Midterm Flashcards
Language of the ruling class and business after the Norman invasion
French
Action that contributed most to the development of Old English as a written language
Introduction of Latin alphabet
Alfred’s concern for an educated leadership and the loss of Latin manuscripts in the Viking raids were primarily responsible for ?
Transmission of most Old English literature into the dialect of West Saxon
Common features of of Old English poetry
Irony, alliteration, and variation
Most accurate description of Caedmon
Humble, uneducated man who had the gift of versifying sacred history
3 basic philosophical questions alluded to by Edwin’s more spiritually astute counselor deal with the subjects of ?
Orgin, meaning, and destiny
King Edwin’s counselor uses the illustration of the sparrow to portray
Brevity of life
Subject of Caedmon’s Hymn
Creation
Reasons that epics are not generally written today include these
Novels, notion of antihero, and most people with lack of faith
Epics are traditionally?
Didactic
In Beowulf, the Danes are being assaulted by Grendel because of what sin?
Pride
Main theme of Beowulf
Continuance of civilization required virtuous heroes
One evidence of mixing of pagan and Christian elements in Beowulf
The assertion that Wyrd is Providence
Anglo-Saxon term for fate
Wyrd
How does Beowulf wound Grendel?
Tearing his arm off
Word that best describes the attitude of the shield and the weathercock in the Anglo-Saxon riddles
Resigned
William of Normandy lacked what heroic quality
Generosity
Edmund faced what difficulties
Mobility of Danes, unreliability of followers, and conflicting loyalties in the Danelaw
Word that best describes William the Conquerer as a ruler
Severe
Inventor of the term Dark Ages and why they named it that
Rationalists and the spread of the church
2 major contributions made by the Normans to English life
Futile administration and nobility
What language’s impact on Old English is most apparent in ordinary speech and in grammatical influence?
Scandinavian
Humor in Old English poetry evidenced itself in what 2 forms?
Riddles and Irony
Earliest surviving English poem
Caedmon’s hymn
One of Bede’s works that is a major source of information about the Anglo-Saxons before Alfred the great
Bede’s history
Wave-skimmer and swan road are examples of what poetic device?
Kenning
A story about the rise and fall of a hero
Epic
Two types of epics
Folk and literary
4 traditional heroic virtues illustrated by Beowulf
Fortitude, prudence, loyalty, and generosity
Why does Beowulf have circular structure?
Begins and ends with the death of a king
Most accurate assessment of the middle ages
Time of dynamic change
Traditional aim of a poet
To teach by delighting
How is the iceberg charming?
Laughing and beauty
King responsible for the initiation of the Anglo-Saxon chronicle
King Alfred
What is a fyrd?
National army
Who was the next king after Ethelred?
Edmund
The purpose of the doomsday book?
It had everything that Edmund owned
