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BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD
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Subject: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: IanC Date: 22 Aug 02 - 06:29 AM How much do you know about English history? Nothing? Try this True/False quiz. There's an entry for each complete century in English history since the 5th Century AD. In each case, you need to say whether or not the statement is true and (if so) who or what it refers to and (as near as possible) in which year. If it's false, it would be useful to know why (or why people might be misled into believing that it's true).
400-500 - Two brothers, both horses, caused considerable dismay in Kent. Answers, as usual, on the forum. Collaboration strongly encouraged.
Good luck. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: The Walrus at work Date: 22 Aug 02 - 08:32 AM 1000-1100 - The last successful invasion of England ensured that all court proceedings would be carried out in French for the next 200 years 1066 and False - Church courts worked in Latin. 1500-1600 - The queen led her troops to victory against the Scots I think that it's false, but I can't think of who or the date I think it was the other way round, a Scottish queen 1600-1700 - The first copyright act gave the Stationers Company a monopoly on the printing of books. I think not a copyright act, but one of Charles I's money making monopolies, (so 1630s/40s?) 1800-1900 - Many of London's museums are funded as a result of the creation of an enormous glass structure covering three quarters of a million square feet. True? 1851 The Great Exhibition. 1900-2000 - The last person to be tried under The Witchcraft Act was found guilty and gaoled. TRUE - about 1943 I believe. Walrus
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: Jeanie Date: 22 Aug 02 - 08:39 AM 400 - 500 Well, my answer would be "inconclusive" ! The brothers Hengist and Horsa were Jutes who came over to Britain, landing in Kent in the 5th century. "Hengist" means "stallion" and "Horsa" probably means "horse". They served king Vortigern (which means "overlord, High King")helping to defend him from the Picts and Scots. BUT, there is some doubt in some quarters as to whether they actually existed or were part of myth and, if they did exist, whether their names were really "Stallion" and "Horse" and the king they served was really called "Overlord". - jeanie |
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: HuwG Date: 22 Aug 02 - 09:02 AM 1500-1600 - The queen led her troops to victory against the Scots Hmm ... In 1513, Henry VIII went to campaign in France leaving Queen Catherine (of Aragon) in charge of the realm. The Scots, under James IV allied themselves to France invaded England. An English army under the Earl of Surrey defeated them at Flodden. (James IV died, and this condemned Scotland to a century of child monarchs and feuding nobles). To claim that Queen Catherine had anything to do with this is going a bit far.
Queen Mary wasn't involved in any war against Scotland. Elizabeth I intervened in a Scottish religious war; she sent her fleet to blockade the Forth and force the French army helping the Scottish Catholics to evacuate the country. Again, this doesn't exactly qualify as "victory against the Scots". Overall, I think this one is "FALSE". |
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: GUEST,guest Date: 22 Aug 02 - 09:06 AM 500-600 Offa and his dyke so true |
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: GUEST,Moleskin Joe Date: 22 Aug 02 - 09:07 AM Offa,s Dyke, Synod Of Whitby, |
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: IanC Date: 22 Aug 02 - 09:08 AM Well done Jeannie - here's my notes:
400-500 - TRUE(ish) - According to Gildas and Nennius, the British leader Vortigern arranged for a Saxon warband under Hengest and Horsa (both names mean "Horse") to settle in the country as federates for protection against the Scots (i.e. Irish) and Picts (i.e. Scottish). Nennius implies that the government officials who hired the Saxons not only feared the Scots and Picts, but also the Romans in Gaul and Ambrosius in Britain. If Vortigern was a leader of the Pelagian party in Britain, that fear would be understandable. When hard times came and the government was not able to meet its obligations to the Saxons, they revolted and ravaged the countryside. This seems to have been dated duting the 450s. Hengist and Horsa are unlikely to be the names of real people. Archaeological evidence also shows that various "germanic" tribes, including Angles and Saxons, had been settled in South and East England by the early 4th Century (i.e. during the Roman occupation). Pretty close! Walrus - well done on 1800-1900 - here's my notes:
1800-1900 - TRUE - The main building of the Crystal Palace was 1848 feet long and 408 wide, enclosing 772,784 square feet (19 acres), an area six times that of St. Paul's Cathedral. The structure contained 4000 tons of iron, 900,000 feet of glass, and 202 miles of sash bars to hold it all together. The profit from the 1851 exhibition, for which the Crystal Palace was built, was used to purchase land in Kensington, where several museums were built including the forerunner of the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Crystal Palace itself was dismantled at the end of the exhibition and reassembled in Sydenham, South London. There it stayed as a tourist attraction until it burned down in 1936. 1000-1100 ... Sorry, I forgot about Church courts. You may still be right, though and the date's obviously correct. Any further thoughts? As far as the others go ... more info? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: GUEST,Moleskin Joe Date: 22 Aug 02 - 09:08 AM Offa,s Dyke, Synod Of Whitby, Magna Carta. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: Peter T. Date: 22 Aug 02 - 09:16 AM Chaucer talks about everything, so that one is probably true, though I don't remember him talking about any of them! yours, Peter T. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: Jeanie Date: 22 Aug 02 - 09:20 AM 500-600 FALSE - I had to look this one up, because I thought Offa's Dyke was built later than this, and it must have been. His dates as 757-796. First King of Mercia was Creoda (585-593), followed by Pybba (593-606). Offa did build the dyke, but later than 500-600. Going to investigate now whether there had been some natural/man-made division prior to Offa's Dyke, that he then added to. Thanks for these questions, Ian C ! - jeanie |
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: Jeanie Date: 22 Aug 02 - 09:36 AM Pictures and info on Offa's Dyke on www.cpat.org.ulc/offa English Heritage say that it "may have been a much earlier prehistory trackway", but the structure is similar to other Anglo-Saxon sites and very unlike Hadrian's Wall, for instance. No mention of the Mercian Kings of the 500-600 period making any kind of division or fortification - so I say the answer is still "False" - wrong century. - jeanie |
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: IanC Date: 22 Aug 02 - 09:53 AM Jeannie Well done again ... my notes:
500-600 - FALSE (by 200 years) - Offa caused the earthwork that still bears his name, Offa's Dyke, to be built. It stretches the 150 mile length of the Welsh border. Begun in the 780's, the purpose of the dyke seems to have been as a fortified frontier barrier, much as Hadrian's Wall had been some six centuries previously.
:-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: IanC Date: 22 Aug 02 - 09:59 AM Huw You pretty well got the right answer for 1500-1600. My notes:
1500-1600 - FALSE (BUT ALMOST TRUE) - Early in 1513, Henry VIII went to war with France. Before crossing the Channel, he made his wife Governor of the Realm and Captain-General of the remaining armed forces. Almost as soon as Henry's ships were out of sight, the King of Scotsl, James IV, (who was married to Henry's younger sister Margaret and had signed a friendship treaty with England) prepared to invade England. Left in charge, Catherine rose to the challenge, showing great zeal and ardour in the preparations for the Scottish expedition, and was riding towards the north to put herself at the head of the troops when the Duke of Norfolk's victory of Flodden Field ended the campaign." Any more for the rest?
:-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: GUEST,Letty (no cookie) Date: 22 Aug 02 - 10:18 AM 700-800 - An Englishman wrote that the world is round like a ball. TRUE: that was the venerable Bede. What a guy:-) Letty |
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: IanC Date: 22 Aug 02 - 10:29 AM 700-800 - TRUE - Bede (725) says this in De Natura Rerum et Ratione Temporum (On the Reckoning of Time). He simply states that the reason for the unequal length of days is due to the globular shape of the earth, thus explaining the three-dimensional nature of the earth and refuting the notion that early medieval people believed that the earth was flat. :-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: GUEST,Letty (still no cookie) Date: 22 Aug 02 - 11:12 AM 800-900 - The king translated the bible into English and was praised by The Pope for his work. FALSE: we do not have a complete translation of the bible in Old English (although many parts HAVE been translated). The first complete manuscript is Middle English, by Wycliffe, written in the 1380s. He certainly was not praised by the Pope: after his death, a Pope (I do not recall which one) ordered his bones to be dug up and destroyed, because the Catholic Church did not agree with Wycliffe's teachings. Tsk. Letty |
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: IanC Date: 22 Aug 02 - 11:17 AM 800-900 - FALSE - Aldheim (640-709) has been credited with a complete translation of Psalms, and much of the rest of the Bible into Anglo-Saxon. King Alfred the Great (849-901) presented the Ten Commandments and portions of Exodus and Acts in old English (begun 887 according to Asser). In the 11th century, the abbot Aelfric translated large portions of the Old Testament. The first surviving complete translation into vernacular English was by Wycliffe in 1382.
:-) Back tomorrow! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: NicoleC Date: 22 Aug 02 - 11:55 AM Lesse... which ones are left: 1200-1300 - An important human rights document, often regarded as the forerunner of the US Constitution, was nullified by the pope. TRUE. John Lackland was forced to sign the Runnymede Charter (Aka Magna Carta) in 1215. Almost immediately, he denounced the charter and the pope backed him, on the grounds that it was signed under duress. 600-700 - The burning question of the day was the date of Easter. TRUE. The Council of Whitby settled the dispute over the date of Easter between the "Celtic Church" in Scotland, following the rule of St. Columba and the "Catholic Church" in England, following the rule of St. Peter (Augustine). 900-1000 - A lady ejected the Vikings from Derby, with much slaughter. TRUE. Aethelflaed of Mercia, daughter of Alfred the Great and wife of Ethelred of Mercia, led an attack aginst the Viking city of Derby in 917/18. After the death of her husband (with whom she appears to have co-ruled) in 911, she and her brother Edward worked together to lead a major offensive against the Danes. She dies after the taking of Tamworth c. 919, and Edward annexes the country. Mercia is never an independant kingdom again. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: HuwG Date: 22 Aug 02 - 12:03 PM IanC, thanks for your notes. One very minor query or perhaps nitpick; I understood that Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, wasn't restored to the Dukedom of Norfolk until after the Battle of Flodden, as a mark of Henry VIII's favour. Bear it in mind that in 1485, Howard had fought at Bosworth for Richard III, i.e. against Henry Tudor (acclaimed Henry VII immediately after the battle). Surrey's father, Richard Howard, Duke of Norfolk had died in the battle, as had Richard III. Richard III had the better lines though. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: The Walrus at work Date: 22 Aug 02 - 01:29 PM OK, I was one year out.
1900-2000 - The last person to be tried under The Witchcraft Act was found guilty and gaoled.
TRUE - Helen Duncan was convicted at the Old Bailey in 1944 under the 1735 Witchcraft Act. During the trial it was alleged that she had pretended to raise the spirits of the dead.
Her supporters, who include the Conservative MP for Devizes Michael Ancram, have been campaigning for 50 years to clear her name.
Mrs Duncan was jailed for nine months after the court was told that she claimed to have conjured up a dead sailor at a seance in Portsmouth.
According to Mrs Duncan, the head band on the dead sailors hat identified him as working on a ship called the HMS Barham.
This information led to her downfall. No one outside of military intelligence was supposed to know that the HMS Barham had been sunk by the Germans. Its loss was still a military secret.
The authorities decided to prosecute for witchcraft because they were very worried that Mrs Duncan might also be able to reveal details of the D-Day landing plans.
But the case, which appeared to belong more to the 16th century than the 20th century, was said to have annoyed the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. It helped to cause of the repeal of the Witchcraft Act in 1951. Information shamelessly lifted from a BBC page (dated 1998). A rethink!
1600-1700 - The first copyright act gave the Stationers Company a monopoly on the printing of books. Walrus |
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: Raedwulf Date: 22 Aug 02 - 05:44 PM 1100-1200 - The first English football commentary. During the next 3 centuries, the game will be consistently regarded as a menace. I can never remember whether it's Edward I or III that banned football, but whichever it is, they're both later than 1200. AFAIK, that's the first Official cognizance of the game. However, there are other references - the Gilbertine monks in York were certainly playing the game in the 13thC (aside from documentary evidence, there's a skeleton been recovered that shows unmistakable evidence of the type of anterior cruciate ligament injury that put Gazza out of the 1991 Cup Final!). I'm guessing that there's quite possibly an even earlier reference, pre-1200, so TRUE, rather than False - can't offer you a firm ref. & date, I'm afraid. I'll plump for Eddie III as the banner, BTW, because one of the reasons for the ban was that footie was interfering with archery practice on Sundays. The other was the small matter of violent disorder... Early football matches had virtually no rules, often took place between neighbouring villages (so the goals could be a couple of miles apart), anything up to a couple of hundred-a-side, & lots of serious injuries (sometimes even fatalities). Much worse than modern day hooliganism, a football match was frequently indistinguishable from a riot! 1300-1400 - Chaucer describes morris dancing, pub sessions and the wren hunt. TRUE, I *think*! I never have got all the way through The Canterbury Tales, but it certainly starts with a pub-session, I'm fairly sure MD is mentioned, & I wouldn't be surprised to find the wren hunt in there as well. Chaucer went on pilgrimage to Canterbury in 1388, which likely put the idea of the Tales into his head, though some of the poems may have already existed in some form before then. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: Sibelius Date: 22 Aug 02 - 06:29 PM "1000-1100 - The last successful invasion of England ensured that all court proceedings would be carried out in French for the next 200 years": I've scanned the responses and I don't think this one's been done. The church courts may have worked in Latin, but the Normans introduced a legal system of sorts, which eventually became the Common Law. The officials who ran it worked in French, which became so entrenched in the developing legal system that it became known as Law French - it still is. Latin came later. The first six kings of England after 1066, including that early symbol of mythical English heroism Richard I, could not speak English. It wouldn't have seemed strange to him; he was an Angevin king, and England was merely part of his Angevin kingdom. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: Sibelius Date: 22 Aug 02 - 06:39 PM And the 1400-1500 techno-leap. The printing press, presumably? 1470-ish? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: IanC Date: 23 Aug 02 - 04:09 AM Nicole Well done on 7th 10th and 13th centuries. Here are moy notes.
600-700 - TRUE - Bede, in his entry for AD 652 says "At this time, a great and frequent controversy happened about the observance of Easter; those that came from Kent or France affirming that the Scots kept Easter Sunday contrary to the custom of the universal church. The controversy being there started, concerning Easter, ... it was agreed that a synod should be held in the monastery of Streaneshaich [Whitby] where the Abbess Hilda, a woman devoted to God, then presided; and that there this controversy should be decided."
900-1000 - TRUE - In The Anglo Saxon Chronicle, AD 918 "This year Ethelfleda, lady of the Mercians, with the help of God, before Lammas, conquered the town called Derby, with all that thereto belonged; and there were also slain four of her thanes, that were most dear to her, within the gates. But very shortly after they had become so, she died at Tamworth, twelve days before midsummer, the eighth year of her having rule and right lordship over the Mercians; and her body lies at Gloucester, within the east porch of St. Peter's church."
1200-1300 - TRUE -The Magna Carta, signed by John in 1215 was immediately nullified by Pope Innocent III at John's request. He also promptly excommunicated all barons whose names appeared on the charter and John spent the rest of his life hunting them down. The charter gave lots of rights to the (Norman French) barons but did not mention the majority of the populace (unfree Anglo-Saxon ceorls). Probably the most important clause for future reference was, in fact, clause 35 which goes "Let there be one measure of wine throughout our whole realm; and one measure of ale; and one measure of corn, to wit, "the London quarter;" and one width of cloth (whether dyed, or russet, or "halberget"), to wit, two ells within the selvages; of weights also let it be as of measures." Huw Thanks for the note about Thomas Howard. You obviously have a more detailed knowledge than me of the period(!) I'll confirm that you're right later.
:-)
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: katlaughing Date: 23 Aug 02 - 06:23 AM I don't think anyone answered this one: 1700-1800 - The invention of the tuning fork saves piano tuners' from a life of misery. TRUE Not sure it saved them from a life of misery or not, but at least after 1711, according to two sources I found online, they would have had avaiable a tuning fork, with the first one invented by Royal trumpeter John Shore in 1711, about the same time as Cristofori invented the first piano. John Shore was also lutenist in the Chapel Royal. Also interesting to note, is that the pitch changed quite a bit from then 'til now, so tuners would have had to keep up with the times or they would be miserable!**BG** Great thread! kat |
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: IanC Date: 23 Aug 02 - 06:26 AM Well done Walrus on 17th and 20th Centuries ... notes:
1600-1700 - FALSE - The Stationers Company were incorporated in 1557, though the guild had achieved an effective monopoly of printing by 1556 (except for books specifically licensed by the crown). The first Copyright Act of 1710 removed their monopoly but continued to allow them to charge for registering copyrights. 1900-2000 - TRUE - In 1944, Helen Duncan, a medium, was found guilty in a seven-day trial at the Old Bailey of offences under the Witchcraft Act of 1735 and jailed for nine months for "pretending to raise spirits of the dead". The Act had not been used for more than a century. The Act was repealed in 1951, and replaced by the Fraudulent Mediums Act. Under this act, it is still illegal to purport to use clairvoyant or telepathic powers or to purport to act as a spiritualistic medium, especially if money is taken as a reward or payment. Also Sibelius for 11th Century exposition ...
1000-1100 - FALSE - There were several further successful invasions (though not by foreign powers), including those by Henry VII and William III. It is true that the official language of English courts was French until 1362 ("The Statute of Pleading", 1362 allowed pleas in English). Acts of parliament continued to receive the assent in French into the 19th Century. and Raedwulf for 12th Century ...
1100-1200 - TRUE - A form of the game was recorded circa 1100 (West Ham beat Newcastle 2-0, I think, so some things do change). In subsequent centuries football became so popular that various English monarchs, including Edward III and Henry VI, forbade the game because it took interest away from the military sport of archery. Does anyone have any further comments on 1300-1400 and 1400-1500? The only other outstanding item is 1700-1800. Any takers?
:-)
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: IanC Date: 23 Aug 02 - 06:30 AM Kat Thanks! ...
1700-1800 - TRUE - John Shaw invented the Tuning Fork in 1711. He became a royal trumpeter in 1688 and rose to Sergeant Trumpeter in 1708. He was also lutenist to the Chapel Royal (appointed in 1706). The tuning fork was to help him tune his lute. He died in 1752. The first pianoforte had been described in 1709 by Scipione Maffei. 1300-1400 and 1400-1500 ... any more?
:-)
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: katlaughing Date: 23 Aug 02 - 06:53 AM Thanks, Ian! 1400-1500 - An enormous technological leap enables the king to set up a new tax office. TRUE(?) The only thing I can cobble together is that Caxton's printing press set up at Westminster (1476) under the patronage of Edward IV. Malory's Morte Arthure printed (1485), the first book in poetic prose in the English language. And, another bit which said that Richard III introduced reforms in 1484 which included tax collection. Oh, and 1452 saw the invention of metal plates for printing. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: katlaughing Date: 23 Aug 02 - 07:12 AM re' the Chaucer...for someone with more patience than I, there is a searchable database here. *bg* |
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: Raedwulf Date: 23 Aug 02 - 07:28 AM 1300-1400: Did a quick skim of the Tales (& kat's DB) - can't find any mention of Morris Dancing. According to Brewer's, Morris was introduced in the reign of Eddie III (1327-1377), so it's certainly possible that Chaucer knew of it. However Brewer's also specifically says that MD became popular in the 15thC & later. Whilst it's absence from the Tales (along with any mention of the wren hunt, as far as I can see) doesn't preclude him mentioning either in other works, I'm now going to change my mind & say false, since my earlier answer seems to have been taken as incorrect! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: IanC Date: 23 Aug 02 - 07:36 AM Well ... With regards to tax, it might be worth looking into the new tax offices that were set up during the mediaeval period ... was there one set up in the 15th Century? if not ... As an aside, one wonders if tax demands were printed in the 15th Century ... not likely! Only really important documents were being printed until well into the next century. (as far as I recall, tax demands were still being essentially hand-written in the 1980s).
;-)
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: IanC Date: 23 Aug 02 - 08:11 AM I think I'd better tidy up before I disappear for the weekend. Oddly enough, I'd put in one question I thought would be really easy and one I thought would be very hard. Those are the two we're left with (though Raedwulf has satisfied ous one one, I think ... thanks). I'll leave it up to you to decide which is which. Here's my notes on the remaining two.
1300-1400 - FALSE - Well, one out of three's not bad! ... From The Pardoner's Tale "As riot, hazard, stewes, and taverns; / Where as with lutes, harpes, and giterns, / They dance and play at dice both day and night, / And eat also, and drink over their might;" (this is not the only example of a traditional pub session in Chaucer). Chaucer didn't mention Morris Dancing, nor Hunting the Wren. If he had done the latter, I'd have been the first to put it into the DTStudy: Cutty Wren thread!!!
1400-1500 - FALSE - The office of the Exchequer, so called because it made use of the new technology (the Exchequer or Counting Table), was introduced during the reign of Henry I (1100-1135). It worked in a way similar to an abacus and the English Exchequer continued to use it for tallying tax payments and the like until 1826. Now, they say they use computers ... Thanks for your patience, and all the work you put in! I really appreciate it!
Cheers! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: Hrothgar Date: 25 Aug 02 - 07:30 AM I'll be a mug - how did this Helen Duncan pick up a top secret bit of information? If the authorities were worried about D-Day information, their target should have been whoever told the good lady, shouldn't it? Isn't thread creep fun? - and this thread is good for it! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Quiz - English History 400-2000 AD From: IanC Date: 25 Aug 02 - 04:10 PM Seems they thought she was spying, but it was a bad time for a bit of a high profile spy case, so they found another convenient law to shut her up and put her away at the same time! They probably asked her how she got the info and may have been more than a bit annoyed if she gave them the old Panjandrum. 10/10 for ingeniuty, I say!!!
:-)
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