Henry frowns. “I have passed him, then, for I am fifty-six. I wonder, do you mean to threaten or to flatter me?”
The bard shrugs. “Arthur walked the earth, and loved greatly, and strove greatly to make good laws and keep the peace and preserve the land from her enemies.”
“So also have I,” the king replies, more softly. “But you take the magic from the story, telling it so!”
“Is it not a greater wonder that this same history should still be recounted some six centuries after Arthur died, and in every country of Christendom?” the bard answers more softly still.
King Henry shakes his head, laughing. “You will never make your fortune telling such tales to mortal kings! We prefer to believe that Arthur lived in an age of marvels, and avoid comparisons!”
“But what if it were true?”
“If it could be proved, you mean?” Suddenly the king grasps his sinewy arm. “Who are you, to know such things?”
For a moment the bard considers him. Then, very gently, he smiles, and Henry finds his grip loosening. “I have been called by many names. I am a Wild Man in the wood, and a bard in the courts of kings. I am a wanderer upon the roads of the world, and the prophet of Arthur. And you yourself can prove the truth of my words—”
He leans forward. “The abbey at Glastonbury burned five years ago, and the monks are still rebuilding. Command them to dig deep between the two pyramids in the churchyard. They will find there a coffin hollowed from a log of oak, and in it the bones of Arthur, and at his feet, Guenivere, with a leaden cross that gives their names.”
“That would settle the Welsh!” exclaims the king, then sobers. “They claim Arthur as their Defender, but so do the English, and we Normans likewise, for my grandson bears his name. These days, he belongs to everyone. Why is that, do you suppose?” Henry says then. “Why should he matter so?”
“Because he loved Britannia . . .” answers the bard. “Because for a little while he kept her safe against the dark.” He sits back, considering the king.
“I tell you these things so that you may know that such deeds can be achieved by mortal men. And yet what the Welsh and the Bretons tell you is the truth as well. Arthur’s spirit never departed—neither to Heaven nor to the Otherworld. He watches over the Hallowed Isle. . . .”
PEOPLE AND PLACES
A note on pronunciation:
British names are given in fifth-century spelling, which does not yet reflect pronunciation changes. Initial letters should be pronounced as they are in English. Medial letters are as follows:
SPELLED PRONOUNCED
P...........................b
t...........................d
k/c......................(soft) g
b...........................v (approximately)
d...........................soft “th” (modern Welsh “dd”)
g...........................“yuh”
m..........................v
ue.........................w
†
PEOPLE
CAPITALS = major character
* = historical personnage
( ) = dead before story begins
[ ] = name as given in later literature
Italics = deity or mythological personnage
*Aelle—king of the South Saxons
Aggarban [Agravaine]—third son of Morgause
*Agricola—prince of Demetia
*Alaric II—king of the Visigoths
(*Ambrosius Aurelianus—emperor of Britannia and Vitalinus’ rival)
(*Amlodius—Artor’s grandfather)
Amminius—one of Artor’s men
ARTOR [Arthur]—son of Uthir and Igierne, high king of Britannia
(Artoria Argantel—Artor’s grandmother)
Beowulf—king of the Geats in Denmark
BETIVER [Bedivere]—nephew to Riothamus, one of Artor’s Companions
Bleitisbluth—a Pictish chieftain
Brigantia/Brigid—British goddess of healing, inspiration, and the land
*Budic—a grandson of Riothamus, lord of Civitas Aquilonia
CAI—son of Caius Turpilius, Artor’s foster-brother and Companion
*Caninus [Aurelius Caninus]—son of the prince of Glevum, ally of Medraut
CATAUR [Cador]—prince of Dumnonia
Cathubodva—Lady of Ravens, a British war goddess
*Ceawlin—son of Cynric and grandson of Ceretic
Ceincair—a priestess on the Isle of Maidens
(*Ceretic [Cerdic]—king of the West Saxons)
*Chlodovechus [Clovis]—king of the Franks in Gallia
*Chlotild—queen of the Franks
*Conan—lord of Venetorum
*Constantine—son of Cataur, prince of Dumnonia
*Creoda—son of Icel of Anglia
*Cuil—a brigand
*Cunobelinus—warleader of the northern Votadini
*Cunoglassus—a prince of Guenet, ally of Medraut
Cunovinda—a young priestess on the Isle of Maidens
*Cymen—Aelle’s eldest son
*Cynric—son of Ceretic, king of the West Saxons
*Daniel Dremrud—son of Riothamus
Doli—a Pictish warrior in the service of Morgause
*Drest Gurthinmoch—high king of the Picts
(*Dubricius—bishop of Isca and head of the church in Britannia)
*Dumnoval [Dyfnwal]—lord of the Southern Votadini
Edrit—a young warrior in the service of Aggarban
Eldaul the younger [Eldol]—prince of Glevum
*Eormenric—son of Oesc, child-king of Cantuware
*Feragussos [Fergus]—king of the Scotti of Dal Riada
*Gipp—Norse founder of Gippewic in Essex, Medraut’s ally
GORIAT [Gareth]—fourth son of Morgause
(Gorlosius [Gorlois]—first husband of Igierne, father of Morgause)
Gracilia—wife of Gualchmai
GUALCHMAI [Gawain]—first son of Morgause
GUENDIVAR [Gwenivere]—Artor’s queen
*Guenomarcus—lord of Plebs Legionorum
Gwyhir [Gaheris]—second son of Morgause
Hæthwæge—a Saxon wisewoman
(*Hengest—king of Cantuware, leader of Saxon revolt)
*Henry II—king of England
*Icel—king of the Anglians in Britannia
IGIERNE [Igraine]—Artor’s mother, Lady of the Lake
Johannes Rutilius—brother-in-law to Riothamus, Betiver’s father
Julia—a nun from the Isle of Glass, Guendivar’s companion
(Kea—a British slave girl among the Picts, Medraut’s first woman)
Father Kedi—an Irish priest at the court of Artor
Leodegranus [Leodegrance]—prince of Lindinis, Guendivar’s father
(Leudonus [Lot]—king of the Votadini)
Maglouen [Maelgwn]—a prince of Guenet, Medraut’s ally
(*Magnus Maximus [Maxen Wledig]—general serving in Britain who was proclaimed emperor 383–388)
Marcus Conomorus [Mark of Cornwall]—son of Constantine
Martinus of Viroconium—an ally of Medraut
Maxentius—a grandson of Riothamus
MEDRAUT—fifth son of Morgause, by Artor
Melwas [Meleagrance]—an Irishman born in Guenet, abductor of Guendivar
MERLIN—druid and wizard, Artor’s advisor
Morcant Bulc—heir to Dun Breatann
MORGAUSE—daughter of Igierne and Gorlosius, queen of the Votadini
(*Naitan Morbet—king of all the provinces of the Picts)
Nest—a priestess on the Isle of Maidens
Ninive—daughter of Gualchmai by a woman of the hills
(*Oesc—grandson of Hengest and king of Cantuware, Eormenric’s father)
*Othar, Ela, Adgils, Admund [Othere, Onela, Eadgils, Eadmund]—King Ottar of Sweden, his brother Ali, his sons Adils and Eadmund
Paulinus Clutorix—lord of Viroconium
*Peretur [Peredur]—son of E
leutherius, lord of Eboracum
*Pompeius Regalis [Riwal]—lord of Domnonia
*Ridarchus—king at Alta Cluta and protector of Luguvalium
Rigana—widow of Oesc, Eormenric’s mother
*Riothamus—ruler of Armorica
*Theodoric—a Gothic admiral in the service of Britannia
*Theuderich—king of the Franks, son of Chlodovechus and a concubine and one of his successors, along with Chlodomer, Childebert, and Lothar (by Queen Clotild)
Uorepona—the “Great Mare,” high queen of the Picts
(Uthir [Uther Pendragon]—Artor’s father)
Verica—a young priestess on the Isle of Maidens
(*Vitalinus, the Vor-Tigernus—ruler of Britannia who brought in the Saxons)
*Vortipor—son of Agricola, prince of Demetia
†
PLACES
Afallon [Avalon]—Isle of Apples, Glastonbury
Alba—Scotland
Altaclutha—kingdom of the Clyde
Ambrosiacum—Amesbury
Anglia—Lindsey and Lincoln
Annuen [Annwyn]—the land of the dead
Aquae Sulis—Bath
Armorica—Britanny
Belisama fluvius—River Ribble, Lancashire
Bodotria aestuarius—Firth of Forth
Britannia—Great Britain
Caellwic—Kelliwic, Cornwall
Caledonian forest—southern Scotland
Calleva—Silchester
Camalot [Camelot]—Cadbury Castle, Somerset
Camboglanna [Camlann]—fortress of Birdoswald, the Wall
Camulodunum—Colchester
Cantium, Cantuware—Kent
Castra Legionis—Caerleon
Cendtire—Kintyre peninsula
Civitas Aquilonia—Quimper, Brittany
Clutha—River Clyde
Demetia—Pembroke and Carmarthen
Domnonia—Cotes du Nord, Brittany
Dumnonia—Cornwall and Devon
Dun Bara—Barry Hill, Perth
Dun Breatann—”fortress of the Britons,” Dumbarton Rock
Dun Eidyn—Edinburgh Rock
Durnovaria—Dorchester, Dorset
Durobrivae—1. Rochester, Kent; 2. Water Newton, Cambridge
Fodreu—Fortriu, Fife
Forest of Caledon—Caledonian forest, southern Scotland
Gallia—France
Giants’ Dance—Stonehenge
Gippewic—in Essex
Glevum—Gloucester
Guenet [Gwynedd]—Denbigh and Caernarvon
Isca (Silurum)—Caerwent
Isle of Glass (Inis Witrin)—Glastonbury
Isle of Maidens in the Lake—Derwentwater, Cumbria
Lindinis—Ilchester, Somerset
Lindum—Lincoln
Londinium—London
Metaris aestuarius—the Wash
Mona—Anglesey
Plebs Legionorum—St. Pol de Léon, Brittany
Pyrenaei montes—the Pyrenees
Sabrina fluvia—the Severn River and estuary
Segontium—Caernarvon, Wales
Sorviodunum—Salisbury
Summer Country—Somerset
Tava—River Tay
Tolosa—Toulouse
Urbs Legionis (Deva)—Chester
Uxela fluvius—River Axe, Severn estuary
Venetorum—Vannes, in Brittany
Venta Belgarum—Winchester
Venta Siluricum—Caerwent, Wales
Viroconium—Wroxeter
Voreda—Old Penrith, Cumberland
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DIANA L. PAXSON is the award-winning author of The Lord of Horses, The Wolf and the Raven, The Dragons of the Rhine, and The White Raven, and co-author (with Adrienne Martine-Barnes) of Master of Earth and Water, The Shield Between the Worlds, and Sword of Fire and Shadow, the chronicles of Fionn mac Cumhal. She lives in Berkeley, California.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors.
ALSO BY DIANA L. PAXSON
The Hallowed Isle cycle
The Book of the Sword
The Book of the Spear
The Book of the Cauldron
The Book of the Stone
Wodan’s Children Trilogy
The Dragons of the Rhine
The Wolf and the Raven
The Lord of Horses
With Adrienne Martine-Barnes
Master of Earth and Water
The Shield Between the Worlds
Sword of Fire and Shadow
COPYRIGHT
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the author or the publisher.
Published by arrangement with the author
ISBN 0-380-80548-0
EPub Edition May 2013 ISBN 9780062288899
THE HALLOWED ISLE: BOOK FOUR: THE BOOK OF THE STONE. Copyright © 2000 by Diana L. Paxson. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data:
First Avon Eos Trade Printing: January 2000
Paxson, Diana L.
The book of the stone / Diana L. Paxson.
p. cm. — (The hallowed isle : bk. 4)
1. Great Britain—History—Anglo Saxon period. 449–1066 Fiction. 2. Arthurian romances Adaptations. 3. Arthur, King Fiction. I. Title. II. Series: Paxson, Diana L. Hallowed isle : bk. 4.
PS3566.A897B664 2000
99-39528
813’.54—dc21
CIP
AVON EOS TRADEMARK REG. U.S. PAT. OFF. AND IN OTHER COUNTRIES, MARCA REGISTRADA, HECHO EN U.S.A.
OPM 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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