lyonesse trilogy

The Lyonesse Trilogy of fantasy novels by Jack Vance consists of three novels of approximately 350 pages each.

Books

In order of plot chronology:

Lyonesse (subtitled Book I: Suldrun's Garden on the title page)

The Green Pearl

Madouc

Setting the Scene

The trilogy is set in the European dark ages, in mythical Elder Isles west of France and southwest of the British Isles, a generation or two before the birth of King Arthur. An Atlantis meme haunts the story, though the Isles do not sink during the course of the trilogy. The Isles, formerly a great kingdom, are now divided into several competing principalities, with the ruler of each scheming to get ahead as best he may. The most ambitious of all, Casmir of Lyonesse, schemes to re-unite the Isles under his own rule. Other parties have other plans... A family tree in Book I reveals that most of the petty kings of the Elder Isles are distantly related, all descendents of a certain Olam Magnus who first united the isles long before. The genealogy also links the world of Lyonesse to the real world (e.g., "Belwig the Goth", "Sollace of Aquitaine") and to familiar real-world legend ("Arthur I, King of Britain"). The primary protagonist and antagonist of the series are both presented as distant relatives of Arthur. Magic and the supernatural are active in the trilogy, though often subordinated to other elements of the stories. Spells are cast only by fairies and members of a college of wizards and witches who live apart from society and mostly remain aloof from the struggles of the main characters — pursuing struggles among themselves instead. The spells are mostly effected by exotic, whimsical entities with wills of their own and a propensity for logic chopping. Magical devices sometimes make magic available to ordinary folk, and artifacts such as The Mirror Persilian and the table Cairbra an Meadhan play important roles in the overall story. There is a kingdom of fairies hidden away in the midst of the Elder Isles, and they play an important role in the story through their seemingly minor entanglements with various humans. The Elder Isles are also plagued by incursions of the Ska, a dour nation loosely based on the Vikings, but presumed to have arisen millenia earlier. Possibly this is a reference to Euskadi, or Basque. The stories include a few weak hints that the world of Lyonesse is the same fictional Earth of Vance's Dying Earth novels (e.g. Shimrod's quest to retrieve IOUN stones, which figure prominently in Rhialto the Marvellous), albeit at a much earlier period.

Main characters

Key Households

Aillas: Youthful king of Troicinet and other principalities; primary protagonist of the trilogy

Casmir: Sleazebag King of Lyonesse; primary antagonist of the trilogy
Sollace: Casmir's wife
Suldrun: Wistful, willful daughter of Casmir and Sollace
Cassander: Son of Casmir and Sollace; Suldrun's younger brother

Dhrun: Dischronated son of Aillas and Suldrun

Madouc: Fairy-child commonly thought to be the daughter of Aillas and Suldrun, and thus a member of Casmir's household; main protagonist of the third book

Glynneth: Girl who escapes an ogre with Dhrun and joins Aillas' household

Cargus: Prisoner of the Ska, along with Aillas and Yane, later; a member of Aillas's spy network.

Yane: Essentially the same as Cargus.

Other Royal Houses

Throbius: King of the Fairies
Bossum: His Queen
Twisk: A fairy "maiden"
Falael: A playground bully

Magicians

Murgen: Dominant sorcerer of the Elder Isles

Shimrod: Originally an avatar of Murgen; now an independent person and common visitor to Aillas' household

Tamurello: Effete, yet cogent magician, perpetually working at Murgen's (and by extension, Aillas's) downfall

Desmi: A powerful, vengeful witch

Other Key Players

Faude Carfilhiot: a creation of Desmei's. One of the key enemies of the first book, a megalomaniac.

Melancthe: a creation of Desmei's. A beautiful, yet empty-minded woman. Created by Desmei as a revenge against men. Has a secret purpose not revealed until the the last book.

Tatzel: Ska woman who catches Aillas' fancy

Torqual: Notorious Ska bandit

Visbhume: An ambitious, amoral scoundrel

Brother Umphred: An ambitious, amoral scoundrel, a missionary/priest seeking to introduce Catholicism to Lyonesse kingdom by Casmir's royal fiat.

The Story

Lyonesse (aka Suldrun's Garden)

...here...

The Green Pearl

General coverage (several of these threads are interleaved):

Prolog: Desmi and the green pearl

Adventures of Sir Tristano, Aillas' kinsman and agent

Machinations of Aillas and Casmir

Shimrod and Melancthe

Adventure of Aillas and Tatzel

Adventure of Visbhume and Glyneth

...more here...

Madouc

In the genealogies of the preceding two books, it shows the family tree of the royal house of Lyonesse. It clearly depicts Cassander succeeding Casmir as King of Lyonesse as Cassander V, yet in Madouc, Cassander falls in battle with Dahaut, before Casmir's capture.

Editions

...more here...