Introduction
After the Norman Conquest in 1066, a group of English noblemen sold their estates and set sail for anywhere not ruled by Normans. Their wanderings took them to Constantinople (or Micklegarth), at that time beset by another overbearing Norman, Robert Guiscard, Duke of Apulia, and the Seljuk Turks.
WHEN the English chiefs were sure that the Danes would not help them against William* - they had made up their minds that they would not abide under his rule - they left their estates and fled away from the land with a great host. There were three earls and eight barons who were their leaders, and the foremost of them was Sigurd earl of Gloucester.* But they had three hundred and fifty ships, and aboard them a great force of picked men.
They fared first south over the sea, and thence to Norva-sound* and further across the sound to that capital which is called Septem.* Thence they held on east to the isles, and won both of them, Majorca and Minorca. After that they fared to Sicily. And when they were come there they heard great strife out of Micklegarth,* and how heathen folk beleaguered the city both by sea and land.* They looked for great advancement; for a long time, the Northmen had very great honour who went into service there.* They stayed a while in Micklegarth, and set the realm of the Greek king free from strife.
After King Harold Godwinson lost the Battle of Hastings in 1066, his crown went to the victorious general, William, Duke of Normandy. Some English nobles would not recognise his right, preferring Prince Edgar, a descendant of King Ethelred the Unready (r. 978-1016), backed by Sweyn II of Denmark, nephew of King Cnut (r. 1016-1035). William managed to buy Sweyn off, forcing Edgar to scurry to safety in Scotland.
No records exists of an Earl of Gloucester named Sigurd or its English equivalent Siward at this time. There was a wealthy warrior, landowner and thegn (a rank below earl) named Siward Barn, a persistent and outspoken opponent of William, who was released from prison in 1087 and subsequently disappeared from English chronicles. He is recorded as having land in many parts of the country, including a significant property in Lechlade, Gloucestershire.
Norva Sound is the Strait of Gibraltar.
Septem is an ancient name for Ceuta (in English, pronounced like ‘suiter’), a Spanish autonomous city bordering on Morocco.
Micklegarth was the Scandinavian name for Constantinople, and meant ‘big enclosure’, i.e. a large walled city; in Iceland, Istanbul is called Mikligarður to this day.
Emperor Alexius Komnenos (r. 1081-1118) in Constantinople was troubled at this time by two enemies in particular. The principal threat by sea was Robert Guiscard, Duke of Apulia in Italy, who was a Norman Christian like William. The principal threat by land was the Seljuk Turks, Muslims from the east of Anatolia. The English played a vital role in keeping both at bay.
A reference to the Varangian Guard, an elite corps of Imperial troops recruited largely from Scandinavia and later on England. See also The Luck of the Draw. As the author implies, many of the English were of Scandinavian descent and saw themselves as kin to the Varangians, hence their appeal to Sweyn II of Denmark.
Précis
A company of English warriors who would not live in England under the Normans gathered three hundred and fifty ships, and led by Sigurd sailed away south in search of a new life. They buccaneered their way through the Mediterranean, and then, hearing of battle in Constantinople, sailed up to the City just in time to deliver it from attack. (60 / 60 words)
A company of English warriors who would not live in England under the Normans gathered three hundred and fifty ships, and led by Sigurd sailed away south in search of a new life. They buccaneered their way through the Mediterranean, and then, hearing of battle in Constantinople, sailed up to the City just in time to deliver it from attack.
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, or, otherwise, since, whereas.
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.
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