1356: A Novel by Bernard Cornwell --- 416 pages
After a hiatus of several years, Cornwell has returned with a fourth novel about the adventures of Thomas of Hookton, an English archer in service to the Earl of Northhampton during the Hundred Years War of England and France.
The story picks up ten years after the conclusion of the Grail Quest, when Thomas finally located the true Grail, hidden in plain sight where his father had left it. To prevent it from falling into the hands of scheming men, Thomas threw the Grail into the sea, where it would be safe forever.
It is now 1355, and the forces of the Black Prince are driving a path of desolation through the southwest of France. While English forces overrun the vulnerable town of Carcasonne, another of Christendom's fabled relics is removed from the town for safekeeping. The cursed Sword of St. Peter again draws the covetous interest of powerful and unscrupulous men.
Thomas still holds the keep of Castellon d'Arbizon for the Earl, because it is a convenient stronghold for the mercenary troop Thomas leads on forays against the French. The Black Prince holds Gascony for his father King Edward III, and presses the English claim to the throne of France. When rumor of the Sword of St. Peter reaches the English camp, Thomas is called on again to search for the relic.
He and his wife Genevieve and their son Hugh ride out on the trail of the Sword, and once more face the machinations of Cardinal Bessieres, the powerful and corrupt Papal Legate, who is also seeking the Sword. Meanwhile, the Black Prince and his army are confronted by the might of France and forced to retreat. Not far from the town of Poitiers, the Prince must decide whether to continue the retreat or risk engaging French forces that greatly outnumber his own. And the French have another advantage: the Cardinal has brought the Sword to the battleground, and has promised King Jean that it will make him invincible.
