Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
© Jorge Láscar, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.
The Persian King felt that a lord of his majesty should not have to take any nonsense from an overgrown river.
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© David Dixon, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.
King Canute enacted a memorable demonstration of the limits of government power.
© David Dixon, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
A brief introduction to England’s rulers, beginning with the only one named ‘the Great’.
Via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
England’s rulers from the king who lost his crown to the Danes, to the French duke who took the crown from the English.
© Philip Halling, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.
Young William’s hat caught the eye of Matthew Boulton, and the world was never the same again.
William Murdoch’s experiments with steam traction impressed his next-door neighbour, with world-changing results.