“Tell me, brother, what great dramas and orations unfolded here in this place?  Were people by the hundreds enlightened by God’s Word on these benches, or were the ribbons filled with masses cheering blood sport?” asked Oswald of his friend Abbot Aidan.  They had grown up together in the court of Aidan’s father, Eochaidh Buidhe macAidan of Argyle, who was lovingly referred to as Chief Yellow-Hair of Dal Riada, young Aidan being the namesake of his kingly grandfather.   

Despite being three years older than his cousin of the Redesdale, Aidan had always looked up to Oswald, both as a companion and in line of sight.  Like his father the pagan warlord Aethelfrith, Oswald was head and shoulders taller than any man and had the strength of two.  Yet unlike his father, Oswal...

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