Clay Lane

The Copy Book

A Library of History and Literature in English

← Page 1

607

The Triumphal Entry

Will Langland, a contemporary of Geoffrey Chaucer, dreams he is looking for his old friend Piers the Ploughman in Jerusalem just when Christ rides in on a donkey.

608

On Top of the World

Maria Montessori takes some of her pupils up onto a roof terrace, and witnesses a eureka moment.

609

Leading from the Front

Henry V’s chaplain Thomas Elmham, an eyewitness of the battle of Agincourt, gave us this account of the King in the moments before the fighting began.

610

The Martyrdom of St Edmund the King

Edmund, King of the East Angles, is given a stark choice by the Viking warrior who has ravaged his realm.

611

Gifts of the Spirit

Anglo-Saxon poet Cynewulf reminds us that God’s gifts to men are many and varied, and nobody ever gets them all.

612

Stale and Hearty

Archdeacon and diplomat Peter of Blois was a frequent guest at the laden tables of King Henry II, but he had little appetite for the fare on offer.