Descrip­tions

December 1203, Château Gaillard in the Duchy of Normandy. The prolongation of the French siege causes Roger de Lacy to come to a decision: he will cast out the useless mouths, those villagers who initially fled to the safety of the English castle when the French army arrived.

Among those cast out is Philippa Waryn, a 20 year old English girl most unhappily married to de Lacy’s chief marshal, Humphrey, who callously chooses this moment to get rid of his young wife.

With no horse, and only a purse of coins she sets out into a perilous future and dreams of revenge. Her only solace is her favourite book, Yvain and The Knight of the Lion, the heroes of which appear to her, and tell her that in order to take her revenge on Humphrey, she must first prove herself in the seven knightly virtues: Generosity, Compassion, Fortitude, Honesty, Prowess, Courage, and Faith.

The bleak reality of her life as a 13th century woman is intermingled with apparitions of Yvain and his magical Lion, fictional characters who gain increasing importance, and substance, as her own tale unfolds.