Medieval Literature and Culture

A. The title suggests a long history of conflict between the government and the individual.
B. The title is part of the morality play’s attempt to make Christian struggles universal.
C. The title alludes to other plays in the same cycle.
D. The title suggests that faith-based issues are individual to each Christian.

A. English as a language of the king’s court was replaced by Norman French.
B. Eventually English was reestablished, deeply influenced by Norman French.
C. For a time, England became a country with two languages.
D. All of these answers

A. The comitatus ethic represents the shift from a nomadic to a more organized social structure.
B. The comitatus ethic is evidence of a period in which behavior was guided by Christian ethics.
C. The comitatus ethic shows a historical return to older types of political organization.
D. The comitatus ethic represents a culture in which rulers had no responsibilities to their citizens.

A. Langland wrote only about aristocratic characters that were similar to Arthurian legends, whereas Chaucer wrote about lower social classes.
B. Chaucer and Langland wrote in different dialects.
C. Chaucer copied French and Italian style, whereas Langland did not.
D. Most of Chaucer’s poetry was for a secular court audience, whereas Langland’s was didactic, teaching a moral lesson.

A. Landlords had growing problems with their tenants.
B. The lack of guilds led to a decline in available civic services.
C. A modern social hierarchy developed.
D. All of these answers

A. There is no firm concept of when English literature began.
B. The epic poem is written in a language that is unrecognizable to many English speakers.
C. Danish and German scholars first claimed the poem.
D. There are no English characters in the poem.

A. An early form spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons
B. A filed-down Old English with heavy French influence
C. A unique form of English spoken in Germany
D. A form brought to England by the Scandinavians

A. The shift away from individual petty kingdoms to central rule under King Alfred
B. Efforts to revive learning
C. The translation of Latin religious and historical works in vernacular traditions
D. All of these answers

A. Anchoresses should live in a dwelling attached to a church.
B. Anchoresses should avoid gossip.
C. Anchoresses should avoid men.
D. All of these answers

A. The line describes the optimistic attitude of the speaker.
B. The line suggests that the speaker is comfortably settled.
C. The Wanderer is a poem about fatal endings.
D. The line suggests that fate plays an irrevocable role in human affairs