The Lantern Bearers (Sutcliff novel)
The Lantern Bearers is a historical novel for children by Rosemary Sutcliff, first published by Oxford in 1959 with illustrations by Charles Keeping. Set in Roman Britain during the 5th century, it is the story of a British Roman's life after the final withdrawal of Roman troops (around 410). Sutcliff won the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book by a British subject.[3]
This article is about the book by Rosemary Sutcliff. For other books and uses of the term, see The Lantern Bearers.Lantern Bearers is the third of four books sometimes catalogued as the Marcus series (1954 to 1963), inaugurated by The Eagle of the Ninth.[1] At the same time it is the fourth of eight books sometimes called the Eagle of the Ninth series (1954 to 1997). Its themes are more complex than in the first two Marcus books. Issues of loss, estrangement, and loyalty are more complicated, pulling main characters in conflicting directions. Reviewers tend to regard it as appropriate for a slightly older readership than its predecessors. On the other hand, it is "officially a children's book" while its sequel Sword at Sunset is "officially an adult book". According to Sutcliff, "my books are for children of all ages, from nine to ninety."[4] Within the loosely connected Eagle of the Ninth series, The Lantern Bearers is first of the specifically "Arthurian" works. In the sequel, beginning three days later, the viewpoint shifts from Aquila to Arthur.[4]
Title[edit]
The title is from a remark by one of the characters, Eugenus the Physician, "We are the lantern bearers, my friend; for us to keep something burning, to carry what light we can forward into the darkness and the wind." The effort to maintain what the protagonists see as the light of civilisation against Saxon barbarians is central to the plot of the book.
Background[edit]
The novel is set in Britain at the beginning of the Early Middle Ages when the once-dominant Roman empire was declining and tribes from the east began migrating into West Europe. The author uses this time period for a realistic retelling of the mythical tale of King Arthur. The next book in the series, Sword at Sunset, continues the same story.
Arthur's supposed uncle, Ambrosius Aurelianus is seen as a remnant of the old Roman ways trying to defend his homeland against what seems to be an unstoppable invasion of foreign barbarians. The book presents several other historical-mythical figures such as Hengist and Horsa, the Saxon chiefs who invade England and Vortigern, king of Britons. Brother Ninnias could be a version of the monk Nennius, who is traditionally considered to have authored Historia Brittonum.
Several aspects of the time period are treated sympathetically. The story juxtaposes several opposing points of view such as the resentment of the Romano-Britannic people who are being invaded by what they see as personifications of evil and darkness, and the desperate need of the continental tribes who face poor harvests and starvation in their own lands.