The White Company

The White Company is a historical adventure novel by Arthur Conan Doyle, first published in 1891. The story is set during the Hundred Years’ War in the fourteenth century.

The story follows Alleyne Edricson, a young man raised in a monastery who leaves its sheltered walls to experience the outside world. During his journey, he joins a company of English archers and knights led by the courageous Sir Nigel Loring.

Alleyne travels with the soldiers through England, France, and Spain, facing dangerous battles, difficult journeys, and tests of loyalty. As he experiences war and friendship, he gradually develops from an inexperienced youth into a brave and honorable man.

Combining romance, humor, and military adventure, The White Company presents an idealized portrait of medieval chivalry while exploring courage, duty, faith, and personal growth.

"The great bell of Beaulieu was ringing. Far away through the forest might be heard its musical clangor and swell. Peat-cutters on Blackdown and fishers upon the Exe heard the distant throbbing rising and falling upon the sultry summer air. It was a common sound in those parts—as common as the chatter of the jays and the booming of the bittern. "