Coin of the Kingdom

It is 1100, a time when the Normans are tightening an iron grip on England and France is riven by squabbling factions. Henry, one of the sons of William the Conqueror, is about to begin his long reign while, in Paris, Louis the Fat will soon launch a fight to save the Capetian kingdom from extinction. The new kings could hardly be more different - the one plotting and conniving, the other warrior-like and ruthless -- as they combat opponents such as Henry's elder brother, Robert Curthose known as Short Pants, and the notoriously cruel Duke de Bellême. Unwittingly, a young moneyer named Patrice becomes deeply enmeshed in this protracted power battle that shaped the early medieval period in two great nations. Coin of the Kingdom is the first of a trilogy that traces these largely forgotten events on both sides of the Channel during the first half of the twelfth century as England and France struggle out of the Dark Ages. It is also a story of the battle by the downtrodden against plague, hunger, tyranny and brutality.