Blood and History

Interior of the Colosseum in Rome

It is a comforting thing to stroll down the streets of my urban environment, past cafés and open air restaurants, boutiques, health food shops and books stores. People are enjoying being outside again, eating ice cream and walking en famille. Modern advertisement provides something of a clash of titans in the form of large UFC posters outside various pubs and a soon-to-be-open sports bar fronted by Corinthian columns. Pictures of these modern arena champions provide a backdrop to girls in pigtails and boys in baseball caps.

I am surprised to a point by the prominence of these posters and the large following that UFC has developed. Many people I know block off UFC nights on their calendars so that no other event can displace it. It seems that modern bloodsport is alive and well in our society, be it bull fighting in Spain or UFC in America. “Bread and circuses” as the saying went. Gone are the theatrical, chair-smashing displays of the WWF – what folks want is the real deal, a good punch to the head and some blood on the floor.


Spartacus: Blood and Sand
Actor Andy Whitfield as Spartacus

I recently borrowed season one of the show Spartacus: Blood and Sand from the library and the popularity of that show is understandable. Last time I looked there were 259 holds on 15 copies in the world’s busiest library system here in Toronto. There is a lot of blood, à la 300, and loads of sex. And as we all know, that stuff sells! Death, or otherwise, by the sword is a show-stopper and has been for thousands of years. Wrap the sensationalism in a historic package and most of the time you’ll have even the most conservative historian’s interest piqued, though they might not admit it.

I do the show an injustice however, by suggesting that it is popular purely for its sensational gore and sexual play. Beyond that is some solid research into the function of a ludus (gladiatorial school), the role and popularity of the gladiatorial games and the gladiators themselves, both gods and slaves at the same time. One will meet the ‘editor’ of the games, the ‘lanista’ too, and see how gladiatorial contests, after their original role as funerary rituals, were one of the most effective political weapons to be wielded in efforts to win the favour of the Roman mob. These are not however, the gladiators of Stanley Kubric’s epic Spartacus, as wonderful as that movie is.


Kirk Douglas as Spartacus

 The real draw, though many may not realize it, behind the Murmillo and Thraex’s iron visors is the solid storyline and cast of conflicted, imperfect characters, including Spartacus himself, played by Welsh actor Andy Whitfield. We all know when we are gripped so by a story that we can’t get enough, that we have to push on, be it a TV series or a book of historical fiction. If you’ve got a solid story with well developed characters, you’ve got a mighty hook that few will be able to rip free of. There is loads of tension interspersed with tender, hypnotic moments of memory. To me, the sex and gore, fun as they are, take a back seat to the well-written, well-thought-out story.


Jean Leon Gerome's famous painting

 At a writer’s conference some years ago, there was a literary agent there who believed that only books with tension on “every page” were going to be successful. He gave courses about this, sold books and I think, videos too. I’m not sure how most of you might feel about that but as for myself, I tend to disagree. I do agree that tension is a powerful tool that will keep you turning pages. However, in my opinion that is also a little exhausting. If I read a novel that is fast paced, action-packed and tense all the way through, I find it hard to pick out any one scene that has really made a mark on my memory.

Would it not be better to intersperse tension with calm, with peace? As a writer I prefer to lull my audience a bit before hitting them over the head, the impact being much more memorable. Conversely, following a tense moment with calm can provide some needed relief and reflection. Spartacus: Blood and Sand balances tension and calm beautifully, all wrapped in a great story and though it is made in a visual medium, the same can, depending on your personal tastes, be done effectively in writing.

If Gladiators are your thing, an excellent reference book that looks at the history of gladiatorial combat and the various styles of gladiators is Gladiators and Caesars: The Power of Spectacle in Ancient Rome, edited by Eckart Kohne and Cornelia Ewigleben. It’s a very accessible look into the lives and myth of gladiators and the power they held over the people of ancient Rome, as they do over us today.


Amphitheatre of Thysdrus (El Jem)
Tunisia, North Africa



An Eagle in the Snow

Greetings everyone! Well, finally the warmer weather is upon us in Toronto. This felt like one of the longest winters ever but the snow and cold that we experienced over recent months did not deter me from getting out to some great bookstores to find some hidden gems. And did I find one!

Many of you who are die-hard historical fiction seekers may already have read Eagle in the Snow by Wallace Breem but for me, it was one of those books that I spotted once in a while but never actually put down the cash to buy it. There was always something else that grabbed my interest first. This time however, I thought “Ok. This is the umpteenth time this book has popped up. I’d better get it.”



The Drusus Monument
Moguntiacum (Mainz)



Eagle in the Snow is one of those books that has a perfect balance of fact, fiction, character development and action. Not once is storyline sacrificed on the altar of historical accuracy as is so often the case…and vice versa.

Wallace Breem, who was a British librarian, wrote Eagle in the Snow in 1970. The main character, Paulinus Gaius Maximus, is pulled from his command on Hadrian’s Wall at the end of the 4th century by General Stilicho to hold the Rhine defences at all costs against the increasing pressures of the Vandals, Alemanni, Marcomanni, Alans and the Quadi who are in turn being pushed west by the Huns. His base of operations is Moguntiacum, modern Mainz, Germany where you can still see remnants of the Roman presence in the area. Maximus, who is a follower of Mithras, faces not only his enemy in war but also Christians, both barbarian and Roman, adding a whole other dimension to the story. As a nearly flawless general he is loved by his troops who want to raise him to the purple but at the same time, he is a man with his own painful past, making him wonderfully vulnerable.



Roman Aqueduct
Moguntiacum (Mainz)

  For the Romanophiles out there this is a particularly poignant story and time in which it becomes obvious that the Roman Empire, along with its ageing generals and Legions, its very traditions, is teetering on the verge of utter collapse. This is also an important period for followers of the Arthurian tradition in that this is the time when, because of the very pressures being experienced along the Rhine and other frontiers, the Legions are withdrawn from Britannia and the Britons are told to look to their own defences.

Breem’s battle scenes are brilliantly laid out and easy to follow but he never underestimates his reader. If anyone out there wants an example of tight, informative and entertaining historical fiction this is a good read to go for. There is another book by Breem set in the Roman world entitled The Legate’s Daughter but I have not managed to find a copy yet. If I read the latter I will let you know what I think but for now, Eagle in the Snow is time well-spent and will leave you just a bit haunted by ghosts of the Roman past.

Self-Publish or Perish?

Now, there’s a question. An intense conversation took place in my revived writers’ group last week – I say revived because we had not met since last fall with a hiatus for the busy period of holiday indulgence and then winter hibernation in which a great deal of actual writing took place.

Conversation seems so intense around this topic because there are still two strongly fortified camps when it comes to this. On the one hand we have the traditionalists that view self-publishing as something of a cop out, something not to be taken seriously because the author is doing it à la DIY. In this camp are those that believe the publishing houses and agents are totally the way to go, the only way to go as they are willing to spend the money, to take the chances, to put their names and reputations behind your work not to mention the time of all the behind-the-scenes staff in finance, marketing, production and design, etc. etc.

Admittedly, I am part of this traditionalist school of thought when it comes to books and publishing. Behind this thinking are a couple of points. Firstly, how could self-publishing possibly feel better than having someone commit to your work, back it up with cash and time. Secondly, if you go through an agent and on to a publishing house, they have all the expertise in place from contract negotiation to final product and promotion, AND a big name to go along with it. The writer can focus on the writing. I think a great many of us are thinking along these lines.

On the other side of the battlefield is the take-the-bull-by-the-horns, self-publishing camp. At first, this was a definite underdog area filled with less than mediocre fiction from vanity presses who totally took advantage of the hopefuls who went that path. People were getting screwed out of loads of cash and didn’t get anything near a dream-come-true scenario.

BUT – yes, there is a definite ‘but’ here. Times have changed. Technology and tactics have indeed changed, at an alarming rate. The economic recession that has been experienced by most of the western world has taken a bloody toll on the publishing industry and as a result, publishers and agents have had to cut their losses and shore up the defences. A few months ago a read an article about the demand by most publishers and agents for ‘marquee characters’ only because the view is that this guarantees sales and readership. This is something that we have heard quite a lot about and, as stated in the article, there is a danger in this reluctance to take on anything less than marquee names. The marketplace could become over saturated with books on a very few subjects. The result is the neglect of some potentially fantastic fiction about everyday characters that truly resonate with readers, no matter the historical setting. Smaller, Indy publishing houses tend to be gutsier with their lists and are well worth a look if your work is a good fit. However, most small presses publish very few titles every year.

So where does all this leave the writer, particularly the writer of historical fiction?

The more I read about the marketplace and the impact of the economy, the more it seems to me that writers are being left in the wings, waiting for times to change back again. They’re waiting for a throwback to the good old days of high advances and posh lunches with agents and editors whose budgets knew no bounds. However, the more I read about this, the more discussions I have with agents, writers and others, the more definite it seems that these times are not coming back. So what can we, as writers and creative types, do? Waiting around for things to happen doesn’t seem very proactive. In fact it seems to be positively fatal to one’s hopes and dreams.

Standing outside the walls of both camps now, hopefully not on the killing fields, I’m wondering if it might be a good idea to build a new camp, one that embraces the best of both worlds, one that has more of a chance of empowering authors. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still for the traditional route to publishing but I now also see the merit in the self-publishing, DIYmethod. The latter at least provides writers with another strategy to try out while the publishing world gets its guts back and becomes willing once more to take chances. Of course they have been scared; there have been countless casualties in their camp in the last decade, big and small.

Here is a good example of self-publishing success. A friend of mine sent me an article about a girl who had written a whack of YA novels in the fantasy genre. She was rejected by numerous agents and publishers. Finally, she decided to try out self-publishing through Create Space (https://www.createspace.com/Author.jsp), a company of Amazon.com. To make a long story short, she sold her books for .99 cents each and at the end of the day, she made close to $2 Million for her efforts. Yes, she had to do it all herself, creation, formatting and loads of promotion but using this alternative route and a whole lot of dedication, she was able to get her name out there, develop a following and a demand for her work and now has nailed a seven figure deal with a major publisher (on top of her self-publishing which she is going to continue doing). Readers were stepping up to pay their money for her work which is available in print and e-format. I’d say that that girl is a writer, sans cop outs! This is, of course, the Harry Potter example of self-publishing but it is very telling.

Something to think about, isn’t it? Both traditional and new publishing routes provide excellent opportunities so now the question for many traditionally-minded writers is whether the focus, the approach, has been far too narrow. Why was Alexander the Great such a brilliant and masterly general? It was because he had vision and an uncanny ability to assess a situation and make changes to adapt accordingly. So, perhaps the campaign to publication should be waged on several fronts – eventually, one will break through the barriers.

New times call for new and adaptive strategies. I know, I’ve bludgeoned the military metaphors to death here but hey, this is a blog about historical fiction and I like ancient warfare. Whatever the tactic we choose, it shouldn’t be forgotten that constant drilling leads to victory and so to all writers out there, WRITE, WRITE, WRITE!

Let me know your thoughts…

The Etruscans

6th Century B.C. Etruscan Tomb
Castellina in Chianti

If Indiana Jones were a hoarder, his office would probably look like mine. Actually, I don’t hoard things but my flat is not large and the historian in me has a great many books. I suffer from an ailment common to many historians and writers of historical fiction, something called "I might need it someday" syndrome, also known as "That might come in useful". This involves the need to keep close all the precious books one has accumulated over years of study, even if one never reads them all cover-to-cover.

I was undertaking my own little excavation the other day in my office when I unearthed some more photos from a vacation in Tuscany back in 2002. These photos were of an Etruscan tomb just outside Castellina in Chianti. The site was simple and unassuming but had a great impact on my imagination, so much so that I used it in some parts of Children of Apollo. On that trip, I started to learn more about the Etruscans who inhabited the Italian peninsula from roughly the Tiber to the Arno rivers and beyond to the Po valley and Bologna.

Not a great deal is known about the Etruscans and I am by no means an expert but from what I have seen and read, it is a very interesting topic. Anyone who has studied ancient Greece and Rome will have had some contact with the Etruscans; the Greeks traded with the Etruscans and were a great influence on Etruscan art and lifestyle and Rome itself was ruled by Etruscan kings who brought that little backwater village by the Tiber out of the mud with a dash of civilization. In Tuscany itself, there are many sites where one can find remains of Etruscan civilization, places such as Cerveteri, Veii, Tarquinia, Volsinii, Volterra, Vulci and Arezzo.




Etruscan Tomb Painting
Tarquinia

 Much of what is known about the Etruscans and their lifestyle comes from their tombs where elaborate paintings of banquets and sporting events such as the Olympics have been found. Many grave goods have been found in the tombs and there is an excellent collection of finds at the Archaeological Museum of Bologna (www.comune.bologna.it/bologna/Musei/Archeologico/). The Etruscans traded a great deal and so had much contact with the Greeks from other parts of Italy, Sicily and mainland Greece. The walls of the tombs depict chariot races and elaborate banqueting scenes with diners reclining on couches, drinking wine from kraters and being entertained by musicians. The scene is like many an ancient Greek depiction with one marked difference. In Etruscan art, women were shown dining right alongside the men, drinking wine and enjoying conversation. This would have been scandalous to an ancient Greek as women the other side of the Ionian sea were not permitted to be in attendance at banquets or symposia.

Chimera of Arezzo
Florence Archaeological Museum

The Etruscans had their own rich culture and this is reflected in much of their bronze artwork and pottery. While some of it resembled ancient Greek art, or indeed was Greek art acquired through trade, much of it is quite unique and an excellent example of this is the famous Chimera bronze on display at the Florence Archaeological Museum (http://www.firenzemusei.it/00_english/index.html).

There is much debate about the origin of the Etruscans in Italy with no consensus yet in sight. Some believe the Etruscans were an indigenous people, others that they came from Lydia in Asia Minor. As far as the Roman scene was concerned, the line of Etruscan kings began circa 616 B.C. with the reign of Tarquin the Elder who was a Corinthian Greek named Lucumo who lived in Tarquinia and married an Etruscan woman named Tanaquil. The two were shunned for a mixed marriage and so moved to the growing centre of Rome where Tarquin became the fifth king of Rome. The Etruscans were famous for their understanding of augury and prophecy, religious practices which would be widely used in Roman life for hundreds of years. Etruscan augurs would read portents and the will of the gods in animal entrails and organs and this skill impressed the Romans. The Etruscans not only complemented Roman religious practices but also helped to improve Roman building practices and it is to them that the Romans owe their talent for building aqueducts and sewers.

At the peak of their power and influence, the Etruscans were the dominant people of central Italy. They were however, never a truly unified nation and like the Greeks who had influenced them and traded with them, their city-states never stopped fighting amongst themselves. With the Romans growing in strength and skill to the south and the Celts expanding in the north, the Etruscans were in a superbly unenviable position and could not hold sway for long. The last Etruscan king of Rome, Tarquin the Proud, who according to Livy took the throne by force and ruled through fear, was narrowly defeated in a series of battles between Etruscan allies and the Romans, led by Lucius Iunius Brutus. Many died on both sides but Tarquin lived through the day and, though no longer King of Rome, lived out his days in exile in Tusculum. The wheels had been set in motion and Rome had become a Republic.

Of course, when I walked into the cypress-crowned tomb outside Castellina in Chianti nine years ago, I knew nothing of Etruscan history, nor how fascinating it really is. This short blurb is such a tiny scratch on the surface, a mere taste, there is so much more to learn. There are not a great many books (fiction or non-fiction) on the subject, at least not in English. As far as historical fiction/fantasy, two great reads are Steven Saylor's Roma, part of which takes place during Rome's infancy, and the other book is Ursula K. Le Guin's wonderfully woven tale, Lavinia, which looks at the early mythic establishment of Rome and the arrival of Aeneas after the Trojan War. I highly recommend the archaeological museums of Florence and Bologna where you can see Etruscan artefacts for yourselves and it goes without saying that visits to the archaeological sites mentioned are well worth the adventure. Just remember that snakes, as well as tourists, like nothing more than a dark, damp tomb in summer time.



Interior of Etruscan Tomb
Castellina in Chianti



Oh, Picts!



One of the Aberlemno Stones showing
Christian and Pagan Symbols

 Here we are for the first posting of 2011. I hope everyone had a truly festive Yuletide and a Happy New Year. May Fortuna smile upon us all this upcoming year.

Today, I wanted to discuss a topic that is often neglected although it is very interesting: the Picts and pictish art. When going through more of my old photos from my days in St. Andrews, I came across a packet of prints from an outing with some of my MLitt colleagues to visit pictish sites in Angus, Scotland. The main attraction for us was the wide array of ornate carvings on several pictish gravestones, most of which are maintained by Historic Scotland at the Meigle Museum which is itself an old school house on the A94 Coupar Angus to Forfar road (for those of you who are interested in visiting). This little museum is a true gem and well worth a visit.

Before looking at the carvings however, I suppose I should answer one simple question. Who were the Picts? We hear about them all the time, especially in relation to the Roman invasion of what is now Scotland by Agricola in AD 79. The action-packed movie CENTURION, which came out in 2010, deals with Agricola's operations north of the Firth of Forth and the presumed disappearance of the Ninth Legion. In the film, the Picts are portrayed as society run by a warrior elite, the members of which paint themselves with woad. The film is very entertaining, if not violent, but the best thing is that it was filmed where much of the history presumably took place. It is worth a gander for that, if anything. But were the Picts simply a mass of blue barbarians as they are so often portrayed? Likely not.



Typical pictish symbols

 Contrary to the usual portrayal, the Picts were not simply one enormous group living and fighting north of the Antonine Wall. They were indigenous Celts and the term "Picts" is more of a blanket term that included approximately twelve Celtic tribes north of the Forth and Clyde rivers. These were recorded by the  Roman geographer Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD. Because of the military threat posed by Imperial Rome, the Celts in the area amalgamated into two larger groups, The Caledonii and the Maeatae. The Romans came to refer to them all as Picti.

The Pictish federation survived the various Roman incursions (the last one being the Severan invasion of Scotland in the early 3rd century). As a result the Picts were able to develop mechanisms of kingship and by the 6th century there was a Pictish kingdom.

In Pictish art, there are certain recurrant symbols such as those found on the Aberlemno stone including the 'serpent', the 'double-disc' and the 'Z-rod'. When I visited the Meigle museum I was struck immediately by the amount of Christian imagery, having had in my mind typical images of paganism when it came to the Picts. The presence of crosses and other Christian images is due to the conversion of the Picts to Christianity after the Irish abbot of Iona, St. Columba, ventured into Pictland in AD 565. Columba met the Pictish king, Bridei son of Maelchon in a fortress near the River Ness and thus began the conversion of the Picts, a process that was complete by about AD 700.



Interior of Meigle Museum

 The pictish symbol stones are one of the most important sources for information about the Picts and the symbols, common from one end of Scotland to the other, were widely understood by all the tribes. Now however, we know very little of their actual meaning except that they functioned as memorial stones or territorial boundary markers.

The church yard at Meigle contained a large number of pictish stones, implying that Meigle was itself a very important centre of burial for the pictish church and under the patronage of the kings of the Picts. Eventually however, pictish rule, which had survived the onslaught of Rome, was taken over by the Gaelic-speaking settlers of Dalriadia (modern Argyll) which led to the reign of the Scots King, Kenneth mac Alpin and his subsequent dynasty.



Cross-slab no.1
The Death of Queen Vanora

 Before we bid farewell to the Picts however, there is an interesting Arthurian connection with Meigle and one of the pictish stones (cross-slab no.1). On entering the graveyard at Meigle, there is a grassy mound known as Vanora's Grave. Local tradition has it that Vanora was actually Queen Guinevere, the wife of Arthur. Vanora was abducted by the pictish king, Mordred, and held captive near Meigle. When she was returned to her husband after this enforced infidelity she was sentenced to death by being torn apart by wild beasts, hence the scene of Vanora's death on the back of cross-slab no.1. Here remains were buried at Meigle. Tradition also says that Vanora (and Guinevere for that matter) was barren and it is said that any young woman who walks over her grave is said to risk becoming barren herself. True or not, this is yet another interesting anecdote of history and legend.


Hope you've enjoyed this. Once more, if you ever get the chance to visit Meigle's museum and some of the stones in the surrounding area, it is well worth it. If Picts are your thing, then you may also wish to visit Pictavia (http://www.pictavia.org.uk/), a new visitor centre and living history museum for pictish history in Angus, Scotland. If you visit Pictavia at the right time of year, you just may see the Picts and Rome's Legions do battle one last time!

Rosslyn Chapel

Rosslyn Chapel - North Side

Something a bit different for this entry. I was going through one of many boxes of old photos that I have from my studies and travels and came upon a packet of prints from a visit to a truly amazing place - Rosslyn Chapel.

Having lived in St. Andrews, Scotland for a couple of years I had the opportunity to visit new and interesting sites all of the time, from Melrose and the Roman fort at Trimontium in the Scottish borders to Inverness and Eilean Donan castle and everything in between. It was something new every weekend. You can visit prehistoric sites, Pictish sites and Roman sites, of which there are many. I'll talk about the latter at another time. Finally, there is a wealth of medieval sites to visit and I have a few entries coming up on those.

Building materials for restoration work

One of the most interesting sites that I did visit was Rosslyn Chapel. I was fortunate enough to have done this in the pre-Da Vinci Code days of publishing after which, I am certain, hordes of eager tourists turned the quiet chapel into a virtual marketplace of symbology. I'm not trashing that as I'm sure the major influx of funds has helped Rosslyn Chapel's restoration along nicely. When I was there there was scaffold everywhere, along with piles of stone that were to be used in the work. But oh, what a place, and what a treat for me and my three friends to have it all to ourselves at the time. 

Rosslyn Chapel lies just south of Edinburgh and has been known as many things throughout its history - the Chapel of the Grail, a key to the secrets and treasures of the Templar Knights, the survivors of which were absorbed, some say, into the Masonic order. Certainly, many authors and historians have contributed to theories that go beyond the boundaries of conventional academia. And why not? It makes for fascinating fiction as well as some perfectly viable historical theories. A few book mentions later on.

North Aisle

Carving of Lucifer, the Fallen Angel

Rosslyn Chapel Chapel was founded in 1446 by Sir William St. Clair, the last St. Clair Prince of Orkney, who was buried in the chapel. It took some forty years to build what remains today and even that was not what was intended, for the original plan called for a larger structure. Evidence of this was found in an early excavation when the archaeologists discovered foundation walls that went well beyond the existing walls. Not everyone perceived Rosslyn as a sanctuary, a work of art or marvel of mysticism. Many, especially protestants, labelled Rosslyn as a house of idolatry, no doubt disconcerted by the images staring at them from every corner of the intensely ornate chapel.

Outer wall of St. Clair Castle

I will not go into the long history of Rosslyn Chapel here as this is more of a short pictorial tease, however, this place was not awarded the respect that was due to such a work of art. In 1650, during the Civil War when Oliver Cromwell's troops were besieging St. Clair Castle (only about 100 meters away), the English horses were stabled in the chapel. In 1688, pro-Protestant villagers from Roslin entered and damaged the chapel because it was "Popish and idolatrous". It was abandoned until 1736 when James St. Clair repaired the windows, roof and floors. If you have read a great deal about Rosslyn, the Templars and/or Masons, you will know that the name of St. Clair (or Sinclair) figures prominently. In April of 1862, the Rosslyn Chapel was rededicated as a place for worship and has undergone various stages of repair over the years, including when I visited in 2000. 

Carving detail

 It is, unfortunately, easy to get taken up with picture taking in such a place. I know that at first, I certainly did, but once I ran out of film I was able to sit quietly in that place and admire it for a while. I remember it being very quiet and there certainly was a feeling of constantly being watched (and not by CCTV cameras!). No, there was definitely a feeling to the place, unlike any other. Yes, you do have some of the usual religious iconography and stained glass but there is more of the unusual and mysterious. Questions certainly abound. For instance, the appearance of American vegetation such as aloe or Indian corn! There is a plethora of mythical creatures, dragons especially, of unusual angels such as the one playing the bag pipes, or another carrying the heart of Robert the Bruce (could it be the Black Douglas who was to take the Bruce's heart to Jerusalem?).

Angel carrying the heart of Robert the Bruce



The Apprentice Pillar

One of the most famous works in the chapel is the Apprentice Pillar. This twisted pillar, based with eight coiled dragons, is a true masterpiece and the story goes that when the master mason when away, his apprentice continued to work and created something that far surpassed that of the master. The master mason was so enraged with jealousy that he killed the apprentice with his mallet.

I think however, that the most striking thing for me was the barrel-vaulted ceiling of the chapel. At one point, you look up and there above is an intricate pattern of alternating daisies, lilies, flowers, Roses and stars.

Ornamented Barrel-vaulted Ceiling

Numerous books have been written about this place, countless pictures published on-line but, there is no substitute for actually visiting it, interacting with it. Rosslyn has quite a story to tell, no matter what your perspective. You can gaze at it for hours and not see it all.

Here are a few recommended reads that touch on Rosslyn but also on the Templars and Masons. If fiction is your thing, check out Jack Whyte's Templar Trilogy in which the St. Clairs make an appearance. Oh, and why not check out Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code - it may not be literary fiction but it is highy entertaining and has caused millions of people to pick up a book and read who might not otherwise have done so. Besides, he fictionalizes some quite interesting theories put forward by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh as well as other alternative historian/detectives.

A couple of non-fiction recommendations that I have are Rosslyn, Guardian of the Secrets of the Holy Grail by Tim Wallace-Murphy and Marilyn Hopkins and secondly, The Sword and the Grail by Andrew Sinclair. The latter is a very interesting exploration into the Templars and the possibility that they discovered North America more than ninety years before Columbus's journey of discovery. I know, it sounds mad but it is truly fascinating and besides, the Vikings discovered Newfoundland some five hundred or so years before Columbus! For you alternative history buffs out there, you'll already have made the link to the carvings of Indian corn and aloe on the walls or Rosslyn Chapel.

More to come in another few entries about some extraordinary sites in Scotland and other places. Hope you have enjoyed these shots of Rosslyn Chapel.

Angel with engrailed St. Clair cross



Knight with lance





Remembrance for All

Poppies

Today is the 11th of November, Remembrance Day here in Canada (the 14th in the UK). This is a day to think on the sacrifices of men and women in the armed forces now and in the past. Remembrance Day is not only about World War I and II but also Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf Wars, and Afghanistan. It is about remembering those who have served in any conflict of nations.

When I went to Remembrance Day ceremonies at Queen’s Park in Toronto this morning, I was happy to see so many people present. As ever, it was a solemn occasion blessed with sunlight and crisp autumn air. The bugle sang out sadly and when it stopped, four artillery cannons commenced firing. The sound of just one of those cannons going off was shocking to say the least and I tried to imagine, in vain, what it must have been like for any soldier when there were literally hundreds of those things going off. For troops to push on to the next trench, or take a hill, with cannons thundering all around, well, it must have taken a rare form of courage.



D-Day Invasion - Normandy



Warfare plays a prominent role in human history and is something that historical novelists write about a lot, something that readers are thrown into. I remember reading John McCrae’s poem In Flanders Fields in grade school and I still wear a poppy this time of year. Like so many others, my grandfathers served in both World Wars – one with British forces under General Allenby during WWI and the other with the Greek Merchant and U.S. Navies dodging German U-boats in WWII. I wish they had lived longer so that I might have learned more from them, and though most of their stories are lost to our family, I still remember. Just because a conflict fades farther into the past does not mean that its importance is diminished in any way. War is ugly, no doubt and despite the Homeric ideals that have lived on for thousands of years, there is nothing romantic about another soldier’s brains exploding next to you.

There are countless novels and films about the World Wars, Vietnam and other modern conflicts. But, as this is a blog about historical fiction in the ancient and medieval periods I have a few recommends about turning point conflicts in the more distant past.

As far as historical battles go, the Battle at Thermopylae (480 B.C.) stands out over the ages as the true measure courage and sacrifice. When the Persian king, Xerxes invaded Greece he was met at the narrow pass of Thermopylae by 300 Spartans and 700 Thespians. The Greek forces delayed the Persians long enough for the rest of Greece to rally its forces – they all perished. For a good novel about this conflict, check out Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield.

Monument to the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae

When it comes to Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.) opinion is divided and differing theories are rampant and hotly debated. Was he a hero or a butcher? Was he the greatest general in history or was it is his father, Philip who should lay claim to that title for having created the army Alexander used? The questions go on and on. One thing is certain, Alexander’s campaigns ushered in a new golden era in which not only warfare and siege craft flourished but also, art and learning and technological advancement. Alexandria became the greatest city of the ancient world where the brightest minds gathered at the greatest library ever known. Some say that Alexander’s goal was to spread Hellenic culture to the rest of the world and so unite it. This might seem impossible with the violent sieges of Tyre and Gaza but then, he was also welcomed as a liberator in Egypt and Ionia and when he went east, he adopted many of their customs and traditions as his own. Alexander is one of the most complicated personages in history and I doubt that anyone will ever nail down who the man was exactly. A good series of books on Alexander is Valerio Massimo Manfredi’s Alexander Trilogy which looks at Alexander’s life from childhood to his death in Babylon.
If you are looking for a pivotal war in the Roman period, there are several to choose from, but the one that stands out for me because of a trilogy of novels is the second Punic War against none other than Hannibal. Carthage was dealt a humiliating blow by Rome at the end of the first Punic War and there was much hatred on both sides. Hannibal met his match in the person of Scipio Africanus on the plain of Zama (206 B.C.), in modern day Tunisia. The trilogy of books (Hannibal; Scipio; and Carthage) by Ross Leckie is an excellent read that I highly recommend. He manages to make us sympathetic to both sides of the conflict and a most interesting way.

Those are just a few recommended reads from me. I don’t really have any that deal with the wars of our modern age to suggest. When it comes to reminding myself of the World Wars, for example, I turn to films like Patton, Saving Private Ryan, The Thin Red Line or The Guns of Navarone. Even Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, based on the book by Louis de Bernières is a great film that sheds light on a bit of little-known history of the war on the Greek island of Cephalonia. Everyone has their favourites.

So, today, I raise my cup to the fallen heroes of the past and present. To my grandfathers and grandmothers who suffered and fought through the World Wars, to my cousin who lost her brave husband so recently in Kandahar, one of the cities founded by Alexander himself.

To the glorious Dead, thank you, now and always….


Normandy Graveyard for American Troops



Memorial at Thermopylae