The lion of St. Mark; a story of Venice in the fourteenth century

The Lion of St. Mark; a story of Venice in the fourteenth century

By G.A. Henty

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MY DEAR LADS,

Of all the chapters of history there are few more interesting or wonderful
than that which tells the story of the rise and progress of Venice. Built upon a
few sandy islands in a shallow lagoon, and originally founded by fugitives from the
mainland, Venice became one of the greatest and most respected powers of Europe.
She was mistress of the sea ; conquered and ruled over a considerable territory bordering
on the Adriatic; checked the rising power of the Turks ; conquered Constantinople;
successfully defied all the attacks of her jealous rivals to shake her power; and carried on
a trade relatively as great as that of England in the present day. I have laid my story in the
time not of the triumphs of Venice, but of her hardest struggle for existence
when she defended herself successfully against the coalition of Hungary, Padua, and Genoa
for never at any time were the virtues of Venice, her steadfastness, her patriotism, and her
willingness to make all sacrifice for her independence more brilliantly shown. The historical portion
of the story is drawn from Hazlitt's History of the Republic of Venice, and with it I have woven
the adventures of an English boy endowed with a full share of that energy and pluck which,
more than any other qualities, have made the British empire the greatest the world ever saw.

Yours sincerely,

G. A. HENTY.



About the Winged Lion of Saint Mark

The winged lion is the symbol of St. Mark, the patron saint of Venice.
St. Mark is associated with the lion because he described the voice of
John the Baptist as sounding like a roaring lion. The lion symbol was
later depicted with wings because of a vision in which Ezekial saw four
winged creatures "And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub,
and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a
lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle." Ezekiel 10:14.
These creatures came to be associated with the four evangelists
(Matthew=man, Mark=lion, Luke=ox, John=eagle).

Mark is traditionally represented by the Lion for a couple of reasons, or
these are a couple of reasons given for the representation.  The first
associated with it is that Mark starts with John the Baptist "crying out
in the wilderness" the association has been made by some between that
voice of John and the roar of the lion which cries out of the wilderness.
The wings on all of the symbols of the gospels are to symbolize their
connection to the divine, like eagles wings or angels (who were the messengers
of God) they deliver  this story and good news.Matthew is portrayed
as the man because many believe we get a picture of Jesus living with us and as
one of us in Matthew. John is portrayed as the Eagle and to read John the
reason if fairly self evident.  John is the ethereal gospel where we get
the long prayers of Jesus, and we see Jesus portrayed more in his divinity and
carrying out his divine purpose. Luke is portrayed as a bull.  Luke's
gospel, as he says in the beginning, is to put down a most orderly account.

Vision of God’s Glory Departing from the Temple

St. George for England 1340 AD

St. George for England
A Tale of Cressy and Poitiers By G.A. Henty

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Mt Dear Lads,

You may be told perhaps that there ia no good to be obtained from tales
of fighting and bloodshed, that there is no moral to be drawn from many histories.
Believe it not. War has its lessons as well as Peace. You will learn from tales
like this that determination and enthusiasm can accomplish marvels, that true courage
is generally accompanied by magnanimity and gentleness, and that if not in itself
the very highest of virtues, it is the parent of almost all the others, since but few
of them can he practiced without it. The courage of our forefathers has created the
greatest empire in the world around a small and in itself insignificant island; if
this empire is ever lost, it will be by the cowardice of their descendants.
At no period of her history did England stand so high in the eyes of Europe as in
the time whose events are recorded in this volume. A chivalrous king and an even more
chivalrous prince had infected the whole people with their martial spirit, and the result
was that their armies were for a time invincible, and the most astonishing successes were
gained against numbers which would appear overwhelming. The victories of Gressy and
Poitiers may be to some extent accounted for by superior generalship and discipline on the
part of the conquerors; but this will not account for the great naval victory over
the Spanish fleet off the coast of Sussex, a victory even more surprising and won against
greater odds than was that gained in the same waters centuries later over the Spanish Armada.
The historical facta of the story are all drawn from Froissart and other contemporary
historians, as collated and compared by Mr. James in his carefully written history.
They may therefore bo relied upon as accurate in every important particular.

Yours sincerely,

G. A. HENTY.

Creation Primer Lesson VI - the glory of God is the light

When he moved he made sound. There is light. There is darkness

He defined the light. He named it Day.

He defined the darkness. He named it Night.

Evening and morning make the first day.

The light and the darkness

Sources of light

• A source of light makes its own light. The glory of God is the source of all light. The sun and other stars, fires, torches and lamps all make their own light and so are examples of sources of light.
• Remember! You must never look directly at the sun. It is so bright that it can damage your eyes very quickly.
• Some animals, such as fireflies and glow-worms, are light sources. They make their own light to attract mates.
• A mirror is not a source of light. It doesn’t make its own light, it just reflects light.
• The moon is not a source of light. It reflects light from the sun.
• You would not be able to see a reflector of light, such as a mirror, in a completely dark room.

2. Seeing objects

• We see a light source when light from the source enters our eyes.
• When light from a light source hits an object, it is reflected (bounces off) and enters our eyes. This is how we see the object.

Genesis 1

1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2And 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.

3And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

4And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

5And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Creation Primer Lesson VII - God is the heavy weight!

God created the heaven and the earth. They were created before they were. When it was dark and void God had the plan. He is the light to lighten the dark. God is the law to validate the void. He is the source of all the forces, the source from above! He is the "Heavy Weight" of all mass. He gives weight, length, and capacity to all things.

BBC has nice lessons, games and worksheets HERE.

Forces in action

1. Gravity

• The force that makes things fall to the ground on Earth is called gravity.
• Gravity also holds Earth and the other planets in their orbits around the Sun.
• The force of gravity also exists on the moon but it is not as strong as it is on the Earth (this is because the moon is much smaller than the Earth).

2. Mass and weight

• The mass of an object is how much matter it contains. It is measured in grams (g) or kilograms (kg) but is NOT a force.
• The weight of an object is the force caused by gravity pulling down on the mass of an object. It is measured in Newtons (N).
• Weight is measured using a forcemeter. The bigger the weight attached to the forcemeter, the more the spring inside the forcemeter stretches.

3. Balanced forces

• Forces are just pushes and pulls in a particular direction.
• Forces are shown by arrows in diagrams. The direction of the arrow shows the direction in which the force is acting. The bigger the arrow, the bigger the force.
• If two forces are balanced, it means the forces are the same size but are acting in opposite directions.
• If two balanced forces are acting on an object, that object will not change its motion. If it is still, it will stay still. If it is moving, it will continue moving, in the same direction and at the same speed.

4. Unbalanced forces

• Unbalanced forces can make objects start to move, speed up, slow down, or change direction.

Genesis 1

1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2And 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.

3And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

4And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

5And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

St. George of England

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Dear Lads,

It is sometimes said that there is no good to be obtained from
tales of fighting and bloodshed, that there is no moral to be drawn from
such histories. Believe it not War has its lessons as well as Peace.
You will learn from tales like this that determination and enthusiasm
can accomplish marvels, that true courage is generally accompanied by
magnanimity and gentleness, and that if not in itself the very highest
of virtues, it is the parent of almost all the others, since but few of
them can be practised without it. The courage of our forefathers has created
the greatest empire in the world around a small and in itself insignificant
island; if this empire is ever lost, it will be by the cowardice of
their descendants. At no period of her history did England stand so high in
the eyes of Europe as in the time whose events are recorded in this volume.
A chivalrous king and an even more chivalrous prince had infected the whole
people with their martial spirit, and the result was that their armies were for
a time invincible, and the most astonishing successes were gained against numbers
which would appear overwhelming. The victories of Cressy and Poitiers may be to some
extent accounted for by superior generalship and discipline on the part of the
conquerors; but this will not account for the great naval victory over the Spanish
fleet off the coast of Sussex, a victory even more surprising and won against
greater odds than was that gained, in the same waters centuries later,
over the Spanish Armada. The historical facts of the story are all drawn from
Froissart and other contemporary historians, as collated and compared by Mr. James
in his carefully written history. They may therefore be relied upon as accurate
in every important particular.

G. A. HENTY.

The Roman Army

The Roman Army
By Allison K. Halliday

Here come the Roman Legionaries,
With their fine Lorica and proud airs;
Conquered nations from shore to shore,
They brought back treasures from each war.

Here come the Roman charioteers,
With their gold Galea and gleaming spears;
Feared to be targeted by their wrath,
Countries couldn't stand in their path.

Here comes the Roman Army,
For them I feel terribly sorry;
The Great I Am governs sea and shore,
That is why Rome strives no more.

Couplet

A couplet is a pair of lines of verse. It usually consists of two lines that rhyme and have the same meter. While traditionally couplets rhyme, not all do. A poem may use white space to mark out couplets if they do not rhyme. Couplets with a meter of iambic pentameter are called heroic couplets. The Poetic epigram is also in the couplet form. Couplets can also appear in more complex rhyme schemes. For example, Shakespearean sonnets end with a couplet.

Rhyming couplets are one of the simplest rhyme schemes in poetry. Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales are written in rhyming couplets. John Dryden in the 17th century and Alexander Pope in the 18th century were both well known for their writing in heroic couplets.

Because the rhyme comes so quickly in rhyming couplets, it tends to call attention to itself. Good rhyming couplets tend to "snap" as both the rhyme and the idea come to a quick close in two lines. Here are some examples of rhyming couplets where the sense as well as the sound "rhymes":

True wit is nature to advantage dress'd;

What oft was thought, but ne'er so well express'd.

— Alexander Pope

Whether or not we find what we are seeking

is idle, biologically speaking.

— Edna St. Vincent Millay (at the end of a sonnet)

On the other hand, because rhyming couplets have such a predictable rhyme scheme, they can feel artificial and plodding. Here is a Pope parody of the predictable rhymes of his era:

Where-e'er you find "the cooling western breeze,"

In the next line, it "whispers through the trees;"

If crystal streams "with pleasing murmurs creep,"

The readers threatened (not in vain) with "sleep."

(By Wikipedia)

BBC Romans
BBC Primary History Romans

In Freedom's Cause

The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.
He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.
Psalm 147:2-3

In Freedom's Cause, A story of Wallace and Bruce.

At the end of the 13th century, the oppressed Scots rebelled against England under the leadership of William Wallace and Robert Bruce. This gripping tale of courage, loyalty, and ingenuity takes readers into heroic company with a fictional protagonist, young Archie Forbes, who fights alongside the legendary heroes.

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MY DEAR LADS, 

There are few figures in history who have individually exercised so
great an influence upon events as William Wallace and Eobert Bruce.
It was to the extraordinary personal courage,indomitable perseverance,
and immense energy of these two men that Scotland owed her freedom
from English domination. So surprising were the traditions of the feats
performed by these heroes that it was at one time the fashion to
treat them as belonging as purely to legend as the feats of St.George
or King Arthur. Careful investigation, however, has shown that so
far from this being the case, almost every deed reported to have been
performed by them is verified by contemporary historians.
Sir William Wallace had the especial bad fortune of having come
down to us principally by the writings of his bitter enemies,
and even modern historians, who should have taken a fairer view
of his life, repeated the cry of the old English writers that he was
a blood-thirsty robber. Mr. W. Burns, however, in his masterly and exhaustive
work, The Scottish War of Independence, has torn these calumnies to
shreds, and has displayed Wallace as he was, a high-minded and noble patriot.
While consulting other writers, especially those who wrote at the
time of or but shortly after the events they record, I have for the
most part followed Burns in all the historical portions of the narrative.
Throughout the story, therefore, wherein it at all relates to Wallace, Bruce, and
the other historical characters, the circumstances and events can be relied
upon as strictly accurate, save only in the earlier events of the career
of Wallace, of which the details that have come down to us are somewhat conflicting,
although the main features are now settled past question.

Yours very sincerely,

G. A. HENTY.




 

1190 A.D. Winning His Spurs: A Tale of the Crusades

Winning His Spurs: A Tale of the Crusades

Mr. Henty weaves a story of the life and times of King Richard the Lionhearted that is yet to be equalled. Cuthbert de Lance, the hero of the story, is of Norman blood on his father's side and Saxon by his mother. By timely aid to the Earl of Evesham, Cuthbert is rewarded by being allowed to go to the Crusade as his page. He gains a reputation for valor and prowess due to gallant deeds and his resourcefulness not only helps King Richard but aids Cuthbert in many a 'hairbreadth escape'.




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When King Richard the first (The Lionhearted) came to the throne he first adopted his personal arms of two lions rampant on a red field, however by the end of his life he had adopted a shield with three lions passant, on a red field. The origin of the third lion is unclear. According to one tradition, the extra lion was added to two existing Norman lions to represent the combined Anglo-Norman realm. According to another tradition the two leopards were combined with the single leopard of Aquitaine, as Henry II, the first Angevin king, had acquired the duchy of Acquitaine by marriage before inheriting the throne of England. Other heraldic authorities have claimed that at an early stage in the development of heraldry the number of Norman lions was not fixed and that it is simply a matter of design as to why England has ended up with three heraldic lions and Normandy with two. (Wikipedia)