Pilgrims John and Simon Ferrier arrive at the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem on the day the army marches out to battle. Within days the Christian army is annihilated by Saladin. Triumphant, the great warrior leads his warriors towards Jerusalem, determined to win it back for his people.
To defend the city there is only one nobleman, Balian of Ibelin, and four knights.
In desperation Balian knights thirty ordinary men to lead the defence. One of them is the innkeeper Bernard Mountjoy. So too are the pilgrims John and Simon. The new-made knights fight valiantly but can only delay the inevitable. Balian is forced to surrender the city to Saladin.
Some of the inhabitants buy their freedom. Others, including Bernard’s wife Agnes and children, are sold into slavery.
The world is in flames, the normal bonds of life shattered. Bonds of lordship, bonds of kinship, bonds of marriage and of friendship, all lay tainted and discarded.
Yet in this turbulent time, three men find new fellowship and a mission. Bernard is determined to search the Muslim world for his enslaved wife and children. John pledges to aid him and then to pursue his own mission of revenge. A third man, a stranger, journeys to find himself again.
History says nothing more of the people raised so far above their normal station and then cast aside.
Outcasts tells the story of how they fare in a world grown more bitter and fanatical.
To defend the city there is only one nobleman, Balian of Ibelin, and four knights.
In desperation Balian knights thirty ordinary men to lead the defence. One of them is the innkeeper Bernard Mountjoy. So too are the pilgrims John and Simon. The new-made knights fight valiantly but can only delay the inevitable. Balian is forced to surrender the city to Saladin.
Some of the inhabitants buy their freedom. Others, including Bernard’s wife Agnes and children, are sold into slavery.
The world is in flames, the normal bonds of life shattered. Bonds of lordship, bonds of kinship, bonds of marriage and of friendship, all lay tainted and discarded.
Yet in this turbulent time, three men find new fellowship and a mission. Bernard is determined to search the Muslim world for his enslaved wife and children. John pledges to aid him and then to pursue his own mission of revenge. A third man, a stranger, journeys to find himself again.
History says nothing more of the people raised so far above their normal station and then cast aside.
Outcasts tells the story of how they fare in a world grown more bitter and fanatical.
