Only a fool wants war, but once a war starts then it cannot be fought half-heartedly. It cannot even be fought with regret, but must be waged with a savage joy in defeating the enemy, and it is that savage… — Bernard Cornwell Copy Share Image
The bards sing of love, they celebrate slaughter, they extol kings and flatter queens, but were I a poet I would write in praise of friendship. — Bernard Cornwell Copy Share Image
“They laughed, but I was melancholy. The remnants of Rome always make me sad, simply because they are proof that we slide inexorably towards… — Bernard Cornwell Copy Share
“Some mothers soften their sons, but Osbert was motherless and I had raised him hard because a man must be hard. The world is… — Bernard Cornwell Copy Share
“Enemies come soon enough in a mans life,' he told me, 'you don't need to seek them out” — Bernard Cornwell Copy Share
“"He sang the song of the sword, keening as he fed his blade, and Rollo, standing thigh-deep in the creek, ax swinging in murderous… — Bernard Cornwell Copy Share
“A battle in the shield wall. It's smelling your enemy's breath while he tries to disembowel you with an axe, it's blood and shit… — Bernard Cornwell Copy Share
I'll happily mentor anyone who wants mentoring, and most of that goes on by internet rather than face to face. — Bernard Cornwell Copy Share
“Nor did he care about his childhood, for certainly I never heard him speak of it. I once questioned him about his early days… — Bernard Cornwell Copy Share
“And we screamed. We screamed our war cry, our shout of slaughter, our joy of being men in battle who are driven by terror.” — Bernard Cornwell Copy Share
It's fun. I sit down every day and tell stories. Some folk would kill to get that chance. — Bernard Cornwell Copy Share
“Priests come to my home beside the northern sea where they find an old man, and they tell me I am just a few… — Bernard Cornwell Copy Share
“An English man-at-arms had his helmet split open and his skull with it, so that he rode wavering from the fight, blood pouring down… — Bernard Cornwell Copy Share
