The Dragon and The Raven 11

Study Guide Questions for Ch. 11 “The Isle of Athelney”

If you are looking for the beginning of the study for G. A. Henty’s The Dragon and The Raven then you can go HERE for a brief introduction. At the bottom of the introduction you will find the links to each section of the study guide as it becomes available. If you would like to see the growing list of book studies available for free on this site you can go HERE. Enjoy!

Virtues/Vices/Great Ideas: (Find them in the Text)

Being/Needing a Guide, Appearance vs. Reality, Joy, Mercy, Vengeance, Prudence, Salvation, Providence

Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)

1. What did Edmund call “a good omen”?

2. How did Edmund find the place where King Alfred was rumored to be hiding?

3. According to the first man Edmund talked to on the island of Athelney, what kind of men had taken up residence there?

4. What humorous situation did Edmund walk in upon as he found King Alfred?

5. What did the Danes say they would do with any Saxon carrying a weapon?

6. What did Alfred propose to do to the Isle of Athelney before marching with his army against the Danes?

7. What was the reaction of the people of Wessex to King Alfred’s return?

8. How did Alfred and Edmund prepare their army for battle?

9. What was the result of the battle and the siege of Chippenham?

10. What did King Guthorn of the Danes tell Alfred he intended to do which made Alfred and the Saxons rejoice greatly?

Logic Questions: (Interpreting, Comparing/Contrasting, Reasoning)

1. Why did Edmund say that King Alfred would “be one of the most shiftless” of the men on the island? 

2. Why was Alfred so useless as a servant?

3. Why was Athelney an excellent place to build a fort?

4. Why were the Saxons ready to fight now when they had previously ceased to come to fight at King Alfred’s call?

5. Compare the battle between the Saxons and the Danes in this chapter with Edmunds fight against Sweyn in the previous chapter. What do you notice that they have in common?

6. Why was it prudent for Alfred to show mercy to the Danes?

7. Why might King Guthorn have decided to become a Christian?

Rhetoric Questions: (The Analysis of Ideas in the Text)

1. The text tells us that King Guthorn’s decision to convert to Christianity “would as a matter of course would be followed by that of his subjects.” How do the beliefs of a nation’s ruler (or rulers) affect the people of that nation? Do you think that people are more affected by the beliefs of their rulers in the case of a monarchy as opposed to a Democracy or Republic? In light of this, what would be the ideal form of governance from a Christian perspective? Defend your answer with clear and persuasive reasoning.

Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)

1. Read Acts 16:11-40 and consider the conversions of Lydia and the Philippian Jailer. What similarities do you notice between these conversions in Acts and King Guthorn’s conversion in The Dragon and The Raven? What practical wisdom should we infer from these examples?