Lion Rampant

by Bernard Knight

Probably the most romantic, exciting and yet most tragic story in the history of medieval Wales. It is the true story of Princess Nest and the Lord Owain ap Cadwgan, Prince of Powys in the years after the Norman invasion, based on the 'Chronicles of the Princes'. Nest was the daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr, ruler of South Wales, and became known as Helen of Wales, not only because of her beauty, but also for the passions she aroused in so many men, which led to wars and vendetta. When her father was slain by the Normans, she became ward, then mistress of King Henry I of England, who gave her in marriage to Gerald of Windsor, castellan of Pembroke. At Christmas 1109, she was abducted, albeit willingly, from Cilgerran Castle by her cousin Owain, her husband having ot escape through the privy shaft. This lead to years of unrest and warfare, both between various Welsh factions and between them and the Normans, culminating in her husband's revenge. Nest had a least nine children by five different fathers, including Owain and King Henry. From these liaisons came a remarkable progeny, including the Fitzgeralds, from whom JFK could trace his ancestry. One son was Bishop of St Davids, another two conquerors of Ireland, one of whom took his father's flag there which later became St Patrick's Cross, now part of the Union Jack. Her grandson was Giraldus Cambrensis, the famous priest and chronicler - and her nephew was The Lord Rhys, instigator of the first Eisteddfod in 1176. This fast-moving tale of love and lust, tenderness and treachery, its historical accuracy brings the atmosphere of twelfth century Wales to life with vibrant authenticity.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

196 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Aka Bernard Picton.

Professor Bernard Knight, CBE, (born 1931) became a Home Office pathologist in 1965 and was appointed Professor of Forensic Pathology, University of Wales College of Medicine, in 1980. He has been writing since before 1963, when his first crime novel was published. Since then, he has written about thirty books, including contemporary crime fiction, historical novels about Wales, biography, non-fiction popular works on forensic medicine, twelve medico-legal textbooks and the Crowner John Mysteries series of 12th-century historical mysteries.

In addition, he has written scripts for radio and television dramas and documentaries, including the forensic series The Expert starring Marius Goring, in the 1970s. He has contributed to many other textbooks and has edited several medical journals - he was Managing Editor of Elsevier's Forensic Science International, the leading international publication in the field.

Currently, he is a founder member of The Medieval Murderers, a select group of historical crime-writers within the Crime Writers' Association, who give presentations at literary festivals, libraries and bookshops, to promote their work amongst the public. He is also one of the non-fiction judges for the annual 'Dagger' Awards of the Crime Writers' Association and a regular reviewer of crime books for the Internet site Tangled Web.

He was born and lives in Cardiff and as well as being a doctor, he qualified as a barrister and was awarded the CBE in 1993 for services to forensic medicine. In the 1950s, he served as a Regular Army medical officer in Malaya during the terrorist campaign, in a military hospital which he compares with 'MASH'.

-Wikipedia

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bernard Knight being such a favorite author of mine I was thrilled to see this story of Nest of Wales available. My name being Carrow, Pembrokeshire and Carew Castle are very intriguing to me.

"Probably the most romantic, exciting and yet most tragic story in the history of medieval Wales. It is the true story of Princess Nest..daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr, ward and mistress of King Henry I"

Henry gave her in marriage to Gerald de Windsor, Castellan of Pembroke. According to this author, that marriage did not go very well and set the stage for Nest's abduction by her cousin. Subsequently, Nest was embroiled in various conflicts. and victimized, ending up with 8 or 9 children.

The fact that Nest was so resilient and rose above those circumstances is what I love the best. Her love for her children and their cohesion as family remains a tribute to her, all these many centuries later.Thank you Bernard Knight for a great book..on to Madoc !