Early Middle Ages

Citadel of God is set in Italy of the early 6th century. The Roman Empire is decaying. An Ostrogoth king, Theodoric, is marching in triumph to occupy Italy. A young boy, ward of the respected Roman scholar Boethius, rushes in to stab the barbarian conquerer with a stylus in defense of Old Rome and is rescued from death by a young scholar from Nursia who is called Benedictus.

Against this backdrop, the novel goes on to tell of the lives of Boethius, who becomes governor for the king in spite of his patriotism for the dying Rome; Peter, the young would-be assassin and patriot, who grows up to become a conflicted Byzantine ambassador; and Benedictus, who becomes appalled by the corruption in Roman society and retreats into the wilderness to become a hermit. Eventually he founds several monasteries and travels to Montecassino. He drives out pagan sorcerers, works miracles and founds a monastery that truly became a "Citadel of God" that stood against paganism and Arianism, while the scholar Boethius is jailed and executed by the increasingly paranoid king, after writing The Consolation of Philosophy.

This book is strongly and vividly written, telling an epic tale of several famous lives intertwined during this unstable and critical time in the history of Christendom. The reading and interest level are suitable for ages 14 and up; however, the emotional maturity level may be somewhat higher. There are a couple of scenes, as when a Roman lady tries to seduce the young Benedictus, or a corrupt Christian priest converses with his mistress, that though not overly graphic might be unsuitable to some young readers.

Includes copious synopses and notes (pages 175-231)

This is a very interesting and famous work of historical literature. It is an epic poem - the sort of story that would have been performed aloud to an audience in days gone by. The style is beautiful and moving. It is the story of King Alfred the Great, the 9th century Christian king of Wessex who re-conquered England from the Danes (Vikings). It's an interesting mix (by Chesterton's own admission) of history, legend and allegory - always understanding what is essential to the story for many reasons. This is a beautiful text with an ancient-looking typeface and wood-cut style illustrations, appropriate to its lofty and epic nature.

The first time reading this, I was especially struck by its beautiful language and nuggets of wisdom. Here are a few favorite samples:

"When God put man in a garden
He girt him with a sword,
And sent him forth a free knight
That might betray his lord;

He brake Him and betrayed Him,
And fast and far he fell,
Till you and I may stretch our necks
and burn our beards in hell.

But though I lie on the floor of the world,
With the seven sins for rods,
I would rather fall with Adam
Than rise with all your gods." (Book 3, 305-310)

"Our monks go robed in rain and snow,
But the heart of flame therein,
But you go clothed in feasts and flames,
When all is ice within;

Nor shall all iron dooms make dumb
Men wondering ceaselessly,
If it be not better to fast for joy
Than feast for misery." (Book 3, 350-355)

Even some of my fairly young children (grades three and six) really enjoyed listening to the beauty of the language and picking up bits of truth - like the contrast between fasting for joy and feasting for misery - that rings of truth about the shallow and temporary happiness of the pleasures of this world.

It is an amazing story of the development of virtue in this Christian king, with many glimpses into core Christian beliefs (with a lovely Marian theme). It is heroic, patriotic and a classic in every way. What a great thing it would be if every high schooler studied it and learned to appreciate it on some level. And as a note - it might be very helpful to read this aloud - to any age or even to yourself!

My commentary seems terribly insufficient as I'm just beginning to appreciate this great work. Here are some online sources for further reading.

The entire text is available online at either http://www.fullbooks.com/The-Ballad-of-the-White-Horse.html or http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1719
Lecture on the Ballad of the White Horse by Dale Alquist (American Chesterton Society)

This is a charming and very Catholic story of young Richard of 10th century Normandy. His father, the Duke of Normandy and a devout Christian, is cruelly murdered by a rival nobleman forcing Richard, at the tender age of eight, to become the new Duke in a time of political upheaval. Initially he finds his duties terribly boring and desires nothing more than to spend time with some jolly playmates.

As the story unfolds, Richard slowly matures in the face of the dangers and uncertainties of his position. This is particularly evident during his semi-captivity under the King of France where he learns more fully the truth of the Christian virtues that his father and the good abbot had tried to teach him. He becomes a good judge of character as he learns to recognize flatterers from true friends. Catholic virtues are especially evident in the good people of Normandy who pray and do penance for the sake of their Little Duke.

The story is a little slow in the beginning, but picks up quite nicely after a few chapters. This edition is beautifully bound in red with gold lettering and contains lovely black and white illustrations and very readable larger text.

This book tells the story of Sigurd, a young Viking boy who hears his father tell tales of adventures sailing to far lands and longs for adventures of his own. It looks like his dreams may come true when his father's friend Gorm comes to his home and tells of his plan to sail for the legendary land of Wineland, west of Greenland.

The adventure soon takes an ominous turn as the ship encounters storms and the fears and dreams of the ship's owner, Halfred, who wants to turn back. The quarrel reaches a pitch between Gorm and Halfred, with murderous results that change Sigurd's life forever.

This book is one of many historical adventures written by Clyde Robert Bulla, and it is fast-paced and exciting like his others. Because of this, it might be a good book for an older reluctant reader. There is an interesting sub-plot about the value of the written word - at the beginning Sigurd refuses to learn to read and write because he doesn't see the point in his warrior culture, but in the end he changes his views when he has a valuable story to tell.

The terse style and fast pace is reminiscent of Norse sagas, and the lesson - that it takes hard work to become strong and skilled, and that even a warrior culture needs readers and writers - is a good one for a young person struggling to become literate. The reading level is probably about 2nd or early 3rd grade. I recommend this book for children ages 6 and up - a younger child could probably understand it, but might be upset by the fact that several main characters die during the course of the story.