Mostrando resultados por autor "Christopher Webster" en Todas las categorías

Book I of The Jorvik Trilogy tells the story of Halfdan Ragnarsson, a son of Ragnar Hairy-Breeches, and brother to Ivar the Boneless and Ubba, Bane of the Frisians. Halfdan arrives in England as joint commander of the Great Heathen Army seeking revenge for the killing of their father. The army carves a brutal campaign through the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, capturing Eoforwic and renaming it Jorvik. But as the blood of kings and warriors spills, Halfdan must learn that conquest is only the beginning and that power comes at a price even a Viking might fear to pay.

It is twenty years since Hengest and his warriors were driven from Britannia by Aurelius Ambrosius. Now Childric, his kinsman, hungers for revenge and the reconquest of what he calls Angleland. Yet one obstacle stands in his path: Merlin. To strike at Arthur’s greatest ally, Childric turns to the Angle wise woman, Morwei, who conjures the illusion of the Holy Grail—a lure designed to ensnare Merlin and lead Arthur’s marchogion to ruin. But can even such a deception undo the most sagacious of wizards?

"Now the Normans neared the standard, where Harold had stayed striving to the utmost, but the arrow had wounded him in the eye and he suffered piteously from the pain. A Norman baron sprang from the battle and hit him on the aventail of his helmet and beat him down. He did his best to get up again, but another knight beat him on the thigh through to the bone..." Book Three in this series includes this account of the Battle of Hastings based on Wace's Roman de Rou. Other stories include the adventures of a housecarl who, after the defeat at Hastings, joins the Varangian Guard, a story about ...

Attila explodes on the world, threatening to bring down the Roman Empire, and few can stand against him. Waldere is one, who, after escaping from Attila, and fighting single-handed, dispatches eleven of his attackers. Another is Aurelius, Britannia's rightful king, but in exile in Armorica. These heroes, and many others, join forces with Aetius, who has put together a shambolic army of allies, auxiliaries and and foederati, the last that Rome will ever field – but is it enough to protect the Empire from the fury of Attila? This is the second part of the English Dawn pentalogy, which tells...

This is the story of a feud which began in the time of Edward the Confessor and continued into the 1350’s and beyond. It begins when Wilfrid Elland gives hospitality to a young Norman by the name of Hugh d’Eckerslée. Hugh is much taken by Wilfrid's beautiful young wife, Edith, and seduces her. A duel, a death – and a long-running feud are the consequences.

This collection of stories set in the Anglo-Saxon period begins with a novella about Brother Boniface, a monk who becomes the victim of a Viking raid. It also includes the story of Offa’s single combat in the English homeland of Angeln, Sigurd’s fight with the dragon Fafnir, Beowulf’s fight with the troll-wife, and several other lays and legends including a poem which explores what might have happened if the greatest Celtic warrior (King Arthur) were to be matched with the greatest Germanic warrior (Beowulf).

This is the missing book of the Hengeid Tetralogy—an “Interquel” to be read between Books 2 and 3. It tells the dramatic tale of Attila and Waldere, shedding crucial light on the events that shape Hengest’s destiny. In 449, soon after Hengest’s first venture into Britannia, one of the most decisive battles in Western history raged in far away Gaul—the clash between Aetius, leading Rome's last legion, and the Hunnic hordes led by Attila. Among those in the fray was Hengest’s greatest rival for the dominion of Britannia: Aurelius Ambrosius—but will his legion survive the storm...

“Take Lions’ reins and run to safety to the nearby wood. I’ll welcome these warriors with Weland’s work – no words are sharper!”Attila—the devil made flesh, a savage, a warlord, a king. He killed his own brother to seize the kingship of Hungvar. That tale alone made Rome tremble. But one man stands up to him—Waldere, master of Nordic martial arts, and possessor of the fabled sword, Mimming. Atilla takes him hostage, but when he escapes, Attila sends 12 of his finest warriors to bring him back, dead or alive. Will Waldere's martial skills enable him to survive?

Young squire Eubulo le Strange is sent to Conisbrough Castle to complete his military training under the formidable John de Warenne. But what begins as a rite of passage soon draws him into a tangled web of feuds, forbidden love, and political intrigue. As tensions mount across the realm, Eubulo finds himself entangled in one of the most daring scandals of the age—the abduction of Lady Alice de Laci, wife to the powerful and vengeful Earl Thomas of Lancaster. When Lancaster’s wrath descends upon Conisbrough in the form of a siege, loyalty and survival hang in the balance. Based on real ...

"I am thy fool, and I shall lose my wits." In this dark and compelling idyll, the great wizard Merlin, wise, but weary, and growing old, falls under the spell of Vivien, a cunning and ambitious seductress. Through flattery and deceit, she seeks to learn his secrets and gain power over him. A tale of betrayal and the downfall of wisdom, Merlin and Vivien explores the dangers of desire and the fragility of even the greatest minds.

This collection of stories and poems covers the period from first wave of migration in c. 449 to the end of Anglo-Saxon England with the Norman Conquest in 1066 and include stories about the most popular Anglo-Saxon heroes and events, such as Hengest, King Alfred, the Battle of Maldon and the Battle of Hastings. They also include material from the common Germanic stock, such as the legends of Beowulf and Starkath.

“I’ll do anything,” she said, smiling seductively. “Anything,” she emphasised the word, “if you will plead with Vortigern, and persuade him to come back to me.” Germanus, Bishop of Autissiodorum, is sent to Britannia, to fight heresy and heathenism. Even the Britons are divided, between the former king, Vortigern and the new King, his son, Vortimer, who has usurped him. Somehow, Germanus has to unite Britannia's warring factions before he can even begin the task he was sent for. But powerful forces are ranged against him - invading Scots from Ierne, and, most powerful of all, ...

Gautier : le preux d'Aquitaine Au cœur des vastes plaines d'Europe, alors que l'Empire romain vacille sous les assauts d'Attila, un héros s'élève : Gautier, le preux d'Aquitaine. Entre batailles sanglantes et complots politiques, il manie son épée légendaire, Mimaing, et défend sa patrie avec courage et sagesse. Inspirée des épopées médiévales et des fragments perdus du Waltharius et de Waldere, cette novella mêle histoire, légende et héroïsme, retraçant le destin d'un homme qui lutte pour la gloire, la justice et la survie de son peuple.

When a monstrous worm begins terrorising the countryside—devouring poachers, knights, and sinners alike—fear grips the town. With nobles fleeing and crusading lords absent, hope falls to an unlikely hero: Tom, a humble blacksmith's apprentice with dreams of glory, helped by a dog named Toby. From drunken monks and gossiping townsfolk to chivalric tragedy and comic misadventure, this richly woven tale follows Robert's journey from forge to fame, through peril, heartbreak, and one unforgettable fight with a legendary beast. A riotous reimagining of Yorkshire folklore, Serpent Well is a ...

1146 — Edessa falls to the forces of Zengi. In response, Pope Eugene III preaches the Second Crusade. His call to arms is heard all over Europe, even in the remote town of Coningsburgh where William de Warenne is inspired to take the cloth cross. However, he soon finds that religious zeal is one thing, but the harsh realities of fighting a jihad driven enemy in a torrid climate are quite another.

When struggling novelist Arthur Roberts retreats to a windswept cottage on the Yorkshire moors, he hopes for solitude, silence, and maybe—finally—a new idea. What he doesn't expect is the sudden appearance of Skeggvard, a long-dead Viking warrior with a story to tell: one of love and war, forgotten gods, and a journey that ends not in death, but in bones that will not rest. Night after night, the ghost appears by the hearth, recounting his grim saga. But is Skeggvard truly a revenant, or just a fevered figment of Arthur's imagination—conjured from whiskey fumes, isolation, and ...

This story of amour courtois, senile lust, and true love is based on the ballad of Robin Hood and Allan-a-Dale. I have given it a Conisbrough setting at a specific date in history, 1190, one year after King Richard I left England to go on crusade, leaving his brother John to wreak havoc with the kingdom, and with the heart of his mistress, Adela, at Conisbrough Castle. Deserted by her royal lover, Adela makes a play for Allan-a-Dale, putting his life in jeopardy. Allan-a-Dale visits Conisbrough Castle and Adela takes a fancy to him. To make matters worse, Allan falls in love with her sister...

Conisbrough Castle is associated with a glittering array of kings, crusaders and knights, yet in the 1530’s it was linked with another man who was famous for a very different reason—Thomas Wyatt, the poet (1503-1542). Wyatt was made Constable of Conisbrough Castle in 1536, and soon after, found himself having to hold the castle against the army of the Pilgrimage of Grace. Unfortunately for Wyatt, the army consisted of over 40,000 men. Most of the main events in my story actually happened, though Conisbrough Castle was never invested by the Pilgrims. However, it was provided with a large...

England, 1317. As baronial unrest simmers beneath the crown's uneasy peace, a scandal erupts that threatens to ignite open war. Alice de Laci—heiress to vast northern lands and wife of the powerful rebel Thomas of Lancaster—is abducted under mysterious circumstances by William de Warenne, a loyalist with ambitions of his own. Furious and humiliated, Lancaster leads his army to Conisbrough Castle determined to reclaim his wife—and his honour.

This book is the third in a series of story collections about the author's home town, Conisbrough. The stories range from ancient times to the mid-twentieth century, including the experiences of a Conisbrough blacksmith at the battle of Lincoln, a tournament at Pontefract, in which the Sir John Eland, Constable of Conisbrough Castle, wins the prize, and the experiences of a Conisbrough miner during the ‘Bag Muck’ strike.