Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
From the Chronicle of John Skylitzes, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
The young Roman Emperor Theophilus backed away from marriage to the formidable Cassiani, but he could not forget her.
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From the British Library, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Two young English princes were banished to the court of Yaroslav the Wise, and one returned to claim the crown.
From the Gospels of Henry the Lion (12th century), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
For a hundred years after William the Conqueror came to England, four strong women named Matilda shaped the nation’s history.
Vasily Petrovich Vereshchagin (1835-1909), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
A succession of religious leaders came to Kiev, hoping to win the wild barbarian Prince to their cause.
By William Sharp (1749-1824), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
JB Cramer was one of the finest pianists of his day, though his reverence for Mozart made his own music more popular in the drawing room than the concert hall.
By Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain
Poet Percy Bysshe Shelley says that the pinnacle of political achievement is the government not of others, but of ourselves.