検索キーワード： "John Broughton" 中世

In the early 9th century, Asculf leads a quiet life among his apple orchards on the Isle of Sceapig. When called upon for military service, he covers himself in glory. His prowess leads to a friendship with King Aethelwulf of Kent, who offers him one of the most prestigious positions in the kingdom. Meeting King Egbert of Wessex through his son, Aethelwulf, his courage and successful grasp of strategy promise them great success.

In his darkest hour, hiding in the depths of the Somerset marshes in AD 878, King Alfred devises a scheme to save his kingdom from the Vikings threatening to overwhelm the country. His spectacular success, beginning with the triumphant battle of Ethandun, involves creating a sense of nation among his subjects.

Begiloc, a young freedman from Wimborne, is a man of action. But his world turns upside down when the young Briton and his best friend Meryn are ordered away to protect English missionaries in Germany. For a man accustomed to brutality, Begiloc has a soft spot for the purple-tinged mountains, waterfalls, lakes, animals, trees and flowers - beginning to muse whether they, rather than man, do not better embody the essence of God.

It is AD 689, and Cynethryth is returning from Rome, carrying her dead husband's child. She soon gives birth to a son, Aethelheard, whose parentage alone places him in danger. His mother has a tough choice to make and travels to Dorset, where the king is a cousin of her late husband.