Early Mediaeval Europe Exam Papers

• Early Mediaeval Europe 1999
• Early Mediaeval West 1997
• Early Mediaeval West 1993
• Early Mediaeval West 1995

June 1993

Time : Two hours
(In addition, candidates are allowed ten minutes before the examination begins to read the paper)

Three questions are to be answered.
Answer one question from Section A, and one from Section B; the third question may be chosen from either section

SECTION A

NB You must answer at least one question from this section

1. Discuss the effects of the barbarian invasions upon the Western Roman Empire from the third to fifth centuries A.D.

2. Outline the major aspects of barbarian kingship as it appeared in sixth and seventh century Francia.

3. Outline the major achievements of Charlemagne and his legacy to his successors.

4. 'King Alfred succeeded where Charlemagne failed'. Were the Franks less successful at defeating invaders, and if so, why?

5. The eighth century Mayors of the Palace are often seen merely as preludes to Charlemagne. Assess their political and military contributions to Francia.

6. The Church is often seen as having dominated mediaeval society. How accurate a picture is this for the fifth-eighth centuries A.D. in the West?

7. By ca. A.D.600, the Benedictine Rule was only one of many monastic constitutions. By A.D.800, it was the predominant Rule in Western Christendom. Explain how and why this happened.

8. How useful an historical concept is the term "Dark Ages" as a description of the period from ca. A.D.475 to 800?

SECTION B

Choose one of the following topics and discuss:

1. Literary traditions of the Early Middle Ages up to Charlemagne.

2. Developments in mediaeval technology and their effects upon society.

3. The impact of western monasticism upon society.

4. The role of the Papacy in early mediaeval politics.

5. The economy of the early Middle Ages in the West.

6. The importance of archaeological evidence to the understanding of early Mediaeval society.

June 1995

Time : Two hours
(In addition, candidates are allowed ten minutes before the examination begins to read the paper)

Three questions are to be answered.

1. Discuss the possible continuity and change in the cities of the later Roman empire within either the Frankish or Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the early Middle Ages.

2. Either:

a) Discuss the evolution of the Frankish church in the early Middle Ages.

or

b) What were the social and possible economic implications of the spread of monasticism in the West in the Early Middle Ages?

3. To what extent did Germanic settlement in the former Roman Empire "turn the world upside down"?

4. Compare and contrast the ideology and practice of kinship under the Carolingians with that of the Merovingian dynasty.

5. Either

a) To what extent did Charlemagne 'restore' the Roman Empire?

or

b) Compare the careers of Theodoric the Great and Charles the Great. Was one more 'successful' than the other and, if so, why?

6. Discuss the contribution of the Vikings to the history of western Europe in the early Middle Ages.