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Medieval English History

Can you guess these facts about the history of England from the 5th to 15th centuries?
Answers are in rough chronological order
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: December 13, 2016
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First submittedMarch 15, 2014
Times taken39,450
Average score68.2%
Rating4.48
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Hint
Answer
"Great" king of the Anglo Saxons who battled the Vikings
Alfred the Great
Old English poem featuring Grendel
Beowulf
System of vassals and serfs
Feudalism
Person who conquered England in 1066
William the Conqueror
French region the above came from
Normandy
King who he defeated
Harold II
Decisive battle in that conquest
Battle of Hastings
Cloth depicting the conquest
Bayeux Tapestry
Survey of 1086 that cataloged the taxable property of England
Domesday Book
Archbishop who was murdered in 1170
Thomas Becket
Nickname of Richard I
Cœur de Lion
"Great Charter" signed by King John in 1215
Magna Carta
Region that Edward I conquered in 1283
Wales
Group of people expelled from England in 1290
Jews
What struck England in 1348
Black Death
Author of "The Canterbury Tales"
Geoffrey Chaucer
Great victory of Henry V over the French in 1415
Battle of Agincourt
Notable weapon employed by the English in that battle
Longbow
Houses that battled in the Wars of the Roses
Lancaster
York
"Hunchbacked" king who may have murdered his nephews
Richard III
Place where the nephews were imprisoned
Tower of London
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55 Comments
david2013
+15
Level 85
Mar 30, 2014
My wife makes fun of my anglophilia. 22/22! Who's laughing now?
darklunar
+6
Level 34
Oct 25, 2020
me
ponnuki
+4
Level 58
Apr 1, 2014
Sad to see Alfred is the least well-known of these
GuyNor09
+3
Level 43
Nov 20, 2014
I know!
redsplat
+2
Level 73
Apr 12, 2016
If it's any consolation, Beckett is now the least well-known.
Djilas
+2
Level 83
Apr 10, 2017
Currently Jews are less well known than both.
OllyVer85
+6
Level 61
Mar 25, 2021
I wonder if the placement of this so high in the comments section has impacted their popularity...
elcampeador
+1
Level 79
Apr 25, 2022
The popularity of the Jews?
sjj93gg
+3
Level 52
Apr 23, 2022
The Anglo-Saxon period of English history is very rarely taught in English schools. We only get exposed to the end of it when we learn about the Battle of Hastings. It's a shame really, as the nation of England was founded during that period, and most other countries around the world learn about how their country came about (it's also a fascinating and interesting period in its own right).
brandybuck96
+1
Level 83
Dec 19, 2022
In the north we were taught ad nauseam about the Viking invasion, but hardly anything about the people they invaded.
TinkyFitchFeeley
+1
Level 26
Sep 9, 2015
Normandy wasn't French. The Normans hated the French and vice versa.
Duzza
+3
Level 32
Nov 6, 2015
No, the duchy of Normandy was in fact a vassal of France, and therefore considered French
TinkyFitchFeeley
+1
Level 26
Jan 6, 2016
Uh, no. Whilst Normandy was technically in France, it was not French. The Normans and the French hated each other. (I distinctly remember learning this in my Medieval History A Level class, as I was playing William at the time!)
AllenY
+1
Level 69
Jul 7, 2017
There is more to France than the King of France.
Corrode
+10
Level 60
Jul 10, 2017
Modern nations aren't really analogous to how medieval kingdoms existed. Normandy in William's day was part of France in the sense that the Duke of Normandy was a feudal vassal of the King of France, and the Normans spoke French and had adopted Catholicism, but medieval duchies were vastly more independent than modern sub-national regions tend to be. The phenomenon of centralised nations based (more or less) around a single ethnic group is very modern, and even then not as absolute as most people think of it.
Ferbin
+2
Level 77
Apr 28, 2022
You could say something similar of Catalonia in Spain, but you wouldn't say Catalonia isn't part of Spain, would you? Hate is irrelevant.
JJT12
+1
Level 41
Jan 8, 2023
Actually TinkyFitchFeeley does have a point about Normans not being French. For example if a person of a certain culture and language comes under rule by a foreign country of a different culture and language, whether by war or migration does that make them in this case French?

For the Normans they originally came from Vikings who migrated in the region, but by the 11th century they spoke a dialect of Old French called "Norman French", the Norman culture adopted the French culture and mannerisms.

This question is very relevent today and it depends on your point of view, personally im not sure but I think it is up to the person/group of people of that culture or language to decide for themselves.

ander217
+5
Level 74
Nov 19, 2015
Bow, bows, bow and arrow, bows and arrows, crossbow, crossbows...I give up. Aarghhh! Curse you, longbow!
Natascha
+1
Level 51
Jul 8, 2017
Yep .... archery.... archers... and all the ones you mentioned.....
RuthlessCosmo
+1
Level 74
Apr 23, 2022
Although according to Keegan's account of the battle, the English victory had more to do with (1) French hubris, (2) a muddy field, (3) the English foot soldiers who waded in to the melee and used clubs of all sorts to kill the French knights who were unable to maneuver. Nothing like the myth.
JJT12
+1
Level 41
Jan 8, 2023
The effectiveness of the English longbows were certainly no myth (if that was what you were referring to). As they could penetrate chainmail with relative ease and could definitely take down a horse armed with mail. Also, these men using the longbows have been hunting with the bow and arrow their whole lives and were extremely strong to be able to draw at least 81 pounds consistently for the entirety of the battle. The english bowmen who thought in Agincourt were definitely trained in melee fighting and could of carry daggers, one handed swords, axes and/or clubs, although not all bowmen could afford a sword. One last thing is that the archers did kill knights with melee weapons, such as the ones i previously stated, and it was the archers who deployed wooden stakes to deter the advancing cavalry which impaled and detered the horses charging, all the archers had to do is find a chink in the armour and pierce it (armpits, crotch, throat and eye slits), dont forget the Mordhau technique.
Merkurius
+2
Level 76
Nov 19, 2015
Godwinson should be accepted for Harald II.
TinkyFitchFeeley
+4
Level 26
Jan 6, 2016
Harold. Not Harald. Harald was a Norse king, who also fought Harold Godwinson for the throne, but he lost.
dirtylenzes
+2
Level 50
Feb 1, 2017
I don't understand why so many people wouldn't at least guess jews for the group. It's my go to for any persecuted group in Europe.
McLerristarr
+1
Level 62
May 21, 2020
That's how I got it. I don't remember ever learning about it before.
Jacktheguy
+1
Level 91
Apr 23, 2022
I remembered they were kicked out at some point so they were the first ones I guessed.
ginalexx
+2
Level 3
Jul 7, 2017
it's Azincourt, not Agincourt ....isn't the same city
howard38
+5
Level 61
Jul 7, 2017
Nevertheless, in English it is known as the Battle of Agincourt.
AVB
+4
Level 71
Jan 24, 2018
It is the same place. Azincourt in modern French, Agincourt in Old French and English. It's only a little village, not a city.
marmarole
+2
Level 56
Apr 20, 2018
Azincourt finally should be accepted..
nopassword
+2
Level 39
May 25, 2024
6 years after, it isn't.
Sifhraven
+1
Level 72
Jul 23, 2024
It is on other quizzes, so I wonder why this one is an exception.
MDW
+2
Level 53
Apr 20, 2018
That term anti-Semitism gets to me. Racism is racism everywhere. There isn't a special kind of racism just against Jewish people. If Jewish people suffer racism or perpetrate it, its just as bad as if it happens to anyone else. Why use a term that promotes exceptionalism?
amm14
+11
Level 66
Dec 18, 2018
Some folks consider "Jew" to be an ethnic category--for them, the word "racism" would be sufficient. Some people consider "Jew" to be a national category--for them, the term "anti-Zionist" would be sufficient, though for others this is highly controversial. Some people consider "Jew" to be a religious category. We don't have a general word for anti-religious bigotry, let alone one for bigotry specifically against the practitioners of Judaism, who have been persecuted longer and more consistently than any other faith.

For people who do not want to commit to one specific category for the fairly unusual label "Jew," anti-Semitism is a useful construct.

Most people who are opposed to Jewish "exceptionalism" are also opposed to Jews. Tell me, MDW, do the terms "racism," "colorism," "classism," "sexism," "homophobia," "trans-phobia," etc, get to you because you could get across the essential point with the word "bigotry," with only exceptionalist details being lost?

howard38
+1
Level 61
Feb 8, 2020
Thank the anti-semites for that. German anti-Jews embraced the term in the 19th century & it stuck.
kingutz
+1
Level 55
Jul 31, 2018
Please accept 'Azincourt' for the battle of Agincourt because it's the french name of this battle and also the actual french and english name of the city it took place in. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azincourt
martay
+3
Level 70
Jun 24, 2019
Maybe it should be accepted given how international the user-base of Jetpunk is, but you should understand that's simply not the name of the battle in English. From the Wikipedia article, the first two sentences are "Azincourt is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in Northern France.The Battle of Agincourt took place nearby".
nopassword
+2
Level 39
May 25, 2024
They also say "The Late Medieval Battle of Azincourt between the English and the French took place in the commune in 1415."
cariad
+2
Level 42
Mar 1, 2019
There is absolutely no proof that Richard III murdered his nephews; at the least the question should say "allegedly".
McLerristarr
+4
Level 62
May 21, 2020
There's no proof, but it's highly likely. It already says "may have murdered".
Teegthebeeg
+1
Level 54
Apr 21, 2020
The 'region' conquered by Edward in the 13th century was the Principality of Gwynedd, not Wales.
wielblad
+1
Level 66
Feb 10, 2021
Easy quiz, but why a whole 6 questions only on Norman Conquest? Very important to the development of England, sure, but too overpowered on the quiz.
jojo8
+1
Level 65
Apr 23, 2022
Considering that there aren't questions on the 400 years of the medieval period that occurred in England before 1066, I say it's justified. Also, I'd say the Battle of Hastings was probably the most important event in medieval English history.
mal
+3
Level 63
Apr 24, 2022
Got them all but had to fudge round Thomas Becket. when I was at school we leant his name as Thomas a Beckett, I guess things change
helenap13
+3
Level 66
Apr 24, 2022
Me too. I didn't even think to try without "à"
partdavid
+2
Level 72
Jul 20, 2023
It should be accepted. Although he didn't use à in life he is frequently named so in historical records and on monuments.
DukeOfLorraine
+1
Level 65
Apr 24, 2022
Please allow "treachery" or "perfidy" for the weapon used at Agincourt. Murdering the captured French nobles and knights was the opposed of chivalry !

(longbows did relatively little damage to plate armour)

xarnac
+1
Level 72
Apr 25, 2022
I learnt that during the Battle of Agincourt, the French would chop off the first and middle fingers of captured English archers. In response, the remaining archers would defiantly stick up these fingers in the air at the French - an obscene gesture still used by Brits to this day
minnakronberg
+1
Level 66
Apr 25, 2022
Why is Heart written as Coeur but Lion not as Leone for Richard's nickname? We are mixing French and English? Did they do that with his nickname at the time?
rjfrommtl
+2
Level 79
May 26, 2022
Because Lion in French is Lion (pronounced differently, but spelled the same), not Leone. I believe Leone is Spanish.
WhelchareHistroy
+1
Level 52
Oct 25, 2022
this quiz is far too anglocentric
JJT12
+1
Level 41
Jan 8, 2023
Well it is a quizz about Medieval English History and it has multiple questions about the Normans and French and only has 22 questions to cover the entirety of Medieval English History which is easier said then done, so I'm not entirely sure where your coming from.
MungoJerry
+1
Level 58
Feb 24, 2024
Now I know tabestry is actually spelled taPestry...
sarielise
+1
Level 68
May 15, 2024
William, William, Henry, Stephen, Henry, Richard, John, oi!
Lukose
+1
Level 70
Nov 22, 2024
Thomas a Becket isn’t accepted? cmon
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