Crusades & Reconquista
What event in 1095 launched the First Crusade after Pope Urban II's call, promising remission of sins to participants?
The Council of Clermont / Pope Urban II’s speech (1095).
Who is the heroic knight and nephew of Charlemagne in The Song of Roland?
Roland
What architectural style is known for rounded arches and very thick walls, common from the 10th–12th centuries?
Romanesque
What 1215 document forced King John to accept limits on royal power and protect certain legal rights?
Magna Carta
What was the Avignon Papacy (1309–1376) and why did it weaken the prestige of the papacy?
The period when popes lived in Avignon under French influence, undermining perceived papal independence and prestige.
Name the military leader and national hero associated with the Reconquista who took Valencia and sometimes served Muslim rulers.
El Cid (Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar)
What is the title of Peter Abelard’s work that presented contradictory statements from Church Fathers to teach logical analysis?
Sic et Non
Name two structural features that allowed Gothic cathedrals to have taller, lighter interiors.
Flying buttresses and pointed arches (also ribbed vaults).
Which English king created the Angevin Empire and reformed royal justice and common law?
Henry II
Name the religious movement that preached extreme poverty and urban preaching founded by St. Francis.
The Franciscan Order (Franciscans).
Which treaty in 1192 between Richard the Lionheart and Saladin allowed Christian pilgrims safe passage but left Jerusalem under Muslim control?
Treaty of Jaffa (1192)
Which medieval philosopher is known for harmonizing Aristotelian reason with Christian doctrine in the Summa Theologica?
St. Thomas Aquinas
What is a portcullis and how did it function in castle defense?
A heavy vertically-sliding gate used to block a castle entrance and trap attackers.
What was the Model Parliament (1295) significant for including that earlier assemblies had not?
It included commoners (knights and burgesses) alongside nobles and clergy, giving representation to taxed groups.
[or Model Parliament included representatives of commons.]
What was the Great Schism (1378–1417) and what political effect did it have on Europe?
A period with multiple rival popes claiming authority; it divided loyalties across Europe and reduced papal moral authority.
What was the major outcome of the Fourth Crusade that shocked the Christian world and weakened Byzantine power?
The sacking of Constantinople (1204) by Crusaders during the Fourth Crusade.
Define "courtly love" in one sentence as understood in high medieval court culture.
A stylized set of rules celebrating noble devotion and secret, idealized love between a knight and a married noblewoman.
Describe the difference between a motte-and-bailey castle and a concentric stone fortress.
Motte-and-bailey: wooden/early stone keep on a raised earthwork (motte) with enclosed courtyard (bailey); Concentric fortress: multiple rings of stone walls and towers, more permanent and defensible.
What was the Investiture Controversy about, and what compromise officially ended it (name the agreement)?
The dispute over who could appoint bishops (secular rulers vs. popes); Concordat of Worms.
Define "conciliarism" and explain how it was a response to papal crises in the 14th–16th centuries.
The idea that an ecumenical council held supreme authority over the pope; it aimed to resolve papal disputes and limit papal absolutism.
Explain two long-term economic or cultural effects the Crusades had on Western Europe.
Stimulated Mediterranean trade and exchange of Eastern knowledge; increased contact led to new goods, military techniques, and intellectual transfer (examples: navigation, textiles, classical texts).
Explain how Dante’s choice to write the Divine Comedy in the vernacular (Italian) changed access to literature and ideas.
Writing in the vernacular made literature accessible beyond Latin-literate clergy and scholars, increasing literacy and national literary traditions.
Explain how the development of gunpowder weapons contributed to transforming castles into palaces.
Cannon and gunpowder made thick walls less effective, shifting priorities from defense to comfort and display; nobles remodeled castles into palatial residences.
Explain how the Assize of Clarendon (1166) strengthened royal authority over criminal justice in England.
It established royal juries and royal oversight of criminal cases, reducing baronial jurisdiction and centralizing justice.
Give two reasons why the Black Death contributed to a decline in traditional Church authority and social order.
High mortality eroded faith in Church protection and clergy; social upheaval and labor shortages empowered lower classes and provoked criticism of Church wealth and failures.