SOLVED. Children's medieval (?) historical: features antagonist (not) called Phillip

[Alan]

Back again, with yet another one:

Age group: children, probably age 9-12
Genre: historical (certainly), medieval (probably - see below).
Date: 1960s to 1980s (read it late 80s / very early 90s).
Origin: unknown, but most likely British.
Plot details (so far as I can remember):
Book is probably set in the medieval period. Story begins with MC, a boy aged about 8-12, about to go into service to the household of some local magnate (knight, landlord, or some such). He is doing so because he is either an orphan or his parents are too desperately poor to keep him. Upon joining the household as a servant, a slightly older servant boy called Phillip is given the job of training him. Phillip bullies him until the MC hits him. Phillip is taller and has a longer reach and knocks the MC down. Later in the story, the boys have to make common cause (there is some threat to their employer, or their home) and become friends. Other than that, I remember very little.

The MC may have had a name that I (reading this aged 10-12 myself) thought of as odd / atypical for a boy - maybe Norman or Anglo Saxon.

Progress so far:
Not great. Had a look through some medieval fiction lists, but didn't see anything immediately obvious. Given that the only name I can remember is of a sidekick, who is unlikely to be mentioned in the back cover blurb, this is going to be difficult. I had a look through the works of Cynthia Harnett but didn't see any possibilities. Open Library being down for a few weeks limited searching for a while.

One book that did look a chance was Master Cornhill by Eloise Jarvis McGraw. Set in London in 1665/66, it features an 11yo homeless orphan called Michael as MC. Among other adventures, he attaches himself to the household of a cartographer. There was a even a potential antagonist called Phillip, but he was actually the employer's grandson, and much older than 12 (view spoiler)[(and he never actually appeared) (hide spoiler)]. The most useful outcome of this was that I realized that the story I am looking for is not guaranteed to be medieval: it would be easy for me to mistake 1665 (the wake of the plague of London) for the Black Death (I was a bit vague on historical eras when I was about 10). It is certainly pre-modern, however.

As always, thanks in advance for any help.

(Btw, searching lists on Listopia has become more difficult lately since the change in format (search by tag, not by list name). It is frustrating as hell.)

[Rainbowheart]

Just FYI, you can still search Listopia the normal way using this link....

https://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8...

I'll do some digging around to see what I can find!

[Genesistrine]

Something by Rosemary Sutcliff perhaps? I had a quick look through my copies and couldn't find anything that fitted though.

[Rainbowheart]

I Will Adventure?

Some other possible authors to check would be Leon Garfield, Constance Savery, Violet Needham, Geoffrey Trease, and Barbara Leonie Picard.

[Len]

Knight's Fee by Rosemary Sutcliff could fit. The main character is called Randal.

[Alan]

Thanks all - will investigate asap.

Rainbowheart - thanks especially for the link to the old search method (message 2). The new one was doing my head in.

[Alan]

Solved. Probably.

The book is most likely Knight's Fee, by Rosemary Sutcliff. The book fits most of the particulars - a dirt-poor orphan MC, taken in as a servant (squire) to a knight. In this role, he is a backup to another boy, the knight's grandson and heir. They initially got along well, before the MC stole something from the older boy, who then knocked him down in a fight.

The one detail I thought I remembered turned out to be incorrect - the older boy was called Bevis, not Phillip. They were both vassals of Sir Philip de Braose, however.

I am not certain about this book, mainly because I remember nothing beyond what I listed above. Nothing in the rest of the book seemed familiar. However, the close resemblance to the little I remember makes it very likely this is it.

[Rainbowheart]

Yay, glad this one is solved!