Introduction
Henry of Huntingdon has told us how in the autumn of 1016, King Cnut of Denmark and Norway finally managed to subdue the English King, Edmund, thanks to repeated betrayals by Edmund’s treacherous counsellor, ealdorman Edric. Edmund agreed to be known henceforth as King of Wessex only, leaving Cnut as the more powerful King of Mercia, but the two warriors nevertheless cherished great mutual respect.
KING Edmund was treasonably slain a few days afterwards. Thus it happened: one night, this great and powerful king having occasion to retire to the house for relieving the calls of nature, the son of the ealdorman Edric, by his father’s contrivance, concealed himself in the pit, and stabbed the king twice from beneath with a sharp dagger, and, leaving the weapon fixed in his bowels, made his escape. Edric then presented himself to Cnut, and saluted him, saying, “Hail! thou who art sole king of England!”
Edric having explained what had taken place, Cnut replied, “For this deed I will exalt you, as it merits, higher than all the nobles of England.” He then commanded that Edric should be decapitated and his head placed upon a pole on the highest battlement of the tower of London.* Thus perished King Edmund Ironside, after a short reign of one year, and he was buried at Glastonbury, near his grandfather Edgar.*
* The Tower of London as we know it today was not raised until some sixty years after these events, being built on the orders of William the Conqueror between 1077 and 1097. Perhaps Cnut employed some earlier landmark fortification, here or elsewhere in the capital; or perhaps Henry of Huntingdon (?1088-1157), like any good story-teller, understood that details bring added conviction and either did not know or did not care that he was committing an anachronism. At any rate, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle has neither this detail nor any mention of Edmund’s murder, saying only that Edmund died on November 30th, and that in 1017 “the aldorman Eadric was slain in London, very rightly”.
* That is, Edgar the Peaceful (r. 959-975), father of King Edward the Martyr and of King Ethelred the Unready, Edmund’s father. See posts tagged Edward the Peaceful (2). The murder of Edmund by a noble anxious to ingratiate himself with his king recalls The Assassination of Thomas Becket a century or so later.
Précis
In November 1016, the treacherous Edric contrived to have Edmund Ironside, joint ruler of England with the Danish king Cnut, murdered in his lavatory. When Cnut heard what Edric had done, he promised the simpering nobleman high position — and kept his word, cutting off his head and mounting it on a pikestaff: for Cnut could not abide such treachery. (59 / 60 words)
In November 1016, the treacherous Edric contrived to have Edmund Ironside, joint ruler of England with the Danish king Cnut, murdered in his lavatory. When Cnut heard what Edric had done, he promised the simpering nobleman high position — and kept his word, cutting off his head and mounting it on a pikestaff: for Cnut could not abide such treachery.
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, just, may, must, ought, until, whereas, whether.
Archive
Word Games
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 Exalt. Perish. Then.
2 Art. Have. Weapon.
3 Command. Deed. Salute.
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.)
Homonyms Find in Think and Speak
Each of the words below has more than one possible meaning. Compose your own sentences to show what those different meanings are.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1. Hail. 2. Present. 3. Left.
Statements, Questions and Commands Find in Think and Speak
Use each word below in a sentence. Try to include at least one statement, one question and one command among your sentences. Note that some verbs make awkward or meaningless words of command, e.g. need, happen.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Leave. 2 Escape. 3 Happen. 4 Power. 5 Call. 6 Make. 7 Reply. 8 Occasion. 9 Relieve.
Variations: 1. use a minimum of seven words for each sentence 2. include negatives, e.g. isn’t, don’t, never 3. use the words ‘must’ to make commands 4. compose a short dialogue containing all three kinds of sentence: one statement, one question and one command
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.
vlts (6+1)
evaluates. valets. vaults. violates. violets. volts.
ovulates.
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.
