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Copyright 2002

Created by Brian Thornton

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Catherine Called Birdy

Answer Key Novel Study Guide
KarenCushman

 

Answer all questions in sentence form.

September (1st chapter)

  1. Who is telling the story?
  2. What is the setting for this story?  Locate the area in an atlas.
  3. Design a title page using a medieval theme.
  4. What is the origin of the expression "corpus bones"?
  5. Why does Catherine have to keep a journal?
  6. List some of the other people in Catherine's life and their relationship to her.
  7. Describe Catherine's first plan to drive away unwanted suitors.
  8. What cure does Catherine mix for Perkin's bound liver?
  9. Describe Catherine's best friend.
Vocabulary:  ale head, abominable, war horse, minstrel, impudence, clodpole, Michaelmas, muzzle-witted

Enrichment:  Research the subject of heraldry.  Design a coat of arms for your family.

Chose at least three occupations (i.e. jobs or careers) that you would like to pursue when you are older.  Select your favourite and then research it and make a short presentation to the class.

 

October (2nd chapter)

  1. Tell what Catherine used to believe about Jews and what she believes now.
  2. Why does Catherine throw her mother's ruby ring into the pig yard?
  3. How did Catherine get rid of the suitor Rolf?
  4. Why do you think Catherine wants to be a monk?
  5. Explain why Catherine treats herself with wormwood and mint.
Vocabulary:  maggot, privy, dovecote, peevish, vellum, scriptorium, abbot, nunnery, crusade

Enrichment:  Research castles either from the library or the internet.  Design your own castle blueprint and construct a model.

 

November (3rd chapter)

  1. What bold advice did Catherine give Father Huw the priest?
  2. What is causing Catherine's rash and will she be able to correct it?
  3. Summarize how Catherine's parents met.
  4. How did Catherine ruin her saint's day party?
  5. Where did Catherine learn the string trick?
Vocabulary:  hazel, jest, yestereve, agrimony, betony, feverfew, mirling

Enrichment:  Catherine learns many medieval cures for ailments.  Keep a list of the cures in the novel.  Research modern day remedies for these same ailments.

 

December (4th chapter)

  1. What effect does the funeral procession have on Catherine?
  2. Research why Jews were expelled from England and be prepared to explain in class.
  3. For three months we hear Catherine use "Corpus Bones" as her cursing words. What curses does she use in December? Which one is her favourite?
  4. How did Catherine get rid of suitor number three?
  5. Describe two Christmas games or traditions you had not heard of before.
Vocabulary:  sodden, vex, blasphemy, magpie, profanity, mummer, wassail

Enrichment:  Look up Longshanks (King Edward I) and William Wallace (Braveheart).  Who do you think should have won their battles?

 

January (5th chapter)

  1. How did Catherine get her puppy back?
  2. What drove away suitor number four?
  3. Describe how Edward the saddler's apprentice was lost and saved.
  4. What kind of things does Catherine paint into her mural?
  5. Research the history of ice skating. Does it refer to bones on shoes?
Vocabulary:  laundress, putrid, joust, betrothal, friar, martyr

Enrichment:  Would you have liked living in 1290?  Why or why not?

 

February (6th chapter)

  1. How does Catherine get rid of Fulk?
  2. What worries Catherine?
  3. Describe the girls reaction when they see Madame Johanna after imagining great things.
  4. What do you think about Madame Joanna's fortune telling?
  5. What plan does Catherine have for Shaggy Beard?
Vocabulary:  penance, flagon, wimple, solar, dilemma, soothsayer

Enrichment:  Research clothing of the 13th century.  How was fabric made, dyed etc.

 

March (7th chapter)

  1. Why doesn't Catherine like Agnes?
  2. Describe Catherine's thoughts about Geoffrey.
  3. Why does Catherine panic on March 20th?
  4. Who do you think Catherine wrote her new song about on March 29th?
Vocabulary:  odious, disembowelled, lustily, infirmity, frivolity, persecution

Enrichment:  Food is constantly described throughout the novel.  How was food kept from rotting or decaying in medieval times?  Create a menu for a feast using 13th century dishes.

  

April (8th chapter)

  1. What changes Catherine's mind about Geoffrey?
  2. Why does Catherine refer to her betrothal as a "sale"?
  3. What do you think really drives Shaggy Beard away?
  4. How does Catherine attempt to ease her mother's headaches?
Vocabulary:  brigand, kirtle, rushlight, blight, turmoil, breeches, hermit

Enrichment:  Jews were made to leave England in 1290.  Explain why this happened.

 

May (9th chapter)

  1. Explain May Day traditions of 1291.
  2. Tell what is happening with Shaggy Beard.
  3. List how a lady must act in Catherine's day.
  4. Why did Catherine have to improvise a remedy for her mother's headache?
Vocabulary:  humility, fable, parchment, scroll, corrupt, ulcer, lunatic, duel

Enrichment:  Research how people communicated in the middle ages (prior to phones, fax, emails).

 

June (10th chapter)

  1. Explain why helping the ant meant so much to Catherine.
  2. What is wrong with Catherine's father's health? List all the steps he takes to deal with the problem.
  3. How does Lincoln differ from Catherine's village?
  4. Describe how Catherine intervenes in Meg's life particularly her marriage plans.
Vocabulary:  boiling pitch, shire, demon, poultice, guild, malignant, missionary, relic

Enrichment:  List and explain some of the superstitions listed in the novel.

 

July (11th chapter)

  1. Describe Meg's wedding and all its traditions.
  2. What was Catherine's father's reaction when she asked why the villagers could choose their husbands and wives?
  3. Explain what Brother Norbert and Brother Behrtwald are doing.
  4. What does Catherine pray for on the 29th of July?
Vocabulary:  gittern, plaited, harrowing, warble, rue, sneezewort, pagan, sacrificial

Enrichment:  What kind of homes would the villagers around the manor have lived in?

 

August (12th chapter)

  1. Describe the Bartlemas Fair.
  2. Who is Catherine trying to save now and why?
  3. Explain how Catherine's bear is saved in the end and why is she so surprised by what happens?
Vocabulary:  dispirited, dolt, sheaf, reaper, parchment, bearbaiting

Enrichment:  Research and explain the feudal system.

 

September (13th chapter)

  1. Explain the steps Catherine and Morwenna take to save Catherine's mother.
  2. How does Catherine "escape" before her wedding?
  3. On September 18th the year before we learn that Catherine is commanded to write this account of her days in order to grow more learned and less childish.  Explain using examples from the book whether the journal did its job or not.
Vocabulary:  barbarian, rowan, rheumatism, apostle, evangelist

Enrichment:  We know Catherine participated in feasts and went to the fair. What else did people do for entertainment during Catherine's time?

 
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Copyright 2002

Created by: Brian Thornton, Capo Creations, Box 1411, Haileybury, Ontario, CANADA POJ 1KO

Not to be used or copied in any manner without specific written consent of the publisher All Rights Reserved

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