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The 13th Century

Can you guess these notable people, places, and things from the 13th century?
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Last updated: October 16, 2016
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First submittedApril 1, 2014
Times taken43,258
Average score66.7%
Rating4.48
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Year
Description
Answer
1299
This empire is founded by Osman I in modern-day Turkey
Ottoman Empire
1297
This Scottish commander defeats English forces at the Battle of Stirling Bridge
William Wallace
1291
Three cantons form a confederation that would eventually grow into this modern nation
Switzerland
1287
An enormous flood creates the Zuider Zee, giving this city access to the sea
Amsterdam
1282
This British country is conquered by Edward Longshanks
Wales
1274–1281
The Mongols attempt a naval conquest of this nation, but are twice scattered by typhoons
Japan
1276
This royal house comes to power in Austria, a position they would retain for over 600 years
Habsburg
1271
This Mongolian Khan conquers China, forming the Yuan dynasty
Kublai Khan
1271
This Venetian explorer embarks on an epic journey to China
Marco Polo
1258
Mongols sack this Middle Eastern capital, ending the Islamic Golden Age
Baghdad
1245
Construction begins on this London Abbey, burial site of monarchs
Westminster
1206–1227
This Mongolian Khan conquers much of Central Asia
Genghis Khan
1225
This Catholic philosopher is born. He would later become known as "Doctor of the Church".
Thomas Aquinas
1215
King John of England is forced to sign this "Great Charter"
Magna Carta
1215
This style of Buddhism is brought from China to Japan
Zen
1209
This impoverished saint founds the order of Friars Minor
St. Francis
1209
This university, England's second oldest, is founded
Cambridge
1204
This city, the largest in Christendom, is conquered by Latin knights during the Fourth Crusade
Constantinople
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44 Comments
kitshef
+4
Level 88
Apr 16, 2014
Surprisingly easy, given the title.
Tinu
+3
Level 41
Jul 11, 2014
A very good quiz! However, I have two comments:

1) as has been pointed out in other quizes, you should accept the spelling "Magna Charta" - I know that in the

English speaking world, the standard version nowadays is Magna Carta, but the original Latin spelling of the word for paper is "charta" (hence the english "charter"). "Carta" is a Medieval alternative spelling, so it is probably more fitting, but "Magna Charta" is used quite often on older scholarly literature.

2) it is not accurate to say the Venice conquered Constantinople in 1204 - it was a large coalition of western European Catholic powers of which Venice was but one among the participants, and by no means the most militarily significant ones (although it was indeed a major source of funds for the enterprise). Constantinople was never subjected to Venice - a new "Latin Empire" was set up there, under French cultural and political influence, before it was re-conquered by the Byzantines at the end of the century.

beetboy12
+5
Level 36
Sep 14, 2014
From Wikipedia: "the first written appearance of the term was in 1218: 'Concesserimus libertates quasdam scripts in magna carta nostra de libertatibus' and also: "From the 13th to the 17th centuries, only the spelling "Magna Carta" was used. The spelling "Magna Charta" began to be used in the 18th century but never became more common despite also being used by some reputable writers."
brandybuck96
+4
Level 82
Nov 29, 2015
The original Latin spelling was definitely carta. Latin words didn't tend to begin with "ch" unless they came from Greek.
IsleAuHaulte
+3
Level 92
Oct 5, 2019
I've seen the Magna Charta. It is spelled this way and should be accepted.
thecoolestdude2
+2
Level 67
Sep 14, 2014
Missed the Scottish guy and kind of Buddhism. Nice quiz.
Jastheace141
+2
Level 51
Jul 25, 2017
Scottish guy?!?!?

You need to watch Braveheart, superb film

pinkysbrain
+16
Level 87
Jun 3, 2020
Good film but totally inaccurate historically. They could have added a stop motion dog and called it William Wallace and Gromit and it wouldn't have made much difference.
MovieQuizGuy
+1
Level 64
Aug 28, 2025
I submit that if Gromit had been in Braveheart he definitely would have saved Wallace in the end, and done it with flair and panache.
Dazzy69
+2
Level 55
Jul 7, 2020
Only thing is he was actually Welsh , which is known and even accepted in Scotland now .William Wallace means William of Wales , the Stirlingshire Welsh is part of Scotland where Welsh celts lived in 13th century . And longshanks never conquered Wales , Gwynedd , Powys etc fought each other . As is the same in less ferocity today , Wales and it's regions fought for whoever paid against other Welsh regions ,. Because longshanks had the act of union signed meant zero ,only in england was it seen as anything bar what it was
nopassword
+1
Level 61
Aug 29, 2025
Don't really know much about Scottish history, the only Scottish guy I knew from these times is Robert the Bruce, whose name I tried a thousand times.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 79
Sep 14, 2014
I think this is the first of these centuries quizzes where I missed one. Couldn't believe when I saw the answer... Westminster... of course.. d'oh. Almost missed Switzerland, too.
beetboy12
+4
Level 36
Sep 14, 2014
An additional 30 sec to 1 min maybe?
Shiloh376
+4
Level 76
Sep 14, 2014
Amen to that!
Quizmaster
+5
Level ∞
Jul 5, 2020
6 years later... added another minute!
Coyuznik
+2
Level 85
Sep 16, 2014
I may have only gotten 13/18, but I still feel smart for getting the hardest one (that is to say, the one that has been missed the most).
introvertigo
+3
Level 43
Mar 13, 2019
Honestly wish I hadn't gotten that one, it's a result of too many years of Catholic School brainwashing
CardinalSin
+4
Level 82
Dec 4, 2020
Why? He had one of the greatest brains of the century.
Ozchris
+4
Level 32
Sep 29, 2014
And people think the 21stC is bad. The 13thC REALLY sucked
ColoHarpare
+2
Level 49
Mar 6, 2017
My worst score for this whole series....need to brush up on this century!
kalbahamut
+5
Level 79
Jul 25, 2017
Ah.. the Yuan Dynasty. I remember that from that one episode of That 1270s Show.
fitheach
+1
Level 58
Jul 25, 2017
Regarding Westminster Abbey, I thought Edward the Confessor (in the 11th century) was the king responsible for starting construction on that Abbey. Or is the version we see today started in the 13th century?
ConradBrunstrom
+2
Level 82
Oct 26, 2020
Edward the Confessor founded an earlier abbey on the same site. The version we see today was begun in the reign of Henry III in the 13th century.
AVB
+3
Level 74
Feb 22, 2018
Why does it accept "Kublai" without the Khan, but not Genghiz without the Khan?
Quizmaster
+4
Level ∞
Jul 5, 2020
Genghis
Riverduck4
+1
Level 54
Aug 27, 2025
Put down Khan for Kublai and it gave me Genghis for an answer further down but not for Kublai. Why not?
nsoper
+3
Level 68
Dec 4, 2020
It accepts "Aquinas" but this is not really correct. Aquinas is not his surname but the place he was from. His name was simply Thomas.
salecanard
+6
Level 55
Dec 4, 2020
It's weird that the quiz accepts "Aquinas" but not "Assisi"
Bemused
+1
Level 55
Dec 19, 2024
True, and referring to him as "Aquinas" makes no more sense than referring to an earlier saint as "Hippo"! I typed in "Thomas" alone, and gave JetPunk a couple seconds to get it right--and then reluctantly added the "of Aquino" bit. Sigh.

I see that philosophical texts do now refer to "Aquinas' teaching on...," but in the interests of accuracy, a lost cause is worth fighting for.

idontkn1
+1
Level 94
Dec 4, 2020
I tried Thomas right off the bat and without that being taken, I was stumped and the years of Catholic School education went out the window. I added the rest of his common name a few minutes later when I tried all the other Doctors that I remembered even ones that came almost a millennia before and was out of ideas. Maybe add a note that you need his full common name not just his Christian Name?
Nathaniel
+1
Level 77
Dec 4, 2020
Kublei for Kublai?
2ndOfficerCHL
+4
Level 56
Dec 4, 2020
I think it should accept Chinggis for Genghis. Other than that, great quiz!
AntiMatter8192
+1
Level 78
May 8, 2023
Yes. Chinggis is a common spelling.
Heliopixie
+1
Level 55
Jun 4, 2023
So is Cengiz...
bkemp2001
+1
Level 60
Jan 21, 2022
I hate it when I spell Baghdad wrong enough to miss it.
Raffles
+2
Level 81
Jul 26, 2022
The Yuan Dynasty was formed in 1271 by Kublai Khan. However, it only conquered the Song Dynasty after troops entered Lin'an in 1276. The last remnant of Song forces was conquered in 1279. So I think you should change the date to 1276.
wehraboo
+1
Level 70
Jun 4, 2023
Could you accept Mahayana Buddhism for Zen?
penniesinastream
+3
Level 52
Jun 5, 2023
Mahayana isn't synonymous with Zen. Besides, Mahayana Buddhism had existed in Japan for centuries in 1215.
Aoto327
+1
Level 87
Dec 1, 2023
Only got half of them. I wonder why I didn’t think of Cambridge, Wales, Habsburg and Baghdad, I could have known.
SARVEII
+1
Level 63
Dec 30, 2023
Accept Tommaso d'Aquino for Thomas Aquinas
poororo
+1
Level 74
Jul 3, 2024
accept chinggis for genghis?
Stoggler
+1
Level 56
Aug 27, 2025
"This Scottish commander defeats English forces at the Battle of Stirling Bridge"

The answer can also be Andrew de Moray (sometimes written Andrew Murray, but not the tennis player!).

SpartanLlama
+1
Level 79
Sep 11, 2025
Just missed Francis
floccopus
+1
Level 59
Sep 11, 2025
Accept Chan for Zen? When it first "spread" from China, it would still be firmly within the Chinese Chan tradition, and it would only acquire the Japanese characteristics that made it "Zen" later.
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