The Splendid Hour by Kathryn Le Veque

 

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Welcome to Peter de Lohr’s novel!

Strange how I never saw Peter having his own novel until he joined the Executioner Knights. Then, it wasn’t “if” he’d have his own, but “when”. Peter is on the young side for an Executioner Knight – and he hasn’t had this vast lifetime of experience like some of the older members – Maxton, Kress, Achilles, Sherry, Cai, etc. – but he’s the next generation of greatness and they recognize that. I think that’s why they embrace him. Not because of who his father is, but because of who he is. He’s Peter. And he’s definitely destined for greatness.

Now, let’s talk about when this book is set. We’re right after when the Magna Carta was signed, during a very turbulent time between King John and the rebel barons. The Magna Carta (and I’ve read it) is a very complex document that is mostly about the relationship between the king and his barons rather than a document between the king and ordinary people. It completely serves the warlords, but there are a lot of elements in it that were the founding of many governments, including the United States of America.

Specifically, this story starts in August 1215 A.D. John signed the Magna Carta in June of that year, so it’s two months later and nobody seems really apt to adhere to the terms of the charter – warlords included. The rebels hold London at this point (remember the siege of London in Lord of the Shadows), and per the Magna Carta, they were supposed to surrender the city if John agreed to their terms. He agreed, but they didn’t trust him so they didn’t leave, which means John pulled in the Pope to punish them. For once in his life, John wanted the help of the Catholic Church, which he’d had a terrible relationship with for all of his reign.

Enter William Marshal and his agents and allies. William Marshal had a very turbulent relationship with John. He was in favor, he was out. In, out. At this time, he is in – and he is siding with the king, but for very specific reasons. Christopher de Lohr, however, is not. That puts him and The Marshal on opposite sides and puts the Executioner Knights right in the middle of it.

Interestingly, as John engaged in a contentious relationship with the Catholic Church, he was one of the few monarchs that had a decent relationship with the Jews of London. The history of English is rife with the poor treatment of the Jewish population, mostly at the hands of the monarchs, but John was a surprisingly rare exception. During the reign of Henry II, John’s father, the Jews became powerful both financially and politically, and Henry had a decent relationship with them also.

John recognized what his father had – that the Jewish merchants and bankers were necessary – and skilled – at generating income, so he afforded them a great deal of protection. However, that didn’t sit well with his Christian warlords, many of whom were Crusade veterans from Richard the Lionheart’s Great Quest and had bigoted beliefs towards Jews. It was just one more conflict between John and his warlords in a sea of conflicts. It’s of interest to note that John wasn’t tolerant of Jews because he was benevolent – it was really only financial and, at times, political. The Christian warlords knew this and, not strangely, one of the conditions in the Magna Carta limits the power of the king and his Jewish bankers over Christian debtors’ estates. So – the history of John and his relationship to the Jewish population of England makes for very interesting reading.

Now, there are some issues addressed in this book about the Christian and Jewish relationships. Really, there weren’t any unless it was financial or some other kind of professional relationship. What they call “intermarriage”, a marriage between a Jew and a Christian, was forbidden by the Torah, although by this time in history, the situation was relaxing a little. It wasn’t forbidden any longer (meaning the offenders weren’t put to death), but it would be virtually impossible for an English knight, who’d swore an oath to God and Christianity, to be married to a Jewish woman without someone having to convert. That means the situations you will read in this novel are not contrived. Were a relationship between our hero and heroine really to happen, the difficulty would be very real and choices, for the sake of the time period and the culture, would have to be made. There was really no such thing as just “accepting the situation”.

Now you’re prepared to read it!

On a completely different note, let’s talk about Christopher and David de Lohr. They are in this tale because they are part of the Executioner Knights, but also because they’re some of my favorite secondary characters. They just pop up everywhere. I’ve you’ve read Steelheart, Shadowmoor, and Silversword, you get a glimpse at David, his son Daniel, and Daniel’s son, Chadwick in these stories, but in Silversword, there are clues about when Christopher and David passed away. I sat down and did the math and realized that Christopher and David had the same longevity as the de Wolfe Pack boys – William, Paris, and Kieran. If you’ve read de Wolfe Pack Generation stories, then you know that William, Paris, and Kieran are extremely elderly. Well, guess who else ended up being extremely elderly? You guessed it – Christopher (b. 1156 – d. 1249) and David, who outlived everyone (b. 1159 – d. 1260). That makes them 93 years and 101 years at their death, respectively. Not bad for knights when their average life expectancy was 31 years old (disease and battle will do that to you). But there were exceptions, as there always are – and we see several in my universe.

Now, the usual pronunciation guide:

It has occurred to me in all of the books I’ve written that I’ve never clarified how “papa” and “mama” are pronounced. If you’re an American, it’s “PAH-puh” and “MAH-muh”. However, for Medieval England, it’s “puh-PAH” and “muh-MAH”. Different emphasis on different syllables.

I think the only name in this story that might need clarification is the heroine’s – Liora – Lee-OR-uh

Lastly, a list of the de Lohr siblings to refresh your memory (because they pop up in here):

Peter (Christopher’s son with Lady Amanda)

Christin

Brielle

Curtis

Richard

Myles

Rebecca

Douglas

Westley

Olivia Charlotte (the future Honey de Shera)

And with that – enjoy this very different but very adventurous tale!

Hugs,