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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 does Bishop Ehtelwold donate?

2. Does Rumon drink the second poison?

3. What happened to Breaca's family during the Viking attack?

4. At the beginning of Chapter 7, where is Merewyn living?

5. The novel follows the history of England's raids by whom?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Brother Finian.

2. Describe Caw when he is first introduced in Chapter 1.

3. What kind of person is Earl Alfhere, Lord of all Mercia, when he is introduced in Chapter 3? What does he look like?

4. Detail Rumon's vision at Tre-Uther.

5. What does King Edgar look like when Rumon and Merewyn first encounter him?

6. What happened when Edward's body thane, Gunnar, is sent to Alfrida on Coronation Eve?

7. What was Rumon's nightmare on Christmas night after Alfrida had made time to see him earlier in the day?

8. How does Queen Alfrida look when she arrives in the Great Hall to meet Merewyn and Rumon?

9. When Merewyn arrives at the Great Hall of Lydford Castle, how does she describe it?

10. On the feast of the Assumption, how does Merewyn describe the Abbey's gardens as she sat in them beside Elfled on the well curb?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explore how gender affects the plot and character development in "Avalon." How are male and female characters portrayed? What are the roles of males and females in Medieval society both in England and Iceland? How did gender influence the choices that were available to the characters and the decisions that they made?

Essay Topic 2

Explore the way that social class and class issues influence the characters and plot of "Avalon." What social classes are represented? To what extent is each class depicted; are all the classes given equal representation? How do the classes in "Avalon" relate to the classes that realistically existed in Medieval England and Iceland?

Essay Topic 3

Explain how and why the ending of "Avalon" appropriately or inappropriately concluded the story. Did the ending of "Avalon" provide the reader with a significant closure or did it merely end? Does the reader have to adjust to ambiguity or uncertainty or does "Avalon" satisfy the reader need to know what happens to Merewyn and Rumon?

(see the answer keys)

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