Knight of the Empress

by Griff Hosker Book 2 in the The Anarchy Series series.

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Alfraed of Norton is ordered to escort the Empress Matilda safely back to her husband, Emperor Henry V, across a Europe divided by dynastic rivalry and local ambition. The journey places a small escort against bandits, hostile nobles and men who would gain influence by controlling or eliminating a woman whose marriage links the English and imperial courts.

Protection depends on more than battlefield skill. Alfraed must recognise treachery within friendly households, negotiate passage through disputed territory and keep Matilda beyond the reach of princes willing to use her as a political instrument. The mission exposes the unstable network of loyalties from which Matilda will later emerge as a claimant to the English throne.

Historical Periods

Thomas Becket and Church–Crown Conflict1162–1170 CE Third Crusade1189–1192 CE First Battle of Lincoln1141 CE Norman Invasion of Ireland1169–1177

Historical people

Eleanor of Aquitaine1124–1204 Henry II of England1133–1189 Stephen, King of England1095–1154 Empress Matilda1102–1167 David I of Scotland1084–1153 Thomas Becket William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke1146–1219