Merlin’s breakdown
In the story, Merlin is driven insane with grief and rage; all hope gone, he flees into the forest and hides from a world he can no longer trust or love. There he spews out his demented, yet curiously moving, rants to the earth and stars, awaiting the day of his release and redemption. While some readers can find this extremely upsetting, I think it was essential to the story, and helped increase the emotional depth and richness of the tale. Also, there were good historical reasons for putting Merlin through this harrowing time; many of the old legends speak of him as a madman and mystical forest dweller. This was a way to incorporate those legends into my tale.
Religion
When Christianity came to the British Isles, possibly as early as 54 AD, it was welcomed and embraced in an extraordinary way. Many viewed the new faith as the fulfillment of what they already believed. In several ancient legends, Arthur is spoken of as a true Christian king. It has been my attempt to put flesh onto these bones, to speculate how this aspect of the tales might have played a part in the legends, as well as how it all might have looked to someone alive then. In other words, to try to put back in what so many others leave out.
Whether or not Arthur existed
While it is true that the historic record is sketchy, there are scores of tantalizing clues and traces—a fragment of verse here, a place name there—but little that academic historians will accept as definitive proof of his existence.
All the same, that is slowly beginning to change as more is learned about the so-called “Dark Ages” and the time of Arthur. Every now and then there is word that someone in Wales or Scotland has uncovered a gravestone, a provocative ruin, or some other possible clue that promises to solve the puzzle…. Some believe, as I do, that if the search were to be moved from the southwest of England to the Borders of Scotland it might bear more fruit.
On another level, though, I ask myself what person or series of events has created such an enduring story? Is it likely to be based on nothing? I believe that, once all the layers of legend are stripped away, there remains a kernel of truth. In other words, Arthur—or someone so much like him that it may just as well be him—did exist and did rise to the defense of his land when all hope seemed lost, and that act was so momentous it lives on in the Arthurian myths.
Copyright © Stephen Lawhead, 2003
About the Author
Stephen R. Lawhead is an internationally acclaimed author of mythic history and imaginative fiction. His works include Byzantium and the series The Pendragon Cycle, The Celtic Crusades, and The Song of Albion. Lawhead makes his home in Austria with his wife. Visit www.stephenlawhead.com.
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By Stephen R. Lawhead
The Iron Lance
The Black Rood
The Mystic Rose
Byzantium
Taliesen
Merlin
Arthur
Pendragon
Grail
The Paradise War
The Silver Hand
The Endless Knot
Empyrion
Dream Thief
In the Hall of the Dragon King
The Warlords of Nin
The Sword and the Flame
Praise for
THE PENDRAGON CYCLE
“ENTERTAINS AND TANTALIZES…AN EXCITING AND THOUGHTFUL ADDITION TO THE RANKS OF ARTHURIAN FANTASY.”
Locus
“LAWHEAD MANAGES TO GIVE THE OLD TALE NEW MEANING AND FASCINATION. A fine storyteller, he brings the Arthurian characters to life without sacrificing any of the haunting pleasures of the legends.”
Omaha World Herald
“HIGHLY RECOMMENDED…
Reminiscent of C. S. Lewis”
Library Journal
“LAWHEAD’S WRITING IS CRISP, ELOQUENT AND DESCRIPTIVE. The narrative doesn’t merely tell a story, but pulls you into a tapestry.”
New Pathways
“THOUGH LAWHEAD BRILLIANTLY CREATES AN AUTHENTIC AND VIVID ARTHURIAN BRITAIN, HE NEVER FORSAKES THE SENSE OF WONDER THAT HAS GRACED THE ARTHURIAN LEGEND THROUGHOUT THE AGES.”
Publishers Weekly
ARTHURIAN LITERATURE”
Aboriginal Science Fiction
Credits
Front cover illustration by Eric Peterson
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
PENDRAGON: Book Four of the Pendragon Cycle. Copyright © 1994 by Stephen R. Lawhead. All rights reserved under Interna tional and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition © DECEMBER 2003 ISBN: 9780061802676
First Eos printing: October 2000
First AvoNovo printing: September 1995
First Morrow/AvoNovo hardcover printing: October 1994
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