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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. How does the Archbishop feel about the Queen?

2. How does the Queen react to the King's decision as to whom he has chosen to succeed him?

3. Why do Rumon and Merewyn suspect that Merewyn's mother is dead?

4. How does Alfhere deal with Alfrida's behavior?

5. What announcement does Alfrida want to make at dinner that evening after Yuletide?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Rumon's appearance when he first meets Merewyn.

2. Is Breaca, Merewyn's mother, crazy as Rumon thinks she is when he meets her at the beginning of Chapter 2?

3. How does Edward describe his love, Elgifu?

4. Why did Alfrida consent to marry Rumon when he asked her again the day after Christmas?

5. How does Dunstan describe the scene that he came upon that led him to take Rumon to Glastonbury Abbey two weeks after the coronation?

6. How did Alfrida act toward Edward in the beginning of Chapter 6?

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

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

9. 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?

10. What did Rumon say to Merewyn in his letter that he sent to her at the Abbey?

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

Think about how the characters, setting, and themes in "Avalon" relate to the period in which it was written. (The early to mid 1960s.) How is it a reflection, and how is it a criticism of that time period? How does Seton make her opinions about that world clear to the reader?

Essay Topic 3

In "Avalon," some of the characters are given positive, sympathetic portrayals. Others have negative, perhaps even villainous portrayals. Others may be introduced as negative but gradually become positive. How does Seton indicate which characters are positive and which are negative? What details, actions, and characteristics does Seton give us to help us define which characters are "good" in the novel and which ones are "bad?" Explain how you are able to tell the difference.

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