Britons and Celts
The Bodies Keep Piling Up
THE SCENE: In this passage, King Hakon IV of Norway describes to his son the wonders of the undead residents of Ireland. THE TEXT: There is a little island in Ireland. Which the natives call […]
Britons and Celts
Britons and Celts
A Legendary Betrayal
“The moment they heard this signal the Saxons drew their daggers, attacking the leaders standing near them and cut the throats of about four hundred and sixty counts and earls, who were thinking of something quite different.” […]
Britons and Celts
A King Weighs His Options
‘But Harold refused, and said that Ourth should not go against the duke and fight without him; and that he would not burn houses and villages, neither would he plunder his people. “How,” said he, “can I injure the people I should govern? I cannot destroy or harass those who ought to prosper under me.”‘ […]
Britons and Celts
Priorities Clarified
“While Bevis was carrying out his responsibilities one day, the king’s son, like the fool that he was, went to the stables and attempted to untie Arundel. The horse kicked him so hard with a back hoof that the young man’s brains were splattered against the stable wall.” […]
Britons and Celts
A Cloak of Fishscales Sparks a War
“Clad in this kind of garment, he secretly entered the magnates’ bedrooms by night in the form of an angel and amazingly deluded their sense or rather their understanding, wide-awake as they were.” […]
Britons and Celts
An Elizabethan Bully
“One time at a tavern Sir Walter Raleigh beat him and sealed up his mouth (i.e. his upper and nether beard) with hard wax.” […]
Britons and Celts
The Crystal Tower
“A pillar in the sea appeared to them that seemed to be not far distant. Still it took them three days to come up to it. It was higher than the sky. THE TEXT: One day when they had celebrated their Masses, a pillar in the sea appeared to them that seemed to be not far distant. Still it took them three days to come up to it. When the man of God approached it, he tried to see the top of it – but he could not, it was so high. It was higher than the sky. Moreover a wide-meshed net was wrapped around it. The mesh was so wide that the boat could pass through its opening. They could not decide of what substance the net was made. It had the colour of silver, but they thought that that it seemed harder than marble. The pillar was of bright crystal.” […]
Britons and Celts
A Dog’s Reward
“In appreciation of what had happened and as a mark of favour to the dog, which had almost died of starvation, the English, who nevertheless hated the Welsh, had the corpse buried with all due ceremony.” […]
Britons and Celts
Single Combat with Honor
“Their shields were split and broken, their coats of chainmail torn and damaged. They turned their horses around and rushed at each other again.” […]
Britons and Celts
Live Free or Die: Unicorn Edition
“It can be killed but never subdued alive. And if ever by the exertion of hunters it happens to be taken alive, it immediately dies.” […]