Wise-Woman

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Synopsis

In a time of bloodshed and turmoil, the child Keri and her mother flee a Britain beset by Saxon marauders and settle across the sea in Britanny at the court of King Gradlon of Kemper. There Keri is befriended by Princess Dahut and grows to womanhood under the protection of the court. But storm clouds are gathering over Western Europe, as the Huns invade from the East, and the Church fights the followers of the Old Religion to maintain the supremacy given it by the Roman Emperors. Staying at Ys, on the coast, the girls meet Megan the wise-woman, and start to learn her ways. When Dahut's life is struck by tragedy it is to Megan that they turn. But the priests hate the wise-woman, and her ancient religion, and further tragedy strikes in a bitter confrontation between the two. Keri and Dahut survive, but at a terrible cost. Gradlon has converted to the new faith and is unaware of the cause of Dahut's misery. To try to raise her spirits he grants her sovereignty over the city of Ys, to rule there in his name. But when Dahut resorts to trickery and even murder to try to gain the whole kingdom, even her lifelong friend cannot support her. Not only are the two set at odds, but war threatens to erupt between King and Princess as their religious and political differences come to a head. Into this explosive mix comes Bishop Corentin, King Gradlon's religious adviser and a vicious persecutor of "heretics". Determined to destroy the pagan regime at the edge of the kingdom, he uses its peculiar relationship with the sea to wreak a catastrophic revenge upon his enemies as the story comes to a dramatic climax... * * * * * The story of Ys (sometimes called Is, or Ker-Is) is an ancient Breton folk tale from around the fifth century, the time when the legend of King Arthur originated in Britain. Many believe that it is based on fact, and this novel represents the kind of facts from which the legend might have arisen. Although it is a work of fiction, the historical background has been