Introduction
Whenever royal families married, fought and died in Mediaeval Europe, the borders of their realms changed, and their long-suffering peoples were told to forget whatever loyalties they had sworn last, and swear new ones. There were always those willing to prosper by spying on their fellows, and according to legend, one day a Swiss archer named William Tell was spotted in an act of lese-majesty.
EARLY in the fourteenth century, Albert I, the Habsburg Emperor, appointed one Albrecht Gessler as governor of Switzerland, with the task of subduing the Swiss to Austrian rule. Gessler had the bright idea of putting his hat on a pole in the prosperous town of Altdorf, and ordering every passer-by to bow respectfully before it.
After William Tell and his son walked by the hat without so much as a nod, Gessler’s men arrested them and brought them before the Governor. But such was Tell’s reputation as an expert with the crossbow, that Gessler could not resist a sporting wager: Tell could be executed at once, with his son, or he could have one attempt to shoot an apple off the boy’s head, and if he succeeded, go free.
Tell drew two bolts from his quiver, and fired the first, straight and true, through the centre of the apple. Gessler was grudging in defeat, but fair, and ordered Tell released.
“Why” the Governor asked in parting “did you pick out two bolts? You were allowed only one shot.”
“Because had I missed,” said Tell, “the second was for you.”*
* A real person, was Duke of Austria and Styria from 1282 and King of Germany from 1298, until his assassination in 1308. Albrecht Gessler appears to be a legendary figure.
* Cumbria has its own answer to William Tell (with a bit of Robin Hood thrown in): see William of Cloudsley.
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 Fourteenth. Only. Say.
2 Man. Much. Nod.
3 Draw. Once. You.
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.)
Verb and Noun Find in Think and Speak
Many words can serve as noun or verb depending on context: see if you can prove this with the examples below. Nouns go well with words such as the/a, or his/her; verbs go well after I/you/he etc..
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Part. 2 Task. 3 Pick. 4 Walk. 5 Rule. 6 Shoot. 7 Respect. 8 Sport. 9 Draw.
Variations: 1.if possible, use your noun in the plural, e.g. cat → cats. 2.use your verb in a past form, e.g. go → went. 3.use your noun in a sentence with one of these words: any, enough, fewer, less, no, some.
Subject and Object Find in Think and Speak
Use each word below in two sentences, first as the subject of a verb, and then as the object of a verb. It doesn’t have to be the same verb: some verbs can’t be paired with an object (e.g. arrive, happen), so watch out for these.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1. Pick. 2. Emperor. 3. Rule. 4. Fire. 5. Task. 6. Attempt. 7. Hat. 8. Sport. 9. Draw.
Variations: 1.use your noun in the plural (e.g. cat → cats), if possible. 2.give one of your sentences a future aspect (e.g. will, going to). 3.write sentences using negatives such as not, neither, nobody and never.
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 ()
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Picture: © Richard Croft, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.. Source.
Posted January 18 2021
