Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
From the Utrecht University Library, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Charles Dickens explains how King Alfred the Great overcame the Great Heathen Army in 878, with the help of a little music.
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© Steve Partridge, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
Master-sweep Grimes meets a woman who knows more about him than he feels comfortable with.
© Giovanni, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
A weary King Odysseus dozes off on his voyage home to Ithaca, but his crew are wide awake, wondering what is in his bag.
© Lewis Clarke, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
John Nyren tells us about one of cricket’s truly great batsmen, John Small.
© Pymouss, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.
The simple folk of Brittany know what it means when a nobleman calls himself godfather to an unknown infant.
Via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
The Roman Emperor offered to unite the world’s squabbling churches – but it was the kind of offer you can’t refuse.