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The 14th Century

Can you guess these notable people, places, and things from the 14th century?
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: June 22, 2017
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First submittedMarch 31, 2014
Times taken36,863
Average score68.4%
Rating4.41
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When
Description
Answer
1397
First evidence of this predecessor to the piano
Harpsichord
late 1300s
This author writes "The Canterbury Tales"
Geoffrey Chaucer
1382
John Wycliffe is the first person to translate this document into English
The Bible
1377
Richard II is the last English king to take his royal oath in this language
French
1309–1377
Popes shun Rome to live in this French city
Avignon
1370
After 100 years of rule, this group of foreign conquerors
is expelled from China
Mongols
1360–
This "lame" ruler conquers most of Central Asia,
killing 5% of the world's population
Timur
1368
This dynasty comes to power in China
Ming
1356
This league of cities is formed for the purpose of trade
on the North and Baltic Seas
Hanseatic League
1337
The beginning of this long-lasting war between England and France
Hundred Years' War
1347–1351
This pandemic kills perhaps 40% of Europe's population
Black Death
1328
This King, called "The Bruce", leads Scotland to independence from England
Robert the Bruce
1325
The Aztec city of Tenochtitlan is founded on the site of this modern-day city
Mexico City
1324
This empire in northwest Africa annexes the city of Timbuktu
Mali
1308
This Italian poet begins work on his "Divine Comedy"
Dante
1307
This knightly order is surpressed in France, with many burned at the stake
Knights Templar
1300s
This Germanic order conquers much of Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia
Teutonic Knights
1300s
This period of global cooling begins. It would last 500 years.
Little Ice Age
1300s
This cultural "rebirth" begins in Florence, Italy
The Renaissance
+4
Level 77
Apr 1, 2014
As a Ram's fan, my brain went a TOTALLY different direction and I actually typed Isaac the Bruce. Whoops.
+1
Level 62
Nov 14, 2020
As a comedy fan, I couldn't get off of Lenny the Bruce!
+4
Level 86
May 2, 2014
Tamerlane should be accepted for Timur.
+2
Level ∞
May 2, 2014
It is, of course
+29
Level 76
Jun 22, 2017
You should also accept "Timur Leste"
+17
Level 75
Jun 22, 2017
No, because it's East Timur.
+8
Level 84
Feb 14, 2017
He seemed like such a nice guy, not counting the 17 millions people he slaughtered. ("let's not be bickering and arguing over who killed who...")
+2
Level 71
Feb 22, 2017
^^ *snort"
+1
Level 48
May 19, 2014
Why would an English king take his oath in French?
+7
Level 37
Aug 20, 2014
Pretty much the whole of England was French after the Conquest. That's where English gets its Latin/Romance influence.
+4
Level 83
Aug 20, 2014
Formally, and rather quaintly, the Royal Assent to bills that have gone through the various stages in Parliament is still read in Norman-French.
+6
Level 67
Sep 18, 2014
Well not the whole of England, but certainly the ruling class was. The vast majority of subjects spoke only English. Legal proceedings were in what we now call "Law French," which left us terms such as "mortgage" and "jury," to name a few.
+4
Level 82
Jun 26, 2017
Not my joke - The shortest history of English language: "It was invented by the French."
+2
Level 68
Nov 13, 2020
England has pretty much never had English royals. They used to be French, and now they're mostly German.
+3
Level 68
Apr 24, 2023
What do you think happened before William the Conqueror invaded?
+1
Level 83
May 18, 2023
Not really German though, are they. The last one to be born outside of Britain was in the 17th century.
+2
Level 76
May 18, 2023
@WelshWizard They're talking about bloodlines and heritage, not where one happened to be born, which is a more modern notion related to the concept of Nation State.
+1
Level 65
May 22, 2023
Until late in the Middle Ages English kings regarded themselves as also being kings of France, claiming hereditary rights to Aquitaine and other bits. cf the Hundred Years War.
+3
Level 82
Aug 20, 2014
Couldn't recall the name of the league but got the rest. Surprised that more people knew that than know of Tamerlane or where Timbuktu is.
+2
Level 82
Jun 26, 2022
Visiting a friend in Gottingen recently we went to the old town hall building which had a colorful and interesting mosaic celebrating the league painted around the top of the interior.
+2
Level 57
Aug 20, 2014
Luthuania =)
+1
Level 71
May 6, 2015
Lol agreed
+2
Level 84
Jun 22, 2017
Coming up to the third anniversary of this comment. That's a long-lived typo.
+2
Level ∞
Jun 22, 2017
Finally fixed it.
+2
Level 43
Aug 21, 2014
Accept "Mexico" for the Aztec question? You do state "modern-day city", so the city portion should be implied...
+1
Level ∞
Oct 15, 2016
Okay
+5
Level 37
Aug 23, 2014
sadly Justice league was not accepted ;)
+4
Level 72
Feb 10, 2016
Is it saying something about the 14th century that the image for this quiz is a skeleton?
+5
Level 71
Nov 13, 2020
Black Death probably
+2
Level 66
Jun 22, 2017
Mind accepting cembalo for harpsichord and Alighieri for Dante?
+3
Level 80
Jun 22, 2017
Definitely Alighieri for Dante
+2
Level 55
Jun 24, 2017
I typed 'Chaucer' and was puzzled. Though my memory was starting to go...which isn't a good thing at my age.

Could you accept 'Chaucer' alone?

+5
Level 82
Jun 26, 2017
Chaucer is accepted, you must have typed something else.
+1
Level 38
Feb 14, 2018
Should accept Mel Gibson for "the Bruce"
+7
Level 86
Aug 6, 2018
William Wallace =/= Robert the Bruce
+2
Level 48
Oct 28, 2018
not the same.....
+1
Level 65
May 19, 2023
Should accept Angus Macfadyen as "Longshanks"
+2
Level 86
Aug 6, 2018
Is there a particular reason the Bible is referred to as a "document" in the clue? That threw me for a bit.
+9
Level 79
Oct 1, 2019
document (n). a piece of written, printed, or electronic matter that provides information or evidence or that serves as an official record.
+7
Level 82
Nov 13, 2020
Because it is one. Not all documents are Microsoft Word files.
+4
Level 68
Oct 26, 2021
Some are Google Docs files
+2
Level 56
Nov 13, 2020
Nice quiz ranging from easy (Knight Templar) to Difficult (Mali)
+3
Level 80
Apr 15, 2023
Knights Templar was the easiest one for you?
+1
Level 66
Nov 13, 2020
Typed Hansiatic instead of Hanseatic.
+3
Level 56
Nov 14, 2020
man I always misspell harpsichord as harpischord. Every time!
+5
Level 62
Nov 14, 2020
Too knight-centric
+1
Level 68
May 18, 2023
I'm sorry Quizmaster, I know this is unrelated to this quiz, but this keeps bugging me:

For Interesting Fact #326, it should be changed. Massachusetts became the 7th state to completely outlaw child marriage, as of July 2022.

Here's a suggestion to replace it: The source of the Essequibo River, which is over 630 miles long and the largest river in Guyana, was not known until 2018.

+2
Level 73
May 20, 2023
"This knightly order is su**r**pressed in France"
+1
Level 43
Mar 30, 2024
Could "D'Avignon" be accepted for Avignon?