Legend has long told the story of Blondel the Lute Player who found the lost soldier-king Richard Coeur-de-Lion-kidnapped on the way back from the great crusade to the Holy Land. Blondel found his king by travelling for months across Europe singing the first part of a love-song which Richard and he had composed together. One day, from behind castle walls, the voice of Richard responded to the strain. But why would a minstrel embark on such a risky pilgrimage to find his king? Norah Lofts weaves a fascinating back-story to the tale of the Lionheart who strode out of the courts of twelfth-century Europe to lead his knights onto the Saracen battlefield-inspired by a vision of the Holy Land. The Lute Player tells of the courageous Richard and his ill-fated union with Berengaria, Princess of Navarre-of his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine and her possessive love-and, above all, it tells of Blondel whose life was woven in with all of them and who set out on his mission as an act of great love-but not a love for the King...