Your Questions

Q

I have greedily devoured all the books up to 9.  At the end of this book Amazon informs me on my Kindle that there is indeed a 10th book.   It seems to also tell me that it is untitled!?!?!?  Uhtred is going north to Bebbanburg now to settle his own affairs.  I wonder are you writing this edition or is Amazon having a laugh at my expense?  Thanks for your marvellous books, I love them and they enrich my life.

SL

Submitted April 22, 2016

A

I don't think Amazon would do that!  I'm just about finished with book 10 - still untitled but we hope to decide the title soon.

Q

Hi, Mr Cornwell,

In the above book , the Map shows Cumbraland north of the Wall in Dumfires, is this an error? Great book by the way. As are all your others.

Regards

Tony Steele

Submitted April 22, 2016

A

It is! I never noticed. It’s plainly my fault, though in mitigation I never see the maps which tend to be produced last of all and put into the book before I have a chance to check them. But you’re right, it is an error.

 

Q

Dear Mr Cornwell,

Firstly I wanted to ask if you have heard of a Biological anthropologist and presenter called Alice Roberts? I bumped into her the other week at a campsite in Woolacombe North Devon and had a chat about your books.

I am mainly emailing to see if you can settle a little debate I’ve been having with people from Croyde, North Devon. The locals there swear blindly that the village of Croyde takes its name from a Viking raider called CRYDDA who settled in the area from around 794 and went on to become its ruler.

I have debated this for years now as the Vikings never settled in Devon and that our place names are Saxon and Celtic in origin (this is why we have so many names with Combe in it). King Alfred also built Pilton as a defensive Burh which is only a few miles away and it just does not seem feasible that we have a Viking place name in North Devon.

I know Lundy is thought to be old Norse for Puffin but many of the Welsh Islands also have Norse names but there is none on the welsh mainland.

Thanks for your time it is always very much appreciated.

Kind regards

Ian Parkhouse

Submitted April 22, 2016

A

I have indeed heard of her and hugely enjoyed her book The Incredible Unlikeliness of Being.   I recommend it and am very flattered she might have read one of my books! Thank you

 

I suspect, but can’t definitively prove, that you’re right and they’re wrong. You’re certainly right in saying that Devon doesn’t have Scandinavian place-names, but we must allow the possibility that Croyde is the exception that proves the rule. However! The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place Names gives the villagers a smidgeon of wriggle-room by saying that the origin of Croyde is ‘uncertain’. That’s all the wriggle room they’ll get because the earliest discovered recording of the name is Crideholde, from 1086 (Domesday Book?). The dictionary suggests that was the name of the stream flowing through the village, identical with the nearby Creedy, a river name which in turn derives from the Old Welsh cridi meaning a winding river. The Saxon settlers would have learned the name from the indigenous Britons. An alternative theory suggests Croyde might be derived from the Anglo-Saxon word cryde which means a headland or hill-spur. You’re almost certainly right, but good luck persuading them! You owe me a pint for copying all this out.

 

Q

hello Mister Cornwell.

I hope I find you and yours in fine fettle. In a few of your Sharpe books Harper uses the saying "God bless Ireland". I was wondering if this was a rallying call used by the Connacht rangers or another of the Irish regiments who later fought in the Great War. I have a ladies sweetheart broach portraying a soldier in WW1 uniform with the motto"erin go bragh"(God save Ireland) around its outer edge. It has intrigued me for years as I cannot find an Irish regiment with the said motto. The Irish romantic in me wonders what ever became of them. Your work has given me much joy over the years and long may it continue.

many thanks

John McGoldrick.

Submitted April 22, 2016

A

I confess I invented the phrase for Harper. I suspect you may be right and it was used as a war cry by regiments like the 88th, but I confess I can’t confirm that.

Q

Dear Mr. Cornwell,

I've enjoyed you books over the years and continue to do so! As Hemingway observed "there's no better friend than a good book." And that's certainly true with your work! I recently graduated college and am currently working a security gig before I start a program to earn my teaching certification in history. I've loved history as long as I can remember, and luckily my job allows long hours to read or watch documentaries online. I recently started watching Sharpe's War on a documentary website. And I remember in Sharpe's Company you mention a Lt. Girwood who led the forlorn hope at Ciudad Rodrigo, again, he's brought up in the documentary and how he took off his tunic and attached it to a pole to show the fortress was taken as he didn't have a flag. I'm curious as to his fate after those events. I think a man that brave deserves to prosper and live a long life after something like that. If you could enlighten me on what happened to him or direct me to some resources (as google searches have turned up nil) I would be grateful.

And as a side question, I was just wondering what your favorite historical drama film is? There are few things I love more than one well done, but so many aren't.

Best wishes from Texas,

Cameron Stewart

Submitted April 22, 2016

A

He had a very distinguished career after Ciudad Rodrigo – your Google search failed through a simple (and understandable) misspelling! Look up Lieutenant John Gurwood – he has a very full and informative Wikipedia entry!

 

Well it has to be Shakespeare in Love! Which is one of my all-time favourite movies. A close runner up is Lincoln, which I thought magnificent. Third place? Lawrence of Arabia.

 

Q

I just finished Warriors of the Storm and your entire Saxon series in 2 weeks. I even had 2 of your books on a wait list at my local library - however, I couldn't wait and purchased them at Amazon. I hope the next Uhtred book is currently in the works so I can read more of his hilarious insults toward the Christian priests and see him finally take back Bebbanburg.

One question: with all of the sexual activity in which the Uhtreds partake are there any encounters with, or fear of, infectious diseases? Just askin.

Thanks for sharing these great stories!

mj

Submitted April 22, 2016

A

Life in the 9th and 10th centuries was a constant flirtation with infectious diseases! And yes, of course there was a risk of sexually transmitted disease, but would that stop you? Just sayin’.

Q

Dear Mr Cornwell,

Thank you for all your wonderful books, I've long been a fan of Sharpe and started reading through your 'Last Kingdom' books following the television series. So far I have reached 'Death of Kings'. I mention this in case my very minor question touches upon a sub-plot that may yet be developed. But when Uhtred first goes to London he sees a Roman carving of a lion and is mystified by it. Later, in 'Death of Kings' he is perplexed by Eohric's lion banner and on a number of occasions reveals ignorance of what a lion might be. I just wonder why this should be. Uhtred is literate. He is clearly familiar with the Christian Scriptures (where lions appear not infrequently) and has no apparent trouble with other beasts either real or imaginary. Surely a reasonably well educated lord like him with wide experience would be familiar with the idea of a lion?

Not a criticism, just a query and asked with my thanks for your great books.

David Steers

Submitted April 22, 2016

A

Yes, he knows the word, but he hasn’t seen one! It’s like the dragon, the word is common in his time, but he’s still waiting to glimpse one. We know what a unicorn or a phoenix look like because we’ve seen dozens of artists’ impressions, but poor Uhtred didn’t have that advantage. He knew a lion was formidable, but how big was it? Did it have scales? A forked tail? He had no idea.

 

Q

Dear Mr. Cornwell:

Hello.  I haven't read your Arthurian series, but maybe someday I will.  In the meantime, I wish to politely challenge you on two related fronts.

(a) You mention several times in the FAQ section that the ancient (British) church was anti-Arthur.  Now at one point you refer to that institution as "the early church," which is a misnomer because ordinarily in history circles the term "early church" refers to the pre-Augustinian, Middle East-based version of the Church.  Technically speaking, "early church" doesn't apply to the British Isles.

Regardless, there's another problem here: even within the lifetime of the Apostles, this or that local church went theologically or ethically off the rails (see especially Galatians and 1 Corinthians, as well as Revelation 2-3).  Just because the Celtic church was "anti-Arthur" _doesn't_ mean we should conclude that Arthur was pagan - anymore than Charles Martel was pagan despite incurring the ire of the institutional church when he commandeered some of their supplies to help him maintain his war against the invading Muslims.

It would be surprising if Arthur hadn't done the very same thing, which would have engendered the very same response Martel got.  But a genuine Christian could _easily_ (and oft-times has been) temporarily at odds with the institutional church.  The Bible makes it abundantly clear that the institutional church isn't immune to corruption, and doesn't have inherent authority to determine who is or isn't a genuine Christian.  That's defined by the authority of Scripture itself.  All Christians can do is proclaim what Scripture teaches.  We have no authority of our own.

I challenge you to find any ancient church record (or supposed record) wherein priests or monks opposed Arthur on _theological_ grounds.

(b) You've said that despite being "raised Christian," you eventually "escaped into disbelief."  Well, in fact, no you didn't.  You exchanged one belief-system for another.  Nobody is "free" of belief.  Nobody is "free" of a worldview, a metaphysic.  You have one, as surely as Christians do.

The question is: Which worldview has more going for it...?

Best regards,

Andy Doerksen

Submitted April 22, 2016

A

You’re very fond, as some Christians are, of lecturing me about what I believe. And I reserve the right to use the word ‘early’ in whatever manner I like consistent with its meaning, and while you may not regard the Christian church in 6th and 7th Century Britain as ‘early’, I do. You challenge me? Okay. It might not be theological, but  doubtless you can explain why the life of Saint Cadoc depicts Arthur as a would-be rapist. In Saint Padarn’s life he is a ‘tyrant’ and a thief. Saint Carranog’s life depicts him as a thief too. The Red Book of Carmarthen calls him the ‘red ravager’, none of which of course precludes him from being a Christian; your faith has a proud history of slaughter, persecution, greed and general ravaging. I just chose to believe that these depictions, being so rabid, probably stemmed from the early church’s belief that Arthur was their enemy, and most probably a pagan. As for my ‘disbelief’ I stick with it in the same meaning as Mark 9.24. Doubtless you believe the evangelist got it wrong too.

Q

I have just finished reading Sharpe's Fortress ,It was mentioned that Sharpe would join the Green jackets . What story tells of this? Hope you can help me

Dig Bradley.

 

Submitted April 22, 2016

A

None, it happens off-stage between Sharpe's Trafalgar and Sharpe's Eagle.

 

Q

HI,I've read that your a great admirer of Edmund Burke (me too),and I was wondering what you think Burke would think about the two most polarizing figures in american politics today, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders? Thanks.

Brian Solomon

Submitted April 22, 2016

A

Burke would probably endorse Bernie Sanders, he appreciated honesty. As for Donald Trump? He might have quoted Schiller: ‘Against stupidity the gods themselves struggle in vain.’