- First Pages & Introduction -

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Introduction to The Knight of the Silver Lance

I. The times in which the Knight of the Silver Lance lived.
My main character, Sir Gadahin Elziver of Krona, lived in the times of the noble King Richard l, better known as the Lionheart. The date is the late 1100s’. The setting is in the beautiful countryside of England, in a medieval (fictional) town called Krona, ruled by a fictional suzerain, or lord, called Lord Percy.
King Richard was one of those timeless Kings that was loved by his people, and feared by his enemies. He was as brave as he was kind, and as fierce as he was merciful. Truly, this King may have been classed among the best Kings that ever reigned in medieval England. He fought his enemies well, and was a powerful man, scorning all threats to his Kingdom, promising war to those that dared interfere. For his unusual and courageous actions, he was nicknamed the “Coeur de Lion” and “Yea and Nay”.
         Richard the First was born in September of 1157, as the third son of Henry ll and Eleanor of Aquitaine. At age eleven, he was given the duchy of Aquitaine, and was installed in it with the usual formalities in the year 1172. After a youthful rebellion, he was pardoned and reinstated in his duchy. While there, he first showed his powers by stopping a formidable revolt among the people in 1175 and demanding homage from the count of Toulouse. In a short time, he was so powerful that his brother, Henry, became alarmed. Henry demanded, since he (Henry) was heir to the English throne, that Richard should do him homage.
The warrior-Richard was just starting to emerge at that time, and he showed it by boldly and scornfully rejecting his brother’s demand. “A fratricidal war”, to use the language of many historians, ensued thereafter; Henry invaded Aquitaine, and won over many to his standard who were of Richard’s men. Henry ll, Richard’s father, marched to Richard’s aid (apparently the independent prince was one of his favorite sons); but the war ended abruptly when Henry lll, heir to the English throne, died in 1183.
         Troubles seemed to follow the youthful prince everywhere during his life. Another civil war erupted when his brother, Prince John, demanded homage of Richard for Aquitaine, and as a result Richard turned to Phillip Augustus, a trusted family friend, for help. Prince John, Richard’s brother, was chased ignominiously from one place to another, till he finally gave up and conceded all his rights.
         When Henry ll died in 1189, all friendship between Richard and Philip Augustus died, the main reason being Richard’s steadfast refusal to fulfill his contract with Alais, Philip’s sister, to whom he had been betrothed at age three. It was at that crucial moment when Richard was made King. His elder brother was dead; his father was dead; Prince John had learned to stay away from the powerful prince; and thus the warrior-prince became King of all England. Many tales of old (legends, myths, and facts) are told of him. We know that he went on a Crusade, and how he most ignominiously became a duke’s prisoner when he foolishly went abroad disguised as a traveler. He was forced to stay in the duke’s prison till his men could assert his Kingship (a rather comical situation for a King). We can also learn from ancient treatises that this King sold his dearest things recklessly to gain a strong force of 4,000 men-at-arms, 4,000 foot soldiers, and lastly, a fleet of 100 ships. King Richard would frequently leave his Kingdom in charge of another man so he could lead his men to help other, more distressed, countries. At a single call for help he would return to his country, he hastily returned to his country, though delayed by both storms and opposition from enemies. Altogether, we see this King in many battles, both at home and abroad.
         The story of this great King’s death is both a peculiar and a moving one. As he was directing an assault upon the castle of Chalus, he was wounded in the shoulder by a crossbow bolt. The wound would not have killed him, much less injured him, if he would have taken care of it. Unselfishly he sacrificed his health so that he could remain at his soldiers’ side; proving that, however fierce his appearance, his heart was still noble. Therefore, since he had neither treatment nor care for his wound till it was too late, and as he was too noble to stop and rest while his men fought his own war, he died, on the sixth of April, 1199. He was buried, according to his wish, by his father’s grave, in the church of Fontevrault.
         Many historians put Richard down as a “rash and heedless prince” while others nominate him “a brave soldier”. Still others call him “the most accomplished and versatile representative of his gifted family…a favorite hero with troubadours and romancers.” It seems that all of these descriptions are true, the topmost especially so when applied to the reckless days of his youth. Throughout his middle age he proved to be a brave soldier and an experienced, astute general. One sentence in his history that has always stood out to me was this— “He was never happier than when in battle”. Facts alone could prove this; for something in this man’s nature was keen on the ways of war, and he was often found helping others.
King Richard married Berengaria, daughter of Sancho Vl, King of Navarre, on May 1191. The Queen long survived her husband, and died in 1230.

II. How the people dressed in Sir Gadahin’s times.
         Surcoats, capes, cloaks, and the houppelande (a long, full robe from the Low Countries) are only a few examples of the unusual garments worn in the medieval days. Because of the extravagant use of fur in many of these garments, much of the fur-bearing animals became scarce.
         Medieval headgear is a story in itself, and must be abridged to fit inside this small introduction. The ladies in medieval times wore a wimple atop their heads. Historians call it “a woman’s headcloth drawn in folds about the chin.” It was made of white lawn or linen, and could be so long as to reach the very ankles. Today its meaning is completely different. Ladies also wore beautiful nets of gold braid and wire in those days, as well as the hennin, a tall, pointed cone with a floating veil swinging out from its top (what I would describe as a piece of headwear not unlike an upside-down lampshade). The hennin did not come till later, however. The man wore a liripipe, a hood with a long tail hanging at its end.
         Towards the later Middle Ages, men wore long points on their shoes, so long that they had to be held up by gold chains attached to the knees. Imagine wearing that! The name for this comical footwear was piked shoes, and they stayed popular for a century. Streets were often muddy and filthy in those times, so people wore wooden patterns, built like little stilts, to protect their fragile shoes. Quantities of precious stones adorned both the men and women. There were heavy gold chains, belts, and the man’s jeweled dagger.
         As for the costumes— First, the doublet was the French name for jacket. It was worn quite often in the medieval times, and you will see its name used in my tale. A good description of it would be to call it a short jerkin or a vest that sometimes had sleeves and sometimes didn’t. Some were buttoned tightly, while others had drawstrings at the neck. The tunic was another garment worn in the medieval ages. It resembled the doublet in some ways, except it was longer and it usually had sleeves.
         Over the doublet fell a rich, full coat, knee length, known as a gown. In my tale, I have my characters wearing the doublet, the gown, the hose, and the shoes. The hose was warm, close fitting, and thick, while the shoes had a small, curved top.
         Perhaps you have often heard or seen a picture of the physical pain a knight would endure while wearing his armor. This is quite true. In the 1100’s, a knight’s armor was composed of more than one item. First there was a shirt that was made from quilted material or sometimes from leather, called a gambeson. The hauberk came next. It was a handsome, shining suit of steel rings, which fitted closely over the knight, revealing only his eyes, nose, and mouth. The surcoat was worn over this; in appearance, it looked much like a sleeveless, loose garment, belted in the middle and with a design on its’ skirt. In those times, each family had an ‘order’, design of some beast or weapon, upon their shields and surcoats. An example would be a dragon, rearing up and spitting fire, and a bull with stars encircling him, or, in short, anything from a lion with stripes below him to a hound on a grassy plain. There was no end to the designs chosen in those days for the order.
         Flowing hair was the common fashion for the knight’s lady. She also wore a thin gold band around her head, giving a handsome tint to the long golden waves of hair most common in medieval days. A lengthy dress adorned her figure, with split sleeves that reached a foot below the elbows, and the skirt of the dress flaring into curved pleats that flowed softly around the feet. Over this garment there was a long, thick, heavy gown, simple and pretty. It had no sleeves, and the low neck allowed the dress underneath to show through. Where the sleeves had been was a long, oval hole that reached to the waist. For warmth, the lady would also wear the houppelande.

III. What the title of my book means.
         For those of you who may have curiosity about the words I have chosen in the title of my book, The Knight of the Silver Lance, I will explain several things. The word lance describes a long, heavy spear, taller than a knight on horseback. “Lance: A long, shafted weapon with a metal head, used by mounted soldiers in charging.” --Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language.
         I also would like to explain why the ending of this book seems to conclude so abruptly. It is only Part I of a series that I wrote at thirteen, out of three lengthy parts. One of these three parts to The Knight of the Silver Lance was deleted, and I am saving the other sequel to publish should this book turn out successful. All in all, The Knight of the Silver Lance has two parts: Adventures of a Knight, and Return of the Crown. This book that I am publishing now consists of Part I, and ends right where Part II will begin. I would have merged the sequels together, but Part II is even longer than Part I.
         As to a description of the Knight that owned the silver lance, I will allow my readers to find out. The silver lance, what it was like, and the part it played in my tale, I will also leave to my readers to find as they read on.

IV. Several words that will appear in my book. Here are several definitions of words used in the medieval days. I decided to put them here, instead of adding a glossary, for easier access.

Altercate: to argue or quarrel angrily.
Apt: to fasten, grasp, and obtain.
Bade: to entreat, offer, and command.
Befit: to be proper or becoming to.
Coffer: a chest or box, especially for valuables.
Cruse: ancient English word for a drinking cup or flask.
Decorous: (adjective) dignified.
Deft: gentle.
Fortnight: Two weeks.
Irascible: given to wrath, angry.
Jacinth: An ancient blue gem that dates back to Biblical ages, usually a sapphire. Lord Tennyson used it to describe the jeweled hilt of Excalibur in his poem Morte D'Arthur. Today, it is known as a reddish-orange gem, a transparent form of zircon.
Javelin: a short, sturdy spear.
Keep: a building kept by a lord, much like a castle. (In medieval days, a keep was built to protect the surrounding lands and houses of peasants or serfs.)
Nefarious: something very wicked or villainous, such as a nefarious plot.
Oppugn: to dispute or criticize.
Paladin: a knight.
Pergola: An arbor lined with columns supporting a roof of trelliswork, covered over in growing flowers and climbing plants.
Score: twenty.
Serf: the fourth rank of medieval society. There are four ranks: King, chivalry, knighthood, serf. (Serf - peasant or villein.)
Sylphlike: a graceful, slender lady or girl.
Tourney: a mock battle much like a general melee, in which every knight fought his opponents randomly.
Trow: a medieval English word that defines as to suppose, believe, or think.
Tunic: a medieval surcoat.
         The commoners in my story had jobs such as catching fish, burning charcoal, and farming. The men whose duty it was to catch fish were called fishers, and those who burned charcoal were called charcoal burners. Peasants were usually the most common type of lower-ranking people that lived in England. They were people who sold, farmed, or had odd jobs.
         The money used by my characters is in terms of farthings, halfpennies, silver coins, and gold coins. A farthing was a fourth of a penny, called a fourth-thing or farthing; and a halfpenny was a penny split in half. The silver coins and gold coins were minted by coin makers in the medieval days.
         The persons in my tale are all made up, except for four. The first real character is King Richard, whom I have described above. The second is Maid Priscilla. I based her character on the real-life person of my sister (whose name is also Priscilla.) As for the third, it is Sir Paul of Spence, based on the character of my Dad, whose real name is actually Dr. Paul Spence. The last, which is Sir Cid, titled the Black Knight, is a blend of a few characters. There were a few fictional Black Knights who served under King Arthur of Camelot, but my character is a whole different one than any of the others. I named him Cid because of the legendary hero, El Cid, who was a great medieval Spanish warrior bearing the real name of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar. El Cid defines in Arabic as a title of respect for sir or lord. Excepting those, the rest are only fictional characters. Three of the towns mentioned in my story are also nonfiction: Bournemouth, Southampton, and Weymouth.

Happy reading!
First revision: FEBRUARY 13, 2004; last revision DECEMBER 28, 2006.

End of Introduction