Chapter 1 of The Book of Brave Old Ballads is here in full — 279 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Book of Brave Old Ballads is here in full — 279 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BRAVE OLD BALLADS. FROM DRAWINGS BY JOHN GILBERT. "_I never heard the old song of Percie and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet._"--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. _He took Sir Guy's head by the hair, And stuck it upon his bow's end_ 11 2. THE CHILDE OF ELLE.
Chapter 1 of The Book of Brave Old Ballads is here in full — 279 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/55 · 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.
plural of “ballad” — a narrative song with a recurrent refrain
From this reading “BRAVE OLD BALLADS.”
United States politician who proposed that individual territories be allowed to decide whether they would have slavery; he engaged in a famous series of debates with Abraham Lincoln (1813-1861)
From this reading “"_I never heard the old song of Percie and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet._"--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.”
plural of “drawing” — an illustration that is drawn by hand and published in a book, magazine, or newspaper
From this reading “FROM DRAWINGS BY JOHN GILBERT.”
a unit of magnetomotive force equal to 0.7958 ampere-turns
From this reading “FROM DRAWINGS BY JOHN GILBERT.”
possessive form of “guy” — an informal term for a youth or man
From this reading “_He took Sir Guy's head by the hair, And stuck it upon his bow's end_ 11 2.”
English poet (1554-1586)
From this reading “"_I never heard the old song of Percie and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet._"--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.”
caught or fixed
From this reading “_He took Sir Guy's head by the hair, And stuck it upon his bow's end_ 11 2.”
proclaim on, or as if on, a trumpet
From this reading “"_I never heard the old song of Percie and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet._"--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _He took Sir Guy's head by the hair, And stuck it upon his bow's end_ 11 2.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _He took Sir Guy's head by the hair, And stuck it upon his bow's end_ 11 2.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading "_I never heard the old song of Percie and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet._"--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "_I never heard the old song of Percie and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet._"--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.
plural of “ballad” — a narrative song with a recurrent refrain
From this reading BRAVE OLD BALLADS.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _He took Sir Guy's head by the hair, And stuck it upon his bow's end_ 11 2.
possessing or displaying courage; able to face and deal with danger or fear without flinching
From this reading BRAVE OLD BALLADS.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading FROM DRAWINGS BY JOHN GILBERT.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE CHILDE OF ELLE.
United States politician who proposed that individual territories be allowed to decide whether they would have slavery; he engaged in a famous series of debates with Abraham Lincoln (1813-1861)
From this reading "_I never heard the old song of Percie and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet._"--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.
plural of “drawing” — an illustration that is drawn by hand and published in a book, magazine, or newspaper
From this reading FROM DRAWINGS BY JOHN GILBERT.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE CHILDE OF ELLE.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading _He took Sir Guy's head by the hair, And stuck it upon his bow's end_ 11 2.
set up or found
From this reading "_I never heard the old song of Percie and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet._"--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading FROM DRAWINGS BY JOHN GILBERT.
a unit of magnetomotive force equal to 0.7958 ampere-turns
From this reading FROM DRAWINGS BY JOHN GILBERT.
possessive form of “guy” — an informal term for a youth or man
From this reading _He took Sir Guy's head by the hair, And stuck it upon his bow's end_ 11 2.
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading _He took Sir Guy's head by the hair, And stuck it upon his bow's end_ 11 2.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading _He took Sir Guy's head by the hair, And stuck it upon his bow's end_ 11 2.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading _He took Sir Guy's head by the hair, And stuck it upon his bow's end_ 11 2.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading "_I never heard the old song of Percie and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet._"--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading "_I never heard the old song of Percie and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet._"--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading _He took Sir Guy's head by the hair, And stuck it upon his bow's end_ 11 2.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "_I never heard the old song of Percie and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet._"--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading _He took Sir Guy's head by the hair, And stuck it upon his bow's end_ 11 2.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading FROM DRAWINGS BY JOHN GILBERT.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading "_I never heard the old song of Percie and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet._"--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading "_I never heard the old song of Percie and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet._"--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "_I never heard the old song of Percie and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet._"--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading "_I never heard the old song of Percie and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet._"--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "_I never heard the old song of Percie and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet._"--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "_I never heard the old song of Percie and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet._"--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading BRAVE OLD BALLADS.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "_I never heard the old song of Percie and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet._"--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.
Englishman and husband of Elizabeth II (born 1921)
From this reading "_I never heard the old song of Percie and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet._"--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.
English poet (1554-1586)
From this reading "_I never heard the old song of Percie and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet._"--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.
term of address for a man
From this reading "_I never heard the old song of Percie and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet._"--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.
a short musical composition with words
From this reading "_I never heard the old song of Percie and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet._"--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.
caught or fixed
From this reading _He took Sir Guy's head by the hair, And stuck it upon his bow's end_ 11 2.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading "_I never heard the old song of Percie and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet._"--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "_I never heard the old song of Percie and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet._"--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "_I never heard the old song of Percie and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet._"--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading _He took Sir Guy's head by the hair, And stuck it upon his bow's end_ 11 2.
proclaim on, or as if on, a trumpet
From this reading "_I never heard the old song of Percie and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet._"--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading _He took Sir Guy's head by the hair, And stuck it upon his bow's end_ 11 2.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "_I never heard the old song of Percie and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet._"--SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.
Chapter 1 of The Book of Brave Old Ballads by John [Illustrator] Gilbert holds 279 sentences, grouped into 56 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 1 holds 279 sentences of The Book of Brave Old Ballads, unabridged, divided into 56 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Book of Brave Old Ballads by John [Illustrator] Gilbert exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 279 sentences, grouped into 56 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 56 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 56 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 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.
Common questions about reading The Book of Brave Old Ballads by John [Illustrator] Gilbert on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1158 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #25480 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #25480, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 96 minutes of reading across 232 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Book of Brave Old Ballads section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of The Book of Brave Old Ballads 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 The Book of Brave Old Ballads, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
