The Copybook

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

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KJV Bible

1471

© Jonathan Billinger, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

The Legend of Beowulf by Clay Lane

The oldest surviving heroic legend in English begins with a wild creature of the fens that hunts men for prey.

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1472

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

‘God Save the King!’ by Clay Lane

The simple melody of the United Kingdom’s national anthem has stirred the souls of some great composers.

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1473

© Eric Jones, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

St Dwynwen by Clay Lane

St Dwynwen was a 5th century princess regarded by some as Wales’s answer to St Valentine.

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1474

© No Swan So Fine, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.

The Martyrdom of St Alban by Clay Lane

Alban voluntarily swapped places with a priest, and was executed for being a member of a banned religious sect.

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1475

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

Earl Stanhope and the Re-Invention of Printing by Clay Lane

Britain never knew she was a nation of voracious readers until printing entered the steam age.

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1476

© Penny Mayes, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

First Contact by Clay Lane

Julius Caesar came over from France expecting to silence the noisy neighbours, but things did not go according to plan.

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Clay Lane The Copybook
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© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

May 9 NS

April 26 OS

A Gallant Attempt for the Crown : Only months after kidnapping the Duke of Ormond, Irish radical Thomas Blood was at it again, this time attempting to steal the Crown Jewels.
Russia’s Heroic Stand : In 1941, with much of the West subdued, Adolf Hitler bent the full force of his hatred on Moscow.
Repeat Offender :
In Two Minds : Join these ideas together to a form a single sentence, in at least two different ways.
The First Traffic Lights : The busy crossroads outside the Houses of Parliament was the testing ground for a new technology.
Good Companions : Explain what these wise classical authors are telling us.
The Rule of the Road : Being a free citizen doesn’t mean that everyone else has to get out of your way.
Blind Courage : George Santayana reprimanded politicians and military men who thought war was good for the country’s soul.
Patience : Make a single sentence out of these three ideas.
The Angel Cried : A hymn sung in the weeks after Easter, imagining how Gabriel brought the news of Christ’s resurrection to Mary.
She was a Phantom of Delight : Mary Wordsworth wasn’t pretty or bookish, but she was kind and vital, and William loved her.
Hardly : Tone down these bold assertions with ‘hardly’.
The Death of Julius Caesar : When Julius Caesar entered the Senate that day, a note warning him of treachery was clutched in his hand — unread.
Two Letters Home : A German soldier stopped the Great War so he could ask Captain Hulse to post a letter for him.
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