Brothers 4: King Richard Lion Heart and King John Lackland

Brothers 4 is a story about the four Angevin brothers, sons of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, and four fictitious Irish orphans who are raised by an English knight, Sir Hugh Fitz Gilbert of Tonbridge. The events and most of the persons in the story are true to history, as far as our knowledge permits. But the doings of the four Irishmen are fictitious. However, it is through the eyes of these young Irishmen that we get to know the main Angevin characters, King Richard the Lion Heart, and King John, Lackland. I have endeavoured to portray these two kings as honestly as I can.

We get to know King Richard through the eyes of the scholarly Irish son, Robyn O’Currain and his warlike servant, Brendan. At the same time King John was ramping around England and into French lands and doing mischief wherever it struck his fancy. We get to know him through the critical eyes of the warlike Irish son, Bruce O’Currain and the gifted singer and scribe, his servant, Drew. Hence, it is possible to develop a balanced view of these two kings by learning what both warlike and scholarly men might have thought of them. What emerges is a more rounded and true character of each man than often steps out of the history books.

The story is told through a series of letters and conversations among the Irish brothers and entries from their diaries (fictitious, but accurate as to time and place).