View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Who catches the thief red-handed with the stolen silver chalice?

2. What is the secret compromise that Philip proposes to the Hamleighs about the forests and quarry in Shiring?

3. What does the condemned man look like?

4. Why does Peter of Wareham become angry with Prior Philip?

5. What impresses Prior Philip about Tom's plans for the cathedral?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the conversation the young men have about witnessing other hangings.

2. Why does Abbot Peter transfer Prior Philip out of the monastery where he was born and where does he send him?

3. How does Tom first meet Ellen and her son, Jack?

4. What happens when Tom asks the master builder of a cathedral in Salisbury if he can have a job?

5. What does the condemned man do as the noose is placed around his neck?

6. Describe how Tom is hired to begin repairs of Kingsbridge Cathedral and what is the condition Philip sets about Ellen?

7. What is the vow that Aliena's father asks her to make when she and Richard visit him in prison?

8. Describe the business that Aliena begins when she gets the money her father left for her and Richard with a priest in Winchester?

9. Summarize the actions of the townspeople before the hanging takes place.

10. Describe the condemned man's appearance.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

1) Compare the hanging of Jack Shareburg in the beginning of the novel to the hanging of William Hamleigh at the end.

2) Compare the reaction of the two prisoners, and the reaction of the spectators while awaiting the hanging.

3) What do the hangings reveal about the character of Jack and William?

Essay Topic 2

1) Summarize the building of the new cathedral at Kingsbridge from the time the old church is burned down to the completion of the cathedral many years later.

2) Include the architectural styles used by each of the three master builders that were hired throughout the years and the setbacks to the cathedral construction.

3) Describe the style of the completed Kingsbridge Cathedral and the master builder's design.

Essay Topic 3

1) Summarize the survival skills Ellen and Jack develop while living in the forest.

2) Include their methods of finding shelter, storing food, and hunting.

3) How do they protect themselves from bandits and wild animals?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 779 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample