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The Middle Ages. Younger Children
It is 1199. Thirteen-year-old Arthur is the second son of Sir John de Caldicot, whose manor is in the border country between England and Wales. Arthur is being taught to read and write by the priest. Arthur also practises the skills he will need if he is ever to become a knight. The skills of sword-fighting, tilting with the lance and archery. Arthur enjoys his lessons with the priest because he is allowed to ask questions but he often wonders why his father wants him to learn reading and writing. Surely his father does not want him to become a priest or schoolman (a monk who teaches in a college or monastery school). Arthur wants to become, first of all a squire, and then a knight.
But Arthur has more to puzzle over than this. His father has a strange friend called Merlin. Merlin gives Arthur a stone, a piece of obsidian, and tells Arthur he must never let anyone else see it. Arthur discovers that, from time to time, he can see pictures in the stone. These pictures tell a story -- the story of Arthur. Arthur suddenly discovers that the Arthur in the stone looks the same as himself.
The story is worked out against the background of the daily work of the manor. The people who live around the manor, the work of the fields and kitchens, the primitive understanding of medicine, the religious beliefs, the harsh justice of the manor court, major festivals such as Hallowe'en and Christmas, the animals -- all are described and help to bring the Middle Ages to life.
More distant events are not neglected. King Richard dies and John takes over as the next King. Already we are given a hint of what is to come when new forest laws are announced.
This book is the first of a trilogy and the ending prepares us for the second volume. Arthur has discovered that he is not really the son of Sir John. He knows who his real father is but he does not know who his mother is. Arthur gets his wish to become a squire and we leave him preparing to go on Crusade to the Holy Land with his new master. As for the Arthur of the stone, the story has reached the point where Arthur has pulled the sword from the stone and has just been proclaimed King.
Questions have been answered but there are still plenty for the reader to look forward to in the next book of the trilogy. And, above all, what is the real significance of the pictures Arthur sees in the stone?
Told in the first person by Arthur.
Illustrated with a selection of medieval woodcuts. There are also two endpapers. A pictorial diagram of Caldicot Manor, and a similar representation of the Middle March.
Comes with a glossary of medieval words.
Gives a wide-ranging picture of English life at the end of the 12th century.
11+
This is the second book in the Arthur trilogy. It follows the same pattern as the first in the series. There are one hundred and one short chapters alternating between 13th century Arthur and the Arthur of Merlin and the Round Table. There is a glossary at the end and the book is illustrated throughout with medieval woodcuts.
Great changes are taking place in Arthur's life. He leaves home to to become squire to Lord Stephen. Arthur has to learn the duties of a squire. He is fitted for armour and he gets his first warhorse. But he still continues his lessons and helps at the harvest. He also makes an attempt to find out who his real mother is.
There is also a hint of romance. Arthur has his fourteenth birthday and it is time for him to think about becoming betrothed. Winnie -- Winifred de Verdon is a possibility. But the person Arthur would really be happy with is Gatty, the daughter of his foster father's reeve. But they both know that that is impossible.
At the end of the book Arthur takes his vows and leaves for the Crusade with Lord Stephen -- paving the way for the third and last book of the trilogy.
11+
This is the last book in the Arthur
trilogy. Arthur goes on Crusade as squire to Lord Stephen. This
is the Fourth Crusade and the knights and footsoldiers spend some
time camped on an island off Venice - where young Arthur is knighted
himself.
Arthur soon finds that the Crusade is not the glorious adventure
he may have expected. He learns all about the sordid political
intrigue involved. The Doge of Venice has long had trouble from
the inhabitants of Zara across the Adriatic Sea and he uses the
Crusade as an excuse to subdue the people of that city. This worries
Arthur as Zara is a Christian city. He is horrified at what he
is soon to see. At the siege of Zara some young mischievous boys
venture outside the walls. One of them is caught, trussed up and
fired back over the walls from a mangonel or giant catapult. Then
later Arthur watches as the inhabitants of Zara file out of the
city. Their lives have been spared but they are allowed to take
none of their possessions with them. Arthur wonders what will
become of them.
But Arthur does not stay long on Crusade. His father, Sir William,
launches a frenzied, drunken attack on Lord Stephen, who is badly
wounded. In the fight Sir William falls on his own knife and is
killed.
It is now Arthur's duty to accompany Lord Stephen back to England
and so he leaves the Crusade. He returns to the Marches and enters
into his inheritance as lord of Catmole. Here the reader also
learns what happens to the other characters of the trilogy.
Parallel to this story is also the story of King Arthur in the
stone. We see the Knights of the Round Table split by dissension
and strife and see the effects of Queen Guinevere's infidelity
and the eventual death of King Arthur.
Comes with a glossary and a calendar.
A grim and realistic look at the Crusades.
12+
This is an off-shoot from Kevin Crossley-Holland’s Arthur trilogy. Gatty was the daughter of the reeve. Arthur and Gatty were always attracted to each other but the difference in their social status made any serious friendship impossible.
At the beginning of Gatty’s Tale Arthur is away on Crusade. Gatty is now fifteen and her father has just died and, the rest of her family being dead too, she is alone in the world and is now the responsibility of Sir John de Caldicot. Sir John puts her to work in his kitchens.
Then he is told that the widowed cousin of his wife, Lady Gynewth of Elwoe, wants a second servant girl –– and she wants Gatty. This is because Gatty has a beautiful singing voice. Lady Gwyneth is about to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and she wants Gatty to accompany her. She says that Gatty’s singing will keep everyone safe on the pilgrimage.
So it is all decided. It is arranged that Gatty should be taught to read by Lady Gwyneth’s priest and to sing by a choirmaster. Gatty goes to stay in Lady Gwyneth’s household, is given a bath and clean clothes and told something of what her new life will entail. Preparations are made and the pilgrims set off. The first stage of the journey is on foot to London where they buy horses to ride to Sandwich, then by boat across the Channel. Then a long journey through France and across the mountains to Venice to find a ship to take them on the last part of the journey to the Holy Land.
It is a long and dangerous journey –– danger from the terrain they cross as when a horse falls over a precipice in the mountains, danger from disease, and in the Holy Land danger from the Bedouins.
But by experiencing all these hazards young Gatty begins to grow up. At the beginning of the book she is wilful and headstrong as shown by the way she chases after the thieves in London –– and gets lost and delays the pilgrimage. Later in Cyprus she is very naïve when she agrees to pretend to be a man’s wife so that he can claim his inheritance. But when she finally returns to Caldicot she is a mature young woman ready for the surprise which will change her life for ever.
This book really brings to life the beginning of the thirteenth century. First there is the daily life of a country manor. Then there is the filth and bustle of London. And then the rest of the journey. Finally there is all the detail of the Holy Land –– first Acre where Gatty stayed with the Knights Hospitallers, then the journey across the desert to Jerusalem and then Jerusalem itself with the Holy Sepulchre.
Comes with a word list or glossary.
This book really evokes the spirit of the Middle Ages. Very highly recommended.
10+
Twelve-year-old Nicholas Fetterlock is the son of a rich wool merchant in the Cotswolds. He gets a shock one day when his father tells him that he is to be betrothed - to Cecily Bradshaw the daughter of a wealthy clothier. When he meets her Nicholas is relieved to find that she is a lively, mischievous little girl, and not the prim maid he had feared.
But Nicholas has more to worry about than his betrothal. He is worried about his father's association with the sinister Lombards. He does not trust his father's packer, Leach who has a large and mysterious barn. What does he need it for?
Then Nicholas finds that his father is in trouble with the powerful Staple which controls the wool trade. Some of his father's sacks of wool have been found packed with rubbish. Just as bad, sacks of his wool have been found in French markets - against the rules of the Staple.
Nicholas sets out to prove his father's innocence - ably assisted by Cecily, his young bride to be.
This book contains much detailed information about medieval England and the wool trade. In Nicholas and Cecily it has two determined and resourceful characters who really come to life.
Winner of the Carnegie medal
11 +
This book was first published in 1959. It has been out of print and it is now good to see that it is being reprinted by Egmont Children's Books under their Mammoth Classics imprint.
This book is about William Caxton, his printing press and a young apprentice. One may expect such a book to be interesting. But exciting? Perhaps not.
Anyone thinking that would be quite wrong because Cynthia Harnett has woven a thrilling story out of the work of the early printers. Trickery, piracy. capture by outlaws, even a touch of political intrigue and treason. It's all there.
Benedict's (Bendy's) father used to have a scrivener's shop (where scribes copied out books by hand) but when his wife died he made over the shop to his two older sons - Bendy's half brothers. They are harsh and severe and unkind to him and Bendy's father agrees that he should be apprenticed to William Caxton - much to the fury of the brothers whose hatred of printing is almost an obsession. They claim that printing will put scriveners out of business.
Bendy goes to live with Caxton and finds himself faced with a dilemma. Caxton is having trouble getting paper. He has ordered and paid for a load of paper from Flanders - paper with the Unicorn watermark. But this paper has never reached Caxton.
But Bendy knows what has happened to the paper. It has been bought and hoarded by his brothers. They cannot use it themselves but they are determined that Caxton shall not have it. Bendy has seen the paper in the loft where he used to sleep. He has also heard his brother Matthew talking with the sinister pedlar Tom Twist and he knows there is more stored in a barn. The ship carrying the paper lies in a creek on the Thames - Mucking Creek - and the paper is unloaded there. As Mucking Creek is also a hot bed of the supporters of the Lancastrians Bendy's brothers could be guilty of treason - although this does not come out until later in the story.
Bendy longs to tell someone about all this but he is afraid and he knows no one will believe him.
Then Bendy gets involved in another adventure. He has found part of a manuscript written by Thomas Mallory. It is the stories of King Arthur. Caxton sees it and wants to print it but it is incomplete. He manages to trace the complete manuscript and sends Bendy and an older apprentice to get it. But Bendy's brothers are after it too and they enlist the aid of the rascally pedlar Tom Twist who in turn seeks the help of the outlaws with the result that the manuscript is stolen and Bendy knocked on the head and left for dead.
This is an exciting story which also includes a great deal of detail about the London of the time, the scriveners and, of course, Caxton's printing press. Detail which is all the more interesting as the book was written before the current obsession of editors with pace. Cynthia Harnett's own illustrations add much to the text.
Every time I reread this book I can't help thinking that it is relevant to the present day. As Bendy's father says about printing,
If books spawn like fishes more people will learn to read. It will turn the craft of books upside down: it may well turn the world upside down.
I feel that something similar could be said today about computers, the internet and the new technology of print-on-demand.
I have always thought that A Load of Unicorn is the best of Cynthia Harnett's books and I am really glad to see it back in print.
11+
An action-packed tale about the Crusades -- and much more.
Fifteen-year-old Cuthbert de Lance does a service for the Earl of Evesham -- to whom he is distantly related. He saves the Earl's daughter from being abducted. The Earl makes Cuthbert his page and takes him with him when he goes on Crusade. Cuthbert's adventures start long before he reaches the Holy Land. He is drawn into a quarrel between the Earl and a French knight and survives a murder attempt. Once in the Holy Land Cuthbert proves himself both brave and intelligent. He covers himself in glory and is knighted by King Richard for courage on the battle field. Then he is taken prisoner by the Saracens and is condemned to be beheaded by Saladin. But he manages to escape. His master, the Earl of Evesham, however, does not survive the Crusades. He dies of a wound. Before he dies he asks King Richard to confer on Cuthbert the title of Earl of Evesham and to agree that Cuthbert should later marry his daughter, Margaret.
Then the journey home and more dangers for Cuthbert. When he finally arrrives in England he finds that one of the favourites of Prince John has been made the Earl of Evesham and intends to marry Margaret. With the help of his outlaw friends Cuthbert deals with this false knight and then embarks with Blondel on a search of Europe for the imprisoned King Richard.
This is far more than just a tale of the Crusades. There is much about the feudal system and the unsettled state of England. Cuthbert's outlaw friends -- shades of Robin Hood -- also play an important part.
G.A. Henty is sometimes accused of glorifying war. That accusation can definitely not be made about this particular book. It is made quite clear that despite all the noble ideas surrounding knighthood the reality was that a knight was a very efficient killing machine. The massacre of the prisoners after the siege of Acre is brought into the story and no attempt is made to defend Richard for his actions. Saladin is often portrayed as a man of honour and integrity. Henty agrees with this but he also shows Saladin as harsh and ruthless. In retalation for the 10,000 prisoners being killed in cold blood at Acre Saladin orders that all Christian prisoners are to be beheaded. Henty also makes Saladin say, "... you who without a pretence of right invade my country, slaughter my people and defeat my armies." That made me think. Saladin had a point there. That was a viewpoint we certainly never considered when I was at school.
These considerations apart, the terrible injuries inflicted by battle axe and mace, and the general carnage of the battles are vividly described. On another level we are also shown the sordid squabbles among the leaders of the Crusaders.
I am very glad that PrestonSpeed are republishing the books of G.A. Henty. For one thing Henty fills lots of gaps. There are surprisingly few books for young people about the Crusades. (Unfortunately one of the best of them -- Knight Crusader by Ronald Welch -- is now out of print). But in Winning his Spurs we have an exciting story which also manages to give good background information and a remarkably fair-minded overall picture of the Crusades.
Would complement any study of the Middle Ages.
11+
Bowman of Crecy was first published in 1966. It is one of the series which starts with Knight Crusader; a series in which Ronald Welch tells the history of England through the fortunes of a military family, the Carey family.
Bowman of Crecy starts with a community of outlaws living deep in a forest near the Welsh border. Shades of Robin Hood. Hugh Fletcher first comes to the attention of Sir John Carey when he wins an archery competition - and leaves before the prizes are presented. But Sir John seeks him out and asks him to be the captain of his company of bowmen. Hugh accepts and, as part of the King's army, travels to France and helps to defeat the French at the Battle of Crecy.
As is to be expected with Ronald Welch, there is a great deal of detail in this book - detail about how longbows were made and used, detail about the campaign leading up to Crecy and the battle itself - and all the carnage and devastation of war.
There is a magnificent description of the Battle of Crecy. The fact that the book is for older children should not be allowed to detract from the fact that this is the military novel at its best.
11+
Sir Edmund Dowe has a pack of hunting hounds –– mastiffs. Tullo is his huntsman and Brind is his kennel boy. Brind even sleeps in the kennels with the dogs.
Then Sir Edmund is called to serve his King and to go and fight for England in the Thirty Years War. He goes and takes his pack of hounds with him and also Tullo and Brind. He takes only the dogs. He leaves the bitches at home. Sir Edmund cannot afford new armour. He has to be content with heavy, old fashioned protection. He cannot afford to bring many men with him either. But he does have an original idea by which he can play his part. He has some special spiked collars for the dogs so that they can become dogs of war. He puts this plan into operation at the Battle of Crecy. But in the excitement of the battle Brind cannot hold Glaive, the pack leader. Glaive pulls free of his lead and rushes into the battle. Leaderless the rest of the pack are cut to pieces.
Brind goes in search of Glaive. He eventually finds the dog gravely wounded. He nurses the dog back to health and then he is reunited with his master, Sir Edmund, who had been taken prisoner at Crecy. When Sir Edmund’s captor is killed then Sir Edmund and Brint decide to try to return to England. But there is someone else looking for them. This is Tullo He wants to kill them both then he will go back to England and tell Sir Edmund’s wife that she is now a widow. Tullo intends to make himself her steward so that he will be able to live in comfort instead of living in the huntsman’s hovel. So Brint and Sir Edmund have danger from the treacherous huntsman to contend with as well as the dangers of a worn torn country. To add to their problems the knight Sir Richard also wants Brint for his own kennel boy. But Brint and Sir Edmund find an unexpected ally in the French orphan girl Aurelie.
This book shows the futility of medieval warfare. When looking out his armour, Sir Edmund could hardly lift his shield it was so heavy. And then a full set of plate armour cost a fortune. Later we see the peculiarities of the ransom system where two opposing knights would try to kill each other on the battlefield and, later, the one taken prisoner would be treated as an honoured guest. To say nothing of the misery and suffering caused to the ordinary inhabitants of France
The background of the Thirty Years War may be realistic but I am not so sure about the dogs. Sir Edmund is desperate to get Glaive back to England so that he can continue breeding his own particular line. Glaive is now the only dog he has as he just left the bitches at home and took all the dogs. This would have been very unlikely. He would have been bound to have had pups and young dogs which had not finished their training and which could not have been taken to France
An unusual viewpoint on the Battle of Crecy
11+
This book is the first of a trilogy.
Tom is rather different from the other boys in the little village
in which he lives. Tom can read and write -- and not only English.
He knows Latin too. This is because he has been taught by the
village priest who wants Tom to go to the Abbot's school and enter
the Church.
But Tom has different ideas. He wants to see the faraway lands
he has read about -- the lands of Prester John and Kublai Khan.
So he runs away and has many adventures. He makes friends with
the squire Alan and enters the service of Sir John Hawkley and
goes with them to France.
At first sight this book seems to be just a lighthearted medieval
romp told at a fast and furious pace. But the story also has a
very serious side and the true horror of the times is brought
out with pictures of the devastated French countryside and the
misery of the French peasants with their homes burnt and their
crops destroyed.
Tom has a conscience and right from the start this puts him apart
form his two companions. Alan is clever and resourceful but also
deceitful and thoughtless while Sir John is a stupid drunkard
and a thief. Gradually Tom begins to realise that war is not the
glorious adventure he had once thought it was. This is shown when
he cradles the head of a dying man in his arms.
But he forgets this incident later when he wants to join the fighting
at the siege of Laon. Then it is Alan who tries to confront him
with reality.
'Tom, this is not a game. This is a real life battle. People will
get killed. It is not fun. It is deadly serious.'
Tom soon finds out the truth of these words. The English army
does not attack Laon, which is well fortified. Instead it goes
for what would now be described as a soft target. First a defenceless
village is destroyed and then the English attack the Abbey of
St Vincent. Tom is horrified by what he sees. Two unarmed, harmless
monks are ruthlessly mown down and murdered by the English soldiers.
Then Sir John steals some silverware. All loot is the property
of the King and Sir John finds himself pursued by a sergeant.
But he saves himself by creating a diversion. He does this by
setting fire to the Abbey library. It is only then that Tom suddenly
realises just what reading and learning mean to him. He is appalled
at the wanton destruction of thousands of irreplaceable books,
of six hundred years' knowledge. And this time he does not forget.
When he later sees the whole English army assembling he does not
see 'Chivalry taking to the field but Destruction on the move.'
A fast paced romp through medieval times which is told in an easy
style. But this book nevertheless contains much historical information.
An adventure story with a strong anti-war message.
10+
This book follows on from The Knight
and the Squire.
It seems that Tom cannot escape his destiny. He had run away from
his village because the priest wanted him to attend the Abbot's
school. He had wanted to become a squire but instead he has ended
up working in the scriptorum of the Duke of Lancaster translating
papal letters from Latin into English.
Then Tom is abducted and taken to the dungeons of the Archbishop
of Rheims. But he manages to escape from Rheims with the help
of the wealthy Lady Emilia who has her own reasons for flight.
They meet up with Squire Alan who has run away from the English
Army. Then Tom is separated from Alan and Emily when he is taken
prisoner by some poor French peasants who fear that he may reveal
their hiding place. They are living underground in misery and
starvation. They are forced to pay taxes to both the English brigands
and their French overlord. To make matters worse they also have
to pay tithes to the Church. Now they want Tom to take a letter
to the Pope in Avignon excusing them from paying tithes. When
Tom sees their plight he agrees and, with one of the villagers
Anton, sets off on a journey of danger.
Alan and Emilia also find themselves travelling to Avignon by
a different route but one which is just as hazardous and perilous.
This is a story of non-stop adventure and action told in a modernistic,
semi jocular style. Nevertheless it still manages to convey much
historical information about 14th century France. The form of
the actual buildings with no corridors, the description of the
various towns like Tonnerre and Avignon and, above all, the ravaged
countryside with the renegade English soldiers who have formed
themselves into bands of brigands. And it does bring out very
forcibly the point that, at this time, the Pope lived in Avignon
not Rome.
But even although it contrasts the destitution of the French peasants
with the opulence of the Pope's palace it still lacks the poignancy
of the first book. The message is there but it is not hammered
home.
Nevertheless it is still an exciting adventure story which makes
the reader want to find out what is going to happen to Tom in
the future.
10+
This book is from the Oxford Children's Modern Classics. It was first published in 1987.
Gabriel is apprenticed to a cruel stone mason. He runs away and joins a group of players who travel round the country putting on mystery plays.
There is conflict between the playmaster Garvey, who plays God, and Jean Lucier, or Lucie, who plays Lucifer. Garvey wins. He makes Gabriel, with his mass of golden curls, take the part of the Archangel Gabriel. Garvey plays on the superstitions of the medieval crowds and tricks them into believing that the boy Gabriel really can do miracles.
At first Gabriel does not understand this. He confuses the plays with reality and, for a time, actually thinks that Lucie is the Devil. But gradually the truth dawns on Gabriel.
Against this background the story moves at a fast pace. Gabriel's former master, the mason Colley, sees by chance one of the plays and recognises Gabriel. He then proceeds to blackmail Garvey. There is a grim climax when the players are taken to a plague village and have to take refuge in a church as they flee from the almost demented villagers.
This book throws light on an often overlooked facet of medieval life - the mystery plays.
10+
This book was first published in 1970.
"You will one of the menders of this world; not the makers, nor yet the breakers, just one of the menders ... when the time comes you will know."
Lovel's grandmother tells him this when he is five years old. She starts to take him with her when she goes collecting herbs. She has the Wisecraft and people come to her when they have the toothache, or a cow is sick, or the butter won't "come" in the churn. But because they do not understand her wisdom they are afraid of her too. When she dies the hunchbacked Lovel is labelled the "witch's brat" and stoned and driven from the village. Confused, frightened and starving he is rescued by a swineherd who takes him to the Abbey where he stays and works as a general servant until it is discovered that he knows about the growing of physic herbs and he is put to work first, in the herb garden, and then in the still room. Then, after a year, he gets his first patient. He sets a dog's broken leg.
Later it is decided that he should enter the Order and he becomes a Novice. Just before he is about to take his vows Rahere comes back.
Lovel has met Rahere before - just after he came to the Abbey. Then Rahere was the King's jongleur but now he is a monk. He has a great vision ... that he will build a hospital and a priory to Saint Bartholomew. He wants Lovel to come with him.
This is a fascinating and delightful story of the founding of Saint Bartholomew's hospital. Rahere, the King's Jongleur was real, but most of the other characters are fictional.
The story is told very simply but that makes it even more effective.
9 +
This is a large format paperback.
It is January, 1285. Tobias Burgess is eleven years old and he
is sent to spend the next year as a page at the castle of his
father's elder brother. The book begins with his journey to the
castle, continues with a description of castle life and Toby's
year, and ends with his journey back home to spend some time with
his family. It is told in the form of the journal, or diary, which
Toby decides to keep.
In this way the reader learns of the skills and duties a page
has to learn, and also of the domestic life around a great castle
in the 13th century. There are: descriptions of the castle itself,
bread-making and the work of the kitchens, a great banquet, a
boar hunt the harvest, the horrific treatment Toby is subjected
to by a doctor of the time, the manor court and even details of
the garderobes or toilets.
Although only 64 pages long a great deal of detail is crammed
into it in an exceedingly painless way. For example, there are
pictures and explanations about the various kinds of horses --
the heavy destrier or war-horse, the lighter palfrey, the courser
for hunting, the hackney for a lady, and last of all the humble
packhorse.
There is even more detail in a section which is added at the end
of Toby's diary. This section consists of historical notes which
are entitled "Toby's World." Here are very full notes
on the feudal system, a page's life, castles and medieval warfare.
The latter shows exactly what a medieval knight wore, from undergarments
to the coat of mail. I studied all this and thought how dreadful
it must have been to have had to wear all this and wondered how
these knights ever managed to walk let alone fight.
The book is beautifully illustrated. There are small colour pictures
on every page, several full page illustrations and even a few
double page spreads.
Comes with a bibliography of a few of the sources used in compiling
this book. Only a few of the sources are mentioned because Richard
Platt and Chris Riddell searched in more than sixty books for
details which would make the text and pictures of "Castle
Diary" authentic.
Designed for ages 8 to 12, but many adults interested in the Middle
Ages would learn a lot from this lovely book too.
This book was first published in 1965.
Benedict and Elvira are the children of a physician in Lymford, near York. They live in a large, comfortable house in the Jewry - as the Jewish section of the town is known. One June day they are allowed to take a picnic and go and gather wild strawberries in the woods outside the town. They come back to find the houses of the Jewry on fire and the whole Jewish population of Lymford collected together in the town square while a drunken, crazed mob rushes forward with axes and clubs.
Benedict and Elvira escape the massacre. They find shelter for the night in the cellar of one of the saner inhabitants of Lymford. Next morning they set out to walk to Oxford - where they have an aunt and uncle.
They have a long and dangerous journey ahead of them but they find protection and help for a time with Robin Hood. It is while they are with him in Sherwood Forest that they become involved in something which is to affect deeply the history of England.
At this time King Richard is being held prisoner abroad and the people of England are trying to raise money for his ransom. A knight, Sir Edward, has been collecting ransom money in the north, but there are followers of Prince John who would like to attack him and ensure that the ransom money never reaches the queen in London. Robin has a plan. They will disguise Sir Edward as a rich merchant and Benedict and Elvira will travel with him as his children. Once they reach London Sir Edward will see that they get to Oxford all right.
There is danger for all three of them on the journey. At one time Benedict finds himself in a prison cell under threat of the gallows. But Robin has an escape plan.
This is a thrilling story which contains much information about medieval England. There are also details about the religion and way of life of the medieval Jews. As he endures all these perils Benedict grows up and learns what it means to be a Jew.
This book throws light on a subject over which English history prefers to cast a veil - the persecution of Jews throughout the centuries.
Nevertheless one main theme of the book is conciliation. All their lives Benedict and Elvira will remember the cruel, frenzied faces of the Lymford mob, but on their travels they also meet good, kind Christians like Robin Hood, Friar Tuck and Sir Edward.
This book could be useful for the National Curriculum sections on Prejudice and Other Cultures. It would also fit into a project on Robin Hood.
A well told, exciting story which is also very thought provoking.
8 - 12
Timeslip.
This book is about a boys' football team, the Tanfield Rangers. The young players are on an Easter tour in the Peak District.
They are camping in a field near the ruins of a monastery. For football practice they use an archway as a goal but, on going through the archway, they find themselves in the 14th century. They take part in a medieval football game, rescue a young prisoner from the stocks and help him and his young brother to find sanctuary in the monastery, then, their task completed, they are returned to their own time.
This book contains much detail about football. This acts as a carrot to introduce young readers to historical fiction. The length of the book is about 12,000 words.
Despite the constraints of such a short book the characters do start to come alive, especially two of them. Ryan, selfish and sometimes unkind, but the team's star goal scorer, and the bookish, academic Michael Winter - Bookworm or just Worm for short. He is more interested in history than in football and he holds the series together.
Simple and basic history for young readers. These books held my attention despite the fact that I have absolutely no interest in football.
9+
It is 1340. Owain is being taken on a pilgrimage from Hereford to Saint David's on the south coast of Wales. Owain does not want to go. He is sure it will be futile. His hand will still be withered, his legs useless and his back crooked.
But even before the pilgrimage starts a strange and wonderful thing happens. There is a service of dedication in a cold chapel. The priest lends Owain his tiny spaniel Canterbury (named after the archbishop) to keep him warm. Owain strokes the little dog but the movement hurts his hand and he stops. Canterbury whimpers and, fearing that the other pilgrims will be disturbed, Owain strokes him again and keeps on stroking him. That night he has a good sleep and the next morning he finds that he can stroke Canterbury without any pain. Can this be the beginning of a miracle? As they progress through Wales Owain recovers the use of his legs. He loses his anger and stops blaming his horse for his injuries. But his back is still crooked. Will it be cured when they reach Saint David's?
Will they even reach Saint David's. On the way Lady Eleanor - who has organised the pilgrimage - falls under the influence of a Fransciscan friar. Matilda, Eleanor's daughter, thinks that there is something unpleasant about him while Owain thinks he is "furtive." Matilda insists on wearing a valuable ruby necklace and they are passing through some very lonely territory in Wales - ideal for an ambush.
This little book (it is only about 12,000 words long) gives a good picture of a medieval pilgrimage. Owain sees palmers, penitents in bare feet and, in complete contrast, the rich entourage of a bishop. The dangers of travelling through an uninhabited countryside are brought out. We also learn a little about tournaments and arranged marriages for women.
The darker side of the period is shown quite clearly. Owain sees a dead leper, a man with terrible injuries and the bodies of several horses which had been ridden too hard. Finally the pilgrims are set upon and attacked by outlaws.
But this is only part of the story. There is also the pleasant side with the story telling sessions every evening at the end of the day's travel. The overall message is one of hope.
This is a pleasant little book which also gives a good picture of medieval times. It is a welcome change from many of the harsh and stern books being published today.
I thoroughly enjoyed Miracles and Rubies. Personally I was very interested in the little dog, Canterbury. He was obviously an early papillon - and I have had papillons since 1978. So this book has a lot to say to me personally.
8+
This book is about 10,000 words long. It is for children of 7-11.
Felix is visiting his grandfather in Dunwich, a small village on the Suffolk coast. He wanders down to the beach and sits down to rest - and is transported back in time to 1285 when Dunewic was a busy market town and port.
For a time Felix helps a fisherman and lives with his family. Then he becomes a clerk to a rich merchant.
Felix soon becomes aware that there is something sinister about the merchant's assistant, Ralph. With his friend Robert (the son of the fisherman) he does some detective work and discovers that Ralph is involved with pirates and plans to kill the merchant. Can Felix and Robert prevent him and save the merchant?
This book may be short but it does contain much detail about medieval Dunewic. We are taken into the fisherman's tiny thatched cottage and then we are shown the merchant's large house. Felix is sent down to the shipyards so we learn about them too. There is also a chapter about St Leonards Fair.
But all this historical detail occurs quite naturally against the background of a exciting plot about trickery and pirates which moves swiftly towards the climax and the great storm of 1285 when the sea broke through the defences and Dunewic was swallowed by the waves.
A good story which really holds the attention against a background of authentic historical detail.
Includes a very useful map of Dunewich in 1285.
Out of Print
This book has one of the most startling, memorable openings of any book ever written.
"It is a strange and terrible thing to listen to one's own funeral service."
Robin has been declared a leper and Father Simon is conducting the special service, the office for the Seclusion of Lepers. At the end Robin leaves the church and there is the last terrible symbolic act. Father Simon takes a spade, thrusts it into a heap of earth and casts the soil over Robin's feet and says,
"Be thou dead to the world but alive again unto God."
Wearing his cowled cloak and carrying his clappers Robin leaves the village. Robin takes the road through Sherwood Forest. He has no idea where he is going. He just trudges along. Then he sees a man being attacked. Robin does not think. He just rushes to the rescue which proves quite easy. The outlaws just take one look at Robin and take to their heels. It is only later that Robin realises that they are fleeing from his leper's garb.
Robin finds that the man he has saved is a Jewish doctor - who, in his turn, is able to help Robin, Robin does not have leprosy, only a skin condition which can be cured quite easily. Robin goes with Solomon, the doctor to his home in the ghetto in Nottingham and meets his son David and his daughter Susanna. He stays with them while the doctor heals him.
Solomon and his family have a very comfortable existence but that is about to change. It is 1290 and a royal decree is issued. Every Jew must be out of England by the first of November.
But before that Solomon gets a summons. He thinks it is from someone in the Castle. He feels he must attend and he takes Robin with him. At the appointed place they meet the messenger who takes them up and through a secret tunnel in the Castle Rock to the Castle itself. They are taken to the Queen - Eleanor of Castile. She is very ill. She has had that illness before and she says there is only one remedy which helps - the Golden Essence. Solomon does not know what that is but the Queen is sure it comes from Spain. She tells Solomon to go there and seek out her dead brother's courtiers and find out the name of the one whom he called "my good serpent." Solomon agrees and the Queen gives him funds for the journey.
So together with Robin and the surly servant Pierre, Solomon, David and Susanna all set sail for Bordeaux from whence they will travel to Spain. The false Pierre overhears them talking and becomes convinced that the Golden Essence is the Elixir of Life which will enable men to live for ever and also to transmute base metals into gold. Solomon thinks that the very idea of the Elixir of Life is nonsense and so does Robin but some very powerful people believe Pierre and from then on Robin's life is in danger. The story builds up to a climax where Robin and David race to save the life of the "good serpent" and find the Golden Essence.
This is a gripping story which throws light on the expulsion of the Jews from England - a topic which is often ignored by history textbooks. Later we are shown a Spain which belongs in part to the Moslems. As well as the story element there are delightful descriptions of Moorish Spain with its red earth, orange blossom, olive trees and pomegranate trees and the the everlasting snow of the Sierra Nevada.
The Red Towers of Granada is thought by many to be Geoffrey's Trease's best book.
11+
This book was first published in 1968.
This is a short novel of about 12,000 words. It is for children from 8 to 10. The story is set in England around 1350, two years after the Back Death.
After the death of his father Martin has to work his own strips of land all by himslf. He could manage that if it were not for the work he also has to do on the land of Sir John, the Lord of the Manor. It is all too much for young Martin. Martin knows that because of the shortage of manpower after the Black Death things are changing. In other many masters let men pay rent for their plots of land. Or, if a man has no land, he is allowed to work for money-wages. Why can't Sir John act likewise?
But Sir John is a hard man. He will never change. Martin will be his serf for life. There is only one thing which Martin can do. Run away. If he can get to the city and stay there for a year and a day they he will be a free man and Sir John will not be able to touch him. That is the law.
Martin runs away and makes his way to York where he becomes apprenticed to a saddler. He works hard. Then, after about a year, he sees his old master in the streets of York. Martin tries to run away but Sir John tracks him down and demands that the saddler should give him back his serf as he had not been in York a year.
It looks as if Martin is doomed until Rose, the quick witted daughter of the saddler, remembers something which everyone else has forgotten.
A delightful little story with much information about serfdom, York and the craft of the saddler.
But despite the above this is a story written around one main fact of history. As the craftsmen of York say,
"Town air maketh a man free."
8-12
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