"The Winter King" is my first experience of Bernard Cornwell's storytelling. This is the first book of trilogy about the British warlord Arthur in the 5th century AD.
Historians have long debated the existence of Arthur during that particular time period. They are most certain that Arthur was never a king but a powerful warlord who rose to power after the death of the High King Uther Pendragon.
Here is a description of this book from Amazon.ca:
"Cornwell's Arthur is fierce, dedicated and complex, a man with manyproblems, most of his own making. His impulsive decisions sometimeshave tragic ramifications, as when he lustfully takes Guinevere insteadof the intended Ceinwyn, alienating his friends and allies andinspiring a bloody battle. The secondary characters are equallyunexpected, and are ribboned with the magic and superstition of thetimes. Merlin impresses as a remarkable personage, a crafty schemerfond of deceit and disguise. Lancelot is portrayed as awarrior-pretender, a dishonest charmer with dark plans of his own; (...)Guinevere, meanwhile, no gentle creature waiting patiently in themoonlight, has designs and plots of her own. The of thesecharacters and others is narrated forcefully and with dry wit by DerfelCadarn, one of Arthur's warriors, who later becomes a monk."
What I love about Cornwell's storytelling is that in this book he recreates convincingly an era of so long ago (1500 years ago) where so few historical records have survived. The chapters are long but detailed, full of description of people's daily life, worriors' gear and pagan rituals (Druism). The conversations are belivable, witty and sometimes humorous. No wonder Bernard Cornwell is one of Conn Iggulden's favorite writer!
I found some images from the Web that help me picture the scenes in my mind:
This is a bronze gaulish torque. In "The Winter King", torque is an ornement for noble men and women. They are most valued in gold.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Torque_gaulois_en_bronze.jpg)
Maybe like Morgan's (Arthur's sister) gold mask.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Sutton.hoo.helmet.jpg)
A shield wall.
In Arthur's time, most warfare were fought with infantary, war horses were still rare and expensive.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/061014-083-Battle1066.jpg/240px-061014-083-Battle1066.jpg
Statue of King Arthur
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Artus2.jpg
Scale armour
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Roman_scale_armour_detail.JPG/800px-Roman_scale_armour_detail.JPG
Germanic tunic of the 4th century.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fd/Thorsberg_Tunic.jpg/200px-Thorsberg_Tunic.jpg
Statue of Excalibur. Excalibur is the name of Arthur's sword.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Statue_of_Excalibur%2C_Kingston_Maurward.jpg/130px-Statue_of_Excalibur%2C_Kingston_Maurward.jpg
Guinevere, Arthur's wife.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Queen_Guinevere.jpg/250px-Queen_Guinevere.jpg
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