History: the Middle Ages, 1066–1485

Twenty questions on the Middle Ages beyond the headline English events. Hastings, the Domesday Book, Magna Carta, the Black Death and Bosworth are in this category's first history quiz; this one covers the rest of the kingdoms and the institutions that grew up in these four centuries.

The other nations

Edward I conquered Wales and, by the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284, annexed it to the English Crown, then held it with castles such as Conwy and Caernarfon; Owain Glyndŵr's rising from 1400 failed. Scotland went the other way: Robert the Bruce won at Bannockburn in 1314 and the kingdom stayed unconquered. In Ireland English rule was for long periods effective only in the Pale, around Dublin. Each of these is a name-and-place pair, and the questions offer the neighbouring country's name as the distractor.

Wars abroad

The Crusades to the Holy Land, and the Hundred Years War with France — which, the test likes to point out, lasted 116 years — with Henry V's victory at Agincourt in 1415.

How the country was run

Feudalism: land from the king in return for fighting men. The two houses of the English Parliament — Lords, and Commons for knights and wealthier town people — and the three Estates of the Scottish Parliament. Common law, built by judges following earlier decisions. And the aftermath of the Black Death, when a shortage of workers pushed wages up.

Language and culture

Norman French at court and English among the people, until English won; Chaucer's Canterbury Tales; Caxton's printing press at Westminster; wool as the great export; and the medieval cathedrals such as York Minster.

Question types follow the real test: single answer, 'choose two', and 'which of these statements is true?'.

How this differs from test day

This is a quiz only: twenty questions on one period, each followed by an explanation that names why the right answer is right and where each wrong one really belongs. The real test is different in shape: 24 questions drawn from the whole handbook, on a computer, in 45 minutes, with no feedback until the end. Use this to find the facts that will not stick, then go back to them — not as a stand-in for the test itself.

The questions and explanations here are Zestly's own, written from publicly known facts. No text is reproduced from the official handbook, which is a separate copyrighted publication and the only real syllabus.

• Explain how Wales was conquered and annexed, and name Owain Glyndŵr
• Say what happened at Bannockburn in 1314 and what the Pale was
• Give the length of the Hundred Years War and the victor of Agincourt
• Describe feudalism, the medieval Parliaments of England and Scotland, and common law
• Link Chaucer and Caxton to the rise of English, and name England's main medieval export

Practice material written by Zestly from publicly known facts of British history, for the period covered by the Life in the UK history chapter. No text is reproduced from the handbook Life in the United Kingdom: A Guide for New Residents.