• Пожаловаться

Stewart Binns: Crusade

Здесь есть возможность читать онлайн «Stewart Binns: Crusade» весь текст электронной книги совершенно бесплатно (целиком полную версию). В некоторых случаях присутствует краткое содержание. Город: London, год выпуска: 2012, ISBN: 978-0-241-95758-5, издательство: Penguin Books, категория: Историческая проза / на английском языке. Описание произведения, (предисловие) а так же отзывы посетителей доступны на портале. Библиотека «Либ Кат» — LibCat.ru создана для любителей полистать хорошую книжку и предлагает широкий выбор жанров:

любовные романы фантастика и фэнтези приключения детективы и триллеры эротика документальные научные юмористические анекдоты о бизнесе проза детские сказки о религиии новинки православные старинные про компьютеры программирование на английском домоводство поэзия

Выбрав категорию по душе Вы сможете найти действительно стоящие книги и насладиться погружением в мир воображения, прочувствовать переживания героев или узнать для себя что-то новое, совершить внутреннее открытие. Подробная информация для ознакомления по текущему запросу представлена ниже:

Stewart Binns Crusade

Crusade: краткое содержание, описание и аннотация

Предлагаем к чтению аннотацию, описание, краткое содержание или предисловие (зависит от того, что написал сам автор книги «Crusade»). Если вы не нашли необходимую информацию о книге — напишите в комментариях, мы постараемся отыскать её.

1072 – England is firmly under the heel of its new Norman rulers. The few survivors of the English resistance look to Edgar the Atheling, the rightful heir to the English throne, to overthrow William the Conqueror. Years of intrigue and vicious civil war follow: brother against brother, family against family, friend against friend. In the face of chaos and death, Edgar and his allies form a secret brotherhood, pledging to fight for justice and freedom wherever they are denied. But soon they are called to fight for an even greater cause: the plight of the Holy Land. Embarking on the epic First Crusade to recapture Jerusalem, together they will participate in some of the cruellest battles the world has ever known, the savage Siege of Antioch and the brutal Fall of Jerusalem, and together they will fight to the death.

Stewart Binns: другие книги автора


Кто написал Crusade? Узнайте фамилию, как зовут автора книги и список всех его произведений по сериям.

Crusade — читать онлайн бесплатно полную книгу (весь текст) целиком

Ниже представлен текст книги, разбитый по страницам. Система сохранения места последней прочитанной страницы, позволяет с удобством читать онлайн бесплатно книгу «Crusade», без необходимости каждый раз заново искать на чём Вы остановились. Поставьте закладку, и сможете в любой момент перейти на страницу, на которой закончили чтение.

Шрифт:

Сбросить

Интервал:

Закладка:

Сделать

‘We must leave. The day is moving on and the snow will fall into the night. No man would want to be on these fells at night, blizzard or otherwise. We will help you bury your man. The Prince lives a few miles from here, next to the Water that Roars, near the Norse settlements of Alston and Garrigyll.’

‘How do you know we seek Prince Edgar?’

‘You surely haven’t come here to mine for lead. Why else would an English storyteller be high in the mountains of Rheged, stepping over the corpses of ill-begotten Saxons and Norse?’

William presides over another interment, for the sergeant-at-arms. Then, after several hours of struggle over difficult ground with driven snow increasingly obscuring the track, Owain Rheged and his band of warriors leave William and Roger at the top of a steep gorge. He beckons them towards a raging waterfall that spews its innards angrily into the valley below.

‘The Prince’s hall lies beyond the falls to the south, next to the Grue Water. There is a safe place to ford further upstream. You must show respect here; this place is sacred to us.’

William nods his assent.

Before he departs, Owain moves closer to William. He speaks gently, the ferocity of his demeanour suddenly assuaged.

‘Have you told all the stories you want to tell?’

‘Most of them, Owain Rheged.’

‘That is good. When you pray to your god, save a prayer for yourself.’

‘I always do. Are you concerned for me?’

‘You will soon be like the blacksmith without his strong arms…’ He pauses. ‘You will be blind by Midsummer’s Day.’

‘How do you know this?’

‘I have seen it before. You have what the Ancients called nazul-i-ah, “the descent of the water”. In Latin it is called cataracta. It means “waterfall”.’

‘How do you know this?’

‘I have seen it in the infirmaries of Constantinople. Prince Edgar believes I have never left these fells and that when he came here, he taught me English and the ways of Christendom. He doesn’t know that before my face was decorated my father sent me into the world to learn its ways. I was away for a dozen years and travelled across Europe and into the great empire of Byzantium.’

William hesitates, shocked by the Druid’s pronouncement about his eyes.

‘Is there anything that can be done about my sight?’

‘No… but keep that boy close to you. You will need him.’

‘You are a fascinating man, Owain Rheged. I would like to hear more of your story one day.’

The Druid doesn’t answer.

In an instant, he is gone – he and his warriors melting into the forest as unobtrusively as they had appeared.

3. All Hallows

William and his men travel for some distance to find the crossing point of the Pennine beck, shallow enough for their horses, before doubling back on themselves to reach the settlement where the Druid had said they would find their quarry.

William’s next Northumbrian revelation is the humble nature of the Prince’s settlement.

The main hall is not much bigger than a freeman’s two-room cottage, and the two smaller buildings are about the size of a peasant’s simple one-room dwelling. The cluster of buildings, which appears to be deserted, cannot be home to more than ten or twelve people.

They search for a few minutes, but no one can be found. The fire in the hall is just a cool ember and has not been tended for several hours. Roger seizes his chance to bid for a rapid retreat to Malmesbury.

‘So, Abbot, the bird has flown; there is no point in wasting our time here. I will feed the horses and we can begin our journey home.’

‘Not at this time, I fear. It will be dark soon.’

‘I suppose I must bow to your judgement – if we can’t start tonight, I’ll find us a place to sleep.’

William gazes into the dense wall of trees surrounding the settlement.

‘Let’s bed down in the hall. I don’t think our host is far away.’

William and Roger enter the modest hall and start to pile wood on to the ashes of the smouldering fire.

‘Roger, hand me those bellows.’

As the young monk reaches for the means to bring the fire to life, a gruff voice speaks to them from the shadows.

‘What do you want here?’

William, startled, turns sharply.

‘Show yourself, we have had enough shocks for one day.’

‘We are the ones who should be shocked. You have entered our hall uninvited.’

‘I am William of Malmesbury, and this is my cleric, Roger of Caen. We seek Edgar, Prince of this realm.’

‘There are no princes here, priest. Are you mad? Why would a royal prince be living in this godforsaken place?’

‘I am sorry; we have been told that Prince Edgar lives here. In fact, it was your neighbours, the Gul, who escorted us here.’

With that, another much gentler voice speaks.

‘Welcome to Ashgyll, William of Malmesbury. I’m afraid we will not be able to offer you the many comforts of the dormitories in your great abbey, but our settlement suffices for our simple needs.’

William and Roger turn to their right as the man they seek steps from the shadows with his steward. At the same time, the first man also steps forward; he is a large battle-scarred man, who is clearly Edgar’s sergeant-at-arms.

William bows and says, ‘My Lord, I am honoured to meet the Atheling Prince of England. You knew of our coming?’

‘Of course, my friends the Gul keep me informed. But none of that “Atheling” formality, that was a long time ago. I am now Edgar, Lord of Ashgyll, but my realm is no more than what you see around you. You must call me Edgar.’

The Prince tells his steward to take care of the horses, then gestures to William and Roger to move closer to the fire.

‘You must forgive my furtiveness when you appeared. I like to remain as anonymous as possible up here. I have chosen a quiet and contemplative end to my life. As a monk, I’m sure you will understand that.’

‘Indeed, although life at Malmesbury can sometimes be far more hectic than I would wish.’

‘How did you know where to find me?’

‘A Norseman. He came to the abbey to sell linen.’

Edgar smiles ruefully.

‘I thought as much. I recall he just appeared one day. He recognized me at Durham and must have followed me here. I don’t know how he avoided the Gul; perhaps he paid them off. I suppose you made it worth his while to tell you where I lived?’

‘Well, we did buy rather a lot of linen from him.’

‘Yes, he was a good salesman – very persuasive; he carried some excellent Norse mead. He probably got me drunk. Anyway, he had already guessed my identity, so there was no point in denying it.’

Edgar shrugs his shoulders, sits himself down by the fire and changes the subject.

‘You are a Norman, young Roger. I know Caen; it is a fine city. And I know the Normans well – especially a very noble one called Robert.’

After a pause, Edgar turns to William and stares at him pointedly.

‘Are you here to hear my confession?’

‘Not exactly, but I would like to hear the account of your many trials and tribulations. My life is devoted to the chronicles of the past.’

‘I know your work and that you have just completed your Deeds of the Kings of the English. The monks at Durham have a copy, which they are very proud of.’

Читать дальше

Шрифт:

Сбросить

Интервал:

Закладка:

Сделать

Похожие книги на «Crusade»

Представляем Вашему вниманию похожие книги на «Crusade» списком для выбора. Мы отобрали схожую по названию и смыслу литературу в надежде предоставить читателям больше вариантов отыскать новые, интересные, ещё не прочитанные произведения.


Jack Whyte: Standard of Honor
Standard of Honor
Jack Whyte
libclub.ru: книга без обложки
libclub.ru: книга без обложки
Виктория Холт
Stewart Binns: Conquest
Conquest
Stewart Binns
Stewart Binns: Lionheart
Lionheart
Stewart Binns
Stewart Binns: Anarchy
Anarchy
Stewart Binns
Отзывы о книге «Crusade»

Обсуждение, отзывы о книге «Crusade» и просто собственные мнения читателей. Оставьте ваши комментарии, напишите, что Вы думаете о произведении, его смысле или главных героях. Укажите что конкретно понравилось, а что нет, и почему Вы так считаете.