In 1831, a farmer on the Isle of Lewis, north of Scotland, discovered a centuries-old Viking chess set in a ship burial.  It is the oldest complete set of chessmen ever found.   Walrus Ivory. British Museum, London.  Twelfth-century Norway.

Questions for the Midterm Examination

Two of the questions below will be on the mid-term examination.  You will write on one of them.  There will also be five identifications.  You will be asked to write a paragraph on the IMPORTANCE of the person, event, or place being discussed.  One of the five identifications will be a visual image taken from the class website.  You will be asked to identify the image and to discuss its importance.

 


1.

Compare and contrast these architectural forms and their significance for the development of Christian liturgy and life.

2. Discuss the role of the papacy in the Church from the Apostolic Age to the Gregorian Reform in the eleventh century.

3. Discuss the "Barbarian Invasions" in the period between 350 A.D. and 900 A.D. What effect did these movements of peoples have on the Empire and the Christian Church?  

4. Discuss the importance of the conversion of Constantine to the formation of the Christian Church.  How did the Christian Roman Empire shape the Church between 312 and 600 (Especially the legislation of Justinian).

5.  Discuss the movement of Church reform in the 10th and 11th centuries.  Who and what were the significant problems in the life of the Church which prompted this movement (hint: there are three main problems)?  Who led the reform movement and what did they do?

6. Discuss the importance of missionaries and monasteries for the Church in Europe and the spread of Christianity and culture.

7. Pepin's and Charlemagne's reigns were an important turning point in the development of the relationship of Church and State in European civilization.  Outline what was significant and important about their relationship with the papacy and the Church.

8.  Discuss the role of the Vikings in European and Church history from 700-1100 A.D.

9. Discuss the rise of Islam and its impact on the Byzantine Empire and Latin Christendom.