Teachers’ Notes
Horses for King
Arthur
L.S. LAWRENCE
OMNIBUS BOOKS
Category
Fiction
Title
Horses for King Arthur
Author/illustrator
L.S. Lawrence
Publication date
June 2011
Format
210 x 135
Extent
224 pp
Age
12+
Australian RRP
$17.99
Binding
Paperback
Printing
Mono
ISBN
978 1 86291 919 8
CONTENTS
Introduction…………………………………………... 2
About the Author……………………………………. 3
Writing Style…………………………………………… 3
Historical Background to the Story……………….. 4
Before Reading the Text……………………………. 6
Reading the Text……………………………………... 6
After Reading the Text………………………………. 9
Extension Activities…………………………………… 10
Extended Reading…………………………………… 11
Teachers’ Notes may be reproduced for use in school activities. They
may not be redistributed for commercial sale or posted to other
networks.
INTRODUCTION
Britain, the year 475. Alexa, daughter of a local lord, is a horse-mad girl on the
cusp of adulthood. Syragus, her father’s groom, once a Roman mercenary horsesoldier, has taught her all she knows about riding; but the local horses have
become mere ponies. She arrives home from a ride to find that guests are
coming: Ambrosius and Artorius Aurelianus, father and son. At dinner, Artorius
speaks of defeating the barbarians with cavalry, but in the night, raiding Saxons
kill Alexus, Alexa’s father. The raid is defeated with a makeshift cavalry charge –
half a dozen boys on ponies plus Syragus and Alexa, led by the thirteen-year-old
Artorius.
At her father’s funeral, Alexa learns that she is to wed Ambrosius, Artorius’s
father, although he is nearly forty. She refuses. Her mother forces her consent by
convincing her that she must marry to preserve the estate. But Syragus, in the
most oblique of conversations, shows Alexa that she has some time. Alexa makes
a bargain with her mother: she will marry Ambrosius if he’s the only prospect, but
she has one year to find another. It’s her first fully independent action, her entry
into adulthood. Her mother also gives Alexa her legacy from her father: fabulous
jewels, war booty from long ago.
Alexa travels to her Aunt Prima’s home in the port of Weymouth, which is under
the control of Farmon, a Saxon. Here she sees a beautiful horse, brought from
Gaul. Alexa has her aunt invite that ship’s master to dinner, to question him. To
her surprise, he’s no barbarian, but Grecca, a half-Roman himself, and a
gentleman. But Alexa has attracted Farmon’s attention. He arrives, and is about
to ransack her belongings when Grecca convinces him that he would do better to
allow Alexa to go to Gaul, buy the horses she wants, and bring them back. Alexa
and Syragus sail in Grecca’s ship.
In Gaul, Euric, Visigoth chief and prefect, is about to fight the invading Rithmus of
Brittany. Euric is not interested in trading gold for horses, but when Syragus
offers to train cavalry for him, Euric agrees.
Training takes time. Euric fights Rithmus on foot, and wins, but not decisively,
with many wounded. Alexa cares for them, winning Euric’s goodwill.
News of Alexa’s wealth leaks out, and Euric’s wife, Ragnachildis, has one of her
kinsmen, Leodacer, offer for Alexa’s hand in marriage. Under Visigothic law,
Alexa’s consent is irrelevant. Grecca, recalled from a spying mission, offers for
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Alexa himself, pledging his beloved ship as marriage-payment. Leodacer
challenges him. In a duel on horseback, Grecca kills him, although he had led
Alexa to think he couldn’t ride.
Alexa feels she has been made to look a fool, but Grecca confides to her the real
outcome of his espionage, declares himself, and returns her jewels. He will accept
the loss of his ship. He tells her that what happens now is her choice alone. He
will not coerce her.
She chooses to accept his offer of an equal marriage, and buys back his ship and
the horses, and they return together to Britain, where Alexa will breed the
mounts for the cavalry that Syragus will train and Artorius lead – King Arthur's
knights.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
L.S. Lawrence was born in 1953 in London, and emigrated to Australia in 1976,
having gained a degree in History from University College, London. He taught in
Western Australian secondary schools and then at the University of Western
Australia. He lectured at Curtin University and was a sometime visitor to the
University of South Australia and Notre Dame University, Perth, obtaining a
master's degree in the process. He went back to the UK in 1988, taught in public
schools there and married. He returned to Western Australia in 1997, having
inherited a small legacy which enabled him to retire and pursue his first love,
writing historical fiction. He lives in Perth with his wife and their son.
Eagle of the East was L.S. Lawrence’s first published novel. His second book,
Escape by Sea, opens in Carthage, 206 BCE, and tells the story of a young
woman escaping a Roman siege.
WRITING STYLE
L.S. Lawrence is passionate about history, and his fiction is based on historical
events. His style is characterised by well-researched descriptions that are subtly
woven into wonderfully poetic passages. So vivid and compelling is his recreation
of the ancient world that readers are drawn in from the outset. Strong,
charismatic characters are typical of his work, and his books are sure to find an
audience with both male and female readers.
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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND TO THE STORY
From L.S. Lawrence:
One of the interesting things about this period is that it is a time when cultures
were clashing, often violently, as their basic values melded into new forms, but
the process is murky and the data very scant, offering the writer almost a blank
slate on which to project ideas. That’s one of the reasons why novels treating the
Arthurian period are written, and, it is to be hoped, read.
Women in later Anglo-Saxon society in England (after the 7th century) were
probably among the most free in Europe. They could own property in their own
right, they could enter formal legal agreements, their testimony was accepted,
they could will their property to heirs, they could even have a formal leading role
(Aethelflead of the West Saxons is the standing example). We see some of these
rights reflected in Alexa’s mother’s actions. Rights over property were also found
in Rome, and it is tempting to ascribe them to descent from the Empire.
The Saxons also had the custom of the ‘morning gift’ after marriage - the new
husband made his wife a pre-arranged gift after the wedding night, theoretically
to compensate her for her lost virginity, and this was unequivocally hers to use as
she wished. It might be nothing much, but among the wealthy it might be
substantial – money or land or both. The wife, on the other hand, would bring a
dowry, and this would have to be commensurate. Also, her formal consent before
the altar was required quite early on. This is often ascribed to Church influence,
(the Church was always looking for professed celibates who would ‘take the veil’
and so bring their property into it) but that influence was present long before
Augustine’s mission at the end of the 6th century - Britain had been officially fully
Christian since 380 CE. There is some evidence that women's status in formal law
was actually wound back after 1066, and it is again tempting to ascribe this to
the Normans, who brought their own legal code.
For on the other side of the Channel, women of the later (Merovingian) period
were not able to own real property and were theoretically chattels of their fathers,
husbands or even adult sons, in the case of widows. The Visigoths might have
had the morning gift custom as well – it’s less certain – but it’s pretty clear that
the formal spoken consent of the wife to the marriage was not required, at least
this early. There were still women of influence and power – like Ragnachildis –
but their methods had to be indirect, as hers were. Propertied widows existed,
but whether they actually controlled their property was very much subject to the
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presence of a competent male who was prepared to allow it. In the occasional
case of a propertied widow with no adult sons or other close male kin, the local
lord, or later, king, had the right to wardship. He could in effect appropriate the
use of her property and its revenues to himself, although actual sequestration
would be seen as unjust – even tyrannical. (Abuse of wardship by overlords was a
perennial complaint in medieval times.) However, propertied widows thus had a
strong incentive to remarry – to regain control of their property. Of course this in
turn meant driving a bargain with any suitor.
The archeological evidence seems to bear out the impression given by Herodotus
and other historians that Scythian women enjoyed remarkable freedom and
equality to men in their own society. Hence Syragus’s willingness to assist and
serve Alexa, and Euric’s remark that his men were not Romans or Scythians, with
foreign ideas of a woman’s place.
There is no doubt at all that all the societies concerned were strongly patriarchal.
Men were expected to lead, to head enterprises, to make war, to manage politics,
to transact business and to make formal contracts, and women could generally do
none of those. Yet the right to hold real property, combined with the fact that
women managed businesses in the absence of their husbands – or even in their
presence, if the husband were engaged in production – were real levers of power,
and they slowly transformed women's status.
But it took many centuries. The ancient restriction on women owning real
property was still law in the 19th century (see Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice
for an example of its practical effects) and it lingered long after that in places. It
wasn't until the third decade of the 20th century that women achieved formal
political equality. Australian women were actually accorded full political equality in
1902, more than 20 years before their British and American counterparts.
Alexa is an heiress, and a particularly fortunate one. Her possession of both real
property and movable valuables puts her into a very privileged position indeed –
if she can retain control of them. To do this, she requires male allies, including –
eventually - a sympathetic husband. She knows this, and knows that she cannot
overcome the customs, mores and ideas of a whole society. But as Grecca says,
to some extent we make our own customs, and he implies that this is particularly
true in the case of a society in flux, as Europe was in the age of the migrations.
This novel is partly an exploration of that idea.
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BEFORE READING THE TEXT
1.
Talk to your class about historical fiction. Do they think there are any
limitations when writing in this genre? Do readers have certain expectations when
they read this type of fiction? Do your students expect events and facts to be
accurate? Do they think the author has an obligation to tell the truth? How much
research do they think is required for writing such a book?
2.
Ask your class to research the Roman influence in Britain. Have them find
out when the Romans invaded, what features they imposed on its landscape, the
peoples they displaced or defeated, and the influence their culture had on the
inhabitants.
READING THE TEXT
Ask your students to keep a journal detailing their progress. This could include a
list of characters as they appear in the book, names of places, and a short
description of chapters and events.
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
The following questions can be answered individually or can be used as discussion
starters.
Author’s note: Does the author suggest that this is a true story?
Chapter 1: Identify the characters introduced in this chapter and speculate about
their roles in the narrative. What do you learn about Alexa and her family
situation from her actions in this chapter?
Chapter 2: What do we learn about the customs of this household in this
chapter? In what ways does Alexa’s mother offer hospitality to her guests? How
do the Romans prefer to dine?
Chapter 3: What do we learn about the preparedness of the household for a
surprise attack from raiders?
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Chapter 4: What do we learn about a Roman woman’s household responsibilities
in this chapter?
Chapter 5: What shocks are delivered to Alexa in this chapter, coming on top of
her father's death, and how does she react? Do you think you would react the
same way?
Chapter 6: What is Alexa’s mother showing Alexa in this chapter?
Chapter 7: Why doesn't Alexa’s mother simply order Alexa to marry Ambrosius?
What does she do instead?
Chapter 8: Why does Syragus’s accent come and go like that? What does it tell
you about Alexa, when she notices it? Why does Syragus tell her that she'd be
good at questioning prisoners?
Chapter 9: Can Alexa seriously consider Ambrosius as a future husband after the
events in this chapter?
Chapter 10: This is perhaps Alexa’s first journey of her own devising, and it
takes her on an adventure. What does she find at her aunt’s house? What clues
are there that her aunt is not living in the same style as her own family? What
does Syragus mean to do at the end of the chapter?
Chapter 11: Why does Alexa remove the gem from its setting and bash the
precious metal out of shape before she offers it to the dealer in the town? Does
Alexa have any choice in what she must do at the end of this chapter?
Chapter 12: Alexa realises that she has no choice but to trust Grecca if she is to
escape a situation where she has no free choice. This is an example of irony. Do
you think she is safe in trusting Grecca? What do his actions indicate? Can he be
trusted?
Chapter 13: Alexa comes up against a different culture and relies on what she
has been taught is appropriate behaviour for a Roman girl of some standing. Is
this self-belief a help or a hindrance to Alexa is this situation?
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Chapter 14: What are the foot pieces on Syragus’s Scythian saddle called? What
difference to the riding style is made by them? What can the rider do that
couldn’t be done without them? Is this important? (Hint: look back at Chapter 2,
where Artorius talks about using a lance from horseback.)
Chapter 15: At the end of this chapter, Alexa still believes her dream is possible,
but questions whether she should pursue it. Why?
Chapter 16 What is Alexa beginning to realise in this chapter?
Chapter 17 Why does Syragus offer to marry Alexa?
Chapter 18 Why has Grecca concealed the fact that he can ride a horse expertly?
Chapter 19 Alexa has to choose. Does she have a free choice this time?
Chapter 20: Are you satisfied with the ending? What do you think will happen
next to Alexa and Grecca?
CREATIVE ACTIVITIES
The following activities are for students to complete individually.
1.
Write a journal entry from the point of view of one of the characters about
an event in the story.
2.
Horses for King Arthur purports to tell the story of how the boy who
became King Arthur might have defeated his enemies by using horse soldiers in
battle as other cultures in Europe had done, and the story could be said to be
filmic. In your opinion, would it make a good film? Why, why not? Imagine you
are the director. Who would you cast for the roles?
3.
When Alexa finds herself in Euric’s hall (page 139), she thinks to herself:
Then she thought: this is a barbarian chieftain’s hall, no more. She straightened her back
and lifted her chin again. A Roman woman did not humble herself before such people.
Research the status of women in Roman culture using the internet and any other
sources you can find. Write 500 words arguing why the author’s choice of the
setting was a good or bad one.
4.
Write alternative back-cover copy for Horses for King Arthur. Try to make
it both informative and appealing.
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AFTER READING THE TEXT
The following questions can be answered individually or they can be used as
discussion starters.
1.
During the time Horses for King Arthur is set, the former Roman colony of
Britain is undergoing other influences from other peoples settling there and the
gradual mixing of cultures. Can you think of a modern equivalent of very different
cultures learning to live together peacefully?
3.
Events important to Alexa’s present life happened long before the
narrative opens. What do we learn about Alexus’s past as a soldier? What does
the cache of jewels tell us? What is Syragus’s nationality, and does it explain
anything about him and his actions?
5.
One theme of the novel is loyalty. Alexa’s most enduring ally in her quest
is the servant Syragus, who has taught her everything she knows about horses.
Syragus, it seems, will do anything to keep her safe. What does loyalty mean?
What did it mean to a Roman? What does it mean to us?
6.
The female characters in the novel have significant roles. Alexa's mother is
the most important influence on her life, and exhibits great skills in manipulating
her and looking to strategic alliances for her family. Ragnachildis, wife of Euric, is
a powerful woman who gets what she wants by indirect means as she has no
status as a woman in her culture. But thanks to the power and influence of her
family she can manipulate and circumvent her husband’s wishes. She is a shrewd
politician. To what extent is she defined simply in terms of male power? Does this
confirm feminist thought that even strong female characters are often depicted as
mere adjuncts to men?
7.
In the beginning of the novel Alexa is identified as the daughter of a
Roman. This sets her apart from the people she lives among (the farmers who
work on her father’s land) and from those she meets in the course of her travels.
Consider how much of your identity is tied to where you live. How do you
characterise your identity? What would happen to your identity if you were
uprooted from your homeland?
8.
Horses for King Arthur is set in a time where war over land is common.
When you consider the world we live in today, how much has really changed?
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What motivates people to go to war? Are there ever any valid reasons? If not,
why do you think war still occurs? People often cite religion as a reason behind
conflict. In the novel, there are differing views on the status of women and
differing customs and philosophies. Do you think they would have still been at
war if they had the same values? What does this say about war and our part in it?
9.
How reliable is history? How much can we actually accept as true? A
Roman woman might or might not have travelled to Europe to find some breeding
stock to develop a stronger, more battle-ready horse for the boy Artorius to use
against the raiders. Is it legitimate simply to posit that this is what happened, and
write a novel based on that idea? Is this text, then, a ‘historical’ novel, or is it a
‘counterfactual’ – a novel based on history that never happened?
EXTENSION ACTIVITIES
1.
Alexa’s mother gives her daughter a cache of valuable jewellery, and Alexa
values this as a way to buy her future. Think of something you value highly and
use it as the basis for a piece of artwork. Research medieval jewellery and imitate
the style in your piece.
2.
Horses for King Arthur is historical fiction. This means the author has
based his story on historical fact, but does not mean that it is a true story.
Choose a real-life event – something that has happened to you or something you
have read about or heard – and write a short fictional piece about it.
3.
Horses for King Arthur is based on historical events. Choose a period in
time that you think would make a suitable background for a story. Research the
time frame, and using the information you discover, create an idea for a book. In
500 words, pitch the idea to a publisher.
4.
In groups, choose a scene from the novel that you can perform to the
class. Write a short script, setting the scene in a different time. For example, you
could position it in today’s world, 19th century America, or the future. Select
props and costumes appropriate to the new setting.
5.
Select an action scene and rewrite it in first person from the point of view
of Alexa.
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6.
Create a profile of one of the main characters, based on the questions:

Who do you like most and why?

Who do you sympathise with most and why?

How has the author developed your involvement with the characters?

What was unique about the setting of the book and how did it enhance or
take away from the story?

What specific themes did the author emphasise throughout the novel?
What do you think he or she is trying to get across to the reader?

Do the characters seem real and believable? Can you relate to their
predicaments? To what extent do they remind you of yourself or someone
you know?

How do characters change or evolve throughout the course of the story?
What events trigger such changes?

In what ways do the events in the books reveal evidence of the author’s
world view?

Did certain parts of the book make you uncomfortable? If so, why did you
feel that way? Did this lead to a new understanding or awareness of some
aspect of your life you might not have thought about before?
EXTENDED READING
Read other historical novels to compare with Horse for King Arthur. A list of books
about King Arthur, both historical/factual and fiction can be found at
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_books_about_King_Arthur>. Some titles
are:
The Once and Future King and The Sword and the Stone by T. H. White
Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff
Sword of the Rightful King and the Young Merlin Trilogy by Jane Yolen
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