WIJFR: Siege Perilous

closeHey, just so you know ... this post is now about 9 years and 10 months old. Please keep that in mind as it very well may contain broken links and/or outdated information.

Ocyrhoe, a young, cunning fugitive from Rome, safeguards a chalice of subtle but great power. Finding herself in France, she allies with the persecuted, pacifist Cathar sect in their legendary mountaintop stronghold, Montségur. There she resists agents of the Roman Church and its Inquisition, fights off escalating, bloody besiegement by troops of the King of France, and shields the mysterious cup from the designs of many.

Percival, the heroic Shield-Brethren knight from The Mongoliad, consumed by his mystical visions of the Holy Grail, is also drawn to Montségur—where the chalice holds the key to his destiny.

Arrayed against Percival and Ocyrhoe are enemies both old and new who are determined to reveal the secrets of the Shield-Brethren with the hope of destroying the order once and for all.

Wrapping up The Mongoliad Cycle, I finally finished reading “Siege Perilous” by E. D. deBirmingham. 

Book Five picks up the Rome/Pope/Grail storyline from Books Two and Three, introducing Ferenc and Ocyrhoe to the Shield-Bretheren knights Raphael and Percival and Shield Maiden Vera. Also making a re-appearance is Dietrich, of the Livonian order of knights whom we last saw at the Circus of Swords outside of Hünern in Book Three. There aren’t any more Mongols (i.e., Gansukh and Lian) in this final installment, as that story was wrapped up at the end of Book Four.

The plot of “Siege Perilous,” as the name implies, revolves mainly around the historical siege of the mountain fortress of Montségur. Ocyrhoe, having fled Rome into the wilderness with the cup that caused so many problems at the end of Book Three (two years ago), has taken up residence in Montségur, working as a messenger for the Cathars that live there. Raphael (who took possession of the living sprig in “Katabasis”) and Vera have returned to Rome, summoned by Frederick, the Holy Roman Emperor. He directs them to travel to Montségur, which is now under siege by French forces (and others) since he has heard that Percival may have gone there seeking the grail. With them he sends Ferenc, his (now better educated) squire. The knights are reunited with Percival at the mountain fortress (which also reunites Ferenc with Ocyrhoe) and take up arms to protect the Cathars from the siege. Meanwhile, back in Rome, the newly instated Pope Innocent IV (the former Cardinal Sinibaldo Fieschi) has heard of the grail’s possible location at the besieged fortress and sets his own plans in motion to retrieve the cup for his own uses.

Church and state politics, religious persecution, siege engines and strategies, and the by now familiar detailed swordplay, weaponry, and battles all with the backdrop of real historical events make this final book in the series another enjoyable read. And finally, the grail and sprig meet their final destiny (although whether or not the mysteries behind each of those artifacts is satisfactorily explained is yet to be determined).

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *