The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Yonge, Charlotte M. The Lances of Lynwood. Ashed Phoenix Library, 2018.

In the Lances of Lynwood (1855), Charlotte Yonge sets the adventures of her fictional English hero, Eustace Lynwood, against a European backdrop of real fourteenth-century events and characters. The novel is set during the reign of Edward III, but it is the king’s son, Prince Edward, who plays a dominant role in the story.

Eustace’s older brother, Sir Reginald Lynwood, was a renowned warrior and a favorite with the Prince. When civil war broke out in Spain, the Prince decided to fight on the side of King Pedro. Eustace and his friend, Leonard Ashton, joined Sir Reginald’s troop – the Lances of Lynwood – as squires. It was their first expedition, and Eustace was full of enthusiasm, whereas Leonard was disdainful and fell into bad company. Pedro and his allies triumphed at the battle of Navaretta. In the aftermath of the battle, Reginald lost a fight against Bertrand du Guesclin, a leading member of the opposing army, but Eustace defended his brother and took du Guesclin prisoner. Reginald died from his injuries, and the Prince knighted Eustace and made him commander of the Lances of Lynwood. Reginald’s chief squire, Gaston d’Aubricour, remained loyal and supportive to his new master. The army was stranded for a while in Spain due to widespread disease, as well as Pedro’s failure to pay them. Leonard deserted, but Eustace took him back again when he later found him ill and destitute.

After two years in France with the Prince, Eustace returned home to find that Reginald’s widow was dead. Their young son Arthur (Eustace’s nephew) was being harassed by their neighbor and kinsman, Fulk Clarenham, who wanted to take control of the Lynwood estate by claiming Arthur as his ward – contrary to the dying wishes of both parents. Eustace held him off by force, but Fulk had legal arguments and influential friends to support his case, so Eustace decided to take Arthur back with him to the Prince’s court at Bordeaux, and clear up the situation there. However, they faced delays on the road, whereas Fulk got there faster and (with Leonard’s help) managed to prejudice the Prince against Eustace, by spreading malicious lies about him.

As time went by, Eustace regained some supporters, and the Prince agreed to give him a castle to defend: the Chateau Norbelle. However, Fulk’s sister Agnes discovered that her brother was plotting to turn this into a trap, hiring men to kill him on his arrival at the castle. Agnes and Eustace had long had romantic feelings for each other, but they never had a chance to meet at court. She warned him via Arthur, so Eustace knew what to expect. He was vigilant, but the castle’s villainous seneschal eventually found the opportunity to raise a mutiny, in which Eustace suffered near-fatal injuries. Gaston managed to retake and hold the castle until help arrived, thanks to Arthur’s appeal to the Prince. On realizing the extent of the conspiracy against Eustace, the apologetic Prince restored him to favor while punishing and banishing Fulk. Eustace married Agnes, and thereby acquired her brother’s status and property. Years later, however, the new king Richard II returned these birthrights to the reformed and penitent Fulk, at the request of Eustace and Agnes.