Heh, I own the book that comes from. It's from the illustrations to _The White Company_ by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (of Sherlock Holmes fame). The illustration shows the character Hordle John rebelling against the authority of the monastery into which he unwisely entered. This is some time in the 1300's. I forget what order has just been given--I think perhaps that he is to be flogged for eating too much, something like that. So he has a scuffle and runs away from the monastery and has adventures in the Hundred Years' War. Holmes, like so many authors of the time, was never above a little hyperbolic anti-Catholic story-telling.
I am a big fan of both Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and N. C. Wyeth, who illustrated the volume you mentioned. I have never read The White Company, so thanks for the summary!
You'd enjoy it, and that doesn't tell the half. Actually, the main character is an entirely different person. If you've ever read any Henty historical novels, this has a similar feel.
Those Irish monks: always falling off the wagon.
ReplyDeleteHeh, I own the book that comes from. It's from the illustrations to _The White Company_ by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (of Sherlock Holmes fame). The illustration shows the character Hordle John rebelling against the authority of the monastery into which he unwisely entered. This is some time in the 1300's. I forget what order has just been given--I think perhaps that he is to be flogged for eating too much, something like that. So he has a scuffle and runs away from the monastery and has adventures in the Hundred Years' War. Holmes, like so many authors of the time, was never above a little hyperbolic anti-Catholic story-telling.
ReplyDeleteI mean Conan Doyle, not Holmes. Oops. Confusing the author with the character.
ReplyDeleteI am a big fan of both Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and N. C. Wyeth, who illustrated the volume you mentioned. I have never read The White Company, so thanks for the summary!
ReplyDeleteYou'd enjoy it, and that doesn't tell the half. Actually, the main character is an entirely different person. If you've ever read any Henty historical novels, this has a similar feel.
ReplyDelete