"Katherine Kurtz - The Priesting Of Arilan" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kurtz Katherine)

"THE PRIESTING OF ARILAN"

By Katherine Kurtz
Published by Ballanttne Books:


First Edition: August 1986


contents

introduction
I Catalyst (Fall, 888)
II Healer's Song (August 1, 914)
III Vocation (December 24, 977)
IV Bethane (Summer, 1100)
V The Priesting of Arilan (August 1, 1104-February 2, 1105)
VI Legacy (June 21, 1105)
VII The Knighting of Derry (May, 1115)
VIII Trial (Spring, 1118)
appendix I: Index of Characters
appendix II: Index of Place Names
appendix III: A Partial Chronology for the Eleven Kingdoms
appendix IV: Literary Origins Of The Deryni

Introduction
Welcome to Gwynedd and the universe of the Deryni. Whether or not
you've been here before, you'll likely find it at least somewhat familiar, for
Gwynedd and its neighboring kingdoms are roughly parallel to our own
tenth, eleventh, and twelfth century England, Wales, and Scotland in
terms of culture, level of technology, similarity of social structure, and
influence of a powerful medieval Church that extends its machinations
into the lives of nearly everyone, highborn or low. The major difference,
aside from historical personalities and places, is that magic works; for the
Deryni are a race of sorcerers.
In a sense, the term "magic" is almost a misnomer to describe Deryni
capabilities, because much of what the Deryni can do falls under the
general category of what we would call extrasensory perception or ESP.
Telepathy, telekinesis, teleportation, and other "paranormal" phenomena
are functions we are now beginning to suspect may be far more normal
than we had dreamed, as we approach the threshold of the twenty-first
century and science continues to expand our understanding of human
potential. In fact, much of what we consider science today would have
been magic to the feudal, superstitious, non-technological folk of the
Middle Ages. (They would have scoffed at the notion that invisible
animalcules called "germs" could cause disease, for everyone knew that
evil humors made people sickтАФor, sometimes, the wrath of God.)
Of course, not all "magical" phenomena can be explained, even by
modern science. Complicating matters in Gwynedd is the fact that the
Deryni themselves cannot always distinguish between the various forms of