Series
Description
Sent into the world by his master, a Cistercian monk and former Knight Templar, Arn Magnusson encounters the scheming power battles of twelfth-century Sweden and is separated from the woman he loves by a headstrong noble's fateful mistake.
Subjects
Language
Original language
Swedish
Original publication date
1998
Publication
[Oslo] : Cappelen, 1998
Pages
352
ISBN
8202175941 / 9788202175948
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User reviews
LibraryThing member Kasthu
Arn of Gotha is born in 1150, the younger son of a wealthy landowner. After a miracle occurs, Arn is sent to a monastery, where he is trained in both spiritual and physical matters—in the latter, by a former Knight Templar. The novel covers Arn’s early years, up until the time he is sent off to
It’s not an easy read, by any stretch; I don’t know if it’s Jan Guillou’s writing style or the way the translator translated the book, but there were certain passages that were a bit slow going for me. There’s also a lot in here about faith and sin, although I didn’t find the religious bits off putting. Rather, it led an air of veracity to the whole novel. There’s also a fair amount of Swedish history thrown in, though Guillou doesn’t hit his reader over the head with it. The political maneuverings of medieval Sweden can be a bit confusing, though.
More than anything, though, this is a coming of age novel, set in a place that I really didn’t know much about 9I’m familiar with 12th-century history in other parts of Europe, but Sweden was a whole new ball game for me). It was a little hard for me to believe that Arn could be such an innocent about certain things, but I think the author handled Arn’s development as the central character especially well. The Road to Jerusalem is the first book in a trilogy that continues with The Knight Templar and Birth of the Kingdom.
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fight as a Knight Templar himself. The outcome of the novel is inevitable, but it’s the way that Arn gets there that is particularly interesting.It’s not an easy read, by any stretch; I don’t know if it’s Jan Guillou’s writing style or the way the translator translated the book, but there were certain passages that were a bit slow going for me. There’s also a lot in here about faith and sin, although I didn’t find the religious bits off putting. Rather, it led an air of veracity to the whole novel. There’s also a fair amount of Swedish history thrown in, though Guillou doesn’t hit his reader over the head with it. The political maneuverings of medieval Sweden can be a bit confusing, though.
More than anything, though, this is a coming of age novel, set in a place that I really didn’t know much about 9I’m familiar with 12th-century history in other parts of Europe, but Sweden was a whole new ball game for me). It was a little hard for me to believe that Arn could be such an innocent about certain things, but I think the author handled Arn’s development as the central character especially well. The Road to Jerusalem is the first book in a trilogy that continues with The Knight Templar and Birth of the Kingdom.
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LibraryThing member Travis1259
This is Book One of The Crusades Trilogy, promoted as an epic story of The Knights Templar. And, I really liked this book. The reason I gave it three and a half stars instead of a higher rating is the plain fact that this book doesn't really touch on the Knights Templar in any detail. That was most
Having said that, this book gives a very personal look at this point in history. Guillou, the author, possess the gift of crafting historical information in great detail and yet building such character development that it becomes indeed very much about the central character, Arn.
A real bonus results because I learned so very much about what transpired in the North countries in Medieval times. Something I really knew nothing about. I just could not put the book down.
Still, I bet the next two books of this trilogy will focus on the Knights Templar and their efforts during the Holy Wars. That's what I expected to read in the first place. And, I look forward to that.
.
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disappointing to me. I would have preferred that the author made this book a separate look at Sweden during this period, as a tale of how someone came to fight the infidels.Having said that, this book gives a very personal look at this point in history. Guillou, the author, possess the gift of crafting historical information in great detail and yet building such character development that it becomes indeed very much about the central character, Arn.
A real bonus results because I learned so very much about what transpired in the North countries in Medieval times. Something I really knew nothing about. I just could not put the book down.
Still, I bet the next two books of this trilogy will focus on the Knights Templar and their efforts during the Holy Wars. That's what I expected to read in the first place. And, I look forward to that.
.
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LibraryThing member simchaboston
I'm having a hard time deciding how I feel about this book. On the one hand, I enjoyed learning a few things about Sweden (a country I know little about), and most of the characters are interesting, especially Arn and the monks who raised him. On the other hand, the author had some definite points
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he wanted to make and definite places he needed characters to be, so he's sometimes not terribly subtle with either his foreshadowing of certain people's fates or with the unlikely sequence of events (unlikely, because not even Arn should've been that stupid) that predetermines Arn's journey for the next two books. So while I didn't mind reading this, I don't feel the need to seek out the sequels, which will probably have even more heads being chopped off than this one did. Show Less
LibraryThing member Bookaholic2
This title was recommended by a Scandinavian friend after having discussed another author who uses the medieval period (slightly later) to write historical fiction. I am a detail oriented type and found this title to be a treat in that regard. Despite the exceptional detail, I was able to read it
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in a few days. How much did I like it? Answer: I have ordered the remainder of the trilogy. Show Less
LibraryThing member VictoriaJZ
Enjoyed this book and the entire series. Believable characters. Interesting and to me, unknown, historical period.
Media reviews
knjigainfo.com
Plemić Arn Magnuson rođen leta gospodnjeg 1150. biva poslat na školovanje u manastir Varnhem zbog datog obećanja njegove majke. Tamo stiče najbolje duhovno i svetovno obrazovanje svog vremena a uči i da rukuje mačem i lukom, jer su monasi shvatili da Arnu nije suđeno da postane jedan od
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njih. Sa sedamnaest godina, bez mnogo životnog iskustva, ali kao učen i sposoban ratnik, Arn se vraća kući i odmah se upliće u intrige između suprotstavljenih pretendenata na presto. Na putu upoznaje dve sestre od kojih ga jedna zavodi a u drugu se zaljubljuje i sa obema deli krevet. Zbog ovog smrtnog greha biva osuđen na dvadesetogodišnju pokoru da služi kao vitez templar u Svetoj zemlji. Ovim počinje prvi deo neverovatno uspešne istorijske trilogije koja se nastavlja Vitezom templarom i Kraljevstvom na kraju puta.
Jan Giju stvorio je neverovatnu priču iz vremena krstaških ratova koja je s velikim uspehom preneta na filmsko platno.
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