Longsword Books in Order

Longsword takes place in England after the Second Barons’ War, when victory has not brought peace. The series begins in 1266 with a country divided by the defeat of Simon de Montfort’s rebellion and the difficult settlement that follows under Henry III.

The war may be over. The grievances are not.

At the heart of the books is a struggle over loyalty, land, and the future of royal power. Men who fought on different sides must now live with the result, while younger figures inherit feuds they did not begin. Longsword introduces this tense landscape and the people trying to find a place within it.

The Sons of Montfort follows the continuing resistance connected to the dead rebel leader’s family. In Holy Warrior, the story widens toward the crusading world, while England’s unresolved politics still shadow the characters. Pilling uses the period’s real instability to create a sequence where a pardon, marriage, oath, or military commission can all alter a life.

The later novels, The Hooded Men, The King’s Rebels, and The Broken Arrow, move into Edward I’s reign and the growing conflict with Wales. The series brings English court politics and the Welsh wars together, showing how decisions made in London reach villages, borderlands, and battlefields.

This is medieval adventure with plenty of military action, but it is also about what happens after the banners come down. Characters must deal with old loyalties, damaged families, and rulers who expect obedience from people with good reasons to distrust them.

Start with Longsword. The novels work best in order because the political changes and relationships develop across the full run.