WHI.10b Guided Reading Riddles Assignment

I rise above crowded rooftops, a single finger of stone that draws every eye to heaven and reminds townsfolk where true influence dwells. What am I?

• The church steeple

• The manor‑house gable

• The castle watchtower

• The mill’s wheel‑house hub

Ten coins from every hundred silently find their way to me; I store no harvest, yet my chest feeds altars and councils alike. What am I?

• The tithe

• A fealty oath

• A noble dowry

• A tenant’s rent

Crownless yet commanding, my seal on parchment could bend the wills of thrones I never sat upon. Who am I?

• The Pope

• An earl

• The royal chancellor

• The guildmaster

Cloaked in silence behind monastery walls, my quill dances across calfskin, giving new life to Homer as surely as to holy verse. Who am I?

• A monk‑scribe

• A village priest

• A traveling bard

• A court herald

My parchment map divides a realm into pledges and parcels—each cut of land purchased not with silver, but with steel‑borne loyalty. What structure am I?

• Feudalism

• Mercantilism

• Manorialism

• Capitalism

Vast in reach yet dependent on blades he himself does not wield, I rule by parceling loyalty as much as land. Who am I?

• The king

• The reeve

• The miller

• The friar

Power I possess, but from it I must raise men at a moment’s call, for my charter binds me to both crown above and knight below. Who am I?

• A noble lord

• A city burgess

• A sergeant‑at‑arms

• A parish deacon

Gifted a manor for my sword‑hand, I command fields and fighters, yet kneel when trumpets summon me to royal banners. Who am I?

• A knight

• An artisan

• A reeve

• A journeyman

Bound to the soil like roots to earth, I trade dawn‑to‑dusk labor for protection I may seldom behold. Who am I?

• A serf

• A yeoman archer

• A page

• A bailiff

Three siblings we are—one sleeping, one dressed for winter, one clad for spring. Year by year we trade roles so that hunger stays away. What farming plan are we?

• The three‑field system

• Terrace planting

• Slash‑and‑burn clearing

• Vineyard trellising