Chapter 20 of A Clerk of Oxford, and His Adventures in the Barons' War is here in full — 161 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of A Clerk of Oxford, and His Adventures in the Barons' War is here in full — 161 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_TURBULENT TIMES._ "Surely they will not submit!" "To give up all at the bidding of a King of France! Why, as well might we be slaves at once!" "I always said no good would come of seeking aid from such an one as he. England is no fief of France.
Chapter 20 of A Clerk of Oxford, and His Adventures in the Barons' War is here in full — 161 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/32 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
a person or thing that is a resource that helps make something easier or possible to do
From this reading “"I always said no good would come of seeking aid from such an one as he.”
an authoritative direction or instruction to do something
From this reading “"To give up all at the bidding of a King of France!”
a piece of land held under the feudal system
From this reading “England is no fief of France.”
a republic in western Europe; the largest country wholly in Europe
From this reading “"To give up all at the bidding of a King of France!”
the act of searching for something
From this reading “"I always said no good would come of seeking aid from such an one as he.”
plural of “slave” — a person who is owned by someone
From this reading “Why, as well might we be slaves at once!"”
refer for judgment or consideration
From this reading “_TURBULENT TIMES._ "Surely they will not submit!"”
characterized by unrest or disorder or insubordination
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
In this reading “Why, as well might we be slaves at once!"”
lose (s.th.) or lose the right to (s.th.) by some error, offense, or crime
In this reading “"To give up all at the bidding of a King of France!”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading "To give up all at the bidding of a King of France!
a person or thing that is a resource that helps make something easier or possible to do
From this reading "I always said no good would come of seeking aid from such an one as he.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading "To give up all at the bidding of a King of France!
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading "I always said no good would come of seeking aid from such an one as he.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "I always said no good would come of seeking aid from such an one as he.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Why, as well might we be slaves at once!"
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "To give up all at the bidding of a King of France!
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Why, as well might we be slaves at once!"
an authoritative direction or instruction to do something
From this reading "To give up all at the bidding of a King of France!
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "I always said no good would come of seeking aid from such an one as he.
a division of the United Kingdom
From this reading England is no fief of France.
a piece of land held under the feudal system
From this reading England is no fief of France.
a republic in western Europe; the largest country wholly in Europe
From this reading "To give up all at the bidding of a King of France!
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading "I always said no good would come of seeking aid from such an one as he.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading "To give up all at the bidding of a King of France!
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "I always said no good would come of seeking aid from such an one as he.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "I always said no good would come of seeking aid from such an one as he.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I always said no good would come of seeking aid from such an one as he.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading England is no fief of France.
a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading "To give up all at the bidding of a King of France!
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading Why, as well might we be slaves at once!"
not any; not one
From this reading "I always said no good would come of seeking aid from such an one as he.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading _TURBULENT TIMES._ "Surely they will not submit!"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "To give up all at the bidding of a King of France!
on one occasion
From this reading Why, as well might we be slaves at once!"
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "I always said no good would come of seeking aid from such an one as he.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I always said no good would come of seeking aid from such an one as he.
the act of searching for something
From this reading "I always said no good would come of seeking aid from such an one as he.
plural of “slave” — a person who is owned by someone
From this reading Why, as well might we be slaves at once!"
refer for judgment or consideration
From this reading _TURBULENT TIMES._ "Surely they will not submit!"
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading "I always said no good would come of seeking aid from such an one as he.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading _TURBULENT TIMES._ "Surely they will not submit!"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "To give up all at the bidding of a King of France!
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading _TURBULENT TIMES._ "Surely they will not submit!"
a more or less definite period of time now or previously present
From this reading _TURBULENT TIMES._ "Surely they will not submit!"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "To give up all at the bidding of a King of France!
characterized by unrest or disorder or insubordination
From this reading _TURBULENT TIMES._ "Surely they will not submit!"
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "To give up all at the bidding of a King of France!
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Why, as well might we be slaves at once!"
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Why, as well might we be slaves at once!"
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why, as well might we be slaves at once!"
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading _TURBULENT TIMES._ "Surely they will not submit!"
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "I always said no good would come of seeking aid from such an one as he.
Chapter 20 of A Clerk of Oxford, and His Adventures in the Barons' War by Evelyn Everett-Green holds 161 sentences, grouped into 33 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 20 holds 161 sentences of A Clerk of Oxford, and His Adventures in the Barons' War, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of A Clerk of Oxford, and His Adventures in the Barons' War by Evelyn Everett-Green exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 161 sentences, grouped into 33 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 20 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading A Clerk of Oxford, and His Adventures in the Barons' War by Evelyn Everett-Green on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5079 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43077 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43077, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 423 minutes of reading across 1016 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Clerk of Oxford, and His Adventures in the Barons' War section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of A Clerk of Oxford, and His Adventures in the Barons' War to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in A Clerk of Oxford, and His Adventures in the Barons' War, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
