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The French battle (100 Years War) is in column 8. My hunch is that your upper and lower blocks of cells are slightly misplaced (they don’t have mirror symmetry) and the rocky place should be uppermost

Hurrah! I see now what the issue is with a) the 'two word' entry and b) the strange plural.
I was assuming the top and bottom original acrosses were split symmetrically and I was also trying to convince myself that the French had got involved with their rather famous example.

Many thanks. 😊

Glad you cracked it. The non-mirror symmetry threw me for a long time (as long as the rest of the puzzle), especially as I think you could place two of the three satisfactorily using mirror. Hard to wind back from there

Yes, that non-mirror symmetry was a bit of a slippery thing. After that and the 'origami' with The Listener I may need a bit of a lie down before the Magpie is issued. 😁

(It is a shame about the two words and the ? plural but kudos to Phi for a different approach and a serious work-out. The Inquisitor is proving worth the money for the paper recently too).

I’ve been pecking at this off and on while dealing - still not resolved - with the completion of a house purchase where the sellers’ solicitor is frankly an incompetent and the sellers are away with the fairies (as we say here). I was right about the theme, so a previous life was relevant and I have the 3 thematic entries. But overall it is, I fear, just a bit of a slog. To use a previously used analogy from another previous life, it is more like a struggle up a damp dark chimney and not like an exciting series of risky moves across exposed rock with airy views.

Sorry, Phi.

quisling - I only got to grips with the third paragraph because I had to - figuring out the symmetry without it wan't an option for me (but not for most of you, it seems - I'm impressed!}.

Having limped close to the finish line (in no small measure due to the comments here), hoping someone can put me out of my misery with my final clue - drab church councils missing article.

Thanks in advance

An adjective that is "applied to the Sixth Ecumenical Council (680–1) and esp to the Council of 692" (7 letters), minus a common article, gives a 5 letter archaic word for drab (as in prostitute). Very obscure all around!

Thanks buddy - somehow I overlooked that defn of drab!