1. Old English / Anglo-Saxon Literature (8th century – 1066)

What is warrior culture characterized by?

Loyalty, fidelity, love of glory, and hospitality.

What is a kenning?

A poetic periphrasis (e.g., "whale-road" for sea, "ring-giver" for lord, "bone-house" for body).

What do the following terms mean?

Thanes, scop, and mead hall.

• Thanes - warriors,

• Scop - oral poet/storyteller,

• Mead hall - communal gathering hall.

What is Wyrd?

Fate, which people from Germanic pagan polytheism believed in.

What are short form poetic genres in Old English?

Charms and riddles.

What are monologues (lament/complaints)?

Mournful, melancholic poems about loss.

(Examples: Deor's Lament, The Wanderer, The Seafarer, The Wife's Lament).

What is an example of an allegory?

The Dream of the Rood.

(Crucifixion story from the Cross's perspective, showing co-existence of pagan and Christian ideologies).

What is the most important Old English heroic epic?

Beowulf.

What is a notable historical work in Latin?

Venerable Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum, which mentions Caedmon.

What's an example of the vernacular (Old English) prose?

• King Alfred the Great (translated works from Latin to Old English) and

• The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.