Test your basic knowledge |

Timeline Of The Middle Ages

Subjects : trivia, history
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Muslims invade Sicily.First encounter of attempts to counquer Byzantine Sicily - until the last Byzantine outpost was conquered in 965.






2. Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Tordesillas and agree to divide the World outside of Europe between themselves. The Italian Wars begin.Italian Wars will eventually lead to the downfall of the Italian city-states. Pope's ruling will lead to the






3. Through the Compromise of 1107 - suggested by Adela - the sister of King Henry - theInvestiture Struggle in England is ended.This compromise removed one of the points of friction between the English monarchy and the Catholic Church.






4. Death of John I Tzimiskes; Basil II (his co-emperor) takes sole power.Under Basil II zenith of the power of Eastern Empire after Justinian.






5. Chinese Naval Expeditions of Southeast Asia and theIndian Ocean (to Eastern Africa) begins - under the leadership of Zheng He.This will be the first of seven of the Ming Dynasty-sponsored expeditions - lasting until 1433.






6. Earliest known printed book in China with a date.






7. The first cornerstone is laid for the construction of Notre Dame de Paris.






8. Succession of Hugh Capet to the French Throne.Beginning of Capetian Dynasty.






9. Kingdom of Croatia and Kingdom of Hungary formed a personal union of two kingdoms united under the Hungarian king. The act of union was deal with Pacta conventa - by which institutions of separate Croatian statehood were maintained through the Sabor






10. Thomas Aquinas' work - Summa Theologica is published - after his death.Is the main staple of theology during the Middle Ages.






11. Richard II abdicates the throne to Henry of Bolingbroke - who becomes Henry IV of England.End of Plantagenet Dynasty - beginning of the Lancaster lineage of kings.






12. Chaucer begins to write The Canterbury Tales.Chaucer's greatest work - and one of the foundations towards the formation of the Modern English language






13. Muslims take Alexandria.






14. St. Norbert and 29 companions make their solemn vows marking the beginning of the Premonstratensian Order.This order played a significant role in evangelizing the Slavs - the Wends - to the east of the Holy Roman Empire.






15. Arrival of the disciples of Saints Cyril and Methodius in BulgariaCreation of the Cyrillic script; in the following decades the country became the cultural and spiritual centre of the whole Eastern Orthodox Slavic World.






16. Gregory the Great becomes Pope.The missionary work reached new levels during his pontificate - revolutionized the way of worship for the Catholic Church (Gregorian Chants) - liturgy - etc. - and was soon canonized after his death.






17. Rome is sacked by Genseric - King of the Vandals






18. The Franks under Edward defeat the Visigoths in the Battle of Vouill






19. Constantinople falls to the Ottoman Turks.End of the Byzantine Empire (or Eastern Roman Empire to some); Constantinople becomes capital of Ottoman Empire.






20. Battle of Tours. Charles Martel halts Muslim advance.Significant moment that led to the forming of the Carolingian Empire for the Franks - and halted the advancement of the Moors in Western Europe.






21. In the Battle of Naklo - Boleslaus III Wrymouth defeats the Pomeranians.Polish access to the sea is re-established.






22. Viking 'Great Army' arrives in England.Northumbria - East Anglia - and Mercia were overwhelmed.






23. Johannes Gutenberg invents the printing press.Literature - News - etc. becomes more accessible throughout Europe.






24. Augustine arrives in Kent.Christianization of Britain (Anglo-Saxons) begins.






25. Roger II is crowned King of Sicily - a royal title given him by the Antipope Anacletus II.This coronation marks the beginning of the Kingdom of Sicily and its Mediterranean empire under the Norman kings - which was able to take on the Holy Roman Empi






26. Siege of BaghdadMongols (the Ilkhanate) ensure control of the region; Generally considered the end of the Islamic Golden Age.






27. Johannes Gutenberg invents the printing press.Literature - News - etc. becomes more accessible throughout Europe.






28. Sack of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade.Considered to be the beginning of the decline of the Byzantine Empire.






29. Siege of BelgradeMajor Ottoman advances are halted for 7 decades - last major victory for Hunyadi.






30. Battle of Agincourt. Henry V and his army defeat a numerically superior French army - partially because of the newly-introduced English longbow.The turning point in the Hundred Years' War for 15th Century England that lead to the signing of the Treat






31. The Taira clan are driven out of Kyoto by Minamoto Yoshinaka.The two-year conflict which follows ends at the Battle of Dan no Ura (1185).






32. Death of Simeon I the Great. Recognition of the Bulgarian Patriarchate - the first independent National Church in Europe.






33. The Knights Templar are rounded up and murdered by Philip the Fair of France - with the backing of the Pope.Hastens the demise of the order within a decade.






34. Thomas Aquinas' work - Summa Theologica is published - after his death.Is the main staple of theology during the Middle Ages.






35. The future emperor Henry VI marries Constance of Sicily - heiress to the Sicilian throne.This marriage shifts the focus of the Guelphs/Ghibelline struggle to Sicily and marks the ruin of the House of Hohenstaufen.






36. The first known merchant guild.






37. The Hanseatic League is founded.This marks a new period of trade and economic development for northern and western Europe.






38. Muslims capture Bari and much of southern Italy.






39. Muslims capture Bari and much of southern Italy.






40. Minamoto Yoritomo is appointed Sei-i Taishogun - or shogun for short.He is the first of a long line of military dictators to bear this title. The institution would last until 1913.






41. Battle of VarnaFinal battle of the Crusade of Varna; Ottomans are victorious over the Hungarian-Polish armies - and Wladyslaw III of Poland dies.






42. Jerusalem captured by Muslims.






43. August 24Rome is sacked by Alaric - King of the Visigoths.Decisive event in the decline of the Western Roman Empire






44. Battle of Mons Badonicus.The West Saxon advance is halted by Britons.






45. Saladin recaptures Jerusalem.Would lead to the Third Crusades.






46. Windmills are first recorded.






47. The Hundred Years' War ends.England's once vast territories in France is now reduced to only Calais - which they eventually lose control of as well.






48. John I Tzimiskes murders Nikephoros II and is crowned Byzantine co-emperor in his place.






49. The Black Death ravages Europe for the first of many times. An estimated 20% - 40% of the population is thought to have perished within the first year.The first of many concurrences of this plague - This was believed to have wiped out as many as 50%






50. Battle of Tours. Charles Martel halts Muslim advance.Significant moment that led to the forming of the Carolingian Empire for the Franks - and halted the advancement of the Moors in Western Europe.