The Horrors and Iniquities of the First Crusade - an Editorial Review of "The Will of God"

Book Blurb:

"Deus Lo Vult!"

Gilles is the natural son of the Earl Waltheof, executed by William the Conqueror for supposed treachery. Raised in Normandy by Queen Matilda of England, Gilles is a young servant of Robert, Duke of Normandy, when the first call for a Holy War against the infidel and for the liberation of Jerusalem is raised in Christendom. Along with thousands of others, inspired by a variety of motives, intense piety mixed with a sense of adventure and the prospects of richness, Gilles becomes a key and respected follower of the Duke of Normandy and travels through France and into Italy to the point of embarkation for Constantinople and the land of the Greeks.

In this epic first phase of a long and gruelling journey, Gilles begins to discover a sense of his own strengths and weaknesses, encounters for the first time the full might and strength of the Norman war machine and achieves his much coveted aim of knighthood, as well as a sense of responsibility to the men that he must now lead into battle.

The Will of God is the literal translation of the Latin phrase "Deus Lo Vult"; a ubiquitous war cry and a commonly offered explanation of all the horrors and iniquities unleashed by the First Crusade of 1096 to 1099, when thousands of Europeans made the dangerous and terrifying journey to the Holy Land and the liberation of Jerusalem. It is the first of two books on the subject.

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"De la Motte has superpowers as a writer of historical fiction; he's a warhorse of a writer bred to stun and trample the literary senses. You won't stop turning the pages of The Will of God." -- Charles McNair, Pulitzer Prize nominee and author of Land O'Goshen

Book Buy Link: https://geni.us/uXe6u

Author Bio:

Visit www.historiumpress.com/julian-de-la-motte

Editorial Review:

When his father’s handsome and youthful head was separated from his shoulders, his son Gilles was a sturdy and robust child just over a year old and able to sit up and take note of things immediately around him. His father’s crime had been that of a complicity in a treason that he had failed to explain away with any degree of conviction or success. He may well, on this particular occasion, have been wholly innocent; but it had happened once too often in his brief political career to be overlooked. So, up the little hill just outside Winchester he went. The mother of Gilles, the beautiful Eloise of La Petite Flague, was, of course, devastated and it was said of that truly peerless beauty that her glance remained forever downcast and tragic to the end of her days.

The book's bold introduction, a detailed description of William the Conqueror's demise, instantly draws you in. It’s shocking and yet, poetic in how it is written. You want to dive deeper and learn more right away. The novel's central themes of death, legacy, and the price of ambition are established by the image of the once-powerful king now reduced to a rotting corpse. It is a thesis statement for the entire piece, not just a hook.

The Will of God by Julian de la Motte is a fearless, exquisitely woven portrait of the tumultuous early years of the First Crusade, faith, and medieval ambition. This historical fiction book, which is full of literary skill and historical detail, does much more than simply describe a long-gone era, it brings it back to life. De la Motte transports readers into the heart of a world on the brink of both deadly violence and sacred conviction with her calm yet engrossing prose and a heroine as subtly captivating as any in the genre.

Beginning with William the Conqueror's death, the drama transports us to a period of lofty ambition and increased unpredictability with the first eerie pictures of a deteriorating ruler. Gilles, the illegitimate son of a nobleman who was beheaded for treason, Earl Waltheof, is at the center of it. After being abandoned and left on his own, Gilles is taken in by Queen Matilda and brought up in the ducal home of her son, Robert of Normandy.

His encounters with his mother grew less frequent as he grew older. His mother, the fair Eloise, never quite lost her looks, but her downcast expression never lost the appearance of a tortured saint; a countenance of resignation and of hopelessness. It was an expression well suited for the pacific calm of the place of the ladies, where conversation rarely rose above a murmur and the usual decorum was that of the Cloister.

The environs of the Lady was a place of calm, at the centre of all the doings of the state of de la Warenne. It was a place where the delicacy of her needlework and the skill of her never ending work on tapestries illustrating the life and works of Christ excited much praise and covetous envy amongst the ladies. They were ever conscious of the protection and distant patronage of the King himself, though he had himself long since forgotten where he had squirrelled away the young and still attractive girl. Thus Eloise was left largely in peace.

A fulfilling and natural narrative structure is provided by the main character arc, which is Gilles' development from a resourceful but marginalized young man into a knight and leader of men. Gilles is a thoughtful, perceptive young man who frequently stumbles into his destiny rather than storming toward it; he is neither a brazen warrior nor a heroic figure. He is credible, even admirable, because of his quiet power and humility. In the midst of a raging holy conflict, his trip throughout Europe is shown with accuracy and a profound feeling of humanity.

From the cloisters of Norman castles to the routes that wind across France and Italy on their way to Constantinople, the drama takes place against a variety of colorful historical backgrounds. In addition to setting the scene, De la Motte fills it with real, breathing people motivated by opposing forces, such as survival, vengeance, religious zeal, and personal ambition.

Gilles is a masterwork of character development. His complex nature, which is both pious and cynical, devoted and cautious, reflects the reader's own response to the upsetting circumstances in his life. His moral development is complex and believable, especially when considering the horrors of war and the duplicity of some Church figures like Odo. Gilles' knighthood is not just a title; it is something that is gained with leadership, introspection, and the silent acceptance of duty.

Even though they are supporting, other characters give the story depth. While characters like the bishop Odo provide essential shade on the Crusade's idealism, Queen Matilda and Duke Robert's portrayals give royal tension and thematic complexity. Even those who only make fleeting appearances seem fully fleshed, meticulously rendered and authentically rooted in history.

Another March day; a year since a boat had carried its cargo up the broad majestic sweep of the Seine and the curve that revealed the citadel, Cathedral and the grey brown sprawl of the untidy and foul smelling city arising out of the smoke of hundreds of fires. Neither the boy nor his mother had ever seen the like as they were shepherded through the noisy crowded streets to the castle keep and home of Matilda, Duchess of Normandy and Queen of England. And now a year had passed. It was the day of the funeral and all the solemn trappings of the ceremony for the old Queen, a figure universally loved and respected and feared, and now with God.

The Will of God's formatting and editing are clear, expert, and immersion-friendly. The reader is able to comprehend not only the events but also the psychological toll they take because of the careful pacing and sumptuous yet restrained wording. De la Motte's writing frequently mimics the rhythms of medieval chronicles without coming across as archaic, bridging the gap between the medieval way of thinking and the modern reader.

The novel benefits from avoiding excessive speech in favor of narrative explanation. This has the intimacy of a narrator, as though we are sitting next to an educated monk who is writing down Gilles' life in an illuminated manuscript. Despite being more literary, this approach reflects the slower, reflective rhythms of the age and heightens the immersive experience.

The writing is flawless. In each statement, Julian de la Motte's training as a historian is clear. Not only is the historical detail correct, but it also has life. It never feels like a lecture thanks to the realistic and evocative depictions of armor, fighting strategies, religious rites, and even the political undercurrents among Norman princes. An unwavering stare at the harshness and contradiction that characterized the time period tempers the sincere respect for the material.

The Will of God, the first in a two-part series, ends with a sense of momentum and advancement rather than a neat finish. Gilles has asserted his knighthood and developed both spiritually and physically. However, there is still the grand pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the center of the Crusade, to go. Readers of the book are left feeling both satisfied with the voyage thus far and excited for what lies ahead. Without seeming like an unfinished story, the last few chapters successfully build suspense for the upcoming book.

In a genre often crowded with tales of knights and kings, De la Motte stands apart. Rather than glorifying combat or romanticizing the Crusades, The Will of God approaches the subject with equal parts wonder and critique. In addition to what people did, the book looks at why they felt obliged to act in God's name.

The book is anchored in the ambiguities of holy war by the Latin phrase "Deus lo vult," which means "The Will of God," both as a title and as a recurrent motif. It served as a rallying cry, a rationale, a source of dread, and occasionally a fabrication. Alongside Gilles, De la Motte compels us to consider these meanings. All in all, a great piece of historical fiction.

4.5 stars from The Historical Fiction Company

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