Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed ‘The Winter King’ and am about to start ‘Enemy of God.’ Thank you for the respect you show to Welsh culture and traditions. I suppose you know that Derfel became a saint but do you know the story about what happened when his statue was taken to London to be burnt at the time of the Reformation? There was a legend in the area around the shrine of Derfel that if Derfel fell, the forest would burn. When the statue was removed, some said the legend was proved untrue but other pointed to what happened to the statue. It was chopped up to form the pyre on which a priest was to be burnt. And the name of the priest? Father Forrest… Thanks again and should you ever be writing about Welsh matters in the future, I’d be delighted to help with thoughts on matters of the Language. Love your use of the word Sais, by the way. My late father referred to certain of his enemies as ‘some Jac Sais or other.’
Myfanwy Alexander