The Copybook

Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.

337

From the British Museum, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Fatal Counsel by Henry of Huntingdon

King Edmund Ironside’s courageous defence of his crown against the invading Danes was undermined by treachery at home.

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338

By Matthew Paris (1200-1259), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence Public domain.

The Battle of Assandun by Henry of Huntingdon

The invading Danes fought so fiercely that Edmund Ironside, the young English king, threw all caution to the wind.

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339

© Jakub T. Jankiewicz, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.

The Duel of the Kings by Henry of Huntingdon

Edmund Ironside, King of England, and Cnut the Great, King of Denmark, fought hand-to-hand for one of European history’s richest purses.

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340

© Akoliasnikoff, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.

The Murder of Edmund Ironside by Henry of Huntingdon

Edric’s treason handed the crown of England to Cnut the Great, but Cnut was not so poor a judge of character as to believe that a traitor could be trusted.

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341

From the studio of William Hoare (1707–1792), Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Crimes of Mr Pitt by William Pitt the Elder

William Pitt was a rising star of British politics in 1741, so much so that Horace Walpole MP felt he needed his wings clipped — an operation fraught with peril.

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342

Attributed to Michael Lupi de Çandiu (fl. 1297-1305), via the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Imma’s Bonds by Clay Lane

Imma claimed to be a harmless peasant, but there was something about him that Ecgfrith, King of Northumbria, found downright uncanny.

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© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

May 1 NS

April 18 OS

Flying Scotsman : In 1928, a train service linking London and Edinburgh became the world’s longest non-stop run.
Two Letters Home : A German soldier stopped the Great War so he could ask Captain Hulse to post a letter for him.
Smile : Choose adjectives of praise for these nouns, at about the 7/10 level.
The Making of Mark : St Mark wrote his Gospel as a summary of the preaching of St Peter.
Zheng He and the Rise of Malacca : Malacca became a refuge from the overbearing empires of the Far East, thanks to a celebrated Chinese admiral.
Confusables : Compose sentences to bring out the similarities and differences between these words.
Jill and I : Include yourself in these sentences about Jill.
Saddled : Use these words in sentences, and see if you can use one of them as a verb.
Russia’s Heroic Stand : In 1941, with much of the West subdued, Adolf Hitler bent the full force of his hatred on Moscow.
Approachable : Replace the verb ‘can’ with these alternatives, and explain how the meaning of the sentence has changed.
The First Easter : In a translation from the Authorized Version of the Bible, published in 1611, St Mark recounts the discovery of Christ’s empty tomb.
A Collect for Easter Day : A short prayer from the Book of Common Prayer, for the day of Christ’s resurrection.
The Gambler : Which well-known expression is Dr Johnson talking about here?
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