The Listening Grove · Fifty Famous Stories Retold
Chapter 21: Arnold Winkelried
A Charlotte Mason read-aloud lesson. Press play, with the lesson.
What is Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 21, Arnold Winkelried, about?Parent review
Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 21, Arnold Winkelried, is a story of one man’s brave self-sacrifice. Long ago an armored army marched into Switzerland, their ranks so tight with spears that the Swiss fighters could not break through. As the battle hung in the balance, a brave man named Arnold Winkelried stepped forward. Crying farewell to his companions, he threw his arms around a whole bundle of the enemy’s spears and gathered them into his own body. His countrymen poured through the gap he had opened, and the Swiss won the day. Winkelried gave his life to save his homeland, and his name has never been forgotten.
Say what you remember!
Tell what you remember from the last chapter.
What happened in Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 20, The Story of William Tell?Have a look
In the last chapter, The Story of William Tell, a cruel tyrant named Gessler set his cap upon a pole in Switzerland and ordered every man to bow to it. The marksman William Tell refused, and in anger Gessler made him shoot an apple from his own son’s head. Steady and sure, Tell sent his arrow flying and struck the apple away. He then revealed that a second arrow had been meant for the tyrant, had the boy been harmed. Tradition says Tell later freed his country from Gessler’s rule.
Read the previous lesson: The Story of William Tell →Show what you know!
Use your printable Lesson Guide. Fill in the vocabulary you know, then click to check your work and learn some new words today.
What are the difficult or advanced vocabulary words in Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 21, Arnold Winkelried?liberty, scythes, ranks, bristlesHave a look
- liberty: the state of being free
- scythes: long curved blades for cutting grain or grass
- ranks: lines of soldiers standing side by side
- bristles: short, stiff, coarse hairs
Locate it on the map!
Use your printable Lesson Guide. Use an atlas and fill in the blank map if you can find the geographic location, then click to check your work.
What important geographic location connects with Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 21, Arnold Winkelried?
- Find Sempach (near Lake Sempach, Switzerland).
See it on the mapHave a look
This matches the map in your Lesson Guide.
The Books come Alive!
Read or listen to Chapter 21 of Fifty Famous Stories Retold, the Kindred Thicket Enhanced Edition, read by Laura Caldwell.
Read by Laura Caldwell for LibriVox (public domain), professionally adjusted and trimmed by Kindred Thicket.
What do the Teacher’s Notes tell us about Chapter 21 of Fifty Famous Stories Retold?Parent review
This is a Kindred Thicket Enhanced Edition. Baldwin’s 1896 words are read exactly as he wrote them, and we add Teacher’s Notes with historical and literary context.
- About the whole bookFifty Famous Stories Retold gathers real history together with well-loved legends and traditions. These notes tell you, story by story, which is which.
- This chapterThe Battle of Sempach in 1386 was real, but Arnold Winkelried’s gathering of the spears was written down long afterward and his story is uncertain. It is best shared as a beloved legend of sacrifice.
- This chapterThe stirring cry ’Make way for liberty!’ is a line from a later poem by James Montgomery, not a documented battle cry.
Memory becomes Action!
Use the Response Resource* to remember and spell tricky names. Choose one way to narrate.
*Materials in the Lesson Guide.
What is the list of names, people, characters, and places that are important in Chapter 21 of Fifty Famous Stories Retold?Arnold Winkelried, The Swiss, The invading army, SwitzerlandHave a look
- Arnold Winkelried: A Swiss hero linked to the Battle of Sempach (1386).
- The Swiss: The outnumbered country folk defending their homeland.
- The invading army: The armored host attacking Switzerland; historically the Habsburg (Austrian) army at Sempach.
- Switzerland: The real country the Swiss fight to keep free.
Chapter 21 Q & A
This is a Kindred Thicket Enhanced Edition. Baldwin’s stories mingle real history with beloved legend, and here is what to know about this one.
Is the story of Arnold Winkelried true?
The Battle of Sempach in 1386 was real, but Arnold Winkelried’s gathering of the spears was written down only long afterward, and his story is uncertain. It is best shared as a beloved legend of sacrifice rather than as documented history. The Swiss have cherished it for centuries as a picture of devotion to their land.
Did people really cry ’Make way for liberty’?
The stirring cry ’Make way for liberty!’ comes from a later poem by the writer James Montgomery, not from a documented battle cry. It has become closely tied to the Winkelried legend because it captures the spirit of the tale so well. The words belong to poetry rather than to the battlefield itself.
Where does the story of Arnold Winkelried take place?
The story of Arnold Winkelried takes place in Switzerland, and is traditionally linked with the Battle of Sempach near Lucerne in 1386. This mountainous land of valleys and lakes is where the Swiss remember their fight for freedom. Winkelried is pictured breaking the enemy’s ranks there.
What is the lesson of Arnold Winkelried?
The lesson of Arnold Winkelried is self-sacrifice for the good of others: giving up everything so that his countrymen might be free. By gathering the enemy’s spears into his own body, he opened the way to victory at the cost of his life. The story invites children to honor those who give themselves for a greater cause.