Historical Perspectives

Multiple Choice

What is the significance of the period between 750 and 1066 in shaping early English history?

• It marks the rise and fall of the Roman Empire.

• It is the era of major Viking invasions, the creation of important literary works, and the establishment of early English kingdoms.

• It is known for the Renaissance and the Age of Exploration.

• It is the period of the Industrial Revolution.

Open Ended

How does Bede’s metaphor of the sparrow flying through the banqueting hall reflect the attitudes or beliefs of people living during the early medieval period?

Multiple Choice

What role did the Roman Catholic Church play in England after the fall of the Roman Empire?

• It became the strongest surviving institution and helped spread Christianity.

• It was destroyed by the Anglo-Saxons.

• It only influenced the language, not religion.

• It left England isolated from the rest of Europe.

Open Ended

Explain how the successive waves of invasions influenced the English language and culture.

Open Ended

Study the map and the examples of English words that originated in the languages of various invaders. What does each word tell you about the culture from which it came?

Multiple Choice

Which of the following words in English originated from the language of the Vikings?

• wall

• bread

• ransack

• attorney

Multiple Choice

Which work did Bede write that marked an important stage in England’s developing sense of itself as an island nation?

• Beowulf

• A History of the English Church and People

• The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

• The Seafarer

Open Ended

How did the arrival of the Vikings and the actions of Alfred the Great contribute to the development of England as a nation?

Multiple Select

Which of the following statements about William the Conqueror and the Normans is/are correct?

• William the Conqueror was crowned king of England in 1066.

• The Normans brought only their language to England.

• The Normans solidified a form of government called feudalism.

• England became a bilingual country after the Norman conquest.

Open Ended

How did the rise of towns and the formation of guilds contribute to changes in the feudal system?

Multiple Choice

Which literary work from the Focus Period reflects society’s loyalty to valiant warriors and the desire for an almost superhuman hero?

• A Call to Arms

• The Seafarer

• from Beowulf

• The Pillow Book

Open Ended

How does Bede use the metaphor of the sparrow to describe human life, and what message do you think he is trying to convey about existence?

Multiple Choice

Which of the following events marked the end of the Dark Ages according to the timeline?

• The defeat of the English by Danes at the Battle of Maldon

• The compilation of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

• The establishment of the first Viking colony in Greenland

• The year c. 1000 as indicated in the timeline

Multiple Choice

Which of the following works listed under 'Timeless Voices' is associated with nonviolent resistance?

• 'The Song of the Mud' by Mary Borden

• 'Defending Nonviolent Resistance' by Mohandas K. Gandhi

• 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

• 'Speech Before Her Troops' by Queen Elizabeth I