The Black Chalice

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Found in a church vestry in 2006, the Salisbury Manuscript (British Library MS Add. 1138) is the only existing copy of The Second Book of King Arthur and His Noble Knights. Apparently a sequel to Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur, the best-known and most influential version of the story of King Arthur and his Round Table, the Second Book has caused enormous controversy throughout the academic world.

Following negotiations with the manuscript's owner, Abaddon Books won the rights to modernise and publish the stories for the mainstream press in early 2010. The Black Chalice is the first title to be released to the public.

For more information about the Salisbury Manuscript, this translation, and themes and notes from this story, see the Appendices at the rear of this book.

Betrayal was the furthest thing from Alymere's heart as he crossed the drawbridge into Camelot.

His journey had lasted for a week and a day more. He wore his father's mail shirt. He didn't feel like a knight. He felt like a boy in borrowed clothes pretending to be a man. But as he crested the rise and saw Camelot laid out before him, all of his doubts left him. This was where he was meant to be. This was his time. He breathed in deeply, savouring the taste of the air as though it were his very first breath. Today he was born again. It didn't matter that the dirt of the road was grained into his skin, nor that the fine mist of rain, cold against his cheeks, couldn't wash it away. All of the miles, so heavy in his legs just a few minutes ago, slipped away with his doubts and he found renewed vigour and walked a fraction taller. It was all he could do not to run the final mile to his new life.

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