Thomas Costain's The Three Edwards, focuses on the life of...
Illustration
Thomas Costain's The Three Edwards, focuses on the life of a fourteenth-century duke by the name of Raynald III.
According to Costain, Raynald was given the nickname by his countrymen of Crassus, which means "fat."
A dispute arose between Raynald and his brother Edward. It was such a divisive argument that Edward let a successful revolt against Raynald. As Raynald attempted to flee he was captured and sentenced to an unusual fate. A room was built in Nieuwkerk castle and Edward promised him he would give his title and property back as soon as he was able to leave the room.
The room had near-normal sized windows and doors and none had locks or bars preventing him from leaving. The difficulty was that Raynald could not squeeze through any of them because of his size. To be free all he had to do was lose weight. Edward understood his brother's weakness. Each day mounds of delicious foods were brought to Raynald on platters. Freedom was just a diet away, but instead he yielded and grew fatter for the next ten years. Locked away by his own decision and will.
Only after Edward was killed in battle was Raynald freed, but by then he had eaten his way to death and died a year after being released.*
Isaiah calls on Israel to stop making foolish decisions and begs them to stop doing wrong and to learn to do right. If they would choose to do right their lives would dramatically change. The same with the person of the twenty-first century ... if we choose to stop doing wrong our life would change and we could influence others for the right!
(Craig Brian Larson, Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching [Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1993], 229)
According to Costain, Raynald was given the nickname by his countrymen of Crassus, which means "fat."
A dispute arose between Raynald and his brother Edward. It was such a divisive argument that Edward let a successful revolt against Raynald. As Raynald attempted to flee he was captured and sentenced to an unusual fate. A room was built in Nieuwkerk castle and Edward promised him he would give his title and property back as soon as he was able to leave the room.
The room had near-normal sized windows and doors and none had locks or bars preventing him from leaving. The difficulty was that Raynald could not squeeze through any of them because of his size. To be free all he had to do was lose weight. Edward understood his brother's weakness. Each day mounds of delicious foods were brought to Raynald on platters. Freedom was just a diet away, but instead he yielded and grew fatter for the next ten years. Locked away by his own decision and will.
Only after Edward was killed in battle was Raynald freed, but by then he had eaten his way to death and died a year after being released.*
Isaiah calls on Israel to stop making foolish decisions and begs them to stop doing wrong and to learn to do right. If they would choose to do right their lives would dramatically change. The same with the person of the twenty-first century ... if we choose to stop doing wrong our life would change and we could influence others for the right!
(Craig Brian Larson, Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching [Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1993], 229)
