Winning His Spurs 1

Study Guide Questions for Ch. 1-2

If you are looking for the beginning of the study for G. A. Henty’s Winning His Spurs then you can go HERE for a brief introduction. At the bottom of the introduction you will find the links to each section of the study guide as it becomes available. If you would like to see the growing list of book studies available for free on this site you can go HERE. Enjoy!

Virtues/Vices/Great Ideas: (Find them in the Text)

Love, Happiness, Loyalty, Prudence, Goodness, Providence, Gratitude

Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)

1. How is the main character described?

2. What is going on at the castle of the Earl of Evesham (Sir Walter) as the story begins?

3. What is Cuthbert’s home, and home-life, like?

4. What did Cuthbert seek his mother’s blessing to do?

5. Where would the outlaws of the forest go in light of Cuthbert’s warning?

6. What is Sir John of Wortham like?

7. What unexpected thing happened as Cuthbert came near Sir Walter’s castle?

8. How did the outlaws respond to Cuthbert’s pleading for help on behalf of Margaret?

9. How was Margaret rescued?

10. What effect did the rescue of Margaret by the outlaws have upon their relations with Sir Walter?

11. What course of action was determined upon by Sir John once his daughter was returned?

12. What arrangement was agreed upon between Sir Walter and the outlaws during the siege of Wortham castle?

13. Describe the force of Sir Walter and what instruments of siege warfare he had at his disposal.

14. Describe the fortifications and preparations of Sir John of Wortham’s castle.

Logic Questions: (Interpreting, Comparing/Contrasting, Reasoning)

1. The story tells us, concerning Cuthbert’s mother and her cousin, that their marriages to Norman lords could not have “at first been called one of inclination on the part of the ladies, but love came after marriage.” What might we infer from this about the nature of love in marriage?

2. Why would these “mixed marriages” between Saxons and Normans have done “more to bring the peoples together and weld them in one, than all the laws and decrees of the Norman sovereigns?”

3. Why might it be important to the overall story that Cuthbert is half Norman and half Saxon?

4. Why did Sir John abduct Sir Walter’s daughter?

5. What was the average minutes per mile for Cuthbert’s run to the outlaws?

6. What can we infer about the character of Cnut and his men due to their response to Margaret’s capture even though her father was hunting them?

Rhetoric Questions: (The Analysis of Ideas in the Text)

1. Henty comments, when addressing Saxon women marrying Norman men, that “the female mind is greatly led by gentle manners and courteous address.” What do you think he means by this and do you think he is right? Why or why not?

2. Cnut took issue with the “Norman notions that the birds of the air, and the beasts of the field, and the fishes of the water, all belong to the Normans.” Who owns the rights to wild animals? Should the government regulate the hunting of wild game? Why or why not? How might personal property rights affect the concept of hunting wild animals as opposed to public property?

3. Providence may be defined as God’s orchestration of daily human events towards some good end. How can we see providence in our reading so far?

Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)

1. Read Nehemiah 13:23-27. Nehemiah’s warning to his fellow Jews not to marry foreign women was based upon Israel’s past history and their failure to obey the commandments of Yahweh. In light of this, was it wrong for the Saxons and Normans to intermarry? What about international marriages today? Why is it, or why is it not, a problem?

2. Read 1 Samuel 22:1-2. What connections can we make between this passage and our current reading?

3. Read 2 Kings 18 and compare and contrast the words of Sir John’s herald with that of “the Rabshakeh.” What is similar and what is different about these situations? What do we learn from them both about the kind of rhetoric used in Siege warfare?