The Strangled Queen
“This is the original Game of Thrones.” George R.R. Martin.The King is dead. Long live the King.With King Philip IV dead, and the Kingdom left in disarray, as the fatal curse of the Templars plagues the royal house of France.Imprisoned in Chateau Gaillard, Marguerite of Burgundy has fallen into disgrace. Her infidelity has left her estranged husband, Louis X King of France, with neither heir nor wife.The web of scandal, murder and intrigue that once wove itself around the Iron King continues to afflict his descendants, as the destruction of his dynasty continues at the hands of fate.
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The Strangled Queen
Book Two of The Accursed Kings
MAURICE DRUON
Translated from French by Humphrey Hare
‘History is a novel that has been lived’
E. & J. DE GONCOURT
Contents
1. The Prisoners of Château-Gaillard
2. Marigny Remains Rector-General
7. A Pope is Worth an Exoneration
Foreword
GEORGE R.R. MARTIN
Over the years, more than one reviewer has described my fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, as historical fiction about history that never happened, flavoured with a dash of sorcery and spiced with dragons. I take that as a compliment. I have always regarded historical fiction and fantasy as sisters under the skin, two genres separated at birth. My own series draws on both traditions … and while I undoubtedly drew much of my inspiration from Tolkien, Vance, Howard, and the other fantasists who came before me, A Game of Thrones and its sequels were also influenced by the works of great historical novelists like Thomas B. Costain, Mika Waltari, Howard Pyle … and Maurice Druon, the amazing French writer who gave us the The Accursed Kings, seven splendid novels that chronicle the downfall of the Capetian kings and the beginnings of the Hundred Years War.
Druon’s novels have not been easy to find, especially in English translation (and the seventh and final volume was never translated into English at all). The series has twice been made into a television series in France, and both versions are available on DVD … but only in French, undubbed, and without English subtitles. Very frustrating for English-speaking Druon fans like me.
The Accursed Kings has it all. Iron kings and strangled queens, battles and betrayals, lies and lust, deception, family rivalries, the curse of the Templars, babies switched at birth, she-wolves, sin, and swords, the doom of a great dynasty … and all of it (well, most of it) straight from the pages of history. And believe me, the Starks and the Lannisters have nothing on the Capets and Plantagenets.
Whether you’re a history buff or a fantasy fan, Druon’s epic will keep you turning pages. This was the original game of thrones. If you like A Song of Ice and Fire, you will love The Accursed Kings.
George R.R. Martin
The Characters in this Book
THE KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE:
LOUIS X, called The Hutin, son of Philip IV, the Fair, great-grandson of Saint Louis, aged 25.
HIS BROTHERS:
MONSEIGNEUR PHILIPPE, Count of Poitiers, a peer of France, aged 21.
MONSEIGNEUR CHARLES, Count of La Marche, aged 20.
HIS UNCLES:
MONSEIGNEUR CHARLES, Count of Valois, titular Emperor of Constantinople, Count of Romagna, peer of France, aged 44.
MONSEIGNEUR LOUIS, Count of Evreux, aged about 41.
HIS WIFE:
MARGUERITE, daughter of the Duke of Burgundy, granddaughter of Saint Louis, aged 21.
HIS DAUGHTER:
JEANNE OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE, aged 3.
HIS SISTER-IN-LAW:
BLANCHE, wife of Charles of La Marche, daughter of the Count Palatine of Burgundy and of Mahaut, Countess of Artois, aged about 19.
THE ARTOIS BRANCH DESCENDED FROM A BROTHER OF SAINT LOUIS:
ROBERT III OF ARTOIS, Lord of Conches, Count of Beaumont-le-Roger, aged 27.
THE BRANCH OF ANJOU-SICILY DESCENDED FROM ANOTHER BROTHER OF SAINT LOUIS:
MARIE OF HUNGARY, Queen of Naples, widow of Charles II of Naples, mother of the Kings Robert of Naples and Charles of Hungary, aged about 70.
CLÉMENCE OF HUNGARY, her granddaughter, daughter of Charles Martel and sister of Charobert, King of Hungary, aged 22.
THE BROTHERS MARIGNY:
ENGUERRAND, Coadjutor of King Philip the Fair and Rector-General of the kingdom, aged 49.
JEAN, Archbishop of Sens and Paris, aged about 35.
THE LOMBARDS:
SPINELLO TOLOMEI, a Siennese banker living in Paris, Captain-General of the Lombard Companies, aged about 60.
GUCCIO BAGLIONI, his nephew, aged 18.
SIGNOR BOCCACCIO, traveller for the Bardi Company.
THE CRESSAY FAMILY:
DAME ELIABEL, widow of the Squire of Cressay, aged about 40.
PIERRE and JEAN, her sons, aged about 20 and 22.
MARIE, her daughter, aged 16.
AND THESE:
EUDELINE, LOUIS X’s mistress, aged about 32.
HUGUES DE BOUVILLE, First Chamberlain to King Philip the Fair.
ALAIN DE PAREILLES, Captain-General of the Archers.
JACQUES DUÈZE, Bishop of Porto, Cardinal of the Curia, aged 70.
ROBERT BERSUMÉE, Captain of Château-Gaillard, aged 35.
ROBERTO ODERISI, a Neapolitan painter, pupil of Giotto.
All the above are historical names, as are those of the barons, justiciars, chamberlains, members of the Council, chancellors, the Abbot of Saint-Denis and the great officers of the Crown; all these people really existed. The only imaginary names are those of a few extras, of whom no trace can be found, such as Robert of Artois’s servant and the Provost of Montfort-I’Amaury.
