THE four knights soon found England too hot for them. Hugh Morville let the others hide out with him in his Cumbrian castle, but his servants (and even his dog) refused to know them. So they fled to Rome, to throw themselves on Pope Alexander III’s mercy. He ordered them to make pilgrimage to the holy land, where three of them died;* William Tracy died before leaving Italy.
Nor did King Henry spare himself. In 1174 he rode from Southampton to Canterbury fasting severely, then walked barefoot to the Cathedral where he did public penance, bidding the clergy scourge him with knotted ropes.* He too sought pardon from the Pope, for which he was obliged not only to make generous benefactions to the Church and to Becket’s relatives, but more irksomely to renounce all his plans for control over the English Church.
“For the defence of the Church, I am ready to die” Becket had declared; and by his death he had defended it.
Their penance was apparently deep and sincere, for they were buried before the doors of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
His grandson, Henry III, built a magnificent new shrine in the Cathedral, but it was one of the first to be destroyed in the Reformation under King Henry VIII. Becket had come to symbolise the independence of the Church from State interference, making him a prime target for the Reformers’ wrath.
Précis
The four knights who assassinated Thomas Becket fled to Rome and asked pardon of the Pope; as penance, they were ordered to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem but within a short time all were dead. King Henry did public penance in Canterbury, and abandoned his ambitions for control over the Church, so Becket’s sacrifice had not been made in vain. (60 / 60 words)
The four knights who assassinated Thomas Becket fled to Rome and asked pardon of the Pope; as penance, they were ordered to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem but within a short time all were dead. King Henry did public penance in Canterbury, and abandoned his ambitions for control over the Church, so Becket’s sacrifice had not been made in vain.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: although, because, may, or, unless, until, whereas, whether.
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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 Fast. Not. Only.
2 Bishop. Much. Night.
3 Land. Pope. Too.
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.)
Homophones Find in Think and Speak
In each group below, you will find words that sound the same, but differ in spelling and also in meaning. Compose your own sentences to bring out the differences between them.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
dbt (5)
debate. debit. debt. debut. doubt.
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