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It is indeed said that Edmund, king of the East Angles, was shot to death with arrows by the Danes; but, if this piece of history be correct, it is no proof that they used the bow as a weapon of war. The action itself might be nothing more than a wanton piece of cruelty; and cruelty seems to have been a prominent feature in the character of those lawless plunderers.

— Joseph Strutt The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England (1801)

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More quotes by Joseph Strutt

And also, of animals when they retired to rest; a hart was said to be harbored, a buck lodged, a roebuck bedded, a hare formed, a rabbit set, &c.

The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England (1801)

The pipe-call, mentioned by Burton, is noticed under a different denomination by Chaucer; "Lo," says he, "the birde is begyled with the merry voice of the foulers' whistle, when it is closed in your nette," --alluding to the deceptive art of the bird-catchers in his time.

The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England (1801)

The books of hawking assign to the different ranks of persons the sort of hawks proper to be used by them: and they are placed in the following order--

The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England (1801)

It is said of the English, that formerly they were remarkable for the manner in which they celebrated the festival of Christmas; at which season they admitted variety of sports and pastimes not known, or little practised in other countries.

The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England (1801)

The Norman minstrel Tallefer, before the commencement of the battle at Hastings, cast his lance into the air three times, and caught it by the head in such a surprising manner, that the English thought it was done by the power of enchantment.

The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England (1801)

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