1387
King John promised his nobles respect, but he was not a man to regard his word as his bond.
The ‘Great Charter’ of England, signed on June 15th 1215, has been regarded for over three centuries as one of the foundational documents of the British and American constitutions. It was not always regarded with the same awe.
Picture: © David Dixon, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.. Source.
Posted April 13 2016
1388
There is an art to making one’s compliments seem artless.
Mr Bennet delights in meeting ridiculous people. His cousin, the Revd Mr Collins, is a revelation, singing the praises of his snobbish neighbour Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and her smothered, chronically ill daughter Anne.
Picture: © Stuart Fyffe-Collins, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.. Source.
Posted April 6 2016
1389
Muddle-headed inventor Professor Cavor needs to think aloud, and for reasons of his own Mr Bedford is anxious to listen.
Mr Bedford has complained about Professor Cavor’s habit of humming loudly as he passes by, thinking scientific thoughts, on his regular afternoon walk. As a result, the Professor’s walks have lost their magic, and Bedford feels guilty.
Picture: © John Mavin, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.. Source.
Posted April 5 2016
1390
After the Norman Conquest, thousands of disappointed Englishmen departed for a new life in the Byzantine world.
When William, Duke of Normandy, seized the English crown from Harold Godwinson in 1066, many Englishmen were unwilling to recognise their new Norman overlords. They turned first to friends in Scandinavia; when that failed, some set sail for Constantinople in the hope of enlisting the support of the Roman Empire.
Picture: Photo by CrniBombarder!!!, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.. Source.
Posted April 4 2016
1391
The Cross of Christ speaks, and tells of the amazing transformation from sign of shame to sign of redemption.
‘The Dream of the Rood’ is an Anglo-Saxon poem, possibly composed by the 8th century bishop Cynewulf of Lindisfarne, in the Kingdom of Northumbria. The poet imagines what the Cross of Christ might say of that momentous Friday, when he who hung the earth upon the waters hung upon the cross.
Picture: © Olaf Tausch, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.. Source.
Posted April 3 2016
1392
Granville Sharp and his surgeon brother William rescued a young African man from the streets of London.
From the late 1760s, Granville Sharp (1734-1813), a Clerk in the Ordnance Office at the Tower of London, acquired a formidable reputation as an anti-slavery campaigner. By the 1800s, the mere mention of his name brought trembling slave-owners to the negotiating table. It all began quite by accident in 1767, when Granville received a letter from someone called Jonathan Strong, claiming to know him.
Picture: © Chris Downer, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.. Source.
Posted April 1 2016