Templar

by Paul Bannister Book 3 in the Crusader series.

First published 2016

Amazon

4.0(1,116)

In 1216, King John’s death leaves the nine-year-old Henry III with a divided kingdom and a regency dependent on the authority of William Marshal. Frederick Banastre and his son Alaric fear that rival magnates will use the child king’s weakness to renew civil war.

Their search for a durable protector leads towards the court of Toulouse and the conflict surrounding the Cathars, where crusading language disguises political conquest. The Banastres must distinguish religious duty from private ambition while deciding which alliance offers England the least dangerous future.

The minority government of Henry III survives because William Marshal can persuade former enemies that supporting the child king offers more stability than continuing Louis of France’s claim. Banastre’s local troubles therefore sit inside a national problem of rebuilding allegiance after civil war. The novel shows how royal authority must be reconstructed through castles, oaths and negotiated loyalty rather than assumed.