A Song for Arbonne

A Song for Arbonne
Guy Gavriel Kay

Based on the troubadour culture that rose in Provence during the High Middle Ages, this panoramic, absorbing novel beautifully creates an alternate version of the medieval world.The matriarchal, cultured land of Arbonne is rent by a feud between its two most powerful dukes, the noble troubador Bertran de Talair and Urte de Miraval, over long-dead Aelis, lover of one, wife of the other and once heir to the country's throne.To the north lies militaristic Gorhaut, whose inhabitants worship the militant god Corannos and are ruled by corrupt, womanizing King Ademar. His chief advisor, the high priest of Corannos, is determined to irradicate the worship of a female deity, whose followers live to the south.Into this cauldron of brewing disaster comes the mysterious Gorhaut mercenary Blaise, who takes service with Bertran and averts an attempt on his life. The revelation of Blaise's lineage and a claim for sanctuary by his sister-in-law sets the stage for a brutal clash between the two cultures. Intertwined is the tale of a young woman troubadour whose role suggests the sweep of the drama to come.

Guy Gavriel Kay

A Song for Arbonne

Copyright

HarperVoyager

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers

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Hammersmith, London W6 8JB

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 1992

The Author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

A SONG FOR ARBONNE. Copyright © Guy Gavriel Kay 1992.

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Source ISBN: 9780007342051

Ebook Edition © JUNE 2011 ISBN: 9780007352029

Version 2014-12-18

This book is dedicated, with love,

to the memory of my father,

Dr. Samuel K. Kay,

whose skill and compassion as a surgeon were

enhanced all his life by a love for language and

literature—a love he conveyed to his sons, among

so many other gifts.

Contents

Cover Page (#u8686e86f-428a-51dc-bebe-6d54d436a51f)

Title Page (#u6ebf27c0-02ce-5178-b5d1-31f52c20b884)

Copyright

Dedication (#u38946c59-f7e5-5052-9758-72d48a808fc1)

A Note on Pronunciation

Map (#ulink_82a01577-03e5-5761-8435-4e3e01c7a27d)

Prologue (#ulink_ec79e375-00d4-5b02-b394-71684a3957f2)

On a morning in the springtime of the year, when…

Part One: Spring

Chapter I

There was very little wind, which was a blessing. Pale…

Chapter II

Some mornings, as today, she woke feeling amazingly young, happy…

Chapter III

Ademar, king of Gorhaut, slowly turns away from the diverting…

Part Two: Midsummer

Chapter IV

Walking briskly through the crowded streets, calling cheerful replies to…

Chapter V

It wasn’t, of course. It wasn’t the same man; the…

Chapter VI

Lisseut, if asked in the midst of that swirling, suddenly…