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WorksheetsAnglo-Saxon Period and Beowulf
Total questions: 25
Worksheet time: 13mins
After occupying England for more than three hundred years, the last Roman forces finally left Britain in which year?
49 AD
309 AD
449 AD
597 AD
Who occupied the British Isles before the coming of the Anglo-Saxons?
The Celtic people, possibly led by King Arthur
The British Isles were uninhabited
The Moorish people from North Africa
The Normans, led by William the Conqueror
King Arthur of famous legends may actually have been…
a Roman general
a Celtic leader
a Christian missionary
a Viking ruler
The first Germanic people to invade Britain and settle there were…
the Jutes
the Romans
the Normans
the Celts
The Anglo-Saxon period is generally considered to date from…
55 BC to 409 AD
1 AD to 449 AD
449 AD to 1066 AD
1066 AD to 1789 AD
The words Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are all derived from the names of…
Celtic gods
Anglo-Saxon gods
Roman gods
Legendary heroes
Why do so few pieces of literature remain from this time period?
The Christian missionaries burned everything pagan.
The Anglo-Saxons had no form of written language.
Poems were originally sung rather than written down.
Everything was destroyed when the British Library flooded.
Literature written down in English began to evolve in Britain with the coming of...
Christian missionaries
the Danes
the Angles
the Normans
Who came to England during the Dark Ages with the purpose of converting the pagans to Christianity?
the Venerable Bede
Saint Augustine
Alfred the Great
King Arthur
During the Anglo-Saxon period, England was invaded by all the following EXCEPT...
Celts, from Wales
Saxons, from the Danish peninsula
Jutes, from the Danish peninsula
Angles, from the Danish peninsula
The first great English king who unified Britain by defending against the Danes is...
William the Conqueror
Alfred the Great
King Arthur
King Hrothgar
Who is called the father of English history?
the Venerable Bede
Saint Augustine
Alfred the Great
King Arthur
The first historical record to be written in English was commissioned by Alfred the Great, written by the Venerable Bede, and known as...
"The Seafarer"
Beowulf
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
A History of the English Church and People
In 1066, Britain was invaded and conquered by Norman-French forces under the leadership of...
The Venerable Bede
Alfred the Great
King Arthur
William, Duke of Normandy
What is the appropriate hierarchy of power in the feudal system?
King -> Noble -> Knight -> Peasant
King -> Knight -> Noble -> Peasant
Peasant -> Noble -> King -> Knight
Noble -> King -> Knight -> Peasant
Today, the use of the term “Dark Ages” to describe the Anglo-Saxon period is considered...
Appropriate, since it was a time of brutality and paganism
Inaccurate, since it was a time of social and political development
Reasonable, since law and order where hidden from view
Justified, since few notable writers and rulers appeared
One of the principal functions of the Anglo-Saxon scop, or poet, was to...
provide dance music
lead religious exercises
recite songs and tales
translate Latin Psalms into Old English
The songs performed at feasts in an Anglo-Saxon mead-hall included...
entertaining songs and Latin hymns
Heroic legends and Latin hymns
Latin hymns and funeral poems
entertaining songs and heroic legends
Much of the Anglo-Saxon literature that has survived is actually...
Roman in origin, with Christian additions.
based on pagan beliefs, with Christian additions.
derived from Latin legends from the Mediterranean.
Irish history written down by Alfred the Great.
Two notable characteristics of Anglo-Saxon poetry are...
use of thyme and strong rhythmic beats.
much use of alliteration and kennings.
repetition and simple subjects.
use of rhyme and musical instruments.
The pagans of England and Northern Europe believed in, or sought, “wyrd” or...
a hero's death in battle.
the fate that determines everything.
loyalty to one's lord.
the supreme Nordic god.
Who is credited as the author of Beowulf?
an unknown Christian scribe
the Venerable Bede
Alfred the Great
Geatish monks from Sweden
How can the reader tell that Beowulf is a legendary or epic story?
It takes place a long time ago.
The story involves warriors and battles.
The people in the story are called Geats and Danes.
The hero is described as someone greater than all other men.
When used to describe the sea, the phrase “whale-road” is an example of...
kenning
wyrd
caesura
alliteration
The setting of Beowulf is in...
Iceland and Norway
Denmark and Geatland
England and Denmark
the British Isles
