Exam 2 Flashcards
The nickname or epithet “Martel,” conferred by posterity on Charles Martel, the grandfather of Charlemagne, means _________________ and derives from __________________________.
Means “the Hammer”; and derives from his victories over Arab Muslim armies in Gaul, beginning with the stunning victory at Tours (732
Which of the following best explains the reluctance of Charles Martel, mayor of the palace (maior domus), to depose the Merovingian king of the Franks, despite the weakness of the Merovingian dynasty in the early eighth century?
The Franks observed a form of “sacral kingship.” Thus, the Merovingian kings, who descended from Merovech, the grandfather of Clovis, were thought to be imbued with a semi-divine quality (or, at the very least, were chosen by God.)
Frankish Mayor of the Palace who, with the permission of Pope Zachary I, deposed Childeric and became king of the Franks in 751.
Pepin III (the Short
Which of the following best summarizes the formal reasoning of Pepin the Short in presenting his argument to Pope Zachary as to why he, Pepin, should be king of the Franks, rather than the last Merovingian king?
He who exercises the power of the kingly office (“regnum”) is rightly (“recte”) called king (“rex”).
True or False:
Charles the Great, the son of Pepin, known in the French and English vernaculars as “Charlemagne,” appears to have conceived of his kingship as a kind of ministry (a ministerium). Like the pastor of a vast church that included the family of Western European nations under his political control, Charles was responsible for the spiritual well being of the Christian souls within his kingdom
True
Which of the following sentences best describes the event of Charlemagne’s coronation as Roman Emperor within the context of the political realities of the ninth century?
Leo III, a weaker pope who had been restored to the papal office with the support of the Frankish king, crowned Charlemagne as Emperor of the Romans on Christmas Day in the year 800, but the Imperial crown did not significantly expand or amplify the Frankish king’s political power. Rather, it simply recognized the political authority Charlemagne had already attained through force of military conquest
The administration of Louis the Pious is best described by which of the following sentences?
Louis the Pious, son of Charlemagne and heir to the imperial throne, was an able ruler, but one who planned poorly for his succession. Upon his death, the Carolingian Empire was embroiled in a Civil War which ultimately resulted in the division of the empire into three kingdoms
The Oaths of Strasbourg, recording a pledge of mutual fidelity between the brothers Charles the Bald and Louis the German, are the first written example of what modern European language?
French
The Magyars, an Asiatic people who invaded eastern and central Europe in the period, 850-950, are the ancestors of the majority population of which modern Eastern European state?
Hungary
Which of the following groups was not among the new wave of “barbarian” invaders partially responsible for the fragmentation and localization of the Carolingian Empire in the period, c. 850-1000?
Persians
True or False: The feudal system, which was a highly personalized system of relationships of mutual loyalty and obligations between various members of the ruling classes (the aristocrats), was carefully designed by the well-educated members of the ecclesiastical hierarchy and was deliberately introduced to Western Europe in order to place the obsolete system of imperial rule inherited from the late Roman Empire.
False
The feudal office descended from the Carolingian era count appointed to a “March,” ie. a frontier region in which there was a high probability of campaigning
Marquis
This feudal office descended from the late Roman (and later, Carolingian era) official who governed the rural area of administrative jurisdiction surrounding large cities (civitates).
Count
The stirrup, which enabled mounted warriors (cavalry) to remain seated on their horses during combat, was adopted for use in Western Europe by _______________________________________.
The Franks and likely first used during the time of Charles Martel
True or False:
In the feudal world of the tenth and eleventh centuries the kings (whether in Anglo-Saxon England, France, Castille, Aragon, Hungary, or the German territories) were nominally the strongest and most powerful officials within the hierarchy of feudal offices, but often their ability to exercise power was contingent upon the extent to which they could control and utilize the power of their vassals (dukes, counts, and other titled lords). This meant that, in fact, many kings were less powerful and controlled less territory than their chief vassals.
True
