Chapter 129 of The story of Burnt Njal is here in full — 69 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter CXXIX
Chapter 129 of The story of Burnt Njal is here in full — 69 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
NJAL'S BURNING. Now they took fire, and made a great pile before the doors. Then Skarphedinn said. "What, lads! are ye lighting a fire, or are ye taking to cooking?" "So it shall be," answered Grani Gunnar's son; "and thou shalt not need to be better done."
Chapter 129 of The story of Burnt Njal is here in full — 69 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/13 · 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.
the act of burning something
From this reading “NJAL'S BURNING.”
the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat
From this reading “"What, lads! are ye lighting a fire, or are ye taking to cooking?"”
plural of “door” — a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading “Now they took fire, and made a great pile before the doors.”
plural of “lad” — a boy or man
From this reading “"What, lads! are ye lighting a fire, or are ye taking to cooking?"”
having abundant light or illumination
From this reading “"What, lads! are ye lighting a fire, or are ye taking to cooking?"”
a collection of objects laid on top of each other
From this reading “Now they took fire, and made a great pile before the doors.”
an old form of “shall”, used with “thou”
From this reading “"So it shall be," answered Grani Gunnar's son; "and thou shalt not need to be better done."”
the act of someone who picks up or takes something
From this reading “"What, lads! are ye lighting a fire, or are ye taking to cooking?"”
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 Now they took fire, and made a great pile before the doors.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Now they took fire, and made a great pile before the doors.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading "So it shall be," answered Grani Gunnar's son; "and thou shalt not need to be better done."
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "What, lads! are ye lighting a fire, or are ye taking to cooking?"
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "So it shall be," answered Grani Gunnar's son; "and thou shalt not need to be better done."
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Now they took fire, and made a great pile before the doors.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading "So it shall be," answered Grani Gunnar's son; "and thou shalt not need to be better done."
the act of burning something
From this reading NJAL'S BURNING.
the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat
From this reading "What, lads! are ye lighting a fire, or are ye taking to cooking?"
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading "So it shall be," answered Grani Gunnar's son; "and thou shalt not need to be better done."
plural of “door” — a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Now they took fire, and made a great pile before the doors.
start firing a weapon
From this reading Now they took fire, and made a great pile before the doors.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "So it shall be," answered Grani Gunnar's son; "and thou shalt not need to be better done."
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading Now they took fire, and made a great pile before the doors.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "So it shall be," answered Grani Gunnar's son; "and thou shalt not need to be better done."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "So it shall be," answered Grani Gunnar's son; "and thou shalt not need to be better done."
plural of “lad” — a boy or man
From this reading "What, lads! are ye lighting a fire, or are ye taking to cooking?"
having abundant light or illumination
From this reading "What, lads! are ye lighting a fire, or are ye taking to cooking?"
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Now they took fire, and made a great pile before the doors.
a condition requiring relief
From this reading "So it shall be," answered Grani Gunnar's son; "and thou shalt not need to be better done."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NJAL'S BURNING.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "So it shall be," answered Grani Gunnar's son; "and thou shalt not need to be better done."
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now they took fire, and made a great pile before the doors.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading "What, lads! are ye lighting a fire, or are ye taking to cooking?"
a collection of objects laid on top of each other
From this reading Now they took fire, and made a great pile before the doors.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Then Skarphedinn said.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading "So it shall be," answered Grani Gunnar's son; "and thou shalt not need to be better done."
an old form of “shall”, used with “thou”
From this reading "So it shall be," answered Grani Gunnar's son; "and thou shalt not need to be better done."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then Skarphedinn said.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "So it shall be," answered Grani Gunnar's son; "and thou shalt not need to be better done."
a male human offspring
From this reading "So it shall be," answered Grani Gunnar's son; "and thou shalt not need to be better done."
the act of someone who picks up or takes something
From this reading "What, lads! are ye lighting a fire, or are ye taking to cooking?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Now they took fire, and made a great pile before the doors.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then Skarphedinn said.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Now they took fire, and made a great pile before the doors.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading "So it shall be," answered Grani Gunnar's son; "and thou shalt not need to be better done."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "What, lads! are ye lighting a fire, or are ye taking to cooking?"
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading Now they took fire, and made a great pile before the doors.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What, lads! are ye lighting a fire, or are ye taking to cooking?"
an old word for “you”, speaking to more than one person
From this reading "What, lads! are ye lighting a fire, or are ye taking to cooking?"
Chapter 129 of The story of Burnt Njal by George Webbe, Sir [Translator] Dasent holds 69 sentences, grouped into 14 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 129 holds 69 sentences of The story of Burnt Njal, unabridged, divided into 14 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 129 of The story of Burnt Njal by George Webbe, Sir [Translator] Dasent exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 69 sentences, grouped into 14 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 14 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 14 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 129 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.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in The story of Burnt Njal, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
