Читать книгу The Child's Pictorial History of England. From the Earliest Period to the Present Time онлайн

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25. You may think how glad the people were that the wars were over, and the king was very glad too, for he now had time to do what was more pleasant to him than fighting, which was, to do all the good he could for the country. He thought the best way to defend it against its enemies was to have good ships to keep them from landing; but, as the English did not know much about ship-building, he sent for men from Italy to teach them, and also had models of ships brought that they might see how they were constructed, and men were taught to manage them, so that England, for the first time, had a navy.

26. These ships were called galleys, and were worked both with oars and sails; they were twice as long as those of the Danes, and stood higher out of the water.

27. While some workmen were making ships, others were employed in rebuilding of the towns and villages that had been burned down by the Danes; and the king ordained that there should be schools in different parts of the kingdom, where noblemen’s sons might be educated, for he had found the benefit of learning himself, and thought it a sad thing that all the great men should be so ignorant as they were.