Minis
Mini Copy Book

Each post in this section is a short précis (summary) of a passage in The Copy Book. All of them are in modern English. They are intended for students of English as a Foreign Language at Elementary Level.

Lives of the Saints

The Restoration of the Icons

By the early eighth century, sacred art was thriving in newly-Christian England, but in the East seeds of doubt and confusion had been sown.

Length: 108 words

Mediaeval History

Fair Rosamund

Charles Dickens tells the story of King Henry II and the enchantingly beautiful Rosamund Clifford.

Length: 111 words

Mediaeval History

The Lion and the Ant

Richard I thought a veteran Crusader and conqueror of Saladin could handle a few French peasants.

Length: 117 words

Poets and Poetry

Eddi’s Service

Rudyard Kipling’s poem about St Wilfrid’s chaplain and an unusual Christmas congregation.

Length: 114 words

Lives of the Saints

St Wilfrid and the Fishers of Men

Driven out of Northumbria, Bishop Wilfrid goes to the south coast and saves a kingdom from starvation.

Length: 59 words

Lives of the Saints

St Bede and the Singing Stones

The Northumbrian monk is duped into wasting one of his beautifully-crafted sermons on a row of dumb rocks.

Length: 59 words