1) The name commonly given to Norman landholders on the Welsh border.
(MEDIEV-L. Medieval Terms)

2) Lord of a border district, such as the boundaries of Wales and Scotland.
(Gies, Joseph and Francis. Life in a Medieval Castle, 230)

3) A lord of a frontier territory as in Wales where he had considerable independence.
(Seward, Desmond. Henry V: The Scourge of God, 223)

*term definitions retrieved from Netserf’s Medieval Glossary (http://www.netserf.org/Glossary)

From Matthew of Westminster on Simon de Montfort’s Rebellion, 1265

There was but little mention made for a year of the deliverance of Edward, the king’s eldest son, until he himself, as the price of his release, gave his palatine county of Chester to the aforesaid earl of Leicester, and thus he purchased his liberation from the imprisonment and custody of the knights, his enemies. No one can adequately relate the condition of the nobles of the Marches, and the persecutions which they endured for a year and more. But when the earl of Leicester endeavored to banish these lords marchers into Ireland, they, entering the camp of the king’s eldest son, on the extreme borders of Wales, plundered the Welsh castles of their enemies before mentioned, and thus furnished themselves with the necessary supplies…

• 1251 - Dedication ceremony is held for Hailes Abbey in the presence of King Henry III, his brother Richard, and Queen Eleanor.
• 1439 - Antipope Felix V (Amadeus VIII) is elected by the Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence. The Catholic Encyclopedia actually dates his election on the 30th of October, while other sources say November 5th.
• 1556 - Battle of Panipat; Mughal Emperor Akbar defeats Samrat Hem Chandra Vikgramaditya.

Two archaeologists employed by Gotland county were dismayed to discover the valuables had vanished when they arrived at a field in Alva in Gotland to follow up on a recent find.”

Read more at The Local.

Pendragon’s Banner

Pendragon’s Banner is the second book in an Arthurian trilogy by Helen Hollick. The first book, The Kingmaking, shows how Arthur as a young teenager grows and comes to power as the High King of Britain. The second book shows how Arthur handles the position once he is there, as he must manage the affairs of the entire realm and play the dangerous game of politics to hold onto his throne.

Arthur is rivaled on many sides by his enemies: his ex-wife, Winifred; his father’s mistress, Morgause; Lot (Morgause’s husband) and the Picti in the north; and his uncle Ambrosius.

Winifred believes her son Cerdic to be the rightful heir to Britain and will do anything in her power to bring down Arthur and his wife Gwenhwyfar and their three sons. Morgause despises Arthur and wants vengeance and uses her husband Lot to carry out  her bidding. And Ambrosius, while not exactly an enemy of Arthur, still clings to the old Roman ways and makes life difficult for Arthur politically.

Hollick’s series attempts to portray the real life Arthur, not the man of legends. Arthur is, like any other warrior, hardened from war and skilled in battle, but this novel shows a more sensitive side of Arthur than did The Kingmaking. There are times when it seems Arthur wants to give up on being king, and his life as ruler makes things difficult on his marriage. Gwenhwyfar, who is more of a warrior herself in the first novel, seems only to want peace for her family and for Arthur to stay at home with them. They have three children, and Gwenhwyfar seems content to stay at home and raise her family. The constant traveling of Arthur and the threat on her sons’ lives by Winifred drives a perpetual wedge between her and her husband.

I enjoyed how Hollick rounds out her characters even more in this novel. Where I liked Gwenhwyfar more in the first novel, there were aspects about her in this one I did not care for. And vice versa with Arthur. I actually felt more attached to him in Pendragon’s Banner because I felt Hollick showed a more human side of him. Also — for some reason - there were times in The Kingmaking I felt sorry for Winifred. Not so in this novel. Creating these reversals and fluctuations of feelings toward the characters is – in my mind — what makes the sign of a good author. I also was glad Hollick brought back Morgause and gave her a more prominent role. Morgause’s character generates important conflict in the story.

Overall — even with the stronger development of the characters — I enjoyed the story of The Kingmaking more. There were times in Pendragon’s Banner where the plot lumbered along a bit, and some of the scenes felt contrived to me, like they were put there for sole purpose of generating some sort of conflict or action but did not truly enhance the characters of plot in any meaningful way. Regardless, Hollick is a talented writer, and her trilogy is worth the read. She has a strong grasp on early medieval Britain and the man who was Arthur.

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Other reviews on the Pendragon’s Banner blog tour:

The Tome Travellers Weblog (10/12)
A Reader’s Respite (10/12)
Enchanted by Josephine (10/14)
Fumbling with Fiction (10/14)
Found Not Lost (10/15)
Nan Hawthorne’s Booking the Middle Ages(10/15)
Jenny Loves to Read(10/16)
The Review From Here(10/17)
The Courtier’s Book(10/18)
Chick Loves Lit(10/19)
Love Romance Passion (10/20)
He Followed Me Home… Can I Keep Him?(10/20)
The Impasse Strikes Back (10/21)
S. Krishna’s Books (10/22)
Books Like Breathing (10/23)
Passages to the Past(10/24)
Virginie Says(10/25)
Readaholic(10/25)
Reading with Monie (10/26)
Rundpinne(10/26)
Books & Needlepoint(10/27)
Capricious Reader (10/27)
Books are my Only Friends (10/27)
A Sea of Books (10/28)
Bloody Bad (10/28)
Revenge of the Book Nerds! (10/28)
Booksie’s Blog (10/28)
Devourer of Books (10/29)
Peeking Between the Pages (10/29)
Starting Fresh (10/29)
Historical Tapestry (10/30)
Medieval Bookworm (10/30)
Book Soulmates (10/30)
Susan’s Art & Words (10/30)
Steven Till(10/31)
Café of Dreams (10/31)

The king’s right to requisition food and goods in return for payment. Purveyances were made to supply the royal household and households of the royal family members in ordinary times as well as to supply royal armies in wartime. (Waugh, Scott. England in the Reign of Edward III, 238)

Exaction of provisions, especially for the king’s household. (Sayles, George O. The King’s Parliament of England, 145)

*term definitions retrieved from Netserf’s Medieval Glossary (http://www.netserf.org/Glossary)

From the Charter of Homage and Fealty, 1110:

And when the abbot shall mount his horse I and my heirs, viscounts of Carc assonne, and our successors ought to hold the stirrup for the honor of the dominion of St. Mary of Grasse; and to him and all who come with him, to as many as two hundred beasts, we should make the abbot’s purveyance in the borough of St. Michael of Carcassonne, the first time he enters Carcassonne, with the best fish and meat and with eggs and cheese, honorably according to his will, and pay the expense of shoeing of the horses, and for straw and fodder as the season shall require.

1) A royal official, or a manor official appointed by the lord or elected by the peasants.
(MEDIEV-L. Medieval Terms)

2) Manorial overseer, usually a villager elected by tenants of the manor.
(Gies, Joseph and Francis. Life in a Medieval Castle, 231)

3) Officer responsible for the general management of a manor (usually selected from among the manor’s tenants).
(Bennett, Judith M. Women in the Medieval English Countryside, 234)

4) The lord’s official on the manor who supervised labour dues and renders owed by peasants.
(Wood, Michael. Domesday: A Search for the Roots of England, 214)

5) Principal manorial official under the bailiff, always a villein.
(Gies, Frances and Joseph. Life in a Medieval Village, 245)

6) The usual word for an O.E. official, including the scirgerefa (sheriff) and portgerefa (port reeve, town reeve); continued to be used in towns after the Norman Conquest (later sometimes interchangeable with “bailiff”), generally for the officials responsible for paying the king’s or lord’s dues.
(Reynolds, Susan. An Introduction to the History of English Medieval Towns, 200)

Excerpt from the Medieval Sourcebook: Manorial Management & Organization, c. 1275

And if there be anything lost in the court or without, or stolen, whether it be live or dead, small or great, where the lord can have any kind of loss, either by fire or any other way, the lord must take (the value) from the reeve and the reeve must take it from those of the court who may be to blame. And make it known that all the servants of the court, men and women, ought to obey the reeve, because he must answer for their doings, and the reeve must put those in the court for whose doings he will be answerable. And the steward must see that the reeve has good pledges for all those in the court who are put there by him, and if the lord receive any damage by the reeve, and the reeve cannot make good the damage, all those of the township who elected him shall make up for him the amount he cannot pay.

*term definitions retrieved from Netserf’s Medieval Glossary (http://www.netserf.org/Glossary)