Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
From the Bayeux Tapestry, via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
William the Conqueror’s chaplain used to tell this story to those who doubted his master’s claim to the English crown.
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By an anonymous artist, 16th century. Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
The honours that come from God and those that come from men need to be put in the right order.
By Jean Froissart (1337-1410), Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
In 1381, young King Richard II was faced with a popular uprising against tax rises.
© Udit Kapoor, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.
The Peasants’ Revolt was a turning point in the relationship between the people and their elected representatives.
© Peter Jeffery, Geograph. CC BY-SA 2.0.
Jack Cade brought a protest to London with right on his side, but then threw it all away.
Attributed to William Scrots (fl. 1537-1553), via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
On the same day in 1537, so the story goes, two baby boys were born, but the similarity between them ended there.