The Cornerstone

"The Cornerstone" is a magnificent book. Although "masterpiece" is a word too often thrown about to describe unworthy work, I cannot think of a better way to describe this unforgettable volume.From the first page to the last, the reader lives and breathes the medieval world of twelfth-century France and the Middle East. Oldenbourg describes many actions of utter cruelty and callous disregard for human life. However, as the title implies, what sets these people and their times apart from ours is their underlying, deep, and abiding faith in and love for God. Although Oldenbourg paints this canvas with subtle strokes at times, the reader is greatly impressed by the cruelty and senseless violence that marked the times.As one would expect, the focus of the plot is the business and passions of the nobility. Characters are drawn so clearly that the reader feels he knows these people and would be able to speak with them. At the beginning of the novel, Ansiau of Linnieres renounces his title and rights to become a penniless pilgrim. Even in the first chapter, Oldenbourg uses her tremendous talent to create a touching scene of farewell between Ansiau and Alis, his wife. Upon Ansiau's renunciation, the lands and privileges fall to his unworthy son Hebert. Only in death, do we find out that Hebert was more complex than anyone knew or suspected (including the reader). A large part of the novel concerns Ansiau's pilgrimage to the Holy Land, in search of the grave of his beloved son. I found this part of the tale hypontic. With only faith in God to guide him, Ansiau loses everything, including his sight and ultimately his life. The companions he meets along the way are equally fascinating. In the figure of blind Betrand, we meet a member of the mysterious Albigensian sect that caused Pope Innocent III no end of trouble. Although the Cathars are now little more than an historical footnote, Oldenbourg brings their heretical beliefs to life. Ansiau's other companions eventually make their own way, and we do not know what happens to them. I wish there were another volume to tie up the loose ends of the story, but this is verisimilitude: we sometimes simply lose track of people and do not know where they are, or how they are, or even if they live.Another subplot is the tale of the coming of age of Hebert's son Haguenier, a knight who falls prey to the seductions and intrigues of courtly love with Marie of Baudemant, a married woman who exacts cruel tribute. Oldenbourg paints courtly love as the temporal means for a lover to approach the love of God. Due to circumstances that may or may not have been under his control, Haguenier fatally wounds his father and promises to enter a monastic life, which he does. However, his relationship with Marie foreshadows his developing love for God and helps him prepare for a relationship with an inscrutable being. Through Haguenier, we glimpse the knightly life typical of the nobility of the day, including participation in tourname

This book was reccomended to me by a Professor of Medieval History as one of the most historically accurate novels ever written about the so-called romance of the middle ages. She was so right. Yes, the book is depressing, yes, the things that happen are horrid. What it does do, however, is what ultra-romanticised so called medieval fantasy novels (see anything written by Mercedes Lackey) fail to do entirely: it to gets the Middle Ages RIGHT, not like we wish it were. All the infigthing, inbreeding, papal nonsense, poverty, down to the lice and heat exhaustion from armour, great rotting face cancers, the unatainable women and violent men, and starving pilgrimages, The Conerstone nails down the middle ages in all of its so called glory.I highly reccomend this book, especially to anyone who attends "Ren Fairs", reads Middle Ages Fantasy tripe, anyone who goes to SCA events and picks on those in polyester tunics as "not historically accurate", and especially history majors (poor buggers) to see the reality and romance of Medieval Europe in its truest form.

This is a sequel to The World is Not Enough and begins almost exactly where the other one left off. It is a pretty good read and quite a bit better than the first one in that just about all of the stultifying character summaries are gone. Also, the narrative concentrates on just a few characters, so that it is much easier to follow. The bad news is, these character summaries have been replaced by lengthy prayer recitations, which begin about half way through and start to weigh the thing down. "Oh heavenly and most gracious Father, in my blindness I have learned to see, for when I was sighted, I sought the superficial pleasures of the world, and was blinded to the love which . . ." And so forth. Although they are nicely written, they become dull fairly quickly, and I got to the point where I just quit reading them. But this is a heck of a story nevertheless. The first plot line follows the old baron, Ansiau of Linnieres, as he goes on his last pilgrimage to the Holy Land. With companions he meets and loses on the way, we follow him first to the south of France. There is a war going on against the heretics--if indeed marauding bands of soldiers murdering and pillaging helpless villages in the name of God can be referred to as such--and Ansiau, mistaken for a soldier by the peasantry, barely escapes having his hands hacked off and being nailed to a tree. But he gets through this, and is able to make it, finally, to his destination, where his grim adventures continue. Constantly hungry, footsore, weary, robbed and beaten, they beg for alms wherever they go, along with the thousands of other poor and desperate people. His story ends in the Holy Land, and it is not pretty. The other story line concerns Herbert, his son, now the Baron, and Herbert's son, Haugenier, now a knight, at Linnieres. Again, as with the first book, their lives are dominated by religion, superstition, and strict societal codes. Nobody in their class marries for love; every marriage is a political alliance. Therefore, true love is always illicit, and with the strict, gloomy eye of the Catholic Church brooding over everything, happiness is very difficult to achieve. It is impossible for anybody to reconcile their basic human desires with the strict codes which govern their lives. Herbert, despairing early of ever achieving goodness, simply abandons the attempt, and becomes a self-indulgent, evil man. Haugenier, the best of them, goes the other way and gives up everything: his home, his child, and his true love, to become a monk. Don't look for any happy endings here. There are none. As with the earlier novel, Oldenbourg paints a completely believable and historically accurate picture of the middle ages. It can be rough sledding on occasion, and indeed is very sad. This is great historical fiction.

I've never actually been able to make it all the way through this book; it's too actively painful to read and I keep breaking down. There's only so much agony one can take. It is, however, brilliant, if agonising.

This is a MUST READ NOVEL! WHY HER BOOKS HAVE BEEN OUT OF PRINT SO LONG IS BEYOND HUMAN KNOWLEDGE. THEY ARE SINCERELY UNPUTDOWNABLE, ADDICTIVE, AND MAGNIFICANT. SHE IS WITH MAURICE DRUON A MUST FOR ANYONE WANTING TO UNDERSTAND THE MIDDLE AGES.