Review of “The Medieval Period”
1. “British”
2. “English”
3. Celts, Picts
4. first century CE.
5. Roman Britain
6. Germanic tribes
7. Augustine of Canterbury
8. Lindisfarne Gospels
9. Bede
10. monasticism
11. Paganism
12. Vikings
13. Alfred the Great
14. 1066
15. Guilds
16. Beckett
17. Chaucer
18. 1215 – two events
19. exemplum
20. Black Death
21. William Langland
22. miracle and mystery plays
23. morality plays
24. Margery Kempe
25. Morte Darthur
a. illustrated short story used in sermons
b. a laywoman who wrote and account of
her spiritual experiences in the 15th century.
c. sent as missionary to England by Pope
Gregory in 597.
d. stopped Viking advance and encouraged
learning.
e. wrote Ecclesiastical History of the
English people.
f. Archbishop of Canterbury allegedly
killed by Henry II’s henchmen over
issues of church authority.
g. comes from name of early Celtic settlers.
h. Norman Conquest. William defeats
Harold at Hastings.
i. allegorical plays depicting personified vice
and virtue.
j. Magna Carta signed and Fourth Lateran
Council.
k. killed one-third of Europe’s population.
l. persisted alongside Christianity in early
medieval period.
m. derived from “Angles.”
n. Romans conquered Celtic England.
o. lamented the passing of chivalry.
p. the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes
q. inhabited England before Romans
r. refers to religious orders that sought escape from the world and immersion in study and
contemplation.
s. wrote Piers Plowman.
t. plays based on biblical themes.
u. wrote Canterbury Tales
v. very civilized, with well paved roads and commerce.
w. sea-faring raiders
x. an example of an illustrated manuscript.
y. associations of trades and crafts. Sponsored pageants and plays.
Topics in Beowulf
1.
2.
3.
4.
Beowulf as epic.
Traditional roles in Beowulf.
Pagan and Christian elements in Beowulf.
Monsters and monstrous behavior in Beowulf.
5. Community values and legal issues.
Literary characteristics of Beowulf
1. Alliteration – the repetition of similar sounds. In Old English, each metrical line
consisted of two half-lines separated by a caesura (a stop or pause). Each half line
contains two stresses of which either/both the first and second stress must alliterate with
the third.
2. Formula – a conventional phrase used as a transition or description to fill the meter or
give the poet (scop) time to remember what comes next: “Beowulf spoke, son of
Ecgtheow” (529).
3. Epithet – a descriptive word or phrase associated with a figure. “Wielder of Glory” for
God is an example.
4. Kenning – a metaphoric compounded phrase, made up of two unrelated elements:
“whale’s riding” for sea.
5. Motif – a repeated story element: warriors putting on their gear before battle.
6. Digression – a break in the story line that may describe in detail the history of various
props, the ancestry of a warrior, or a story within a story. They may foreshadow events or
teach some lesson.
Open Book Quiz
Multiple Choice
1. Beowulf means A. Big grip B. Bee lion C. Bear D. Young Warrior.
2. Gaining immortality through fame is A. Biblical Salvation B. Calvinism C. the heroic ideal D.
tragedy.
3. The insulting retainer who questioned Beowulf’s prowess and reputation is A. Wyglaf B. Hygelac
C. Unferth D. Egthoeow
4. “__________ often spares an undoomed man.” A. Wyrd B. God C. Grace D. Tragedy.
5. “Ubi Sunt?” means A. “What does it mean?” B. “Where are they?” C. “What did you do?” D.
“What would Wyrd do?”
6. Which of the following is a kenning? A. Deep ocean B. Wave Cutter C. Surfer boy D. Sick person.
7. Beowulf kills Grendel with A. a sword B. a kiss C. a curse D. his bare hands.
Identify the following Pilgrims from The Canterbury Tales:
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
He has a sore on his leg.
It snows meat and drink in his house.
He is familiar with every cause of sickness.
She has had five husbands.
He is rich in holy thought and work.
He is a gelding or a mare.
His motto is “If gold rusts, what will happen to iron?”
He has been in fifteen mortal battles.
He sleeps less than the nightingale.
He sings bass to the Pardoner’s tenor.
18. Her motto is “Love conquers all.”
19. He makes men walk the plank.
20. His name is Harry Bailey.
Discuss two of the following topics in a short paragraph each:
1. Margery Kempe’s behavior : was it pathological, genuinely mystical, or a sane and deliberate
effort to exert power?
2. The Lateran Council resulted in a mixture of reform and intolerance.
3. Her decision to remain unmarried was a both a shrewd political strategy and a failure on the
part of Elizabeth I.
4. Protestantism led to the accelerated development of capitalism.
Define Renaissance.
List several items of debate between Protestantism and Catholicism during the Renaissance.
Luther
Calvin
Henry VIII
Be familiar with the following works in addition to the ones above:
Sonnet 11 – Wyatt (550)
Ballad 80 – Wyatt (552)
Sonnets 20, 73, 116 – Shakespeare (791-798).
“Woman’s Constancy” – Donne (905-906)
“To the Virgins” – Herrick (944)
“To His Coy Mistress” – Marvell (962-3)
“To My Excellent Lucasia” and “Friendship’s Mystery” – Phillips (973-4)
Sonnets 19, 23 – Milton (987)
Aeropagitica – Milton (988-995)