Longsword IV is on the way...

The hooded men are coming...

Henry III is dead. The new king, Edward I, is thousands of miles away in the Holy Land. In his absence, former plan to shatter the fragile peace and plunge England into another civil war. Robert Ferrers, the outlawed Earl of Derby and Edward’s bitter enemy, raises the standard of revolt. He gathers an army of barons and outlaws and secretly dreams of seizing the crown itself. The men of Ferrers, led by captains known as the Hooded Men, threaten to overun the Midlands and northern counties.

Hugh Longsword arrives home in disgrace after his failure to protect Edward from an assassin’s blade. He is given one chance to redeem himself and sent to investigate disturbances in northern England. The scale of the conspiracy soon becomes apparent as Hugh encounters enemies old and new: Sir John d’Eyvill, the outlaws of Sherwood, and a mysterious knight who calls himself the King of the North Wind.

Longsword IV: The Hooded Men is the latest historical adventure novel by David Pilling, author of Reiver, Soldier of Fortune, The Half-Hanged Man, Caesar’s Sword and many more novels and short stories.

History posts

I'm going to try and post on here more often, besides periodic updates of new book releases and reviews etc. I run several history groups and pages on Facebook, including a page focused on the reign of King Edward I of England, and as of today will begin to share content on here. I hope you enjoy - please feel free to leave any comments or queries!

One of my interests is the history of medieval Wales, in particular the Welsh princes of the thirteenth century. Here is today's post on shifting loyalties...

The above is a bond dated 7 November 1271, whereby Meurig ap Llywelyn had to provide sureties of 100 marks to Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd to secure the release of a hostage, taken by the prince as a guarantee of Meurig’s loyalty. This bond was sealed at Llywelyn’s castle of Rhyd y Briw inside Brecon. On the same day and at the same castle, Einion Sais had to put his seal to a similar agreement, whereby he used the same sureties for the sum of 200 marks for his provision of a hostage for his future fidelity to the prince.

Meurig and Einion were both landholders in Brecon. Of the two, Einion was probably the more powerful and held a castle at Penpont in the Usk valley. They both appear on the list of troop-leaders under the command of Hywel ap Meurig in 1277, in which they and Einion ap Madog served as mounted constables in the army of the Middle March. The loyalty of all these men to the Prince of Wales, suspect in 1271, was non-existent by 1277.

Thus the first cracks in Llywelyn’s principality occurred in the Middle March (Brecon, Radnor and adjacent areas) among the native lords and freemen. Whatever Llywelyn had to offer these men was rejected. This was their choice, not something forced upon them by Edward I or the great Marcher lords: Hywel was in sole command of the all-Welsh army that drove Llywelyn from the marchlands in 1277 and invaded southern Gwynedd. To cast them as victims or puppets is to rob them of ‘agency’, to use a current buzzword.

All of which casts another perspective on Llywelyn’s demise in 1282:

“It was surely no coincidence that the lands which Einion ap Madog acquired, in a deed that was witnessed or sealed by many of those men, can be identified as, in all probability, the very territory in the lordship of Builth to which Llywelyn ap Gruffudd was lured to his death in December 1282. It is difficult to avoid the suspicion that Einion ap Madog and some of his associates were deeply involved in the circumstances of the prince’s death. In this last case opposition to the imposition of princely rule seems likely to have had ultimately fatal consequences for the prince himself”. -

Dr David Stephenson

King Edward I on Facebook

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The audio version of LEADER OF BATTLES (IV): DRYSTAN is now available, narrated by Paul Jenkins. This tells the story of the doomed lovers, Drystan and Esyllt, as darkness falls over Free Britannia and Artorius, the High King.

“Britannia, 491 AD. Twelve years have passed since the British victory at Mount Badon. For the first time since the departure of the legions, Britannia is at peace. The Saxons are quiet in the east, towns and villages once again flourish, and Artorius reigns supreme as High King.

Yet the hard-won peace is fragile. Trouble flares in the north, inside the Kingdom of Rheged, where civil war threatens to break out over territory and the hand of a royal princess. Artorius once again rides out at the head of his famous Companions to restore order, but the war only exposes tension among his followers. The long peace has bred resentment, and a new generation of warriors grow to manhood who care little for the past.

While Artorius struggles to maintain order in Rheged, a new and far more deadly enemy rises in the far south-west. Drystan of Kernow, bastard son of King Marcus, slays a famous pirate in single combat. Having earned a glorious reputation, he is sent to Hibernia to fetch back a young bride for his father. The bride is Esyllt, daughter of King Niall. Drystan falls in love with the girl and abducts her, threatening to start a new war that will tear Britannia all to pieces.

Artorius is forced to move swiftly to save his kingdom. The ageing warlord soon discovers that no man is invincible, and suffers defeat, betrayal and personal loss in his fight against Drystan. Meanwhile, as the British kingdoms falter, the shadow in the east continues to gather strength.

Book Four of the Leader of Battles series follows the tale of Drystan and Esyllt, better-known as the doomed lovers Tristan and Isolde. This version sets their romance against the harsh, unforgiving backdrop of post-Roman Britannia, where treachery is rife, and darkness closes over the head of the High King.”

Leader of Battles IV (Drystan) on Audible

New release!

HARDWAY (I) SEA OF SOULS is now available on Kindle!

"Man was born of nature, and carries deep within him the will to survive…" 

Hardway stands on a lonely rock in the middle of raging seas. Once a prison colony, where the worst criminals were sent to live out their days, it is now a thriving city-state. The people of Hardway are survivors, and have carved out their own society in the grey waste of the ocean. This is a place of exile, a natural home for wanderers and outcasts.

One such is a blind old man, a great soldier in his youth, now condemned to live out his days on the island as a despised cripple. There are few alive who can remember General Dusek in his prime, and his own memories are fading. Another lost soul is Maximilian, an artist in thrall to the criminal gangs that run Hardway. Maximilian believes in fate, his own glorious destiny, but first he must find a way to keep body and soul together.

Yet Hardway is not totally forgotten. To the east lies the realm of the Dragon, King Vazul, whose ancestors once ruled over the vast continent of the Old Kingdom. Those days are far in the past now, and Vazul rules over a shrunken remnant of the once-mighty empire. He dreams of matching the deeds of his ancient forebears. His eyes turn east, to Hardway, a refuge for every outlaw and fugitive from his kingdom. The first step to rebuilding his empire is the conquest of Hardway.

Vazul has a rival. To the west, beyond the shores of the Girdle Sea, lies the realm of Calisse. This is a place of mystery and dark magic, founded on the blood of sacrificial victims. For centuries the witch-queens of Calisse have ruled from the Necropolis, city of tombs, and fought to extend their control over the mountains and plains. The latest Grey Queen has finally crushed her enemies, and the whole of Calisse fallen under her sway. She now turns west to face the growing threat of the Dragon.

Caught in the middle of these great powers, the people of Hardway must do what they have always done; find a way to survive. They have no army, no fleet, and no friends. Who will step forward to defend the helpless?

HARDWAY on Amazon US

...and on Amazon UK

Sea of Souls!

Hardway (I) Sea of Souls is now available on pre-order, released on 17 April. This is a departure from my usual historical fiction - it's a fantasy novella, co-written with my friend Martin Bolton. Some years ago, fuelled by beer and more beer, we created a fictional setting called The World Apparent, and to date have written three stories set in that world. More will follow, hopefully...

"Man was born of nature, and carries deep within him the will to survive…

Hardway stands on a lonely rock in the middle of raging seas. Once a prison colony, where the worst criminals were sent to live out their days, it is now a thriving city-state. The people of Hardway are survivors, and have carved out their own society in the grey waste of the ocean. This is a place of exile, a natural home for wanderers and outcasts.

One such is a blind old man, a great soldier in his youth, now condemned to live out his days on the island as a despised cripple. There are few alive who can remember General Dusek in his prime, and his own memories are fading. Another lost soul is Maximilian, an artist in thrall to the criminal gangs that run Hardway. Maximilian believes in fate, his own glorious destiny, but first he must find a way to keep body and soul together.

Yet Hardway is not totally forgotten. To the east lies the realm of the Dragon, King Vazul, whose ancestors once ruled over the vast continent of the Old Kingdom. Those days are far in the past now, and Vazul rules over a shrunken remnant of the once-mighty empire. He dreams of matching the deeds of his ancient forebears. His eyes turn east, to Hardway, a refuge for every outlaw and fugitive from his kingdom. The first step to rebuilding his empire is the conquest of Hardway.

Vazul has a rival. To the west, beyond the shores of the Girdle Sea, lies the realm of Calisse. This is a place of mystery and dark magic, founded on the blood of sacrificial victims. For centuries the witch-queens of Calisse have ruled from the Necropolis, city of tombs, and fought to extend their control over the mountains and plains. The latest Grey Queen has finally crushed her enemies, and the whole of Calisse fallen under her sway. She now turns west to face the growing threat of the Dragon.

Caught in the middle of these great powers, the people of Hardway must do what they have always done; find a way to survive. They have no army, no fleet, and no friends. Who will step forward to defend the helpless?"

Pre-order Hardway on Amazon US

...and Amazon UK!

 

Edward I and Wales

Today is the release of the Kindle version of my latest book, this time a non-fictional work on King Edward I and Wales. This is the first of a two-parter, and the first volume concentrates on Edward's complex relationship with Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales. The second volume willl focus on Edward's later wars in Wales, his legal settlement of the country and massive castle-building programme. Updates on the release of the paperback to follow.

“And then all Wales was thrown to the ground…”

On a bleak winter’s day in December 1282 the Prince of Wales, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, was lured into an ambush and killed. His army was scattered and his severed head sent to Edward I, who had it displayed at the Tower of London. Llywelyn’s lifelong struggle to unify his country had come to a violent and tragic end. 

The death of Llywelyn, and the execution of his brother Dafydd in October 1283, resulted in the conquest of Gwynedd and the effective destruction of their dynasty. It also marked the end of over two hundred years of conflict, in which the native lords of Gwynedd had successfully resisted the power of the English crown. King Edward’s victory in 1283 was a landmark in Welsh history, and left a bitter legacy that endures to this day. 

This is the story of the conflict between Edward and Llywelyn, a long and convoluted struggle played out over several decades. Both men were ambitious, proud, stubborn and highly competent, neither prepared to give ground to the other. Theirs was as much a personal rivalry as a war between two competing states, but it need not have ended in blood. As this account will show, the king and the prince were not always enemies, and there was nothing inevitable about Llywelyn’s downfall.

This is the first of two volumes on the history of Edward I and Wales by David Pilling, author of The Wars of Edward I 1255-74 (I) The Leopard. He is also the author of fictional works such as the Longsword series, Reiver, Caesar’s Sword, The White Hawk, The Half-Hanged Man and many others.

Edward I and Wales on Amazon US

Edward I and Wales on Amazon UK

The White Hawk!

God for Lancaster! God for Saint George! 

Book One of The White Hawk (Revenge), my family saga set during The Wars of the Roses, is now available as an audiobook, narrated by Ian Kingsley. I toed a slightly different line to the norm with this series, and wrote it from the perspective of a family of minor Lancastrian gentry instead of the currently fashionable pro-Yorkist stance. There are, of course, buckets of blood and lots of aristocratic heads on pikes.

The White Hawk I (Revenge) on Audible