Worksheet for 17-Year-Olds: Mabinogion, Marie de France & Chaucer (Treatise on the Astrolabe) with Sentence Diagramming Practice

Instructions

Read the questions in Part 1 carefully and write your answers in complete sentences, drawing on your knowledge of medieval literature. For Part 2, diagram the sentences provided in the space below each one, separating the core components (subject, verb, objects) and placing all modifiers correctly.

Part 1: Medieval Voices - Comprehension and Connection

The medieval period was a time of immense literary and intellectual creativity. The following questions explore the worlds created by Welsh storytellers, the French poet Marie de France, and the English master Geoffrey Chaucer.

1. The Mabinogion, a collection of Welsh prose tales, blends Celtic mythology with later medieval romance elements. Briefly explain how one of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi (e.g., the story of Pwyll or Branwen) demonstrates this fusion of the mythological and the courtly.






2. Marie de France, one of the earliest known female poets of France, often begins her lais with a prologue discussing her purpose in writing. What do these prologues reveal about her perspective and challenges as an author in a male-dominated literary world?






3. Geoffrey Chaucer is famed for The Canterbury Tales, but he also wrote A Treatise on the Astrolabe for his "little son Lewis." What does this scientific work suggest about the intellectual world of a learned person in the 14th century, beyond just storytelling and poetry?






4. Compare the portrayal of magic or the supernatural in the mythological world of the Mabinogion with its portrayal in one of Marie de France's lais (such as "Lanval" or "Bisclavret"). Is the supernatural presented as a natural part of the world, or as an intrusion into it?

Part 2: The Grammar of the Middle Ages - Sentence Diagramming

Diagram the following sentences. Each one is inspired by the texts and authors discussed above. Focus on correctly identifying the subject, predicate, objects, modifiers, and clauses.

1. The clever prince outwitted the giant.






2. A noble lady in the court loved a mysterious knight.






3. Chaucer patiently taught his son the uses of the astrolabe.






4. The cursed baron became a werewolf and fled into the dark woods.






5. While the knight slept, the fairy queen arrived with her attendants.

Answer Key

Part 1: Sample Answers

1. (Sample Answer) In the First Branch, the story of Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed, demonstrates this fusion. The mythological element is clear in Pwyll's journey to Annwn, the Welsh Otherworld, and his friendship with its king, Arawn. This is pure Celtic mythology. However, the story is framed with courtly concerns: Pwyll's actions are judged by his honor, his marriage to Rhiannon involves courtly love conventions, and the narrative emphasizes feudal loyalty and justice, which are key themes of medieval romance.
2. (Sample Answer) The prologues reveal that Marie de France was highly conscious of her role and legacy. She states her desire to use her intellect ("the gift God has given me") and to preserve old tales for posterity, preventing them from being forgotten. She also seems aware of rivals and critics ("slanderous folk"), suggesting she had to defend her authority to write and interpret stories. This shows a deliberate, self-aware author carving out a space for her voice and intellect.
3. (Sample Answer) The treatise shows that a 14th-century intellectual like Chaucer was not confined to the arts. Science, particularly astronomy and mathematics, was a key part of a classical education. The astrolabe was a complex tool for navigation and astronomy, and Chaucer's ability to write a detailed manual for it shows a deep engagement with practical science. It suggests that literature and science were not seen as separate fields but as complementary parts of a comprehensive understanding of the universe and God's creation.
4. (Sample Answer) In the Mabinogion, the supernatural is deeply woven into the fabric of reality. The Otherworld (Annwn) is a physical place one can travel to, and figures like Rhiannon possess otherworldly qualities that are accepted as part of their nature. In Marie de France's "Lanval," the supernatural, embodied by the fairy queen and her world, acts as an intrusion upon and an escape from the human court. It is a separate, magical realm that intersects with the human world but is not fully integrated with it. In "Bisclavret," the werewolf transformation is a curse that tragically separates the baron from his courtly life, highlighting the supernatural as a force that disrupts the natural, human order.

Part 2: Sentence Diagram Explanations

Note: Since visual diagrams cannot be drawn here, the structure is described.

1. Sentence: The clever prince outwitted the giant.
   • Subject: prince
   • Verb: outwitted
   • Direct Object: giant
   • Diagram: The subject 'prince' and verb 'outwitted' are on the main horizontal line, separated by a vertical line. The direct object 'giant' is on the same line after the verb, separated by a vertical line that does not cross the baseline. 'The' and 'clever' are adjective modifiers on slanted lines below 'prince'. 'the' is an adjective modifier on a slanted line below 'giant'.
2. Sentence: A noble lady in the court loved a mysterious knight.
   • Subject: lady
   • Verb: loved
   • Direct Object: knight
   • Diagram: Subject 'lady', verb 'loved', and direct object 'knight' are on the main line. 'A' and 'noble' are adjective modifiers below 'lady'. The prepositional phrase 'in the court' modifies 'lady'; 'in' is on a slanted line below 'lady' and 'court' is the object on a horizontal line connected to it. 'the' modifies 'court'. 'a' and 'mysterious' are adjective modifiers below 'knight'.
3. Sentence: Chaucer patiently taught his son the uses of the astrolabe.
   • Subject: Chaucer
   • Verb: taught
   • Indirect Object: son
   • Direct Object: uses
   • Diagram: Subject 'Chaucer' and verb 'taught' are on the main line. The direct object 'uses' comes after the verb on the main line. The indirect object 'son' goes on a horizontal line below the verb, connected by a slanted line. 'patiently' is an adverb modifier on a slanted line below 'taught'. 'his' modifies 'son'. 'the' modifies 'uses'. The prepositional phrase 'of the astrolabe' modifies 'uses'.
4. Sentence: The cursed baron became a werewolf and fled into the dark woods.
   • Subject: baron
   • Verb (Compound): became, fled
   • Predicate Nominative: werewolf
   • Diagram: The subject 'baron' is on the main line to the left. The main line then splits to accommodate the compound predicate. 'became' is on the top branch, followed by a slanted line pointing back to the subject, and the predicate nominative 'werewolf' is on the line after the slanted line. 'fled' is on the bottom branch. 'and' connects the two verb branches on a dotted vertical line. 'The' and 'cursed' modify 'baron'. 'a' modifies 'werewolf'. The prepositional phrase 'into the dark woods' modifies 'fled'.
5. Sentence: While the knight slept, the fairy queen arrived with her attendants.
   • Independent Clause: the fairy queen arrived with her attendants
   • Dependent Clause (Adverbial): While the knight slept
   • Diagram: The independent clause ('queen' as subject, 'arrived' as verb) is diagrammed on the main horizontal line. 'the' and 'fairy' modify 'queen'. The prepositional phrase 'with her attendants' modifies 'arrived'. The entire dependent clause is diagrammed on a separate line below the main line. 'knight' is the subject and 'slept' is the verb. This clause is connected to the verb 'arrived' in the main clause by a slanted dotted line, with the subordinating conjunction 'While' written on it.