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The Medieval World
Castles, Plague & Scholars
Feudal Europe, Byzantium and the Islamic Golden Age.
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Feudalism is best described as a system of what?
Cathedrals, Monks and the Medieval Church
For most of the Middle Ages the church was the largest landowner, the main school system and the tallest thing on the skyline.
About this topic
Medieval Europe built cathedrals that took longer to finish than most dynasties lasted. The engineering behind them was genuinely new: the pointed arch and the ribbed vault directed weight downward more efficiently, and the flying buttress carried the outward thrust away from the wall entirely. That last step is what allowed masonry to be replaced by glass, and it is why a Gothic interior feels so unlike the thick-walled Romanesque churches it succeeded. The institution behind the buildings was equally organised. Monasteries followed written rules that set out the hours of the day. Tithes brought in a tenth of the harvest. Latin held the whole thing together across languages, which is one reason educated people could move between countries. It also had long, unresolved arguments — over who appointed bishops, over where the pope should live, and over the differences with the eastern churches that hardened into a formal split in 1054.
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Cathedrals, Monks and the Medieval Church: all 10 questions and answers
Every question in this quiz is listed below with its correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Play first if you would rather not see the answers — or read through as a study sheet.
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1Which feature allowed Gothic cathedrals to carry the outward thrust of the roof away from the wall?
- A The barrel vault
- B The rounded Romanesque arch
- C The crypt
- D The flying buttress Correct
Answer: D. The flying buttress
Why: Moving the load out to external supports let builders replace solid wall with glass. The technique spread from the region around Paris in the twelfth century.
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2The pointed arch, ribbed vault and large stained-glass window are characteristic of which style?
- A Baroque
- B Byzantine
- C Gothic Correct
- D Romanesque
Answer: C. Gothic
Why: The name was coined much later by Renaissance writers who meant it as an insult. The style it replaced used round arches and far thicker walls.
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3Monks following the Rule of St Benedict were expected to divide the day mainly between what?
- A Trade and administration
- B Prayer and manual work Correct
- C Study and military training
- D Preaching and travel
Answer: B. Prayer and manual work
Why: The Rule was written in the sixth century and set fixed hours for both. It became the standard model for western monasteries for the next several centuries.
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4The split of 1054 between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches is known as what?
- A The East-West Schism Correct
- B The Reformation
- C The Investiture Controversy
- D The Avignon Papacy
Answer: A. The East-West Schism
Why: Language, ritual and the authority of the pope had been drifting apart for centuries before the formal break. Both sides lifted the mutual excommunications in 1965.
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5Medieval pilgrims walked to Santiago de Compostela to visit the reputed tomb of which apostle?
- A Peter
- B Andrew
- C Thomas
- D James Correct
Answer: D. James
Why: The scallop shell became the pilgrim badge and still marks the routes today. Rome and Jerusalem were the other two great pilgrim destinations.
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6The Investiture Controversy was a dispute over what?
- A Whether monks could own personal property
- B Where cathedrals could be built
- C Whether popes or rulers had the right to appoint bishops Correct
- D Which language the mass should be said in
Answer: C. Whether popes or rulers had the right to appoint bishops
Why: It brought Emperor Henry IV to Canossa in 1077 to seek absolution from Pope Gregory VII. The Concordat of Worms settled it in 1122 with a compromise.
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7A tithe was a payment to the church of roughly what share of produce or income?
- A A twentieth
- B A tenth Correct
- C A fifth
- D A half
Answer: B. A tenth
Why: The word is an old English form of the number ten. Large tithe barns were built to store the grain that came in.
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8For most of the Middle Ages, western church services were conducted in which language?
- A Latin Correct
- B Greek
- C Local spoken languages
- D Hebrew
Answer: A. Latin
Why: Few in the congregation understood it, which is part of why later reformers pressed for translation. Eastern churches used Greek and other liturgical languages instead.
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9From 1309 to 1377 the papacy was based not in Rome but in which city?
- A Ravenna
- B Florence
- C Lyon
- D Avignon Correct
Answer: D. Avignon
Why: Seven popes in succession ruled from there under heavy French influence. The return to Rome was followed by decades of rival claimants to the office.
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10Which order founded in 1209 required its friars to own nothing and live by begging?
- A The Cistercians
- B The Knights Templar
- C The Franciscans Correct
- D The Benedictines
Answer: C. The Franciscans
Why: The Dominicans adopted a similar rule within a few years. Unlike monks, friars worked among townspeople rather than withdrawing from them.
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