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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 many of Boniface's letters survive today (at the printing of the text)?

2. What is "elf-shot"?

3. At dawn what is the first thing that the ploughman does in the morning?

4. In "A Colloquy" what profession does the pupil have?

5. Who was the king, whose will is the earliest surviving of Anglo-Saxon history, preoccupied with threat by?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the author to the introduction of "I Saw a Strange Creature..." state that Anglo-Saxon riddles "satisfy us both as enigmas and as poems"?

2. According to the author of the introduction to "I Saw A Creature...," what "relief" does the author state is found in Anglo-Saxon riddles?

3. Why did Pope Gregory I write a letter to Candidus?

4. What does the hunter receive in return for the beasts that he slays for his king?

5. What are the twelve charms?

6. Why does the fisherman state that he would not wish to fish for whales?

7. How does the merchant justify his worth to the teacher?

8. What was the reason that many Anglos found it necessary to learn the English language?

9. What happened to the letters that survived pre-Conquest England?

10. What are a few of the "problems" that "Bald's Leechbook" addresses?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The text gives six examples of elegies from the Anglo-Saxon period. Which elegy do you believe was the most important? Why? Support your answer textually--make sure that your answer includes the characteristics of an elegy and why your choice best exemplifies the traditional Anglo-Saxon period.

Essay Topic 2

Exile was a main theme throughout Anglo-Saxon literature. What selection from the text best represents the theme of exile? Why? Be sure to use textual evidence.

Essay Topic 3

The history of the Anglo-Saxons was very important for many reasons. Why did the loss of so many documents hurt the history of the Anglos? What was important about the documents that they were able to protect? What were the Anglos able to learn about their own history based upon these texts?

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