The shadow lord
The Shadow Prince (Engl. Enemy of God ) is a historical novel by British author Bernard Cornwell . The novel was published by Penguin Verlag in Great Britain in 1996 and the German translation was published by Rowohlt Verlag in 1997 . The Shadow Prince is the second part of the trilogy The Arthurian Chronicles (English. The Warlord Chronicles ), which takes place in Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries. The first part of the trilogy, Der Winterkönig , appeared in Germany in 1996, the third and final part, Arthur's last oath , in 2000.
action
Most of the novel is set in the Kingdom of Dumnonia (in what is now southern England / Cornwall ) at the end of the fifth century. The narrator is a warrior named Derfel, who is in old age in the service of Bishop Samsun and secretly writes his story.
The beginning of the plot follows the end of The Winter King . Peace seems to have returned to Britain after the Battle of Lugg Vale . After the death of King Gorfyddyd of Powys, his son Cuneglas succeeds the throne, who takes a more conciliatory stance against the kingdom of Dumnonia. The protagonist Derfel also takes part in the festive crown ceremony in Caer Sws ( Caersws ). The death of Gundleus leaves the Silurian throne vacant, but Arthur, with the influence of his wife Guinevere at his side, is already planning to make the exiled Lancelot, King of Benoic, the new King of Silurias. To consolidate his rule and the alliance of the lands of Dumnonia, Powys and Siluria, he is to be married to Ceinwyn, the sister of King Cuneglas' of Powys. Derfel, in love with Ceinwyn and enemies with Lancelot, is not enthusiastic about this project. He also learns that he is to be married to Guinevere's sister Gwenhwyvach himself. Derfel seeks advice from Merlin who, after a secret ceremony, hands him a bone that, once broken, is said to cause Ceinwyn to choose Derfel instead of Lancelot. However, with the bone broken, Derfel would also undertake to accompany Merlin in his search for one of the relics of Britain that he was collecting. At the ceremony for Lancelots and Ceinwyn, Derfel breaks the bone and Ceinwyn turns to him. However, she does not agree to marry him, but promises to love him like a wife.
Meanwhile, Mordred, the child king of Dumnonia, is placed in Culhwch's care, Arthur's cousin and one of his great warlords, who at the time had to put down several Christian revolts. The priest Sansum, who was involved in the revolts in the background, flees to Ynys Wydryn ( Glastonbury ), originally Merlin's ancestral home, and becomes friends with Arthur's sister Morgan.
Soon afterwards the group around Merlin, Nimue, Derfel and Ceinwyn set off for Ynys Mon ( Anglesey ), where Merlin suspects the cauldron of Clyddno Eiddyn , one of the relics of Britain, whose special magical powers Merlin wants to use for the fight against the advancing Saxons. Merlin falls ill on the arduous journey. Before the group can dig up the cauldron, they are surprised and besieged by Diwrnach, the Irish king of Lleyn. After the cauldron is excavated, Nimue lays the dying Merlin inside. Miraculously, Merlin is alive and well again the next day. Thanks to Merlin's magic, the group returns home unharmed.
As Derfel learns after returning to Arthur, the Saxons are on the advance again and have formed under two kings, Aelle and Cerdic. Lancelot is to guard the southern border of Dumnonia with Cerdic, while Arthur and the rest of the Dumnon army march on London and against Aelle. The battle against Aelle is finally successful, but surprisingly Cerdic's troops arrive. It turns out that Lancelot has allied himself with Cerdic and wants to use him to reinforce the Dumnonian troops. Arthur is not very enthusiastic about Lancelot's approach. Arthur decides to meet Aelle in London in order to win him over as a counterweight to Cerdic and to make peace with the Saxons.
Upon her return to Dumnonia, Arthur asks Derfel to become Mordred's guardian and to give the growing king a good education. Together with Ceinwyn, Derfel tries hard with Mordred in Lindinis ( Ilchester , Somerset), but Mordred turns out to be a difficult child. In the meantime, Arthur's sister Morgan wed Sansum, the Christian priest in Ynys Wydryn, and accepted his faith, which she defended with great ardor. Derfel and Ceinwyn have several daughters and have a peaceful time until news arrives that Tristan, Arthur's loyal supporter and the son of King Mark von Kernow, has run away with Iseult, his father's new wife. At King Mark's request, Arthur and Derfel and a group of men are supposed to locate them and bring them back to Kernow. When Derfel finds Tristan and Iseult, however, King Mark also arrives and has them brought back to Kernow. Mark insists on an arbitration award by battle for Tristan, but does not allow Derfel to represent Tristan in battle. Tristan eventually falls and Iseult is burned alive by Mark.
Derfel also fought alongside Arthur for the next few years. During a punitive action against the traitor Ligessac, their troops get caught up in a battle against Christians under Bishop Cadoc, who sees Arthur as the greatest enemy of Christianity. Shortly thereafter, Derfel visits a village where his mother Erce lives, a Saxon woman. From her he learns that he is the son of Aelle, the Saxon king. She also prophesies Derfel that he will kill his father.
When Derfels returns, there is great confusion in Dumnonia. There are rumors of the death of King Mordred. In Ynys Wydryn Derfel observes how Lancelot marries Norwenna, mother of Mordred, who has been fetched from her grave, in order to make himself ruler of Dumnonia. When Derfel arrives at Ceinwyn's, he witnesses the murder of his youngest daughter, Dian. Derfel, Ceinwyn, Merlin and the remaining survivors flee to Glevum ( Gloucester ). Mordred, whom everyone thought was dead, also arrives soon. It soon becomes clear that Mordred and the priest Samsun wanted to bring about the deaths of Arthur and Derfels with the punitive action against Ligessac. Mordred is then kept under guard. Only later is it revealed that Guinevere was involved in Lancelot's betrayal. The following battle against part of Lancelot's troops at Caer Cadarn is decided by Arthur. Lancelot flees the country with his remaining troops. Arthur has Guinevere brought to Ynys Wydryn and guarded there. Although Arthur does not accept the title of king, he is now the undisputed ruler of Dumnonia.
Characters of the plot
In the plot, a great number of historical people and legendary characters are introduced, who play a major role in the plot of the novel. Several people, such as the protagonist Derfel, are fictional. For a better overview, the most important characters are listed according to their relevance for the plot.
- Derfel, also Lord Derfel Cadarn , narrator of the plot
- Merlin , Druid and Lord of Avalon
- Nimue , Merlin's lover
- Arthur , warlord and King Uther's illegitimate son
- Morgan , Arthur's sister, a priestess
- Mordred , King Uther's grandson, child king of Dumnonia
- Cuneglas, King of Powys
- Ceinwyn, sister of Cuneglas
- Guinevere , Arthur's wife
- Lancelot , King of Benoic in exile
- Galahad , Lancelot's half-brother
- Sansum, a Christian priest, later a bishop
- Aelle , a Saxon king
- Cerdic , a Saxon king
- Mark , King of Kernow
- Tristan , son of Mark and Crown Prince von Kernow
- Iseult , Queen of Kernow, Mark's wife