AQA A-level History · 2A

Royal Authority and the Angevin Kings, 1154–1216

50 exam-style questions with answers for 2A Royal Authority and the Angevin Kings, 1154–1216 in AQA A-level History (spec 7042). Practise with flashcards, a topic quiz, a random quiz across the course, 5 crosswords, or read every question and answer below.

All 50 questions and answers

Question 1 · Spec 2A, Part one
State two problems in England when Henry II became king in 1154. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: castles built without royal permission during the Anarchy (1); barons had seized royal lands and rights (1); royal finances were weak (1); northern counties held by the King of Scots (1).
Question 2 · Spec 2A, Part one
Define the term ‘the Anarchy’. [1 mark]
Answer:
The civil war between Stephen and Matilda (1135–1153) that weakened royal authority.
Question 3 · Spec 2A, Part one
State two ways Henry II restored royal authority after 1154. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: destroyed adulterine castles (1); resumed royal lands and castles (1); expelled Flemish mercenaries (1); regained the northern counties from Scotland (1157) (1).
Question 4 · Spec 2A, Part one
What was the Exchequer? [1 mark]
Answer:
The royal financial office where sheriffs accounted twice a year for revenues.
Question 5 · Spec 2A, Part one
What was scutage? [1 mark]
Answer:
A payment made instead of military service, which Henry II used to pay mercenaries.
Question 6 · Spec 2A, Part one
What was the Assize of Clarendon (1166)? [2 marks]
Answer:
It reformed criminal justice using juries of presentment to report suspected criminals (1); travelling royal justices (eyres) tried cases (1).
Question 7 · Spec 2A, Part one
What lands did Henry II hold in France? [1 mark]
Answer:
Normandy, Anjou, Maine, Touraine and, through Eleanor, Aquitaine and Gascony.
Question 8 · Spec 2A, Part one
Why did Henry II make Thomas Becket Archbishop in 1162? [1 mark]
Answer:
He expected his loyal chancellor to help bring the Church under royal control.
Question 9 · Spec 2A, Part one
What were the Constitutions of Clarendon (1164)? [2 marks]
Answer:
Rules limiting Church power (1); eg ‘criminous clerks’ convicted in Church courts would be punished by royal courts, and appeals to Rome needed royal consent (1).
Question 10 · Spec 2A, Part one
Define the term ‘criminous clerks’. [1 mark]
Answer:
Clergy accused of crimes, who claimed the right to be tried only in Church courts.
Question 11 · Spec 2A, Part one
Why did Becket go into exile in 1164? [1 mark]
Answer:
He was tried at Northampton on charges of misusing funds and fled to France.
Question 12 · Spec 2A, Part one
What triggered Becket’s murder in December 1170? [2 marks]
Answer:
Becket excommunicated bishops who had crowned the Young King (1); Henry’s angry words led four knights to kill him in Canterbury Cathedral (1).
Question 13 · Spec 2A, Part one
State two consequences of Becket’s murder. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: Henry did penance at Canterbury (1174) (1); the Compromise of Avranches (1172) (1); Becket was canonised (1173) (1); Henry’s reputation suffered (1).
Question 14 · Spec 2A, Part one
Why did Henry II go to Ireland in 1171? [2 marks]
Answer:
Strongbow and other Anglo-Norman lords had conquered parts of Ireland from 1169 (1); Henry wanted to control them and accept the homage of Irish kings (1).
Question 15 · Spec 2A, Part one
State two causes of the Great Rebellion (1173–1174). [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: the Young King had a title but no power or lands (1); Henry gave castles to John (1); Eleanor supported her sons (1); Louis VII of France encouraged them (1).
Question 16 · Spec 2A, Part one
How was the Great Rebellion defeated? [2 marks]
Answer:
William the Lion of Scotland was captured at Alnwick in 1174 (1); Henry defeated the rebels, then treated them leniently (1).
Question 17 · Spec 2A, Part one
What was the Treaty of Falaise (1174)? [1 mark]
Answer:
William the Lion became Henry II’s vassal for Scotland.
Question 18 · Spec 2A, Part one
What was the Assize of Northampton (1176)? [1 mark]
Answer:
It extended the Assize of Clarendon, with harsher punishments and new circuits for royal justices.
Question 19 · Spec 2A, Part one
What were the possessory assizes? [1 mark]
Answer:
New legal actions, such as novel disseisin, letting people recover land quickly through royal courts.
Question 20 · Spec 2A, Part one
What was the Treaty of Windsor (1175)? [1 mark]
Answer:
An agreement recognising Rory O’Connor as High King of unconquered Ireland under Henry’s overlordship.
Question 21 · Spec 2A, Part one
Who was Ranulf de Glanvill? [1 mark]
Answer:
Henry II’s chief justiciar from 1180, associated with a treatise on English law.
Question 22 · Spec 2A, Part one
How did Henry II die? [1 mark]
Answer:
He died at Chinon in 1189 after being defeated by Richard and Philip II.
Question 23 · Spec 2A, Part one
Who was Eleanor of Aquitaine? [1 mark]
Answer:
Henry II’s wife, heiress of Aquitaine and former queen of France, who backed her sons’ rebellion in 1173.
Question 24 · Spec 2A, Part one
What was the Inquest of Sheriffs (1170)? [1 mark]
Answer:
An investigation into the conduct of sheriffs, after which most were replaced.
Question 25 · Spec 2A, Part one
Explain why Henry II’s sons rebelled in 1173. [2 marks]
Answer:
They wanted real power and lands of their own (1); Henry divided his lands but kept control and favoured John (1).
Question 26 · Spec 2A, Part one
What was the Compromise of Avranches (1172)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Henry’s reconciliation with the Church, agreeing to allow appeals to Rome and abandon customs harmful to the Church.
Question 27 · Spec 2A, Part one
What was the Assize of Arms (1181)? [1 mark]
Answer:
It required free men to keep weapons according to their wealth for national defence.
Question 28 · Spec 2A, Part two
Why did Richard I spend so little time in England? [1 mark]
Answer:
He went on the Third Crusade and then defended his French lands; he spent only about six months of his reign in England.
Question 29 · Spec 2A, Part two
How was England governed during Richard’s absence? [2 marks]
Answer:
By justiciars such as William Longchamp and later Hubert Walter (1); Longchamp was overthrown in 1191 after quarrels with John (1).
Question 30 · Spec 2A, Part two
How was Richard’s ransom raised? [1 mark]
Answer:
A heavy tax of a quarter of income and movables was levied on England.
Question 31 · Spec 2A, Part two
What happened to the Jews of York in 1190? [1 mark]
Answer:
They were massacred at Clifford’s Tower during anti-Jewish riots.
Question 32 · Spec 2A, Part two
How did Richard I die? [1 mark]
Answer:
He was killed by a crossbow bolt at the siege of Châlus in 1199.
Question 33 · Spec 2A, Part two
Who was Hubert Walter? [1 mark]
Answer:
Archbishop of Canterbury and justiciar, later John’s chancellor, an expert administrator.
Question 34 · Spec 2A, Part two
How did John lose Normandy (1202–1204)? [2 marks]
Answer:
Philip II confiscated John’s French lands after the Lusignan appeal (1); Château Gaillard fell in 1204 and Normandy was lost (1).
Question 35 · Spec 2A, Part two
What happened to Arthur of Brittany? [1 mark]
Answer:
He was captured by John in 1202 and disappeared, probably murdered on John’s orders.
Question 36 · Spec 2A, Part two
Why was England placed under interdict in 1208? [1 mark]
Answer:
John refused to accept Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury.
Question 37 · Spec 2A, Part two
State two ways John raised money. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: scutage at high rates (1); the 1207 tax on movables (1); taxing the Jews (1); selling offices and charging heavy reliefs (1); seizing Church revenues (1).
Question 38 · Spec 2A, Part two
What happened at Bouvines (1214)? [1 mark]
Answer:
John’s allies were defeated by Philip II, ending his hope of recovering Normandy.
Question 39 · Spec 2A, Part two
Who was Robert Fitzwalter? [1 mark]
Answer:
A leading rebel baron who called his followers the ‘Army of God’.
Question 40 · Spec 2A, Part two
What was Magna Carta (1215)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A charter of liberties agreed at Runnymede, limiting the king’s power.
Question 41 · Spec 2A, Part two
Why did Magna Carta fail in 1215? [2 marks]
Answer:
The Pope annulled it at John’s request (1); the barons invited Louis of France, starting the First Barons’ War (1).
Question 42 · Spec 2A, Part two
What did the First Barons’ War involve? [1 mark]
Answer:
Rebel barons and Prince Louis of France took London and much of England in 1216.
Question 43 · Spec 2A, Part two
Who was William Marshal? [1 mark]
Answer:
The loyal knight who became regent for the young Henry III in 1216.
Question 44 · Spec 2A, Part two
How did Henry III’s supporters end the war? [1 mark]
Answer:
They reissued Magna Carta and defeated Louis at Lincoln in 1217.
Question 45 · Spec 2A, Part two
Who was Gerald of Wales? [1 mark]
Answer:
A churchman and writer whose works are a source for Henry II and Ireland.
Question 46 · Spec 2A, Part two
State two developments in towns in this period. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: growth of charters of liberties (1); expansion of trade, eg wool (1); London gained a commune in 1191 (1); new markets and fairs (1).
Question 47 · Spec 2A, Part two
How did John deal with Wales? [1 mark]
Answer:
He invaded in 1211, forcing Llywelyn the Great to submit, though Llywelyn later recovered.
Question 48 · Spec 2A, Part two
How did John deal with Scotland in 1209? [1 mark]
Answer:
He marched north and forced William the Lion to agree the Treaty of Norham.
Question 49 · Spec 2A, Part two
What were the Angevin lands in France threatened by in the 1190s? [1 mark]
Answer:
Philip II of France, who allied with John while Richard was imprisoned.
Question 50 · Spec 2A, Part two
Why did Richard build Château Gaillard? [1 mark]
Answer:
To defend Normandy’s border against Philip II (built 1196–1198).

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Royal Authority and the Angevin Kings, 1154–1216

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