Sorcha handed off Joanna, who screamed at her father’s loud horn blast, to Brenna and raced after Caden for the upstairs view of the river road from the bedchamber window.
“They’ve women and children with them,” Caden announced as she joined him.
Behind the front line was a cart lined with fur in which some ladies traveled. Hardly threatening. There was even a female riding in the lead with the men traveling under a white banner with a stag painted on it.
Sorcha leaned against her husband’s strong arm, excited. “It’s Princess Eavlyn!” They’d exchanged missives, but she’d not seen Eavlyn since the escape.
Caden opened the window and shouted to Ronan below. “The warriors’ shields are upside down! They come in peace.”
There was still chaos, but by the time Prince Hering and Princess Eavlyn’s company forded the river, it was tempered with wariness, not panic. Eavlyn, who was huge with child, rested on a bench in the shade with some of the women, while Prince Herring spoke to the men gathered round him.
Hussa was dead. Hering had been with Eavlyn in Burlwick when he received the news. But before the prince could hie to Din Guardi, word came that Aethelfrith had summoned a Dieran army and intimidated Hussa’s thanes to elect him as the new bretwalda.
“I’d wager my sword arm that Tunwulf knew of Aethelfrith’s plan,” Caden told the angry prince.
“Nay, my cousin only slays in the name of justice.” Hering’s acrimony belied the meat of his words. “And the gods.” He swept his arm about to encompass his followers. “These men and women have accepted the Christian God.”
So Eavlyn’s mission to bring Christianity to Bernicia had not been a total failure. Sorcha looked about. There had to be at least twenty families.
“Did Aethelfrith have anything to do with Hussa’s death?” Caden asked.
“Father had been ill this winter,” Hering replied. “Although I would not put anything past Aethelfrith. Including sending troops to dispose of me, my wife, and family. Which is why we are here, along with others who will not fight for Aethelfrith.”
“These men are loyal to us and to Christ. They will fight Aethelfrith,” Eavlyn spoke up. “But their women and children need a place to stay.” She eased to her feet. “I thought of the abandoned homes here at Trebold … if you would have them.”
“Saxons is Saxons,” someone from the crowd gathered round them growled. The translator who had been converting their conversation into Saxon grew silent.
Myrna stepped off the stoop of the tavern and surveyed those gathered with a sharp eye. “And people in need are people in need,” she reminded them.
The translator started again.
“Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.…” Myrna quoted from her one book of Scripture, a worn copy of Matthew that she paid dearly for from the son of a deceased priest. Her mother used that quote often in administering Trebold’s affairs.
Sorcha had used her gift to memorize the entire book that winter. “I agree with my mother. We cannot change all of Alba that one man might live in peace beside another, but we can change Trebold.”
“And I cannot change all men’s hearts, only my own,” Caden agreed. “I serve a God of second chances. He gave me a second chance with good men like you and with Sorcha … with my family.”
Some of the onlookers looked away, struck by guilt.
“We need families to work our fields, to help us prosper. To defend our homes. But I will not offer homes and land to these families without the blessing of the majority of Trebold’s people.”
The translator repeated Caden’s words.
“Those who will welcome fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, I ask you to stand with me.” Caden walked a distance away and waited.
Myrna and Sorcha joined him. Then Gemma. For a while, it seemed as though all the crowd would do was murmur and argue among themselves. The first to cross to where Caden and Sorcha stood were two wives, herding their children like mother hens. Their men followed. Then more men. More women. Not all came, but more than half the number. And when that became clear, the others moved over as well.
“’Tis done then.” Caden beamed. “What say we welcome our new neighbors?” He took the lead, walking up to the biggest of the lot, a great hulk of a man with long straw-colored hair, and offered his hand with a hearty “Welcome, friend,” in Saxon.
The two peoples merged, some of Trebold’s Britons and Scots mangling their Saxon as badly as the newcomers mangled their Cumbric. But Christian charity overcame the language barrier.
Gemma caught Sorcha’s arm as she moved forward to join them. “You have married a good man, sweetling.”
Sorcha sought out Caden’s blond mane above the heads of most of the others. Or she tried to. It was hard to see through the mist glazing her eyes. “Aye,” she whispered softly.
But she held Caden in her heart’s eye and always would from This Side to the Other.
God be thanked.
… a little more …
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the orchestra might offer an encore.
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it’s always nice to savor a bit of dessert.
When a great story comes to an end,
we think you may want to linger.
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AfterWords—just a little something more after you
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Turn the page for ...
• Glossary
• Arthurian Characters
• The Grail Palace
• Bibliography
• Scripture References
• About the Author
• Prologue from Rebel
Glossary
Alba—Scotland
Albion—the Isle of Britain
Alcut/Alclyd—Dumbarton on Firth of Clyde
anmchara—soul mate
arthur—title passed down from Stone Age Britain meaning “the bear,” or “protector,” connected with the constellation of the Big Dipper; equivalent of Dux Bellorum and Pendragon; the given name of Arthur, prince of Dalraida
a stór—darling
behoved—beholdened
braccae—Latin for woolen drawstring trousers or pants, either knee- or ankle-length
bretwalda—leader/king of Saxon warlords or thanes
cariad—dearest
Carmelide—Carlisle
Cennalath—ken’-nah-lot; Pictish king of the Orkneys killed by Arthur for treachery
Cumbric—language of western Celtic peoples of Britain, close to today’s Welsh
Cymri—brotherhood of Britons and Welsh, united by the common foe of Saxons
druid—an educated professional—doctors, judges, poets, teachers, and protoscientists, as well as priests. Druid meant “teacher, rabbi, magi, or master,” not the dark, hooded stereotype assumed by many today. Those who were earnest sought light, truth, and the way. Others abused their knowledge, which was power.
Dux Bellorum—Latin for duke of war, high king, Pendragon, or arthur
earthways—to death/burial
Eboracum—York
fell—rocky hill
foolrede—foolishness
gleemen—entertainers for the common people akin to circus performers, as well as singers and dancers
Gwenhyfar—Guinevere; considered by some scholars to have been a title like arthur and merlin, as well as a given name. Some scholars believe the Pictish Gwenhyfar was called Anora.
haegtesse—witch
haws—medieval term for a house in a town/burrough that is part of a larger country estate; a house on a small lot in a burrough
hillfort—an enclosed fortress/village on a hill, usually with earthenwork and/or wood stockade about its perimeter
Joseph, the—the high priest of the Grail Palace
on the Sacred Isle
Leafbud—spring
Leaf Fall—fall
Long Dark—winter
mathair—mother
merlin—title for the adviser to the king, often a prophet or seer; sometimes druidic Christian as in Merlin Emrys, or not, as Merlin Sylvester
Merlin Emrys (Ambrosius)—the prophet/seer/Celtic Christian priest descended from the Pendragon Ambrosius Aurelius; thought to be Arthur’s merlin; suggested to be buried on Bardsley Island
mind—remember or recall
mo chroi—my heart
Pendragon—Cymri (Welsh-Briton) for “head dragon” or high king, dragon being a symbol of knowledge/power; see arthur, Dux Bellorum
rath—walled keep and/or village
scop—Saxon bard or entertainer
Strighlagh—strī’-lăk; Stirling
Sun Season—summer
thane—a high-ranking chief, noble, or warlord of the Saxon bretwalda/king; the king’s sword-friend (comrade in arms) and hearth friend, who usually led his own warband and received his own lands in reward
toll—interest on a loan
tuath—tǔth; kingdom; clan land
wergild—money paid for injustice, or a blood price, akin to the Celtic eric
widdershins—counterclockwise
witan—akin to the Celtic druid: a Saxon adviser, doctor, judge, historian, genealogist, and magician/wizard/priest or any other educated professional of that era
Arthurian Characters
Most scholars agree that Arthur, Guinevere, and Merlin were titles shared by various personas throughout the late fifth and sixth centuries. The ones in this book are the late sixth-century characters. Because of inconsistent dating, multiple persons sharing the same titles and/or names, and place names as well as texts recorded in at least six languages, I again quote Nennius: “I’ve made a heap of all I could find.”
* historically documented individuals
*Arthur—Prince of Dalraida, Dux Bellorum (Latin “Duke of War”) or Pendragon (Welsh)/High King (Scot) of Britain, although he held no land of his own. He is a king of landed kings, their battle leader. A Pendragon at this time can have no kingdom of his own to avoid conflict of interest. Hence, Gwenhyfar is rightful queen of her lands, Prince Arthur’s through marriage. Arthur is the historic son of Aedan of Dalraida/Scotland, descended from royal Irish of the Davidic bloodline preserved by the marriage of Zedekiah’s daughter Tamar to the Milesian king of Ireland Eoghan in 587 BC. Ironically the Milesians are descended from the bloodline of Zarah, the “Red Hand” twin of Pharez (David and Jesus’ ancestor) in the book of Genesis. Thus the breach of Judah prophesied in Isaiah was mended by this marriage of very distant cousins, and the line of David continued to rule through the royal Irish after Jerusalem fell.
*Aedan of Dalraida—Arthur’s father, Aedan, was Pendragon of Britain for a short time and prince of Manau Gododdin by his mother’s Pictish blood (just as Arthur was prince of Dalraida because of his marriage to Gwenhyfar). When Aedan’s father, the king of Dalraida, died, Aedan became king of the more powerful kingdom, and he abandoned Manau Gododdin. For that abandonment, he is oft referred to as Uther Pendragon, uther meaning “the terrible.” He sent his son Arthur to take his place as Pendragon and Manau’s protector.
Angus—the Lance of Lothian. Although this Dalraida Arthur had no Lancelot as his predecessor did, Angus is the appointed lesser king of Stirlingshire/Strighlagh and protector of his Pictish queen Gwenhyfar and her land. As with his ancestral namesake Lancelot, Angus’s land of Berwick in Lothian now belongs to Cennalot, who is ultimately defeated by Arthur. (See Cennalot and Brude.) Angus is Arthur’s head of artillery. It is thought he was raised at the Grail Castle and was about ten or so years younger than his lady Gwenhyfar.
Scholar/researcher Norma Lorre Goodrich suggests he may have been a fraternal twin to Modred or Metcault. That would explain Lance not knowing who he really was until he came of age, as women who bore twins were usually executed. The second child was thought to be spawn of the Devil. Naturally Morgause would have hidden the twins’ birth by casting one out, only to have him rescued by her sister, the Lady of the Lake, or Vivianne del Acqs. This scenario happened as well in the lives of many of the saints, such as St. Kentigern. Their mothers were condemned to death for consorting with the Devil and begetting a second child. Yet miraculously, these women lived and the cast-off child became a saint.
*Brude/Bridei—see Cennalot/Cennalath/Lot of Lothian.
*Cennalot/Cennalath/Lot of Lothian—Arthur’s uncle by marriage to Morgause. This king of eastern Pictland and the Orkneys was all that stood between Brude reigning over the whole of Pictland. Was it coincidence that Arthur, whose younger brother, Gairtnat, married Brude’s daughter and became king of the Picts at Brude’s death, decided to take out this Cennalot while Brude looked the other way? Add that to the fact that Cennalot was rubbing elbows with the Saxons and looking greedily at Manau Gododdin, and it was just a matter of time before either Brude or Arthur got rid of him.
*Dupric, bishop of Llandalf—a historical bishop who may also be Merlin Emrys per Norma Goodrich.
Gwenhyfar/Guinevere—High Queen of Britain. This particular Gwen’s Pictish name is Anora. She is descended from the apostolic line and is a high priestess in the Celtic Church. She is buried in Fife. Her marriage brought under Arthur the lands of Stirlingshire, or Strighlagh. Her offspring are its heirs, as the Pictish rule is inherited from the mother’s side. There were two abductions of the Gwenhyfars. In one she was rescued. In the other she slept, meaning she died (allegedly from snakebite), precipitating the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty. In both Gwenhyfar’s abduction and that of Sleeping Beauty, thorns surrounded the castle, thorns being as common a defense in those days as moats were. Also note the similarities of names, even if the definitions are different—Anora (grace), Aurora (dawn).
*Hering—son of Hussa, prince of Northumbria. Hering did not succeed his father but fled to Aedan’s protection in Dalraidan Scotland after his cousin Aethelfrith of Bernicia won the throne and exiled him. Hering later led the Scots against his cousin Aethelfrith.
*Hussa—the king or bretwalda of the Northumbrian Saxons, succeeded by his nephew Aethelfrith instead of his son Hering.
*Merlin Emrys of Powys—a Christian druidic-educated bishop of the Celtic Church, protoscientist, adviser to the king, prophet after the Old Testament prophets, and possibly a Grail King or Joseph. Emrys is of the Irish Davidic and Romano-British bloodlines as son of Ambrosius Aurelius and uncle to Aedan, Arthur’s father. Merlin Emrys retired as adviser during Arthur’s later reign, perhaps to pursue his beloved science or perhaps as the Grail King. In either case, he would not have condoned Arthur’s leaning toward the Roman Church’s agenda. Later the Roman Church and Irish Celtic Church priests would convert the Saxons to Christianity, but the British Celtic Church suffered too much at pagan hands to offer the Good News to their pagan invaders. (See Dupric and Ninian.)
Modred—king of the Orkneys and Lothian, also a high priest or abbot in the Celtic Church; Arthur’s nephew and son of late Cennalath and Morgause
*Morcant—king of Bryneich, now mostly occupied on the coast by the Saxons and called Northumbria. The capital was Trapain Law.
Ninian—Merlin’s protégé, priestess in the Celtic Church
*Vivianne Del Acqs—sister to Ygerna, Arthur’s mother, and Morgause of Lothian. She is known as the Lady of the Lake. Vivianne is a high priestess and tutor at the Grail Castle. It’s thought that she raised both Gwenhyfar and Angus/Lance of Lothian, all direct descendants of the Arimathean priestly lines.
*Ygerna—Arthur’s mother and a direct descendant of Joseph of Arimathea, was matched as a widow of a British duke and High Queen of the Celtic Church to Aedan of Dalraida by Merlin Emrys to produce an heir with both royal and priestly bloodlines. It is thought her castle was at Caerlaverock.
The Grail Palace
Norma Lorre Goodrich suggests that the Grail Palace wa
s on the Isle of St. Patrick, and recent archaeology has exposed sixth-century ruins of a church/palace there. But what was it, or the Grail itself, exactly? Goodrich uses the vast works of other scholars, adding her expertise in the linguistics field to extract information from Arthurian texts in several languages. Weeding out as much fancy as possible, the Grail Palace was the church or place where the holy treasures of Christianity were kept (not to be confused with the treasures of Solomon’s Temple, which Jeremiah and Zedekiah’s daughter Tamar allegedly took to Ireland in 587 BC, or the Templars found during the Crusades). The Grail treasures consist of items relating to Jesus: a gold chalice and a silver platter (or silver knives) from the Last Supper, the spear that pierced Christ’s side, the sword (or broken sword) that beheaded John the Baptist, gold candelabra with at least ten candles each, and a secret book, or gospel, attributed directly to either Jesus, John the Beloved, Solomon, John the Baptist, or John of the Apocalypse.
Or was this book the genealogies of the bloodlines, whose copies were supposedly destroyed by the Roman Church?
If the house of the Last Supper was that of the wealthy Joseph of Arimathea, is it possible that Jesus used these rich items and that Joseph brought them to Britain in the first century as tradition holds? The high priest of the Grail Castle tradition was called the Joseph. Of all the knights who vied for the Grail or the high priest position as teacher and protector of the bloodlines and treasures, only Percival and Galahad succeeded. Did they take the place of Merlin Emrys, when he passed on?
The purpose of the Grail Palace, beyond holding the treasures, was one of protecting and perpetuating the apostolic and royal bloodlines … hence the first-century Christianity brought to Britain by Christ’s family and followers. It was believed that an heir of both lines stood a chance of becoming another messiah-like figure. Such breeding of bloodlines was intended to keep the British church free of Roman corruption and close to its Hebrew origins. Nennius, who was pro-Roman to the core, accused the Celtic Church of clinging to the shadows of the Jews—the first-century Jews of Jesus’ family and friends.
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