Medieval Literature And Culture MCQs

Option A: King Harold

Option B: King Arthur

Option C: William the Conqueror

Option D: Alfred the Great

Correct Answer: Alfred the Great ✔

Option A: The relationships between knights and ladies

Option B: The feudal system

Option C: The knight’s lack of loyalty to his lord

Option D: The conduct of wars and tournaments

Correct Answer: The knight’s lack of loyalty to his lord ✔

Option A: The world is a happy and wonderful place.

Option B: We can make the world better if we work hard.

Option C: There are many things in the world to love.

Option D: The love and grace of God can change lives for the better.

Correct Answer: The love and grace of God can change lives for the better. ✔

Option A: The line has obvious rhyme and meter, and the opening words suggest a story of adventure and excitement.

Option B: The strong alliteration creates rhythm that accentuates the adventurous spirit.

Option C: The line seems to frame a story with plot complications.

Option D: The line alludes to a poem with religious undertones.

Correct Answer: The line has obvious rhyme and meter, and the opening words suggest a story of adventure and excitement. ✔

Option A: He suggests the lack of knightly themes in Middle English poetry.

Option B: He alludes to an ancient Anglo-Saxon ruler.

Option C: He represents the link with Celtic mythology.

Option D: He suggests a continued tie with paganism.

Correct Answer: He represents the link with Celtic mythology. ✔

Option A: “The Seafarer”

Option B: “Everyman”

Option C: “The Second Shepherds’ Play”

Option D: “The Dream of the Rood”

Correct Answer: “Everyman” ✔

Option A: They introduced alliterative verse.

Option B: They introduced rhyming octosyllabic couplets.

Option C: They introduced iambic pentameter.

Option D: They introduced metaphor.

Correct Answer: They introduced rhyming octosyllabic couplets. ✔

Option A: The exposure to new forms ended the production of lais.

Option B: This interaction led to the influence of Arthurian legend on French literature.

Option C: This interaction led to more stories about the English conversion to Christianity.

Option D: The cultural exchange led to more stories about ancient myths.

Correct Answer: This interaction led to the influence of Arthurian legend on French literature. ✔

Option A: Sir Launfal

Option B: Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath

Option C: Chaucer’s Franklin’s Tale

Option D: Norwich’s Revelations of Divine Love

Correct Answer: Norwich’s Revelations of Divine Love ✔

Option A: Mystery plays involve Christian themes, whereas morality plays do not.

Option B: Morality plays involve Christian themes, whereas mystery plays do not.

Option C: Morality plays were written individually, whereas mystery plays are in cycles.

Option D: Mystery plays were written individually, whereas morality plays are in cycles.

Correct Answer: Morality plays were written individually, whereas mystery plays are in cycles. ✔

Option A: A return to reading poetry from the 11th and 12th centuries

Option B: The influence of southern courtly poets writing in French and Latin

Option C: A surge in English nationalism

Option D: The introduction to new poetic forms during the Norman invasion

Correct Answer: A surge in English nationalism ✔

Option A: Both use the comitatus ethic to explain their hero’s motivations.

Option B: Both include references toWilliam the Conqueror.

Option C: Both include the theme of broken promises between lovers.

Option D: Both feature mentions of the conversion from paganism.

Correct Answer: Both include the theme of broken promises between lovers. ✔

Option A: Priests should be used as examples of ecclesiastical life.

Option B: Priests should be avoided, because men are bad influences.

Option C: Priests should offer anchoresses their only connection to the outside world.

Option D: Priests should be honored, because men are naturally more spiritual.

Correct Answer: Priests should be avoided, because men are bad influences. ✔

Option A: Hrothgar believes it is important to stay focused on revenge.

Option B: Pride is one of the deadly sins.

Option C: Pride causes one to appear immodest.

Option D: Extreme pride can cause one to be overly secure and make mistakes.

Correct Answer: Extreme pride can cause one to be overly secure and make mistakes. ✔

Option A: Feudalism represents the world ofscholars who studied the ancient texts of the past.

Option B: The feudal world is one of glamor and beauty.

Option C: Feudalism represents an economic hierarchy, the upper levels of which created and consumed literature.

Option D: Feudalism represents interesting family quarrels that make for good stories.

Correct Answer: Feudalism represents an economic hierarchy, the upper levels of which created and consumed literature. ✔

Option A: The Bretons roots were in the Celtic cultural tradition.

Option B: Breton literature had a profound effect on medieval literature in England.

Option C: The Bretons represented prominent forces in the Norman invasion.

Option D: All of these answers

Correct Answer: All of these answers ✔

Option A: Dream poetry

Option B: Romance

Option C: Lai

Option D: Estates satire

Correct Answer: Estates satire ✔

Option A: English Reformation and Elizabethan Age

Option B: Civil war and the Restoration

Option C: Roman departure and the Renaissance

Option D: Romanticism and the Enlightenment

Correct Answer: Roman departure and the Renaissance ✔

Option A: Priests died in great numbers.

Option B: Rent prices increased because of the market boom.

Option C: The upper classes were burdened by their monopoly of scarce resources.

Option D: Chaucer wrote no direct descriptions.

Correct Answer: The upper classes were burdened by their monopoly of scarce resources. ✔

Option A: The Norman Conquest increased the French influence.

Option B: The Norman Conquest marked the last attempt for a Scandinavian nation to overtake England.

Option C: The Norman Conquest ended cultural interaction with Norway and Denmark.

Option D: All of these answers

Correct Answer: All of these answers ✔

Option A: Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae

Option B: Julian of Norwich’s Revelations of Divine Love

Option C: Marie de France’s Lanval

Option D: Sir Thomas Malory’s Morte Darthur

Correct Answer: Julian of Norwich’s Revelations of Divine Love ✔

Option A: Cornish cycle

Option B: York cycle

Option C: Roman cycle

Option D: Wakefield cycle

Correct Answer: Wakefield cycle ✔

Option A: “The Wife of Bath’s Tale”

Option B: “The Second Shepherds’ Play”

Option C: “The Knight’s Tale”

Option D: “The Dream of the Rood”

Correct Answer: “The Second Shepherds’ Play” ✔

Option A: The phrase refers to anchoresses’ responsibility to defend other Christians.

Option B: The phrase suggests that women should safeguard their spirituality through total withdrawal from the world.

Option C: The phrase is considered one of the positive effects of prayer.

Option D: The phrase involves becoming a nunin order to escape the bad influence of men.

Correct Answer: The phrase suggests that women should safeguard their spirituality through total withdrawal from the world. ✔

Option A: Allegory

Option B: Social satire

Option C: Dream vision

Option D: All of these answers

Correct Answer: All of these answers ✔

Option A: He recast the history of Arthur into the romance genre.

Option B: He was the first to discuss the Knights of the Round Table.

Option C: He separated Arthurian legend from tales of courtly love.

Option D: He dropped the supernatural theme found in Arthurian legend.

Correct Answer: He recast the history of Arthur into the romance genre. ✔

Option A: The life of everyday people in the 5th and 6th centuries

Option B: The conversion of Britain to Christianity

Option C: The history of Christianity before it reached Britain

Option D: The spread of Christianity after the Norman Conquest

Correct Answer: The conversion of Britain to Christianity ✔

Option A: To convert readers to Christianity through positive examples

Option B: To inform illiterate readers about Arthurian legend

Option C: To reconcile the hero’s responsibilities in love and wars

Option D: To sway audiences away from reading tales of courtly love

Correct Answer: To reconcile the hero’s responsibilities in love and wars ✔

Option A: The dreamer functions as an example of the comitatus ethic.

Option B: The dreamer has a special hope for salvation.

Option C: The dreamer is a relic from before the Christian conversion.

Option D: The dreamer is an example of the superstition of paganism.

Correct Answer: The dreamer has a special hope for salvation. ✔

Option A: Alliteration

Option B: Personification

Option C: Caesura

Option D: Romance

Correct Answer: Romance ✔

Option A: The title suggests a long history of conflict between the government and the individual.

Option B: The title is part of the morality play’s attempt to make Christian struggles universal.

Option C: The title alludes to other plays in the same cycle.

Option D: The title suggests that faith-based issues are individual to each Christian.

Correct Answer: The title is part of the morality play’s attempt to make Christian struggles universal. ✔

Option A: English as a language of the king’s court was replaced by Norman French.

Option B: Eventually English was reestablished, deeply influenced by Norman French.

Option C: For a time, England became a country with two languages.

Option D: All of these answers

Correct Answer: All of these answers ✔

Option A: The comitatus ethic represents the shift from a nomadic to a more organized social structure.

Option B: The comitatus ethic is evidence of a period in which behavior was guided by Christian ethics.

Option C: The comitatus ethic shows a historical return to older types of political organization.

Option D: The comitatus ethic represents a culture in which rulers had no responsibilities to their citizens.

Correct Answer: The comitatus ethic represents the shift from a nomadic to a more organized social structure. ✔

Option A: Langland wrote only about aristocratic characters that were similar to Arthurian legends, whereas Chaucer wrote about lower social classes.

Option B: Chaucer and Langland wrote in different dialects.

Option C: Chaucer copied French and Italian style, whereas Langland did not.

Option D: Most of Chaucer’s poetry was for a secular court audience, whereas Langland’s was didactic, teaching a moral lesson.

Correct Answer: Chaucer copied French and Italian style, whereas Langland did not. ✔

Option A: Landlords had growing problems with their tenants.

Option B: The lack of guilds led to a decline in available civic services.

Option C: A modern social hierarchy developed.

Option D: All of these answers

Correct Answer: All of these answers ✔

Option A: There is no firm concept of when English literature began.

Option B: The epic poem is written in a language that is unrecognizable to many English speakers.

Option C: Danish and German scholars first claimed the poem.

Option D: There are no English characters in the poem.

Correct Answer: There are no English characters in the poem. ✔

Option A: An early form spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons

Option B: A filed-down Old English with heavy French influence

Option C: A unique form of English spoken in Germany

Option D: A form brought to England by the Scandinavians

Correct Answer: A filed-down Old English with heavy French influence ✔

Option A: The shift away from individual petty kingdoms to central rule under King Alfred

Option B: Efforts to revive learning

Option C: The translation of Latin religious and historical works in vernacular traditions

Option D: All of these answers

Correct Answer: All of these answers ✔

Option A: Anchoresses should live in a dwelling attached to a church.

Option B: Anchoresses should avoid gossip.

Option C: Anchoresses should avoid men.

Option D: All of these answers

Correct Answer: All of these answers ✔

Option A: The line describes the optimistic attitude of the speaker.

Option B: The line suggests that the speaker is comfortably settled.

Option C: The Wanderer is a poem about fatal endings.

Option D: The line suggests that fate plays an irrevocable role in human affairs

Correct Answer: The line suggests that fate plays an irrevocable role in human affairs ✔

Option A: Enlightenment

Option B: Feudalism

Option C: Guildhouses

Option D: Monasticism

Correct Answer: Enlightenment ✔

Option A: A poem with courtly love as its central theme

Option B: A short lyrical poem

Option C: A poem that is usually in octosyllabic couplets

Option D: All of these answers

Correct Answer: All of these answers ✔

Option A: The Hundred Years War

Option B: The Great Schism

Option C: The Black Plague

Option D: All of these answers

Correct Answer: All of these answers ✔

Option A: Both include stacked tales in a single sequential narrative.

Option B: Both have courtly love as their central theme.

Option C: Both are designed in an episodic manner.

Option D: Both are usually intended to be sung as hymns.

Correct Answer: Both have courtly love as their central theme. ✔

Option A: King Alfred wanted all educated people to speak French.

Option B: Many English nobles preferred French because of the culture’s superior poetry.

Option C: Edward the Confessor’s wife was French, and she had great influence at court.

Option D: After the successful invasion of England, the language of William of Normandy became the language of the elite.

Correct Answer: After the successful invasion of England, the language of William of Normandy became the language of the elite. ✔

Option A: The misuse of scripture

Option B: The contrast between vulgar love and courtly love

Option C: The misdirected kiss

Option D: All of these answers

Correct Answer: All of these answers ✔

Option A: The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the history of the continuity and persistence of Anglo-Saxon culture in Old English.

Option B: The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle offers a lay person’s perspective on Anglo-Saxon history.

Option C: The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle focuses on the courtly adventures of Anglo-Saxon English.

Option D: The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle presents an accurate description of the Second and Third Crusades.

Correct Answer: The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the history of the continuity and persistence of Anglo-Saxon culture in Old English. ✔

Option A: The knight had not finished his tale.

Option B: The miller did not ask politely.

Option C: A member of the clergy should have spoken next.

Option D: The miller was far beneath the knight in social order, so the miller should have deferred to the person who ranked above him.

Correct Answer: The miller was far beneath the knight in social order, so the miller should have deferred to the person who ranked above him. ✔

Option A: The golden torque

Option B: Hurnting

Option C: Comitatus ethic

Option D: Kenning

Correct Answer: Comitatus ethic ✔

Option A: As a historical figure with whom her audience is largely unfamiliar

Option B: As a warrior king

Option C: As someone who broken the tradition of offering lavish gifts to his supporters

Option D: As a modest ruler who defended his own borders

Correct Answer: As a modest ruler who defended his own borders ✔

Option A: Dactylic pentameter

Option B: Octosyllabic couplets

Option C: Heroic couplets

Option D: Clerihew

Correct Answer: Octosyllabic couplets ✔

Option A: The desire to travel in search of wisdom with the social conventions

Option B: The folly of earthly things with the wisdom of heaven

Option C: The speaker’s spiritual regression with the increasing trend of Christian conversions

Option D: The desire for a more advanced world with stagnant social progress

Correct Answer: The folly of earthly things with the wisdom of heaven ✔

Option A: The defeat of the English at the hands of the Vikings in 991

Option B: The First Crusade in the 11th-century

Option C: The Second Crusade in the 12thcentury

Option D: The Norman Conquest in 1066

Correct Answer: The defeat of the English at the hands of the Vikings in 991 ✔

Option A: They were extremely charismatic.

Option B: They wanted to move from the basics of Christian faith to a full Christian life.

Option C: They were promoters of the monastic life.

Option D: All of these answers

Correct Answer: All of these answers ✔

Option A: The thegn is a warrior who has sworn his loyalty to an Anglo-Saxon lord.

Option B: The thegn is a class of protocapitalism opposed to the guild system.

Option C: The thegn is a warrior who pays money in exchange for exemption from military service.

Option D: The thegn is an Anglo-Saxon lord who partakes in the comitatus ethic.

Correct Answer: The thegn is a warrior who has sworn his loyalty to an Anglo-Saxon lord. ✔

Option A: This line suggests that Britain was the most important place in the medieval world.

Option B: This line suggests that good kings are rewarded by God.

Option C: This line suggests that Arthur was beloved by the English, because he was good.

Option D: This line suggests the elegance necessary for the feudal king to display being at the top of the economic hierarchy.

Correct Answer: This line suggests the elegance necessary for the feudal king to display being at the top of the economic hierarchy. ✔

Option A: Sutton Hoo provides architectural evidence from a virtually unexplored period of history.

Option B: Sutton Hoo gives more information about the society that created Beowulf.

Option C: Sutton Hoo provides insight into the conversion from paganism to Christianity.

Option D: All of these answers

Correct Answer: All of these answers ✔

Option A: “The knight took a step toward/The maiden she called him forward”

Option B: “her biginneth the earste boc of ures ant ureisuns the gode beoth to seggen”

Option C: “doughty in theire doings and dredde ay schame”

Option D: “I left my lands to come where you are/To find you I have come so far!”

Correct Answer: “doughty in theire doings and dredde ay schame” ✔

Option A: He combined zealous Christianity with English patriotism.

Option B: He did not believe that Christianity was an essential part of English culture.

Option C: He thought that England was a pagan wilderness.

Option D: He believed that English Christians needed to move to a New Israel.

Correct Answer: He combined zealous Christianity with English patriotism. ✔

Option A: Wyrd has to do with reparational payments exacted from people guilty of homicide.

Option B: Wyrd is related to the folly of earthly possessions.

Option C: Wyrd suggests the idea of fate.

Option D: Wyrd is an allusion to the impending conversion to Christianity

Correct Answer: Wyrd is an allusion to the impending conversion to Christianity ✔

Option A: Government policies were incorrectly based on the idea that the rich would help the poor survive.

Option B: The high rates of the poll tax were considered unfair.

Option C: Peasants were jointly united against the pattern of upper-class harassments

Option D: All of these answers

Correct Answer: All of these answers ✔

Option A: The dream connection between the two sexes

Option B: A literary genre written mainly in the Anglo-Saxon era

Option C: The human soul’s tendency towards intimate union with the divine

Option D: The separation between humanity and divinity

Correct Answer: A literary genre written mainly in the Anglo-Saxon era ✔

Option A: The conquered English quickly studied French.

Option B: The French conquerors learned English in order to be able to govern well.

Option C: Latin became a common language for interaction between the two groups.

Option D: Most of the English population went on speaking English with French used mostly among the upper-ruling class.

Correct Answer: Most of the English population went on speaking English with French used mostly among the upper-ruling class. ✔

Option A: To serve the church

Option B: To withdraw and meditate upon God

Option C: To pray

Option D: To preach

Correct Answer: To withdraw and meditate upon God ✔

Option A: Trouthe represents the supernatural aspects of the medieval romance.

Option B: Trouthe alludes to the British conversion

Option C: Trouthe emphasizes the positive side of feudalism.

Option D: Trouthe suggests the imminent return to a pre-feudal social organization.

Correct Answer: Trouthe emphasizes the positive side of feudalism. ✔

Option A: the Black Plague.

Option B: unrequited love for John of Gaunt.

Option C: drowning in the Thames.

Option D: childbirth.

Correct Answer: the Black Plague. ✔

Option A: The life and poems of Caedmon

Option B: The conversion of Britain from paganism

Option C: The early years of William the Conqueror

Option D: The tales of King Arthur

Correct Answer: The tales of King Arthur ✔

Option A: Giving inanimate objects human qualities

Option B: A metaphorical compound

Option C: A reparational payment demanded of a person guilty of homicide

Option D: The image used to share qualities in a metaphor or simile

Correct Answer: A reparational payment demanded of a person guilty of homicide ✔

Option A: The knight is religious.

Option B: The knight is submissive to his lad.

Option C: The knight is dedicated to his feudal lord.

Option D: The knight is blond, tall, and elegant.

Correct Answer: The knight is blond, tall, and elegant. ✔

Option A: The stories of King Arthur made all English people nostalgic.

Option B: Metrical poetry simply got boring.

Option C: Alliterative poetry was much easier to write.

Option D: Alliterative poetry was associated with a world before the French influence, a world before the Conquest

Correct Answer: Alliterative poetry was associated with a world before the French influence, a world before the Conquest ✔

Option A: English was a more commonly used language in the Church.

Option B: The audience was likely unable to read French.

Option C: Women were more educated, so they knew more languages.

Option D: The audience was partially lay-women with little knowledge of Latin.

Correct Answer: The audience was partially lay-women with little knowledge of Latin. ✔

Option A: Kings often used generous gifts to recruit their followers.

Option B: It was necessary for kings to fight in order to keep their power.

Option C: The ability to attract fellow warriors was a necessary attribute of power.

Option D: All of these answers

Correct Answer: All of these answers ✔

Option A: As the suffering Christ

Option B: As the ransom God demands for the sins of humanity

Option C: As a special Jewish teacher

Option D: As the heroic noble warrior

Correct Answer: As the heroic noble warrior ✔

Option A: The Rule of Saint Benedict standardized monasticism.

Option B: The Rule of Saint Benedict was the first example of poetry written in the vernacular language.

Option C: The Rule of Saint Benedict explained the new architectural style.

Option D: The Rule of Saint Benedict offered an early example of dream poetry.

Correct Answer: The Rule of Saint Benedict standardized monasticism. ✔

Option A: A traditional form with repeated consonant sounds

Option B: An Anglo-Saxon form written in iambic pentameter with traditional rhymes

Option C: A popular form in the 9th and 10th centuries

Option D: A form brought to England in the years during the Norman invasion

Correct Answer: A traditional form with repeated consonant sounds ✔

Option A: The term is an allusion to Beowulf’s golden torque.

Option B: The term represents the comitatus ethic.

Option C: The term is an example of kenning.

Option D: The term is an example of caesura.

Correct Answer: The term is an example of kenning. ✔

Option A: Faith

Option B: Time spent in prayer

Option C: Donations made to the monastery

Option D: Good deeds

Correct Answer: Good deeds ✔

Option A: Caedmon’s Hymn

Option B: The Battle of Maldon

Option C: The Canterbury Tales

Option D: The Dream of the Rood

Correct Answer: The Battle of Maldon ✔

Option A: “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”

Option B: “Piers Plowman”

Option C: “The Canterbury Tales”

Option D: “The Book of Margery Kempe”

Correct Answer: “The Canterbury Tales” ✔

Option A: Episodic French and German poetry

Option B: Resemblance to an epic

Option C: Supernatural themes involving dragons and monsters

Option D: All of these answers

Correct Answer: All of these answers ✔

Option A: Wergild is connected to the idea that bloodshed leads to more bloodshed.

Option B: Wergild contributes to the claustrophobic, doom-laden atmosphere.

Option C: Wergild relates to the concept of wyrd.

Option D: All of these answers

Correct Answer: All of these answers ✔

Option A: The merchant

Option B: The knight

Option C: The prioress

Option D: The plowman

Correct Answer: The merchant ✔

Option A: Bede’s Ecclesiastical History

Option B: Caedmon’s Hymn

Option C: Chretien de Troyes Yvain, or le Chevalier au Lion

Option D: Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales

Correct Answer: Chretien de Troyes Yvain, or le Chevalier au Lion ✔

Option A: A pause or break in a line of poetry

Option B: Giving inanimate objects human qualities

Option C: A metaphorical compound

Option D: The image used to share qualities in a metaphor or simile

Correct Answer: A pause or break in a line of poetry ✔

Option A: The mock epic

Option B: The lyric ballad

Option C: The lai

Option D: The heroic epic

Correct Answer: The lai ✔

Option A: The Matter of Germany

Option B: The Matter of Rome

Option C: The Matter of Britain

Option D: The Matter of England

Correct Answer: The Matter of Germany ✔

Option A: The knightly ideal

Option B: Conversion to Christianity

Option C: Sexual purity

Option D: Feudal loyalty

Correct Answer: Conversion to Christianity ✔

Option A: As a mutually beneficial relationship between rulers and warriors

Option B: As an economic system of rewards used to ensure warriors reliability

Option C: As a pre-feudal power structure based on the distribution of economic and military resources

Option D: All of these answers

Correct Answer: All of these answers ✔

Option A: The Church moved away from using Latin.

Option B: The trend of educational reforms was reversed.

Option C: England returned to its pre-feudal state.

Option D: The primary language became French

Correct Answer: The primary language became French ✔

Option A: The poem could be easily sung in all churches and was widely accepted.

Option B: The poem’s theme of alienation becomes familiar to Anglo-Saxon poetry.

Option C: The poem illustrates Caedmon’s erudition and scholarship.

Option D: The poem is widely believed to be the first written poem in Old English.

Correct Answer: The poem is widely believed to be the first written poem in Old English. ✔

Option A: Exile

Option B: Abandoned mead-halls

Option C: Loneliness

Option D: All of these answers

Correct Answer: All of these answers ✔

Option A: The Battle of Maldon

Option B: The Seafarer

Option C: The Wanderer

Option D: The Dream of the Rood

Correct Answer: The Dream of the Rood ✔

Option A: “The Dream of the Rood”

Option B: “The Wanderer”

Option C: “The Seafarer”

Option D: “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”

Correct Answer: “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” ✔

Option A: The court of Richard II

Option B: The church

Option C: The military

Option D: The literary tradition

Correct Answer: The church ✔