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Passages for reading. Read them out aloud. Paraphrase or précis them. Discuss them with friends. Does anything surprise or impress you? How does the author work your feelings? Would you use his words? How would you direct the scene in a movie — and who would your stars be?

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On This Day

Sunday September 8 ns August 26 os

For Church feasts falling on September 8 in the New Style calendar, see The Feast of Nativity of the Virgin Mary and Finding of the Kursk icon.

August 26, 1395 os

Meeting of the ‘Vladimir’ Icon (1)

The Theotokos of Vladimir

It is one of the world’s most recognisable works of art, and a symbol of God’s blessing on all Christian Rus’.

September 8, 1380

The Battle of Kulikovo (1)

Dmitri of the Don

Grand Duke Dmitri of Moscow loosened the grip of the Tartar Horde on the people of Russia, but treachery robbed him of triumph.

by Lucy Cazalet 1870-1956

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International Relations

A Credit to His Country

The diplomat’s task is to see the best in other peoples, not to scold them for their failings.

by François de Callières 1645-1717

Lives of the Saints

The Synod of Whitby

In 664, a council at Whitby decided to align the traditions of the Northumbrian Church with those of Rome and Constantinople.

by John Richard Green 1837-1883

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Lives of the Saints

Aaron’s Rod

The Victorian practice of hanging sugared nuts on a Christmas tree was bursting with Biblical symbolism.

by Elfric of Eynsham 955-1010

Mediaeval History

Wenceslaus: A Life for a Life

By Divine providence, the shocking murder of Good King Wenceslas led to a flowering of Christian faith in Europe.

Lives of the Saints

Cuthbert and the Dun Cow

The magnificent cathedral at Durham owes its existence to a missing cow.

Scottish History

A Simple Folk Without Guile

What were the Scots thinking back in 1290, when they asked King Edward I of England, of all people, to choose them a king?

by John Barbour ?1320-1395

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Selected Authors

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Arthur Penrhys Stanley

Christ is Risen!

John Stuart Mill

Judicial Iniquity

William Cullen Bryant

Statesman vs Politician

A. G. Gardiner

The Millionaire

Karl Philipp Moritz

Better than a Play

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Living Past

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Selected Topics

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Classical History

Tales of tragedy, ambition and heroism from the Battle of Marathon and Hannibal’s passage of the Alps to Caesar’s fateful crossing of the Rubicon.

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Animal Stories

Fables and true tales about animals, including a dog who regularly commuted to Matlock, a horse who didn’t approve of bad language, and a cat who saved her owners from an earthquake.

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Extracts from Fiction

Romance, adventure and comedy from the very best fiction writers, including Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters, Charles Dickens, John Buchan, and many more.

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Bible and Saints

Tales from the Bible, including the parables of Jesus and the story of Esther, and miracles from the lives of saints, such as our own Cuthbert the Wonderworker.

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The USA

Tales from our cousins to the West, telling of their independence from Britain, their bloody civil war, and their runaway prosperity — and the slender thread by which it hangs.

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Poets and Poetry

Passages from English verse, from Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf to Shakespeare’s sonnets, Tennyson’s Charge of the Light Brigade, Kipling’s If and many more.

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The Copy Book

Readings in history, society and literature

The Copy Book

Readings in history, society and literature