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Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.

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343

From the British Museum, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Fatal Counsel by Henry of Huntingdon

King Edmund Ironside’s courageous defence of his crown against the invading Danes was undermined by treachery at home.

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344

By Matthew Paris (1200-1259), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence Public domain.

The Battle of Assandun by Henry of Huntingdon

The invading Danes fought so fiercely that Edmund Ironside, the young English king, threw all caution to the wind.

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345

© Jakub T. Jankiewicz, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.

The Duel of the Kings by Henry of Huntingdon

Edmund Ironside, King of England, and Cnut the Great, King of Denmark, fought hand-to-hand for one of European history’s richest purses.

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346

© Akoliasnikoff, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.

The Murder of Edmund Ironside by Henry of Huntingdon

Edric’s treason handed the crown of England to Cnut the Great, but Cnut was not so poor a judge of character as to believe that a traitor could be trusted.

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347

From the studio of William Hoare (1707–1792), Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Crimes of Mr Pitt by William Pitt the Elder

William Pitt was a rising star of British politics in 1741, so much so that Horace Walpole MP felt he needed his wings clipped — an operation fraught with peril.

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348

Attributed to Michael Lupi de Çandiu (fl. 1297-1305), via the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Imma’s Bonds by Clay Lane

Imma claimed to be a harmless peasant, but there was something about him that Ecgfrith, King of Northumbria, found downright uncanny.

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© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

May 10 NS

April 27 OS

Merchants of Muscovy : In 1553, Richard Chancellor set out on a perilous voyage to Russia in order to bypass the Hanseatic League’s customs union.
The Causes of the Indian Mutiny : Incompetence, arrogance and some mischievous propaganda all conspired to throw India into chaos.
A Thousand Commas : Assess the punctuation of this sentence, according to the author’s own principles.
Batter My Heart : John Donne gives God a free hand to do whatever needs to be done.
Window Seat : Describe the view from one of the following vantage points.
Repeat Offender :
In Two Minds : Join these ideas together to a form a single sentence, in at least two different ways.
The First Traffic Lights : The busy crossroads outside the Houses of Parliament was the testing ground for a new technology.
Good Companions : Explain what these wise classical authors are telling us.
The Rule of the Road : Being a free citizen doesn’t mean that everyone else has to get out of your way.
Blind Courage : George Santayana reprimanded politicians and military men who thought war was good for the country’s soul.
Patience : Make a single sentence out of these three ideas.
The Angel Cried : A hymn sung in the weeks after Easter, imagining how Gabriel brought the news of Christ’s resurrection to Mary.
She was a Phantom of Delight : Mary Wordsworth wasn’t pretty or bookish, but she was kind and vital, and William loved her.
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