Western Civilization to 1648 (HIST-1500) Ch. 8 – Flashcards
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Otto I's victory over the Magyars:
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Confirmed the position of the Saxon kings as heirs to Charlemagne's Holy Roman Empire.
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A major source of mechanical power in medieval Europe after 1050 was the:
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Water mill, which was used to grind grain, crush paper pulp, and press oil.
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The medieval economy was based primarily on:
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Agriculture.
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In northern Europe, increasing use of the heavy-wheeled plow between 800 and 1050 coincided with:
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Fundamental changes in patterns of peasant settlement.
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It was more difficult for serfs to improve their economic and social status because:
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Serfs were tied to their lord's manorial lands and so could not move.
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One factor that contributed to the increase in agricultural output in the medieval period was:
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A rise in average temperature that allowed for a longer growing season.
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Aside from raising food yields from 50 to 67 percent, the movement from a two-field system to a three-field system resulted in:
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Higher yields per acre and a more even distribution of labor throughout the year.
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Although Viking raids often devastated towns, the Vikings also revitalized cities by:
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Returning large amounts of gold and silver coin to the markets of medieval Europe.
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Monasteries and secular lords often supported the founding of towns in their territories because:
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They saw the economic advantages of having towns in their territory.
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During the eleventh century, the most spectacular developments in long-distance trade took place in:
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Italy.
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One factor that contributed to the growth of some urban centers such as Paris and London was:
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Their ability to draw on the wealth of the immediate area around the city.
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Although money lending was an important factor in the success of early Italian merchant activity:
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The Western Christian Church condemned the practice as usurious.
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Many towns and cities in the High Middle Ages:
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Grew through continuous immigration from the countryside.
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Castles often formed the nucleus of new towns because:
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Castles provided protection for merchants who lived close to the walls.
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Local lords most frequently developed power bases in areas of western Europe where:
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Royal authority was either weak or nonexistent.
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Historians generally do not use the term "feudalism" today because it:
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Means too many different things to be of use.
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The exchange of land for service or money in the Middle Ages resulted in a political system that:
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Created many different types of ties, both horizontal and hierarchal.
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William the Conqueror was politically innovative in that he:
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Used the highly centralized English administrative authority combined with the feudal structures of France.
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Compared to their Carolingian predecessors, the kings of tenth- and eleventh-century Germany:
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Relied heavily on ecclesiastical leaders to carry out royal administration.
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Central to the establishment of feudal monarchies was the:
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Personal relationship between individuals at each level of feudal society.
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The term "feudal" comes from the Latin "feudum," which refers to:
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A grant that creates a contractual relationship between a giver and a receiver.
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At Canossa in the winter of 1077:
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King Henry IV did penance before Pope Gregory VII.
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The tenth century was known for ineffective kingship throughout Europe and:
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An incompetent and largely corrupt papacy.
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The monastic reform movement that began at Cluny in Burgundy was unique in that Cluniac monasteries:
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Were free from control by local lords.
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The first successful attempt to restore the spiritual authority of the Latin Church can be traced to the establishment of a new kind of monastery at:
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Cluny in Burgundy.
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Theft of relics occurred in the Middle Ages because:
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Relics were extremely valuable, as pilgrims were attracted to the places that housed them.
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Simony refers to:
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The use of an ecclesiastical office for personal gain.
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In 1059, Pope Nicolas II issued a new decree on papal elections, which gave the power to elect future popes to the:
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College of Cardinals.
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Taken literally, what did the term "investiture" mean to medieval Christians in the eleventh century?
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The practice of appointing a bishop or abbot and dressing him with the symbols of his office.
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In the eleventh century, the struggle for power in central Europe was, for the most part, between:
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King and pope.
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The importance of the Investiture Conflict was that it:
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Formally, though not in practice, separated the "church" and the "state" in European politics.
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The expansion of the Byzantine empire during the tenth and early eleventh centuries was assisted by:
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Christian missionary activity in Russia and the Balkans.
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The weakness of the Byzantine empire in the eleventh century was caused, in part, by:
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The debasing of the empire's gold coinage.
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In 1071, Byzantium lost Armenia and wealthy Anatolia to the:
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Seljuq Turks.
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When Alexius Comnenus asked for western help against the Seljuq Turks, he was hoping for a:
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Force of heavily armored knights to deploy against the lightly armored Turkish cavalry.
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Which of the following was NOT a goal expressed by Pope Urban II for the First Crusade?
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To slay Christ's enemies wherever they could be found, especially Jews and Muslims.
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When preaching the First Crusade, Pope Urban II suggested that those who fought in the service of Christ would receive:
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Absolution of all their sins.
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The First Crusade:
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Further weakened Byzantine control over trade in the eastern Mediterranean.
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The Crusades marked a fundamental turning point in the relationship between:
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Byzantium and western Europe.
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The most common reason for people to go on a Crusade was the desire:
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To complete an armed pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
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The most long-lasting consequence of the First Crusade was the:
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Development of Islamic and Christian doctrines of holy war.
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The Muslim world was far advanced over Europe in the area of medicine, as evidenced by the writings of:
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Avicenna.
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Arabic mathematics revolutionized European economies by introducing:
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Arabic numerals, which replaced Roman numerals.
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Muslim physicians were leaders in developing:
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A system of licensing medical practitioners.
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From the Islamic world come some of the best-known poetry in the world, among which is the poetry of:
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Umar Khayyam.
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The enormous legacy of Muslim learning for European commerce, literature, and science is most clearly seen in the:
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Introduction of a large number of Arabic words into European languages.
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T/F: The medieval epic, "The Song of Roland," is similar to Homer's "Iliad" in that both were the product of a long oral tradition rather than having been composed in a written form.
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True.
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T/F: No new political entities arose in Europe as a direct result of the Viking raids of the previous century.
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False. The opposite happened. In the aftermath of the Viking invasions, new political entities began to emerge in Europe.
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T/F: Hugh Capet claimed the title of "King of the Franks" after he killed the last Carolingian king in 987.
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False.
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T/F: The agricultural revolution was the foundation on which the commercial revolution of the High Middle Ages rested.
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True.
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T/F: Due to the expansion of commerce and the availability of cheap and nutritious food, the largest European cities boasted populations of over 1 million people by 1300.
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False. 100,000 people, not 1 million.
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T/F: The European political structure in the tenth and eleventh centuries was typified by a social mobility and egalitarianism.
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False.
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T/F: All knights in the eleventh century came from the aristocracy.
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False. Knighthood was actually a career that embraced men of widely varying status (sons of lords, peasants, etc.).
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T/F: The Ottonian emperors were the first to be able to exercise actual control in the areas they claimed to rule.
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False. The Ottonians were not able to control the territories they claimed to rule.
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T/F: Although it represented a monumental struggle for power at the highest levels of society, the Investiture Conflict was a largely private affair that had little impact on local political or religious relationships.
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False.
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T/F: Beginning in the eleventh century, the Church asserted its independence from secular rulers.
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True.
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T/F: The Crusades take their name from the symbol of the Christian religion.
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True.
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T/F: Crusading knights needed a minimum of two years' revenues in hand to go on crusade.
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True.
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T/F: The Christian doctrine of holy war developed during the First Crusade has helped shaped more modern narratives of conquest and colonization.
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True.
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T/F: Islamic theology and philosophy had no influence on Catholic philosophy and theology.
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False. It did.
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T/F: Of the three heirs to the Roman Empire, Europe was the most prosperous by 1000.
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False. Before 1000, Europe was the least prosperous. It took until 1100 for Europe to be the "most prosperous."
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