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Lion Hudson - Mel Starr

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92 pages

English

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'Another exciting page-turner by Mel Starr. He beautifully depicts the counds, sights and smells, as well as the emotions, of the medieval world in this welcome addition to his long-running series. ' Jill Dalladay, author of The Abbess of WhitbyLord Gilbert Talbot must provide soldiers for Prince Edward's battle in France. He wishes his surgeon--Hugh de Singleton--to travel with the war party to tend any injuries. Among those on the road is Sir Simon Trillowe, Hugh's old nemesis, who had once torched Hugh's house.Finding himself in the same war party, Hugh resolves to watch his back in the presence of the knight, who is still holding a grudge. But it is Sir Simon who should not have turned his back....When Trillowe's body is found, many suspect Hugh has wreaked revenge on his adversary. To clear his name, Hugh must once again riddle a reason for murder.

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Publié par	Lion Hudson
Date de parution	19 août 2016
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781782641896
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0450€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Lucifer s Harvest

Another exciting page-turner by Mel Starr. Confronted by skulduggery in the Black Prince s camp, resolute surgeon Hugh de Singleton risks neck and soul to uncloak the villains. Starr beautifully depicts the sounds, sights and smells, as well as the emotions, of the medieval world in this welcome addition to his long-running series.
- Jill Dalladay, author of the The Abbess of Whitby
The chronicles of Hugh de Singleton, surgeon
The Unquiet Bones
A Corpse at St Andrew s Chapel
A Trail of Ink
Unhallowed Ground
The Tainted Coin
Rest Not in Peace
The Abbot s Agreement
Ashes to Ashes
Lucifer s Harvest
Lucifer s Harvest
The ninth chronicle of Hugh de Singleton, surgeon
M EL S TARR
Text copyright 2016 Mel Starr This edition copyright 2016 Lion Hudson
The right of Mel Starr to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
All the characters in this book are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Published by Lion Fiction an imprint of Lion Hudson plc Wilkinson House, Jordan Hill Road Oxford OX2 8DR, England www.lionhudson.com/fiction
ISBN 978 1 78264 188 9 e-ISBN 978 1 78264 189 6
First edition 2016
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Cover image guido narducci / Alamy Stock Photo
For Nick, Alex, Elliot, and Oliver

A day of battle is a day of harvest for the devil
Rev. William Hook; 1600-1677
Acknowledgments

S everal years ago, when Dan Runyon, Professor of English at Spring Arbor University, learned that I had written an as yet unpublished medieval mystery, he invited me to speak to his fiction-writing class about the trials of a rookie writer seeking a publisher. He sent sample chapters of Master Hugh s first chronicle, The Unquiet Bones , to his friend Tony Collins. Thanks, Dan.
Thanks to Tony Collins and all those at Lion Hudson who saw Master Hugh s potential. Thanks especially to my editor, Jan Greenough, who, after nine books, knows Master Hugh as well as I do, and excels at asking such questions as, Do you really want to say it that way? and, Wouldn t Master Hugh do it like this?
Dr. John Blair, of Queen s College, Oxford, has written several papers about Bampton history. These have been invaluable in creating an accurate time and place for Master Hugh. Tony and Lis Page have also been a great source of information about Bampton. I owe them much. Tony died in March 2015, only a few months after being diagnosed with cancer. He will be greatly missed.
Ms. Malgorzata Deron, of Poznan, Poland, offered to update and maintain my website. She has done an excellent job. To see the result of her work, visit www.melstarr.net
Glossary

Aketon: a padded coat, worn beneath armor to absorb blows, or on its own by ordinary soldiers.
Aloes of lamb: lamb sliced thin and rolled in a mixture of egg yolk, suet, onion, and various spices, then baked.
Ambler: an easy-riding horse, because it moved both right legs together, then both left legs.
Angelus Bell: rung three times each day - dawn, noon, and dusk. Announced the time for the Angelus devotional.
Assumption Day: August 15. Celebrated the assumption to heaven of Mary, the mother of Christ.
Bailiff: a lord s chief manorial representative. He oversaw all operations, collected rents and fines, and enforced labor service. Not a popular fellow.
Bolt: a short, heavy, blunt arrow shot from a crossbow.
Braes: medieval underpants.
Burgher: a town merchant or tradesman.
Captal de Buch: an archaic feudal title. In 1370 the holder was Jean de Grailly, praised as an ideal of chivalry.
Chapman: a merchant, particularly one who traveled from village to village with his wares.
Chauces: tight-fitting trousers, often of different colors for each leg.
Chrismatory: a container for holy oil.
Cinq Ports: five ports on the English Channel, closest to France: Hastings, Hyth, Dover, Sandwich, and New Romney. (Mayor of New Romney in the 1590s was Thomas Starr.)
Coppice: to cut back a tree so that a thicket of saplings would grow from the stump. These shoots were used for everything from arrows to rafters, depending upon how long they were allowed to grow.
Cotehardie: the primary medieval garment. Women s were floor-length, while men s ranged from thigh- to ankle-length.
Crenel: open space between the merlons of a battlement.
Cresset: a bowl of oil with a floating wick used for lighting.
Cuisse: plate armor defense for the thigh.
Daub: a clay and plaster mix, reinforced with straw or horse hair.
Dexter: a war horse, larger than pack horses, palfreys, and runcies. Also, the right hand direction.
Easter Sepulcher: a niche in the wall of a church or chapel where the host and a cross were placed on Good Friday and removed on Easter Sunday.
Egg leach: a thick custard, often enriched with almonds, spices, and flour.
Fast day: Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Not the fasting of modern usage, when no food is consumed, but days upon which no meat, eggs, or animal products were consumed. Fish was on the menu for those who could afford it.
Free company: at times of peace during the Hundred Years War bands of unemployed knights would organize themselves and ravage the countryside. France especially suffered.
Gathering: eight leaves of parchment, made by folding the prepared hide three times.
Gentleman: a nobleman. The term had nothing to do with character or behavior.
Halberd: a long pole with axe blade attached, and topped with a spike.
Harbinger: a scout sent ahead of the army to find lodging.
Hind: female of the red deer.
Kirtle: a medieval undershirt.
Lammastide: August 1, when thanks was given for a successful wheat harvest.
Liripipe: a fashionably long tail attached to a man s cap.
Lych gate: a roofed gate through the churchyard wall under which the deceased rested during the initial part of a funeral.
Mangonel: a siege engine used to throw missles to break down a city wall.
Marshalsea: the stables and assorted accoutrements.
Maslin: bread made from a mixture of grains, commonly wheat or barley and rye.
Merlon: a solid portion of a castle wall between the open crenels of a battlement.
Michaelmas: September 29. The feast signaled the end of the harvest. Last rents and tithes were due.
Nine man morris: a board game similar to tic-tac-toe, but much more complicated.
Ninth hour: about 3 pm.
Palfrey: a riding horse with a comfortable gait.
Poleaxe: also called a halberd.
Pomme dorryse: meatballs made of ground pork, eggs, currants, flour, and spices.
Porringer: a small round bowl.
Portcullis: a grating of iron or wood hung over a passage and lowered between grooves to prevent access.
Pottage: anything cooked in one pot, from soups and stews to a simple porridge.
Reeve: an important manor official, although he did not outrank the bailiff. Elected by tenants from among themselves, often the best husbandman. He had responsibility for fields, buildings, and enforcing labor service.
Remove: a course at dinner.
Runcie: a common horse of lower grade than a palfrey or ambler.
St. Bartholomew s Day: August 24.
St. John s Day: June 24.
St. Thomas the Apostle s Day: July 3.
Shingle: a stony, heavily graveled beach.
Solar: a small private room, more easily heated than the great hall, where lords often preferred to spend time, especially in winter. Usually on an upper floor of a castle or great house.
Sole in cyve: sole boiled, then served with a sauce of white wine, onions, bread crumbs, and spices.
Squire: a youth who attends a knight, often in training to become knighted.
Stockfirsh: inexpensive fish, usually dried cod or haddock, consumed on fast days.
Stone: fourteen pounds.
Trebuchet: a medieval military machine which could hurl stones with great force - similar to a mangonel.
Tun: a large cask capable of holding over 200 gallons.
Victualer: responsible for finding food for an army on the move.
Villein: a non-free peasant. He could not leave his land or service to his lord, or sell animals without permission. But if he could escape his manor for a year and a day he would be free.
Wattle: interlacing sticks used as a foundation and support for daub in forming the walls of a house.
Whitsuntide: Pentecost, seven weeks after Easter Sunday: White Sunday .
Wimple: a cloth covering worn over the head and around the neck.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Afterword
Chapter 1

W hen I first traveled to France I did not rue the journey. I was a student, and like most lads eager to see new lands and learn new things. I was then on my way to Paris to study surgery at the university.
I was less eager to cross the sea in the year of our Lord 1370 when Lord Gilbert Talbot, my employer, required it of me. France was no longer a new land to me, and perhaps I had lost the desire to learn new things. I learned many new things anyway. Knowledge is not always desired or intended. It is, however, often useful, even if unwanted, and accumulates like the grey whiskers which Kate occasionally finds in my beard. At least for this journey I would ride a palfrey rather than walk.
Three days before Whitsuntide I awoke to a pounding upon Galen House door. My Kate was already from our bed and called out that Arthur must speak to me. Arthur is a groom to Lord Gilbert Talbot and has been useful to me and his employer in helping untangle several mysteries which fell to me to solve. The f