Introduction
St Cuthbert the Wonderworker of Lindisfarne (?634-687) is one the the most famous of all English saints. He lived in solitude on Inner Farne off the coast of Northumberland, surrounded by the birds he loved, and promised to take care of them even after he was gone.
SAINT Cuthbert loved all the birds of Inner Farne, and feared for them after he was gone. So he bequeathed to them a legacy, which is called ‘St Cuthbert’s Peace’. The birds were bound to live in peace with one another, but they were also promised that no other man or beast would harm them and go unpunished.
Many years later, a monk named Aelric lived in the same cell on Inner Farne.* One day when Aelric was away on the mainland Leving, the monk who was looking after his cell, grew peckish, so he killed and ate one of the eider ducks that nested nearby.
To avoid detection, Leving scattered the skin, bones and feathers on the sea as widely as possible. But his precautions were in vain. When Aelric returned he found bone, skin and feathers all neatly rolled up into a ball, and deposited accusingly on the step of St Cuthbert’s old chapel by the indignant tide.*
This was in about 1150. Aelric’s nephew Bernard was sacristan at Durham Priory, now Durham Cathedral, which was Aelric’s monastery too.
See also Cuthbert and the Weary Hawk.
Précis
A monk staying in what centuries before had been St Cuthbert’s hermitage on Inner Farne fancied duck for dinner. He scattered the leftovers all around the sea so no one would know, but the outraged sea gathered them up and deposited them at the chapel door, keeping St Cuthbert’s promise to punish anyone who harmed his beloved birds. (58 / 60 words)
A monk staying in what centuries before had been St Cuthbert’s hermitage on Inner Farne fancied duck for dinner. He scattered the leftovers all around the sea so no one would know, but the outraged sea gathered them up and deposited them at the chapel door, keeping St Cuthbert’s promise to punish anyone who harmed his beloved birds.
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: about, although, if, must, otherwise, since, whereas, whether.
Archive
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
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 Eider. Legacy. Possible.
2 Into. Name. Promise.
3 Detection. His. One.
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.)
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 ()
You are welcome to share your creativity with me, or ask for help with any of the exercises on Clay Lane. Write to me at this address:
See more at Email Support.
If you like what I’m doing here on Clay Lane, from time to time you could buy me a coffee.
Buy Me a Coffee is a crowdfunding website, used by over a million people. It is designed to help content creators like me make a living from their work. ‘Buy Me a Coffee’ prides itself on its security, and there is no need to register.
