The Dragon and The Raven 4

Study Guide Questions for Ch. 4 “The Invasion of Wessex”

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

Hope, Recklessness, Despair, Prudence, Loyalty

Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)

1. What did Edmund and Egbert devote “most of their time” to doing?

2. What became of King Edmund of East Anglia?

3. What does the text say as to why the Saxons “were compelled to fall back” at the battle of Reading?

4. What was king Ethelred doing while Prince Alfred was repelling the assault of the Danes?

5. What led to the death of King Ethelred?

6. What are some reasons which made the people more hopeful about King Alfred’s leadership as opposed to that of his brother?

7. According to Alfred, in what manner did Caesar teach his troops to fight?

8. What did King Alfred do in order to keep his people safe against the Danes once the people would no longer assemble to fight against them?

9. What did Edmund commit to spending his funds upon now that the construction of his fort was finished?

10. What kind of ship did the shipwright recommend building?

11. What plan was put into place for how and where to build the ship?

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

1. Why would the Danes torture people they captured rather than just put them to death quickly or enslave them?

2. Why did prince Alfred ignore his brother’s orders that “no man should move” until after he had finished hearing the Mass?

3. What does the text mean by saying “In those days a defeat, however severe, had not the same decisive effect as it has in modern warfare”?

4. Why did Alfred say he needed “three or four years” to teach his men “discipline and order”. Why was it not sufficient to simply tell his men what they ought to do?

5. What should be inferred about the power and authority of a king from the fact that, “The king made strenuous efforts again to raise an army, but the people did not respond to his call”?

6. What did Edmund mean by saying, “if the Dane entirely overrun our country we must take to the sea and so in turn become plunderers”?

7. Why did King Alfred think his role demanded a different course of action from him than what he thought would be best for Edmund?

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

1. Was Alfred right to ignore the orders of the king and advance in battle? Why or why not? If you think he was right to do so, what would you say justifies ignoring a command from a governing authority? If you think it was wrong, would you say that there is never a reason to disobey a command from a governing authority? Explain your answers carefully and with good reasoning.

2. The text says that the Danes “were taught prudence by the manner in which the West-Saxons had fought.” What does it mean to have prudence? How can life experiences teach us prudence?

3. What do you think about Alfred’s decision to pay off the Danes? Was this a good idea or a bad idea? Explain why you think as you do.

Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)

1. Read Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. How might we relate this passage to King Ethelred and Prince Alfred in our present reading?