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Here Be Dragons,
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Antonia
I caught a few bloopers - not that I'm a historian - but very few - a mention of drinking madeira rather than malmsey (possibly a text recognition error in the Kindle edition) and a lot of talk of sugar in an era when honey was the sweetener available to most, and marzipan rather than marchpane. Sugar had reached the UK after the first crusade and would have been available to the elite but its use even in noble houses wouldn't have been as liberal as the books make it appear. For the most part the books are steeped in verified details of life.
Sugar was available in London at two shillings a pound in 1319 AD. This equates to about £70 or $100 per kilo at today's prices and it would have been costler still in the century or so before.
Sugar was available in London at two shillings a pound in 1319 AD. This equates to about £70 or $100 per kilo at today's prices and it would have been costler still in the century or so before.
Randal
I can't speak to the history, but linguistically it's nowhere ... the characters -- as courtiers -- would have almost exclusively spoken French (OK, Anglo-Norman) & Welsh.
Commoners would have spoken something in the Old/Middle English range ... but the setting of this book predates Chaucer by 150-200 years:
Here bygynneth the Book
of the tales of Caunterbury
1: Whan that aprill with his shoures soote
2: The droghte of march hath perced to the roote,
3: And bathed every veyne in swich licour
4: Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
5: Whan zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
6: Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
7: Tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
8: Hath in the ram his halve cours yronne,
9: And smale foweles maken melodye,
10: That slepen al the nyght with open ye
11: (so priketh hem nature in hir corages);
12: Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
13: And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,
14: To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;
15: And specially from every shires ende
16: Of engelond to caunterbury they wende,
17: The hooly blisful martir for to seke,
18: That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke.
Commoners would have spoken something in the Old/Middle English range ... but the setting of this book predates Chaucer by 150-200 years:
Here bygynneth the Book
of the tales of Caunterbury
1: Whan that aprill with his shoures soote
2: The droghte of march hath perced to the roote,
3: And bathed every veyne in swich licour
4: Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
5: Whan zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
6: Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
7: Tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
8: Hath in the ram his halve cours yronne,
9: And smale foweles maken melodye,
10: That slepen al the nyght with open ye
11: (so priketh hem nature in hir corages);
12: Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
13: And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,
14: To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;
15: And specially from every shires ende
16: Of engelond to caunterbury they wende,
17: The hooly blisful martir for to seke,
18: That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke.
AJ
It is incredibly accurate with regard to characters and events they were a part of, precipitated, and were involved in, impressively so.
Margaret Grant Author
I never was good at history at school...always fell asleep first period after lunch..so in later life, fed my thirst for history by reading historical novels.
I loved how Sharon Penman wove this tale, especially as I was living on Anglesey at the time and the places resonated with me. It so inspired me that I was determined to write a prequel.
Language wise it sometimes smacks of Americanisms, but given the fact that everyone was speaking through interpreters, you have to give some lee way.
I loved how Sharon Penman wove this tale, especially as I was living on Anglesey at the time and the places resonated with me. It so inspired me that I was determined to write a prequel.
Language wise it sometimes smacks of Americanisms, but given the fact that everyone was speaking through interpreters, you have to give some lee way.
Amy
I just started it and I can already tell you that she plays fast and loose with the facts when it suits her. One example, she claims William Longsword was ten years older than John, when in reality is was the other way around.
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