Requiem is the concluding part of Robyn Young’s Brethren trilogy. This story spans from 1295 to 1314 as two kings seek to expand their power and attempt to use the Knights Templar for their own ends.
In 1295, the Knights Templar have returned to Western Europe in humiliation after being forced out of the Holy Land. Whilst their leader seeks to launch another Crusade and seek to gain support in the East, the order in Western Europe is left without a cause. Edward I offers to join another Crusade if the Templars support him in his war against Scotland. This action leads Will Campbell to leave the Order and join the Scottish cause. King Philippe III of France is a natural ally for the Scots, but he has his own issues with the Church and soon finds himself in conflict with Pope Boniface VIII.
I have enjoyed the series, but I accept that it had flaws. Brethren had a sprawling story that spanned decades and took place in England, France, and the Holy Land. Crusade was a little more focused since all the events took place in the Middle East, but Young did have to contort her characters so their actions could line up with historical events. Crusade was the most assured novel; it did a better job of connecting the different storylines and didn’t struggle as much with blending historical events with the fictional story.
Like the previous novels in the series, it was set over a long period. The book was split into three parts; the first covered Edward I’s invasion of Scotland and William Wallace’s rebellion, the second was about Will becoming a part of Philippe III’s court, and the final part was about the fall of the Templars (I would say spoiler warning, but the full title of the book is Requiem: The Fall of the Templars). There was so much going on that it could have been a trilogy of books in its own right. The book covered many major events like the battles of Stirling Bridge and Falkirk (which made me want to rewatch Braveheart), the French attempt to arrest Pope Boniface VIII, and the infamous events of 13th October 1307. As a history nerd, I could salivate over the historical events and details. I found it easier to connect with because I had more knowledge of the events in the story, especially the events in Scotland.
The issue with being so historically detailed was that there was too much to put in a novel. The papal politics were pushed to the background and only mentioned when Phillippe III and Guillaume de Plaisans talked about how they got their man elected as Pope. The risk of featuring papal politics and elections would have made the story too bloated, but its absence felt like a case of telling instead of showing.
Requiem organically linked the events together. Will abandoned the Templars and fled to Scotland; he became part of the rebellion against English occupation and became a useful lieutenant for William Wallace. When the rebels lost the Battle of Falkirk, Will and Wallace left Scotland to seek support on the continent, leading to Will becoming Wallace’s envoy to Philippe III. This led Will to work as a double agent to prevent Philippe III and Guillaume de Plaisans’ schemes against the Templars. These were men who were guided by the weight of their past: Philippe III wanted to prove he was as worthy a king as his grandfather, who was canonised, and de Plaisans harboured a hatred for religion and wanted to take it out on the church. Will got to see how cruel and power-hungry the kings of England and France were, so neither major kingdom came off that well.
Will Campbell found himself in the middle of many major events. This ensured there was a good amount of action, from big battles to clandestine operations, making it feel like Bernard Cornwell’s work. However, Will did capture a lot in the book and needed to be rescued. It wouldn’t have been so noticeable if the story had been split across two or three novels. Edward I did have a great villain monologue about the horrors when someone is hanged to death.
Will was at a low point when the novel started. His wife had died, his ex-friend might be Rose’s real father, he had found out that Edward I had been manipulating the Anima Templi for his own ends for years, and the Anima Templi of religious co-existence in the Middle East failed miserably. Given that Rose had rejected Will and Edward’s plans to invade Scotland and recruit the Templars into their army, Will felt he had to leave the Order he had been a member of since he was 13. It was a rushed decision, but it gave a knight a chance to reconcile with family, a big deal considering the circumstances that forced him to join the Templars.
Rose gave the novel an emotional centre. Her mother had died, and she rejected her father. She was alone in the world, working as a handmaiden to the Queen of France. She was in a vulnerable state of mind, which resulted in her being entangled in dangerous romantic and political situations. She was cruel to her father, and she held onto her bitterness for years.
Requiem was an enjoyable novel that got the most out of its rich historical material. I was keen to read it; I was able to read a good chunk on the train journey, and I was annoyed on days when I didn’t have time to read. That by itself was a good endorsement for the novel.
