--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In another chapter I have told you how in…" description: "\"“In another chapter I have told you how in the year 800 a German chieftain had become a Roman Emperor. Now in the year 1066 the grandson of a Norse pir..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8a/hendrik-van-loon-242222_roman-emperor_in-another-chapter-i-have-told-you-how-i_1814645.jpg" --- # In another chapter I have told you how in the year 800 a… ![“In another chapter I have told you how in the year 800 a German chieftain had become a Roman Emperor. Now in the year 1066 the grandson of a Norse pirate was recognised as King of England. Why should we ever read fairy stories, when the truth of history is so much more interesting and entertaining?” quote by Hendrik Van Loon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8a/hendrik-van-loon-242222_roman-emperor_in-another-chapter-i-have-told-you-how-i_1814645.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8a/hendrik-van-loon-242222_roman-emperor_in-another-chapter-i-have-told-you-how-i_1814645.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8a/hendrik-van-loon-242222_roman-emperor_in-another-chapter-i-have-told-you-how-i_1814645.jpg) > ““In another chapter I have told you how in the year 800 a German chieftain had become a Roman Emperor. Now in the year 1066 the grandson of a Norse pirate was recognised as King of England. Why should we ever read fairy stories, when the truth of history is so much more interesting and entertaining?”” Hendrik Van Loon ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author argues that real historical events are more engaging than fairy tales. **In simple terms:** History is more interesting than fairy stories. Key Takeaway Prefer factual history over fantasy. Themes history education mythology entertainment Mood thoughtful curious Type explanatory reflective When to use this quote - classroom lessons - documentary making - personal reading choices Key Concepts historical narrative comparative analysis Questions to Reflect On - What makes a story compelling: truth or imagination? - How can history be made as vivid as fiction? A Different Perspective Fairy tales can convey moral truths absent in pure facts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fairy stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairy-stories/) [Roman emperor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roman-emperor/) ## Related quotes > [I think people should read fairy tales, because were hungry for a mythology that will speak to our fears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/i-think-people-should-read-fairy-tales-because-were-hungry-for-a/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [“Of course she's read it. Half of England has read it, which is why it's vulgar to quote it.' 'Half the world has read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-bradbury/of-course-she-s-read-it-half-of-england-has-read-it-which-is-why-it-s/) Jennifer Bradbury > [I currently live in the Plaza in New York and I love it - all that history, all those interesting stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-hilfiger/i-currently-live-in-the-plaza-in-new-york-and-i-love-it-all-that/) [Tommy Hilfiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-hilfiger/) > [Older recordings just seemed to take me somewhere into my own pre-history. That's always been an interesting, sort of sphinx-like territory for me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-maddin/older-recordings-just-seemed-to-take-me-somewhere-into-my-own-pre/) [Guy Maddin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-maddin/) > [History is more interesting than politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennart-meri/history-is-more-interesting-than-politics/) [Lennart Meri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennart-meri/) > [History is full of really good stories. That's the main reason I got into this racket: I want to make the argument that history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/history-is-full-of-really-good-stories-that-s-the-main-reason-i-got/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [L.A. prides itself on newness or being the last frontier or just not liking old things and tearing them down to build new things.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-gordon/l-a-prides-itself-on-newness-or-being-the-last-frontier-or-just-not/) [Kim Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-gordon/) > [I am now reading Cooper's Naval History which I find very interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-now-reading-cooper-s-naval-history-which-i-find-very-interesting/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [History is more interesting than most people think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tansy-rayner-roberts/history-is-more-interesting-than-most-people-think/) [Tansy Rayner Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tansy-rayner-roberts/) > [“History was interesting to the extent that it was catastrophic and, while that might make absorbing viewing, it made horrible living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/history-was-interesting-to-the-extent-that-it-was-catastrophic-and/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Students will start finding history interesting when their teachers and textbooks stop lying to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-w-loewen/students-will-start-finding-history-interesting-when-their-teachers/) [James W. Loewen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-w-loewen/) > [I was very interested in history, but I also thought, you know, history is not that interesting sometimes, and it can feel a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/min-jin-lee/i-was-very-interested-in-history-but-i-also-thought-you-know-history/) [Min Jin Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/min-jin-lee/) > [What's so interesting to me about history is - what's interesting to anyone - is how humans are the same. Their belief systems were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-eggers/what-s-so-interesting-to-me-about-history-is-what-s-interesting-to/) [Robert Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-eggers/) > [I am trying to reach people who would not normally head for the history section of a book shop or a library to try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-michael-of-kent/i-am-trying-to-reach-people-who-would-not-normally-head-for-the/) [Princess Michael of Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-michael-of-kent/) > [Every kid loves fairy tales, stories of witches and giants and magicians. Then, when you get a little older you can't read fairy tales…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-lee/every-kid-loves-fairy-tales-stories-of-witches-and-giants-and/) [Stan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-lee/) ## More Fairy stories quotes > [In his anti-Darwinian book... (and eponymously named The Neck of the Giraffe ), Francis Hitching tells the story... "The need to survive by reaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/in-his-anti-darwinian-book-and-eponymously-named-the-neck-of-the/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [“The consolation of fairy-stories, the joy of the happy ending; or more correctly of the good catastrophe, the sudden joyous "turn" (for there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien/the-consolation-of-fairy-stories-the-joy-of-the-happy-ending-or-more/) [J.R.R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien/) > [“I've been very influenced by folklore, fairy tales, and folk ballads, so I love all the classic works based on these things -- like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/i-ve-been-very-influenced-by-folklore-fairy-tales-and-folk-ballads-so/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [As a child, my mother told me lots of fairy stories, many her own invention. She, too, tended to reverse the norm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/as-a-child-my-mother-told-me-lots-of-fairy-stories-many-her-own/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [When my sister and I were very young, my father used to tell us fairy stories that he'd made up. My mother was always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-roeg/when-my-sister-and-i-were-very-young-my-father-used-to-tell-us-fairy/) [Nicolas Roeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-roeg/) > [Atheism is a fairy story for people afraid of the Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennox/atheism-is-a-fairy-story-for-people-afraid-of-the-light/) [John Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennox/) > [“That girl has been listening,” she said. The culprit snatched up her brush, and scrambled to her feet. She caught at the coal box…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hodgson-burnett/that-girl-has-been-listening-she-said-the-culprit-snatched-up-her/) [Frances Hodgson Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hodgson-burnett/) > [“In England in the 19th century, advances in printing methods, combined with the rise of a prosperous middle class, engendered a booming new industry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/in-england-in-the-19th-century-advances-in-printing-methods-combined/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“Now fairy stories are at risk too, like the forests. Padraic Column has suggested that artificial lighting dealt them a mortal wound: when people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-maitland/now-fairy-stories-are-at-risk-too-like-the-forests-padraic-column-has/) [Sara Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-maitland/) > [A myth is, of course, not a fairy story. It is the presentation of facts belonging to one category in the idioms appropriate to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-ryle/a-myth-is-of-course-not-a-fairy-story-it-is-the-presentation-of-facts/) [Gilbert Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-ryle/) > [“It’s not that I don’t write fairy stories because I don’t believe in fairies. I don’t write fairy stories because fairies don’t like me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kemp/it-s-not-that-i-don-t-write-fairy-stories-because-i-don-t-believe-in/) [Daniel Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kemp/) > [ “Forests to the \[early\] Northern European peoples were dangerous and generous, domestic and wild, beautiful and terrible. And the forests were the terrain out… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-maitland/forests-to-the-early-northern-european-peoples-were-dangerous-and/) [Sara Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-maitland/) > [“For many scientists, as Lyotard concedes, scientific knowledge is the only form of knowledge there is, but if so, how then do we understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watson/for-many-scientists-as-lyotard-concedes-scientific-knowledge-is-the/) [Peter Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watson/) > [I was the original Cinderella girl, looking for the happy ending in the fairy story. But my fantasy prince never came.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-keyes/i-was-the-original-cinderella-girl-looking-for-the-happy-ending-in/) [Evelyn Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-keyes/) > [“I believe that the great stretches of forests in northern Europe, with their constant seasonal changes, their restricted views, their astonish biological diversity, their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-maitland/i-believe-that-the-great-stretches-of-forests-in-northern-europe-with/) [Sara Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-maitland/) [Browse all 50 Fairy stories quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairy-stories/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In another chapter I have told you how in the year 800 a German chieftain had become a Roman Emperor. Now in the year 1066 the grandson of a Norse pirate was recognised as King of England. 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