Through History with The Monday Quiz: the 1140s

...with a record-setting 1.25 Western Hemisphere questions!

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1. One of the most powerful political forces in North America before European contact was the league of the the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, and Seneca peoples. Although this league was almost certainly founded in the fifteeth or sixteenth century, there is a counterclaim based on oral tradition that pinpoints the day of founding as August 31, 1142. Name that political unit! (Hint: Starts with an I!)

2. “It is now generally agreed by most scholars that identifiable historical Catharism did not emerge until at least 1143.” By the end of the century, Cathars would be common in southern France, where they were also called “Albigensians.” Without going into the details – although they are pretty interesting – what was Catharism?

3. In 1143, Robert of Ketton fulfilled a request from Peter the Venerable by completing the first European translation of an important book. Robert called his version Lex Mahumet pseudoprophete. What is the real name of the book in question?

4. In 1144, Pope Eugenius III sent one of his most prominent churchmen, Bernard of Clairvaux, on a high-profile preaching mission. Writing back to his boss to report his success, Bernard boasted that "cities and castles are now empty. There is not left one man to seven women, and everywhere there are widows to still-living husbands." What had happened to all the men?

5. Here are the ruins of Merv, in modern Turkmenistan. An oasis on the Silk Road trade routes, Merv was an important city in the Seljuk Empire, hosting a major library and madrasa. From 1145 to 1153, it was thought to have a special distinction among the world’s cities. What was that special distinction?

6. In 1148, Anna Komnene wrote the Alexiad, a biography of her father, Alexios I Komnenos. Of what state must Alexios have been the ruler?

7. Sometime in or around the 1140s, Europeans brought home a new plant they had bumped into in Arab markets. Technically a grass, with a thick, fibrous central stalk, it would turn out to yield an incredibly popular product; by some measures, it is the world's highest-volume agricultural product. The fact that it is so labor-intensive to grow, however, has had some unfortunate historical consequences. Name that plant!

8. 1147 saw the first mention of a river town built along a tributary of the Volga. It would eventually grow to be among the largest inland cities in the world. What is its name?

9. Sometime in or near the 1140s, craftsmen in what is now France, Greece, India, and Peru were working on these items (from the book “10,000 Years of Art”). Which piece is from which place?

10. On July 23, 1148, armies led by Conrad III of Germany, Louis VII of France, and Baldwin III of Jerusalem attacked the city of Damascus. How did that work out for them?

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Hey, you know what?  Only Susan completed:

Through History with The Monday Quiz: the 1130s

She did great, with 7/10, and wins her second week running.  But I'll leave off the answers for now, in case anybody wants to go back and give it the old college try.  And maybe we'll mix up the format for a week or two, to combat the perils of "High Middle Ages Fatigue."