The Chaucer Quiz Without a doubt, Geoffrey Chaucer offers us an unparalleled window to the High Middle Ages. His life and career in service to kings provide insight into the culture and society of late fourteenth-century Europe. His education and the works that influenced him draw us further back to the shaping of medieval European thought. And his poetry sings to us across the centuries of the universal themes of love, humor and melancholy in words strange enough to be exotic yet familiar enough to begin to understand.

What do you know about Geoffrey Chaucer? Below is a quick quiz to test your knowledge of the man and his work; you can keep track of your score in your head as you go. When you're ready to check each answer, put your mouse over the Answer graphic and look in the status bar:
As you can see, this is a quick way to check yourself as you go. If you prefer, you can click the link to go to a page with a more complete answer. When you've finished the quiz, be sure to check out the links to Chaucerian websites, books, and videos at the end of this feature.

Ready? Then it's time to take --

The Quiz

1.		The exact date of Geoffrey Chaucer's birth is uncertain; it is generally given as c. 1340, but it's more likely he was born in 1342 or 1343. Who was king of England when he was born? Edward II Edward III Richard II Henry IV
2.		Which of Chaucer's works is associated with Valentine's Day? The Book of the Duchess The Legend of Good Women The Parliament of Fowles Troilus and Criseyde
3.		Geoffrey Chaucer was alive to witness--or hear breaking news of--some remarkable events in medieval history. Which one of the following events was he not around for? The Battle of Agincourt The Black Death The Deposition of Richard II The Peasants' Revolt
4.		Chaucer wrote The Book of the Duchess as an elegy for Blanche, the late wife of which nobleman? Henry Bolingbroke John of Gaunt Jean de Montfort Simon de Montfort
5.		The Canterbury Tales is an unfinished work, wherein each pilgrim was supposed to tell more than one tale. How many tales did Chaucer originally envision each pilgrim telling? Two Three Four Seven
6.		The device Chaucer employs in The Canterbury Tales of many characters gathered together, each telling stories, was not new. The idea had been used by an Italian author in a work probably begun sometime in the late 1340's. Who was this Italian poet? Dante Alighieri Giovanni Boccaccio Baldassare Castiglione Francesco Petrarch
7.		Chaucer's epic poem Troilus and Criseyde is considered by some to be his best work. Against what war is this tragic romance set? The Hundred Years' War The Peloponnesian War The Trojan War The War of the Roses
8.		Chaucer was strongly influenced by classical and early medieval writings and even translated one into the English of his day. Which older work did he translate? The City of God by St. Augustine The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius De Officiis by Cicero Metamorphoses by Ovid
9.		In the early 1390s, Chaucer began a treatise that he dedicated to "little Lewis"; scholars are undecided as to whether or not the Lewis in question was Chaucer's own son or that of a friend. What topic did this factual treatise cover? Alchemy The Astrolabe The Cannon The Printing Press
10.		Geoffrey Chaucer died in October, 1400. Where is he buried? St. Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury The Crypt of Canterbury Cathedral Potter's Field Westminster Abbey, London

Scoring

How did you do? Score yourself as follows:

1-3		Novice. Hey -- who knew there was so much to know about Chaucer?
4-7		Not bad -- you must have become acquainted with good ol' Geoffrey.
8-9		Proficient. A Chaucerian, to say the least.
10		You're a True Chaucerian Scholar -- this quiz was too easy for you!

 

Facts for this quiz were checked at Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

If you liked this quiz, try more quizzes from you Guide.

Links of Interest

Geoffrey Chaucer
Links to introductory information, bibliographies, biographies, megasites, professional resources and various topics connected with the quintessential medieval English poet, selected by your Guide.

Chaucer Criticism, Essays & Study Guides
Theses, treatises, and articles exploring Chaucer's poetry, as well as study guides for particular Chaucerian topics available on the web; compiled by your Guide.

Chaucer Works Online
Here you'll find several versions of each of Chaucer's most significant works, including The Canterbury Tales and Troilus and Criseyde, as well as shorter works, many in both Middle and Modern English. A directory to online resources compiled by your Guide.

Recommended Reading

The links below will take you to Borders.com, where you can purchase the books online:

The Riverside Chaucer
edited by Larry D. Benson
The complete corpus of Chaucer's work in Middle English, plus introductory material, explanatory notes, bibliography, and glosses alongside the text. The Riverside edition is the absolute best collection of Chaucer available; it is, however, rather expensive and available only in hardcover in the U.S.

Chaucer A to Z: The Essential Reference to His Life and Works
by Rosalyn Rossignol
Encyclopedic guide to Chaucer's life, work, literary influences, contemporary historical events, and much more. Extremely useful.

The Canterbury Tales
translated by Nevill Coghill
A modern English version produced by Penguin, this edition does omit the two prose tales but nevertheless serves as an excellent starting point to Chaucer's work.

The Canterbury Tales
Puffin Classics
This nicely illustrated version makes a fine introduction for younger readers.

Daily Life in Chaucer's England
by Jeffrey L. Singman
Detailed and cleanly-written survey of life in 14th-century England.

Recommended Viewing

As a result of a commercial relationship between About.com, its Guides, and BigStar.com, these titles can be purchased directly from BigStar.com. BigStar.com is solely responsible for fulfillment of video orders placed through these links.

The Canterbury Tales
Racconti di Canterbury
This lush production directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini includes six tales, vividly told and beautifully retaining the flavor of the original tales. Pasolini also directed a version of The Decameron.

Join the Discussion!

Come to the Medieval History Forum and share your opinion of Geoffrey Chaucer. Was he a great poet or merely in the right time and place? Is his work uplifting or simply "dirty stories"? Let us know what you think!

If you have recommendations for books or films on this or any other medieval or renaissance topic, please feel free to post those, as well. And don't hesitate to start a thread on a new topic.

 

The Chaucer Quiz is copyright © 1999-2000 Melissa Snell and About.com. Permission is granted to reproduce this article for personal or classroom use only, provided that the URL below is included. For reprint permission, please contact Melissa Snell.

The URL for this feature is: http://historymedren.about.com/library/weekly/aa082799.htm

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