The Stolen Bride
Page 28
But I needed no time to think. “I cannot dream of anything finer, but is this not arranged for Arthur?”
And then the Rigotamos found himself the center of attention. He fumbled about uncomfortably. “This must be done properly, with invited guests.…”
But Guinevere stood before him and put her hand to his mouth. “It has been many months since Lord Aircol gave his approval.” Aircol had been father of Arthur’s ill-fated first wife. “Your child is even now growing in my belly. I have waited long enough. Marry me now, or you will never marry me at all.”
At that, Arthur gathered Guinevere in against his chest. “I happily accept.” But then he frowned. “Did Kay have to kidnap us?”
“If we continued to wait for the two of you,” Guinevere said with a smile, “we would have grandchildren before you would consent to be our husbands. But do not chastise Kay. He was acting at our command.”
“You are a fine leader, Rigotamos, a good man,” Kay began. “But sometimes you need the flat of a sword against your bottom to get you moving.” And he smiled, and I was most glad to see it.
Coroticus stepped forward and beckoned for Ygerne and me to approach. But just as he opened his mouth, the sound of horses galloping came from outside. And a mighty warrior rushed into the room, waving his sword left and right.
“Harm the Rigotamos and you will die today!” Bedevere had apparently not been privy to the plan.
“Lord Bedevere,” Arthur said, “you are interrupting my wedding. Please put down your sword.”
For the first time in all the years I had known him, Bedevere was completely without words. To his credit, he quickly surveyed the room and understood. As a great smile spread across his usually stern countenance, he tucked his sword into his belt and said, “With pleasure, my lord.”
With that, Coroticus spoke the words that joined first Ygerne and me, and then Arthur ap Uther and Guinevere.
I remember wishing that Lady Igraine could see her son at that moment. She would have scolded him for his delay and then ordered Morgan beheaded.
At long last, as we were all being congratulated, I went to Mariam, still holding her new sister. With that same mischievous smile, Mariam handed the bundle up to me, and I cradled it in my one arm.
Someone gripped me about the waist. Ygerne.
“Do you approve of him?”
“Of course, he’s— He? But the messenger said it was a girl.”
I looked down into Ygerne’s eyes and she pulled me close with a kiss. “I could not resist the jest.”
At that, I swung about the chapel and shouted, “I have a son!”
* * *
I can remember no finer night when Arthur was king. Much death and devastation had marked our journey, but we emerged victorious. Slowly but surely, this was becoming a true country, a Britannia of which we could be proud.
GLOSSARY AND GAZETTEER
Aquae Sulis—The Roman name for what is now Bath, England. Excavations have shown that many of its buildings were refurbished and continued in use throughout the fifth and sixth centuries.
braccae—Breeches worn by both Saxons and the Brythonic tribes. The only extant examples come from peat bogs in Europe. There was a certain disdain by Romans toward the Gallic tribes for wearing pants.
Breton—A native or inhabitant of Brittany, or the Celtic language of the Breton people.
Brittany—That area of Gaul known as Brittany. Settlements by some of the Brythonic tribes were located there during the fifth and sixth centuries.
Caer Goch—An Iron Age hill fort in South Wales.
Carmarthen—The legendary birthplace of Merlin.
castellum—Castle, but not in the High Middle Ages sense with thick stone walls, towers, and damsels in distress. Usually a defensive position with stacked rock and timber defensive rings.
Castellum Arturius—For the purposes of this novel, Cadbury Castle at South Cadbury, Somerset, is the location for Arthur’s castle. Excavations during the 1960s identified it as having been significantly rebuilt and reinforced during the late fifth century by a warlord of Arthurian-like stature, although no explicit evidence linking the site to Arthur himself was discovered.
Castellum Marcus—Castle Dore near Fowey in southeast Cornwall is believed to have been the site of King Mark’s headquarters. Nearby was found the famous Tristan stone, a gravestone believed to commemorate the historical Tristan, making it the one contemporary piece of evidence for the historicity of a character in the Arthurian canon.
Celliwic—For purposes of this novel, is that place called Killibury Rounds north of the village of Wadebridge in Cornwall. Some scholars believe it to be a credible site for the real Celliwic.
cervesa—The Latin name for the beer made by the local tribes during the Roman occupation. According to tablets unearthed at Vindolanda near Hadrian’s Wall, Roman soldiers were not shy about drinking cervesas.
consilium—A council. Gildas refers to a consilium ruling pre-Saxon Britannia that ended in Vortigern hiring Saxon mercenaries to help put down the raids of the Picts and Scots. It is safe to assume that any warlord who exerted influence over large areas in central and western England would have done so at the behest and the agreement of such a council of lesser kings.
Dumnonia (Dumnonii)—A tribe residing in the area of Cornwall and throughout the west lands. Mark is thought to have been a king of the Dumnonii during the general period of Arthur’s life. Snyder suggests in The Britons that people in the post-Roman period referred to themselves by tribal designations.
Durotrigia (Durotrigii)—A tribe residing in the area surrounding Glastonbury down through the South Cadbury area to the southern coast.
fibula—A brooch used to pin cloaks and other clothing together. Sometimes fibulae were jeweled and quite ornate. Others were made in the shape of crossbows.
iudex pedaneous—A Roman official assigned to investigate crimes and offenses. It is known that such titles were still used in post-Roman Britannia.
latrunculii—A term applied to groups of bandits that ran rampant during the fifth century, not to be confused with a Roman board game of the same era.
Lindinis—A Roman town near what is now Ilchester, just west of South Cadbury.
Londinium—As would be expected, this is the Roman name for what is now London.
Meneds—The ancient name for the Mendip Hills of northwest Somerset.
peplos—A type of gown worn by women, having a Roman cut.
philologus—A teacher.
Pomparles Bridge—Located between present-day Street and the edge of Glastonbury. Legend has it that it was from this point that Bedevere set Arthur’s funeral bier off for Avalon. Although the current bridge is not ancient by any means, fieldwork has shown that there may have been a Roman crossing in this vicinity.
presbyter—A term (originally Latin) applied to priests or other church officers. Remember that this was a time before parish priests.
sacerdote—A term used to describe priests, interchangeable with presbyter, above. There may certainly have been differences between these two terms at the time of this novel, but such distinctions, without documentary evidence, are impossible for modern readers to discern.
schoenus—A Roman mile.
tigernos—The Celtic word for “lord,” sometimes used to designate local lords, but believed by some scholars to have been combined with the word “vor” to produce the name “Vortigern,” or “overlord.”
Via Arturius—“Arthur’s Way.” A roadway or lane actually ran from Cadbury Castle to Glastonbury. It has become known as Arthur’s Way. Two major Roman roads near Cadbury Castle were the Via Fosse and the Via Harrow.
vigile—The Roman equivalent, in a sense, of both a policeman and a fireman. In Rome, vigiles watched for fires as much as any crime.
White Mount—Said to be the location of the White Tower at the Tower of London.
Ynys-witrin—According to some sources, this was the early name for what is now Glastonbury.
It is believed that a Christian community may have resided there during the Arthurian age.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
I like to say that I “ground” my plots in ancient stories of Arthur. I try to show how a certain myth or legend could have originated. In this instance, I consider the backstory to the Culwhch and Olwen story. The legends attribute Doged’s death to Culwhch’s father, Cilydd, but I opted to go another direction so that I might tie it into the legends of Arthur’s conception. The stories do not give much about Doged but his name, so I have chosen to provide him with a life of some consequence. Putting his seat at Trevelgue simply fit into my plans and bears no connection to history, which seems only to indicate that his lands were in the West Country.
The ores at Castellum Dinas were and are there. The strange brown ore was wolframite, which was not profitably worked until the twentieth century. Agaphite is actually an early name for turquoise, and its value and use need no explanation here. Gold, also, was found near Castellum Dinas, but not in the quantities necessary to make mining profitable. Any leader of Arthurian standards would need every possible source of wealth. The refurbishing of the defensive works around Cadbury Castle would have cost a fortune. And dark, dusty rumors still link construction of the Wansdyke, the fifth/sixth-century great defensive ditch and bank that runs from Bristol (more or less) in a southeasterly direction, to Arthur.
The Welsh tales seem to indicate a gradual split between Arthur and Kay, and so that element is creeping in as well. I rely heavily on the pre-Galfridian texts, especially the tales contained in the Mabinogion. Gurdur, who plays a small but vital role in this book, is mentioned in the Mabinogion, though I have altered his name somewhat to make it more palatable.
Ysbadden, Ysbail’s giant brother, is very prominent in young Culwhch’s search for a bride. But that takes place some years after the current work. With the help of readers, maybe we will get there someday.
As always, I am indebted to the work of Geoffrey Ashe and Christopher Snyder, who have helped bring the Dark Ages to life for me. If I have erred, the blame belongs to me.
FORGE BOOKS BY TONY HAYS
The Killing Way
The Divine Sacrifice
The Beloved Dead
The Stolen Bride
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE STOLEN BRIDE
Copyright © 2012 by Tony Hays
All rights reserved.
Cover art by Steve Stone
A Forge Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
www.tor-forge.com
Forge® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Hays, Tony.
The stolen bride / Tony Hays.—1st ed.
p. cm.
“A Tom Doherty Associates book.”
ISBN 978-0-7653-2629-4
1. Arthur, King—Fiction. 2. Great Britain—Kings and rulers—Fiction. 3. Knights and knighthood—Great Britain—Fiction. 4. Britons—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3558.A877S76 2012
813'.54—dc22
2011025189
e-ISBN 9781429988704
First Edition: April 2012