On location in Scotland for a film shoot, stuntwoman Cat Terril is waiting to film an action scene when she takes a stroll through the ancient castle that is their set. Then she meets an old man in black robes who gives her a set of keys and directs her to "follow your heart." Thinking it is a harmless prank designed by fellow stuntmen, Cat follows the old man?s direction to a locked door around which swirls a strange, lavender mist. Using the set of keys, she opens the door, steps into the mist and falls, literally, into a frigid lake in thirteenth century Scotland. There was no ?harmless prank? involved. Cat is in desperate peril, finding herself suddenly the hostage of vicious, brutal clan leader, Calum Mackay. To obtain clemency from the Scottish king, the renegade Mackay must give his daughter, Brianna, to Englishman Roderic de Montwain in marriage. Brianna, however, in love with another, has run away. And Cat bears a striking resemblance to Mackay?s absent daughter. It is unbelievable enough to find herself in medieval Scotland. It is beyond comprehension to find herself abruptly married to a stranger. A stranger, moreover, who unlocks a passion and sensuality within her Cat never suspected she harbored. And Roderic, who has vowed to never lose his heart, finds himself falling for the mysterious, flame-haired bride he has taken to his bed. A bride some say is mad and others claim is an imposter.

In 1886, Maj. John Knight Jr.a White plantation owner, attorney, and decorated Confederate Civil War veteransummoned five witnesses to his deathbed. There, he did something extraordinary: He bequeathed his estate to his former slaves.What followed is an incredible true-life story of courage, love, epic legal battles, and one remarkable turnabout: only years after being in bondage, Knights former slaves and their descendants entered the plantation house as masters of their domainand their future.Meticulously researched, The Knight Family Legacy: One Familys Story, gives an eye-opening glimpse into the complex, often contradictory life story of Knight and those around hima world where the gray areas crowd out black and white. Marilyn R. Hill-Sutton traces the facts through court records, countless historical documents, numerous courthouse and cemetery visits, and endless interviews with family membersmany of which are reprinted here. The candid account that emerges reveals the Knight familys slave-owning history; Maj. Knights valor during the Civil War; the forbidden union between him and his mulatto slave, Violet Knight; his decision to leave the estate to Violet and their children; an unprecedented court battle for control of the Knight estate by heirs; and son Jacob C. Knights courageous efforts to ensure his fathers deathbed wishes were carried out. Ambitious in scope and far-reaching in conclusions, The Knight Family Legacy is a must-read for Civil War buffs, slavery, social, and cultural historians, genealogists and family history enthusiasts, and anyone with a genuine love for history and the implicit, although complex, and, often contradictory, human interactions of a foregone era.

The so-called Travels of Sir John Mandeville (c. 1356) was one of the most popular books of the late Middle-Ages. Translated into many European languages and widely circulating in both manuscript and printed forms, the pseudo English knight’s account had a lasting influence on the voyages of discovery and durably affected Europe’s perception of exotic lands and peoples. The early modern period witnessed the slow erosion of Mandeville’s prestige as an authority and the gradual development of new responses to his book. Some still supported the account’s general claim to authenticity while questioning details here and there, and some openly denounced it as a hoax. After considering the general issues of edition and reception of Mandeville in an opening section, the volume moves on to explore theological and epistemological concerns in a second section, before tackling literary and dramatic reworkings in a final section. Examining in detail a diverse range of texts and issues, these essays ultimately bear witness to the complexity of early modern engagements with a late medieval legacy which Mandeville emblematises.

The so-called Travels of Sir John Mandeville (c. 1356) was one of the most popular books of the late Middle Ages. Translated into many European languages and widely circulating in both manuscript and printed forms, the pseudo English knight’s account had a lasting influence on the voyages of discovery and durably affected Europe’s perception of exotic lands and peoples. The early modern period witnessed the slow erosion of Mandeville’s prestige as an authority and the gradual development of new responses to his book. Some still supported the account’s general claim to authenticity while questioning details here and there, and some openly denounced it as a hoax. After considering the general issues of edition and reception of Mandeville in an opening section, the volume moves on to explore theological and epistemological concerns in a second section, before tackling literary and dramatic reworkings in a final section. Examining in detail a diverse range of texts and issues, these essays ultimately bear witness to the complexity of early modern engagements with a late medieval legacy which Mandeville emblematizes.

The first explosive thriller in the Cotton Malone series from a New York Times megaselling author. The ancient order of the Knights Templar possessed untold wealth and absolute power, until the Inquisition destroyed them and their riches were lost forever. But some people don't believe in 'forever'. Ex-agent Cotton Malone used to work for Stephanie Nelle in the US Justice Department. Now Nelle wants his help to crack a series of puzzles that have confounded experts for centuries - and could lead to the legendary lost treasure of the Knights Templar. But someone else is on the trail - someone prepared to commit the ultimate crime to win the ultimate prize. Malone and Nelle find themselves in a heart-stopping race through the villages, castles and cloisters of Europe in pursuit of a secret that, in the wrong hands, could bring the world to its knees.

A decade ago, Michael Bradley published the Canadian bestseller, Holy Grail Across the Atlantic (Hounslow Press, 1988), presenting the astounding evidence that a European settlement in Canada had been established in Nova Scotia ninety-four years before Columbus and ninety-nine years before John Cabot. Incredibly, mediaeval documents and maps showed that this settlement had been founded by refugee Knights Templar from Scotland - knights who had been created for the sole purpose of guarding the Holy Grail. Bradley presented evidence that these Grail-believing religious refugees and their knightly protectors had been instrumental in discovering, settling, and influencing the development of New France and, later, the fledgling American Republic. The book was automatically ridiculed by conventional North American historians, while at the same time serving as the model for European works (e.g. The Sword and the Grail by Britain's Andrew Sinclair). Michael Bradley's investigation stimulated some serious professional and academic researchers to join his quest to find further evidence of the Knights Templar in Canada and the United States. Now, in 1998, comes the publication of the long-awaited sequel to Holy Grail Across the Atlantic - Grail Knights of North America. Realizing from mediaeval documents that the initial Nova Scotia refuge of AD 1398 must have harboured many Grail believers, and that the secret colony must have expanded, Bradley began to trace evidence of Grail Knights from Nova Scotia, through New Brunswick to the St. Lawrence River, and on to the Great Lakes as far as Niagara, New York State, and central Pennsylvania. Evidence of their presence has been uncovered on both the Canadian and American sides of this great waterway. Bradley poses compelling questions about his discoveries, and offers plausible and provocative answers as we travel with him and his companions (both academic and amateur) along the trail of the Grail Knights of North America.

Taking her is my right. Breaking her, my duty. I was always going to choose Helena. I knew it the instant I saw her. She’s different than the others. There’s a darkness about her. Something wild inside her. And it calls to the beast inside me. But she isn’t what I expect. With every word and every touch, she pushes me, burrows deep under my skin, challenging the rules, upending history. And all the while, I see how my brother watches her. He wants her, and as the rules stand, she’ll become his in one year’s time. Except that I have no intention of giving her up.

After years of uneasy peace, two Galactic Empires make a shocking discovery: Mysterious alien forces hidden within their territories have begun a deadly intergalactic war, and their vessels are far more sophisticated and deadly than any ship either Galactic Empire has. As their battles spread from one solar system to another, humanity itself is threatened.Who is behind this war and why do they fight?Discover the answer to these questions along with the fate of the Independent B'taav, the Mechanic known as Nox, Becky Waters, and Inquisitor Cer. Uncover the secrets lying below the surfaces of distant worlds and in the deepest, darkest corners of the universe.And when the fighting is over, you will know the Legacy of the Argus.Legacy of the Argus is the seventh and concluding book in the Corrosive Knights series.To those who have read these books from the very beginning or are just starting, my very deepest, most sincere thanks!

Robin returns to England after four years fighting in the Holy Land. On arriving at Locksley, he discovers that Guy of Gisborne, his most hated enemy, has been made Sheriff of Nottingham. Forced to flee into Sherwood, Robin sets himself up as champion of the poor. But Robin has a secret. His feelings for his friend Will Scathelock have deepened, but to acknowledge the truth would mean facing up to his past. Meanwhile, Lady Marian Fitzwalter, heiress to the vast Huntingdon estate, is determined to claim Robin for her own.

Written by an international team of historians and scholars with specialized knowledge of the medieval era and illustrated with sumptuous images ranging from manuscript illuminations and PreRaphaelite paintings to photographs of authentic armor, swords, and castles, plus maps and a timeline, this book is at once a detailed history of knights and a chronicle of their cultural creations and legacy. This vividly written and lavishly illustrated large hardcover reference volume describes the origins of knighthood, the training and lifestyles of knights, and the vital role these warriors played in medieval military campaigns. It also explains heraldry and the various military and honorific orders of knighthood, and examines the portrayal of knights and literature and art.