Celtic Crusades S.

3 primary works

The Iron Lance

by Stephen Lawhead

Published 21 September 1998

First of an exciting new trilogy from the author of Byzantium, The Iron Lance is set at the time of the first Crusade in 1099.

Amidst visions of the ancient past, a 19th century Scottish lawyer glimpses the harrowing pilgrimage of an ancestor...

In the year 1095, Pope Urban II declares war on the infidel. Kings, princes, and lords throughout Europe take up the cross and rush to join the Crusade.

Murdo Ranulfson is left behind to guard his family's interests in the remote Orkney Isles while his father and brothers join the fight to win Jerusalem. But when all the family's lands and possessions are confiscated, Murdo follows the Crusade with the hope of finding his father and redeeming their land.
His epic journey leads him to the heart of the civilized world, where the Emperor Alexius and the Lords of the West are engaged in a battle of wills that threatens the survival of the Holy Roman Empire.
Steeped in heroism, treachery and the clamour of battle, The Iron Lance begins an epic trilogy of a Scottish family fighting for its existence and its faith during the age of the Great Crusades.

The Black Rood

by Stephen Lawhead

Published 7 February 2000

Second volume of the magnificent saga set at the time of the Crusades in 1099. Admidst visions of the ancient past, a 19th century Scottish lawyer glimpses the harrowing pilgrimage of an ancestor...Murdo Ranulfsson has survived the harrowing experience of being part of the Great Crusade in Jerusalem, and has returned to Scotland to found a powerful and devout clan. Life is also good for Murdo's son, Duncan, until his young wife dies in childbirth. Driven by grief and the death-bed stories of his uncle, Torf-Einar, Duncan decides to follow in his father's footsteps and journey to Jerusalem to be a part of the Holy Crusade. But before Duncan leaves, a reluctant Murdo reveals to him and his brother that their home conceals the Holy Relic of the Iron Lance. Stunned by this revelation, Duncan travels to France with his friend, the monk Padraig, all the while pondering on the mystery of his uncle's dying words: the Holy Cross of the Crucifixion, or Black Rood, has been discovered in Jerusalem, and is being carried into battle by the Christian knights Templar.
But before he can reach his destination Duncan is captured by barbarian soldiers, and taken to Cairo to await his fate at the hands of the Caliph...Steeped in heroism, treachery and the clamour of battle, The Black Rood continues the epic saga of a Scottish family fighting for its existence and its faith during the age of the Great Crusades.

The Mystic Rose

by Stephen Lawhead

Published 19 March 2001

The triumphant conclusion to this epic historical trilogy about a Scottish family's rise to power during the Holy Crusades Duncan has returned with his new wife to the fastness of Banvard, to continue his father Murdo's good work in building a powerful and devout community. Even more precious a gift than his wife, though, is the other item that Duncan has brought to the Scottish clan: the Black Rood, the holy Cross of the Crucifixion that Duncan rescued from the clutches of the Knights Templar. Yet the reach of the Templars is long, and soon Duncan and his loved ones find themselves under attack from the Christian Knights. Duncan's daughter Cait is forced to flee, and soon finds herself on a boat heading for the Moorish strongholds of Spain, where she will find herself mired in a battle for religious supremacy which threatens to leave only corpses in its wake. Cait appears to have little hope of survival, but it seems that the pious devotion of her forebears is about to bear miraculous fruit. And the possibility of her survival becomes intertwined with the discovery of the most holy relic of all!
In the final part of this enthralling trilogy of historical adventure, Stephen Lawhead delivers an explosive and revelatory climax to this unique religious fantasy quest.