The year 1066. Philippe Devereaux, a young knight from Normandy, departs with Duke William's forces for the Norman conquest of England, leaving his newly-wed bride with his feudal lord. The unusual revival of the ancient custom of 'droit de seigneur,' Devereaux is assured, is merely to bolster the image of his lord, the bride to remain untouched. Through the year in England fighting Saxon rebels, and himself involved in a tempestuous affair with an older noble woman, Devereaux is assailed by doubt of his Seigneur's promise, a suspect that stains his days lifelong. Without courage enough to seek the truth, of the night spent by wife Cathren with his lord, the torment colours his years of service as Mareschal of the fief, the tortuous liaison with his master's lady wife, the fortuitous death of his seigneurial lord and his own accidental elevation to baronial rank. Depicting an intricate and colourful tapestry of the customs, faith and carnality of the medieval world, the narrative is peopled with nobles, high churchmen and commoner, their flaws and foibles illustrated in numerous episodes both solemn and comic, outre and tragic. The mildly archaic prose frames a world of innocence and ignorance, unbridled passions, intrigue, and the severe sanctions of canonical faith.
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