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The major churches were immensely rich. Approximately one-quarter of the wealth of all England as measured in Domesday Book belonged to them.

— John Gillingham William II: The Red King (2015)

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Opinion against ordeals hardened during the twelfth century, and in 1215 the pope prohibited priests from taking part in them, a ban which effectively ended the practice, leading, in Britain, to trial by jury instead.

William II: The Red King (2015)

None of this is to say that Rufus was not homosexual. But if he were, there is no evidence for it. Too many historians—though not all, it should be said—have simply inherited a lurid tradition and embellished it.

William II: The Red King (2015)

There is nothing to indicate that Rufus learned to read or write—unlike Henry, who did, whether because he had originally been intended for the priesthood, or because he was ten years younger than Rufus, in a world of changing expectations. By the 1120s the saying ‘an illiterate king is an ass wearing a crown’ had become proverbial.

William II: The Red King (2015)

But despite dangers to themselves, rulers and would-be rulers were expected to share the risks when they sent their followers to fight, not stay behind their desks as rulers do today. For as long as this expectation prevailed, it was virtually impossible for women to become monarchs.

William II: The Red King (2015)

As an investment on which he expected a good return, Robert Bloet had been willing to pay £5,000 for his bishopric. Henry of Huntingdon remembered being in Bishop Robert’s household: ‘the handsome knights, noble young men, expensive horses, his golden and gilt dishes, the number of courses, the splendour of his servants, the purple garments and the satins’.

William II: The Red King (2015)

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Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.

Francis Bacon Meditationes sacræ (1597)

It is not in the books of the Philosophers, but in the religious symbolism of the Ancients, that we must look for the footprints of Science, and re-discover the Mysteries of Knowledge.

Albert Pike Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (1871)

There is more than one way to burn a book. And the world is full of people running about with lit matches.

Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451 (1953)

People say that life is the thing, but I prefer reading.

Logan Pearsall Smith Afterthoughts (1931)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: John Gillingham (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.