General knowledge · 12 questions

Medieval Britain

Castles, councils and clues that are not quite what they seem. Twelve questions, with a few convincing wrong turns along the way.

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Question 1 of 12

What did the 1086 Domesday survey principally record?

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1. What did the 1086 Domesday survey principally record?
- A. Every resident's name and age
- B. Landed property, holders and value (answer)
- C. Parish baptisms
- D. Overseas military service
Domesday surveyed landed property and value. It was not a census naming every inhabitant.
2. How was King John's authority attached to Magna Carta in 1215?
- A. Handwritten signature
- B. Parliamentary vote
- C. Fingerprints
- D. Royal seal (answer)
Magna Carta was authenticated with the royal seal rather than signed in the modern sense.
3. Despite its name, how was the Bayeux Tapestry made?
- A. Embroidery on linen (answer)
- B. Pictures woven into wool
- C. Painting on silk
- D. Printing on cotton
Its pictures were embroidered in wool thread on linen, not woven as a true tapestry.
4. To whom was the 1320 Declaration of Arbroath addressed?
- A. Edward II
- B. Holy Roman Emperor
- C. Pope John XXII (answer)
- D. King of France
The letter defended Scotland's independence and Robert Bruce's kingship before the pope.
5. What distinguished de Montfort's Parliament of 1265?
- A. Women became members
- B. Towns and counties both sent representatives (answer)
- C. Monarchy was abolished
- D. Universal male voting began
County knights and town burgesses were summoned together. It was not universal suffrage.
6. Which counties form Little Domesday?
- A. Kent, Surrey, Sussex
- B. Yorkshire, Durham, Northumberland
- C. Devon, Dorset, Cornwall
- D. Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex (answer)
Little Domesday preserves the more detailed survey for Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.
7. Which groups were meeting together as the Commons by 1332?
- A. County knights and town burgesses (answer)
- B. Bishops and abbots
- C. Earls and royal judges
- D. Sheriffs and parish priests
Knights of the shire and burgesses formed the Commons, distinct from senior nobles and churchmen.
8. Which English king was deposed in 1399?
- A. Edward II
- B. Henry III
- C. Richard II (answer)
- D. Edward III
Richard II was deposed in 1399, when Henry IV's reign began.
9. Where were the Lewis chess pieces probably made?
- A. Scotland
- B. Norway (answer)
- C. France
- D. Ireland
Found in Scotland, they are probably Norwegian work from the late twelfth or early thirteenth century.
10. Which observance was central to the Synod of Whitby's dispute in 664?
- A. Bible language
- B. Papal elections
- C. Church bells
- D. Calculation of Easter (answer)
Different Christian traditions calculated Easter differently. Northumbria adopted the Roman practice.
11. What procedure did the Commons use against royal advisers in 1376?
- A. Impeachment before the Lords (answer)
- B. Trial by combat
- C. Excommunication
- D. National referendum
The Good Parliament prosecuted advisers before the Lords, an early use of parliamentary impeachment.
12. Which English king lost Normandy in 1204?
- A. Richard I
- B. Henry II
- C. John (answer)
- D. Henry III
John lost Normandy. Attempts to recover continental lands contributed to pressures preceding Magna Carta.

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