Middle Ages - Other Missing Links Quiz

Answer: Cumans

These were nomadic tribes from the steppes of Asia which came to Europe, in wave after wave, in the Early Middle Ages. In their unstoppable migration, these mounted peoples collided with the Germanic and Slavic tribes, which were forced to move further to the west.

Answer: Kashgar

Developing as the main 'highway' between the East and the West already in Antiquity, the Silk Route (from the Levant to China, which a "turn-off" for India) reached its greatest significance in the Early Middle Ages, when the greatest volume of goods was traded. Trading on the Silk Route also brought the countless and invaluable Chinese inventions to the western world, as in turn, China benefited by the introduction of Buddhism from India.

Answer: Normandy

All of these territories were explored and colonized by the Norwegian Vikings during the 9th-11th centuries. Some of them were successful and later developed into well-organized medieval states (like Normandy and Iceland), while others felt into oblivion with the passing of time (the colonies in Greenland and Vinland).

Answer: Algorizm

The medieval Arab thinkers and scientists have the unchallenged merit of reviving the forgotten values of the Antiquity as well as passing their rich knowledge (like the all-important Arabic numerals) to the western world. Algorizm was a mathematician and astronomer, whose name is linked with the origin of the informatical term - algorithm.

Answer: Hattin

These were the most important battles fought by the crusaders in the Middle East. Eventually the Holy Crusades failed in their mission of retaking the Holy Land and subduing the Islam, due to the different interests on the part of the princes and states involved in the process. In the battle of Hattin (1187), the sultan Saladin defeated the crusaders.

Answer: Beyazid

The Ottoman Empire played a decisive role in the history of the late Middle Ages. Rising from the ashes of the Seljuk Empire in the late 13th century, the Ottoman Empire (founded by Osman) soon became a major power that would hence represent a constant threat to Christian Europe.

After Mehmet's siege in 1453 the high-prized eastern bastion of Christianity - Constantinople (or what was left of the Byzantine Empire) - finally submitted to the might of the Turkish Empire. The Ottomans reached the peak of their in the 16th century, under Suleiman the Magnificent, with a territory stretching from Egypt to the Caucasus and from the Persian Gulf to Hungary (conquered after the battle of Mohacs - 1526).

They later added further areas of North Africa as far west as Algiers, while the Black Sea became in effect an "Ottoman lake".

However, not all parts of the empire were ruled directly by the Ottomans: in particular, there were a number of tributary states, such as Transylvania.

Answer: Santiago de Compostella

The names listed in the question are some examples of churches built in the Romanesque architectural style. Their main feature was the rounded arch, present in doors, windows and vaults. These constructions had thick walls, small windows and many columns, resembling the Roman basilicas, from which they were derived. Most of them were built in the shape of a cross. (The others are Gothic).

Answer: Novgorod

These flourishing ports, mainly on or around the Baltic Sea, were the main centers of the Hanseatic League, which thrived in the Late Middle Ages (13th-15th centuries).

Answer: Warwick

Castle building was booming in the Middle Ages and that's why castles are one of the best symbols for this period. The ones listed above, set around various places in Europe and the Middle East, are some of the most famous and picturesque.

Answer: Minnesinger

These were the wandering musician-poets of the Middle Ages. Usually no more than outcasts, the goliards and menestrels from the 11th and 12th century did not play their own compositions but instead borrowed them from the popular repertory. Their merit is the transmission of the famous "chansons de geste" - the epic poems glorifying the deeds of national heroes.

The troubadours and trouvers from France and the Minnesingers in Germany had a totally different status than the others, being appreciated in high aristocratic circles.

They were composers and poets and their ballads and love songs went to enlighten the grim scenery of the Middle Ages throughout the 12th-14th centuries.