Point of View

The Winter King is told as a memoir by an aged Christian monk, Derfel Cadarn, a contemporary and associate of Arthur. He writes as a key figure in the drama of late fifth-century Britain, employing the first-person past tense, and frequently quoting vast amounts of dialog. Derfel spends a good deal of time defending Arthur against his diverse detractors and outright enemies. While he considers his conversion sincere, Derfel writes with great nostalgia and sympathy for his former faith.

The novel's point of view is distorted by the fact that Monk Derfel at the beginning of each of the five parts into which it is divided, interacts with Queen Igraine, the young wife of King Brochvael of Powys, who is the protector of the small monastery. Derfel knows that Igraine wants to hear the romantic nonsense that is being sung by the minstrels but hopes that...