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Thomas of Hookton is an English archer during the 100 Year War between England and France.  He leads a band of archers and men-at-arms called the Hellequin.  Some years ago, he had gone on a quest for the Holy Grail and recovered it (The Grail Trilogy is excellent).  Now, his liege lord, the Earl of Northampton, has requested he find La Malice, the sword that Peter drew to protect Jesus.  Could it still exist?  Many believed it did and that it was hidden in France.  Thomas is not alone in his quest for the holy sword.  Cardinal Bessieres, a man who hopes to be Pope, believes the blade will assure his rise.  His minion, Father Marchant, gladly kills in order to track the path of the sword.  While Thomas pursues clues to the sword's whereabouts, Edward, the Black Prince, is sourging the south of France while King John II of France avoids confrontation.  The slaughter a French army at Crecy (1346) by the fearsome longbows is still a fresh memory.  In the end, Thomas finds himself joining the Black Prince near Poitiers, where King John II has marshalled an immense army and trapped the English on a hill.  It looks hopeless and Edward is inclined to accept horrendous terms for surrender.  Such talk only gives King John more confidence and he orders an attack!  Thus began the Battle of Poitiers.

The conclusion feels a bit rushed.  There are some character deaths that come like footnotes rather than tragic losses or well-deserved comeuppance.  Some characters who were prominent in the beginning, notably Brother Michael, have vanished by the end.  As Brother Michael fades, in walks Keane, an Irish seminary student, who has the same desire to be a man-at-arms as Michael.  Soon, Keane eclipsed Michael.  In fact, Keane became the Harper to Thomas of Hookton's Sharpe.  (Cornwell's most famous character is English officer Richard Sharpe and his constant sidekick was Irish Sergeant Patrick Harper).  Of course, I liked Keane far more than I liked Michael.  I suppose Michael wrote himself out while Keane was just irresistible.

A terrific tale that sees action across southern France.  Several notable historic characters play large roles and others have cameos.  There is Edward the Black Prince who seems a charming rogue and brilliant warrior, King John II of France and his sons Prince Charles and Prince Philippe, Pope Innocent VI, and even Pope Gregory XI in his days as a student at Montpelier.  There is lots of action, loads of flavor of the time period, and a wonderful amount of actual history.  Bernard Cornwell is one of the greatest historical fiction writers, sure to go down with the likes of C. S. Forester and Arthur Conan Doyle.

Highly recommended.

The Empty Throne

Book 8 of the Saxon Stories takes place when Aethelred, Lord of the Mercians, died and his wife, Aethelflaed - daughter of Alfred the Great - became Lady of the Mercians.  Of course, that is just the backdrop for action and adventure with the aging and injured Uhtred of Bebbanburg. King Edward of Wessex - son of Alfred the Great - shares his father's desire to unite all the petty kingdoms into one: England.  As such, he has dispatched an ealdorman - who happens to be Edward's father-in-law, to pave the way for Edward's ascension to the Mercian throne.  There is also a plot to kill Aethelstan, a boy with a strong claim to the throne of Wessex and thus an impediment to the ealdorman's goal of seeing his grandson as king.

In the previous book, Uhtred had been seriously wounded and remains in such pain as to be a virtual invalid.  Luckily, he has his son, also named Uhtred, and a band of warriors to do the fighting for him.  The elder Uhtred is a cunning strategist and a shrewd judge of character.  However, he is a man of his times and believes that to heal himself from his injury, he must find the sword that skewered him.  He must go to Wales.  While in Wales, he sees a fleet of Viking ships that can only be headed to Mercia!

 

This is one of the better books in the series.  Uhtred is more of a chess master than a warrior.  He has always been brilliant and insightful but hobbled with crippling pain forces the story to focus on his wits and not on his combat prowess.  This also provided opportunities for his children, Uhtred and Stiorra, to play pivotal roles and perhaps helm the Saxon Stories when Uhtred the elder dies.  The history of the early 10th century is sufficiently opaque that Cornwell has wide latitude to shape the story.

 

Great fun and recommended.

 

Alfred the Great

Having just seen the movie, I have to say I was less than impressed.  The story opens with Alfred (David Hemmings) being called from seminary only moments before he is to be ordained as a priest.  He finds his elder brother, King Ethelred, who was injured in battle, unable to lead the army against the encroaching Vikings.  Alfred reluctantly takes up the sword, devises a strategy, and trounces the Vikings.  However, the bloodshed troubles him because he enjoys it too much.  He swears never to kill with a sword again and make his return to the monastery.  His brother has other notions, arranging a marriage with Aelhswith (Prunella Ransome), a Mercian Princess.  No sooner are they married than Ethelred dies, making Alfred the king.  Lacking a sufficient army to beat back the Danes, Alfred pays Guthrum (Michael York) to go away and offers his new wife as a hostage.  Of course, Guthrum betrays and Alfred finds himself hiding in a marsh with Roger the Bandit (Ian McKellen).  Eventually, he assembles an army and defeats the Danes at the Battle of Edington.  The movie notes that Alfred is the only English king to ever earn the appellation of Great but it then fails to demonstrate why.  Perhaps this was made for an English audience that would realize that Alfred stopped the Danish conquest and dramatically reversed it in his later years.  This story only offers the point where Anglo-Saxon fortune turns for the better.

The movie only covers the period from about 868 to 878; Alfred ruled until his death in 899.  It shows Alfred marrying Aelhswith on the very day that King Ethelred died.  In fact, Alfred married in 868 and his brother died in 871.  For simplicity, the various Vikings who attacked during that period are consolidated into the single figure of Guthrum.  The sons of Ragnar (see The Vikings on History Channel to be misinformed about Ragnar) are generally overlooked though Ivar the Boneless does appear as one of Guthrum's underlings.

 

It was fun to see all the familiar faces.  In addition to Michael York and Ian McKellen, there was Peter Vaughan, who would go on to play Maester Aemon in Game of Thrones, as Aelhswith's father here.  Julian Glover, who appeared as Grand Maester Pycelle in Game of Thrones, is one of Alfred's chief nobles, Aethelstan.  They are all so young!

 

The movie puts entirely too much emphasis on a love-hate relationship with his wife that is not attested in the historical record.  Morever, it shows Alfred to be very foolish in his initial dealings with Guthrum.  Who would blindly agree to allowing Guthrum to pick the hostage of his choice?  Alfred is about the only person surprised and shocked that Guthrum chose Aelhswith.  And then we have Aelhswith falling in love with Guthrum and having an affair with him for the next 4 years of her captivity.  Really?  By what little is known, the marriage was successful and resulted in half a dozen children who survived to adulthood.  The movie shows Edward the future king (899-924) but omits his elder sister, Aethelflaed, future queen of Mercia.  This ill-considered love-triangle detracts from the main story and makes it hard to like Alfred.  It is no wonder the movie didn't do well and is mostly forgotten.

 

Alfred figures prominently in Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Stories and, though the central character has a contentious relationship with Alfred, Alfred clearly earns his greatness.  As most of Cornwell's historical novels, this is a great series for the history buff.  He plays a bit loose with history but he tells you where in his historical notes at the end of each novel.  There are 9 books in the series so far but Alfred only survives to the 6th one.