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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Asser provide regarding Alfred the Great?

2. Who took over when King Aethelred died?

3. Asser traces Alfred's lineage all the back to whom?

4. What chronicle did Asser use as a basis for his book?

5. What is the origin of Asser's name?

Short Essay Questions

1. Into what three periods can Alfred's reign be divided?

2. Who are at least three rulers who share Alfred's title of "the Great?"

3. What happened in 886 when the Viking army started attacking again?

4. Who was Asser?

5. What audience read Asser's Life of King Alfred?

6. How did Asser come to know Alfred?

7. What role did education play in Alfred's life during his reign?

8. What was the audience Asser intended for his Life of King Alfred?

9. What happened when the Vikings brought 350 ships to England through the Thames?

10. What happened to the kingdom of Wessex during King Alfred's reign? What happened as a result?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain who Asser was, and what authority he had to write a biography of King Alfred. Explain how he wrote the biography, including its publication and distribution.

Essay Topic 2

Explain Alfred's goal in translating works into English. What works did he choose? Why did he choose these specific works?

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast primary documents and secondary documents as they are used in historical research. Which of the resources used in Alfred the Great are primary? Which are secondary?

(see the answer keys)

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