The King's Sons
By George Fenn
()
About this ebook
Not quite, for at such a time the sea looks as blue as the sky above it, while here on this particular hot day, though the sky was as blue as a sapphire stone, the hills were of a beautiful soft green, the grass being short and soft, and as velvety as if Nature had been all over it regularly with her own particular mowing-machine.
But the only mowing that had been done to that grass was by the cropping teeth of the many flocks of sheep whose fleeces dotted the downs with soft white where they nibbled away, watched by the shepherds in their long smock frocks with turn-down collars and pleatings and gatherings on breast and back, and slit up at the sides from the bottom so as to give the men’s legs room to move freely when they ran after a restive sheep to hook him with the long crook they carried and bring him kicking and struggling by hook or by crook to the grass...
Read more from George Fenn
The Black Tor Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMarcus the Young Centurion Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The King's Sons
Related ebooks
The King's Sons Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsQueen of the Longship: The Saxon Annals, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDragon Osmund: A Tale of Saxon England Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Sea Queen's Sailing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFifty Famous Stories Retold Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Graven: An Epic Struggle Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhen we raid we are Viking II the great heathen army Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lord of the Fire Lands Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Boy Apprenticed to an Enchanter Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBallads from the Danish and Original Verses Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Raven's Wish (The Border Rogues Series, Book 1) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5For The White Christ A Story of the Days of Charlemagne Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVandrad the Viking; Or, The Feud and the Spell Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Reluctant Highlander Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Brown Fairy Book Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKing Olaf's Kinsman: A Story of the Last Saxon Struggle against the Danes in the Days of Ironside and Cnut Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDAPPLEGRIM - A Norwegian Children’s Story: Baba Indaba Children’s Stories - Issue 177 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Armourer's Prentices Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKing Olaf's Kinsman A Story of the Last Saxon Struggle against the Danes in the Days of Ironside and Cnut Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5King Olaf's Kinsman Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Avenging Rhodri Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA King’s Lesson by William Morris - Delphi Classics (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe King of Ireland's Son Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn Hostile Red Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe King of Athelney: An extraordinary classic of Vikings, Saxons and battle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5VANDRAD THE VIKING - A Norse Saga: The Feud and the Spell Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Bondman: A New Saga Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThorbrand - Warriors Of The North: A Viking Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Complete Works of Jennie Hall Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Historical Fiction For You
Demon Copperhead: A Pulitzer Prize Winner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Yellow Wife: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5East of Eden Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Grapes of Wrath Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Carnegie's Maid: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5We Have Always Lived in the Castle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Kingdom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rebecca Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This Tender Land: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sold on a Monday: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Second Life of Mirielle West: A Haunting Historical Novel Perfect for Book Clubs Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Light Between Oceans: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Kitchen House: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Clockmaker's Daughter: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Girls in the Stilt House: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Canterbury Tales Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rules of Magic: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lady Tan's Circle of Women: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Euphoria Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The House of Eve Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Island of Sea Women: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hallowe'en Party: Inspiration for the 20th Century Studios Major Motion Picture A Haunting in Venice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Red Tent - 20th Anniversary Edition: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tinkers: 10th Anniversary Edition Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Magic Lessons: The Prequel to Practical Magic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The House Is on Fire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The King's Sons
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
The King's Sons - George Fenn
The King’s Sons
George Fenn
OZYMANDIAS PRESS
Thank you for reading. If you enjoy this book, please leave a review or connect with the author.
All rights reserved. Aside from brief quotations for media coverage and reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any form without the author’s permission. Thank you for supporting authors and a diverse, creative culture by purchasing this book and complying with copyright laws.
Copyright © 2016 by George Fenn
Interior design by Pronoun
Distribution by Pronoun
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter One.
Chapter Two.
Chapter Three.
Chapter Four.
Chapter Five.
Chapter Six.
Chapter One.
Sons of the King.
THE SUN SHONE DOWN hotly on the hill-side, and that hill was one of a range of smooth rolling downs that ought to have been called ups and downs, from the way they seemed to rise and fall like the sea on a fine calm day.
Not quite, for at such a time the sea looks as blue as the sky above it, while here on this particular hot day, though the sky was as blue as a sapphire stone, the hills were of a beautiful soft green, the grass being short and soft, and as velvety as if Nature had been all over it regularly with her own particular mowing-machine.
But the only mowing that had been done to that grass was by the cropping teeth of the many flocks of sheep whose fleeces dotted the downs with soft white where they nibbled away, watched by the shepherds in their long smock frocks with turn-down collars and pleatings and gatherings on breast and back, and slit up at the sides from the bottom so as to give the men’s legs room to move freely when they ran after a restive sheep to hook him with the long crook they carried and bring him kicking and struggling by hook or by crook to the grass.
It was just over a thousand years ago, and, in spite of all the changes fashion has made, plenty of shepherds and farm labourers still wear the simple old Saxon dress then worn by King Ethelwulf’s serfs, though without the girdle worn then.
There were four boys on the steepest slope of that hill-side—four fair-haired, sun-browned, hearty-looking boys—and they wore smock frocks, belted in at the waist, of fine, soft, woollen material, woven out of the fleeces of the sheep; for they were King’s sons, the sons of the King whose flocks were feeding on the hill-side in Berkshire, where he had his Court.
It was as peaceful there as it was soft and beautiful; for though news came from time to time of the cruel acts of the fierce Norsemen who had come across the sea in their great row and sailing galleys full of fighting-men, they were far away from the King’s home, so that Queen Osburga felt no anxiety about her boys being out on the downs at play, enjoying themselves and growing strong. This she loved to see; though, being a very learned woman herself in days when noble people thought no shame to have to say: I cannot read or write,
she sighed to find how very little her four sons cared for such things as