Great Historical Fiction/Fantasy Novels
History is anthroplogy for the past. Great historical fiction brings you into that past world and makes it accessible. Would life in thirteenth century Wales chew me up and spit me out? No doubt. But that doesn’t mean I can’t spend many happy hours living there. I am also partial to the fantasy element of historical fiction in part because I acknowledge that past lives are truly inaccessible to me and if I wanted to read about something that was absolutely true, I would get the non-fiction version. That said the following are some of my most favorite books: Sherwood by Parke Godwin. He’s written a lot of books, but this one has always pulled me in. I’ve read it innumerable times. From Publisher’s Weekly: “Godwin sets his highly satisfying retelling of the Robin Hood legend in the time of Read more…
Maps from the Books!
A reader suggested I post the maps from the books on my web page, which is a really good idea. This is the main map for the After Cilmeri Series: For Cold My Heart. It is much the same, except I use the old name for Aber, which is Garth Celyn: The Last Pendragon Saga: The Gareth and Gwen Medieval Mysteries. Carreg Cennen from The Bard’s Daughter is not shown, but it forms a triangle with Dinefwr and Dryslyn:
Historical Sources for King Arthur
Whether or not King Arthur was a real person is an either/or query. He either lived or he didn’t. Many scholars, researchers, and Arthurophile’s have strong opinions on this topic, both for and against. Because of the paucity of written records, much of the academic work has come down on the side of ‘didn’t—or at least if Arthur was a real person, his name was not ‘Arthur’ and he possibly wasn’t even a king. I, however, look at the poetry and tales from the early Middle Ages, and choose to believe he did actually exist. Medieval people certainly thought he did, and throughout the Middle Ages, an entire body of work developed around his story, much of it mythologized. Historically speaking, however, there are genuine near contemporaneous references to him that predate the kinds of stories we read about now, with the Round Read more…
Medieval Help Desk
This is for all you IT nerds out there, my husband included … When e-books are all anyone has in another 100 years, this will be even funnier.
Romantic historical fiction series set in 13th Century Wales
Today, I’m happy to share with you a book review from my local paper, the East Oregonian. I’d leave the link, but only subscribers can read it, so I thought it would be fun to share it with you in full … Book Review of the After Cilmeri Series by Renee Struthers Pendleton author Sarah Woodbury has been living for the past several years in 13th century Wales — in her mind, at least. Her five-volume “After Cilmeri” series, self-published in 2011 and 2012, follows Marged Lloyd and her children across time to medieval Wales, where they change the life of Llywelyn, the last Prince of Wales, and the history of Great Britain in a world parallel to our own. The series is classed as romantic historical fiction, but these stories aren’t the bodice-rippers that generally come to mind with Read more…
The Quest for Welsh Independence
When the Romans conquered Britain, the people they defeated were the Britons, the ancestors of the Welsh, a Celtic people who themselves had come to the island hundreds of years before. After the Romans marched away in 410 AD, the Saxon invaders overwhelmed the British in successive waves, pushing them west and resulting in a Saxon England and British Wales. When the next conquerors—the Normans—came in 1066 AD, they conquered England but they did not conquer Wales. Not yet. For the next two hundred years, power in Wales ebbed and flowed, split among Welsh kings and princes, Marcher barons (Norman lords who carved out mini-kingdoms for themselves on the border between England and Wales), and the English kings. Through it all, the Welsh maintained their right to independence—to be governed by their own laws and their own kings. The ending came on Read more…
History of Paper
Medieval lords had castle accounts, right? On what were these written? Did they call them paper, or parchment? Were they made of dried skins, linen, paper? During the 8th century, Chinese papermaking spread to the Islamic world, where pulp mills and paper mills were used for papermaking and money making. By the 11th century, papermaking was brought to Europe. It was common enough by the 13th century for a decree from Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in 1221 to declare all official documents written on paper to be invalid! https://paper.gatech.edu/invention-paper-0 “Medieval paper was made from linen rags. It is much stronger and more durable than modern wood-pulp paper, and fifteenth-century scribes were wrong if they believed that it would not survive. Rag paper is manufactured as follows. White rags are sorted and washed thoroughly in a tub pierced with drainage holes and they are Read more…
Writing Historical Fiction
Back in high school, I remember overhearing two girls lamenting how awful their classes were and how they ‘hated’ history. Since I was hiding in a bathroom stall at the time, I didn’t give voice to my horror at their sentiment, but it has stuck with me in the thirty years since. How could they ‘hate’ history? Unfortunately, all too easily if by ‘history’ they meant the memorization of facts and dates that had little or no bearing on their lives. Why did they care what year the Civil War began? Or who was the tenth president of the United States? Or what happened in the fertile crescent of Mesopotamia (though knowing might clarify our wars in the Middle East today, but that’s a different topic). That’s not what history is about. History is about people. It’s the anthropology of Read more…
Books in the Middle Ages
Books have been around as long as there has been writing–it’s just that in the past, they were less accessible, expensive, and rare. Many, many fewer people were literate, especially as we understand the word (see my post on literacy: https://sarahwoodbury.com/?p=1310). “Every stage in the creation of a medieval book required intensive labor, sometimes involving the collaboration of entire workshops. Parchment for the pages had to be made from the dried hides of animals, cut to size and sewn into quires; inks had to be mixed, pens prepared, and the pages ruled for lettering. A scribe copied the text from an established edition, and artists might then embellish it with illustrations, decorated initials, and ornament in the margins. The most lavish medieval books were bound in covers set with enamels, jewels, and ivory carvings.” Source: The Art of the Book Read more…
Red, Black, and White Books
In Lord of the Rings, Frodo leaves Sam the Red Book of Westmarch, in which to record the goings on of Middle Earth after he is gone. Tolkein himself says that his inspiration for the fictional book was the Red Book of Hergest in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, which he knew well. In Wales, there were three such books of which we know: The Red Book of Hergest The Black Book of Camarthan The White Book of Rhydderch The Red Book of Hergest was written between 1375 and 1425 by Hywel Fychan fab Hywel Goch of Fuellt, for his employer, Hopcyn ap Tomas ap Einion of Ynys Tawe. In it are some of the most famous Welsh texts, including the Chronicles of the Princes, The History of the Kings of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth, The Ruin and Conquest Read more…
Scotland and Its War for Existence
Today I have a guest post on a parallel subject to my interest in Wales: JR Tomlin on the Scottish quest for independence. Her book, Freedom’s Sword, is available from Amazon or Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/46734. Welcome! ____________________ Because I write about Scotland, I felt it would be a good idea to briefly discuss Scotland’s history, and in particular, its invasion by England, as well as the eventual loss of its independence. I won’t do so with an emphasis on academics. For that, I suggest reading the work of G. W. S. Barrow, Professor Emeritus at the University of Edinburgh and probably the pre-eminent medievalist of the last century. In particular, I recommend reading both his Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland and his Kingship and Unity: Scotland, 1000–1306, that is if you have a deep interest in the subject. Otherwise, just Read more…
Heroic Fantasy in Dark Age Wales
I was invited to guest post about my book, The Last Pendragon. at http://keithcblackmore.com/blog/ Come check it out 🙂
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