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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who helped Beowulf fight the dragon?
(a) Hrothgar.
(b) Unferth.
(c) Wiglaf.
(d) Hrethric.

2. According to The Laws of Wihtred, who is free from taxation?
(a) The Church.
(b) Knights.
(c) Scops.
(d) The Bards.

3. According to the author, what did Anglo-Saxons fail to do for their poetry?
(a) Title them.
(b) Follow the "code".
(c) Pay hommage to their past.
(d) Honor God.

4. In "The Battle of Maldon," who "over-confidently allowed the Danes to cross the causeway"?
(a) King Alfred.
(b) Byrhtnoth.
(c) Bede.
(d) King of Wessex.

5. What is the name of the monastery spoken of in "Caedmon's Vision"?
(a) Frentage.
(b) Mantre.
(c) Whitby.
(d) Dominion.

Short Answer Questions

1. Besides "The Wife's Lament," what is the only other Anglo-Saxon poem written by a woman?

2. Who is Grendel a descendant of?

3. How many men does Grendel murder on his first attack on the mead-hall?

4. What is the name of Hrothgar's mead-hall?

5. According to "The Wife's Lament," what "goes side by side with those who suffer longing for a loved one"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did one of King Edwin's men state were the differences between their time and the time of "which we have no knowledge"?

2. To whom is Grendel related and why is this important?

3. Why does Unferth challenge Beowulf's fame?

4. What were the two key relationships at the heart of Anglo-Saxon society?

5. What does Beowulf do right after killing Grendel's mother?

6. What were the many reasons that Bede was renowned?

7. What does Beowulf say about his upcoming battle with Grendel?

8. What happened in 1104 regarding the opening of Cuthbert's coffin?

9. Why does the author of the introduction to "Heroic Poems" call "The Battle of Maldon" one of "the best battle poems in the English language"?

10. Who was defined as the "most unfortunate man" in Anglo-Saxon society?

(see the answer keys)

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