The Ill-Made Knight

by Christian Cameron Book 1 in the Chivalry series.

First published 2013

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4.4(5,636)

In September 1356, London cook’s boy William Gold follows the army of Edward, the Black Prince, into France and finds himself among archers, knights and camp followers before the Battle of Poitiers. Branded a thief and placed at the bottom of the military world, he wants the honour of knighthood without yet understanding the hunger, plague and plunder that sustain the campaign.

Survival draws William into the service of professional soldiers whose courage is inseparable from brutality. As French peasants, English routiers and defeated nobles all struggle through the wreckage of war, he begins to learn arms, loyalty and command while discovering how far the practice of chivalry falls short of its ideal.