The Swithen for Medievalists

Why should Medievalists care about this Arthurian book series? Because of its commitment to remain faithful to the Medieval legend, no matter how wild it can get.

Any writer wants attention for their work, but I wanted to reach out to Medievalists, especially those who teach the Arthurian legend, as they are best equipped to grasp what this book series is attempting, regardless of whether it appeals to them or not. While the novels are written to appeal to a general light literary audience, those most familiar with the source material will be able to best see how I am interpreting it.

The below will give you an idea of the parameters of my project, and if not interested for yourself, you’ll at least have something to recommend to students that will bring them closer to the Arthurian literature, not further away.

What it is:

• The rule of this book series is that I cannot change any major point from the 1136-1485 Arthurian sources (I draw largely on the Vulgate/Post-Vulgate cycles). I can only add or enhance scenes and characters, but anything I add has to slot seamlessly into the existing legend without changing it (if there are multiple versions, I can pick the one I like best). This is the challenge I have set for myself as a writer.
• I plan 25 novels to tell the full legend in the scope and majesty it deserves (P.S. I am leaving out Tristram entirely). Four are out now and I am finishing a first draft of the fifth. One of the key insights I had is that these stories need to be longer, not shorter, in order for people to fully appreciate the scope and stakes of each of these tales.
• It is an interpretation of the literature. Unlike many writers, my focus is not on the historical Arthur. I am interested in the work as literature.Also unlike most other writers, I do not rearrange the story to make it more appealing to modern readers. Although I am creating a lot and adding a great deal, it is as much a translation and interpretation as an original work. My wish is to interpret the real legend for a modern audience.

What it’s like:

• Existential, philosophical and psychological. Must be the workings of my mind, but most of the characters are dealing with multi-layered existential questions, and I go into a great deal into their psychology as they go through situations which truly exemplify humans at the mercy of the gods.
• No “Fie, Milady’s.” Some find it jarring, but I make little attempt to mimic Medieval language. The writing and speech is not modern, but the emphasis is on conveying the character’s thoughts and emotions in a way a reader of today can empathize with.
• Not archetypes, characters.The goal is to flesh out these characters enough that we feel they are real, living people that readers can relate to. Then to help people understand the incredibly interwoven network of relationships, history and psychology that make up the story.
• Yes, it has anachronisms. But so does the source material, so in that way, it continues to be faithful.

What it does:

• Increases and tightens the connections. I am able to make more explicit family and friend relationships in a way that will help the reader make sense of who was affected by what and why they are reacting as they do. Because of this, I expect it to get increasingly powerful as readers will have an easier time understanding the history behind key events in the story.
  • For example: Morgan and Margause would likely have been around Igraine while Uther was harassing her. I show their relationship as fourteen and ten-year-old sisters, how they react to what happens to their mother and their own forced marriages, and how their lives are altered, so we have that history before we get into their more well-known roles in the story.
• Enhances lesser key characters. I enhance and bulk up key peripheral characters in order to make the society more realistic and offer a more cohesive story.
  • For example: In the novel I’m writing now, we have Ulfius and Bretel (AKA Brastias) working through the aftermath of how Ulfius behaved during the deception of Bretel’s lady, Igraine… including that Ulfius impersonated Bretel and broke Igraine’s trust in him while in disguise.
• Women characters are given equal importance and depth (but not wholly changed). It’s important to me to give the female characters equally rich psychology and importance in the story, but since I am bound to keep the story the same, Guinevere will not become a ninja.
  • For example: Arthur’s adoptive mother, Lady Ector, all but absent in the sources, has a very important and influential place in his development as he grows up. Merlin’s mother also plays a great role in his development. Both women do not even receive names in the source material.

Where we are:

• Book 1: Our Man on Earth: The story of Merlin’s mother, her imprisonment in the tower, Merlin’s birth and the trial for her life.
• Book 2: The Sons of Constance: Merlin serves Vortiger, Pendragon and Uther, creates the Round Table and Stonehenge.
• Book 3: The Void Place: Uther and Igraine’s story, taking us up to the birth of Arthur and the appearance of the sword in the stone.
• Book 4: The Flower of Chivalry: Young Arthur has boyish adventures and we watch his development until he pulls the sword from the stone.
• Book 5: (in progress now): Arthur’s training beside Ulfius and Bretel until he is finally coroneted as king.

What I love about it:

• No need to worry about story! I can be confident that I have a great story, and that most of the resonant connections are worked out in advance (I have a giant spreadsheet working out where each character is at each point). What I can do is add more resonance, make sure the reader can understand all the interrelations, and help readers understand the character’s emotions as a way into the story.
• I’m just an existential guy. To my own surprise, I find that I have a lot of existential meditations and the Arthurian legend offers a great, very open framework to overlay with questions of one’s place in the universe and purpose in life, how much choice any of us have over our destinies, and the way family histories resonate through generations.
• Birth-to-death life stories. As an author, it’s an incredible gift to be able to tell, over the course of several novels, the full life stories of an entire society of interconnected characters.

What can you do?

• Read it yourself. It will provoke interesting questions of why events were interpreted as they are, how vague parts of the legend are made clearer, and whether what was added works successfully.
• Mention it to your students. If they are seeking something entertaining to read that will illuminate and generate further study of the original Arthurian legend, instead of obscuring it, this series will send them back to the source material to see how the writing there inspired this project.