Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
© Colin Smith, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.
How hard-pressed Christians on the Welsh border won a battle without bloodshed.
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© Jeff Buck, Geograph. Licence CC-BY-SA 2.0.
King Harold died at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Or did he?
© Andrew Hill, Geograph. Licence CC-BY-SA 2.0.
A King and Queen gentler than the times in which they lived.
© Fingalo, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.
Lord Byron could not have hoped for a better omen in his support for the oppressed people of Greece.
Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
The cruelty of the Ottoman Turks so shocked Europe that the tide of opinion turned against them.
© Jon Thomson, Wikimedia Commons. Licence CC-BY-SA 2.0.
A popular tale of scorched cakes and a scolded king.