Mysterious Middle Age Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bertilak

In the Arthurian Romance 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight', Gawain traveled through the wilderness of northwest Britain in search of the Green Knight. He encountered all sorts of beasts, suffered from hunger and cold, and at last saw a Green Chapel and took shelter there.

He stayed there for three days and received cordial hospitality. At the end the Green Knight revealed his true identity. He disclosed that he was Bertilak, the actual lord of the castle.

Answer: Morgan le Faye

The old woman at the castle was Morgan le Faye. She was Gawain's aunt and King Arthur's half sister. She sent the Green Knight on his original errand and used her magic to change Bertilak's appearance. She wanted to test King Arthur and his Knights and, as such, framed the whole episode. 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight' was a late 14th century verse romance.

Answer: Wonderful teacher

Roger Bacon (1214?-1294) was an English writer, philosopher and scientist. He was one of the most prominent figures in the 13th century scholastic philosophy. He was a teacher at both Oxford and Paris University. It is said that he experimented with gunpowder.

Answer: Thomas Hoccleve

Sir Geoffrey Chaucer was a prolific writer. His literary career was divided into three periods: the Italian period, the French period and the English period. Chaucer wrote his magnum opus 'The Canterbury Tales' in the London dialect of English language that later became the "literary standard". He essentially set the course for subsequent English poets. Thomas Hoccleve (1369-1426), a 15th century clerk and versifier, was so much inspired by his verses that he addressed Chaucer as his 'father'. Many modern critics call Chaucer "the father of English Literature".

Answer: Troilus and Criseyde

Medieval English literature was dominated by alliterative verse romances. Alliterative verse was a stylistic device used in Old Norse and Anglo-Saxon poetry. The main ingredient of alliterative verse was the use of alliteration. In order to be an alliterative verse, each line in the poem should have at least four stressed syllables of alliterative words. Alliterative words were words that repeat the same sound in a line or sentence.

It was a little different from alliteration. In alliterative verse, each line in a poem must contain 2-3 alliterative words; however, the alliterative sound in each line of the poem might be different.

This stylistic device was rarely used after the Norman conquest. Geoffrey Chaucer, 'the father of English literature' was a versatile personality.

He also followed the tradition and wrote alliterative verses, but his 'Troilus and Criseyde'(1385?) had a different style. It was a non-alliterative verse romance like 'The Knight's Tale' in 'The Canterbury Tales', his magnum opus. 'The Book of the Duchess' and 'The Parliament of Fowls' were written in French.

Answer: Moralizing

John Gower was a Middle English writer and one of the founding forefathers of English Literature. He had a friendly relationship with Geoffrey Chaucer. John Gower was a moralist and his magnum opus 'Confessio Amantis' preached moral sermons to young lovers. Chaucer used to make humour by using the term 'moral' before his name in private conversation with him.

Answer: Visio Willelmi de Petro Ploughman

William Langland was one of the three founding fore-fathers of English literature, the other two being Geoffrey Chaucer and John Gower. He is remembered today for his narrative titled 'Piers Plowman' or 'Visio Willelmi de Petro Ploughman', meaning 'William's Vision of Piers, the Ploughman'.

Here the author narrated events from the Peasant Revolt of 1381. As he was a landlord, he viewed the Revolt from the standpoint of a landlord. He condemned the agitators as it hampered his personal interest.

Answer: £1000

Everyman was a materialistic fellow. He valued money most, and believed that money could purchase anything. In order to dissuade the messenger of Death, he wanted to pay him £1000 as bribe. The statement revealed Everyman's materialistic outlook of the world on the one hand and his faithlessness in God and divine power on the other.

"Everyman:
'O Death, thou comest when I had thee least in mind;
In thy power it lieth me to save,
Yet of my good will I give thee, if ye will be kind,
Yea, a thousand pound shall thou have,
And defer this matter till another day.'"

Answer: Dictates and Sayenges of the Phylosophers (1477)

William Caxton (c.1422-1491) was a merchant and a writer who set up the first printing press at Westminster in England in 1476. He learnt the technique of printing from Cologne and started publishing books from his press in Brugge (France) at about 1475.

The first printed book in English from his press in Brugge was 'The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye' (1475). He returned to England in 1476 and established his printing press at Westminster towards the end of 1476. The first dated book printed in English from his Westminster press was 'Dictates and Sayenges of the Phylosophers (1477)'.

It was published on November 8,1777. He published altogether 90 editions of well-known and lesser known authors, including Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales', Gower's 'Confessio Amantis', and Malory's 'Morte d'Arthur'.

Answer: Julian of Norwich

Julian of Norwich (c. 1342 - c. 1416) was an English mystic of the 14th century. She was the writer of 'The Revelations of Divine Love'. She saw a series of visions in a near-death illness at the age of 30. She wrote about these visions, and they were the first published work in English written by a woman.

She wrote an expanded version entitled 'The Sixteen Revelations of Divine Love' nearly 20 years later, which won widespread recognition as a major theological work.