Clay Lane

The Copy Book

A Library of History and Literature in English

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643

The Adventures of Lord Forbes of Pitsligo

At sixty-seven, Alexander Forbes rode to war with Bonnie Prince Charlie, and over a decade afterwards was still a hunted man.

644

The Holy Table of St Sophia

According to legend, when the Venetians tried to kidnap it the Holy Table of St Sophia in Constantinople made a dramatic escape.

645

Yoritomo and the Doves of War

Japan’s first Shogun owed his life and his rise to power to a spider and two harmless doves.

646

The Battle of Thermopylae

In 480 BC Leonidas, King of Sparta, frustrated the advance of Xerxes the Persian just long enough to change the course of the war — and history.

647

The Battle of Hastings

After King Edward the Confessor died childless, Europe’s princes stepped forward to claim the prize of England’s crown.

648

The Luck of the Draw

Harald Hardrada made sure that his fate was never out of his own hands.