KNIGHT WITH ARMOUR

From the hero's departure from England to his death on the walls of Jerusalem, this story of an 11th century in absorbing as an historical reconstruction. The author has utilized his knowledge of the arms, mail and equipage of knights and common soldiers, mounted or on foot, to recreate, visually at least, the religious expeditions at that time. Also there is a likeable hero-young Roger, inexperienced but earnest, who finds himself slowly robbed of his romantic, crusading vision in the face of starvation, loose morals, lack of religious forvor and partisanship of the Pilgrims. His marriage to a lovely noblewoman which ends in her leaving him for another man also aids in draining his youthful fervor. In his death over the walls of the Holy City Roger achieves a pilgrim's end but the reader feels that the centuries are rising to smother his in oblivion. Although the roater of characters is meagre, this novel has more depth than most in research and perspective.