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1Tarkeel
The three (and a fourth related) books of Jan Guillou's Knight Templar trilogy were originally written in Swedish, and I read them in Norwegian, but as far as I can see, they have also been published in English.
The books deal mainly with the story of a young boy, Arn Magnusson, who is sent to serve god in the war of the holy land in penance of his sins in Vägen till Jerusalem (The Road to Jerusalem), how he survives his 20 years of duty in Tempelriddaren (The Knights Templar) and comes back to help form the country known today as Sweden in Riket vid vägens slut (Can't find an english title for this atm). Arvet efter Arn Is a related book that continues the story of Sweden and the aftermath of the families we met in the trilogy.
The books deal with both the formation of Sweden as well as the crusades in the holy land. Especially the Knights Templar book has some very striking narratives from the crusades which (even as they are fictional) are enlightening. For non-scandinavian readers, these books give (I feel) a very good glimpse at how family oriented the scandinavian history is.
I personally find these books to be some of the best I've ever read,as Guillou manages to build (for me atleast) real empathy for his characters and their predicament.
I hope this was to some help, and if you can find these books I'd heartily recommend them.
Edit: Having some problems with the touchstones for book 1 and 3, probably due to the accents.
The books deal mainly with the story of a young boy, Arn Magnusson, who is sent to serve god in the war of the holy land in penance of his sins in Vägen till Jerusalem (The Road to Jerusalem), how he survives his 20 years of duty in Tempelriddaren (The Knights Templar) and comes back to help form the country known today as Sweden in Riket vid vägens slut (Can't find an english title for this atm). Arvet efter Arn Is a related book that continues the story of Sweden and the aftermath of the families we met in the trilogy.
The books deal with both the formation of Sweden as well as the crusades in the holy land. Especially the Knights Templar book has some very striking narratives from the crusades which (even as they are fictional) are enlightening. For non-scandinavian readers, these books give (I feel) a very good glimpse at how family oriented the scandinavian history is.
I personally find these books to be some of the best I've ever read,as Guillou manages to build (for me atleast) real empathy for his characters and their predicament.
I hope this was to some help, and if you can find these books I'd heartily recommend them.
Edit: Having some problems with the touchstones for book 1 and 3, probably due to the accents.
