The Greatest Knight (51 page)

Acknowledgments

I want to say thank you to some of the people who have helped me to write The Greatest Knight, either by aiding me with my research, keeping me solvent, putting up with my moods, or just being there for me.

Academics are often accused of dwelling in ivory towers, but the ones I contacted while researching the often obscure details of the novel were most approachable and helpful. In particular I would like to thank Professor Gillian Polack for her contributions and for being my sounding board on various issues of medieval life, and Professor David Crouch for taking the time to reply to my questions. I would also like to extend my appreciation to Professor Crouch for writing such a superb biography of William Marshal to light my path. On the research front too, Alison King has been invaluable for her help in showing me hitherto unknown details of William Marshal’s life. Any errors or misinterpretations are entirely my responsibility.

As always, the support and enthusiasm of my agent Carole Blake and my editor Barbara Daniel at Time Warner have been crucial. I’d like to thank them for putting up with me. I apologise to the lovely Richenda Todd for the massive amounts of copy-editing but would add in mitigation that medieval chroniclers do have a lot to answer for and it’s not all my fault! Also thank you to Sheena-Margot Lavelle, Rachael Ludbrook, and Cecilia Duraes at Time Warner for their supporting roles in bringing the novel to fruition. My thanks too, to my U.S. editor Shana Drehs for her enthusiasm, help, and inspiration.

I would like to thank my husband Roger (who, several novels on, is still doing the ironing) for understanding my obsession with another man, albeit one who hasn’t been around for eight hundred years!

Appreciation also to Wendy Zollo for running my e-list at Yahoo groups and to various e-list friends who have lightened my life, given me food for thought, and offered their love and support when needed.

Reading Group Guide

By Elizabeth Chadwick

1. At the beginning of the novel, we discover that William Marshal was almost hanged as a small boy. William’s father said that he cared not and that he still had the anvils and hammers to get better sons. How do you think William would have been a different man in adult life if this incident had not happened? How did this affect the kind of man he did become?

2. At the battle for Drincourt, William declines to take prisoners for ransom and finds himself impoverished. He had a revelation at this time, thinking to himself: “Fight for your lord, fight for your honour, but for yourself too.” Did William maintain this new mind-set and act accordingly?

3. William was known in his youth as “Gaste-Viande” or “greedy guts.” What part do descriptions of food play in bringing this period of the Middle Ages to life? Are the descriptions of medieval dishes what you expected people of the time to eat? Do any of the dishes sound particularly appetizing? Was there anything that stood out to you as being very strange?

4. William saved the life of Eleanor of Acquitaine when her enemies attempted to ambush her. Eleanor is so grateful, she pays his ransom and gives him a place at the head of her son’s retinue. What does this tell you about Eleanor? How does Eleanor and William’s relationship develop through the novel?

5. Other women appear in the novel, including Clara, William’s mistress. Do you think William would have survived without her intervention when he was a prisoner? Would they have stayed together if Clara had borne a child? Women of Clara’s status (courtesans) were part of a baronial household. Do you think William treated Clara well? How would you have felt in Clara’s position?

6. William and his brother John are on uneasy terms throughout the novel. John says very early in the book, “You would find life as my knight dull after Normandy.” Was John jealous of William? Do you think John felt that William was trying to rise above his station or his place in the household? If John had accepted William, would William have been content to stay at home and serve in his retinue?

7. William journeys all over Europe and visits the Middle East. When he went to Jerusalem, he bought his own burial shrouds. Did this seem morbid to you? What did it mean to William? Would you be comfortable choosing the trappings for your own funeral at William’s age?

8. William was a champion of the tournament. Was there anything that particularly surprised, amused, or interested you about life on the tourney circuits? Are there any modern events that have parallels with tournaments?

9. At times, the Young King seems to have been a very difficult project for William. What life lessons did William learn from serving him? How did the Young King benefit from having William in his retinue?

10. William was accused of having an affair with the Young King’s wife and was banished from court. The author has put forth one interpretation of this particular set of events, but historically, it is open to speculation. Do you think William did have an affair with Marguerite, or do you believe that he was set up by his rivals?

11. In his lifetime, William was renowned for his unswerving loyalty. Do you think William’s intense loyalty was always to his advantage? Were there times when he would have been wiser to back off?

12. Henry II and his sons seem to have been perpetually quarrelling with each other. Do you think this was a case of incompatible personalities or the political situation? What qualities did William possess that allowed him to succeed in weaving his path through the politics? Do you think you would have been able to maneuver so well in his position?

13. When the Young King dies, William agrees to take his cloak to the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Why do you think he volunteered to go on a harrowing journey from which he might not return? Have you ever undertaken a distasteful or difficult task because of a sense of duty? Were there any unexpected benefits?

14. William took young Jean D’Earley under his wing on his return from the Holy Land. What do you think of the medieval practice of older knights raising and training adolescent youths to their profession? What is your impression of William’s relationship with Jean, and Jean’s relationship with William? Do you think any of William’s responses were tied up with regrets about his former lord, the Young King?

15. William prevented Richard from attacking his father Henry II on the flight from le Mans by killing his horse and saying that he would leave Richard’s taking to the devil. What does this tell you about William? What does it tell you about the relationship between Richard and his father? What would the consequences have been if William had indeed killed Richard? Have you ever been in a position where you have had to defend someone while knowing it might have repercussions for you?

16. When William marries Isabelle de Clare, there are at least twenty-one years between them in age. Isabelle and William seem to settle together very quickly and to be compatible. How would you feel, being given in marriage to someone you hadn’t met, who was much older than you, and with no say in the matter? What do you think about the position of women at that time in history? Do you think they had any kind of power?

17. William calls Isabelle his “safe harbour.” How important do you think having such grounding was? Was William a “safe harbour” for Isabelle? Who is the “safe harbour” in your life?

18. As soon as Richard is crowned, he goes on crusade. William is left as one of the co-rulers and has to try and keep a balance between the different factions. Was he successful? How would you have handled the situation?

19. The royal household moved around frequently, sometimes as often as every two or three days, taking their furniture with them. Do you think that being a part of the royal court would have been worth the constant upheaval?

20.
The Greatest Knight
is based on a true story from a detailed biography written in the early thirteenth century. Do you feel as if you know now what life was like in the thirteenth century? What surprised you? What did you want to know more about?

About the Author

Elizabeth Chadwick can remember telling herself stories from the age of three, but it was as a teenager that she fell in love with the Middle Ages and decided that she wanted to write historical fiction for a living. It took her the better part of fifteen years to attain her ambition, and during that time she married, began raising a family, and worked filling supermarket shelves to keep solvent. In 1990 her perseverance paid off when her novel
The Wild Hunt
was taken on by a leading London literary agency and then sold to a major UK publisher.
The Wild Hunt
went on to win a major UK award for romantic fiction, presented at Whitehall by HRH Prince Charles. Since then, Elizabeth’s novels have gone on to become bestsellers translated into more than sixteen languages. She has been short-listed four times for the UK’s Romantic Novelists Association major award. Richard Lee, founder of the Historical Novel Society, nominated her novel
The Scarlet Lion
as one of the ten best historical reads of the decade. Elizabeth has also had several historical short stories published in magazines and anthologies, and she was commissioned by Columbia Pictures to novelise the script of the film
First Knight
. She uses historical reenactments and visits to locations as part of her interdisciplinary approach to her research. She lives in Nottingham, England, with her husband, assorted animals, and itinerant adult offspring.