To a Greek hoplite, there may be no more fearful site, than that of the lambda blazon. Called episema (επισημα) by the Greeks, the art of painting a shield with an emblem for identification was already centuries old by the time the Spartans were to have adopted the lambda, or upside down V, as a state symbol in 418 bc [1 pg 28]. Prior to this, individual warriors would have personal symbols, such as a scorpion, gorgon, Heraclean clu, painted on their shields. In one such case, a warrior was said...

King Richard III


XVI

Henry Tudor, was a shrewd man, he had played his cards close to his chest. He had spent most of his life living in exile and he knew how to bring people on side. He was quick to see, when others had seen through his agenda. He knew that his cause in the court of Brittany was lost, and the Duke of Brittany had realised that...