The Copybook

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

667

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

The Provisions of Oxford by D. H. Montgomery

When King Henry III’s barons turned up to his council wearing full armour, he realised he had to mend his ways.

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668

© Niki.L, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 4.0.

The Harrowing of Hell by William Langland

Will Langland tells how after the crucifixion, the soul of Christ went down to Hades to fetch Piers the Ploughman and the rest of hopeless humanity.

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669

From the Vaux Passional, via the National Library of Wales and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Trial and Crucifixion by William Langland

In ‘Do-bet,’ the sequel to his popular ‘Vision of Piers the Ploughman,’ Will Langland dreams about the trial of Jesus Christ before Pontius Pilate, and what followed.

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670

From the Benedictional of St Athelwold, via the British Library and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Triumphal Entry by William Langland

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.

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671

By Tomhannen, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

On Top of the World by Dr Maria Montessori

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

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672

By Sir John Gilbert (1817-1897), Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Leading from the Front by Thomas Elmham

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.

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© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

April 24 NS

April 11 OS

Christ is Risen! : Felicia Skene recalls the Easter celebrations on one emotionally-charged night in Athens
Approachable : Replace the verb ‘can’ with these alternatives, and explain how the meaning of the sentence has changed.
The First Easter : In a translation from the Authorized Version of the Bible, published in 1611, St Mark recounts the discovery of Christ’s empty tomb.
A Collect for Easter Day : A short prayer from the Book of Common Prayer, for the day of Christ’s resurrection.
The Gambler : Which well-known expression is Dr Johnson talking about here?
If I Had But Two Little Wings : Samuel Taylor Coleridge holds on to those precious moments when loneliness is a problem for tomorrow.
Red Eye : Reconstruct the speaker’s original words from these reports.
Responsible : Combine each group of ideas into a single sentence, in as many ways as you can.
Opposites : Suggest words that seem opposite in meaning to the words in this list.
Three of a Kind : For each of these things, think of three different varieties of it.
The Son of God Goes Forth to War : A hymn in praise of St Stephen, the first Christian martyr.
Peace Plan : Report this brief exchange between Anna and M. Pierre and Tolstoy’s War and Peace
Metaphors : Choose one of these words and use it metaphorically, not literally.
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