to court rolls generally.

Lecturing with Chapter 5

This was a feudal week. Here's how it went (spread over 2 classes):

Last week, I had covered the essentials of the origins of feudalism. This week, I covered it’s two stages:

AGE OF FEUDAL LORDS, c. 900-1100. Armed thugs, prominence of war in all aspects of life; marginality of women; castles and castellans; details of the lord-vassal tie.

AGE OF FEUDAL KINGS, c. 1100+. I began by discussing the slow dilution of feudalism.

--Lord-vassal ties less intimate thanks to heritable fiefs, multiplication of feudal ties, and formalization of obligations (always ready to fightà40 daysàscutage).

--The reassertion (in some places) of royal or duchal power . . . creating less decentralization and less public power in private hands.

I then discussed the long, slow growth of royal power in some parts of Europe. I used England and France as examples of how kings slowly reasserted power, esp. through bureaucracy, territorial acquisition, justice, and national assemblies. I highlighted only a few figures (e.g. Philip Augustus, Louis IX, and Philip the Fair for France) and and emphasized these four mechanism of royal aggrandizement. Did it very fast: I hope the brief story I told will help them make sense of the political history in the chapters ahead.

Finally, I dealt with growth of courtly culture. I talked here about how knights, still having to excel at military prowess, now had to serve their lords as diplomats, advisors, supervisors, and the like—and also to compete with a growing cadre of literate churchmen-bureaucrats. And, of course, they also had to excel at courtship and love. Lots of talk about courtly love. The upshot was the knights had an impossible set of roles to juggle, and ladies were stuck on a pedestal from which they were adored or hated. . . .

Quiz Questions for Chapter 5

Between 800 and 1000, Western Europe was

(a) reabsorbed briefly into the Byzantine empire.

(b) devastated by the “little ice age.”

(c) divided, invaded, and reorganized.

Which is an area untouched by Viking raiders?

(a) Ireland.

(b) Russia.

(c) Italy.

In the 9^th century, the “Danelaw” was

(a) Jutland.

(b) part of Sweden then under Danish control.

(c) part of Britain then under Danish control.

Alfred the Great

(a) united all of non-Danish England under his authority.

(b) crowned Charles the Bald in 843.

(c) created the new monastic rule known as Alfredism.

The textbook talks of West and East Francia. Most of West Francia eventually became the kingdom of France. Most of East Francia became part of

(a) the Lombard Kingdom.

(b) the Magyar imperium.

(c) the Holy Roman Empire.

Which of the following was NOT a characteristic of early feudalism?

(a) public power in private hands.

(b) the lord-vassal tie.

(c) powerful kingship.

A critical new technology in the development of feudalism was

(a) the heavy, wheeled plow.

(b) the stirrup.

(c) the longbow.

Which match is NOT correct?

(a) Louis the Pious: Charlemagne’s heir.

(b) Otto: Holy Roman Empire.

(c) Hugh Capet: Saxony.

Hugh, Earl of Chester died

(a) in the Battle of Hastings.

(b) in rebellion against his king.

(c) as a monk.

The Treaty of Verdun in 843

(a) established the Papal States.

(b) divided Charlemagne’s empire among his three grandsons.

(c) ended the War of Spanish Succession.

The ninth and tenth centuries were a time of renewed pressure on Europeans from

(a) the imperial ambitions of the Byzantine emperors.

(b) Viking raiders, Magyar horsemen, and Muslim pirates.

(c) overpopulation and famine.

Around the year 1000, Italy was

(a) united under the Lombard King Ulfrich.

(b) politically dominated by bishops and their cities.

(c) controlled by the emirs of al-Andalus.

Lecturing with Chapter 4

This week was a breeze. I hope you cannot tell it from the textbook, but when I get towards the year 1000, I begin to feel much more comfortable. We aren’t there yet in terms of chapters, but it’s coming, and I’m responding accordingly.

1. CHARLEMAGNE

On Tuesday, I used the topic of Charlemagne as an opportunity to prep the students for their first essay. In other words, I laid out for them the basic essay template and then “performed” it in a lecture. Here’s what I did, using the template as my guide:

Introduction: warm up (start ’em smiling); introduce subject; state thesis.
I cracked a joke or two; offered basic info on Charlemagne, and gave them my thesis: “The Great Man Theory of History still works sometimes . . . and the case of Charlemagne proves it.”

Preliminaries: whatever you need to set the scene: define terms; clarify coverage/set perimeters; give background, etc.
I defined “Great Man Theory of History,” critiquing its male-focus on the side. Then, a bit more info on Charlemagne.

Acknowledge and defang counter-arguments:
I used “luck” as my hook here, saying that one might say that Charlemagne was more lucky than he was great:

--he was lucky in the weather

--he was lucky in his progenitors

--he was lucky in his timing (few invasions)

--he was lucky in his advisers

I countered that:

--Charlemagne was not so lucky in other respects (e.g., 30+ years struggle with the Saxons).

--some of his so-called luck was more cunning than luck (e.g., his relations with Leo III)

--and in any case, luck does not negate greatness

Proof of thesis #1: Charlemagne’s conquests are one proof of his extraordinary personal greatness. This gave me a chance to talk about the usual stuff.

Proof of thesis #2:Charlemagne’s governance is another proof of his extraordinary personal greatness. Again, the usual.

Proof of thesis #3:Charlemagne’s reforms of education and religion are a final proof of his extraordinary personal greatness. Again, the usual.

Conclusion: sum up and go beyond . . . leave ’em smiling
I summed up (in an explicitly perky, not dull way) and then tried to leave them smiling with a joke about it’s good the “Great Man” theory works because we certainly need great men leading us through this economic crisis. But somehow, my PowerPoint shot of Obama and Geithner seemed to leave them cold. Oh well. . . .

2. FEUDALISM

On Thursday, I turned to the first of two days on feudalism. I aim to cover it in one broad sweep (as I did last week with monasticism). Here’s how it went:

1. “FEUDALISM”. I discussed how medieval people would have called it “lordship” or “vassalage.” I talked about differing understandings (esp. from Marx) about what “feudalism” means. I settled on my definition (relations among a small, military elite). And I emphasized that feudalism was never a system, but also a changing, ad hoc arrangement. (I used frat hazing as a analogy; it worked well.)

2. THREE CHARACTERISTICS OF FEUDALISM. I discussed in turn: lord-vassal relationship; decentralization; public power in private hands.

3. ORIGINS. I nodded to antecedents (Roman clientage; barbarian comitatus). Then, I traced how the three characteristics emerged between 700 and 900: lord-vassal relationship in 700s (stirrup, cavalry); decentralization (esp. Verdun, 843 and thereafter); public power in private hands (esp. invasions). I then wrapped this up, as I often do, by imagining ourselves in a government-less world and facing invasion, and resorting to local strong men . . . football team on motorcycles, defending us against the nasty UCLAers . . . always good for a laugh. But it also emphasized that feudalism was an effective response to a desperate situation.

4. THE AGE OF FEUDAL LORDSHIP, 900-1100. Here, I discussed lord-vassal relations a bit more, the importance of local power and violence, and the overriding importance of war in feudal culture (hunting, chess, booty, etc.)

5. HOW DID FEUDALISM RELATE TO MANORIALISM? The usual: most fiefs were manors, but not all; most manors were fiefs, but not all.

6. HOW DID FEUDALISM RELATE TO THE CHURCH? The usual: same elite; ecclesiastical involvement in vassalage and war; lay “advocates.”

Quiz Questions for Chapter 4

The Pseudo-Dionysius and his translator John Scottus helped to stimulate interest in

(a) Neoplatonism.

(b) Catharism.

(c) papalism.

Charlemagne was crowned “Emperor of the Romans” by Pope Leo III in

(a) 800.

(b) 850.

(c) 900.

Which of the following was NOT an aspect of the Carolingian intellectual revival?

(a) development of a clearer form of handwriting.

(b) establishment of the first university (in Paris).

(c) preservation of the great works of the Classical-Christian tradition.

Eighth-century Francia witnessed considerable political and religious consolidation. It also saw the development of manorialism which

(a) sought to improve the culture of court life, especially in the winter-time.

(b) linked the landed elite to the peasantry in a web of social and economic obligations.

(c) required that every village in Francia have a resident priest and church.

Compared to the term “Europe,” the term “Christendom” was

(a) identical.

(b) more inclusive.

(c) more exclusive.

Which match is NOT correct?

(a) Leo III: alliance with Empress Irene.

(b) Alcuin: educational reform.

(c) Boniface: missionary activity.

The “Donation of Pepin” helped to found

(a) Burgundy.

(b) the Papal States.

(c) al-Andalus.

“Capitularies” and “missi dominici” are associated with Carolingian

(a) intellectual revival.

(b) monastic reform.

(c) government.

Into which region did Charlemagne’s empire extend?

(a) Britain.

(b) Saxony.

(c) Sicily.