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