Today I’m welcoming Rory Marsden to the writing blog. Writing as R Marsden, he’s a fellow contributor to Fate, a collection of short stories to be published by Taw River Press next month. Rory is an author and musician and  passionate about the Middle Ages. He plays the gittern, a beautiful medieval stringed instrument, ancestor of the guitar; and a thirteenth century recorder, a replica of one which was excavated from medieval ruins in modern-day Poland. He also plays the piano, and there’s nothing medieval about that!

His Tales of Castle Rory are Medieval fantasy adventures, in which the demesne of Lord Rory of Hambrig is brought to life. Set in the latter part of the thirteenth century, these stories have adventure, mystery and magic at their heart, not forgetting relationships, romance, friendship and the forging and breaking of ties between people and nations. Running through the Tales are themes of family, loyalty, trust and resilience, together with the other sides of those coins: abandonment, betrayal, loss and disempowerment.

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Symbols of battle, loyalty and family connections have been very important through the ages as well as the need to demonstrate these publicly. This was particularly important when most people couldn’t read or write. Even today we like to think we belong to a sports club, interest group or community. The least sporty of us cheer athletes in the Olympic Games. Many of these events involve waving flags and team colours especially if there’s a dollop of patriotic or regional fervour. Armed forces wear the insignia of their regiment, corps or squadron with pride – all signs of belonging. Heraldry is a formal historic way of expressing this sense of belonging. Over to Rory to tell us more.

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Before countries had flags and anthems, before men had surnames and passports and ID, and before armies and regiments had cap badges and insignia – there was heraldry.

In the Middle Ages, there were no armies as such. Each nobleman could (and was expected to) raise a few bands of archers, pikeman and mounted men-at-arms. They came from the nobleman’s demesne or territory, and they were trained to fight and hit their target, kitted out with armour and weapons at their lord’s expense and contracted to follow him into battle.

These small bands of archers and pikemen needed to be able to recognise their lord in the mêlée, in the heat of battle, no matter what else was going on. Instant recognition was vital for survival and for cohesion. The lord depended on his retinue, and they depended on him.

And so the lord painted his shield. Perhaps just one colour, perhaps more than one. He had the design stitched into his surcoat too, the outer garment worn over his chain mail. A red shield or a blue one, a green shield with an eagle on it, these were the first insignia of knights who rode into battle.

So, the first designs were simple ones. One colour or two, perhaps with an animal or a bird, a tower or a cross. Anything drawn on top of the base colour needed to be in a contrasting colour, or it would not show up. But – there were only so many combinations that worked. And when the nobleman married a noble lady, whose father wanted his own design to be continued, there was a merging or combining process to be gone through, resulting in a design of two halves. Then again, elder or younger sons must show their father’s special insignia, but somehow make it clear they weren’t actually him…

And so the blazon is born. A blazon is two things: first, it’s the design itself. And then it’s the description of the design, which has to be worded in such a way that all can recognise or reproduce it.

Colours are called tinctures. Big shapes are called ordinaries, and they usually divide the shield into two or more parts. Animals, people, creatures and smaller shapes, superimposed on the main colour(s) are called charges.

Some colours are metals: silver and gold, for example. Metals shouldn’t be placed next to or on top of other metals, and non-metals should not touch other non-metals. This is to make the blazon easier to see, especially in the chaos of the battlefield. The blazon is all about communication and recognition.

So how do we describe a blazon? We start with the field, which is the background. Then come any ordinaries, and finally the charges. First the number, then what it is, and finally, its colour.

Here’s an example of a simple blazon:

Gules six roundels or.

Gules = red, and or = gold. So the background, called the field, is red, and on it we’ll find six golden roundels, which are the charges.

And another:

Per pale azure and argent two lions sejant or and vert

Per pale means divided in half vertically, and each half is a different colour: azure = blue, and argent = silver (notice the metal, silver, is next to the non-metal, blue). On top sit the charges, two seated lions (sejant = sitting), coloured gold (or) and green (vert).

I had a lot of fun designing and creating the blazon for my hero, Lord Rory of Hambrig, in my series Tales of Castle Rory. His colours are red and gold, which you know by now are blazoned as gules and or. He has a lion on his shield, and it’s rampant, which means standing on its hind legs. At the bottom of the shield are some flames, in a pattern known as rayonny.

The field is red, apart from its base, which is flaming with gold. This part would be blazoned: Gules a base rayonny or. Now we have the gold lion standing on its hind legs. A lion rampant or. And then we describe its claws and tongue, which are blue: armed and langued azure.

The entire blazon: Gules a base rayonny or a lion rampant or armed and langued azure

I hope you agree it’s a great blazon for the Lord of Hambrig!

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Connect with Rory
Website:  https://talesofcastlerory.co.uk
Newsletter and readers’ club: https://talesofcastlerory.co.uk/the-household/

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The Box of Death – A box that should never be opened. A secret that could destroy them all.

It’s 1263, and Lord Rory of Hambrig presides over a castle that towers above the treacherous River Hurogol. Beyond the fast-flowing waters live a Celtic tribe, who claim the right to live in Hambrig. The ancient treaty has vanished, and tensions simmer as the tribe yearns to reclaim their ancestral lands.

When the king and his son arrive unexpectedly at Castle Rory, the delicate balance of peace begins to unravel. The son bears a gift from the tribe’s chief—a large, mysterious box, rumoured to contain a deadly lizard whose release spells doom.

But that is only the beginning. A strange minstrel appears at the castle, with an eerie knowledge of things yet to come and abilities that defy explanation. His warnings are cryptic and his presence unsettling. But the Box of Death cannot be ignored.

Lord Rory is torn between loyalty to the crown and whispers of inevitable death that follow the Box. With ancient grievances resurfacing and the lives of his people at stake, he must decide whether to open the Box of Death—or let the fate it holds remain sealed.

Will opening the Box unleash unspeakable horrors, or is it the only way to prevent greater destruction?

As ancient grudges and deadly secrets close in around him, Rory realises that some doors, once opened, can never be closed…

Find The Box of Death here: https://mybook.to/TheBoxOfDeath

Alison Morton is the author of Roma Nova thrillers –  INCEPTIO, CARINA (novella), PERFIDITAS, SUCCESSIO,  AURELIA, NEXUS (novella), INSURRECTIO  and RETALIO,  and ROMA NOVA EXTRA, a collection of short stories.  Audiobooks are available for four of the series. Double Identity, a contemporary conspiracy, starts a new series of thrillers. JULIA PRIMA,  Roma Nova story set in the late 4th century, starts the Foundation stories. The sequel, EXSILIUM, is now out.

Find out more about Roma Nova, its origins, stories and heroines and taste world the latest contemporary thriller Double Identity… Download ‘Welcome to Alison Morton’s Thriller Worlds’, a FREE eBook, as a thank you gift when you sign up to Alison’s monthly email update. As a result, you’ll be among the first to know about news and book progress before everybody else, and take part in giveaways.