Wulf the Saxon 1066 A.D.

Almighty Lord, Who is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega. Guide us in this hour of learning, grant us thy strength and wisdom, that we may use it to Glorify thee in all we do; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, life everlasting. Amen.


Wulf the Saxon

Wulf of Steyning is a young Saxon thane who falls into the retinue of Earl Harold. After Edward the Confessor dies, Harold becomes King of England, and Wulf joins him in heroic fighting against the invading Normans at the famous Battle of Hastings.





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My dear Lads,

Although the immediate results of the Battle of Hastings may have been of less importance to the world than were those of some other great battles, the struggle has, in the long run, had a greater influence upon the destiny of mankind than any other similar event that has ever taken place. That admixture of Saxon, Danish, and British races which had come to be known under the general name of English, was in most respects far behind the rest of Europe. The island was, as it had always been, except during the rule of two or three exceptionally strong kings, distracted by internal dissensions. Broad lines of division still separated the North from the South, and under weak Kings the powerful Earls became almost independent. The enterprise that had distinguished their Saxon and Danish ancestors seems to have died out. There was a general indisposition to change, and except in her ecclesiastical buildings, England made but little progress in civilization from the time of Alfred to that of Harold. Its insular position cut it off from taking part in that rapid advance which, beginning in Italy, was extending throughout
Europe. The arrival, however, of the impetuous Norman race, securing as it did a close connection with the Continent, quickened the intellect of the people, raised their intelligence,
was of inestimable benefit to the English, and played a most important part in raising England among the nations. Moreover, it has helped to produce the race that has peopled Northern America, Australia, and the south of Africa, holds possession of India, and stands forth as the greatest civilizer in the world. The Conquest of England by the Normans was achieved without even a shadow of right or justice. It was at the time an unmixed curse to England ; but now we can recognize the enormous benefits that accrued when in his turn the Englishman conquered the Norman, and the foreign invaders became an integral portion of the people they had overcome. For the historical details of the story, I have only had to go to Freeman's magnificent History of the Norman Conquest of England which I hope will be perused by all my older readers should they be able to obtain it.

Yours sincerely,

G. A. Henty,

The Dragon and the Raven 870 A.D.

The Dragon and the Raven:
In a time of chaos and Viking onslaught, Alfred the untested Saxon king, must fight to save his ravished land. The tale unfurls through the eyes of a young thane, Edmond, who becomes Alfred's friend and mightiest warrior. When Danes over run the land and the Saxons capitulate, this young knight trains and leads a devoted corps of pike-men to recapture the kingdom.
On his adventures Edmond is captured by the Pagan Danes, raises the siege of Paris, meets the Pope and still finds time to fall in love. Henty successfully weaves this plot of intrigue and suspense into the fabric of true history.

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Dear Lads 

Dear Lads 

Living in the present days of peace and tranquility it is difficult to picture the life of our ancestors in the days of King Alfred, when the whole country was for years overrun by hordes of pagan barbarians, who slaughtered, plundered, and destroyed at will.  You may gain, perhaps, a fair conception of the state of things if you imagine that at the time of the great mutiny the English population of India approached that of the natives, and that the mutiny was everywhere triumphant. The wholesale massacres and outrages which would in such a case have been inflicted upon the conquered whites could be no worse than those suffered by the Saxons at the hands of the Danes. From this terrible state of subjection and suffering the Saxons were rescued by the prudence, the patience, the valour and wisdom of King Alfred.  In all subsequent ages England has produced no single man who united in himself so many great qualities as did this the first of great Englishmen. He was learned, wise, brave, prudent, and pious; devoted to his people, clement to his conquered enemies. He was as great in peace as in war; and yet few English boys know more than a faint outline of the events of Alfred's reign events which have exercised an influence upon the whole future of the English people. School histories pass briefly over them ; and the incident of the burned cake is that which is, of all the actions of a great and glorious reign, the most prominent in boys' minds.  In this story I have tried to supply the deficiency. Fortunately in the Saxon Chronicles and in the life of King Alfred written by his friend and counselor Asser, we have a trustworthy account of the events and battles which first laid Wessex prostrate beneath the foot of the Danes, and finally freed England for many years from the invaders. These histories I have faithfully followed. The account of the siege of Paris is taken from a very full and detailed history of that event by the Abbe' D'Abbon, who was a witness of the scenes he described.

G. A. HENTY. 

For the Temple A.D. 70

For the Temple:
MY DEAR LADS,
In all history there is no drama of more terrible interest than that which terminated with the total destruction of Jerusalem. Had the whole Jewish
nation joined in the desperate resistance made by a section of it to the overwhelming strength of Home, the world would have had no record of truer patriotism than that displayed by this small people in their resistance to the forces of the mistress of the world. Unhappily the reverse of this was the case. Except in the defense of Jotapata and Gamala, it can scarcely be said that the Jewish people as a body offered any serious resistance to the arms of Rome. The defenders of Jerusalem were a mere fraction of its population, a fraction composed almost entirely of turbulent characters and robber bands, who fought with the fury of desperation, after having placed themselves beyond the pale of forgiveness or mercy by the deeds of unutterable cruelty with which they had desolated the city before its siege by the Romans. They fought, it is true, with unflinching courage, a courage never surpassed in history, but it was the courage of despair, and its result was to bring destruction upon the whole population as well as upon themselves. Fortunately the narrative of Josephus, an eye-witness of the events which he describes, has come down to us; and it is the store- house from which all subsequent histories of the events have been drawn. It is no doubt tinged throughout by his desire to stand well with his patrons Vespasian and Titus, but there is no reason to doubt the accuracy of his descriptions. I have endeavored to present you with as vivid a picture as possible of the events of the war without encumbering the story with details, and except as regards the exploits of John of Gamala, of whom Josephus says nothing, have strictly followed in every particular the narrative of the historian.
Yours sincerely,
G. A. HENTY.

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The story weaves an admirable and attractive story from the record of Josephus. The troubles in the district of Tiberias, the march of the legions, the sieges of Jotapata, of Gamala, and of Jerusalem, for the impressive and carefully studied historic setting to the figure of the lad who passes from the vineyard to the service of Josephus, becomes the leader of a guerrilla band of patriots, fights bravely for the Temple, and after a brief term of slavery at Alexandria, returns to his Galilean home with the favor of Titus.

Date: 70 A.D.
Location: Asia, Palestine
Main Event: Roman-Jewish War

• Siege of Jerusalem
• Temple Mount
  

• A.D. 70 and Christian eschatology: "Those who claim that Jesus Christ's Second Advent, and the final resurrection and judgment of the just and unjust occurred in A. D. 70, assault the Bible and the Faith. Acts 1:11 tells us that Jesus will return just as he ascended — bodily and visibly, with his disciples gazing at him, and we know that this has not yet happened in history. He is to come "[i]n flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thes. 1:8). Likewise, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 declares:

  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

  This teaches that the final physical resurrection of the redeemed will occur when Christ returns, with great royal fanfare: "a shout and voice of the archangel, and the trump of God." This is the announcement of the King's return to his earthly jurisdiction. It is a physical coming creating momentous physical consequences: resurrection of bodies, and the equipment of the redeemed for the eternal state and the unredeemed for eternal perdition. It concludes human history."

Roman England

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_conquest_of_Britain
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Britain




http://www.timetraveltours.net/Documents/Roman_Tour.pdf

Creation Primer Lesson V - God sings a song!

Gen 1:2

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness [was] upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Have you ever wondered how God created sound? He moved. Movement is necessary in order to create vibration. vibration travels and this is sound! God is the creator and the conductor!

Here is a great activity on sound:

AD 61 Beric the Briton: A Story of the Roman Invasion

Beric the Briton:

MY DEAR LADS,

My series of stories dealing with the wars of England would be altogether incomplete did it not include the period when the Romans were the masters of the country. The valor with which the natives of this island defended themselves was acknowledged by the Roman historians, and it was only the superior discipline of the invaders that enabled them finally to triumph over the bravery and the superior physical strength of the Britons. The Roman conquest for the time was undoubtedly of immense advantage to the people--who had previously wasted their energies in perpetual tribal wars-- as it introduced among them the civilization of Rome. In the end, however, it proved disastrous to the islanders, who lost all their military virtues. Having been defended from the savages of the north by the soldiers of Rome, the Britons were, when the legions were recalled, unable to offer any effectual resistance to the Saxons, who, coming under the guise of friendship, speedily became their masters, imposing a yoke infinitely more burdensome than that of Rome, and erasing almost every sign of the civilization that had been engrafted upon them. How far the British population disappeared under the subsequent invasion and the still more oppressive yoke of the Danes is uncertain; but as the invaders would naturally desire to retain the people to cultivate the land for them, it is probable that the great mass of the Britons were not exterminated. It is at any rate pleasant to believe that with the Saxon, Danish, and Norman blood in our veins, there is still a large admixture of that of the valiant warriors who fought so bravely against Caesar, and who rose under Boadicea in a desperate effort to shake off the oppressive rule of Rome.

Yours truly,

G. A. Henty

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The invasion of Britain by the Roman legionaries is the setting for this story. Beric, a boy-chief of a British tribe, takes a prominent part in the insurrection against Rome under Boadicea. These efforts are useless against the mighty Roman army. For a short time, Beric and his companions continue the fight but are ultimately defeated and taken prisoners to Rome.
Through the eyes of Beric, the reader will learn of life in Rome, the gladiatorial schools, the great fire and life in Nero’s court. This classic work by the masterful hand of G. A. Henty will shed light upon an event much neglected in history today.

Date: 61 A.D.
Location: Britain
Main Event: Roman Conquest

Additional review of GA Henty's Beric the Briton