Early Eng. Literature

Question 1

What do you know about The Wanderer?

Answer 1

1. Preserved in Exeter Book;
2. Is about solitude, exile, sufferings, lack of protection;

Question 2

What are the themes of Early E.L.?

Answer 2

War, religion and trials of life

Question 3

Which works are similar to Caedmon’s Hymn and why?

Answer 3

The Seafarer and Deor’s Lament. They are told in the first person and are about ordinary human experience for the people to feel sympathetic and be able to relate

Question 4

Which dialect prevailed in Sussex?

Answer 4

West Saxon

Question 5

What happened in the 6th c.?

Answer 5

The reign of king Arthur (in Wessex, to 537)

Question 6

What happened in 597?

Answer 6

Establishment of saint Augustine’s Christian mission at Canterbury

Question 7

What happened in 793-795?

Answer 7

Vikings invasions (Danish and Norwegian) in Scotland, Northern and Eastern England

Question 8

Who’s the author of Caedmon’s Hymn and describe the work itself, what it is known to be special for, the reason behind it.

Answer 8

Caedmon’s Hymn was written by a shepherd, a worker of the monastery of Whitby, Northumbrea. The voice of God came to him. The work is special for being the first English praise song whereas the others were in Latin

Question 9

What happened in 410 c.?

Answer 9

Withdrawal of Roman legions

Question 10

Which dialect prevailed in Essex?

Answer 10

Mercian

Question 11

When did most of the literary works get destroyed?

Answer 11

1530

Question 12

What do you know about Deor’s Lament?

Answer 12

1. Written by Deor (author);
2. Represents day-to-day life trials, solitude, exile, sufferings, lack of protection, bad times passing;
3. Uses heroes of Germanic origin, their sufferings, with repeated chorus “That evil ended. So also may this!”;
4. The first book about unemployment;
5. Preserved in Exeter Book;

Question 13

What was the early version of English?

Answer 13

Anglo-Saxon

Question 14

What happened in 1066?

Answer 14

The Norman Conquest

Question 15

What was the first fragment of Literature? Of which century?

Answer 15

Caedmon’s Hymn, the 7th century

Question 16

What happened in 917-926?

Answer 16

England reoccupied Danish-held territories

Question 17

What happened in the 9th c.?

Answer 17

Danish invasions, occupation of Eastern England

Question 18

What is Exeter Book?

Answer 18

A manuscript containing poetry form the 10th c. and is kept in Exeter Cathedral. library in Devon.

Question 19

What happened in 1013?

Answer 19

Danish conquest (monarchy, 1016-1042)

Question 20

(1)___ and (2)___ could read and write before the (3)__th century in order to (4)__

Answer 20

(1) Monks
(2) nuns
(3) 14th
(4) preserve culture

Question 21

What happened in 450 c.?

Answer 21

Anglo-Saxon and Jutish invasions from North-West Germany

Question 22

What do you know about The Seafarer?

Answer 22

1. Reflects close familiarity with contemporary interpretations of the Psalms;
2. About day-to-day life;
3. Contains images of seas and ships;
4. Its author is unknown;

Question 23

Describe the events of the 1066th.

Answer 23

1. Eng. King Edward dies, then Harold comes (Son of Godwin);
2. Norwegian forces get defeated at Stamford bridge (New-York);
3. Harold was defeated by William of Normandy at Hastings;

Question 24

When did England get divided into kingdoms and how many?

Answer 24

In the 5th century, 7 kingdoms

Question 25

When did the Norman Conquest take place?

Answer 25

1066

Question 26

List influence sources to Britain

Answer 26

Viking, Icelandic, Latin, Germanic, French, Celtic influences

Question 27

What happened in 885?

Answer 27

Partition of England (under King Alfred the Great)

Question 28

What happened in 1530?

Answer 28

Most of the literary works get destroyed

Question 29

How many kingdoms were in England?

Answer 29

7

Question 30

What happened in 802?

Answer 30

England united under King Eghbert of Wessex

Question 31

What do you know about Venerable Bede?

Answer 31

1. Had written the following works: “Ecclesiastical History of the Eng. People” and “The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle”;
2. Was believed to be the one who had written “Caedmon’s Hymn”;