Pendragon

by Wilfred Barnard Faraday

The scattered petty kingdoms of Britain are under siege. Enemies press in upon them from every direction: slaughter-mad Picts to the north, Irish pirates to the west, and murderous Saxons everywhere their longboats can touch an inch of dry land. Long gone are the troops Rome had assigned to protect the island, withdrawn to fight the Empire's final, futile battles against the barbarians on its own doorstep.

Yet there remain a stalwart few, such as the efficient and brutal general Artorius, who struggle to keep Rome's glorious military legacy alive in Britain. The half-million warriors massing to attack are only part of Artorius? challenge, though. He must also contend with the infighting of the myriad British princes, and the machinations of the Druid bard Merddin and the seemingly mad Christian missionary Gildas. More troubling still are the problems presented by Princess Gwendaello, recent successor to the title of Pendragon and rulership of all Britain. This clever and courageous young woman refuses to compromise her followers? freedom for the benefit of Artorius? Pax Britannica, and in doing so reminds him that a tradition even more precious than the leavings of Rome waits to be claimed by the true heirs to the Island of the Mighty.

First published in 1930 and long unavailable to all but the most devoted collectors of Arthurian fiction, Pendragon paints an original and detail-rich picture of Britain in the early sixth century, one made all the more appealing by W. Bernard Faraday?s flair for striking characters and sly, razor-edged humor.

320 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2002

Reviews

[Howard Wiseman · Rating 3 out of 5]

_Pendragon_ seems older than its publication date of 1930. It has digressions from the plot which are lengthy (but not to say uninteresting), and it uses a lot of old-fashioned words (e.g. leman, agnate, kern). It is also jarring to modern sensitivities the way the British enemies are treated e.g. Arthur says "To my mind the battle is not over until ... all the prisoners [have been] flogged and slain." Nevertheless Faraday somehow manages to keep a light touch, so the novel is surprisingly easy to read.

It tells the story of just one year in the history of Britain, 502/3, but what an year! Faraday packs his story with characters and events from throughout dark age history. e.g. it features Drust, king of the Picts (usually dated in the first half of the 5th century) and Urien of Reged (usually dated in the late 6th). And it includes both the Night of the Long Knives and the battle of Badon. It is also a love story (though a very chaste one).

When it comes to historical accuracy, _Pendragon_ suffers from having been written when much less was known of post-Roman Britain. Faraday's Britain of 502 A.D. is much more like the Britain of 3 centuries earlier (apart from the spread of Christianity). It still has "Great and beautiful cities". It still has 3 legions to defend it, each with 5000 men equipped with square curved shield and short swords. The size of the enemy forces (half a million Picts, Scots and Saxons) is ludicrous. But if you read this as an historical novel in both senses of the word, then maybe you can regard these anachronisms and exaggerations as part of the book's charm.

[Stan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a difficult read. There are really long digressions that don't seem to make much sense, the narrator has some jarring prejudices, and the story moves at a crawl. I can only recommend this one to the most hard core of the Arthurian fanboys.