Chapter 18: Viking History and Medieval Warfare Quiz

How are Vikings often stereotypically imagined in popular culture?

• Bearded warriors wielding axes and raiding villages

• Peaceful farmers who traded with neighbors

• Skilled knights in shining armor

• Explorers remembered only for their colonies

Although remembered for their brutality, in what way were Vikings “ahead of their time”?

• They invented feudalism

• They created the first universities

• They were world explorers who reached the New World long before Columbus

• They built stone castles before Europeans

Why do most historical accounts portray Vikings as barbarians?

• They wrote biased sagas

• Our sources mostly come from the victims of their raids

• The Romans depicted them negatively

• They never left records of their own

What was the main purpose of Viking raids?

• To conquer land permanently

• To steal valuables quickly and leave

• To spread Christianity

• To recruit soldiers

Which feature of Viking longships made them especially effective for raids?

• Deep draft and large sails

• Shallow draft allowing coastal and river access

• Reinforced steel hulls

• Stone anchors

What was the advantage of the longship’s symmetrical design?

• It helped with storage capacity

• It made them faster

• It allowed them to reverse without turning around

• It kept them from sinking

Why were neighbors unable to help towns attacked by Vikings?

• Viking raids lasted for weeks

• Vikings struck quickly and could escape before help arrived

• Neighboring kingdoms refused to aid each other

• The Pope forbade interference

What larger political effect did Viking raids have on Europe?

• They strengthened the Carolingian Empire

• They shifted Europe from centralized imperialism to decentralized feudalism

• They caused Rome to fall earlier

• They introduced democracy

Which famous Frankish ruler struggled to defend against Viking invasions?

• Charles Martel

• Charlemagne

• Otto I

• William the Conqueror

Why was Charlemagne unable to defend his empire against Vikings?

• He lacked ships

• He had no standing army

• He couldn’t guard thousands of miles of coastline and rivers

• He was assassinated early