 First volume Harlequin first edition cover | |
| Author | Bernard Cornwell |
|---|---|
| Country | England |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
| No. of books | 4 |
The Grail Quest is a historical fiction novel series written by Bernard Cornwell dealing with a 14th-century search for the Holy Grail, set during the opening stage of the Hundred Years' War.
The fictional Thomas of Hookton leaves his native Dorset after the murder of his father by Thomas's own cousin and joins an English army under Edward III as an archer. In Harlequin, he is involved in the fighting in Brittany and subsequently at the Battle of Crécy. The battle is a decisive victory for the English, despite being seriously outnumbered. In Vagabond, he returns to England to try to uncover the Grail's whereabouts and helps defeat the Scottish invasion of 1347. He discovers that his cousin, Guy Vexille, is working with an ambitious French cardinal to obtain the Grail for their own ends. Thomas returns to Brittany to come to the aid of a friend and fights in the Battle of La Roche-Derrien. Heretic finds Thomas still in France, this time during a time of supposed peace with the French following the fall of Calais. Thomas leads a small band of men into southern France to find the Grail. He is trapped in a castle he had captured, but an outbreak of the Black Death causes many of his besiegers to flee, and Thomas fights his cousin on more even terms and kills him. Afterward, Thomas discovers a clue his father left him, which leads him to the Grail.
Years later, Thomas achieves his ambition: to raise and lead a mercenary force. However, his liege lord hears stories about la Malice, the sword used by Peter to defend Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, and about its powers, so once again Thomas is ordered to find another holy relic. During his search, he fights in the Battle of Poitiers.
Thomas of Hookton is later briefly mentioned in Cornwell's novel Azincourt , set around the events leading up to the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 as having "died as a lord of a thousand acres."
The Holy Grail is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miraculous healing powers, sometimes providing eternal youth or sustenance in infinite abundance, often guarded in the custody of the Fisher King and located in the hidden Grail castle. By analogy, any elusive object or goal of great significance may be perceived as a "holy grail" by those seeking such.
Galahad, sometimes referred to as Galeas or Galath, among other versions of his name, is a knight of King Arthur's Round Table and one of the three achievers of the Holy Grail in Arthurian legend. He is the illegitimate son of Sir Lancelot du Lac and Lady Elaine of Corbenic and is renowned for his gallantry and purity as the most perfect of all knights. Emerging quite late in the medieval Arthurian tradition, Sir Galahad first appears in the Lancelot–Grail cycle, and his story is taken up in later works, such as the Post-Vulgate Cycle, and Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur.
Bernard Cornwell is an English-American author of historical novels and a history of the Waterloo Campaign. He is best known for his novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe. He has also written The Saxon Stories, a series of 13 novels about the making of England.
Bedivere is one of the earliest characters to be featured in the legend of King Arthur, originally described in several Welsh texts as the one-handed great warrior named Bedwyr Bedrydant. Arthurian chivalric romances, inspired by his portrayal in the chronicle Historia Regum Britanniae, portray Bedivere as a Knight of the Round Table of King Arthur who serves as Arthur's marshal and is frequently associated with his brother Lucan and his cousin Griflet as well as with Kay. In the English versions, Bedivere notably assumes Griflet's hitherto traditional role from French romances as the one who eventually returns Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake after Arthur's last battle.
The siege of Harfleur was conducted by the English army of King Henry V in Normandy, France, during the Hundred Years' War. The defenders of Harfleur surrendered to the English on terms and were treated as prisoners of war. It was the first time that an English army made significant use of gunpowder artillery in the siege of a large urban settlement.
Sharpe is a series of historical fiction stories by Bernard Cornwell centred on the character of British soldier Richard Sharpe. The stories formed the basis for an ITV television series featuring Sean Bean in the title role.
Death to the French is a 1932 novel of the Peninsular War during the Napoleonic Wars, written by C. S. Forester, the author of the Horatio Hornblower novels. It was also published in the United States under the title Rifleman Dodd.
The Battle of La Roche-Derrien was one of the battles of the Breton War of Succession; it was fought on 20 June 1347 during the night between Anglo-Breton and Franco-Breton forces. Approximately 4,000–5,000 French, Breton and Genoese mercenaries laid siege to the town of La Roche-Derrien in the hope of luring Sir Thomas Dagworth, the commander of the only standing English field army in Brittany at the time, into an open pitched battle.
John Cornwall, 1st Baron Fanhope and Milbroke, KG, PC, also known as Sir John Cornwall, Sir John Cornwaille and Sir John Cornouayl, was an English nobleman, soldier and one of the most respected chivalric figures of his era.
Sharpe's Company is a historical novel in the Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell, first published in 1982. It was the third in the series to be published, but is thirteenth in chronological order. The story is set January to August 1812 featuring the Siege of Badajoz during the Peninsular War.
The Starbuck Chronicles are a series of historical fiction novels by British author Bernard Cornwell set during the American Civil War. They follow the exploits of Boston-born Confederate officer Nathaniel Starbuck.
Harlequin is the first novel in The Grail Quest series by English author Bernard Cornwell, first published in 2000. The story takes place in the mid-14th century, during the Hundred Years' War.
Azincourt is an historical novel written by Bernard Cornwell, published in 2008. The book relates the events leading to the Battle of Agincourt through its protagonist Nicholas Hook. In the United States, it was published under the title Agincourt.
Bernard Cornwell's career started in 1981 with Sharpe's Eagle. He has been a prolific historical novelist since then, having published more than 60 novels.
Vagabond is the second novel in The Grail Quest series by English author Bernard Cornwell, first published in 2002. Set during the first stage of the Hundred Years' War, it follows Thomas of Hookton's quest to find the Holy Grail, a relic which will grant decisive victory to the possessor.
Heretic is the third novel in The Grail Quest series by English author Bernard Cornwell, first published in 2003. Set during the first stage of the Hundred Years' War, the novel follows Thomas of Hookton's quest to find the Holy Grail, a relic which may grant decisive victory to the possessor.
1356 is the fourth novel in The Grail Quest series by Bernard Cornwell, first published in 2012. It is set in 1356, nearly a decade after the original trilogy, and culminates with the Battle of Poitiers. Intertwined in the plot is the quest to find la Malice, a fabled sword of Saint Peter and Christian relic which may turn the tide of the long war for France.
The Pagan Lord is the seventh historical novel in the Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell, first published in 2013. The story is set in the early 10th century in Anglo-Saxon Mercia and Northumbria.
Sharpe's Assassin is the twenty-first historical novel in the Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell, published in 2021. The story is set in June 1815, immediately after the Battle of Waterloo, and during the occupation of Paris.