full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Leonora Neville: The princess who rewrote history

Unscramble the Blue Letters


Spanning the late 11th and early 12th centuries of Byzantine hitosry, the Alexiad recounts the tumultuous events of Alexios’s reign, and Anna’s own reactions to those evtnes, like buinsrtg into teras at the thought of the dtheas of her parents and husband. She may have included these emotional passages in hopes that they would make her writing more palatable to a society that believed women shouldn't write about battles and empires. While her loyalty to her father was evident in her frobavale ancouct of his reign, she also included criticism and her opinions of events.

In the centuries after her death, Anna’s Alexiad was coeipd over and over, and remains an invaluable eyewitness account of Alexios’s reign today. And through her epic historical narrative, Anna Komnene secured her own place in history.

Open Cloze


Spanning the late 11th and early 12th centuries of Byzantine _______, the Alexiad recounts the tumultuous events of Alexios’s reign, and Anna’s own reactions to those ______, like ________ into _____ at the thought of the ______ of her parents and husband. She may have included these emotional passages in hopes that they would make her writing more palatable to a society that believed women shouldn't write about battles and empires. While her loyalty to her father was evident in her _________ _______ of his reign, she also included criticism and her opinions of events.

In the centuries after her death, Anna’s Alexiad was ______ over and over, and remains an invaluable eyewitness account of Alexios’s reign today. And through her epic historical narrative, Anna Komnene secured her own place in history.

Solution


  1. favorable
  2. deaths
  3. account
  4. events
  5. bursting
  6. tears
  7. copied
  8. history

Original Text


Spanning the late 11th and early 12th centuries of Byzantine history, the Alexiad recounts the tumultuous events of Alexios’s reign, and Anna’s own reactions to those events, like bursting into tears at the thought of the deaths of her parents and husband. She may have included these emotional passages in hopes that they would make her writing more palatable to a society that believed women shouldn't write about battles and empires. While her loyalty to her father was evident in her favorable account of his reign, she also included criticism and her opinions of events.

In the centuries after her death, Anna’s Alexiad was copied over and over, and remains an invaluable eyewitness account of Alexios’s reign today. And through her epic historical narrative, Anna Komnene secured her own place in history.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations




Important Words


  1. account
  2. alexiad
  3. anna
  4. battles
  5. believed
  6. bursting
  7. byzantine
  8. centuries
  9. copied
  10. criticism
  11. death
  12. deaths
  13. early
  14. emotional
  15. empires
  16. epic
  17. events
  18. evident
  19. eyewitness
  20. father
  21. favorable
  22. historical
  23. history
  24. hopes
  25. husband
  26. included
  27. invaluable
  28. komnene
  29. late
  30. loyalty
  31. narrative
  32. opinions
  33. palatable
  34. parents
  35. passages
  36. place
  37. reactions
  38. recounts
  39. reign
  40. remains
  41. secured
  42. society
  43. spanning
  44. tears
  45. thought
  46. today
  47. tumultuous
  48. women
  49. write
  50. writing