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''Conscience of the King'' (1951) is a historical novel by the English author Alfred Duggan. The novel follows the speculative exploits of Cerdic Elesing, legendary founder of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex, from his birth in 451 AD〔This date is according to the novel but his actual birthdate is not certain.〕 of Germanic and Romano-British descent through his rise to power as first king of the West Saxons in England until his death in 534. It is written in the style of an autobiography or personal memoir, and the character is portrayed as a conquering antihero who is not above acting against those who pose a threat to his independence and power, including members of his own family, and who even leads a marauding Germanic army to conquer his own native city and massacre its inhabitants. The title (taken from Shakespeare's Hamlet) is thus completely ironic. Cerdic does occasionally remark that he is worried that if either the religion of the Germanic tribes (who regard kinslaying and treachery as unforgivable crimes) or the Christianity in which he was brought up is true, he will spend eternity in Hell but he concludes dismissively that even if this is the case "It was fun while it lasted". During his journeys he is accompanied by his son Cynric who shows great promise as both a warrior and the future heir to his father's throne, and is the only person in the entire book towards whom the writer/narrator shows any kind of genuine affection, partly because Cynric is simple-mindedly honest and faithful to his father, even failing to grasp Cerdic's occasional hints that Cynric should kill his younger sons so that they will not be rivals to his eldest son (as Cerdic was to his own elder brother). Cerdic comments, however, that if Cynric had exhibited any signs of the same political cunning that he possesses himself, he would have dealt with him as he did with his own kin and with his troublesome wife (Cynric's mother). A recurring theme is the decline of civilisation; Cerdic often comments on the illiteracy of the Saxons and their simple adherence to custom, and on the advantages which his late Roman education gives him in thinking out his moves in advance. He also notes the decay of Roman buildings as they are abandoned and plundered and the dirt and uncleanliness of even Saxon nobles (whereas Roman nobles such as Cerdic himself in his youth bathed frequently). In his old age Cerdic sometimes thinks he would have preferred to be a Roman nobleman even though he would not have enjoyed as much personal freedom. ==Historical background== Historical information on Cerdic is scanty and unreliable, mainly derived from the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', written four centuries after his time. Thus, an author seeking to write a full-length novel about him must fill enormous gaps with guess-work. Many historians believe Cerdic's name to be a variety on "Caratacus", the name of the Celtic chieftain who opposed the Roman invasion of Britain. From this and from several of his ancestors having had names which appear more Celtic than Germanic, it is deduced that he was descended from a Romano-British noble family, which had set up a petty principality after the disintegration of Roman rule and which after the arrival of the Saxons became Germanized and/or intermarried with the invaders. Duggan theorises that he was descended from a (historically attested) earlier Germanic ruler who settled in Britain with his people as mercenaries in the Roman service, at the height of Roman power. It is plausible to assume that descendants of such a chieftain, while fully assimilated in Roman culture, would have retained bits of Germanic lore, and particularly the prestigious pedigree ultimately tracing their ancestry to the god Wodan – which would be helpful to Cerdic in getting accepted by the Saxons. This, however, contradicts the statement of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' that Cerdic had landed in Britain with three keels (boats) manned by Saxon warriors – which would argue that he was a Germanic chieftain with no previous ties to the country. Duggan reconciles this difficulty by assuming that Cerdic was brought up as a Romano-Briton, but that having quarrelled with his family he fled and went over to the Saxons, and eventually recruited them to come back as a conqueror – a plausible scenario, of which examples could be found at various times and places in history, though not attested in any historical source about Cerdic. However, a person capable of leading bloodthirsty foreign warriors to conquer his own homeland must be quite ruthless and amoral or immoral – and as such did Duggan portray Cerdic. On the other hand, the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' also mentions Cerdic as closely co-operating with his son Cynric – and it is an unquestioned fact that he was the founder of a dynasty which endured for five centuries. From this it can be assumed that, even if Cerdic cared little for other people in general, he did make an exception with regard to his son – and that is made a central feature of the book's later parts. In all, it can be said that Duggan has taken a historical novelist's liberty of inventing where historical facts are lacking – but his reconstruction is compatible with the scanty known facts. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Conscience of the King」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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