In 1192, King Richard the Lionheart of England was concluding the Third Crusade in the Holy Land. Hearing of machinations against his realm, he returned home on the Mediterranean that winter. Due to [typically] treacherous seasonal seas and murmurs of betrayal by rival rulers (of France and the Holy Roman Empire, respectively), he attempted to go through friendly territories in mainland Europe to get back to England. He was discovered, caught, and held prisoner. His location unknown, legend has it that a troubadour, Blondel, wandered Europe for months searching for the king. His novel technique- singing a specific song only Richard would know outside each castle and awaiting the second verse- eventually paid off; Richard was located in Austria and ransomed for a huge sum. According to legend. Such is the subject of Blondel's Song (published as The Troubadour's Song in the USA).
I put this book down before finishing for two reasons:
- too much back-story: by the time I stopped (halfway through), Richard had yet to be captured, let alone located by Blondel. This is more of a biography of Richard's time and story than anything . . . so the title is misleading.
- too much speculation: I got tired of reading "maybe," "local tradition has it," and "possibly." This book is largely an exercise in conjecture. Yes, there is a legend about Blondel . . . but there are legends about King Arthur and Robin Hood, too, and their authenticity is also suspect. The bottom line: we know very little, so reading speculation as history gets misleading very quickly.
It isn't all bad- Boyle throws in interesting historical tidbits along the way, and the subject matter is certainly compelling. I just wish we knew more. Boyle is not a historian, and in hindsight, this material would have been better conveyed as historical fiction, or fiction with a historical element. There's not enough here for proper history.
Rating: C+
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