''The Reckoning'' is a medieval historical novel written by

Sharon Kay Penman Sharon Kay Penman (August 13, 1945 – January 22, 2021) was an American historical novelist, published in the UK as Sharon Penman. She was best known for the Welsh Princes trilogy and the Plantagenet series. In addition, she wrote four medieval ...

published in 1991. The plot is of Wales's

Llewelyn ap Gruffydd Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (c. 1223 – 11 December 1282), sometimes written as Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, also known as Llywelyn the Last ( cy, Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf, lit=Llywelyn, Our Last Leader), was the native Prince of Wales ( la, Princeps Wall ...

's fight to keep Wales independent of England and of the love story between the Welsh Prince and

Eleanor de Montfort Eleanor de Montfort, Princess of Wales and Lady of Snowdon (1252 – 19 June 1282) was an English noble and Welsh Princess. She was the daughter of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester and Eleanor of England. She was also the second woman wh ...

. In her writing, Penman presents the nobility of the period and focuses on conflict on various levels from individual conflicts to wars between countries. The novel received generally good reviews.

Plot outline

''The Reckoning'' chronicles the reign of England's King Henry III in Penman's final volume of the series that began with''

Here Be Dragons "Here be dragons" ( la, hic sunt dracones) means dangerous or unexplored territories, in imitation of a medieval practice of putting illustrations of dragons, sea monsters and other mythological creatures on uncharted areas of maps where potent ...

''. In ''The Reckoning'' Penman focuses on the final generation of characters following those presented in the trilogy's previous two novels. One subplot is the conflict between the Welsh prince

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...

—grandson of

Llewelyn the Great Llywelyn the Great ( cy, Llywelyn Fawr, ; full name Llywelyn mab Iorwerth; c. 117311 April 1240) was a King of Gwynedd in north Wales and eventually " Prince of the Welsh" (in 1228) and "Prince of Wales" (in 1240). By a combination of war and d ...

of ''Here Be Dragons''—and England's King Henry III. In another subplot, Penman chronicles the life and character of

Ellen Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena and Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004. People named Ellen include: * Ellen Adarna (born 1988), Filipino actress * Elle ...

Simon de Montfort Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester ( – 4 August 1265), later sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from his namesake relatives, was a nobleman of French origin and a member of the English peerage, who led the ...

's daughter and Henry III's niece. Prior to his death, the subject of the previous book in the series (''Falls the Shadow''), Ellen's father negotiated a betrothal to Llewellyn opposed by her cousin Edward, soon to become

King Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal ...

. After Henry III dies, Edward imprisons Ellen in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

, and when she is freed Llewellyn keeps his word and goes through with the marriage. Although the two are separated by years and culture they find happiness which is ruined when Edward declares war against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. Ellen dies in childbirth in June 1282 at the royal home Abergwyngregyn, on the north coast of Gwynedd, just a few months after fighting breaks out again in Wales. Her body is carried across the Lafan Sands to the Franciscan Friary of Llanfaes, Anglesey, and a month later the members of her personal household are given safe-conduct to travel to England. The

Marcher Lord A Marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales. A Marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in F ...

s, as well as Llewelyn's brothers Daffydd and

Rhodri Rhodri is a male first name of Welsh origin. It is derived from the elements ''rhod'' "wheel" and ''rhi'' "king". It may refer to the following people: *Rhodri Molwynog ap Idwal (690–754), Welsh king of Gwynedd (720—754) * Rhodri Mawr ap ...

are central characters in the political intrigue.

Writing characteristics

Set against a backdrop of political tension, power struggles, war, and hardship, the main characters confront conflict in love, conflict between family members, conflict between one's God, and conflict in friendship, as well as conflicted loyalties between family, self, king and country. A ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

'' review notes Penman's attention to detail in which she "combines an in-depth knowledge of medieval Europe ...re-creating the complex events and emotional drama of the 12th century."

Reception

A July 1991 review of ''The Reckoning'' in ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' is generally favorable. According to the review, Penman "sustains the reader's interest" and brings a good understanding of medieval life to her fiction though she does "sometimes overwrite, infusing melodrama where the situations themselves make dramatic embellishments excessive."

Footnotes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reckoning 1991 American novels Novels set in the Middle Ages Novels by Sharon Kay Penman American historical novels Novels set in the 13th century