After I finished reading King Arthur’s Bones (a post on this book to follow) I wanted to read more about King Arthur and I remembered I still have Relics of the Dead by Ariana Franklin to read. This too is about the discovery of the alleged remains of King Arthur.
I hadn’t got very far into it – pages 39-40 – when I came across this sentence that made me pause:
The pilgrims would loyally accompany their new friend, Emma, Lady Wolvercote, on her diversion to the judicial battleground at the Buckinghamshire county town of Aylesbury.
I lived for over 20 years near Aylesbury, which is indeed the county town – now. But in 1176, when this event took place, it wasn’t the county town. Maybe I only know this because I’m interested in the history of places where I’ve lived, or even because I used to work in the Buckinghamshire County Record Office, but it still irks me. How difficult is it to check this fact I wondered? Not difficult at all – Wikipedia has some details – Buckingham was the county town until the 16th century.
How much influence should this have over my reading? Well, it may not be an important part of the story, but it has influenced me enough to make me put the book to one side for a while until I’ve got over it.
BooksPlease 