The Gauntlet
Ronald Welch
Hardcover
(Lepanto Press, March 15, 2001)
One misty summer afternoon, Peter Staunton was wandering near the ruined castle of Carreg Cennen in the hill country of the Welsh border. He stumbles across a rusted metal gauntlet and idly slips it on his hand. This is the start of an adventure that takes him back in time to the 14th century, when his Norman ancestors held the castle. Now, as Peter de Blois, he is plunged into a bewildering medieval world of chivalry and honor, of archery and falconry, of grand feasts and castles, but most of all, of heart pounding jousting tournaments. But all these rousing pastimes ominously give way to a rebellion among the Welsh tribes, culminating in a fierce assault on the castle fortress and its Norman defenders. Surrounded and outnumbered, the Normans must get word of the attack to the nearest castle. The only way out is down an immense cliff wall. Can Peter make the climb in time? A finely authentic picture of life in the 14th century. These rousing pastimes give way to ominous rebellion. Suddenly besieged in their castle, surrounded and outnumbered, these Normans are in peril. Will Peter now be the only one who can save the day?