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Quiz about A Short History of France AD 5001500
Quiz about A Short History of France AD 5001500

A Short History of France (AD 500-1500) Quiz


French poet Joachim du Bellay said this: "France, mother of arts, of warfare, and of laws." Enjoy this ten-question quiz about the founding and development of early France, a mainstay in the history of Europe.

A multiple-choice quiz by snediger. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
snediger
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
344,383
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Easy
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
2568
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 103 (9/10), Guest 109 (10/10), Guest 174 (9/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. We begin our history with the Franks, whose king led them out of what is now Belgium and expanded Frankish influence southeast past the Rhine, and south to the Pyrenees. By 510 AD this king, having converted to Catholicism, maintained an independent kingdom surrounded by Saxons, Goths, Vandals and Slavs. What was the name of this Frankish king? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Unfortunately for the early Frankish kings, they let real power slip from their hands and into the hands of their aristocracies. These "long-haired" kings, so-called because of their uncut locks, passed into oblivion when the last of their line was shorn and carted off (literally) to a monastery. What is the name of this dynasty which Dan Brown mentions in "The Da Vinci Code"? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. In 751 Pepin the Short, the Mayor of the Palace, replaced one monarchy with another, this time with himself as king. However, his dynasty was made more famous by his son, who was crowned "Emperor of the Romans" by Pope Leo III in Rome on Christmas Day in 800 AD. Who was this King-made-Emperor, whose name means Charles-the-Great? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Charles-the-Great's Empire eventually fell apart. His grandsons split the Empire three ways into what would later become France, Germany and a central strip based on Burgundy and what ultimately became Belgium and the Netherlands. This division was agreed in 843 AD by the "Treaty of __________________." (Hint: "First World War, anyone?") Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. After the Carolingian Empire fell apart, what was to become modern France degenerated into internecine squabbling. In 987, however, a new leader was elected by assembly to be "King of the Franks." It took a few generations for the warring nobles to recognize the sovereignty of his kingship. What was this new king's name and what was the name of the dynasty he founded? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. By 1180, French King Philip II was at war with the English King Henry II, who held extensive territories in France (including Anjou and Normandy). To retain his crown, Philip allied himself with Henry's own son to fight the English King. However, Henry's son eventually became King of England himself, and after crusading with Philip, turned against him. What is the name by which we know this crusading soldier-king, the son of English king Henry II? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. My name is King Louis IX. I reigned from 1226 to 1270. I am also a Saint of the Roman Catholic Church.


Question 8 of 10
8. Speaking of religion, I, Clement V, having been elected Pope and being French, declined to move to Rome to rule the Church. Instead I settled in a French city in 1309, and there the Papacy remained for 67 years. Which French city did the new Pope move to? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. In 1337, English King Edward III decided he had had enough of the French Kings ripping off what had been hereditary English territory, and a French break in the line of succession gave him the opportunity to settle English claims to the French throne. Philip VI, who had declared his family line, the Valois, the new French royal house, took umbrage. If it was war the English wanted, well, war they would get! What war was this? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. It is now 1494 and France is ruled by Charles VIII. He sees prestige and territory to be gained from his rival, the Holy Roman Emperor, in a nearby European peninsula ruled by many squabbling city-states. Which peninsula was this? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. We begin our history with the Franks, whose king led them out of what is now Belgium and expanded Frankish influence southeast past the Rhine, and south to the Pyrenees. By 510 AD this king, having converted to Catholicism, maintained an independent kingdom surrounded by Saxons, Goths, Vandals and Slavs. What was the name of this Frankish king?

Answer: Clovis

Clovis (481-511), king of the Franks, unified part of a disunited Western Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. He accepted Catholic Christianity shortly after he became king in 509, despite the Arianism rampant among the Goths. This, of course, greatly influenced future relations with the Papacy.
2. Unfortunately for the early Frankish kings, they let real power slip from their hands and into the hands of their aristocracies. These "long-haired" kings, so-called because of their uncut locks, passed into oblivion when the last of their line was shorn and carted off (literally) to a monastery. What is the name of this dynasty which Dan Brown mentions in "The Da Vinci Code"?

Answer: Merovingian

They weren't all like Clovis. Gradually, the office of Mayor of the Palace came to hold the real power. Pepin the Short forced the issue by appealing to the Pope, and the Pope decided that Pepin's *authentic* power was more legitimate than the bloodline of a figurehead Merovingian king.

In light of this, it seems odd to me that Dan Brown, in "The Da Vinci Code" would embrace the theory that the feeble Merovingian line - of all dynasties! - was descended from a (human) Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene.
3. In 751 Pepin the Short, the Mayor of the Palace, replaced one monarchy with another, this time with himself as king. However, his dynasty was made more famous by his son, who was crowned "Emperor of the Romans" by Pope Leo III in Rome on Christmas Day in 800 AD. Who was this King-made-Emperor, whose name means Charles-the-Great?

Answer: Charlemagne

There are two theories about Charlemagne and Emperor-hood: (1) that he was totally reluctant to be crowned by the Pope, but eventually warmed to the idea, and (2) he knew it was going to happen, because he could not have missed the crown which was conspicuously present on the altar.

In any case, it worked out well for the papacy, for Charlemagne's ascendancy destroyed Byzantine rule in Italy, subdued the pagan Saxons, and gave the Pope a reliable protector.
4. Charles-the-Great's Empire eventually fell apart. His grandsons split the Empire three ways into what would later become France, Germany and a central strip based on Burgundy and what ultimately became Belgium and the Netherlands. This division was agreed in 843 AD by the "Treaty of __________________." (Hint: "First World War, anyone?")

Answer: Verdun

The central strip, which included Provence, Lombardy and part of Tuscany was soon fought over by its two larger neighbors and later by other countries, too.
5. After the Carolingian Empire fell apart, what was to become modern France degenerated into internecine squabbling. In 987, however, a new leader was elected by assembly to be "King of the Franks." It took a few generations for the warring nobles to recognize the sovereignty of his kingship. What was this new king's name and what was the name of the dynasty he founded?

Answer: Hugh Capet / Capetian

Keep in mind that, just because Hugh Capet was elected king, not everyone immediately paid him homage. All the way up to the 11th century, France was by no means centralized, with various nobles - who commanded vast territories - jockeying for position.

For example, many Vikings had settled down in Normandy, carving out a semi-autonomous region, and the Dukes of Lorraine and Burgundy also demanded autonomy. It wasn't until Louis VI "the fat" (c. AD 1108) that the Capetian region - the "Ile de France" - was acknowledged to be "royal territory."
6. By 1180, French King Philip II was at war with the English King Henry II, who held extensive territories in France (including Anjou and Normandy). To retain his crown, Philip allied himself with Henry's own son to fight the English King. However, Henry's son eventually became King of England himself, and after crusading with Philip, turned against him. What is the name by which we know this crusading soldier-king, the son of English king Henry II?

Answer: Richard the Lion-Hearted

Philip II and Richard got on famously at first, but started quarreling during the Third Crusade, and Philip returned to France. After the Crusade, Richard ravaged France, threatening the kingship of his one time ally. (Remember, France was where Richard grew up, and the language he spoke was a French dialect.) Fortunately for Philip (who fled), Richard was killed by a French bowman. Philip then came out of hiding and seized Normandy from Richard's successor, John Lackland.
7. My name is King Louis IX. I reigned from 1226 to 1270. I am also a Saint of the Roman Catholic Church.

Answer: True

King/Saint Louis IX was considered extremely devout during his life. His religious zealotry reached from purchasing a part of the True Cross, to outlawing usury (and expelling all Jews involved in it), to going on Crusade and getting captured, to jump-starting the French Inquisition to stamp out the Cathar heresy, to burning (in 1243) copies of the Talmud and other Jewish writings.

He considered France to be "the eldest daughter of the Church," and was rewarded with sainthood a mere twenty-seven years after his death. (Saint Louis, Missouri USA, is named after him.)
8. Speaking of religion, I, Clement V, having been elected Pope and being French, declined to move to Rome to rule the Church. Instead I settled in a French city in 1309, and there the Papacy remained for 67 years. Which French city did the new Pope move to?

Answer: Avignon

It is perhaps true that Clement preferred France to Rome because of his nationality. However, there had been great tension between Boniface VIII, Clement's predecessor, and French King Philip IV ("the Fair"). After Boniface VIII had issued the Papal Bull "Unam Sanctam," which declared that every human being - from king to serf - was under the authority of the Roman Pontiff, the French Chief Legate visited Rome with an Italian noble whom the Pope had wronged, and slapped Boniface around so badly the Pope almost died. To avoid any future conflict with the Italian nobles or Philip IV, Clement moved the Papacy to France. Six successive Popes ruled from Avignon; they were all French.
9. In 1337, English King Edward III decided he had had enough of the French Kings ripping off what had been hereditary English territory, and a French break in the line of succession gave him the opportunity to settle English claims to the French throne. Philip VI, who had declared his family line, the Valois, the new French royal house, took umbrage. If it was war the English wanted, well, war they would get! What war was this?

Answer: Hundred Years' War

Background: The French kings had thought that the English kings, having been also Dukes of Normandy, owed them fealty. The English kings, resentful of the fact that they were steadily losing territory in France, thought they had a rightful claim, through intermarriage, to the throne of France.

The War itself (1337 - 1453) took place in three phases with periods of peace in between. The English were ascendant at the beginning, winning the important battles of Crecy (1346) and Agincourt (1415), but started losing after the appearance of Joan of Arc (1412-1431).

The upshot: France became a more centralized monarchy and England vacated the French homeland (except for the port of Calais); England's dream of uniting the French and English thrones was abandoned.
10. It is now 1494 and France is ruled by Charles VIII. He sees prestige and territory to be gained from his rival, the Holy Roman Emperor, in a nearby European peninsula ruled by many squabbling city-states. Which peninsula was this?

Answer: Italy

The Italian war of 1494-1498 was as much about balance of power in Western Europe as it was about seizing (and looting) territory. Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, Pope Alexander VI, the Duchy of Milan, and the Republic of Venice all had their own reasons for opposing the French.

Moreover, the Sicilians had already experienced brutal French rule in the late 1200s, which lead to revolt and Sicilian expulsion of the French. The upshot: the Italian-Papal-HRE alliance prevailed, and Charles VIII was sent packing, having to leave most of his pillaged loot behind.
Source: Author snediger

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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