The Book of the Lion Chapter 1 Summary

  • Edmund wakes up to loud banging on the front door of his home and foreign accents in the street. He searches around for something to use as a weapon—just in case.
  • Otto, Edmund's master, lights a torch and makes a joke about Edmund killing the outlaws outside. You know, because a little humor is good in these kinds of situations.
  • But when Otto catches a glimpse of the people outside, he instead tells Edmund to run for it. Edmund refuses; he is determined to protect his master and his wife.
  • They are soon in the grasps of the King's Exchequer—Edmund recognizes their London accents—and as he struggles, Edmund receives a blow to the head. As they pull him upright, he sees these guys cut off Otto's right hand and then drive an anvil through it. Yikes.
  • Right as they are bringing Edmund forward to do the same horrible thing to him, he breaks away.
  • Since he's more lightly dressed than the men in armor, he's soon out of reach. Tears of sympathy for his master pour down his face as he runs, but he doesn't think of himself.
  • As he runs, a warhorse catches up to him.