And [Henry] further declared, that when opportunity served, he would pass the sea, and come into his country of Gascoigne,* with such company as he thought convenient, and then might the duke set forward with his band, for the accomplishment of his courageous desire, promising him in the word of a prince, not thence to depart, till the duke either by fulfilling his own desire in manner aforesaid, or by singular combat between them two only, for avoiding of more effusion of Christian blood, should think himself fully satisfied.
To this and much more contained in the kings answer, the duke replied, and the king again rejoined, not without taunts and checks unfitting for their estates.* The duke of Orleans offended highly (as he might seem) furnished against the king of England with an army of six thousand men, entered into Guien,* and besieged the town of Vergi,* whereof was captain Sir Robert Antlfield, a right hardy and valiant knight, having with him only three hundred Englishmen, which defended the fortress so manfully, that the duke (after he had lain three months) and lost many of his men, without honour or spoils returned into France.
* Gascony was at this time an English possession; when it is distinguishable from Guyenne, it lies to the south of it, between the River Garonne and the Pyrenees. Henry II of England inherited Gascony by his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1152. Lost in the thirteenth century, it was ceded to Edward III by the Treaty of Brétigny in 1360. See a map at Wikimedia Commons.
* Louis strongly hinted that Henry had murdered Richard, and accused him of sending Richard’s child bride Isabella of Valois back to France without her dowry. Henry hotly denied both charges (both of which were true) and replied that Louis was a fine one to speak of ill-treating one’s kinsmen if rumour was to be believed. “I wish to God” wrote Henry “that you had never done, or procured to be done, anything more against the person of your lord and brother, or his children, than we have done against our late lord, and in that case we believe that you would find your conscience more at ease.” What these rumours were may be gleaned from the lengthy defence of John of Burgundy delivered in Paris after Louis’s sensational assassination the following year. “The late Louis duke of Orleans” declared Burgundy’s spokesman “was devoured with covetousness of vain honours and worldly riches: that to obtain for himself and his family the kingdom and crown of France, by depriving our king of them, he studied all sorts of sorcery and witchcraft, and practised various means of destroying the person of the king, our sovereign lord, and his children”.
* This was in 1406. Guyenne or Guienne, a name derived from the Roman Province of Aquitania in southwest France. It was the region where Bordeaux lay, and included Bourg and Blaye beside the Gironde Estuary.
* The town of Bourg, today in Gironde. The neighbouring town of Blaye capitulated at once, and promised to provision the Duke’s forces during the siege of Bourg. “The duke accepted of these terms,” Enguerrand de Monstrelet (?1400-1453) tells us, “and besieged Bourg, which was strongly garrisoned by a numerous body of English and Gascon men-at-arms. Many engines were pointed against the walls and gates by the French, which did them considerable damage; but, notwithstanding, the besieged defended themselves.” Louis’s humiliation was not lightly forgiven by the French. “The people of France, and some of the nobility, murmured much against him for this retreat, because there had been a very heavy tax levied for the support of this army.”
Précis
Nevertheless Henry accepted Louis’s challenge, though on his own terms and in his own time. This was not enough for Louis. After a flurry of ill-tempered correspondence, two years later he marched on Gascony, a prized English possession in France, only to be humiliatingly rebuffed by the garrison at Bourg-sur-Gironde, and forced to back down. (55 / 60 words)
Nevertheless Henry accepted Louis’s challenge, though on his own terms and in his own time. This was not enough for Louis. After a flurry of ill-tempered correspondence, two years later he marched on Gascony, a prized English possession in France, only to be humiliatingly rebuffed by the garrison at Bourg-sur-Gironde, and forced to back down.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 60 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, despite, may, or, ought, since, unless, whereas.
Archive
Word Games
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Vain. Very. Without.
2 Depart. Satisfy. Would.
3 Each. Man. Understand.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Subject and Object Find in Think and Speak
Use each word below in two sentences, first as the subject of a verb, and then as the object of a verb. It doesn’t have to be the same verb: some verbs can’t be paired with an object (e.g. arrive, happen), so watch out for these.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1. State. 2. Courage. 3. Might. 4. Fight. 5. Land. 6. Army. 7. City. 8. Break. 9. Manner.
Variations: 1.use your noun in the plural (e.g. cat → cats), if possible. 2.give one of your sentences a future aspect (e.g. will, going to). 3.write sentences using negatives such as not, neither, nobody and never.
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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