(V) English Midterm Exam Review VOCAB & CHARACTERS

The hag

Grendel’s mother

Wiglaf

the only faithful one to help Beowulf fight the dragon

Beowulf

Swedish hero who came to Denmark to help

Hrothgar

King of the Danes

Hygelac

Beowulf’s uncle; king of Gaetland (Sweden)

Heorot

the mead hall of Hrothgar

Unferth

Hrothgar’s man who challenged Beowulf’s story and gave him a sword

Wergild

life insurance, the value of a man’s life

folkmoot

an assembly of landowners and free men in a given area

Comitatus

warrior band, the king’s bodygaurds

Kenning

a compound term that replaces an ordinary term

Churl

a farmer

Bard

a storyteller

Bede

a monk who transcribed 40 books

Thane

landowners in rank under the king

Witan

the king’s advisors, meeting of the highest council

Mead Hall

where the thanes slept to protect the king, central place for the community

Scribe

someone who copied manuscripts

Lady of the Lake

the person who allowed Arthur to receive Excalibur

Green Knight

challenges the knights to a Christmas Game, seemingly immortal

King Arthur

once and future King of Britian

Mordred

Arthur’s son and nephew, both kills and is killed by Arthur

Morgan le Fey

mother of Mordred and half-sister of Arthur

Lancelot

best knight of the round table

Guinevere

wife of King Arthur, destined to love Lancelot

`Uther Pendragon

Arthur’s father

Igraine

Arthur’s mother

Sir Bedivere

did not want to throw Excalibur in the lake

Merlin

a sorcerer and Arthur’s advisor

Sir Gawain

Arthur’s nephew, accepts the Green Knight’s challenge

Excalibur

the name of Arthur’s last sword

Pardoner

traveling religious showman with phony artifacts, handed out favors

Parson

good man who travels on foot to preach to the poor

Knight

honorable man, received land and status in exchange for his service

Wife of Bath

married 5 times, and expert on love

Squire

playboy and good son of the Knight

Miller

“golden thumb”, played the bagpipes, told nasty stories

Cook

had an ulcer on his knee, famous for his creamy white sauce

Friar

the opposite of what a good monk would be, paid off the women he got pregnant

Nun

prioress, pretended to be born a lady

Yeoman

outdoorsman, served the Knight, always had a bow and arrow

Franklin

“santa”, wealthy, opened his house to all and loved good food

Manciple

was illiterate but made more money than his superiors

Merchant

talked as if he knew everything but was in debt

Oxford Cleric

professional student, very poor but knowledgable

Plowman

hard worker, brother of the Parson, paid his tithes

Innkeeper

set up the game, all travelers assembled at his business before the journey

Sergeant at the Law

the best lawyer, not as busy as he seemed to be

Monk

fake lisp, wore a tunic made of fur, very rich

Skipper

sailor who made people walk the plank, couldn’t ride a horse

Doctor

cared more about money, had an arrangement with the pharmacists

Summoner

a black mailer, carried a cake, sores on his face, spoke rubbish latin phrases

Narrator

Geoffrey Chaucer, gave descriptions of each character

Reeve

old man, very thin, knowledgable about buying and selling farm products

Chivalry

code of behavior governing the knights

Code of Chivalry

God, King, and Country, widows and ladies, children, only fight for honorable causes

Ballad

a poem meant to be sung

Lyric Ballad

appeals to emotions

Narrative Ballad

tells a story

Serf

a peasant

chattel

property of any kind

Theme

idea that the writer wants you to walk away with

Chorus

repeated part of a ballad

Petrachan Sonnet

ABBA ABBA DCE CDE, Italian, octet and sextet

English Sonnet

ABAB CDCD EFEF GG, Shakespearean, ends in a couplet

Sonnet

a 14 line poem in iambic pentameter with a definite rhyme scheme

Sonnet Sequence

a group of sonnets written on the same topic or to the same person

Stanza

divisions of a poem

Couplet

two rhyming lines at the end of a sonnet