1356 (novel)

1356

First Edition Cover
Author	Bernard Cornwell
Language	English
Series	The Grail Quest series
Genre	Historical novel
Publisher	HarperCollins
Publication date	27 September 2012
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Print (hardcover and paperback), audiobook, and e-book
Pages	400 pp (first edition hardback)
ISBN	978-0007331840 (first edition, hardback)
Preceded by	Heretic

1356 is the fourth novel in The Grail Quest series by Bernard Cornwell. It is set in 1356, nearly a decade after the original trilogy, and culminates with the Battle of Poitiers. Intertwined in the plot is the quest to find La Malice, a fabled sword of Saint Peter and Christian relic which may turn the tide of the long war for France.

It was first published in 2012. It is the fiftieth novel by Bernard Cornwell.

Plot summary

Thomas of Hookton prefers to be known as le bâtard, the leader of the Hellequin, his band of mercenaries fighting in France. He and Genevieve have a son Hugh, already in training to use a yew bow. Michael, a young monk from England, walking to Montpellier for schooling, carries a message from the Earl of Northampton for le bâtard, gaining his education in battle while waiting for the message to be accepted. Fra Ferdinand, a Black Friar, retrieves an old sword from a tomb. Returning to the friend who asked him to get it, Fra Ferdinand is set off to wander with it, as his friend was murdered by men who said the pope at Avignon sent them. The Hellequin followed them, disturbing the local graveyard. The "nonsense" of the mystical powers of the sword, said to be the one Saint Peter sheathed in Gethsemane, has swirled up again, pushing many to seek it, in hopes a sword alone will give them the power they seek.

Characters

• Thomas of Hookton - leader of a band of English archers and Gascon men at arms in southern France, knighted earlier
• Genevieve - Thomas' wife
• Hugh - Thomas' son
• Karyl - one of the Hellequin, from Bohemia
• "Robbie" Douglas - Scottish noble and knighted, Thomas's friend, under oath not to fight the English, a few years younger than his uncle
• William, Lord of Douglas - Uncle of Robbie Douglas, fighting for the French so he can fight the English, 28 years old
• Sculley - a fearsome Scottish warrior in the service of William Douglas, whom most call an "animal"
• Brother Michael - a young English monk travelling to Montpellier for education, 22 years old, who joins the Hellequin
• Éamonn Óg Ó Keane - an Irish student at Montpellier studying to be a priest who joins Thomas' band, about 18 years old
• The Count of Labrouillade - a fat and rich French nobleman, brutal and adulterous, who hires Roland de Verrec to bring back his wife, about 39 years old
• Bertille, Countess of Labrouillade - the beautiful young wife of the Count of Labrouillade, 19 years old, married since she was 12
• Sir Roland de Verrec - The Virgin Knight, the finest tournament fighter of France
• Edward, the Black Prince - Prince of Wales and leader of the English army
• William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton - English commander and Thomas' liege lord, who he calls Billy
• Jean III de Grailly, captal de Buch - One of the leaders of the English army
• William de Montacute, 2nd Earl of Salisbury - One of the leaders of the English army
• Jean II - the King of France
• Prince Charles - Dauphin of France, eldest son of king Jean
• Prince Philippe - youngest son of king Jean
• Arnoul d'Audrehem - Marshal of France
• Cardinal Bessières - Corrupt French cardinal who aspires to become Pope
• Father Marchant/Father Calade - an evil priest working for the cardinal
• Roger de Beaufort - a clever but conservative student at Montpellier
• Fra Ferdinand - a brave monk, a Black Friar, who recovers the holy sword La Malice.
• Duke of Orleans - A French noble who abandons King Jean at the battle of Poitiers

Reviews

Bill Sheehan writing in The Washington Post finds this latest addition to Cornwell's historical novels to be accurate, coherent, lively and accessible.

Much of Cornwell’s considerable reputation rests on the quality of his battle sequences, which are vivid, colorful and invariably convincing. His account of what happened in the field outside Poitiers is no exception. As always, Cornwell captures the essence of hand-to-hand combat — the stench, the confusion, the horrific brutality — with precision and immediacy. More than that, he imposes a degree of coherence on what must have been an utterly chaotic experience....The result is a lively, accessible account of a remote moment in European history, a book in which Cornwell’s gifts as scholar and storyteller come together spectacularly.

Publishers Weekly says no one describes a close hand-to-hand battle like Bernard Cornwell:

Cornwell, a master of action-packed historical fiction, returns with the fourth book in his Grail Quest series (after Heretic), a vivid, exciting portrayal of medieval warfare as the English and French butcher each other at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356 during the Hundred Years War. Nobody writes battle scenes like Cornwell, accurately conveying the utter savagery of close combat with sword, ax, and mace, and the gruesome aftermath. English archer Sir Thomas of Hookton, called the Bastard by his enemies, leads a band of ruthless mercenaries in France. When the French hear of the existence of the sword of Saint Peter, “another Excalibur,” they must possess it for its legendary mystical powers, but the English have other ideas. Thomas is ordered by his lord, earl of Northampton, to find the sword first and begins, with his men, a perilous journey of raiding and plundering across southern France, fighting brutal warlords, cunning churchmen, with betrayal everywhere, and French and Scottish knights who vow to kill Thomas for reasons that have nothing to do with the sword. With surprising results, Thomas and his men reach the decisive Battle of Poitiers, a vicious melee that killed thousands, unseated a king, and forced a devastating and short peace on a land ravaged by warfare. Agent: Toby Eady Associates, U.K.. (Jan.)

Kirkus Reviews finds this novel's plot less tightly woven than the best of Bernard Cornwell's novels, limiting its audience to those who already have interest in the historical period of the fight for France in the Hundred Years' War.

Few of these characters have any inkling that a pivotal battle in the endless war for France looms ahead. Neither, for that matter, will unwary readers. For, although every intrigue springs to life under the close-up focus veteran Cornwell (Death of Kings, 2012, etc.) has long since mastered, the strands aren’t always closely knitted together: Heroes and subplots blossom and fade with no consistent sense of their connections, and readers approaching the tale without the appropriate historical background will have to survive a long probationary period before they realize where this is all heading.

Best for fans of historical fiction who have both a taste for the Hundred Years’ War and some base-line knowledge that will allow them to enjoy this swashbuckling recreation.