The Chronicles of Gildas

By John Henson

The Chronicles of Gildas is a love story that spans the ages as the immortal Gildas crosses the centuries in search of his beloved bride

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Aug 5, 2014
• ISBN: 9781291973815

John Henson

John Henson is a native of Cardiff and a son of the Manse. He graduated in history and theology at the universities of Southampton and Oxford (Regent's Park) respectively and was ordained to the Baptist ministry at Carmel Baptist Church, Pontypridd, Wales in 1964. He was responsible for a union between his own church and the United Reformed Church in 1969 (now St. David’s, Pontypridd) and has since given assistance to other churches seeking to make similar unions at the local level. He taught history in Cardiff High School from 1970 - 1973 and then resumed ministry at Glyncoch, Pontypridd in cooperation with the Anglican Communion. During this time he was also the organizer ('Admiral') in Wales for 'Pilots', the children's movement of the United Reformed Church, which included summer holiday camps. Since 1980 he has been largely freelance, acting as pastoral befriender to people in minority groups while continuing to assist in the conduct of worship in the churches. His interests include music, left-wing politics, penal reform, peace, the quest for truly contemporary and inclusive worship, and gender issues. A member of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement from its early years, for many years he assisted the movement as the contact person for the South Wales group and as a counsellor. For five years he was chairperson of 'ONE for Christian Renewal' which has now been succeeded by The Progressive Christian Network (UK) of which John continues to be an active member. John has lectured on faith and gender in Strasbourg and Oslo at the invitation of the European Union and the World Student Christian Federation. He has lectured in the U.K. at universities, ecumenical conferences and retreat centres, at Greenbelt, and at St. Michael's Anglican college Llandaf, Cardiff. He is also a member of the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptist Churches of the USA. John has been happily married to Valerie, his partner for fifty years. They have three adult children, Gareth, Iestyn and Rhôda, and nine grandchildren- Aidan, Bleddyn, Carys, Gwenllian, Dyfrig, Iona, Isobel, Tomos and Ffion-Medi.

Book preview

The Chronicles of Gildas

The Chronicles of Gildas

A Passionately Fair Publisher

Manuscript, cover design and interior artwork done

by John W. Henson. Final format by Pat Simpson

www.apfpublisher.com

© 2011 by John W. Henson

All rights reserved.  No part of this book may be reproduced,

stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form

by any means without the prior permission of the publishers,

except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review

to be printed in newspaper, magazine or journal

ISBN:  978-1-291-97381-5

Acknowledgements

This book is dedicated to four people.

Firstly to my beautiful wife Jan, a constant,

who believes in me and supports me, though for

the life of me I dont know why.

To my lovely Daughter Ruth for giving

me the greatest gift that I have ever had,

a chance, Maybe like Gildas I can be a hero.

My Dear friend Paulette, without whom this work

would not have happened, she awakened me to who

I was and Gildas’ sword became a pen

Finally my friend and publisher Pat for

seeing some value in me, a rare insight.

Thankyou I love you all more than you know

John W Henson

Credits

Cover design and illustration, interior design, illustrations

and page layout: John W Henson.

Final preparation for press: Patricia Anne Farnsworth Simpson

With a forward by Paulette F Kosak

Foreword

The Chronicles of Gildas is so much more than the tale of one man’s journey through time. It is a poetic journal of a love that transcends time and space.  It is about a love that breaks the bonds of a soul cursed to wander the earth for eternity. It is a triumph that follows the tragic hero Gildas, living the eternally lonely life of a reluctant vampyre, as he searches throughout the ages for his only true love, his soul mate, his beloved Rowena who was taken from him on their wedding day and wickedly murdered.

Thus does he trek through epochs gone by, each time finding her soul inhabiting a stranger, intersecting history time and again, only to lose her to the cold sting of death. The agony in each moment of loss grows ever greater and the burden heavier as Gildas sees eternity stretching endlessly before him with no loving respite from his pain.

He is a cursed man, made a vampyre, with no hope of salvation

for his damned soul, nor hope of death to come and take him to his rest. Each time finding but never able to hold onto his beloved

Rowena…, until one fateful day the Almighty offers him one last hope for redemption!

No one else could pen this epic love story woven so accurately within history’s grand panorama, so much so that the reader is transported through each tragic chapter as if by magic! So powerful are the words and artistic expressions of John Henson, one cannot view or drink in his works and not be deeply moved.

It is my honour and pleasure to write this foreword. I invite you to immerse yourself in the gifted, enchanted world of John W. Henson and discover his magic for yourselves!

P. F. Kosak, Novelist/Poet May 9, 2011

Introduction

The Chronicles Of Gildas is an Epic poem in twenty parts. Gildas is a Celtic Warrior, his adventure begins in approximately 90 B.C. on the day of his wedding to the beautiful Rowena, the Picts raid his village and she is taken. Whilst attempting to rescue her, Rowena is murdered and Gildas is turned vampyre. Thus begins the story of a love that will not die though all the odds are stacked against it. Gildas uses his immortality to track his beloveds soul across time, locating her in different ages and different incarnations only to lose her again and again. Their story is a breathtaking journey through history. Follow their heartbreak and pain in a rollercoaster ride through time, as the great lovers make history becoming part of the past and the future, creating myths and legends along the way as their tragic story unfolds. From Celtic Britain to modern America their story will take you through the beauty, romance and tragedy of the past, from the gladiatorial combats of Imperial Rome, through the Rennaissance,  to the Court intrigues of England and Europe, The Plague, the Inquisition, and Murder it will even take you to War, and the thread of love ever weaves its way through. Great pains have been taken to keep the history essentially accurate, licence has been kept to a minimum to fit the storyline which for the most part has been fitted into known facts. And don’t forget that Gildas is a Vampire, as he ages his power grows, as he plunges inexorably towards his fate. There lies the crux, this story of doomed love has a twist, and the seemingly cursed and ill fated Gildas has a fate awaiting him that is unique in this genre. Gildas and Rowenas story will educate, it will make you laugh, it will make you cry. Written in the first person you will feel as though you are there, so read on now and experience history. Experience adventure, fear, sadness and love, like never before.

John W Henson 2011

The Prologue: It Begins

I t seems so long ago now that I wrote of my life and love

Of Dear Rowena and the trials that began in our youth

Of the divine intervention of the lord of hosts above

And of the evil given in this world, obscuring the truth

My agony at my loss and the war chief Dorcas the pict

Of the deamon whore that made me what I became

Before the time of that wonderous Heavenly edict

Enabling me my immortal soul, to reach out and reclaim

I walked the paths of time and saw so many things

My