Medieval Trivia and Not so Trivial
Test Review
1.
• What year marks the official beginning of the
medieval period?
Answer
• 1066
2
• Who invaded England in 1066?
Answer
• William the Conqueror from Normandy
3
• What language did William the Conqueror
bring to England?
Answer
• French
4
• What governmental, social, and military
system did William the Conqueror bring to
England?
Answer
• Feudalism
Question 5
• What was the code of behavior expected of
knights called?
Answer
• Chivalry
Question 6
• What three loyalties did a knight have?
Answer
• God
• Country (or king)
• Lady
7
• What was the purpose of the crusades?
Answer
• To reclaim the holy lands from the “infidels.”
8
• Name three causes for the end of feudalism
Answer
• Bubonic plague that killed ¼ of the
population, creating a demand for skilled
laborers and therefore a rise in middle class
• Conversion to money system over land
• Invention of the long bow and gunpowder
that could penetrate the armor of a knight
9
• How was the Bubonic Plague spread?
Answer
• Through flea-bitten rats
10
• Who wrote Morte d’Arthur?
Answer
• Thomas Malory
11
• Who was involved in the love triangle in
Morte D’Arthur?
Answer
• King Arthur
• Guenevere
• Lancelot
12
• How did Sir Lucan show his loyalty to Arthur?
Answer
• He moved the wounded Arthur causing his
own death.
13
• What terrible coincidence caused the fighting
between Mordred and Arthur’s men?
Answer
• A knight raising his sword to kill a snake
14
• Who appeared to Arthur in a dream, warning
him that he should delay the battle against
Mordred?
Answer
• Gawain
15
• Who of Arthur’s knights throws Excalibur into
the lake?
Answer
• Sir Bedevere
16
• How did Sir Gawain show that he was
imperfect?
Answer
• He accepted the green sash from the lady of
the castle
17
• The Green Knight was also which other
character in the romance?
Answer
• The lord of the castle
18
• Name the three animals that the lord of the
castle hunted
Answer
• 1. deer
• 2. boar
• 3. fox
19
• Who were Mordred’s parents?
Answer
• Arthur and Morgause (his half sister)
20
• Name two ballads that are in question/
answer format.
Answer
• “Lord Randall”
• “Edward, Edward”
• “Ballad of Birmingham”
21
• What is a ballad stanza?
Answer
• 4 line stanza, second and fourth lines rhyme
22
• Which ballad concerns a double suicide?
• Which ballad describes a murder of a father?
• Which ballad describes unquestioned loyalty
to a king?
Answer
• “Barbara Allen”
• “Edward, Edward”
• “Sir Patrick Spense”
23
• Which ballad concerns poison by a lover?
• Which ballad involves a deserted knight’s
death?
• Which ballad involves a dispute between a
husband and wife?
Answer
• 1. “Lord Randall”
• 2. “Barbara Allen
• 3. “Twa Corbies”
24
• Which ballad concerns a ghostly visit of three
sons to their mother?
Answer
• “The Ballad of Usher’s Well”
25
• Name three characteristics of ballads
Answer
• Written to be sung
• Written for common people
• Use such techniques as incremental
repetition, dialect, question/answer format
• Elements include supernatural and
sensational stories
26
• What are the three types of pilgrims that go
on the pilgrimage to Canterbury?
Answer
• Religious
• Feudal
• Town
27
• Name 2 corrupt religious figures and explain
their corruption.
28
• Name two moral pilgrims and tell why.
29
• Name two pilgrims who are good at what they
do?
30.
• Explain: “Damned by faint praise” as it applies
to the Canterbury Tales.
31
• What are the signs that a pilgrim is wealthy?
32
• Generally, explain the gist of the following
tales:
• 1. knight
• 2. pardoner
• 3. Oxford cleric
• 4. Wife of Bath
33
• Name two ways that “Once Upon a Time” is
like Canterbury Tales.
Answer
• 1. Satire
• 2. frame story
34
• Name two methods of satire used by Jonathan
Swift in “A Modest Proposal.”