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

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433

© Lauren Johnston-Smith, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.

Magnus ‘Barelegs’ Tours the Isles by Snorro Sturluson

Barely a generation after Harald Hardrada narrowly missed out on taking the English crown, his grandson Magnus re-asserted Norway’s authority over The Isles and Man.

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434

By the Underworld Painter (fl. 350-300 BC). Photo by Marie-Lan Nguyen, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Wild Ride of King Herla by Clay Lane

Walter Map was so tired of being on the road in the entourage of King Henry II, that he began to wonder if the whole court was under a spell.

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435

© Ray Bird, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

Jupiter and the Bee by Thomas James

A bee asks a blessing of the king of the gods, but what she gets from him is not quite what she had in mind.

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436

© BT2_AbhishekDey, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.

The Black Hole of Calcutta by Edward Fraser

In 1756, the Nawab of Bengal allowed his frustration with British merchants in Calcutta to get the better of him.

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437

© Amitabha Gupta, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 4.0.

The Battle of Plassey by Hari Chahan Das

Before Siraj ud-Daulah became Nawab of Bengal in 1756, his grandfather begged him to keep the English sweet, and put no trust in Jafar Ali Khan. If he had only listened...

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438

© Шухрат Саъдиев (Shukhrat Sadiev), Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.

A Conqueror Has No Friends by Quintus Curtius Rufus

When Alexander the Great threatened the people of Scythia, their ambassadors reminded him that a conqueror has many more burdens to carry than an ally has.

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© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

May 29 NS

May 16 OS

The Last Commandment : Anglo-Saxon poet Cynewulf imagines the farewell between Jesus and his Apostles, forty days after his resurrection.
Filioque : It started as an honest mistake, became a diplomatic standoff, and brought down an Empire.
The Return of King Charles II : Almost nine years after Oliver Cromwell’s army drove him from England, King Charles II returned at their invitation, and John Evelyn was there to see it.
Lost and Found : What would you in these difficult situations?
They Might Not Need Me : Read these lines of verse out aloud.
The Turn : Ben Jonson tells us how we should measure a life well lived.
Music Video : Julius Benedict, Piano Concerto in E flat: II. Andante,
The Character of George Washington : Thomas Jefferson recalls the virtues (and a few faults) of the first US President.
Amen to That : John Bright declared it was time stop fighting wars around the world for ‘British interests’.
Arena : Use these nouns in sentences of at least ten words in length.
Q & A :
Deep Harmony : In the midst of the US Civil War, a simple melody briefly brought the warring factions together.
Thirty Minutes : Describe half an hour in one of these places.
And is there Care in Heaven? : Sir Guyon lies in an enchanted swoon, but he is not without help.
Pirate : For each of these words, suggest others that seem to go with it, and use them to bring a scene to life.
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