《The Twilight Year 》作者：- Sean McMullen【EPUB】

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The Twilight Year by Sean McMullen Sean McMullen is the author of about a dozen novels, the most recent of which is Before the Storm. Here he brings us a gritty tale of life in Albion in the sixth century. Mr. McMullen tells us that in the mid-530s, the volcano Krakatoa exploded, blanketing the world in dust and giving Europe a year without a summer. He says also that it occurred to him that if the temptation to tell stories of a British warlord named Arthur is strong now, imagine how much stronger it must have been to storytellers back then! * * * * The overgrown ruins had been built at the height of the Roman Empire’s power, yet they were still imposing after centuries of neglect. A rough-hewn Christian cross stood atop the tallest surviving column, marking the place as shrine, where sanctuary, rest, and prayer could be found in the wilderness. I arrived late in the evening and found the priest, Oswald, alone. We took an instant dislike to each other. “Why do you bards sing of Arturian, but never Christ?” muttered Oswald, snapping twigs for the small fire outside his hovel. “Because you priests never sing of Arturian,” I replied. Without looking up from his pile of twigs, Oswald said, “The sun is nearly down, go to sleep.” “But I have a fire, a harp, and an audience. I’ll charm your soul with a ballad.” “More likely you’ll play so badly that even outlaws would flee this place.” I was tuning a small harp that I had built myself. It was just a stout triangle of oak, ten gut strings, and ashwood pegs. I brushed the strings softly, as anx