Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
By Ivan Aivazovsky (1817–1900), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
King Canute could not believe that his hard-living predecessor Edgar could father a saint.
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© Derek Harper, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
The way Edith kept tracing little crosses with her thumb made a great impression on Archbishop Dunstan.
© Peter I. Vardy, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.
Edith of Wilton may have been the daughter of King, but she did not behave like one in the Abbey or the town.
By Sergei Gribkov (1822-1893), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
An austere Bishop of Winchester scolded St Edith for her comely nun’s habit, but the young woman’s eyes saw further than his.
By William Blake (1757-1827), via the Library of Congress and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Blake throws heart and soul into an impassioned expression of his dream of a new England.
© Tharnton345, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Self-confessed Scottish Nationalist John Buchan warned Scots that there was more to democratic prosperity than having a Parliament.