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Middle Ages Test
Fall 2003
Matching. Not all are used.
a. Thomas Beckett
d. Courtly Love
ac. Harold
b. Black Death
e. Feudalism
ad. Magna Carta
c. Chivalry
ab. Edward the Confessor
ae. Norman Conquest
1. ( )This wiped out one-third of the population of England in 1348
2. ( )A pyramid system based on a religious concept of hierarchy
3. ( )This included the ideals of honor, service to women, bravery, and generosity
4. ( )He was murdered by knights on the steps of Canterbury Cathedral
5. ( ) This included strict rules and guidelines for interactions between the sexes; it idolized
wome
Multiple Choice. Select the best answer for each.
Ballads
6. In “Get Up and Bar the Door,” why won’t the wife do as her husband asks?
a. She is lazy.
c. She wants the door open.
b. She is busy.
d. She thinks it is unnecessary.
7. In “Get Up and Bar the Door,” which of the following motivates the husband to speak to
the gentlemen?
a. anger
c. stubbornness
b. compassion
d. forgetfulness
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8. Which statement is truly ironic about the woman in “Get up and Bar the door”?
a. Her pudding becomes eaten by the visitors rather than her family.
b. She is more concerned about the pact of silence rather than the threat at hand.
c. She is really more ignorant than she is revealed.
d. She is really not her husband’s wife.
9. The ballad “Get Up and Bar the Door”
a. pokes fun at the bickering of a husband and wife
b. shows the importance of holiday pudding in the Middle Ages
c. illustrates the rituals of courtly love
d. condemns the two gentlemen who prey on the couple
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
10. The Green Knight comes to Camelot during
a. harvest time
c. feast of Michalemas
b. a Christmas feast
d. a New Year’s eve feast
11. In the beginning, the apparent purpose of the Green Knight is to
a. enter into combat with King Arthur
b. propose a game or contest
c. impress Queen Guinevere
d. humiliate Sir Gawain
12. What is the main reason Gawain seeks out the Green Knight after their first encounter?
a. He wants revenge.
b. He has given the Green Knight his word.
c. He has no reason to fear the Green Knight.
d. He knows the Green Knight will eventually find him.
13. Sir Gawain takes the green sash because he
a. hopes that it will help him remain alive
b. wants to have something to remind him of the lady
c. knows that it is less valuable than the lady’s gold ring
d. exchanges his gloves for it
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14. In his conflict with the Green Knight, which of the following is LEAST useful to
Gawain?
a. his honesty
b. his courage
c. his physical strength
d. his sense of right and wrong
15. When the Green Knight first moves to strike at Gawain, Gawain
a. commends his soul to God
b. flinches slightly
c. weeps silently
d. shows no fear
16. Which of the following statements is NOT true
a. Sir Gawain agrees to give the lord whatever he wins at the end of the day.
b. Sir Gawain agrees with the Green Knight to exchange one strike for another.
c. Sir Gawain agrees to meet the lady after the second battle with the Green knight
d. Sir Gawain goes to the Green chapel and faces the Green knight’s blow.
17. What is the most likely theme of “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”?
a. A hero is needed in life.
b. Renewal and Self-knowledge can grow out of sin and weakness.
c. Knowledge and Power are needed to excel in life.
d. Love is a powerful temptation in life.
18. What is symbolic about Gawain’s meeting the Green Knight on New Year’s Day?
a. suggests a new beginning for Gawain
b. suggests that the world will change
c. suggests the possible death of the Gawain
d. suggests the romance of Gawain and the lady
19. The primary conflict facing Gawain takes place
a. with the lady
b. against the lord
c. within himself
d. with the Green Knight
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20. The moral lesson that Gawain learns is that
a. women can be dangerous
b. promises are hard to keep
c. duty comes before pleasure
d. honesty is the best policy
Application: Use the following ballad to answer questions 38 – 40.
“The Twa Corbies1”
As I was walking all along,
I heard twa corbies making a mane2.
The tane unto the tither3 did say.
“Whar shall we gang and dine the day?”
“In behindt yon auld fail4 dyke,
I wot5 there lies a new-slain knight;
And naebody kens6 that he lies there
But his hawk, his hound, and his lady fair.
1. Twa Corbies: two ravens
2. mane: moan
3. tane unto the tither: one to the other
4. fail dyke: bank of earth
5. wot: know
6. kens: knows
“His hound is to the hunting gane,
His hawk to fetch the wild-fowl home,
His lady’s taken another mate,
So we may make our dinner sweet.
“Ye’ll sit on his white hause-bane7,
And I’ll pike out his bonny blue e’en8
With a lock o’ his golden hair
We’ll theek9 our nest when it grows bare.
7. hause-bane: neck-bone
8. e’en: eyes
9. theek: thatch
“Many a one for him maks mane,
But none shall ken where he is gane.
O’er his white banes, when they are bare,
The wind shall blow for evermore.”
21. In this poem, the lady has departed with
a. the knight’s hound
c. a younger knight
b. Another mate
d. the king’s brother.
22. Who besides the raven knows what has happened to the knight?
a. the knight’s hawk
c. the knight’s hound
b. the knight’s lady
d. all of the above
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23. Identify what is symbolized in the following lines from the poem:
“O’er his white banes, when they are bare,
The Wind shall blow for evermore.”
a. a coffin
b. the eternity of death
c. the spreading of good cheer
d. a time of revelry
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Middle Ages Essay/Short Answer
Name: ____________________________________ Date_________ Period _____
1. Complete the chart below by identifying 4 elements of a romance. Then, cite specific
examples from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight that demonstrate whether or not it
has those elements. (worth 8 pts)
Elements of a Romance
Female figures who are
usually maidens (in need
of rescue), mothers, or
crones
Explanation/Specific Example from Sir Gawain and the Green
Knight
While this tale did not have a maiden in need of rescuing, the
woman present is “faultless in every feature” and proves a
temptation to Gawain
3. In the terms set out by the following song, is Sir Gawain a hero? Explain your
answer in the space provided below.
Holding Out for a Hero
words by Dean Pitchford
music by Jim Steinman
Where have all the good men gone,
And where are all the gods?
Where’s the street-wise Hercules to fight the rising odds?
Isn’t there a white knight upon a fiery steed?
Late at night I toss, and I turn, and I dream of what I need.
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Chorus:
I need a hero.
I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night.
He’s gotta be stong, And he’s gotta be fast,
And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight.
I need a hero.
I’m holding out for a her ‘til the morning light.
He’s gotta be sure,
And it’s gotta be soon,
And he’s gotta be larger than life.
Somewhere after midnight,
In my wildest fantasy,
Somewhere just beyond my reach,
There’s someone reaching back for me.
Racing on the thunder and rising with the heat,
It’s gotta take a superman to sweep me off my feet.
Chorus
Up where the mountains meet the heavens above,
Out where the lightening splits the sea,
I could swear there is someone somewhere, watching me.
Through the wind and the chill and the rain,
And the storm and the flood,
I can feel his approach
Like the fire in my blood.
Chorus