Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
By Francis Wheatley (?-1801), via the National Portrait Gallery and Wikimedia Commons.
Having brought hundreds of convicts to New South Wales, Arthur Phillip then had to conjure order out of their chaos.
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© Petar Milošević, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.
Niobe, daughter of Tantalus, was so proud of her fourteen children that she brazenly claimed the privileges of a goddess.
© Towpilot, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.
The Maharaja of Jodhpur called on his subjects to do their bit and stop the Nazis.
© Vlada Marinković, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.
Two British spies look out over war-torn Belgrade, and find the inspiration they need to go on with their dangerous mission.
© The Presidential Press and Information Office, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 4.0.
Even before he was born, St Dunstan was marked out to lead the English Church and nation to more peaceful times.
By the circle of Andrey Rublev (1408), via the Russian State Museum in St Petersburg and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
A February celebration for which the faithful have brought candles to church since Anglo-Saxon times.