Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
© J. Hannan-Briggs, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
The privileges granted to European merchants in fifteenth-century London led to seething resentment in the City.
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© Konstantin hramov, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.
The city of Great Novgorod in Russia was a mediaeval pioneer of a decidedly rumbustious kind of parliamentary democracy.
By Frans van Mieris the Younger (1689–1763), via the Fitzwilliam Museum and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Lord Halifax tacks gratefully into the Winds of Liberty, though he trims his sails to avoid being blown into republicanism.
© Andrew Curtis, Geograph. Licence: CC BY_SA 2.0.
After safely negotiating the alluring Sirens, Odysseus and his crew must now decide which of Scylla and Charybdis would do the least damage.
© Shakko, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.
Following the Restoration of King Charles II, the country charted a well-planned course between the extremes of civil licence and Government control.
From the Walters Art Museum, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Armed with a length of stout cord and a large ball of wax, Odysseus and his crew prepare to face the music of the Sirens.