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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is a proper subject for a Rutebauf poem?
(a) A peasant's horse breaking a leg.
(b) Intrigue at the court of Champagne.
(c) A Bishop delivering a sermon.
(d) A queen wandering her royal garden.

2. What is the most expensive and sought-after commodity of the High Middle Ages?
(a) Iron.
(b) Animal hides.
(c) Oil.
(d) Spices.

3. Why might a lord call upon his subjects to take up arms?
(a) For explorations into the New World.
(b) So he can look more impressive to visiting dignitaries.
(c) As part of a gauntlet competition put on for royal amusement.
(d) In case of a crisis like an invasion.

4. Which one of the following is NOT one of the subjects of the quadrivium?
(a) Geometry.
(b) Arithmetic.
(c) Astronomy.
(d) Philosophy.

5. What subject did Geoffroi de Villehardouin base his masterpiece on?
(a) The Spartans.
(b) King Arthur and the Lady of the Lake.
(c) The sacking of Constantinople.
(d) The Norman conquest.

6. There is a revival of theater in the 13th century. Where does it start?
(a) The town square.
(b) The private homes of burghers.
(c) The Church.
(d) At the market.

7. What is a thema, in the religious sense?
(a) A short passage from one of the Gospels.
(b) A small recess in which relics and statuary are placed.
(c) The Sunday service itself.
(d) A theme that unifies the Gospels, such as sacrifice.

8. Which two parties negotiated town charters?
(a) A town's mayor and the conquering army's general.
(b) A town's citizens and the town's bishop.
(c) A town's citizens and the reigning feudal lord.
(d) A town's bishop and the reigning feudal lord.

9. What distinguishes the Roman legacy of justice?
(a) Crimes are considered personal, rather than civil.
(b) A system of lawyers, evidence, and testimony.
(c) The church system handles punishment.
(d) Duels, and the process of ordeals.

10. Which author is depended upon for the central texts to teach grammar in the cathedral school?
(a) Donatus.
(b) Aristotle.
(c) Cato the Elder.
(d) Plato.

11. Why are the buildings of Troyes susceptible to fire damage?
(a) They are crowded together and made of timber.
(b) Generous fire insurance causes many cases of arson-related fraud.
(c) They are subject to fierce cross winds.
(d) Troyes has an unusually large number of arsonists.

12. Which of the following is true about the cathedral school?
(a) Instruction is conducted in the vernacular.
(b) Grammar is taught with a crude version of phonetics.
(c) All ages are taught together.
(d) Students are graded.

13. Which of the following is NOT one of the five universities of northwest Europe as of 1250?
(a) Oxford.
(b) Paris.
(c) Orleans.
(d) London.

14. What do the Keepers of the Fair do?
(a) They maintain the "key to the city" and are largely ceremonial.
(b) They imprison any merchants who try to dilute their wares.
(c) They choose which merchants get to trade at the fair.
(d) They hire security and handle logistics of the Troyes fair.

15. Which one of the following is NOT one of the subjects of the trivium?
(a) Grammar.
(b) Logic.
(c) Music.
(d) Rhetoric.

Short Answer Questions

1. In 1250, church organs had which of the following characteristics?

2. How are books regarded in the 13th century?

3. Why is the catapult of the Middles Ages superior to its Roman ancestor?

4. Who handles crimes involving members of the clergy?

5. What is a city's defense against the siege mine?

(see the answer keys)

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