ThatQuiz Test Library Take this test now
William the Conqueror - Quiz
Contributed by: Newell
  • 1. Which battle did William the Conqueror famously win in 1066?
A) Battle of Bannockburn
B) Battle of Agincourt
C) Battle of Hastings
D) Battle of Bosworth Field
  • 2. Which country did William the Conqueror invade and conquer?
A) Spain
B) France
C) Germany
D) England
  • 3. In which year did William the Conqueror become the King of England?
A) 1000
B) 1066
C) 1400
D) 1200
  • 4. Which famous document did William the Conqueror commission?
A) Magna Carta
B) Bill of Rights
C) Domesday Book
D) Declaration of Independence
  • 5. What was William the Conqueror's coronation site in England?
A) York Minster
B) Westminster Abbey
C) Salisbury Cathedral
D) Canterbury Cathedral
  • 6. What was the name of the rebellion that William the Conqueror suppressed in the North of England?
A) Rising of the North
B) Revolt of the North
C) Uprising of the North
D) Harrying of the North
  • 7. Which of William the Conqueror's sons succeeded him as King of England?
A) Henry I
B) Robert Curthose
C) Richard the Fearless
D) William II
  • 8. What was the name given to William the Conqueror's army?
A) Saxon Army
B) Viking Army
C) Norman Army
D) Roman Army
  • 9. Which title did William the Conqueror hold before becoming King of England?
A) Duke of Normandy
B) Baron of Cornwall
C) Viscount of Kent
D) Earl of Wessex
  • 10. Which famous English construction commissioned by William the Conqueror still stands today?
A) Windsor Castle
B) Palace of Westminster
C) Buckingham Palace
D) Tower of London
  • 11. When did William become Duke of Normandy?
A) 1035 onward
B) 1066 onward
C) 1050 onward
D) 1047 onward
  • 12. Who succeeded William as Duke of Normandy?
A) Robert Curthose
B) Richard the Fearless
C) Henry I
D) William Rufus
  • 13. Who was named king of England by Edward the Confessor on his deathbed?
A) William the Conqueror
B) Harold Godwinson
C) Edgar Ætheling
D) Harald Hardrada
  • 14. What was William's relationship to Edward the Confessor?
A) Brother-in-law
B) Second cousin
C) First cousin once removed
D) Nephew
  • 15. Where is William buried?
A) Bayeux Cathedral
B) Caen
C) Rouen Cathedral
D) Westminster Abbey
  • 16. What was the main purpose of the Domesday Book?
A) Listing Norman laws
B) Documenting religious practices
C) Surveying land-holdings for taxation and administration
D) Recording military victories
  • 17. What was a major difficulty in William's final years?
A) Loss of Normandy to the French king
B) Conflict with the Pope over church reforms
C) Troubles with his son, Robert Curthose
D) Economic depression in England
  • 18. What was William's approach to governing his domains?
A) Creating a unified empire
B) Centralizing power in London
C) Abdicating control of Normandy
D) Administering each part separately
  • 19. Who began raiding what became Normandy in the late 8th century?
A) Vikings
B) Franks
C) Norsemen
D) Anglo-Saxons
  • 20. What was the core area that became the duchy of Normandy?
A) Caen
B) Paris
C) The lands around Rouen
D) Bayeux
  • 21. Who took Emma, sister of Richard II, Duke of Normandy, as his second wife in 1002?
A) Harold Harefoot
B) Richard II
C) King Æthelred the Unready
D) Cnut
  • 22. Who became king of England after Harold's death in 1040?
A) William the Conqueror
B) Alfred
C) Harthacnut
D) Edward the Confessor
  • 23. Who was proclaimed king of England after Harthacnut's death in June 1042?
A) Cnut
B) Edward
C) Harold Harefoot
D) William the Conqueror
  • 24. In which year was William the Conqueror most likely born?
A) 1040
B) 1030
C) 1027
D) 1028
  • 25. What was Herleva's possible occupation?
A) Queen
B) Duchess
C) Noblewoman
D) Tanner or embalmer
  • 26. Who did Herleva marry after Robert I?
A) Walter
B) Herluin de Conteville
C) Robert I
D) Fulbert of Falaise
  • 27. What was one accusation against Robert I regarding Richard III's death?
A) Imprisoning Richard III
B) Exiling Richard III
C) Killing Richard III
D) Fleeing with Richard III
  • 28. What did Robert I support for the English princes?
A) Their coronation as kings
B) Their marriage to Norman princesses
C) Their exile in northern France
D) Their return to England
  • 29. Did Robert I marry a daughter of King Cnut?
A) There is no record of any engagement.
B) Yes, and they had several children.
C) Yes, but the marriage was annulled.
D) No, no marriage took place.
  • 30. What was the outcome of William and King Henry's campaign against Geoffrey Martel?
A) They captured an Angevin fortress but accomplished little else.
B) They formed a lasting alliance with Geoffrey Martel.
C) Geoffrey Martel joined forces with William and King Henry.
D) They completely defeated Geoffrey Martel.
  • 31. Who attempted to expand their authority into the county of Maine after Hugh IV's death?
A) King Henry
B) William the Conqueror
C) Geoffrey Martel
D) Guy of Burgundy
  • 32. Which family held strategic lands between Normandy, Maine, and Anjou?
A) The Evreux family
B) The Flanders family
C) The Martel family
D) The Bellême family
  • 33. How many sons did William and Matilda have?
A) Six
B) Two
C) Four
D) Three
  • 34. What was the relationship between William and Matilda's marriage and papal-Norman relations?
A) There were no papal-Norman relations during this period.
B) Papal sanction was probably secured earlier due to generally good relations.
C) The Pope immediately sanctioned the marriage.
D) The marriage caused a permanent rift with the Pope.
  • 35. Who did Norman sources claim performed Harold's coronation?
A) Stigand
B) Ealdred, the Archbishop of York
C) William of Poitiers
D) Pope Alexander II
  • 36. Where did William's fleet eventually sail from?
A) River Dives
B) Isle of Wight
C) Saint-Valery-sur-Somme
D) Valery-sur-Somme
  • 37. Where did the Battle of Fulford take place?
A) At Hastings
B) Near York
C) On Senlac Hill
D) In London
  • 38. Where did William the Conqueror land in England?
A) York
B) Pevensey Bay
C) Hastings
D) London
  • 39. Where did Harold take a defensive position during the Battle of Hastings?
A) London
B) Hastings Castle
C) Pevensey Bay
D) Senlac Hill
  • 40. What time did the Battle of Hastings begin?
A) About 9 am on 14 October
B) In the afternoon on 14 October
C) At dawn on 25 September
D) Midnight on 13 October
  • 41. How did the English soldiers initially defend themselves at Hastings?
A) With archers from higher ground
B) As a shield wall along the ridge
C) By retreating to Senlac Hill
D) Using cavalry charges
  • 42. What tactic did William use to draw English troops into pursuit?
A) Ambushes from higher ground
B) Feigned retreats
C) Direct frontal assaults
D) Surprise attacks at dawn
  • 43. Who did some of the English clergy and magnates nominate as king after William's victory?
A) Waltheof
B) Edgar the Ætheling
C) Stigand
D) William fitzOsbern
  • 44. Which city did William capture to secure his line of retreat to Normandy?
A) Southwark
B) Canterbury
C) Wallingford
D) Winchester
  • 45. Who was married to Waltheof, one of the earls confirmed in their lands by William?
A) Edith
B) Matilda
C) Gytha
D) William's niece Judith
  • 46. Which city did William besiege in December 1067?
A) Canterbury
B) Exeter
C) Winchester
D) Southwark
  • 47. Who was crowned alongside William's wife Matilda in May 1068?
A) Judith
B) Edgar the Ætheling
C) Matilda herself
D) Gytha
  • 48. Where did Harold's sons raid from during William's absence in England?
A) Scotland
B) Wales
C) Normandy
D) Ireland
  • 49. Who defeated Harold's sons' forces near Bristol?
A) Odo
B) Stigand
C) FitzOsbern
D) Eadnoth
  • 50. Which castle did William build first during his march through Edwin's lands?
A) Warwick Castle
B) Nottingham Castle
C) York Castle
D) Lincoln Castle
  • 51. Who was appointed as the new Archbishop of Canterbury in 1070?
A) Odo, William's half-brother.
B) Lanfranc
C) Stigand
D) Æthelmær
  • 52. Who did Sweyn join forces with during his raid along the Humber and East Anglia?
A) William fitzOsbern
B) Earl Edwin
C) Count Baldwin VI
D) Hereward the Wake
  • 53. What did William build to subdue the Isle of Ely in 1071?
A) A fortress
B) A tunnel
C) A causeway
D) A bridge
  • 54. Who was captured and imprisoned on the Isle of Ely?
A) Earl Edwin
B) Hereward the Wake
C) William fitzOsbern
D) Morcar
  • 55. Where did Ralph go after leaving Norwich Castle?
A) Denmark
B) Normandy
C) Herefordshire
D) Brittany
  • 56. Who arrived with a fleet of 200 ships but found Norwich already surrendered?
A) Odo of Bayeux
B) Cnut, the Danish king's brother
C) Roger de Breteuil
D) Ralph de Gael
  • 57. Who secured control of the castle at Dol before William's siege?
A) King Philip of France
B) Count Fulk le Rechin
C) Simon de Crépy
D) Earl Ralph
  • 58. Who was wounded during the Angevin attack on Maine?
A) Simon de Crépy
B) Count Fulk le Rechin
C) King Philip of France
D) Earl Ralph
  • 59. What county did Simon de Crépy hand over to King Philip before becoming a monk?
A) Maine
B) Amiens
C) The Vexin
D) Normandy
  • 60. What year did William make peace with King Philip?
A) 1080
B) 1076
C) 1077
D) 1078
  • 61. What did Robert build during his campaign against the Scots?
A) The 'new castle' at Newcastle upon Tyne
B) A palace in Rouen
C) A monastery in Normandy
D) A fortification in Maine
  • 62. What process describes the granting of lands to household knights by William?
A) Feudalization
B) Subinfeudation
C) Enfeoffment
D) Manorialism
  • 63. What law did William introduce related to hunting?
A) Wildlife protection statute
B) Game preservation act
C) Hunting rights decree
D) Forest law
  • 64. What tax did William continue to collect in England?
A) Poll taxes
B) Tithes
C) Danegeld
D) Customs duties
  • 65. What was the typical rate of danegeld per hide each year?
A) Five shillings
B) Two shillings
C) Ten shillings
D) One pound
  • 66. In what year did William order the compilation of the Domesday Book?
A) 1092
B) 1077
C) 1085
D) 1066
  • 67. When was the Domesday Book mostly completed?
A) By 1 August 1086
B) By 1099
C) By Christmas 1085
D) By 1075
  • 68. What happened to William's body when it was lowered into the tomb?
A) It was stolen by thieves.
B) The tomb burst open, spreading a foul odor.
C) It fit perfectly without issue.
D) It disappeared mysteriously.
  • 69. What relic of William survived the disturbances to his grave?
A) His sword
B) One thigh bone
C) A piece of his armor
D) His crown
Created with That Quiz — the math test generation site with resources for other subject areas.