Chapter 3 of The Cloister and the Hearth — A Tale of the Middle Ages is here in full — 354 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Cloister and the Hearth — A Tale of the Middle Ages is here in full — 354 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
GHYSBRECHT VAN SWIETEN was an artful man. He opened on the novice with something quite wide of the mark he was really aiming at. "The town records," said he, "are crabbedly written, and the ink rusty with age." He offered Gerard the honour of transcribing them fair. Gerard inquired what he was to be paid.
Chapter 3 of The Cloister and the Hearth — A Tale of the Middle Ages is here in full — 354 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/70 · 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.
-ing form of “aim” — point or cause to go (blows, weapons, or objects such as photographic equipment) towards
From this reading “He opened on the novice with something quite wide of the mark he was really aiming at.”
not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness
From this reading “GHYSBRECHT VAN SWIETEN was an artful man.”
a liquid used for printing or writing or drawing
From this reading “"The town records," said he, "are crabbedly written, and the ink rusty with age."”
someone who has entered a religious order but has not taken final vows
From this reading “He opened on the novice with something quite wide of the mark he was really aiming at.”
plural of “record” — anything (such as a document or a phonograph record or a photograph) providing permanent evidence of or information about past events
From this reading “"The town records," said he, "are crabbedly written, and the ink rusty with age."”
covered with or consisting of rust
From this reading “"The town records," said he, "are crabbedly written, and the ink rusty with age."”
-ing form of “transcribe” — write out from speech, notes, etc.
From this reading “He offered Gerard the honour of transcribing them fair.”
any creative group active in the innovation and application of new concepts and techniques in a given field (especially in the arts)
From this reading “GHYSBRECHT VAN SWIETEN was an artful man.”
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 “He opened on the novice with something quite wide of the mark he was really aiming at.”
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.
how long something has existed
From this reading "The town records," said he, "are crabbedly written, and the ink rusty with age."
-ing form of “aim” — point or cause to go (blows, weapons, or objects such as photographic equipment) towards
From this reading He opened on the novice with something quite wide of the mark he was really aiming at.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading GHYSBRECHT VAN SWIETEN was an artful man.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "The town records," said he, "are crabbedly written, and the ink rusty with age."
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "The town records," said he, "are crabbedly written, and the ink rusty with age."
not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness
From this reading GHYSBRECHT VAN SWIETEN was an artful man.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He opened on the novice with something quite wide of the mark he was really aiming at.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Gerard inquired what he was to be paid.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "The town records," said he, "are crabbedly written, and the ink rusty with age."
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading He offered Gerard the honour of transcribing them fair.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He offered Gerard the honour of transcribing them fair.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading GHYSBRECHT VAN SWIETEN was an artful man.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He opened on the novice with something quite wide of the mark he was really aiming at.
the state of being honored
From this reading He offered Gerard the honour of transcribing them fair.
a liquid used for printing or writing or drawing
From this reading "The town records," said he, "are crabbedly written, and the ink rusty with age."
past form of “inquire” — address a question to and expect an answer from
From this reading Gerard inquired what he was to be paid.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading GHYSBRECHT VAN SWIETEN was an artful man.
attach a tag or label to
From this reading He opened on the novice with something quite wide of the mark he was really aiming at.
someone who has entered a religious order but has not taken final vows
From this reading He opened on the novice with something quite wide of the mark he was really aiming at.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He opened on the novice with something quite wide of the mark he was really aiming at.
past form of “offer” — make available or accessible, provide or furnish
From this reading He offered Gerard the honour of transcribing them fair.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He opened on the novice with something quite wide of the mark he was really aiming at.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading He opened on the novice with something quite wide of the mark he was really aiming at.
marked by the reception of pay
From this reading Gerard inquired what he was to be paid.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading He opened on the novice with something quite wide of the mark he was really aiming at.
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading He opened on the novice with something quite wide of the mark he was really aiming at.
plural of “record” — anything (such as a document or a phonograph record or a photograph) providing permanent evidence of or information about past events
From this reading "The town records," said he, "are crabbedly written, and the ink rusty with age."
covered with or consisting of rust
From this reading "The town records," said he, "are crabbedly written, and the ink rusty with age."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "The town records," said he, "are crabbedly written, and the ink rusty with age."
a thing, without saying which
From this reading He opened on the novice with something quite wide of the mark he was really aiming at.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading GHYSBRECHT VAN SWIETEN was an artful man.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He opened on the novice with something quite wide of the mark he was really aiming at.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading He offered Gerard the honour of transcribing them fair.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Gerard inquired what he was to be paid.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading "The town records," said he, "are crabbedly written, and the ink rusty with age."
-ing form of “transcribe” — write out from speech, notes, etc.
From this reading He offered Gerard the honour of transcribing them fair.
any creative group active in the innovation and application of new concepts and techniques in a given field (especially in the arts)
From this reading GHYSBRECHT VAN SWIETEN was an artful man.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading GHYSBRECHT VAN SWIETEN was an artful man.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Gerard inquired what he was to be paid.
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading He opened on the novice with something quite wide of the mark he was really aiming at.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He opened on the novice with something quite wide of the mark he was really aiming at.
set down in writing in any of various ways
From this reading "The town records," said he, "are crabbedly written, and the ink rusty with age."
Chapter 3 of The Cloister and the Hearth — A Tale of the Middle Ages by Charles Reade holds 354 sentences, grouped into 71 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 3 holds 354 sentences of The Cloister and the Hearth — A Tale of the Middle Ages, unabridged, divided into 71 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Cloister and the Hearth — A Tale of the Middle Ages by Charles Reade exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 354 sentences, grouped into 71 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 71 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 71 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 3 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 Cloister and the Hearth — A Tale of the Middle Ages by Charles Reade on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 17983 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38895 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38895, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 3597 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Cloister and the Hearth — A Tale of the Middle Ages section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Cloister and the Hearth — A Tale of the Middle Ages 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 Cloister and the Hearth — A Tale of the Middle Ages, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
