Britons and Celts
Welsh Birth Control
“It is also said that if a couple come to have intercourse on this spot, or nearby, which they do frequently, great drops of sweat drip from the stone.” […]
Repost
Orient
Profile of a Victorious Army
“They have trained their horses so well that they wheel this way or that as quickly as a dog would do. When they are pursued and take to flight, they fight as well and as effectively as when they are face to face with the enemy.” […]
Orient
Rostam Suffers No Fools
“You know what I call a mother who bears a son like you? A sewer of shrouds, or a mourner at a wake. Bringing your cronies here against me is as pointless as throwing walnuts at a dome in the hope that they’ll stick there.” […]
Human Affairs
A Fine Tale Quickly Told
“Bjorn gave Ari a choice: either he fight him on the island of Stokkaholm in Surnadal or hand over his wife, Ingibjorg.” […]
History
Power of a Portly King
“The king mounted someone else’s horse and returned to combat in a spirited fashion. He shouted and called his men back, urging the boldest by name not to flee. With sword unsheathed the king rushed amid the enemy ranks to help those whom he could and chose those who were fleeing.” […]
Human Affairs
Glory or Family
“Then they wished their father and mother a good life and set off on their way, journeying until they reached King Hrolf.” […]
Greek and Roman
The Power of a Song
“They bore harps and were clad in snowy robes, and chanted in suppliant strains to the gods of their fathers that they might be propitious and repel the Macedonians.” […]
Greek and Roman
To The Lazy Goes the Spoils
“Then,” answered the elder, “the kingdom must be mine; for I am so lazy, that sitting once by the fire, I burnt my legs, because I was too indolent to withdraw them.” […]
History
The Desert’s Lethal Defenses
“Next morning, when they were on the point of setting out, the hot wind came down on them and stifled them all, so that not one survived to carry back the news to their lord.” […]
Orient
A Massacre of Demons
“He grabbed him by the head and ears, and holding on to his shoulders with his other hand tore the demon’s head off, like a ravening lion, and flung it covered in blood into the crowd of warriors.” […]