A former Doncaster rugby star has “tackled’’ a new challenge by penning a novel about the adventurer who inspired the hugely popular Indiana Jones character.
20th December 2024
David Senior, who played for and captained Doncaster during their meteoric rise through the English rugby union ranks in the late 90s and early 2000s, has written Peredur, The Undiscovered Truth of the Nazi Grail Quest
The book, being published by Barnsley-based Pen & Sword Books this week, details the life and adventures of Otto Rahn, the man tasked by the Nazis to find the Holy Grail in the 1930’s and the inspiration for the fictional movie character Indiana Jones
As well as detailing Rahn’s quest, the novel also examines the life of Peredur, a British knight hailing from York and the true hero of the Grail story.
Harlington-born Dave, who was brought up within sight of Conisbrough Castle and as a child recalls seeing re-enactments of knights jousting taking place there, has always been interested in local history.
“I remember being told the the ‘cat and man’ legend of Barnburgh Church with Sir Percival Cresacre allegedly being knocked off his horse, by a ferocious wild cat, while riding back from Doncaster on his return from the Crusades, then boldly fighting it off while retreating to the church and finally killing the cat by trapping it in the church door with his foot before taking his final breath and dying of his wounds, sustained in the fight with the cat, ‘’ recalled the former history teacher.
“Being told about this legend at junior school fuelled the flame of interest I had in history as a boy.’’
As well as playing over 100 times for Doncaster during their rise to the upper echelons of the English rugby union world, David also coached Doncaster Phoenix to reach Twickenham in the national Junior Vase Final in 2008.
His written labour of love has taken around ten years to complete, in spells balancing professional and family commitments and also taking on a few sporting challenges along the way and included researching the original journals written by Rahn, the adventurer employed by the Nazis.
And as he explained, the story has specific connections to South Yorkshire.
“ The hero of the original Grail Story, Peredur, came from York and the original Grail Story is very likely set in the ancient British Kingdom of Elmet of which, what is now South Yorkshire, was once part, ‘’ he added
“ The struggle for the soul of the nation central to the Grail Story, between Christianity and native paganism is highlighted by local geographical nomenclature. The River Don and Ludwell Hill near Barnburgh, are both derived from the names of British pagan gods, whereas St Helen’s Lane in the same vicinity is strongly linked to early British and in particular Yorkshire’s conversion to Christianity. ‘’
And how did he come to write the book?
He explains: “ Whilst at Barnburgh junior school we had to give a ‘talk’ on a subject of our choice to the other pupils in our class. Having an interest in history, I gave one on a local legend contained in a journal, kept in the old Mexborough library. The legend told of a battle between the Romans led by a man named Ambrosius and the Saxons led by Hengist, taking place in the fields near to where I lived.
“ Years later, when employed as a teacher, and put I charge of the school history curriculum, I hit upon the name of Hengist as being the leader of the first Saxons coming to Britain and remembered this from my ‘talk’ all those years before. Further delving led to the finding that Ambrosius was a candidate for being the real ‘King Arthur’. This was the catalyst for what became a bit of an obsession in researching local history in the Arthurian period. As part of this research I stumbled upon the tale of ‘Peredur, the son of Evrauc’ and its connection to the Holy Grail.
“ Around the same time I happened to watch a TV documentary which mentioned that the Nazis had mounted a search for the Holy Grail, in the years prior to the second world war, and I was curious to see if the two were connected. This spawned the beginnings of the book.”
And is he an Indiana Jones fan?
“ In short yes. Raiders of the Lost Ark came out when I was aged 11and I went to see it at the cinema. My favourite two Indiana Jones films are Raiders of Lost Ark and the Last Crusade. The all action adventure hero, in films made with a tongue in cheek sense of humour, appealed to me as a boy and still does.’
For more details contact: Pen & Sword Books Ltd Olivia Camozzi, 47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2AS Tel: +44 01226 734222. Website: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk Email: marketingps@pen-and-sword.co.uk
