On a final note, the fact that the name of Ethelred the Unready actually meant ‘Nobel counsel’ (Æthel-rœd) the ‘Ill-counselled’ (Un-rœd) must be one of the earliest jokes, if not the earliest, in the English language. ‘Old Good-Advice, the badly advised’ is a fair approximation.
In 1066, a vast invasion of Viking Norse launched from France. To some extent, the modern age began in that century, but the torch was lit on the bones of great kings, at least in Wessex. The people remained and endured and suffered and worked and thrived – and in 1497 sent a ship under John Cabot to Newfoundland and began the largest empire the world has ever seen. All such empires fall away, leaving stories behind: from Plato’s men staring at shadows in a cave or Horatius on the Bridge, to Sir Francis Drake playing bowls and a thousand more. It has been my privilege to tell just one.
Conn Iggulden London, 2016
Acknowledgements
My thanks to Shelagh Broughton, who did a vast amount of research on this one. Also to Mauraid Moran, who was kind enough to check the manuscript for matters monastic. Any remaining errors are all my own. I should also thank Clive Room, who asked questions in obscure churches and came back with some extraordinarily useful information, surprising us both.
Finally, I must thank my agent, Victoria Hobbs, and both Louise Moore and Jillian Taylor of Michael Joseph. I do love to tell stories like this. Thank you all for making it possible.
By the same author
THE EMPIRE OF SALT TRILOGY
(BY C. F. IGGULDEN)
Darien
THE WARS OF THE ROSES SERIES
Stormbird
Trinity
Bloodline
Ravenspur
THE EMPEROR SERIES THE CONQUEROR SERIES
The Gates of Rome
The Death of Kings
The Field of Swords
The Gods of War
The Blood of Gods Wolf of the Plains
Lords of the Bow
Bones of the Hills
Empire of Silver
Conqueror
Blackwater
Quantum of Tweed
BY CONN IGGULDEN AND HAL IGGULDEN
The Dangerous Book for Boys
The Pocket Dangerous Book for Boys: Things to Do
The Pocket Dangerous Book for Boys: Things to Know
The Dangerous Book for Boys Yearbook
BY CONN IGGULDEN AND DAVID IGGULDEN
The Dangerous Book of Heroes
BY CONN IGGULDEN AND ILLUSTRATED BY LIZZY DUNCAN
Tollins: Explosive Tales for Children
Tollins 2: Dynamite Tales
THE ABBOT’S TALE
Pegasus Books Ltd.
148 West 37th Street, 13th Floor
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2018 by Conn Iggulden
First Pegasus Books hardcover edition May 2018
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher, except by reviewers who may quote brief excerpts in connection with a review in a newspaper, magazine, or electronic publication; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other, without written permission from the publisher.
ISBN: 978-1-68177-730-6
ISBN: 978-1-68177-808-2 (e-book)
Distributed by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
The Abbot's Tale Page 43