At about the same time Henry II was lavishing a colossal amount of money on his great hunting palace at nearby Clarendon, and the work at Old Sarum may reflect a renewed royal interest in its potential. It also coincides with the period between 1173 and 1189 when Henry’s queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, was kept under house arrest at Old Sarum for having incited her sons to rebel against their father.

I also think that there was an ever so slight preoccupation with sex. It seems that even in the shallower chapters (Such as the highly rushed "Encampment"), the author dedicated an unneeded amount of detail to the bodies, orgasms, and lustful preoccupation of the sometimes otherwise flat characters than was needed. It was at no time vulgar, but after a while one begins to wonder how different sex in 1944 could be from sex in 1480, or 1290, or Roman times...etc. What I thought was going to be a visceral preoccupation with mating that the prehistoric times required turned out to be a thread throughout all of the ages that did not fade as much as I would have thought at first. Edward Rutherfurd is a Life Member of the Friends of Salisbury Cathedral, the Salisbury Civic Society, and the Friends of Chawton House, which is located in Jane Austen's village and dedicated to the study of women writers. He is also a Patron of the National Theatre of Ireland (the Abbey Theatre) in Dublin. Edward has lived in London, New York, New Hampshire and Ireland. He currently divides his time between New England and Europe. He has two children.This is another book that gets 5 stars for being a great big hunk of enjoyable cheese. But it's historical cheese! This sprawling novel follows the fortunes and losses of five families from the Stone Age through the present time. Each of the families can be identified through genetic characteristics handed down through the ages not simply physical characteristics, but attitudes and morals, too. There is plenty of action to keep readers motivated to finish the book. Rutherfurd has a style and energy all his own that should appeal to young readers of historical fiction. This book will be a hit with young adults who have the time and attention for longer

Another virtue is Rutherford's willingness to speculate into the murkier eras of history. Authors are naturally drawn to preexisting literatures/records, with the result being an avalanche of books about Roman colonization and Tudor court dramas. In contrast, the strongest chapters of this book are the under-examined eras of England; the construction of 'The Henge,' the aftermath of the Romans, the politics of the Angles, and the economics of the Edict of Expulsion are just a few highlights (to be fair the Bubonic Plague chapter is also a slapper). I find it curious that this book has pleased me less than the other two I have read by the author. Paris is a city I love. Perhaps this is why I like that book more! Russka is extremely relevant given the current situation in the Ukraine and Russia. These reasons at least partially explain why Paris and Russka: The Novel of Russia have captured my interest more. This is a very ambitious undertaking, and I think the author bit a bit more than he could chew... The span of history he attempts to cover can never be adequately dealt with in one book. Something has to give, and I think in this case character development suffers the most. Yes, this is a book where the main character is the city and area of Sarum, modern day Salisbury itself, and the humans are there just to facilitate its changes and as a camera for the reader to observe through. Starting from the first settlers of the area thousands of years ago, to the end of the last century, the story of the city is given in broad terms, but by way of the intimate relationships between several families and their descendants, and the many ups and downs they go through, which shape the bones of the city itself.Roman Sorbiodunum". Stratford Sub Castle. Salisbury, GB. 2014. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015 . Retrieved 2 January 2015. Old Sarum ExP/CP". A Vision of Britain through Time. University of Portsmouth . Retrieved 3 November 2021. Of the two main 'parts' which the book is split into ('Old Sarum' and 'New Sarum'), I personally found the first one better. The author went into more detail with regard to events, description of landscape, and building up the characters; I actually 'gelled' with those early people much more than I did with the later heirs/heiresses. My favourite characters were Nooma, and cathedral mason Osmund - especially the latter's attempts to avoid the 7 Deadly Sins. Edward Rutherfurd is a pen name for Francis Edward Wintle [1] (born in 1948). He is best known as a writer of epic historical novels that span long periods of history but are set in particular places. His debut novel, Sarum, set the pattern for his work with a ten-thousand-year storyline.

Judgement: If you have a LOT of spare time, and love historical fiction, then I totally recommend this book. If not... I would recommend his shorter novel, "Princes of Ireland", or maybe just another author with shorter books. 3/5 stars.The castle seems to have limped on as an administrative centre into the 15th century, the end finally coming in 1514, when Henry VIII made over the ‘stones called the castle or tower of Old Sarum’ [8]to Thomas Compton, together with the right to carry away the materials. Harper, Sally (2 January 2017). "The Experience of Worship in Late Medieval Cathedral and Parish Church". Material Religion. 13 (1): 127–130. doi: 10.1080/17432200.2017.1270593. ISSN 1743-2200. S2CID 192006233. Readings from the Manual of Chivalry by Sir Geoffroi de Charny, a handbook for knights written in the 14th century. The ceremonies of the Sarum Rite are nearly identical to the Tridentine Mass. The Mass of Sundays and great feasts involved up to four sacred ministers: priest, deacon, subdeacon, and acolyte. It was customary for them to visit in procession all the altars of the church and cense them, ending at the great rood screen (or whatever barrier between the laity and the altar), where antiphons and collects would be sung. At the screen would be read the Bidding Prayers, prayers in the vernacular directing the people to pray for various intentions. The procession then vested for Mass.

Laing, R.C. (1895). "The Book of Common Prayer and the Mass". Publications of the Catholic Truth Society. Vol.XXV. London: Catholic Truth Society. p.4 . Retrieved 1 March 2022. A foundation ceremony at the new cathedral was held in 1220 and on 14 June 1226 the tombs of Osmund, Roger and Jocelyn were moved to the new cathedral. This latter event marks the ritual abandonment of Old Sarum Cathedral, after which the demolition of the old cathedral began. Swanson, R.N. (1995). Religion and Devotion in Europe, c. 1215– c. 1515. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. pp.148 & 315. ISBN 0-521-37950-4. In the final third, the slightly shallower character development, for which we can forgive the author earlier on, becomes a bit of a liability. As a result, the final third of the book is in fact less intriguing, imaginative and easy to read than the first two-thirds.Medieval Sarum also seems to have had industrial facilities such as kilns and furnaces. [8] Residential areas were principally located in the two southern quadrants, built up beside the ditch protecting the inner bailey and Norman castle. [15] Henry II held his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, prisoner at Old Sarum. In the 1190s, the plain [ clarification needed] between Old Sarum and Wilton was one of five specially designated by Richard I for the holding of English tournaments. [30] My appearance on Radio Maria to gab on Christianity as it was held by the common classes in medieval England. Hunt, William. "Sweyn (d.1014)" in the Dictionary of National Biography, Vol.LV. Smith, Elder, &Co. (London), 1898. Hosted at Wikisource. Accessed 3 Jan 2014.