Part 1 of questions
which statement most accurately describes chaucer's medieval society?

a) it was a trade-based economy controlled by merchants. members of the society could choose which of three estates to join--the clergy, the nobles, or the peasant estate.

b) it was an agrarian society based on regional lords who held ultimate authority over the clergy and peasants. social mobility, or ascending the social order, (the clergy, the nobles, or the peasant estate) was impossible.

c) it was a land-based economy comprised of three estates: the clergy, the nobles, or the peasant/serf estate. the clergy were usually educated. the majority of people were serfs.

d) it was a theocracy and the church dominated all areas social activity, including the clergy, the nobles, or the peasant estate. the noble class was subservient to the powerful and influential clerics.

question 2 (3 points)
which statement best describes a central idea in "chaucer's changing world? "

a) medieval society was egalitarian, and social rules and roles adapted to the needs of the individual members of each state.

b) medieval society was very segmented and structured and each estate had a set of rules and expectations for its members.

c) life for serfs and peasant was surprisingly secure. landlords understood and appreciated the peasant's work and strove to protect the health and well-being of each worker.

d) the merchant class developed alliances with the clergy, and thereby assured the rise of the merchant class and preserved the authority and wealth of the church.

question 3 (3 points)
which of the following statements best describes the situation for the canterbury tales?

a) the canterbury tales revolves around a group of disheartened people traveling to canterbury in order to escape the cruelty of a brutal land baron. to pass the time, the travelers amuse each other by telling stories on the way. the traveler who tells the best story by the half-way point in the journey, gets to ride the horse for the remaining segment of their journey.

b) the canterbury tales is a fictional account of chaucer's actual pilgrimage to canterbury. scholars estimate that most of the characters portrayed in the story are based on actual characters.

c) the canterbury tales is based on a spanish pilgrimage, "camino de santiago" (the way of saint james). in the spanish version, catholic monks lead a group of diverse repentant christians to san juan de compostela to seek redemption. chaucer follows this basic circumstance; however, in the spanish original the pilgrims tell stories about succumbing to temptations.

d) the canterbury tales revolves around a pilgrimage to canterbury. the pilgrims meet at an inn and decide to travel together. the inn's host suggests a contest: each pilgrim will tell two stories on the way to canterbury and two on the return trip. the best story will win its teller a free meal at the inn at the end of the journey.

question 4 (3 points)
choose the character described in the following statement:

he has nice horses, but he is “not gaily dressed.” his outfit shows the signs of his heavy armor.

a) the squire

b) the parson

c) the miller

d) the knight

question 5 (3 points)
chose the character described in the following statement:

he rides a nice horse with loud bells on its gear; he wears nice clothing “with fine gray fur, the finest in the land.” he is fat and bald with prominent eyeballs

a) the monk

b) the pardoner

c) the cleric

d) the parson

question 6 (3 points)
choose the character described in the following statement:

she dresses very finely and

elaborately, particularly in

scarlet red; she has a gap

between her two front teeth.

a) the prioress

b) the nun

c) the wife of bath

d) the baker

question 7 (3 points)
choose the character described in the following statement:

he has a white neck and dresses very nicely, especially considering that he’s supposed to be a “cloistered scholar.” he speaks with a lisp.

question 7 options:

a) the monk

b) the cleric

c) the pardoner

d) the friar