20 multiple-choice (MCQ / objective) questions from this chapter, in every exam-style shape used in the paper. Every question comes with an explanation along with the answer, so you remember why the option is correct, not just which one it is.
1 Direct Questions
Direct Questions
- 1 markThe term ‘feudalism’ is derived from the German word ‘feud’, which means:
(A) A lord(B) A soldier(C) A piece of land(D) A sworn promise - 1 markWhich of these had to be brought in from outside the manor?
(A) Grain(B) Salt, millstones and metalware(C) Timber for building(D) Wool and cloth - 1 markWhich improvement allowed animals to exert greater power when pulling a plough?
(A) The iron horseshoe(B) The mould-board(C) The shoulder-harness replacing the neck-harness(D) The watermill - 1 markWhy were stained-glass windows so important in a medieval cathedral?
(A) They made the priest’s voice carry further(B) They marked the burial places of the nobility(C) They kept the building warm in winter(D) They told Bible stories in pictures that illiterate people could ‘read’
2 Assertion-Reason
Assertion-Reason
- 1 markAssertion (A): Feudalism was more than an economic arrangement.
Reason (R): Lords held extensive judicial control over the peasants who worked their land, and peasants owed labour services in exchange for military protection.
(A) A and R are both true, and R correctly explains A(B) A and R are both true, but R does not explain A(C) A is true, but R is false(D) A is false, but R is true - 1 markAssertion (A): A serf could sell his holding and leave the manor whenever he wished.
Reason (R): A serf was bound to the lord’s land and could leave the estate with the lord’s permission alone.
(A) A and R are both true, and R correctly explains A(B) A and R are both true, but R does not explain A(C) A is true, but R is false(D) A is false, but R is true
3 Match the Following
Match the Following
- 1 markMatch List I with List II.
List I: (i) Fief (ii) Tithe (iii) Taille (iv) Manor
List II: (a) A direct royal tax paid by peasants alone (b) The lord’s dwellings, fields and his tenants’ homes taken together (c) Land granted to a knight for military service (d) The Church’s tenth share of a peasant’s produce
(A) i-d, ii-c, iii-b, iv-a(B) i-c, ii-d, iii-a, iv-b(C) i-c, ii-a, iii-d, iv-b(D) i-b, ii-d, iii-a, iv-c - 1 markMatch List I with List II.
List I: (i) 1066 (ii) 1315-17 (iii) 1347-50 (iv) 1338-1461
List II: (a) The Black Death (b) The Hundred Years War (c) The Normans conquer England (d) The Great Famine in Europe
(A) i-b, ii-d, iii-a, iv-c(B) i-d, ii-c, iii-b, iv-a(C) i-c, ii-a, iii-d, iv-b(D) i-c, ii-d, iii-a, iv-b
4 Statement-Based Questions
Statement-Based Questions
- 1 markConsider the following statements.
Statement I: Historians have been able to write the history of single medieval villages.
Statement II: Churches kept records of births, marriages and deaths, and inscriptions in them describe traders’ associations.
(A) Both statements are true, and Statement II explains Statement I(B) Both statements are true, but Statement II does not explain Statement I(C) Statement I is true, Statement II is false(D) Statement I is false, Statement II is true - 1 markConsider the following statements.
Statement I: Monastic life was open to women as well as men.
Statement II: Except in a few cases, abbeys housed both monks and nuns together.
(A) Both statements are true, and Statement II explains Statement I(B) Both statements are true, but Statement II does not explain Statement I(C) Statement I is true, Statement II is false(D) Statement I is false, Statement II is true
5 Chronological Ordering
Chronological Ordering
- 1 markArrange the following events in chronological order.
1. The Pope crowns Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor
2. Clovis becomes king of the Franks
3. Pepin deposes the Frankish ruler and founds a dynasty
4. Clovis and the Franks convert to Christianity
(A) 2-4-1-3(B) 2-4-3-1(C) 2-3-4-1(D) 4-2-3-1 - 1 markArrange the following in chronological order.
1. Charles I begins eleven years of rule without calling Parliament
2. The Hundred Years War between England and France begins
3. The Estates-General is summoned again after nearly two centuries
4. The Estates-General meets under the child-king Louis XIII
(A) 4-2-1-3(B) 2-4-3-1(C) 2-4-1-3(D) 4-2-3-1
6 Fill in the Blanks
Fill in the Blanks
- 1 markThe Church was entitled to a ______ share of whatever the peasants produced from their land during the year.
(A) fifth(B) tenth(C) twentieth(D) half - 1 markEach craft or industry in a medieval town was organised into a ______, which controlled the quality, price and sale of its products.
(A) manor(B) commune(C) parish(D) guild
7 Odd One Out
Odd One Out
- 1 markMedieval European society was divided into orders. Which group below does not belong to that division?
(A) The merchants of the towns(B) The peasantry(C) The clergy(D) The nobility - 1 markWhich of these would you NOT expect to find on a lord’s manorial estate?
(A) A castle for defence(B) Pastures for cattle and horses(C) A church(D) A university
8 Passage-Based Questions
Passage-Based Questions
Passage
“Who would think of herding his entire cattle in one stable, cows, donkeys, sheep, goats, without difference? Therefore it is necessary to establish difference among human beings, so that they do not destroy each other… God makes distinctions among his flock, in heaven as on earth. All are loved by him, yet there is no equality among them.”
— Abbess Hildegard of Bingen, twelfth century
— Abbess Hildegard of Bingen, twelfth century
- 1 markWhat does the writer of this passage argue is necessary among human beings?
(A) Complete equality(B) Difference, so that they do not destroy each other(C) Freedom from every lord(D) A single common language
Passage
“How many valiant men, how many fair ladies, (had) breakfast with their kinfolk and the same night supped with their ancestors in the next world!… They sickened by the thousands daily, and died unattended and without help… Consecrated churchyards did not suffice for the burial of the vast multitude of bodies, which were heaped by the hundreds in vast trenches, like goods in a ship’s hold and covered with a little earth.”
— Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-75), Italian author
— Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-75), Italian author
- 1 markWhat does the passage say about burials during the plague?
(A) Bodies were carried out of Europe by ship(B) Burials were forbidden by the Church(C) Every body was given a separate consecrated grave(D) Bodies were heaped by the hundreds in vast trenches
9 True / False
True / False
- 1 markConsider the following statements.
(i) The Catholic Church had its own laws and could levy taxes.
(ii) The Church depended entirely on the king for its lands and income.
(A) Both are true(B) Only (i) is true(C) Only (ii) is true(D) Both are false - 1 markConsider the following statements.
(i) Peasants took the lead in extending arable land and adopting the three-field rotation.
(ii) The expensive watermills and windmills were mostly funded by the lords.
(A) Both are true(B) Only (i) is true(C) Only (ii) is true(D) Both are false
Answer Key and Explanations
Direct Questions1. (C): ‘Feud’ means a piece of land, which is why feudalism describes a society organised around the control of land. · 2. (B): A manor grew its own grain and made much else on the spot, but salt, millstones and metalware always had to come from outside, along with any luxury goods. · 3. (C): The shoulder-harness replaced the neck-harness and let animals pull with greater power. Iron horseshoes were a separate improvement, preventing foot decay. · 4. (D): The chapter says the coloured glass was radiant in sunlight by day and visible by candlelight at night, and that its pictures narrated Bible stories for people who could not read.
Assertion-Reason1. (A): Both statements are true. Judicial power and military protection are political and social relations, so R gives exactly the reason why feudalism reached beyond the economy into social and political life. · 2. (D): A is false. The land a serf cultivated belonged to the lord, so it was never the serf’s to sell, and he could leave the estate with the lord’s permission alone. R states the true position correctly.
Match the Following1. (B): A fief was the knight’s land, the tithe was the Church’s tenth share, the taille was the royal tax from which clergy and nobles were exempt, and the manor was the lord’s estate with its tenants’ homes and fields. · 2. (D): 1066 is the Norman Conquest, 1315-17 the Great Famine, 1347-50 the Black Death, and 1338-1461 the Hundred Years War between England and France.
Statement-Based Questions1. (A): Both are correct, and the second gives the reason for the first: it is precisely because such detailed records survive that historians can reconstruct family structure, population and community life village by village. · 2. (C): Statement I is true, since women could become nuns even though they could never become priests. Statement II is false: with very few exceptions abbeys were single-sex, men and women having separate houses.
Chronological Ordering1. (B): Clovis became king in 481, the Franks converted in 496, Pepin founded his dynasty in 751, and Charlemagne was crowned in 800. · 2. (C): The Hundred Years War began in 1338, the Estates-General met in 1614, Charles I ruled without Parliament from 1629 to 1640, and the Estates-General was next summoned in 1789.
Fill in the Blanks1. (B): The tithe was the Church’s tenth share of a peasant’s yearly produce, quite separate from the taille, which the king took. · 2. (D): The guild was the basis of the town’s economic organisation, and the guild-hall was where the heads of all the guilds met and ceremonies were held.
Odd One Out1. (A): The orders were the clergy, the nobility and the peasantry. Townspeople appeared much later, and the chapter describes them as a possible fourth order, never as part of the original scheme. · 2. (D): The manor had its manor-house, fields, woodlands, pastures, a church and a castle. Schools, colleges and hospitals grew up around monasteries instead.
Passage-Based Questions1. (B): Hildegard argues that difference among human beings must be established so that they do not destroy each other, using cattle of different kinds in one stable as her image. · 2. (D): Boccaccio writes that consecrated churchyards did not suffice, so bodies were heaped by the hundreds in vast trenches, like goods in a ship’s hold, with a little earth over them.
True / False1. (B): Statement (i) is true: the Church had its own laws, owned land granted by rulers and could tax. Statement (ii) is false, because those very powers made the Church an institution that did not depend on the king. · 2. (A): Both statements are true. Peasants drove the cheap improvements, including the village smithies that made ploughs and horseshoes, while the costly mills were paid for by lords, who had the money.
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