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3. Which of the following texts are associated with the alliterative revival?
A. “The Dream of the Rood”
B. “The Wanderer”
C. “The Seafarer”
D. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”
4. The turbulent years of the 14th century witnessed a blending of language and culture that led to the
rise of Middle English. Which of the following events led to the nickname “the era of catastrophes”?
A. The Hundred Years War
B. The Great Schism
C. The Black Plague
D. All of these answers
5. Which text is an example of a poem structured as a vision to convey the theme of salvation?
A. The Battle of Maldon
B. The Seafarer
C. The Wanderer
D. The Dream of the Rood
6. What is a lai?
A. A poem with courtly love as its central theme
B. A short lyrical poem
C. A poem that is usually in octosyllabic couplets
D. All of these answers
7. Which of the following epic themes are invoked in The Wanderer?
A. Exile
B. Abandoned mead-halls
C. Loneliness
D. All of these answers
10. What is the significance of the line: Fate is established! in The Wanderer?
A. The line describes the optimistic attitude of the speaker.
B. The line suggests that the speaker is comfortably settled.
C. The Wanderer is a poem about fatal endings.
D. The line suggests that fate plays an irrevocable role in human affairs.
11. Which of the following cultural changes occurred as a result of the Norman invasion?
A. The Church moved away from using Latin.
B. The trend of educational reforms was reversed.
C. England returned to its pre-feudal state.
D. The primary language became French.
13. Which of the following accurately describes the way in which the comitatus ethic is represented in
Beowulf, The Seafarer, and The Wanderer?
A. As a mutually beneficial relationship between rulers and warriors
B. As an economic system of rewards used to ensure warriors reliability
C. As a pre-feudal power structure based on the distribution of economic and military resources
D. All of these answers
14. Which of the following factors helped create a solidified British political identity?
A. The shift away from individual petty kingdoms to central rule under King Alfred
B. Efforts to revive learning
C. The translation of Latin religious and historical works in vernacular traditions
D. All of these answers
15. Which of the following themes is not explored in “Sir Gawain and the Green
Knight”?
A. The knightly ideal
B. Conversion to Christianity
C. Sexual purity
D. Feudal loyalty
17. Which of the following is not a major category of the romance genre?
A. The Matter of Germany
B. The Matter of Rome
C. The Matter of Britain
D. The Matter of England
18. What is problematic about calling Beowulf part of Old English literature?
A. There is no firm concept of when English literature began.
B. The epic poem is written in a language that is unrecognizable to many English speakers.
C. Danish and German scholars first claimed the poem.
D. There are no English characters in the poem.
19. In Caedmon’s Hymn, the poet borrows the language of which literary form?
A. The mock epic
B. The lyric ballad
C. The lai
D. The heroic epic
20. Chaucer’s pilgrims are a representative section of late medieval society. Which of the following
economic situations is evident among this group?
A. Landlords had growing problems with their tenants.
B. The lack of guilds led to a decline in available civic services.
C. A modern social hierarchy developed.
D. All of these answers
21. Which of the following best defines caesura?
A. A pause or break in a line of poetry
B. Giving inanimate objects human qualities
C. A metaphorical compound
D. The image used to share qualities in a metaphor or simile
22. Chaucer and Langland were contemporaries, but there were several differences between their
writing styles. Which of the following best describes these differences?
A. Langland wrote only about aristocratic characters that were similar to Arthurian legends, whereas
Chaucer wrote about lower social classes.
B. Chaucer and Langland wrote in different dialects.
C. Chaucer copied French and Italian style, whereas Langland did not.
D. Most of Chaucer’s poetry was for a secular court audience, whereas Langland’s was didactic, teaching
a moral lesson.
23. Which of the following texts was inspired by Historia Regum Britanniae?
A. Bede’s Ecclesiastical History
B. Caedmon’s Hymn
C. Chretien de Troyes Yvain, or le Chevalier au Lion
D. Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales
25. Which of the following characters from “The Canterbury Tales” might represent the rising middle
class of the 14th century?
A. The merchant
B. The knight
C. The prioress
D. The plowman
26. Why is the Battle of Hastings relevant to the development of Middle English?
A. English as a language of the king’s court was replaced by Norman French.
B. Eventually English was reestablished, deeply influenced by Norman French.
C. For a time, England became a country with two languages.
D. All of these answers
32. Which of the following texts provides the best example of medieval estates satire?
A. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”
B. “Piers Plowman”
C. “The Canterbury Tales”
D. “The Book of Margery Kempe”
33. What is the significance of the dreamer in The Dream of the Rood?
A. The dreamer functions as an example of the comitatus ethic.
B. The dreamer has a special hope for salvation.
C. The dreamer is a relic from before the Christian conversion.
D. The dreamer is an example of the superstition of paganism.
34. Which of the following texts provides the best example of the comitatus ethic?
A. Caedmon’s Hymn
B. The Battle of Maldon
C. The Canterbury Tales
D. The Dream of the Rood
35. What is the primary purpose of Chetien de Troye’s medieval romances?
A. To convert readers to Christianity through positive examples
B. To inform illiterate readers about Arthurian legend
C. To reconcile the hero’s responsibilities in love and wars
D. To sway audiences away from reading tales of courtly love
36. In “Everyman,” which of the following provides the path to redemption in the afterlife?
A. Faith
B. Time spent in prayer
C. Donations made to the monastery
D. Good deeds
39. What was historically significant about Chretien de Troyes Yvain, le Chevalier au Lion?
A. He recast the history of Arthur into the romance genre.
B. He was the first to discuss the Knights of the Round Table.
C. He separated Arthurian legend from tales of courtly love.
D. He dropped the supernatural theme found in Arthurian legend.
42. What was the primary function of The Rule of Saint Benedict?
A. The Rule of Saint Benedict standardized monasticism.
B. The Rule of Saint Benedict was the first example of poetry written in the vernacular language.
C. The Rule of Saint Benedict explained the new architectural style.
D. The Rule of Saint Benedict offered an early example of dream poetry.
43. What is the significance of the phrase protecting the heart from Acrene Wisse?
A. The phrase refers to anchoresses’ responsibility to defend other Christians.
B. The phrase suggests that women should safeguard their spirituality through total withdrawal from
the world.
C. The phrase is considered one of the positive effects of prayer.
D. The phrase involves becoming a nunin order to escape the bad influence of men.
44. How does The Cross, as speaker, portray Jesus in The Dream of the Rood?
A. As the suffering Christ
B. As the ransom God demands for the sins of humanity
C. As a special Jewish teacher
D. As the heroic noble warrior
46. In Beowulf, what does the representation of Hrothgar suggest about rulers?
A. Kings often used generous gifts to recruit their followers.
B. It was necessary for kings to fight in order to keep their power.
C. The ability to attract fellow warriors was a necessary attribute of power.
D. All of these answers
50. Why was the alliterative revival associated with nationalism and nostalgia?
A. The stories of King Arthur made all English people nostalgic.
B. Metrical poetry simply got boring.
C. Alliterative poetry was much easier to write.
D. Alliterative poetry was associated with a world before the French influence, a world before the
Conquest.
51. How did the Norman Conquest affect the international political situation in England?
A. The Norman Conquest increased the French influence.
B. The Norman Conquest marked the last attempt for a Scandinavian nation to overtake England.
C. The Norman Conquest ended cultural interaction with Norway and Denmark.
D. All of these answers
52. Which of the following characteristics are not essential to knightly chivalry as described by Chretien
de Troyes?
A. The knight is religious.
B. The knight is submissive to his lad.
C. The knight is dedicated to his feudal lord.
D. The knight is blond, tall, and elegant.
53. What does Chaucer write concerning the devastating effect of the Black Death upon English social,
cultural, and economic life in “The Canterbury Tales”?
A. Priests died in great numbers.
B. Rent prices increased because of the market boom.
C. The upper classes were burdened by their monopoly of scarce resources.
D. Chaucer wrote no direct descriptions.
55. Between which movements do historians situate literature in the Middle Ages?
A. English Reformation and Elizabethan Age
B. Civil war and the Restoration
C. Roman departure and the Renaissance
D. Romanticism and the Enlightenment
56. What was the focus of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae?
A. The life and poems of Caedmon
B. The conversion of Britain from paganism
C. The early years of William the Conqueror
D. The tales of King Arthur
58. Complete the following statement. Chaucer wrote his elegiac poem, “The Book of the Duchess,” to
praise the young Duchess of Lancaster who tragically died of:
A. the Black Plague.
B. unrequited love for John of Gaunt.
C. drowning in the Thames.
D. childbirth.
59. Which of the following most accurately explains the Bretons influence on medieval literature?
A. The Bretons roots were in the Celtic cultural tradition.
B. Breton literature had a profound effect on medieval literature in England.
C. The Bretons represented prominent forces in the Norman invasion.
D. All of these answers
62. In Acrene Wisse, the mission of the anchorite was justified through what purpose?
A. To serve the church
B. To withdraw and meditate upon God
C. To pray
D. To preach
63. Pride in one’s accomplishments was important to the Anglo-Saxon thegn. If so, why does Hrothgar
say in Beowulf: do not give way to pride?
A. Hrothgar believes it is important to stay focused on revenge.
B. Pride is one of the deadly sins.
C. Pride causes one to appear immodest.
D. Extreme pride can cause one to be overly secure and make mistakes.
64. In the first decades after the Norman Conquest, which of the following best describes the use of
language in England?
A. The conquered English quickly studied French.
B. The French conquerors learned English in order to be able to govern well.
C. Latin became a common language for interaction between the two groups.
D. Most of the English population went on speaking English with French used mostly among the
upper-ruling class.
67. How do the themes of Marie de France’s Lanval and Chretien de Troyes Yvain compare?
A. Both use the comitatus ethic to explain their hero’s motivations.
B. Both include references toWilliam the Conqueror.
C. Both include the theme of broken promises between lovers.
D. Both feature mentions of the conversion from paganism.
68. The home of Chaucer’s royal patron and friend, John of Gaunt, was burned duringthe Peasants’
Revolt of 138. What events led to this revolt?
A. Government policies were incorrectly based on the idea that the rich would help the poor survive.
B. The high rates of the poll tax were considered unfair.
C. Peasants were jointly united against the pattern of upper-class harassments
D. All of these answers
72. Which of the following best describes how Bede was a typical Christian of his time?
A. He combined zealous Christianity with English patriotism.
B. He did not believe that Christianity was an essential part of English culture.
C. He thought that England was a pagan wilderness.
D. He believed that English Christians needed to move to a New Israel.
75. How did the interaction between the English and the Bretons affect literature?
A. The exposure to new forms ended the production of lais.
B. This interaction led to the influence of Arthurian legend on French literature.
C. This interaction led to more stories about the English conversion to Christianity.
D. The cultural exchange led to more stories about ancient myths.
80. Beowulf introduces the reader to the life of a thegn. Which of the following best describes the role
of the thegn?
A. The thegn is a warrior who has sworn his loyalty to an Anglo-Saxon lord.
B. The thegn is a class of protocapitalism opposed to the guild system.
C. The thegn is a warrior who pays money in exchange for exemption from military service.
D. The thegn is an Anglo-Saxon lord who partakes in the comitatus ethic.
82. Which of the following statements best characterizes the work of early monks in shaping future
medieval church life?
A. They were extremely charismatic.
B. They wanted to move from the basics of Christian faith to a full Christian life.
C. They were promoters of the monastic life.
D. All of these answers
87. Which of the following is not a theme in Chretien de Troyes Yvain, le Chevalier au Lion?
A. The relationships between knights and ladies
B. The feudal system
C. The knight’s lack of loyalty to his lord
D. The conduct of wars and tournaments
89. Despite the fact that the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle continued well into the Norman rule of the 12th
century, which king originally commissioned this work?
A. King Harold
B. King Arthur
C. William the Conqueror
D. Alfred the Great
93. Which of the following would most likely be the theme of a medieval romance?
A. The story of an English village’s conversion to Christianity
B. A first-person story of the Norman invasion
C. The adventure of a knight who rescues a maiden
D. A poem that features courtly love but denounces supernaturalism
94. What literary term is suggested by thequote steadfast companions will stand by him from Beowulf?
A. The golden torque
B. Hurnting
C. Comitatus ethic
D. Kenning
95. Which of the following statements regarding the success and importance of the oral tradition of
literature is true?
A. Monks memorized many passages of scripture, preserving scriptures.
B. Scops recited poems to noble audiences, preserving the stories and poetic tradition.
C. Thegns were nobles who liked literature, and their patronage made poets popular.
D. Anchoresses recited poems to occupy their time alone in their cells.
96. In Chaucer’s “The Miller’s Tale,” why would the miller’s determination to speak following the knight
appear unsettling to the 14th century audience?
A. The knight had not finished his tale.
B. The miller did not ask politely.
C. A member of the clergy should have spoken next.
D. The miller was far beneath the knight in social order, so the miller should have deferred to the
person who ranked above him.
97. In “The Wife of Bath’s Tale,” what is the significance of “barley bread”?
A. Barley bread provides an example of medieval estates satire.
B. Barley bread represents the wife’s answer to the belief that virginity is superior to marriage.
C. Barley bread suggests the heroine’s state as a fallen woman.
D. Barley bread signifies Chaucer’s use of alliterative verse.