The Warlord Chronicles Series by Bernard Cornwell
The Warlord Chronicles #1
The Winter King twc-1
Bernard Cornwell
These are the tales of the last days before the great darkness descended. These are the tales of the Lost Lands, the country that was once ours but which our enemies now call England. These are the tales of Arthur, the Warlord'; the King that Never Was, the Enemy of God and, may the living Christ forgive me, the best man I ever knew. How I have wept for Arthur… Fifth century Britain lies on the edge of darkness. Memories of Roman civilization are fading; the pagan Gods are retreating before the spread of Christianity; the Saxons are snapping and snarling at the borders. Only fragile bonds unite the unruly kingdoms of Britain against the invaders, bonds cemented by the vigour of the High King, Uther Pendragon. But the Pendragon is failing, and his heir is no strong leader but a child, born on a bitter winter night. Only one man could keep Uther's throne safe,only he could hold the warring kingdoms together to face their true enemy, the Saxons. That man is Arthur: soldier, statesman, Merlin's protege, Uther's illegitimate son. But he has been banished, exiled by his own father to Brittany. Derfel, one of his spearmen, narrates the story of Arthur's return and of his quest for peace: embattled, bloody and, finally, triumphant. The Winter King is a magnificent tale of the Dark Ages and the reality of war and political strife in a land where religion vied with magic for the souls of the people. It portrays Arthur the man rather than the legend, a military genius who, with a small band of warriors bound to him by loyalty and love, struggled to keep alive a flicker of civilization.
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The Warlord Chronicles #2
Enemy of God twc-2
Bernard Cornwell
Enemy of God is the second novel of the Warlord series, and immediately follows the events described in The Winter King. In that book the King of Dumnonia and High King of Britain, Uther, dies and is succeeded by his lamed baby grandson, Mordred. Arthur, a bastard son of Uther's, is appointed one of Mordred's guardians and in time becomes the most important of those guardians. Arthur is determined to fulfil the oath he swore to Uther that Mordred, when he comes of age, will occupy Dumnonia's throne. Arthur is also determined to bring peace to the warring British kingdoms. The major conflict is between Dumnonia and Powys, but when Arthur is invited to marry Ceinwyn, a Princess of Powys, it seems that war can be avoided. Instead Arthur elopes with the penniless Princess Guinevere and that insult to Ceinwyn brings on years of war that are ended only when Arthur defeats King Gorfyddyd of Powys at the Battle of Lugg Vale. Powys's throne then passes to Cuneglas, Ceinwyn's brother, who, like Arthur, wants peace between the Britons so that they can concentrate their spears against the common enemy, the Saxons (the Sais). The Winter King, like the present book, was narrated by Derfel (pronounced Dervel), a Saxon slave boy who grew up in Merlin's household and became one of Arthur's warriors. Arthur sent Derfel to Armorica (today's Brittany) where he fought in the doomed campaign to preserve the British kingdom of Benoic against Frankish invaders. Among Benoic's refugees who return to Britain is Lancelot, King of Benoic, whom Arthur now wants to marry to Ceinwyn and place on the throne of Siluria. Derfel has fallen in love with Ceinwyn. Derfel's other love is Nimue, his childhood friend who has become Merlin's helpmate and lover. Merlin is a Druid and the leader of the faction in Britain that wants to restore the island to its old Gods, to which end he is pursuing a Cauldron, one of the Thirteen Treasures of Britain, a quest which for Merlin and Nimue far outranks any battle against other kingdoms or invaders. Opposing Merlin are the Christians of Britain, one of whose leaders is Bishop Sansum who lost much of his power when he defied Guinevere. Sansum is now in disgrace and serving as Abbot of the Monastery of the Holy Thorn at Ynys Wydryn (Glastonbury). The Winter King ended with Arthur winning the great battle at Lugg Vale. Mordred's throne is safe, the southern British kingdoms are allied and Arthur, though not a king himself, is their undisputed leader.
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The Warlord Chronicles #3
Excalibur twc-3
Bernard Cornwell
From T. H. White's The Once And Future King to Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists Of Avalon , the legend of King Arthur has haunted and inspired generations of writers to reinvent the ancient story. In The Winter King and Enemy Of God , Bernard Cornwell demonstrated his astonishing ability to make the oft-told legend of King Arthur fresh and new for our time. Now, in this riveting final volume of the Warlord Chronicles , Cornwell tells the story of Arthur's desperate attempt to triumph over a ruined marriage and the Saxons' determination to destroy him. Set against the backdrop of the Dark Ages, this brilliant saga continues as seen through the eyes of Derfel, an orphan brought up by Merlin and one of Arthur's warriors. In this book, the aging Arthur has been betrayed by, among others, his beloved Guinevere; but although he is alone and deeply saddened, he still embraces his dreams of a world in which civilization triumphs over brute force. Arthur and his warriors must face the dreaded Saxons — now allied with Arthur's betrayer Lancelot — for the throne of Britain. This is the tale not only of a broken love remade but also of enemies more subtle than any Saxon spearman — of forces both earthly and unearthly that threaten everything Arthur stands for. When Merlin and Nimue embark on a dangerous quest to summon the Gods back to Britain, they unleash forces that will lead to a last desperate battle on the sands of Camlann, where it seems that Arthur must fail unless Merlin's final enchantment can avert the horror. Peopled by princesses and bards, warriors and magicians, Excalibur is a story of love, war, loyalty, and betrayal, the unforgettable conclusion to a brilliant retelling of one of the most powerful legends of all time.
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