The Prophecy of Death: (Knights Templar 25)
Read The Prophecy of Death: (Knights Templar 25) Online
Authors: Michael Jecks
Tags: #blt, #General, #_MARKED, #Fiction
Michael Jecks
Copyright © 2008 Michael Jecks
The right of Michael Jecks to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.
First published as an Ebook by
Headline Publishing Group in 2014
All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library
eISBN: 978 14 7221 9862
HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP
An Hachette UK Company
338 Euston Road
London NW1 3BH
Michael Jecks gave up a career in the computer industry to concentrate on his writing. He is the founder of Medieval Murderers,
has been Chairman of the Crime Writers’ Association, and helped create the Historical Writers’ Association. Keen to help new
writers, for some years he organised the Debut Dagger competition, and is now organising the AsparaWriting festival for new
writers at Evesham. He has judged many prizes, including the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger. Michael is an international speaker
on writing and for business. He lives with his wife, children and dogs in northern Dartmoor.
Michael can be contacted through his website:
www.michaeljecks.co.uk.
He can be followed on twitter (@MichaelJecks) or on
Facebook.com/Michael.Jecks.author
.
His photos of Devon and locations for his books can be found at:
Flickr.com/photos/Michael_Jecks
.
The Last Templar
The Merchant’s Partner
A Moorland Hanging
The Crediton Killings
The Abbot’s Gibbet
The Leper’s Return
Squire Throwleigh’s Heir
Belladonna at Belstone
The Traitor of St Giles
The Boy-Bishop’s Glovemaker
The Tournament of Blood
The Sticklepath Strangler
The Devil’s Acolyte
The Mad Monk of Gidleigh
The Templar’s Penance
The Outlaws of Ennor
The Tolls of Death
The Chapel of Bones
The Butcher of St Peter’s
A Friar’s Bloodfeud
The Death Ship of Dartmouth
Malice of Unnatural Death
Dispensation of Death
The Templar, the Queen and Her Lover
The Prophecy of Death
The King of Thieves
No Law in the Land
The Bishop Must Die
The Oath
King’s Gold
City of Fiends
Templar’s Acre
‘Michael Jecks is the master of the medieval whodunnit’ Robert Low
‘Captivating… If you care for a well-researched visit to medieval England, don’t pass this series’
Historical Novels Review
‘Michael Jecks has a way of dipping into the past and giving it that immediacy of a present-day newspaper article… He writes…with
such convincing charm that you expect to walk round a corner in Tavistock and meet some of the characters’
Oxford Times
‘Great characterisation, a detailed sense of place, and a finely honed plot make this a superb medieval historical’
Library Journal
‘Stirring intrigue and a compelling cast of characters will continue to draw accolades’
Publishers Weekly
‘A tortuous and exciting plot… The construction of the story and the sense of period are excellent’
Shots
‘This fascinating portrayal of medieval life and the corruption of the Church will not disappoint. With convincing characters
whose treacherous acts perfectly combine with a devilishly masterful plot, Jecks transports readers back to this wicked world
with ease’
Good Book Guide
The twenty-fifth novel in Michael Jecks’s medieval Knights Templar series.
It’s 1325, and turmoil in England is rife. But could the Prophecy of St Thomas’s Holy Oil be the key to saving the ill-fated reign of King Edward II? It is believed the one anointed with it will be a lion among men: he will conquer France, unite Christendom and throw the heathens from the Holy Land.
Meanwhile, Sir Baldwin de Furnshill, Keeper of the King’s Peace, and his friend Bailiff Simon Puttock return from France with an urgent instruction for the King himself. Soon they find themselves at the centre of a deadly court intrigue involving the most powerful and ruthless men in the country, who will stop at nothing, not least murder, to achieve their ambitions …
This book is for Barbara Peters of the Poisoned Pen Press, with huge admiration for the marvellous work she does in support
of crime writing and writers.
However, it is also for Ian Mortimer, one of the very best experts on medieval history and a wonderful drinking companion.
There are few men with whom I can go to the pub and discuss Edward II into the early hours! (There are even fewer with whom
I would
want
to do so!)
Assart | A clearing in a forest, in which a farmer had created arable land by cutting down trees and grubbing up the roots. |
Bellatores | Medieval society thought itself composed of three groups: religious, who prayed for men’s souls, peasants, who gave their |
Buttery | King’s office which was responsible for ales, wines and other stores. |
Castellan | The man in charge of a castle. |
Cokinus | Literally, ‘Cook’, but was used as the term for messengers who went about on foot rather than on horseback – and older term, |
Cursores | Late in King Edward I’s time, this term began to replace the older ‘Cokinus’. |
Fewterer | The officer who had responsibility for the packs of hunting dogs. |
Frater | This was the room in which the monks would eat. |
Host | The King’s army. Army was a new term to the later fourteenth century. |
League | An ancient measure of distance, roughly equivalent to three miles (although no medieval measures were standardised across |
Lords Marcher | Also known as Marcher Lords, were the knights and barons who owned estates on, or near to, the ‘marches’. |
March | The lands along the Welsh and Scottish borders. They had their own customs and laws which gave great independence to the Lords |
Marshal | The man in charge of the ‘Marshalsea’. |
Marshalsea | The stables, and those who worked in them. |
Murdrum Fine | ‘Murder’ was so termed because of this fine. In short, after the Norman invasion, the rebellions against the invaders were |
Nuncius | A messenger on horseback. |
Palfrey | These were better quality horses for riding. |
Porters | The men who were responsible for the gates to cities, or to castles or halls. |
Rache | A specific form of hunting dog which was used to hunt by scent rather than others, like greyhounds, which depended upon sight. |
Reredorter | A toilet that was at the back of the dormitory in a monastery. |
Rounsey | A general, average quality horse used for riding, carrying goods etc, but not for pulling carts. |
Sewer | The attendant on a lord who would serve his master, and who would see to the setting of the table, as well as tasting the |
Sumpter | Packhorse. |
Tranter | A wandering salesman of various essentials. |