Anderson makes us think that Sir Roger will fail. Brother Parvus writes:
"But just when he was thus laying the cornerstone of victory, it crumbled for him. God rest his soul! No more gallant knight ever lived." (CHAPTER XVII, p. 123)
So he is going to die? Well, yes, like everyone else but not before the end of the last chapter. The EPILOGUE and the untitled opening page are a framing narrative set over a thousand years later. Younger Parvus will outlive Sir Roger. That is all. The latter suffers treachery and a serious setback but kicks back big time to become King Roger I, crowned by the Archbishop of New Canterbury and reigning for a long time.
The record of the route to Earth is lost in the fighting although the traitors had briefly found their way back and glimpsed the pennons of Dover Castle above the white cliffs. Was someone looking up? Could there be a UFO scare in the 14th century? After all, the population of an entire castle and village has disappeared.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
An amusing idea, UFOs being seen in the 14th century! And again I'm reminded of "The Year of the Ransom" when Manse Everard commented on how time travelers on their time cycles were reported in Spanish chronicles of the conquest of Peru. Except the Spanish writers had thought they were appearances of either St. George or St. James of Campostela (not sure I got the name of the latter right).
And if we assume THE HIGH CRUSADE was actual history, shouldn't some mention of the puzzling abandonment of a Norfolkshire castle and village be found in English official records? Wouldn't there be an attempt at investigation? Esp. since Sir Roger was preparing to join King Edward III for the war in France.
However, what helps to "save the appearances" in this story was the advent of the Black Death in 1346-48. Millions of people all over Europe, including England, died during the Bubonic Plague. Many towns and villages were so devastated and depopulated that they were were abandoned. I can imagine people of that time, if they gave any thought to Sir Roger's castle and village, thinking the Plague had killed everyone there. By the time calmer and less hysterical times came, the De Tourneville castle and village was treated simply as abandoned property.
Sean
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