Saturday, 31 January 2026

The 15 Heroes and Heroines of Days of Adventure



The book Days of Adventure is in three sections. It's  bit of ragbag really. The last 15 chapters look at homes through the ages and the second 15 (sounds like a rugby team) life in the middle ages. The first and most interesting section is headed heroes and heroines and I seem to remember doing this section when I was in primary school. Those covered are

Caradoc
Boadicea
Hereward the Wake
Llewellyn
Joan of Arc
Richard Grenville
General Wolfe
Clive of India
Lord Nelson
Florence Nightingale
David Livingstone
Mary Slessor
Scott of the Antarctic, etc
Edith Cavell
Hunt, Hillary and Tensing

Brilliant list and all presented in the usual way.


Friday, 30 January 2026

Hammurabi (03)


1. What did Hammurabi do that made him famous?
We know the name of Hammurabi today chiefly because of the laws he made., because of what has been called his eponymous code. Unlike earlier Sumerian law codes, which had apparently focused on compensating the victim of the crime, the Law of Hammurabi was one of the first law codes to place greater emphasis on the physical punishment of the perpetrator. It prescribed specific penalties for each crime and is among the first codes to establish the presumption of innocence. They were intended to limit what a wronged person was permitted to do in retribution. People often compare Hammurabi's law with Moses' law, highlighting similarities.

2. What was the name of Hammurabi's city? Where was it?
Babylon in Mesopotamia.

3. Tell what you know of the story of Abraham
We know from the Bible that Abraham was originally from Ur (see map). God called him out of utter paganism to the Promised Land which he came to via Harran.

King Alfred the Great (19)

1.Why did Alfred hide in Somerset? He was on the run from invading Danes 2 How did he learn the plans of the Danes? He disguised himself as ...