Clay Lane

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New posts, old posts, and a few brainteasers

December 27 December 14 OS

121

The Black Rood of Scotland

When the Reformers sold off the treasures of Durham Cathedral, they sold a priceless piece of Scottish history into oblivion.

The Black Rood of Scotland was an heirloom of the Scottish royal family, captured by the English at the Battle of Neville’s Cross in 1346 and added to the treasures of Durham Abbey. After the sixteenth-century Reformers ransacked the cathedral, the cross disappeared. A generation later, the Rites of Durham recalled some of the wonderful history of the vanished relic in a breathless tale, edited here by John Davies in 1671.

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Join each group of ideas together to make a single sentence, in as many ways as you can.

David fought in the Battle of Neville’s Cross. He wore the Black Rood on his breast. He hoped God would help him win. [If. Neck. Victory.]

The English defeated the Scots at Neville’s Cross. Their jewels were given to St Cuthbert’s shrine. These included the Black Rood. [Among. Trophy. Victory.]

Posted October 1

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122

A short prayer for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross on September 14th/27th each year, from the Sarum Missal.

Holy Cross Day is the name given in the Book of Common Prayer to the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, which is kept on September 14th. In The Rites of Durham (1593) it is still called Holy Rood Day, after the Anglo-Saxon manner.

The feast goes back to the fourth century, when Helen, dowager Empress of Constantinople, declared that the true Cross of Christ had been found. The relic was treasured up in a silver casket in the newly consecrated Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem (AD 335), and brought out for display and veneration every year on this date. See St Helen Finds the True Cross in The Copy Book.

The prayer below is the Collect for this day according to the Sarum Use, the liturgy of the English Church prior to the Reformation in the sixteenth century.

Collect

O GOD, Who wast pleased to redeem mankind with the precious Blood of Thy Only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, mercifully grant that they who draw nigh to adore the life-giving Cross may be set free from the bonds of their sins. Amen.

Posted September 27

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123

Let Us Extol the Cross’s Praise

A hymn for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, from the Sarum Missal.

A ‘sequence’, in the pre-Reformation liturgy of the English Church, was a hymn sung at the service of holy communion. It was designed to fill the period between the Gradual or Alleluia and the chanting of the Gospel; sadly, both the Reformers and the Popes cut them from the liturgy in the sixteenth century. This particular example, attributed to prolific composer Adam of St Victor (?-1146), of Paris, was sung at the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on September 14th each year.

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Posted September 27

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124

Infirm of Purpose!

After the murder of King Duncan, Lady Macbeth is alarmed to see her husband losing his grip on reality.

Macbeth has stabbed Duncan, King of Scots, as he lay in his bed, hoping to give a little assistance to a witch’s prophecy that he would one day be King. Both Macbeth and his wife, who is the driving force behind the plot, are understandably jittery; but it soon becomes clear to the ever-competent Lady Macbeth that her husband is losing his grip.

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Join each group of ideas together to make a single sentence, in as many ways as you can.

Macbeth murdered Duncan. He felt bad about it. [Guilt. Prey. Terms.]

Macbeth murdered Duncan. Lady Macbeth incriminated Duncan’s servants. [Commit. Evidence. Guilt.]

Posted September 26

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125

Tay

Make as many words as you can using the letters of one nine-letter word. Can you beat our score?

A Polyword is a game with words and letters. Make words of four letters or more from the letters of a nine-letter word, using each letter only once. Include the highlighted letter in every word you make. Can you beat our score?

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Posted September 26

126

Fill the empty boxes with letters, using the clues to help you find the right ones.

Use the clues provided to help you fill this puzzle with the right words. Most of the clues test vocabulary, but some test general knowledge.

Crossword No. 5

From Crosswords

A new crossword for the collection.

Fill the empty boxes with letters to make words running across and down. Use the numbered clues to help you find the right words. Click any box to get started.

SPIED****E*S*V***CATNIP**K*U*N**MINARET**S*R*G***HEYDAY******R**

1 across Spotted. 5 letters

5 across Common name for nepeta cataria, a plant of the mint family. 6 letters

6 across Spire. 7 letters

7 across A golden era, a time of past success. 6 letters

2 down Just a little hungry. 7 letters

3 down Wide, tidal mouth of a river. 7 letters

4 down ‘A spoonful of honey will catch more flies than a gallon of ____.’ (Proverb) 7 letters

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Posted September 21

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