Clay Lane

The Copy Book

A Library of History and Literature in English

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1441

Macarius and the Hyena

A monk of the Egyptian desert helped a desperate mother, and was richly rewarded.

Macarius (301-391) was a disciple of St Anthony, the first Christian monk. Here, he does a favour for a friend in need.

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Picture: © GalliasM, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.. Source.

1442

West Auckland, European Champions

A team of amateurs gave Europe’s finest a drubbing.

THE Lipton Trophy, a short-lived European soccer competition, was won - twice - by little West Auckland, a team of plucky amateurs from County Durham.

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Picture: © Stanley Howe, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.. Source.

1443

The Tragedy of Macbeth

Macbeth becomes wound in spells, and finds that one murder leads to another.

Macbeth was a real Scottish king, succeeding Duncan I in 1040 after defeating him in battle. But Shakespeare’s thought-provoking tragedy, one of the greatest stories in all English literature, is almost entirely fiction.

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Picture: © Sylvia Duckworth, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.. Source.

1444

Fr Vitalis and the Familiar Face

Why did a kindly old priest refuse to show his respects to St Nektarios?

St Nektarios of Aegina (Anastasios Kephalas, 1846-1920), is one the most beloved saints of Greece, known for countless miracles in his lifetime and after his death. Some years ago in Lavrio, Attica, a priest undertook to build a church in the saint’s honour; but he had cancer, and the pain was so intolerable that he tore his own clothes, and often hid from visitors.

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Picture: © Andrey Mironov, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 4.0.. Source.

1445

Cuthbert and the Weary Hawk

A bird of prey shattered the peace of St Cuthbert’s island, and was taught an unforgettable lesson.

St Cuthbert (?634-687) loved the many birds of his island retreat, and before he died the saint promised them ‘St Cuthbert’s Peace’: that if they lived in harmony with one another, no man or beast would disturb them and go unpunished. Five centuries later, monk Bartholomew (?-1193) saw for himself the saint’s determination to keep a promise.

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Picture: © Bill Boaden, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.. Source.

1446

Cuthbert and the Expert Witness

A hungry monk thought he had got away with the tastiest of crimes, but St Cuthbert kept his promise to his beloved birds.

St Cuthbert the Wonderworker of Lindisfarne (?634-687) is one the the most famous of all English saints. He lived in solitude on Inner Farne off the coast of Northumberland, surrounded by the birds he loved, and promised to take care of them even after he was gone.

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Picture: © Peter McDermott, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.. Source.