The Copybook

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

451

By Henryk Siemiradzki (1843–1902), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Nero’s Torches Cornelius Tacitus

Sensing that the Great Fire of Rome in 64 (though entertaining) was damaging his public image, the Emperor Nero looked around for someone to blame.

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452

© Graham Hermon, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0 generic.

St John of Beverley at Agincourt The Convocation of the Church of York

Following the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, King Henry V instructed the Church of York to recognise the contribution of one of her eighth-century bishops.

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453

By Dnalor 01, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.

Why Rome Persecuted the Christians Jacobus de Voragine

If only the primitive Christians had filled in the right forms and said that one man’s god is as good as another’s, they wouldn’t have had to die.

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454

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

St John Port Latin Jacobus de Voragine

According to an ancient tradition, the Roman authorities banished St John the Divine to the island of Patmos because they were quite unable to kill him.

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455

By Alonzo Chappel (1828–1887), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Plea of Pocahontas John Smith

In 1607, settler Captain John Smith was captured by the Algonquin near the English colony at Jamestown, and watched his captors’ ceremonies with rising anxiety.

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456

© Richard Rice, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

The Hare Who was Afraid of his Ears J.B. Rundell

After the Lion cracks down on horns right across his kingdom, a nervous Hare gets to wondering exactly what counts as a horn.

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