The Copybook: Readings in history and literature

55

St Nicholas the Wet by Clay Lane

Two frantic parents implore St Nicholas’s help in rescuing their baby boy.

56

Gytha and Vladimir by Clay Lane

Scandinavian tradition says that the daughter of King Harold was consort to one the great rulers of Kievan Rus’.

57

Our Lady’s Mantle by Clay Lane

Shortly after Askold and Dir founded Kiev in 862, they launched a brazen but ill-fated assault on the capital of the Roman Empire.

58

Merchants of Muscovy by Clay Lane

In 1553, Richard Chancellor set out on a perilous voyage to Russia in order to bypass the Hanseatic League’s customs union.

59

Not a Scratch! by Clay Lane

Hapless extremists try to wipe out a miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary.

60

Britain and the Tsars by Clay Lane

Britain’s ties to the rulers of Russia go back to the time of the Norman Invasion.