Chapter 10 of A Maid at King Alfred's Court is here in full — 173 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter X
Chapter 10 of A Maid at King Alfred's Court is here in full — 173 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“The king!” The Saxons fell back, their swords still half-suspended, and looked at him incredulously. Denewulf stood aghast. Adiva sank on a bench near her, while Egwina’s face lighted up in joyful amazement. “The king!” cried the youth, Ethelred.
Chapter 10 of A Maid at King Alfred's Court is here in full — 173 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/34 · 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.
struck with fear, dread, or consternation
From this reading “Denewulf stood aghast.”
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading “Adiva sank on a bench near her, while Egwina’s face lighted up in joyful amazement.”
a long seat for more than one person
From this reading “Adiva sank on a bench near her, while Egwina’s face lighted up in joyful amazement.”
full of or producing joy
From this reading “Adiva sank on a bench near her, while Egwina’s face lighted up in joyful amazement.”
set afire or burning
From this reading “Adiva sank on a bench near her, while Egwina’s face lighted up in joyful amazement.”
inflected form of “sink” — fall or descend to a lower place or level
From this reading “Adiva sank on a bench near her, while Egwina’s face lighted up in joyful amazement.”
plural of “saxon” — a member of a Germanic people who conquered England and merged with the Angles and Jutes to become Anglo-Saxons; dominant in England until the Norman Conquest
From this reading “The Saxons fell back, their swords still half-suspended, and looked at him incredulously.”
plural of “sword” — a cutting or thrusting weapon that has a long metal blade and a hilt with a hand guard
From this reading “The Saxons fell back, their swords still half-suspended, and looked at him incredulously.”
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.
In this reading “Denewulf stood aghast.”
In this reading “Adiva sank on a bench near her, while Egwina’s face lighted up in joyful amazement.”
In this reading “The Saxons fell back, their swords still half-suspended, and looked at him incredulously.”
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “The Saxons fell back, their swords still half-suspended, and looked at him incredulously.”
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 Adiva sank on a bench near her, while Egwina’s face lighted up in joyful amazement.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Adiva sank on a bench near her, while Egwina’s face lighted up in joyful amazement.
struck with fear, dread, or consternation
From this reading Denewulf stood aghast.
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading Adiva sank on a bench near her, while Egwina’s face lighted up in joyful amazement.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The Saxons fell back, their swords still half-suspended, and looked at him incredulously.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The Saxons fell back, their swords still half-suspended, and looked at him incredulously.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading The Saxons fell back, their swords still half-suspended, and looked at him incredulously.
a long seat for more than one person
From this reading Adiva sank on a bench near her, while Egwina’s face lighted up in joyful amazement.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading “The king!” cried the youth, Ethelred.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Denewulf stood aghast.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Adiva sank on a bench near her, while Egwina’s face lighted up in joyful amazement.
king of the English who succeeded to the throne after his half-brother Edward the Martyr was murdered; he struggled unsuccessfully against the invading Danes (969-1016)
From this reading “The king!” cried the youth, Ethelred.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Adiva sank on a bench near her, while Egwina’s face lighted up in joyful amazement.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading The Saxons fell back, their swords still half-suspended, and looked at him incredulously.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Saxons fell back, their swords still half-suspended, and looked at him incredulously.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Adiva sank on a bench near her, while Egwina’s face lighted up in joyful amazement.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The Saxons fell back, their swords still half-suspended, and looked at him incredulously.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Adiva sank on a bench near her, while Egwina’s face lighted up in joyful amazement.
in an incredulous manner
From this reading The Saxons fell back, their swords still half-suspended, and looked at him incredulously.
full of or producing joy
From this reading Adiva sank on a bench near her, while Egwina’s face lighted up in joyful amazement.
a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading “The king!”
set afire or burning
From this reading Adiva sank on a bench near her, while Egwina’s face lighted up in joyful amazement.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading The Saxons fell back, their swords still half-suspended, and looked at him incredulously.
near in time or place or relationship
From this reading Adiva sank on a bench near her, while Egwina’s face lighted up in joyful amazement.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Adiva sank on a bench near her, while Egwina’s face lighted up in joyful amazement.
inflected form of “sink” — fall or descend to a lower place or level
From this reading Adiva sank on a bench near her, while Egwina’s face lighted up in joyful amazement.
plural of “saxon” — a member of a Germanic people who conquered England and merged with the Angles and Jutes to become Anglo-Saxons; dominant in England until the Norman Conquest
From this reading The Saxons fell back, their swords still half-suspended, and looked at him incredulously.
not in physical motion
From this reading The Saxons fell back, their swords still half-suspended, and looked at him incredulously.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Denewulf stood aghast.
plural of “sword” — a cutting or thrusting weapon that has a long metal blade and a hilt with a hand guard
From this reading The Saxons fell back, their swords still half-suspended, and looked at him incredulously.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “The king!”
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading The Saxons fell back, their swords still half-suspended, and looked at him incredulously.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Adiva sank on a bench near her, while Egwina’s face lighted up in joyful amazement.
during the time that
From this reading Adiva sank on a bench near her, while Egwina’s face lighted up in joyful amazement.
a young person (especially a young man or boy)
From this reading “The king!” cried the youth, Ethelred.
Chapter 10 of A Maid at King Alfred's Court by Lucy Foster Madison holds 173 sentences, grouped into 35 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 10 holds 173 sentences of A Maid at King Alfred's Court, unabridged, divided into 35 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of A Maid at King Alfred's Court by Lucy Foster Madison exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 173 sentences, grouped into 35 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 35 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 35 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 10 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 Maid at King Alfred's Court by Lucy Foster Madison on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5059 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #37405 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #37405, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 421 minutes of reading across 1012 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Maid at King Alfred's Court section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of A Maid at King Alfred's Court 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 Maid at King Alfred's Court, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
