Strangeness and Charm: The Courts of the Feyre (46 page)

 

 

Many of you will be aware that I enjoy blending real history into my stories, and Strangeness and Charm is no exception. As with my previous books, some of the more unlikely elements turn out to be true.

  The first of these goes back to the Genre for Japan auction of 2011, following the disastrous Tohoku earthquake and tsunami which devastated the Pacific coast of Japan. The auction was organised by a fine bunch of genre enthusiasts and reviewers who asked for donations that could be auctioned to raise money to provide relief and shelter for the victims. Part of my contribution included the opportunity for the winning bidder to have a character named after them in my next book.

  Andy Warner won that auction and is included in this book as the one character named after a real person. I cannot reveal how much of the magic that Andy manifests is real, and leave you to reach your own conclusions on that. I would also like to thank everyone who bid for my contributions and made the auction a success for the organisers, especially those who donated even though they did not win the items. Your actions do you proud, and demonstrate what a fine bunch of people genre fans are.

  Some of the places and traditions mentioned in Strangeness and Charm are well known. The Tower of London, which was built on orders from William the Conqueror and completed in 1100 is immediately recognisable, and the superstitions around the ravens are well-documented. The Ceremony of the Keys is less well-known known, perhaps, and has been performed since 1555 under the following instructions:

 

 

  The Ceremony of the Keys has been conducted nightly at 9:53 pm, with the exception of a night in the Second World War when the old Victorian guard rooms were struck by an incendiary bomb. The resulting shockwave blew over the Chief Yeoman Warder and his escort. There is a letter from the Officer of the Guard apologising to King George VI that the ceremony was late, along with a reply from the King saying that the soldier concerned was not to be punished as the lateness was due to enemy action. The ceremony continues to this day, and limited numbers of the public are permitted to accompany the Chief Yeoman Warder in the ceremony by prior arrangement.

  The Houses of Parliament are another well-known landmark, though the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, an office created by letters patent in 1350, is usually associated with the State Opening of Parliament. Black Rod is sent to summon the Members of the House of Commons to the Lords to hear the Queen's Speech. By tradition, they slam the door in his face as a symbol of Parliament's independence from the Crown.

  Much less well known is the Church of St Mary and St David at Kilpeck in Herefordshire. This is a fine example of an early Norman church and is unique for the corbels which are spaced around the roof-line under the eaves. Many of the fine carvings have survived and they include one of the best preserved Sheela na Gigs in existence – the origin and meaning of these stone carvings of females with exaggerated and exposed vulva is obscure.

  The south doorway to the church is set in a splendid archway of pinkish stone carved with all manner of strange creatures – angels, birds, beasts and creatures both real and imaginary are carved all around the doorway in exquisite detail. Inside there is an arch between the apse and the body of the church and on the arch are carved six figures. They are monks and each holds a token. On the left side they hold a rod, a key and scourge, and on the right they have a feather, an arrow and a cross. Within the apse and on a slab in the floor to the right is a circle within which are carve four shield shaped devices arranged in a cross.

  What is truly astounding is that the motte and bailey castle not more than a hundred yards from the church was slighted by puritan Parliamentary forces during the English Civil War to prevent the castle being recaptured and used by the opposing Royalist forces. There are only rudimentary earthworks to show where it once stood. The church with its pagan carvings of dragons, manticores and serpents, and a very apparent Sheela na Gig, was completely untouched.

  Whether Aleister Crowley ever visited the church is not known, though he is known to have attended Malvern College in the early part of his life, which is not more than thirty miles away on the other side of Hereford. Crowley was an occultist and practiced ceremonial magic, and was a member of The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn under the name Frater Perdurabo, which means "I shall endure to the end". Crowley left the Order during one of the many schisms which fragmented it, but continued to pursue mystical and occult objectives throughout his life. The Order is known to have had links to Masonic organisations and manuscripts and symbolic cyphers are known to have passed from the Freemasons to the Order of the Golden Dawn.

  The British Library is one of the most remarkable repositories of books, manuscripts and maps known to exist. It contains many superb and priceless works including copies of the Lindisfarne Gospels, the original manuscripts of famous novels and works which are completely irreplaceable, many of which are frequently on display to the public. I'm not sure whether they have a robotic cataloging system, though. If they don't, then perhaps they should.

  Glastonbury Tor is one of the most famous natural monuments in the British Isles. The Tor was formed from sandstone reinforced by ferrous oxide from the Chalice Well, a freshwater spring at the base of the Tor. When the surrounding land eroded, the reinforced Tor did not.

  It stands in the Summerland Meadows, which form part of the drained fenland that encircle the Tor, but it would once have formed an island in a very large area of wetland. The water extended for miles around, though parts of it may have been cultivated in summer when it was drier, leading to the name,
Sumorsaete
, Land of the Summer People.

  The Tor is terraced into seven distinct terraces which are neither agricultural, nor caused by livestock grazing. Nor are they defensive as far as anyone can tell. Their purpose and origin remain the subject of speculation.

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The end of time

 

An Angry Robot paperback original 2012 

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Copyright © Mike Shevdon 2012

 

Mike Shevdon asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

 

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

 

ISBN: 978 0 85766 223 1

eBook ISBN: 978 0 85766 225 5

 

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This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.