Ye Olde Quiz: 145 Trivia Questions About the Middle Ages

Welcome, ladies and lords, to the grandest spectacle this side of the Renaissance – our Middle Ages trivia quiz! We hope your journey here didn’t involve a run-in with the Black Plague or a jousting mishap. So hitch your horses, retreat from your castles, and take a break from your manuscript illuminations – it’s time to test your knowledge. Get ready to knight your brain with facts and slay the dragon of ignorance. But remember, don’t be feudal if you don’t know the answer – after all, nobody’s perfect in this age or any other!

1. In what century did the Middle Ages start?

2. What event is commonly considered to mark the end of the Middle Ages?

3. What was the dominant governmental system during the Middle Ages?

4. Which famous French heroine made a significant impact during the Hundred Years War?

5. Which major pandemic struck Europe in the Middle Ages, causing massive loss of life?

6. What is the name of the famous Arthurian wizard?

7. Who was the Muslim general who reconquered most of the territory lost by the previous Muslim emirates in Spain during the Middle Ages?

8. What was the primary unit of currency in medieval England?

9. What is the name of the legendary sword of King Arthur?

10. Who authored the ‘Divine Comedy’, an iconic work of the Middle Ages?

11. What important historical document was signed in 1215 during the Middle Ages?

12. Which cultural and intellectual movement of the late Middle Ages laid the groundwork for the Renaissance?

13. What was the name of the series of religious wars between Christians and Muslims started primarily to secure control of holy sites considered sacred by both groups?

14. What was the principal room in a medieval castle or manor house, and its purpose?

15. Which Muslim empire ruled in the Middle East during the Middle Ages?

16. Who was known as the philosopher of the Middle Ages?

17. What significant change occurred in the structure of the European economy in the late Middle Ages?

18. Who won the Battle of Hastings in 1066?

19. What was the primary language of the scholars during the Middle Ages?

20. Who was the first Holy Roman Emperor crowned in the Middle Ages?

21. What is the term for a medieval military expedition, part of a war waged by Christians against Muslim control?

22. What is the name of the code of conduct associated with the medieval institution of knighthood?

23. Who was the Muslim leader during the Third Crusade who recaptured Jerusalem?

24. What was the name of the method of trial in the Middle Ages where guilt or innocence was determined by subjecting the accused to dangerous or painful tests believed to be under divine control?

25. Which work of literature, considered one of the greatest in the Middle Ages, tells the tale of a group of pilgrims traveling to Canterbury?

26. Who was the founder of the Mongolian Empire?

27. What was a knight’s ‘coat of arms’?

28. Who was the most famous female ruler of Egypt during the Middle Ages?

29. What important farming invention was used in the Middle Ages, which improved agriculture by harnessing the power of animals?

30. Which Medieval king signed the Magna Carta?

31. Who was the poet that wrote about his ideal woman, Beatrice, in “The Divine Comedy”?

32. What was the name of the strict religious and military order founded on the principles of poverty, chastity, and obedience during the Middle Ages?

33. What is the Latin term used to refer to the study of logic, grammar, and rhetoric in the Middle Ages?

34. What is the name of the process for making stained glass windows, a popular art form during the Middle Ages?

35. Which powerful medieval Catholic institution conducted the Spanish Inquisition?

36. Who was the most well-known writer of Morality Plays in the Middle Ages?

37. What was the primary purpose of a medieval castle’s Keep?

38. Which saint was a key figure in the conversion of Ireland to Christianity during the Middle Ages?

39. What type of weapon was a trebuchet?

40. What name is given to a medieval musician, especially one who sang narrative songs?

41. Which battle of 1066 was fought between the Norman-French army of William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold II?

42. Which medieval emperor was known as Frederick Barbarossa?

43. Who was the first Plantagenet King of England?

44. Which religious order founded by St. Francis of Assisi in the 13th century is known for its vow of poverty?

45. What was the primary role of the medieval Sheriff?

46. Who was the author of ‘The Consolation of Philosophy,’ a philosophical work of the Middle Ages?

47. What type of medicine was commonly practiced in the Middle Ages, based on the four humors of black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood?

48. What is the name of the medieval code of conduct associated with the Japanese Samurai warriors?

49. Who was the legendary English hero who was said to steal from the rich to give to the poor?

50. What was the name of the trade route that connected the East and West during the Middle Ages, facilitating significant cultural exchange?

51. What was the name of the Islamic dynasty that ruled large areas of Spain during the Middle Ages?

52. What were the medieval professional soldiers who served as the private military of a lord called?

53. Who was the famous Moorish philosopher and polymath who made significant contributions to numerous fields during the Middle Ages?

54. What was the name of the fortified central tower within castles of the Middle Ages?

55. What was the name of the Viking who is often credited as the first European to land in North America, specifically in what is now Newfoundland, Canada?

56. Who was the prolific scholar from York, England, known for his writings and teachings on various philosophical and theological topics during the Middle Ages?

57. Which famous medieval book, written in Latin and commonly known as the Domesday Book, was a survey of England completed in 1086?

58. What was the political and social system of medieval Europe, where land owners provided land to tenants in return for their loyalty and service?

59. What was the term for a medieval city granted the right to self-govern by a monarch or other granting authority?

60. Who was the famous Muslim traveler and scholar who recorded his extensive travels throughout the known world during the Middle Ages?

61. What was the name of the medieval artisan who specialized in making objects out of iron by hand?

62. Who was the Islamic scholar known for his significant contributions to the scientific method during the Middle Ages?

63. What type of manuscript, typically filled with vibrant illustrations and ornate lettering, was commonly produced in monasteries during the Middle Ages?

64. What were the military campaigns conducted by the Catholic Church against various groups considered heretics?

65. Which work of literature from the Middle Ages tells the story of a hero fighting against a monster called Grendel?

66. What important invention, often attributed to the Chinese, played a significant role in naval navigation during the Middle Ages?

67. Who was the Sultan of Egypt and Syria who became a prominent figure during the Crusades?

68. Which English King, known for his lionheart, was a central Christian commander during the Third Crusade?

69. What is the term for the social system in the Middle Ages where peasants or workers were tied to a piece of land and obliged to provide labor services?

70. Which philosopher and theologian argued for the compatibility of reason and faith in his seminal work, “Summa Theologica”?

71. Who was the founder of the Carthusian religious order?

72. Which king was responsible for the construction of the famous Tower of London?

73. Who were the two main Christian rival sects during the Middle Ages?

74. What was the primary occupation of most people living during the Middle Ages?

75. What is the system of inheritance or succession based on the first born child called?

76. The Middle Ages spans roughly between which two historical events?

77. Which Abelard’s work was one of the most important works of theology during the Middle Ages?

78. Which Chinese dynasty sent a large fleet of ships to explore and trade along the coasts of Africa and Asia during the Middle Ages?

79. What was the Spanish Reconquista?

80. What is minnesang?

81. Which Scottish king successfully led his country during the First War of Scottish Independence against England?

82. What architectural style, prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, is characterized by pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses?

83. What was the name of the dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of France from the late Middle Ages into the Renaissance?

84. What was the legislative body of medieval England, consisting of various social classes, called?

85. Who was the Norse explorer believed to have founded the first permanent European settlement in Greenland?

86. What was the primary written record of law and legal decisions in the Middle Ages?

87. What was the name of the broad division between the Eastern and Western Christian Churches in 1054 known as?

88. What was the popular form of English vernacular drama in the Middle Ages, presenting the moral struggle between good and evil?

89. Who was the legendary knight of the Round Table who embarked on the quest for the Holy Grail?

90. Who was the ruler of the Ottoman Empire at the time of its conquest of Constantinople in 1453, marking the end of the Middle Ages?

91. What English monarch was known as ‘Lackland’ and signed the Magna Carta in 1215?

92. What was the Hagia Sophia originally built as in the Middle Ages?

93. Who was the first non-Italian Pope in over 450 years, elected in 1978?

94. Which Middle Ages system of thought is based on the writings of Aristotle as interpreted in the Muslim world?

95. What was a ‘villein’ in the Middle Ages system of feudalism?

96. What event in 1348-49 killed around a third of the entire population of England?

97. Who was the last Anglo-Saxon King of England?

98. What system of writing was developed in the Middle Ages in the Celtic regions of Ireland and Scotland?

99. In the High Middle Ages, what was the most common reason for pilgrimage?

100. Who was the famous Persian poet of the Middle Ages, known for his masterpiece, “The Rubaiyat”?

101. What was the name of the conflict that occurred from 1337 to 1453 where the kingdoms of England and France battled for the French throne?

102. What guild in the Middle Ages was responsible for producing plays in towns and cities?

103. Which 12th-century English king was known as ‘Richard the Lionheart’?

104. What title was given to the rulers of the Byzantine Empire?

105. What was the first university established in the Western world during the Middle Ages?

106. Who was the Persian mathematician who wrote a comprehensive mathematical treatise called “Al-jabr” during the Middle Ages?

107. The medieval practice of ‘courtly love’ generally occurred between members of which two social classes?

108. Who was the legendary sultan of Delhi who is known for his reforms, justice, and architectural projects?

109. What was the main language used in European schools during the Middle Ages?

110. Which Pope called for the First Crusade in 1095?

111. What was the name of the code that dictated the behavior of a knight during the Middle Ages?

112. Who was the influential medieval philosopher who wrote Summa Theologica?

113. What was the name of the series of wars during the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries where Christians from Europe aimed to regain control of the Holy Land from Muslims?

114. Which event, taken place in 1215, limited the powers of the English King for the first time?

115. What is the name of the archbishop who was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170?

116. Who was the famous Moorish poet and polymath during the Middle Ages who made significant contributions in astronomy, philosophy, and jurisprudence?

117. What type of medieval architecture is characterized by pointed arches, flying buttresses, and large windows?

118. What was the device used during the Middle Ages to grind grain?

119. What was a vassal in the Middle Ages?

120. Who is known as the ‘father of English literature’?

121. What was the name of the Venetian merchant and explorer who wrote Il Milione, a book that introduced Europeans to Central Asia and China?

122. Which treaty, signed towards the end of the Middle Ages in 1492, ended the War of Granada and completed the Reconquista in Spain?

123. Which famous medieval cathedral in Paris suffered a significant fire in 2019?

124. Who was the famous Muslim commander known for his chivalry and respect during the Crusades?

125. What massive, decorated manuscript, created by Celtic monks around 800 AD, is considered one of the greatest masterpieces of western art?

126. In the Middle Ages, a guild was a group of what?

127. What is the name of the legendary Norse sea monster reported in the sagas of the early Middle Ages?

128. What was the system of land tenure called that was based on services and obligations?

129. Who was the legendary Christian king who was said to rule in the Far East during the Middle Ages?

130. What was the name of the powerful and wealthy Venetian family that produced four Doges in the Middle Ages?

131. What is the term for a medieval European coin, typically silver, used from the Early Middle Ages through the Renaissance?

132. What was the name of the body of water the Vikings referred to as the “Eastern Sea”?

133. What is the name of the Islamic dynasty that ruled Morocco during the Middle Ages and into the 20th century?

134. Who was the famous king of England known for his six marriages and his role in the separation of the Church of England from the Catholic Church?

135. What powerful city-state, established during the Middle Ages, was known for its wealth and naval might?

136. Which pope launched the First Crusade in 1095?

137. Who was the first Norman King of England?

138. What was the name of the royal court of France during the Middle Ages and the Ancien Régime?

139. Who was the famous woman who led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years’ War and is now one of France’s greatest national heroines?

140. What trade route connecting Asia and Europe brought goods, such as silk, and ideas, such as the numerals we use today, to the West?

141. In the Middle Ages, what name was given to a book containing the music for Christian worship in a monastery?

142. Who was the King of England known for his implementation of legal reform which led to the creation of the common law legal system?

143. What was the name of the philosophical and theological system of the medieval schools, which used Aristotle’s teachings as interpreted through Avicenna, Averroes, and others?

144. What is a gargoyle, a common element in Gothic architecture?

145. What was the name of the council that ended the Western Schism by electing Pope Martin V?

Final Words

Well, jousters and jesters, that’s the end of our Middle Ages fun-fest! Whether you ruled the trivia realm like Charlemagne or had a bit of a peasant’s performance, we applaud your efforts. It’s time to put your quill and parchment away, but fear not—the fun doesn’t stop here. Head over to Trivia Bliss for more quizzes, covering everything from the Stone Age to the Space Age, including a quiz all about Ancient Rome. May your trivia quest continue anew, filled with curiosity and more astounding facts!