The Prophecy of Death: (Knights Templar 25) Read online

  THE PROPHECY OF DEATH

  Michael Jecks

  Copyright © 2008 Michael Jecks

  The right of Michael Jecks to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.

  First published as an Ebook by

  Headline Publishing Group in 2014

  All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library

  eISBN: 978 14 7221 9862

  HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP

  An Hachette UK Company

  338 Euston Road

  London NW1 3BH

  www.headline.co.uk

  www.hachette.co.uk

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  About the Author

  Also by Michael Jecks

  Praise

  About the Book

  Dedication

  Map

  Glossary

  Cast of Characters

  Author’s Note

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  About the Author

  Michael Jecks gave up a career in the computer industry to concentrate on his writing. He is the founder of Medieval Murderers, has been Chairman of the Crime Writers’ Association, and helped create the Historical Writers’ Association. Keen to help new writers, for some years he organised the Debut Dagger competition, and is now organising the AsparaWriting festival for new writers at Evesham. He has judged many prizes, including the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger. Michael is an international speaker on writing and for business. He lives with his wife, children and dogs in northern Dartmoor.

  Michael can be contacted through his website: www.michaeljecks.co.uk.

  He can be followed on twitter (@MichaelJecks) or on Facebook.com/Michael.Jecks.author.

  His photos of Devon and locations for his books can be found at: Flickr.com/photos/Michael_Jecks.

  Also by Michael Jecks

  The Last Templar

  The Merchant’s Partner

  A Moorland Hanging

  The Crediton Killings

  The Abbot’s Gibbet

  The Leper’s Return

  Squire Throwleigh’s Heir

  Belladonna at Belstone

  The Traitor of St Giles

  The Boy-Bishop’s Glovemaker

  The Tournament of Blood

  The Sticklepath Strangler

  The Devil’s Acolyte

  The Mad Monk of Gidleigh

  The Templar’s Penance

  The Outlaws of Ennor

  The Tolls of Death

  The Chapel of Bones

  The Butcher of St Peter’s

  A Friar’s Bloodfeud

  The Death Ship of Dartmouth

  Malice of Unnatural Death

  Dispensation of Death

  The Templar, the Queen and Her Lover

  The Prophecy of Death

  The King of Thieves

  No Law in the Land

  The Bishop Must Die

  The Oath

  King’s Gold

  City of Fiends

  Templar’s Acre

  Praise

  ‘Michael Jecks is the master of the medieval whodunnit’ Robert Low

  ‘Captivating… If you care for a well-researched visit to medieval England, don’t pass this series’ Historical Novels Review

  ‘Michael Jecks has a way of dipping into the past and giving it that immediacy of a present-day newspaper article… He writes…with such convincing charm that you expect to walk round a corner in Tavistock and meet some of the characters’ Oxford Times

  ‘Great characterisation, a detailed sense of place, and a finely honed plot make this a superb medieval historical’ Library Journal

  ‘Stirring intrigue and a compelling cast of characters will continue to draw accolades’ Publishers Weekly

  ‘A tortuous and exciting plot… The construction of the story and the sense of period are excellent’ Shots

  ‘This fascinating portrayal of medieval life and the corruption of the Church will not disappoint. With convincing characters whose treacherous acts perfectly combine with a devilishly masterful plot, Jecks transports readers back to this wicked world with ease’ Good Book Guide

  About the book

  The twenty-fifth novel in Michael Jecks’s medieval Knights Templar series.

  It’s 1325, and turmoil in England is rife. But could the Prophecy of St Thomas’s Holy Oil be the key to saving the ill-fated reign of King Edward II? It is believed the one anointed with it will be a lion among men: he will conquer France, unite Christendom and throw the heathens from the Holy Land.

  Meanwhile, Sir Baldwin de Furnshill, Keeper of the King’s Peace, and his friend Bailiff Simon Puttock return from France with an urgent instruction for the King himself. Soon they find themselves at the centre of a deadly court intrigue involving the most powerful and ruthless men in the country, who will stop at nothing, not least murder, to achieve their ambitions …

  This book is for Barbara Peters of the Poisoned Pen Press, with huge admiration for the marvellous work she does in support of crime writing and writers.

  However, it is also for Ian Mortimer, one of the very best experts on medieval history and a wonderful drinking companion. There are few men with whom I can go to the pub and discuss Edward II into the early hours! (There are even fewer with whom I would want to do so!)

  Glossary

  Assart

  A clearing in a forest, in which a farmer had created arable land by cutting down trees and grubbing up the roots.

  Bellatores

  Medieval society thought itself composed of three groups: religious, who prayed for men’s souls, peasants, who gave their labour to provide food and clothing, and the warrior class, the bellatores, who maintained order.

  Buttery

  King’s office which was responsible for ales, wines and other stores.

  Castellan

  The man in charge of a castle.

  Cokinus

  Literally, ‘Cook’, but was us
ed as the term for messengers who went about on foot rather than on horseback – and older term, used before ‘Cursor’ came into vogue.

  Cursores

  Late in King Edward I’s time, this term began to replace the older ‘Cokinus’.

  Fewterer

  The officer who had responsibility for the packs of hunting dogs.

  Frater

  This was the room in which the monks would eat.

  Host

  The King’s army. Army was a new term to the later fourteenth century.

  League

  An ancient measure of distance, roughly equivalent to three miles (although no medieval measures were standardised across the country!).

  Lords Marcher

  Also known as Marcher Lords, were the knights and barons who owned estates on, or near to, the ‘marches’.

  March

  The lands along the Welsh and Scottish borders. They had their own customs and laws which gave great independence to the Lords who owned them, mainly because they were almost permanently in a state of war – especially on the Scottish March.

  Marshal

  The man in charge of the ‘Marshalsea’.

  Marshalsea

  The stables, and those who worked in them.

  Murdrum Fine

  ‘Murder’ was so termed because of this fine. In short, after the Norman invasion, the rebellions against the invaders were so regular, that unless a corpse could be proved to be that of an Englishman, by men coming forward to assert the dead man’s ‘Englishry’, the body was assumed to be that of a Norman. The death of such a man meant heavy fines to be imposed on the vill where he was found – the ‘murdrum’ fines.

  Nuncius

  A messenger on horseback.

  Palfrey

  These were better quality horses for riding.

  Porters

  The men who were responsible for the gates to cities, or to castles or halls.

  Rache

  A specific form of hunting dog which was used to hunt by scent rather than others, like greyhounds, which depended upon sight.

  Reredorter

  A toilet that was at the back of the dormitory in a monastery.

  Rounsey

  A general, average quality horse used for riding, carrying goods etc, but not for pulling carts.

  Sewer

  The attendant on a lord who would serve his master, and who would see to the setting of the table, as well as tasting the King’s food in a royal household.

  Sumpter

  Packhorse.

  Tranter

  A wandering salesman of various essentials.

  Cast of Characters

  Sir Baldwin de Furnshill

  Keeper of the King’s Peace in Crediton, and recently made Member of Parliament, he is known to be an astute man and shrewd investigator. From his past as a Knight Templar, he has a deep hatred of injustice or persecution.

  Jeanne

  Baldwin’s wife, Jeanne is mother to his two children.

  Simon Puttock

  Baldwin’s friend for many years, Simon was a bailiff to the stannaries at Lydford, where he gained a reputation for honesty and fairness.

  Margaret

  Simon’s wife.

  Edith

  Simon and Margaret’s daughter.

  King Edward II

  the feckless king of England, Edward has gone down in history as one of our most brutal, sly, and devious kings. His reign is noted for the disasters, natural and otherwise, which dogged his rule.

  Isabella

  Edward II’s queen, Isabella was the daughter of King Philip the Fair of France, and was thus the sister to the current ruler, King Charles IV.

  Sir Hugh le Despenser

  probably one of the most unsavoury characters ever to gain influence at an English court, Hugh Despenser the younger was noted for his avarice, his cruelty, and his ruthlessness in the pursuit of his own personal ambitions.

  Edward of Windsor

  the son of King Edward and also called the Earl of Chester, the Earl was never officially made a Prince. He would later become King Edward III – one of England’s most successful monarchs.

  André

  mercenary and guard to the Bishop of Orange.

  William Ayrminne

  a canon, Ayrminne is a close ally to the queen.

  Sir John of Bakewell

  one of many knights serving King Edward II at his coronation.

  Thomas of Bakewell

  the brother of John, and later a king’s messenger.

  Matthew atte Brook

  the owner of an assart in Ashdown Forest, near Crowborough.

  Agnes atte Brook

  wife to Matthew.

  Richard of Bury

  a royal clerk who was based in Chester, in 1324 Bury became tutor to Earl Edward.

  Henry of Eastry

  the Prior of Christ Church Priory, Canterbury.

  Mark of Faversham

  steward and bailiff to Prior Henry.

  Brother Gilbert

  a monk at Canterbury.

  John

  son of Peter, John is a strong fighter too.

  Joseph of Faversham

  a King’s messenger.

  Jack of Oxford

  one of the guards of the Bishop of Orange.

  Hal

  assistant to Mark of Faversham at Christ Church Priory.

  Bishop of Orange

  one of the Pope’s trusted emissaries, Orange is attempting to bring peace between France and England.

  Peter

  one of the men-at-arms in Canterbury under the castellan, Peter is a ruthless fighter.

  Pons

  a friend of André’s and guard to the Bishop of Orange.

  Walter Stapledon

  the Bishop of Exeter is a wily politician. Twice the Lord High Treasurer, he is known to be a loyal servant to the crown – and deeply suspicious of the queen.

  Sir Robert of Westerham

  the King’s Coroner at Canterbury.

  Nicholas of Wisbech

  a Dominican sent by the King to negotiate with the Pope.

  Richard de Yatton

  Herald to the King, Richard is a trusted messenger.

  Author’s Note

  This book was intended to be a very different tale originally. The main bulk of the story was to be set in the later part of the year 1325 in France, but things have conspired against me, as usual.

  The problem I suffer from, and the attraction to me of my writing, is that the stories are set in ‘real time’ through history. This means that the stories have to stack up logically with the events of the period. When there was a famine, I have to mention it. Likewise, when there was a massive scandal over the princesses in King Philip’s court in Paris, I have to incorporate that, too. It also means I have to be accurate about where people were.

  I cannot, for example, cheat and suddenly have Edward II lifted from England and set down in Paris, just to facilitate the plot. He didn’t go there. Worse, I know where he was in April, so I have to be true to the history and have the plot working around him in Beaulieu.

  Equally, though, it’s hard to jump from The Templar, the Queen and Her Lover, which was set in March and April, and suddenly move the action straight to September when the Earl of Chester was sent to France to pay homage for the English territories. That would be a large gap, and one which would take a lot of background flashbacks to explain.

  So, to the despair of my editor, I threw the synopsis for Book 25 (untitled) into the box marked ‘Stories to return to’, and started again from scratch.

  And came up with this plot.

  It is different from earlier stories, but the main aspects are quite correct. There was a prophecy regarding the ‘Boar from Cornwall’ and the story of the Oil of St Thomas was also well known. No, it’s not made up by me.

  Nor is the basic story of the coronation. I am afraid that John of Bakewell did die during a mad press at the time of the coronation in th
e manner described. It was only one of a number of aspects of the coronation day that struck chroniclers at the time as being proof that Edward II’s reign would be enormously unlucky. And they were not wrong, as events were to prove.

  The nature of the King’s son, Earl Edward of Chester, is very much my own interpretation and guesswork, but set on solid foundations. I would refer any serious investigator of the period to look at Roy Martin Haines’s work King Edward II (McGill Queen’s University Press), and the truly excellent book published by Random House, The Perfect King – The Life of Edward III, Father of the English Nation, by my good friend Ian Mortimer of Exeter University.

  To a large extent I can blame Ian for this book. It was his mention of certain aspects of the younger Edward’s life that tempted me to look at this story from the viewpoint of the Earl. The idea that the next king would have grown to manhood in a febrile, dangerous environment, with a father who was so alienated from his mother that she lost her properties, her income, her servants, even her children; all taken away because her husband considered her too dangerous, was too appealing to my novelistic imagination. He feared she might pollute their children with treasonous thoughts. All this, because her brother was considering (how actively, I am not sure) invasion of England.

  To look at the boy, and then consider his tutor, the strange Richard of Bury, who was an avid book collector (although detractors said he was illiterate!) and taught his charge all about the Greek and Roman heroes, and then to see the kind of man into which Edward grew, with the various influences which had shaped his life, this was fascinating.