Chapter 12: Kingdoms, Faith, and Connections in the Early Medieval World
Study activity, printable worksheet, explained answers, and source references for your chapter.
Printed chapter: pages 72-77. Complete connected chart: pages 98–145. These page references match the reviewed manuscript.
Listen to Chapter 12 · View Chapter 12 on the chart · Download the two-page worksheet
Give each medieval date a job
Use the Justinian, Augustine, Alfred, Jerusalem-building, and Charlemagne details. Label dates as reign, event, building, or textual project. Younger learners can match cards; older learners can write a short correction that preserves Adams’ original wording alongside the checked explanation.
Find the detail on the chart, identify what each number measures, and record the source used for your explanation.
Practice questions and explained answers
Try the worksheet first. Tap a question to reveal its explanation.
1. What belongs to Justinian’s 534 and to 537?
534 belongs to the revised Code of his legal project; 537 to the dedication of the rebuilt Hagia Sophia. They are not interchangeable achievements.
2. Which Augustine belongs to the mission to Kent?
Augustine of Canterbury. The usual arrival date used here is 597; Adams’ caption prints 596.
3. Was Christianity entirely new to Britain in 597?
No. Earlier British Christian communities already existed. Augustine’s mission should not be called Christianity’s first appearance anywhere in Britain.
4. How do the Alfred dates differ?
Adams prints an endpoint of 901 and a thirty-year reign. The historical framework used here dates Alfred’s reign to 871-899; preserve the correction explicitly.
5. What was the Hijra?
Muhammad’s migration from Mecca to Medina in 622. The Islamic lunar calendar requires conversion; later AH dates are not obtained by simple addition to 622.
6. What is the domed Jerusalem building, and what needs correcting?
It is the Dome of the Rock, commissioned under Abd al-Malik and completed in 691/692. The chart’s Omar attribution and 637 caption are not its correct construction account.
Complete connected chart
Download all four parts and print in order, at actual size (100%). These contain one complete set of 48 numbered chart tiles, divided into four downloads. Follow the tile labels to connect the chart. Use the chapter enlargements for small lettering.
- Chart part 1 of 4 — tiles 1–12
- Chart part 2 of 4 — tiles 13–24
- Chart part 3 of 4 — tiles 25–36
- Chart part 4 of 4 — tiles 37–48
Sources to consult
These are the chapter’s source references, not quotations from those works. Use the named title, institution, record number, or passage to locate the source. Some external sources may have access restrictions.
- Sarah T. Brooks, “The Byzantine State under Justinian I,” Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2001; revised 2009.
- Caroline Humfress, “Out of Time,” chapter 1 author-accepted manuscript, University of St Andrews repository, 2023. Michael Widener, “Learning the Law: Justinian’s Institutes,” Yale Law Library, 2018.
- Emma Wegner, “Hagia Sophia, 532-37,” Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2004.
- English Heritage, “History of St Augustine’s Abbey,” “Who Was St Augustine?” and “Early Medieval: Religion.” The Church of England, “History of the Church of England.”
- The Royal Family, “Alfred ‘The Great’ (r. 871-899).” Ashmolean Museum, “Alfred Jewel,” AN1836.p135.371. British Museum, Sutton Hoo and Europe, Room 41 large-print guide, 2021, “Emergence of England.”
- Daniel C. Waugh, “Chronology for Early Islam and the Conquest of Central Asia,” University of Washington. U.S. Naval Observatory, “Introduction to Calendars,” Islamic calendar section.
- Suzan Yalman, “The Art of the Umayyad Period (661-750)” and “The Art of the Abbasid Period (750-1258),” Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2001.
- Ana Botchkareva, “The Dome of the Rock,” Metropolitan Museum of Art, 22 June 2012.
- Jean Sorabella, “Carolingian Art,” Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2008. Metropolitan Museum of Art, “France, 500-1000 A.D.” and “Central Europe (including Germany), 500-1000 A.D.” INSEI, “Le partage de Verdun en 843.”
- Metropolitan Museum of Art, “Tang Dynasty (618-907),” 2001. Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art, “Tang Dynasty, 618-907.”
Use the printed chapter for its selected enlargements and the qualifications around each explanation. No account or personal information is required on this resource page. Downloaded files can be kept for offline study.