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At the bottom right of this page of the Lindisfarne Gospels, taken from the start of the Gospel According to St Luke, a pert puss has made an appearance. The Lindisfarne Gospels book dates from the early 8th century; the poem Pangur Bán was found scribbled among the pages of a 9th century collection of hymns and other texts in Latin known as the Reichenau Primer.
Introduction
An anonymous ninth-century Irish monk – possibly Sedulius Scottus, driven onto the Continent by Vikings – penned a little poem about his cat Pangur Bán (Fuller the White) into his scrapbook, sharing the precious space with Latin hymns and noble quotations.
I, AND Pangur Bán —
each doing what he does best:
his mind on the hunt,
mine on my own pursuits.
I love, better than fame, relaxing
with my texts, in painstaking study;
Pangur Bán does not envy me that:
he loves his own childish craft.
When at home together, just us two
(we never tire of that tale),
we hold our never-ending competition,
our test of ingenuity.
Our regular daring raids often end
with a mouse caught in his net,
or with some teasing, stubborn problem
fallen into mine.
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.
Post Box : Ask Nicholas
Grok : Ask Grok
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