Edexcel GCSE History · Option B2

The reigns of King Richard I and King John, 1189–1216

50 exam-style questions with answers for Option B2 The reigns of King Richard I and King John, 1189–1216 in Edexcel GCSE History (spec 1HI0). Practise with flashcards, a topic quiz, a random quiz across the course, 5 crosswords, or read every question and answer below. Not official Pearson material.

All 50 questions and answers

Question 1 · Option B2, Key topic 1.1
Define the term ‘feudal system’. [1 mark]
Answer:
A hierarchy in which land was given in return for loyalty and service, from the king down to peasants.
Question 2 · Option B2, Key topic 1.1
Define the term ‘knight service’. [1 mark]
Answer:
The duty of a landholder to provide trained knights for the king for a number of days a year.
Question 3 · Option B2, Key topic 1.1
Define the term 'labour service'. [1 mark]
Answer:
Work peasants had to do on their lord's land, such as ploughing and harvesting, in return for their own strips of land.
Question 4 · Option B2, Key topic 1.1
Describe the influence of the Church in England around 1200. [2 marks]
Answer:
It was very wealthy, owning about a quarter of the land (1); it controlled education, ran its own courts and taught that people's souls depended on obeying it (1).
Question 5 · Option B2, Key topic 1.2
State two duties of a medieval king. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: to defend the kingdom (1); to keep law and order and give justice (1); to protect the Church (1); to take advice from his nobles (1).
Question 6 · Option B2, Key topic 1.2
What was Richard I's claim to the throne in 1189? [1 mark]
Answer:
He was Henry II's eldest surviving son.
Question 7 · Option B2, Key topic 1.2
Describe Richard I's character. [2 marks]
Answer:
A brave and skilful soldier, called 'the Lionheart' (1); he was more interested in crusading and his French lands than in governing England (1).
Question 8 · Option B2, Key topic 1.2
Why was John's claim to the throne in 1199 disputed? [2 marks]
Answer:
John was Richard's brother (1); but Arthur of Brittany was the son of John's older brother Geoffrey, so some thought Arthur had a better claim (1).
Question 9 · Option B2, Key topic 1.2
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 10 · Option B2, Key topic 1.2
Describe John's character as king. [2 marks]
Answer:
He was intelligent and worked hard at government and justice (1); but he was suspicious, cruel and untrustworthy, which made the barons fear him (1).
Question 11 · Option B2, Key topic 1.3
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 12 · Option B2, Key topic 1.3
Who was Hubert Walter? [1 mark]
Answer:
Archbishop of Canterbury and justiciar, later John’s chancellor, an expert administrator.
Question 13 · Option B2, Key topic 1.3
Explain why John's presence in England caused problems. [2 marks]
Answer:
He was closely involved in government, so he was blamed directly for its harshness (1); he used courts and fines to control and punish barons (1).
Question 14 · Option B2, Key topic 1.3
What was the royal demesne? [1 mark]
Answer:
Land owned directly by the king, which provided him with income from rents and produce.
Question 15 · Option B2, Key topic 1.3
Describe the role of sheriffs in collecting royal revenue. [2 marks]
Answer:
Each sheriff collected the king's income in his shire (1); he paid a fixed sum (the farm) to the Exchequer and kept any extra (1).
Question 16 · Option B2, Key topic 1.3
Define the term 'feudal incidents'. [1 mark]
Answer:
Payments barons owed the king on certain occasions, such as relief when inheriting land.
Question 17 · Option B2, Key topic 1.3
What was scutage? [1 mark]
Answer:
A payment made instead of military service, which Henry II used to pay mercenaries.
Question 18 · Option B2, Key topic 1.3
What was the tax of 1207? [1 mark]
Answer:
A tax of one-thirteenth on income and moveable goods, which raised about £60,000.
Question 19 · Option B2, Key topic 1.4
Describe peasant life in the countryside around 1200. [2 marks]
Answer:
Most peasants were villeins who farmed strips in open fields and worked on the lord's land (1); life was hard, with poor harvests bringing hunger (1).
Question 20 · Option B2, Key topic 1.4
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 21 · Option B2, Key topic 1.4
Describe the legal status of Jews in medieval England. [2 marks]
Answer:
They were the king's property and under his protection (1); they could not own land or join guilds, so many became moneylenders (1).
Question 22 · Option B2, Key topic 1.4
Why did attacks on Jews break out at Richard's coronation in 1189? [2 marks]
Answer:
Jews bringing gifts to the coronation were attacked, and rumours spread that Richard had ordered attacks (1); crusading fervour and resentment of debts to Jewish moneylenders fuelled the violence (1).
Question 23 · Option B2, Key topic 1.4
What happened to the Jews of York in 1190? [1 mark]
Answer:
They were massacred at Clifford’s Tower during anti-Jewish riots.
Question 24 · Option B2, Key topic 2.1
Define the term 'crusade'. [1 mark]
Answer:
A holy war blessed by the Pope, to recapture Jerusalem and the Holy Land from Muslim rule.
Question 25 · Option B2, Key topic 2.1
State two reasons why Englishmen joined the Third Crusade. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: to have their sins forgiven (1); religious duty to free Jerusalem (1); loyalty to the king (1); hope of wealth and land (1); adventure and glory (1).
Question 26 · Option B2, Key topic 2.2
What caused the Third Crusade? [2 marks]
Answer:
Saladin defeated the crusaders at the Battle of Hattin in 1187 (1); and then captured Jerusalem (1).
Question 27 · Option B2, Key topic 2.2
Why did Richard quarrel with Philip II on crusade? [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: Richard refused to marry Philip's sister Alice (1); arguments over sharing the spoils of Sicily and Acre (1); rivalry over French lands (1).
Question 28 · Option B2, Key topic 2.2
What happened at the siege of Acre (1191)? [2 marks]
Answer:
Richard's arrival helped the crusaders capture the port (1); he later executed about 2,700 Muslim prisoners when Saladin delayed the agreed ransom (1).
Question 29 · Option B2, Key topic 2.2
What happened at the Battle of Arsuf (1191)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Richard defeated Saladin's army on the march south to Jaffa.
Question 30 · Option B2, Key topic 2.2
Why did Richard fail to recapture Jerusalem? [2 marks]
Answer:
He feared he could not hold Jerusalem after taking it, as many crusaders would go home (1); his supply lines were long and he was worried about John and Philip's plotting in his lands (1).
Question 31 · Option B2, Key topic 2.3
How was Richard captured on his way home? [1 mark]
Answer:
He was captured by Duke Leopold of Austria in 1192 and handed to Emperor Henry VI.
Question 32 · Option B2, Key topic 2.3
How was Richard’s ransom raised? [1 mark]
Answer:
A heavy tax of a quarter of income and movables was levied on England.
Question 33 · Option B2, Key topic 2.4
Why did Richard build Château Gaillard? [1 mark]
Answer:
To defend Normandy’s border against Philip II (built 1196–1198).
Question 34 · Option B2, Key topic 2.4
How did Richard I die? [1 mark]
Answer:
He was killed by a crossbow bolt at the siege of Châlus in 1199.
Question 35 · Option B2, Key topic 2.4
What happened at Château Gaillard (1203–04)? [2 marks]
Answer:
Philip II besieged the castle (1); it fell in March 1204 when John failed to relieve it, opening Normandy to Philip (1).
Question 36 · Option B2, Key topic 2.4
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 37 · Option B2, Key topic 3.1
Why was England placed under interdict in 1208? [1 mark]
Answer:
John refused to accept Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury.
Question 38 · Option B2, Key topic 3.1
Describe the impact of the Interdict on everyday life. [2 marks]
Answer:
Church services and marriages could not take place in churches (1); the dead were buried in unconsecrated ground (1).
Question 39 · Option B2, Key topic 3.1
Why did John reconcile with Pope Innocent III in 1213? [2 marks]
Answer:
He feared a French invasion backed by the Pope (1); he accepted Langton and made England a fief of the Papacy, so the Pope became his ally against the barons (1).
Question 40 · Option B2, Key topic 3.2
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 41 · Option B2, Key topic 3.2
What was the plot of 1212? [1 mark]
Answer:
A plot by barons, including Robert Fitzwalter and Eustace de Vesci, to murder John.
Question 42 · Option B2, Key topic 3.2
What happened at Bouvines (1214)? [1 mark]
Answer:
John’s allies were defeated by Philip II, ending his hope of recovering Normandy.
Question 43 · Option B2, Key topic 3.3
What was Magna Carta (1215)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A charter of liberties agreed at Runnymede, limiting the king’s power.
Question 44 · Option B2, Key topic 3.3
State two provisions of Magna Carta. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: no free man to be imprisoned without lawful judgement (1); no new taxes without the barons' consent (1); the Church to be free (1); 25 barons to make sure the king kept it (1).
Question 45 · Option B2, Key topic 3.3
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 46 · Option B2, Key topic 3.3
What happened at Rochester in 1215? [1 mark]
Answer:
John besieged and captured the rebel-held castle, undermining it and using the fat of 40 pigs to burn the props.
Question 47 · Option B2, Key topic 3.3
Why did Prince Louis invade England in 1216? [1 mark]
Answer:
The rebel barons offered him the throne.
Question 48 · Option B2, Key topic 3.4
Describe the condition of England when John died in 1216. [2 marks]
Answer:
England was in civil war (1); Prince Louis held London and much of the south-east (1).
Question 49 · Option B2, Key topic 3.4
What was the succession problem in 1216? [1 mark]
Answer:
John's heir, Henry III, was only nine years old.
Question 50 · Option B2, Key topic 3.4
Who was William Marshal? [1 mark]
Answer:
The loyal knight who became regent for the young Henry III in 1216.

← Option B1 Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, c1060–88 Option B3 Henry VIII and his ministers, 1509–40 →

The reigns of King Richard I and King John, 1189–1216

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