High Middle Ages – Political & Religious Developments

Question-and-Answer flashcards covering political, legal, religious, and cultural developments in England, France, Iberia, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia, the Mongol world, Russia, and the medieval Church during the High Middle Ages.

Which Scandinavian ruler governed England from 1016-1035 while supporting existing English laws and the Catholic Church?

King Canute

Who claimed the English throne in 1066 and led the Norman invasion across the English Channel?

William of Normandy (William the Conqueror)

At which 1066 battle was Harold Godwinson killed, allowing William of Normandy to secure the English crown?

The Battle of Hastings

What famous embroidered record depicts scenes from the Norman conquest of England?

The Bayeux Tapestry

What 1086 oath required nobles to swear direct loyalty to William I rather than to intermediate lords?

The Oath of Salisbury Plain

After 1066, what cultural result emerged from the blending of Anglo-Saxons and Normans?

The creation of a new, fused English culture and kingdom

Which English king (1154-1189) founded the Plantagenet dynasty and expanded royal courts and common law?

Henry II

What royal financial office, begun under Henry II, served as the permanent treasury of medieval England?

The Exchequer

What was Henry II’s main legal goal that produced English common law?

To expand the jurisdiction of the royal courts and increase royal revenue

Which archbishop’s murder highlighted Henry II’s failed attempt to control the Church?

Thomas Becket (Archbishop of Canterbury)

Which English king (1199-1216) lost Normandy and other French lands to Philip II Augustus?

King John

What 1215 charter limited royal power and affirmed mutual obligations between king, vassals, and Church?

Magna Carta

Which English monarch (1272-1307) strengthened Parliament and sought to unite the British Isles?

Edward I

In medieval England, what key functions did Parliament come to perform?

Granting taxes, discussing politics, passing laws, and acting as a high court

Which French dynasty, begun in the late 10th century, initially held little real power outside Paris?

The Capetian dynasty

Which Capetian king (1180-1223) quadrupled royal income and formed a French royal bureaucracy?

Philip II Augustus

Which French king (1226-1270) was famed for administering justice and protecting his subjects’ rights?

Louis IX

Which monarch called “the Fair” (1285-1314) strengthened French administration through three key royal councils?

Philip IV the Fair

Name the first French parliament, established by Philip IV and composed of three estates.

The Estates-General (clergy, nobles, townspeople)

What long Christian campaign aimed to recover Muslim-held territories on the Iberian Peninsula?

The Reconquista

Who was the legendary Castilian adventurer known as El Cid?

Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar

Which 1212 battle was a decisive Christian victory that accelerated Muslim retreat in Spain?

Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa

After 13th-century Christian advances, which Muslim state remained in Iberia until 1492?

The Kingdom of Granada

What term referred to Muslims allowed to stay in Christian Spain without conversion?

Mudejares

What special privileges granted by Spanish kings encouraged Christian settlers to new territories?

Fueros

Which German dynasty beginning with Conrad II (1024) revived the imperial title after Charlemagne?

The Salian (Saxon) dynasty

Which two Hohenstaufen rulers tried to make Italy the center of a revived Holy Roman Empire?

Frederick I Barbarossa and Frederick II

Why did Frederick II’s focus on Italy weaken the German monarchy?

He left German princes autonomous, preventing a centralized state

Which three Scandinavian kingdoms emerged c. 900-1000 and soon adopted Christianity?

Denmark, Norway, and Sweden

What crusading military order was invited to conquer pagan Prussians in 1226?

The Teutonic Knights

Who unified Mongol tribes around 1206 and became known as Genghis Khan?

Temuchin (Genghis Khan)

Which Mongol leader completed the conquest of China and founded the Yuan dynasty?

Khubilai Khan

Which 1258 event ended the Abbasid Caliphate?

Mongol sack of Baghdad

How was the vast Mongol realm administratively divided after Genghis Khan?

Into separate khanates

What landed aristocracy dominated Kievan Rus society?

Boyars

Which Russian prince defeated the Teutonic Knights in 1242 and gained Mongol favor?

Alexander Nevsky

Which city’s princes, descended from Alexander Nevsky, eventually unified Russia?

Moscow

What territories in central Italy came under direct papal rule during the early Middle Ages?

The Papal States

Which 910 Burgundian monastery launched a major monastic reform movement?

The Abbey of Cluny

What was Pope Gregory VII’s primary reform objective regarding bishops?

Elimination of lay investiture

The conflict between Gregory VII and Henry IV over bishop appointments is known as what?

The Investiture Controversy

Which 1122 agreement compromised on lay investiture between a new German king and the pope?

The Concordat of Worms

Under which pope (1198-1216) did the Church reach its height of political power?

Pope Innocent III

Which two major mendicant orders were approved by Innocent III?

Franciscans and Dominicans

What strict order, founded in 1098, emphasized simple life and manual labor over elaborate liturgy?

The Cistercian Order

Which German abbess (1098-1179) was a noted mystic, composer, and author of Gregorian chant?

Hildegard of Bingen

What women’s branch of the Franciscan movement was founded by St. Clare?

The Poor Clares

What were Beguines?

Communities of lay women living in voluntary poverty and piety without formal vows

What objects associated with saints were believed to shorten time in purgatory via indulgences?

Relics

A journey to a religious shrine for spiritual merit is called what?

A pilgrimage

What dualist heretical movement in southern France provoked a papal crusade in 1209?

Catharism (Albigensian heresy)

Which Church court was established to investigate and try heretics?

The Holy Office (Inquisition)

Which medieval European minority was legally permitted to practice a non-Christian faith?

The Jews

What long-term prejudice against Jews intensified during medieval religious zeal?

Anti-Semitism

Which European country became a refuge for many expelled Jews by the late Middle Ages?

Poland

Besides Muslims and heretics, which group also faced intolerance and condemnation in medieval Europe?

Homosexuals

What term describes royal grants of land held as fiefs by nobles in Normandy’s hierarchy?

Fiefs (feudal tenures)

What medieval English administrative innovation involved judges travelling to shires, helping create common law?

Itinerant royal justices

Which 13th-century French financial body audited royal revenues under Philip IV?

The Chamber of Accounts

Name the advisory council to the French king that formed one branch of Philip IV’s administration.

The Royal Council (Conseil)

What Spanish battle hero’s temporary conquest of Valencia symbolized Christian push and Muslim resilience?

El Cid (Rodrigo Díaz) at Valencia

What label did Christian rulers use for their effort to reclaim Iberia from Muslims?

Reconquista

Why did Scandinavian kings embrace Christianity around 1000?

To strengthen royal authority and integrate with Christian Europe

Which principality’s merchants linked Kievan Rus to Byzantium and the Islamic world?

Kiev

What 11th-century spiritual leader emphasized personal devotion by portraying Christ’s humanity?

Bernard of Clairvaux

Which spiritual weapon did Innocent III use to pressure rulers by closing churches and denying sacraments?

The interdict

What is heresy, as defined by the medieval Church?

Holding religious doctrines that differ from official Church teaching

Which document forced King John to recognize legal limits on monarchical power?

Magna Carta (1215)

What assembly of nobles and churchmen tried to depose Pope Gregory VII during the Investiture Controversy?

The Synod called by King Henry IV

What is common law?

A unified body of law developed from royal court decisions, applied throughout England