Early and High Middle Ages

Question 1

What does the term “Medieval Literature” refer to

Answer 1

typically drama, poetry, romance, epic prose and histories written in the vernacular, although can be virtually anything between 476 and 1500

Question 2

When was the rise of the vernacular

Answer 2

The 7th centuyr

Question 3

Who wrote the Ecclesiastical History of the English People?

Answer 3

The Venerable Bede

Question 4

Why did Roman troops begin to withdraw from Roman colonies at the start of the 5th century

Answer 4

To fight Germanic invaders in Rome

Question 5

When was the Anglo Saxon invasion of England

Answer 5

449

Question 6

What was the highest authority in Europe at the end of the High Middle Ages?

Answer 6

The Catholic church

Question 7

What was common in Japanese medieval literature?

Answer 7

War tales and waka poetry

Question 8

What is waka poetry

Answer 8

A Japanese form of poetry with five, 31-syllable lines

Question 9

Which dynasties did the medieval period in China cover?

Answer 9

Tang and Song

Question 10

What form was popular in the Tang Dynasty

Answer 10

Poetry

Question 11

What form was popular in the Song Dynasty

Answer 11

Fiction and drama

Question 12

When did Medieval Literature appear in India

Answer 12

Around 1000 CE

Question 13

What influenced Medieval literature in India

Answer 13

Muslim and Hindu religions, although an uptick in migration was promoting changes in thought and writing

Question 14

What are the best known pieces of Indian Medieval Literature

Answer 14

The Ramayana and The Mahabharata

Question 15

What device was used to make the abstract components of Biblical scriptures more accessible

Answer 15

Allegory

Question 16

What is personification allegory

Answer 16

Where concepts like jealousy or friendship become characters in the story

Question 17

What is symbolic allegory

Answer 17

Where characters are real people who symbolise something larger than themselves

Question 18

What levels of meaning were present in Medieval Literature

Answer 18

Literal level
Meaning referring to the church or universal truth
The individual’s spiritual life and behaviour
Symbolism reflecting the afterlife

Question 19

Who wrote Morte D’arthur

Answer 19

Thomas Malory

Question 20

Who is it believed that King Arthur is based on?

Answer 20

King Alfred the Great

Question 21

What was the first European epic written in the vernacular

Answer 21

Beowulf

Question 22

When was Beowulf written?

Answer 22

Between 975 and 1025 CE

Question 23

What three monsters does Beowulf face

Answer 23

Grendel, Grendel’s mother and a fire-breathing dragon

Question 24

What is the first English work with an identified author

Answer 24

Caedman’s Hymn

Question 25

When was Caedman’s Hymn written

Answer 25

7th century

Question 26

Where was Caedman’s Hymn first recorded

Answer 26

The writings of The Venerable Bede

Question 27

What is the oldest surviving piece of French literature

Answer 27

The Song of Roland

Question 28

When was the Song of Roland written

Answer 28

Between 1040 and 1115

Question 29

Which future works were influenced by The Song of Roland

Answer 29

Robert Browning’s Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came, and Stephen King’s The Dark Tower

Question 30

Who was Hildegard of Bingen

Answer 30

A Benedictine abbess, writer, composer, philosopher and medical practitioner

Question 31

Name one of the earliest surviving examples of a musical drama by a known author

Answer 31

The Play of Virtues by Hildegard of Bingen

Question 32

Who is recognised as the founder of Germanic scientific natural history

Answer 32

Hildegard of Bingen