Showing results by author "Christopher Webster" in All Categories

When Vortigern's tower crumbles and two dragons rise from the depths—one red, one white—only Merlin can uncover their meaning. Summoned to make sense of the omen, he reveals a vision of Britain's fate: the Red Dragon of the Britons locked in deadly struggle with the White Dragon of the Saxons. Though Merlin banishes the beasts, their battle spills into the world of men. Now, as Aurelius marches under the Red Dragon and Hengest rallies his warbands beneath the White, the ancient prophecy begins to unfold. Which dragon will triumph—and at what cost to the land as they fight it out?

It is 20 years since the Hengest and his followers were driven out of Britannia by Aurelius Ambrosius, and Childric, his kinsman, wants revenge and the reconquest of what he calls "Angleland", but he realises that it will be impossible while Merlin lives, so he asks Angle wise woman, Morwei, to create an illusion of the Holy Grail to bring about the death of Merlin and lure Arthur's marchogion to their destruction - but will it fool the sagacious wizard?

William de Warenne, Earl of Surrey and Lord of Conisbrough Castle, is filled with zeal to free the Holy City from the depredations of the Infidel, but when passing through Constantinople, he is distracted from his quest by a willowy Greek dancing girl named Cyra.

Vortigern commits a terrible crime to become High King of Britannia – a crime which is he led to commit by his ambitious wife, Severa. This is a Macbethian tale set in 5th century Britannia – featuring a proud tyrant, a death-dealing druidess, a seduced monk, two pitiless Picts, two Angle invaders, a voluptuous Valkyrie, two battling dragons, a Rightful King, and a parade of the most beautiful women in history – all written in a special kind of poetic prose. Followers of the author should note that several chapters in this book are recycled from an earlier narrative poem, English Morn...

The third volume in the Englaland Pentalogy, this instalment brings to life the fierce struggle for Britain in the 5th century, as the Anglo-Saxon tribes carve out new kingdoms from the ruins of Rome. It is a tale of conquest, settlement, and the birth of a new nation.

When a brutal Frisian raid destroys young Hengest's village and slaughters his kin, he swears a solemn oath: to avenge the blood spilled and make the Frisians pay. Hengest grows into a fierce warrior, carrying his hatred like a sword at his side. But vengeance breeds vengeance, and the blood feud he begins will not be easily ended. As war rages across the northern seas and loyalties are tested, Hengest must choose between conflicting demands of loyalty and honour.

Attila—the devil made flesh, a savage, a warlord, a king. He killed his own brother to seize the kingship of Hungvar. That tale alone made Rome tremble. But one man stands up to him—Waldere, master of Nordic martial arts, and possessor of the fabled sword, Mimming. Atilla takes him hostage, but when he escapes, Attila sends 12 of his finest warriors to bring him back, dead or alive. Will Waldere's martial skills enable him to survive?

Attila explodes on the world, threatening to bring down the Roman Empire, and few can stand against him. Waldere is one, who, after escaping from Attila, and fighting single-handed, dispatches eleven of his attackers. Another is Aurelius, Britannia's rightful king, but in exile in Armorica. These heroes, and many others, join forces with Aetius, who has put together a shambolic army of allies, auxiliaries and and foederati, the last that Rome will ever field – but is it enough to protect the Empire from the fury of Attila? This is the second part of the English Dawn pentalogy, which tells...

Germanus, Bishop of Autissiodorum, is sent to Britannia, to fight heresy and heathenism. Even the Britons are divided, between the former king, Vortigern and the new King, his son, Vortimer, who has usurped him. Somehow, Germanus has to unite Britannia's warring factions before he can even begin the task he was sent for. But powerful forces are ranged against him - invading Scots from Ierne, and, most powerful of all, Hengest, the Angle warlord who is striving to build a new kingdom, Englaland, in the ruins of Britannia.

In 1317, Lady Alice de Laci, wife of the powerful Earl of Lancaster, was abducted from Pontefract Castle by an agent of William de Warenne. In revenge, Lancaster laid siege to Conisbrough Castle. This version of the story is closely based on William Leatham's classic poem, Sandal in the Olden Time.

Britannia is overrun by migrants who speak a strange language and worship heathen gods, and Bishop Brice is given the job of trying to persuade the Romans to send a legion to drive them out. But the Romans have their own problems and are reluctant to spare any of their dwindling forces. However, a bishop called Germanus, eager to suppress the Pelagian heresy, manages to put together a small force to help the Britons. His religious zeal leads to a great victory at Maes Garmon - but can it protect him from the wiles of the Angle angel, Rowena? This is the fourth part of the English Dawn ...

A nithing – an outcast – is set upon by robbers and nearly killed, but he fights back, joins their band, and eventually finds a new bench-place with King Hoc of the Half-Danes. That nithing's name is Hengest, the hero of the Battle of Sonderburh, and he rises to become king's thegn, but things start to go badly for him when he is drawn into King Hoc’s bitter feud with the Frisians. This is the first part of the English Dawn Pentalogy, which tells the story of the conquest and settlement of Britain by the Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century, set against the broad sweep of events in the ...

"I am thy fool, and I shall lose my wits." In this dark and compelling idyll, the great wizard Merlin, wise, but weary, and growing old, falls under the spell of Vivien, a cunning and ambitious seductress. Through flattery and deceit, she seeks to learn his secrets and gain power over him. A tale of betrayal and the downfall of wisdom, Merlin and Vivien explores the dangers of desire and the fragility of even the greatest minds.

Conisbrough Castle is associated with a glittering array of kings, crusaders and knights, yet in the 1530’s it was linked with another man who was famous for a very different reason—Thomas Wyatt, the poet (1503-1542). Wyatt was made Constable of Conisbrough Castle in 1536, and soon after, found himself having to hold the castle against the army of the Pilgrimage of Grace. Unfortunately for Wyatt, the army consisted of over 40,000 men. Most of the main events in my story actually happened, though Conisbrough Castle was never invested by the Pilgrims. However, it was provided with a large...

Aurelius' legion is ready to make the attempt to reconquer Britannia, but powerful forces are ranged against him; the tyrant Vortigern and his Pictish mercenaries, and the vast forces of Angles, Saxons and Geats who are beginning to take over the country. To succeed he needs a symbol to rally every Briton to his banner – The Sword of Albion. But it has been well hidden, and all he has to help him to find it is a cryptic clue. This is the final part of the English Dawn pentalogy, which tells the story of the conquest and settlement of Britain by the Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century, set ...

England, 1317. As baronial unrest simmers beneath the crown's uneasy peace, a scandal erupts that threatens to ignite open war. Alice de Laci—heiress to vast northern lands and wife of the powerful rebel Thomas of Lancaster—is abducted under mysterious circumstances by William de Warenne, a loyalist with ambitions of his own. Furious and humiliated, Lancaster leads his army to Conisbrough Castle determined to reclaim his wife—and his honour.

This book is the third in a series of story collections about the author's home town, Conisbrough. The stories range from ancient times to the mid-twentieth century, including the experiences of a Conisbrough blacksmith at the battle of Lincoln, a tournament at Pontefract, in which the Sir John Eland, Constable of Conisbrough Castle, wins the prize, and the experiences of a Conisbrough miner during the ‘Bag Muck’ strike.

Two poachers, Peter and Gregory, play a trick on Father Bernadine by stealing a cask of his wine. He punishes them by laying a curse on the cask, and when they open it, a serpent wriggles out. The serpent grows until it terrorizes the town of Coningsburgh. Only one person can save the people from destruction – young Robert and his little dog Toby – but how can a boy and his dog take on the might of the serpent?

This collection of stories and poems covers the period from first wave of migration in c. 449 to the end of Anglo-Saxon England with the Norman Conquest in 1066 and include stories about the most popular Anglo-Saxon heroes and events, such as Hengest, King Alfred, the Battle of Maldon and the Battle of Hastings. They also include material from the common Germanic stock, such as the legends of Beowulf and Starkath.

This book is the second in a series of story collections about the author’s home town, Conisbrough. The stories range from ancient times to the mid-twentieth century, including William de Warenne’s adventures on the disastrous Second Crusade, the swan song of Conisbrough Castle when it was garrisoned to hold out against the Pilgrimage of Grace, and the experiences of a young Conisbrough miner on his first day ‘dahn’t pit’.