Fool School Page 28

  Camelot is thought to have been named for the Roman castle of Camelodenum in Colchester.

  The story of Duncan and the Blue Knight is entirely of my own invention, but is drawn from themes in the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, which was written more or less contemporaneously with the setting this book. The name of the protagonist of the Blue Knight story hints at Malcolm's identity, hint hint. Strathclyde was a kingdom inside Scotland, specifically the lowlands nearest to Hadrian's Wall. "Snell" is Middle Scots for "bitter," while "wodewose" means "tree-crazy" and suggests a wild mountain man. "Ruth" is anger.

  The idea of the key to heaven unlocking alternate realities comes directly from Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere.

  The practice of the scapegoat wasn't necessarily observed as I describe, but the practice of sin-eaters was. A sin-eater was a beggar who allowed priests to ritualistically put other people's sins onto a piece of food, and the beggar would then eat it, taking the sins upon his or her own shoulders in exchange for money or, more often, forgiveness for petty crimes. It isn't too great a stretch to think that a sadistic priest could easily re-interpret this papally-endorsed practice for more sinister purposes.

  All (or, to be fair, nearly all) of the names in this book are of the time. Aethelstan, Edward, Richard, Eadmun and Wolfweir were all names of kings or prominent nobles of the era.

  The sequence of the Jew is my commentary on Ivanhoe and the romanticization of the medieval Jew in Romantic literature. Bristol was a center for Jewish life in Britain throughout the Middle Ages, but hatred of Jews was profoundly deep, especially in mainland Europe, for all of recorded history. Usury--the act of banking--was illegal for any Christian until the Enlightenment, but legal for Jews. Business often needed banks, but had few places to go other than Jewish moneylenders. Resentment was often matched only by gratitude at having loans available. I considered having Rabin get lynched, but ultimately decided it was better for him to demonstrate the positive impact of basic decency. I'm not certain that this is the most truthful way to tell the story--in an alternate reality version of this storyline, he definitely winds up murdered.

  Wolfweir is a pretty fair portrait of about three-quarters of all the girls I've ever dated. I won't name names, but she's pretty spot-on as a representation of some of my exes. I tend to date bossy girls.

  I've taken some liberties with the subject of French and English currency. In 1040CE, the use of currency wasn't universal. Pennies were far and away the most common medium of exchange--a penny was worth about ten or fifteen dollars in today's currency, although many items were more valuable back then, like fish, which was often reserved for royalty, while items like leather or eggs were considerably cheaper than they are today. Shillings and pounds as I describe them may not even have been minted, while gold coins like Malcolm's mancus coins were often relics of the earlier Roman era. The fact that Tom's father has copper coins suggests poverty: France had swapped to the silver standard about a hundred years earlier, and a copper coin would have been of little worth. For more on the subject, check out A Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England, by Ian Mortimer.

  The songs I mention are all accurate to the era. Thanks to the British Library and the University of Southampton websites for the lyrics etc. My "Rybbesdale" lyrics are nearly verbatim from the original, with slight variations I felt were needed. My first draft mentioned "Greensleeves," but upon further research I discovered "Greensleeves" was written in the 1500s.

  I like to think that the Northumbrian blankets in the acrobatics room were actually made in Qwghlm.

  Some mention should also be made of all the various movies and TV shows set in the Middle Ages I've watched over the years, Brother Cadfael in particular. Robin Hood movies are always horribly inaccurate, as are most King Arthur movies, especially the ones that claim they're not. The Middle Ages were bursting with color and life and were not at all the drab world that Hollywood so often portrays.

  Also note the basic lack of Knights in Shining Armor in the story; seeing such a knight would have been incredibly rare outside of official tournaments, where whole miniature armies would collide in an open field, and even then, peasants of the Third Estate weren't invited to watch. Furthermore, knights didn't travel around in armor, full plate wasn't invented by 1040 CE, and they would rarely even wear chainmail unless they were in an active warzone. They'd simply be dressed as rich people, largely indistinguishable from other rich people, and generally stayed inside their nice manor houses set just outside of castles or keeps.

  King Hardknot, or Harthacnut, was the son of Danish Viking invader Cnut the Great and Queen Emma, the extraordinary, mollish ex-wife of overthrown Saxon King Aethelred. The story of Emma is an amazingly weird story which I may someday write about; she married the man who killed her husband and was alive to see four immediate members of her family sit on the throne in a row, sometimes more than one at a time. More facts about her may arise in future books.

  Some of Hero's monologue was inspired by a painting called "The Fairy-Feller's Master Stroke."

  I imagine some readers might be uncomfortable with some of the themes in the book. I talk openly about religion and sex, two subjects known to make casual readers antsy. My position is that sensitive readers can stop reading anytime they like, but if you're interested and I cut these delicate subjects out, you're missing an important part of the story. The story I tell happens the way I tell it. If that upsets you, perhaps a less honest book may be your style. Nana nana boo boo.

  Questions for Reading Groups

  1. Tom states that there is no God in dreams. Is this true? Why should it be so?

  2. Given what you know about the Middle Ages, was there a way to save Liza? What would you have done in Tom's place? Are you sure?

  3. What were Tom and Malcolm meant to learn on the road to the Fool School? Did they learn the right lessons?

  4. What is the meaning of the story of the White Stag? Are we all pursuing it? Why did Tom pine for a childhood that never existed for him?

  5. Were Tom and Malcolm justified in their treatment of the Jew? Why did they treat him the way they did? Why did Barns the Bailiff treat him differently?

  6. Who is the Blue Knight? Why does he turn into mist? Did Tom and Malcolm tell the story correctly?

  7. What does it mean to hear the voices of angels? Where does Tom hear them? What is the result?

  8. Do we have a goblin or a ghost under our soul? Are we fighting an inner fight? Do we all sometimes lose control?

  9. Is Hero's monologue merely a dream? Is there more to it?

  10. What is the role of a jester in a king's court? Do we have jesters nowadays?