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Morien
Morien

Chapter I · Chapter 1

Chapter 1 of Morien is here in full — 585 sentences across 117 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for Morien
Context Illustration Reading 1/117 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
A Metrical Romance Rendered Into English Prose From The Mediæval Dutch Arthurian Romances No. IV.
With designs by Caroline Watts.
I. Sir Gawain And The Green Knight.
A Middle-English Romance retold in Modern Prose, with Introduction and Notes, by JESSIE L. WESTON.
With Designs by M. M. CRAWFORD.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Morien

Chapter I · Chapter 1

Chapter 1 of Morien is here in full — 585 sentences across 117 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/117 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
A Metrical Romance Rendered Into English Prose From The Mediæval Dutch Arthurian Romances No. IV.
Line 2
With designs by Caroline Watts.
/wɪð dɪˈzaɪnz baɪ ˈkerəlaɪn wɑːts/
Line 3
I. Sir Gawain And The Green Knight.
/aɪ sɜːr ˈɡɑːwən ənd ðə ɡriːn naɪt/
Line 4
A Middle-English Romance retold in Modern Prose, with Introduction and Notes, by JESSIE L. WESTON.
Line 5
With Designs by M. M. CRAWFORD.
/wɪð dɪˈzaɪnz baɪ em em ˈkrɔːfərd/

Learner Dictionary

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.

Arthurian adjective US /ɑːrˈθʊriən/

of or relating to King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

From this reading “A Metrical Romance Rendered Into English Prose From The Mediæval Dutch Arthurian Romances No. IV.”

crawford noun US /ˈkrɔːfərd/

United States neoclassical sculptor (1814-1857)

From this reading “With Designs by M. M. CRAWFORD.”

Gawain noun US /ˈɡɑːwən/

(Arthurian legend) a nephew of Arthur and one of the knights of the Round Table

From this reading “I. Sir Gawain And The Green Knight.”

Metrical adjective US /ˈmetrɪkəl/

based on the meter as a standard of measurement

From this reading “A Metrical Romance Rendered Into English Prose From The Mediæval Dutch Arthurian Romances No. IV.”

Prose noun US /proʊz/

ordinary writing as distinguished from verse

From this reading “A Metrical Romance Rendered Into English Prose From The Mediæval Dutch Arthurian Romances No. IV.”

Romances noun US /roʊˈmænsɪz/

plural of “romance” — a relationship between two lovers

From this reading “A Metrical Romance Rendered Into English Prose From The Mediæval Dutch Arthurian Romances No. IV.”

Watts noun US /wɑːts/

English poet and theologian (1674-1748)

From this reading “With designs by Caroline Watts.”

weston noun US /ˈwestən/

United States photographer(1886-1958)

From this reading “A Middle-English Romance retold in Modern Prose, with Introduction and Notes, by JESSIE L. WESTON.”

All words in this reading · 37

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.

AdeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading A Metrical Romance Rendered Into English Prose From The Mediæval Dutch Arthurian Romances No. IV.

AndconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading I. Sir Gawain And The Green Knight.

ArthurianadjectiveUS /ɑːrˈθʊriən/

of or relating to King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

From this reading A Metrical Romance Rendered Into English Prose From The Mediæval Dutch Arthurian Romances No. IV.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading With designs by Caroline Watts.

CarolineadjectiveUS /ˈkerəlaɪn/

of or relating to the life and times of kings Charles I or Charles II of England

From this reading With designs by Caroline Watts.

CRAWFORDnounUS /ˈkrɔːfərd/

United States neoclassical sculptor (1814-1857)

From this reading With Designs by M. M. CRAWFORD.

designsnounUS /dɪˈzaɪnz/

plural of “design” — the act of working out the form of something (as by making a sketch or outline or plan)

From this reading With designs by Caroline Watts.

DutchadjectiveUS /dʌtʃ/

of or relating to the Netherlands or its people or culture

From this reading A Metrical Romance Rendered Into English Prose From The Mediæval Dutch Arthurian Romances No. IV.

EnglishnounUS /ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ/

an Indo-European language belonging to the West Germanic branch; the official language of Britain and the United States and most of the commonwealth countries

From this reading A Metrical Romance Rendered Into English Prose From The Mediæval Dutch Arthurian Romances No. IV.

FromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading A Metrical Romance Rendered Into English Prose From The Mediæval Dutch Arthurian Romances No. IV.

GawainnounUS /ˈɡɑːwən/

(Arthurian legend) a nephew of Arthur and one of the knights of the Round Table

From this reading I. Sir Gawain And The Green Knight.

GreennounUS /ɡriːn/

green color or pigment; resembling the color of growing grass

From this reading I. Sir Gawain And The Green Knight.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading I. Sir Gawain And The Green Knight.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading A Middle-English Romance retold in Modern Prose, with Introduction and Notes, by JESSIE L. WESTON.

IntoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading A Metrical Romance Rendered Into English Prose From The Mediæval Dutch Arthurian Romances No. IV.

IntroductionnounUS /ˌɪntrəˈdʌkʃən/

the act of beginning something new

From this reading A Middle-English Romance retold in Modern Prose, with Introduction and Notes, by JESSIE L. WESTON.

IVnoun

the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one

From this reading A Metrical Romance Rendered Into English Prose From The Mediæval Dutch Arthurian Romances No. IV.

JESSIE

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A Middle-English Romance retold in Modern Prose, with Introduction and Notes, by JESSIE L. WESTON.

KnightnounUS /naɪt/

originally a person of noble birth trained to arms and chivalry; today in Great Britain a person honored by the sovereign for personal merit

From this reading I. Sir Gawain And The Green Knight.

LnounUS /el/

a metric unit of capacity, formerly defined as the volume of one kilogram of pure water under standard conditions; now equal to 1,000 cubic centimeters (or approximately 1.75 pints)

From this reading A Middle-English Romance retold in Modern Prose, with Introduction and Notes, by JESSIE L. WESTON.

MnounUS /em/

the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)

From this reading With Designs by M. M. CRAWFORD.

Mediæval

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A Metrical Romance Rendered Into English Prose From The Mediæval Dutch Arthurian Romances No. IV.

MetricaladjectiveUS /ˈmetrɪkəl/

based on the meter as a standard of measurement

From this reading A Metrical Romance Rendered Into English Prose From The Mediæval Dutch Arthurian Romances No. IV.

Middle-English

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A Middle-English Romance retold in Modern Prose, with Introduction and Notes, by JESSIE L. WESTON.

ModernadjectiveUS /ˈmɑːdərn/

belonging to the modern era; since the Middle Ages

From this reading A Middle-English Romance retold in Modern Prose, with Introduction and Notes, by JESSIE L. WESTON.

NodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading A Metrical Romance Rendered Into English Prose From The Mediæval Dutch Arthurian Romances No. IV.

NotesnounUS /noʊts/

plural of “note” — a brief written record

From this reading A Middle-English Romance retold in Modern Prose, with Introduction and Notes, by JESSIE L. WESTON.

ProsenounUS /proʊz/

ordinary writing as distinguished from verse

From this reading A Metrical Romance Rendered Into English Prose From The Mediæval Dutch Arthurian Romances No. IV.

RenderedverbUS /ˈrendərd/

past form of “render” — cause to become

From this reading A Metrical Romance Rendered Into English Prose From The Mediæval Dutch Arthurian Romances No. IV.

retold

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading A Middle-English Romance retold in Modern Prose, with Introduction and Notes, by JESSIE L. WESTON.

RomancenounUS /roʊˈmæns/

a relationship between two lovers

From this reading A Metrical Romance Rendered Into English Prose From The Mediæval Dutch Arthurian Romances No. IV.

RomancesnounUS /roʊˈmænsɪz/

plural of “romance” — a relationship between two lovers

From this reading A Metrical Romance Rendered Into English Prose From The Mediæval Dutch Arthurian Romances No. IV.

SirnounUS /sɜːr/

term of address for a man

From this reading I. Sir Gawain And The Green Knight.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading A Metrical Romance Rendered Into English Prose From The Mediæval Dutch Arthurian Romances No. IV.

WattsnounUS /wɑːts/

English poet and theologian (1674-1748)

From this reading With designs by Caroline Watts.

WESTONnounUS /ˈwestən/

United States photographer(1886-1958)

From this reading A Middle-English Romance retold in Modern Prose, with Introduction and Notes, by JESSIE L. WESTON.

WithprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading With designs by Caroline Watts.

Chapter 1 of Morien by Jessie L. (Jessie Laidlay) Weston holds 585 sentences, grouped into 117 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.

What does chapter 1 of Morien contain?

Chapter 1 holds 585 sentences of Morien, unabridged, divided into 117 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 1 of Morien by Jessie L. (Jessie Laidlay) Weston exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 585 sentences, grouped into 117 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.

How do I study chapter 1 of Morien?

Work through the 117 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 117 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.

Can chapter 1 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 1 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.

Questions about reading Morien

Common questions about reading Morien by Jessie L. (Jessie Laidlay) Weston on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Morien?

Yes. All 1175 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8447 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Morien is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #8447, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Morien take to read?

About 97 minutes of reading across 235 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Morien section by section

How to work through Morien section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 2 chapters of Morien to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in Morien

Words and structures a reader meets early in Morien, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Metrical
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Morien; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Romance
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Morien; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Rendered
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Morien; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
English
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Morien; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.