Britons and Celts
Shakespeare’s Dramatic Youth
“When he was a boy he exercised his father’s trade, but when he killed a calf he would do it in a high style, and make a speech.” […]
Articles by Saxo
History
The Form of a Legendary King
“His neck seemed short and thick and his stomach seemed to project, but the symmetry of the other parts hid these flaws. His pace was firm and the whole bearing of his body powerful. Indeed his voice was clear but, given his size, not as strong as might have been expected.” […]
Supernatural
Sometimes They Come Back…
“Next morning Olaf went to the place where Hrapp had been buried, and had him dug up. Hrapp’s corpse was still undecayed, and Olaf found his spear-head there. After that he had a pyre built, and Hrapp was burned on it and his ashes were carried out to sea. From that time on no one ever suffered any harm from Hrapp’s hauntings.” […]
Greek and Roman
The Stink of Commerce
““Who ever saw a Roman emperor or his spouse indulging in commerce?” With these words, he gave orders that at that very hour, merely allowing time for the crew to disembark, the ship was to be given to the flames.” […]
Britons and Celts
The Battle of Hastings
“He raised his shield by the ‘enarmes,’ and struck one of the Englishmen with his lance on the breast, so that the iron passed out at his back. At the moment that he fell, the lance broke, and the Frenchman seized the mace that hung at his right side, and struck the other Englishman a blow that completely fractured his skull.” […]
Britons and Celts
The Cat Who Caught a Cock
“But I minding another thing, and seeing that scratching could not move him, suddenly I leapt up and caught him by the genitals with my teeth, and bit so hard, that at last he cried out.” […]
Viking
A Dignified Duel
“Then Horwendil endeavoured to address the king first, asking him in what way it was his pleasure to fight, and declaring that one best which needed the courage of as few as possible. For, said he, the duel was the surest of all modes of combat for winning the meed of bravery, because it relied only upon native courage, and excluded all help from the hand of another.” […]
Britons and Celts
Brutus: Founder of Britain
“. It seemed to him that the goddess stood before him and spoke these words to him: “Brutus, beyond the setting of the sun, past the realms of Gaul, there lies an island in the sea, once occupied by giants. Now it is empty and ready for your folk.” […]
Knowledge
Trivia of Dead Worlds: Demosthenes’ Training
Demosthenes was one of the greatest orators of his time, using his profound rhetorical skill to steer the course of ancient Athens, one debate at a time. But it was not always so. When Demosthenes […]
Knowledge
Trivia of Dead Worlds: Descartes Robot
Rene Descartes is well known as a philosopher and mathematician. He tended to view the world in concrete, definable terms. As such, he was obsessed with the idea of the repetitive, predictable behavior of living […]