The Anglo-Saxon Period & Middle Ages (449-1485) Flashcards
What percent of the British population were affected by the Bubonic Plague outbreak in 1349?
Approximately 1/3 to 1/2 of the population.
Define the concept of Wergild?
To avoid revenge from a slain man’s kin, one could pay them wergild, or “man price”, a sum of money that reflected the deceased’s importance.
Name the three tribes that made up the Anglo-Saxons?
The Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes.
What was the predominant theology in Britain before Christianity?
Pagan.
What pagan idea is a reoccurring theme used in most literature during this time?
The idea of fate.
Name the 3 divisions of the social scale as defined by the Feudal System in order of importance?
The lords (or barons), knights, and serfs (or peasants).
Define pilgrimage?
A pilgrimage is a journey taken to prove religious devotion.
Explain the literary structure of most epics?
Poetic lines with rhyme and meter with formal and exaggerated language.
Epics sometimes begin with this Latin phrase meaning “In the middle of things”?
In medias res.
What action often done by epic heroes in the Middle Ages was expected but now is deemed unaccptable?
Boasting about their personal feats.
Define archetype?
An archetype is a symbol, theme or character type that appears in many stories across all cultures.
Who authored “Beowulf”?
The author is unknown.
When was “Beowulf” written?
Approximately the 5th or 6th century AD.
What is the setting (time) of “Beowulf”?
5th or 6th century.
What symbol is used in “The Seafarer” literally to establish the setting and figuratively to describe the narrators constantly changing emotions?
The sea.
What is the mood in the first part of “The Seafarer”?
Dark, sad, and lonely.
What is the mood in the second part of “The Seafarer”?
Accepting, somewhat hopefull.
What is the setting (place) of “Beowulf”?
Geatland and Denmark (or Scandinavia).
Name the 3 foes that Beowulf battles in chronological order?
Grendel, Grendel’s mother, the dragon.
What is the literary device used frequently to set the mood in “The Seafarer”?
Imagery.
Who authored “The Ecclesiastical History of the English People”?
The Venerable Bede.
Define ecclesiastical?
Related to the church.
Name the king in “The Ecclesiastical History of the English People” that was to be convinced to convert to Christianity?
King Edwin.
Who was the king’s spiritual advisor in “The Ecclesiastical History of the English People”?
Paulinus.
Who was the chief of priests in “The Ecclesiastical History of the English People”?
Coifi.
What did the king order to be destroyed after he decided to convert the land to Christianity?
All of the statues and shrines.
What percent of words in the Oxford English Dictionary are from Old English?
Less than 1%.
How many letters were in the Old English Alphabet?
24.
What percent of word in the English language are derived from Latin & French?
50%.
For what is attributed to the dramatic shift in tone in line 64 of “The Seafarer”?
Historians believe that some time after the story was written, a monk added onto the story.
