Read At the Crossing Places Online

Authors: Kevin Crossley-Holland

Tags: #Fiction

At the Crossing Places

Kevin Crossley-Holland
At the Crossing-Places

For Linda—
with love

THE CHARACTERS

AT HOLT

LORD STEPHEN DE HOLT

LADY JUDITH DE HOLT

ARTHUR DE CALDICOT,
aged 14, author of this book

RAHERE,
the musician and jester

MILES,
the scribe

ROWENA,
the first chamber–servant

IZZIE,
the second chamber–servant

GUBERT,
the cook

TANWEN,
the chamber–servant from Caldicot

KESTER,
her baby son

ANIAN,
the kitchen boy

CATRIN,
his twin sister, the kitchen girl

ALAN,
the armorer

RHYS,
the stableman

SIMON,
the messenger

SAYER,
the kennelman

HAKET,
the priest

AGNES,
the wise–woman

ROBERT,
a villager

WILF,
an old villager

DONNET,
a villager

PIERS,
a villager

ABEL,
a villager

AT GORTANORE

SIR WILLIAM DE GORTANORE

LADY ALICE DE GORTANORE

TOM,
Sir William's son, aged 15

GRACE,
Sir William's daughter, aged 13

THOMAS,
a freeman and messenger

MAGGOT,
his wife

PEG,
Lady Alice's chamber–servant

FULCOLD,
the cook

AT CALDICOT

SIR JOHN DE CALDICOT

LADY HELEN DE CALDICOT

SERLE,
their son, aged 17

SIAN (PRONOUNCED “SHAWN”),
their daughter, aged 9

NAIN (PRONOUNCED “NINE”),
Lady Helen's mother

OLIVER,
the priest

SLIM,
the cook

GATTY,
the reeve's daughter, aged 13

LANKIN,
the cowherd

JANKIN,
Lankin's son, a stableboy

JOHANNA,
the wisewoman

RUTH,
Lady Helen's chamber–servant

OTHER

MERLIN,
Arthur's guide

RHODRI,
the horse–breeder at Quabbs

TUROLD,
the armorer from Ludlow

JACOB,
the moneylender

MIRIAM,
his daughter

SIR WALTER DE VERDON,
twin brother of Lady Judith de Holt

LADY ANNE DE VERDON

WINNIE DE VERDON,
their daughter, aged 12

EDIE,
Lady Anne's chamber– servant

KING JOHN'S MESSENGER

DAW,
a messenger

LADY MARIE DE MEULAN (MARIE DE FRANCE)

HUMBERT,
prior of Wenlock

BROTHER AUSTIN

BROTHER GERARD

BROTHER ALMUND

BROTHER CRISPIN

GIB,
one of the constable of Wigmore's men

THIBAUD (PRONOUNCED
“teebow”), count of Champagne

COUNTESS BLANCHE,
his wife

MILON DE PROVINS

MILON DE PROVINS'S MESSENGER

SALMAN,
a Muslim trader

JEHAN,
Milon's farrier

IN THE STONE

KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE

SIR ULFIUS,
chamberlain

SIR PELLINORE

SIR LAMORAK

SIR BAUDWIN,
constable of Britain

SIR BRASTIAS,
commander of the North

SIR BALIN OF NORTHUMBERLAND

SIR ACCOLON OF GAUL,
Morgan le Fay's lover

SIR AGRAVAIN,
brother of Gawain

SIR DAGONET

SIR LANVAL

SIR BALAN,
Balin's brother

SIR TOR,
son of Pellinore and Aries's wife

SIR KAY,
Ector's son, Arthur's steward

SIR GAWAIN,
son of Lot and Morgause, Arthur's nephew

SIR GAHERIS,
Gawain's brother

SIR LANCELOT OF THE LAKE

SIR GARETH (CALLED BEAUMAINS),
Gawain's brother

SIR ONTZLAKE,
Damas's brother

SIR BAGDEMAGUS,
king of Gore

SIR EREC

SIR BRIAN OF THE ISLES

SIR OWAIN,
Morgan and Urien's son

SIR GALAHAD

SIR ECTOR,
Arthur's foster father

SIR BEDIVERE

OTHER

KING ARTHUR (ARTHUR-IN-THE-STONE)

YGERNA,
Arthur's mother

MERLIN (THE HOODED MAN)

MORGAN LE FAY,
Arthur's half sister

THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY

SIR THEW-HIT (SIR PELLINORE BY ANOTHER NAME)

BORS,
king of Gaul

BAN,
king of Brittany

THE KNIGHT OF THE BLACK ANVIL

QUEEN GUINEVERE

LEODEGRANCE,
king of Cornwall, her father

CADOR,
duke of Cornwall

SIR GARLON,
the invisible knight

SIR HERLEWS DE BERBEUS

PELLAM,
king of Listinoise, Garlon's brother

LADY DIONISE

ARIES,
the cowherd

SIR SOURLOUSE OF THE FOREST

SIR BRIAN OF THE ISLES,
his brother

LOT,
king of Orkney

MORGAUSE,
wife of Lot, Arthur's half sister

SIR MILES

GRIFLET,
a squire

NIMUE

SIR BLAMOURE OF THE MARSH

LADY SARAIDE,
his wife

LADY ANNA (MORGAUSE IN DISGUISE)

THE KNIGHT OF THE RED LANDS

THE KNIGHT OF THE BLACK LANDS

LYNETTE

LADY LYONESSE,
her sister

HUON,
Beaumains's servant

THE RED KNIGHT

SIR GRINGAMOUR,
brother of Lynette and Lyonesse

SIR URIEN,
husband of Morgan le Fay

SIR DAMAS

ENID,
Sir Erec's wife

COUNT ORINGLE

LIONORS

THE GREEN KNIGHT (SIR BERTILAK OF THE HIGH PEAK)

SIR BERTILAK'S WIFE

ELAINE OF ASTOLAT

HOWELL,
duke of Brittany, Arthur's cousin

THE DUCHESS OF BRITTANY

THE GIANT OF THE MOUNT

PERCEVAL,
a Welsh boy

BLANCHEFLEUR

Table of Contents

Cover Page

Title Page

Dedication

Map 1

THE CHARACTERS

IN THE STONE

Map 2

1 ICE AND FLAMES

2 AT THE READY

3 ARTHUR'S MOTHER, YGERNA'S SON

4 KNIGHT AND SQUIRE

5 RAHERE'S WELCOME–SONG

6 ARTHUR'S CORONATION

7 DEEPER THAN WORDS

8 BEAUTIFUL AND HORRID

9 BLUE RAIN, WHITE BANDAGES

10 WARHORSE

11 EXCALIBUR

12 WHO'S THE WINNER?

13 MULCHED

14 SIR THEW–HIT

15 THE ARMORER FROM LUDLOW

16 THE WALL HANGING

17 THREE TIMES THREE

18 DEATH–PIGEONS AND DELAYS

19 SON AND MOTHER

20 HAKET'S INSTRUCTION

21 GUINEVERE

22 SPIKED

23 THE WEDDING FEAST OF ARTHUR AND GUINEVERE

24 A SINGING LESSON

25 THE ROUND TABLE

26 THE KNIGHT WITH TWO SWORDS

27 LOVE SPELLS

28 MY BIRTHDAY

29 HONOR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER

30 THE COWHERD'S SON

31 TO GORTANORE

32 FIRE–BENCH WARNINGS

33 BULGING AND BLOATED

34 ALL CONTRADICTIONS

35 BETROTHALS

36 MY FATHER

37 BLACK BUBBLES

38 GRACE'S SONG

39 THE WHITE HART

40 MURDER

41 BEHEADED

42 SIR GAWAIN'S PUNISHMENT

43 THE JEWS

44 THE YELPING BEAST

45 HOOUUU!

46 CAMELOT

47 THE KNIGHT WITH AN UNBROKEN VOICE

48 EASTER

49 LANCELOT

50 MIRIAM

51 WHERE NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE

52 BATTLE DRESS

53 TREMBLING AND TOTTERING

54 AT THE CROSSING–PLACES

55 TRAITORS

56 STOLEN

57 A SONG WITHOUT A VOICE

58 BURNED ALIVE

59 DEGREES OF MAGIC

60 MERLIN, ROCKFAST

61 GOD'S GRISTLE!

62 THERE COMES A TIME

63 THE GOLD RING

64 THE VOICE INSIDE THE ROCK

65 EREC AND ENID

66 WILD EDRIC

67 LOVE'S DISOBEDIENCE

68 GOLDEN EYES IN THE GLOOM

69 FIRES AND HEAD GUESTS

70 BLOODSTONE

71 POCKETS OF SILVER AND GOLD

72 SURPRISES, LIKE SPICES

73 SHE–DEVIL

74 THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

75 INNER VOICE

76 HARVESTING

77 THE GREEN KNIGHT

78 A LOVE LETTER

79 A WORLD INSIDE OUR WORLD

80 THE GREEN BELT

81 INSIDE THE STORY

82 WORDS FOR WINNIE

83 RETURN TO CALDICOT

84 LOVE'S SNARE

85 THE NIGHTINGALE'S REPLY

86 SOFT–SWORD

87 LUDLOW FAIR

88 RISKS

89 THE SCARLET SLEEVE

90 ADAM AND EVE AND ARTHUR

91 THINK OF ME

92 TO LONDON

93 PERCEVAL AND BLANCHEFLEUR

94 THE SEA

95 THE GIANT ON THE MOUNT

96 THE SARACEN'S BLESSING

97 TAKING THE CROSS

98 AWKWARD BEASTS, AND BUTTERFLIES

99 NAKED BRAVERY

100 THE HOLY GRAIL

101 A GRAIL OF SUNLIGHT

WORD LIST

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

AUTHOR'S NOTE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Copyright

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