Lord Protector d’Eyvill

John d’Eyvill came within a heart-beat of the highest office, perhaps even kingship, but was fated to die decades later, unremarked, in poverty and abandoned by history. In 1264 he was appointed by the Baronial usurpers as Lord Protector of York and, effectively, ruler of Northern Britain. Then, for reasons unspoken, he was posted to hold the keep at Scarborough, at that stage, a cold and dismal coastal alternative to the bloom of York.

Film notes: Sir John d’Eyvill stands on the York battlements, looking north-east. A messenger finishes speaking quietly. Only one audible line:: “Scarborough's fair draws men from every road.”  d’Eyvill replies calmly: “Then the roads must be watched.” He does not look at the messenger. He keeps watching. Wind builds and binds the next shots. 

John d’Eyvill. 

Lord Protector.

York sleeps in mist below.

Montfort's colours on my back,

But the wind... it bites with snow.

A message from the southern lords,

Sealed with wax and faint perfume.

To Scarborough's port, the frozen shores,

To leave this city's warmth and bloom.

To babysit a merchants' fair,

To count the sheep and price the wool?

A soldier's worth, a hollow prayer,

Is this the life for which I pulled?

What has my life become?

How little does it weigh?

While war rips flesh from bone,

They send my sword away.

Is there a knife around the corner's stone?

Who can I trust when I'm alone?

A waking dream, a fractured thought,

This brittle power that I hold.

Will I see home, the fields I bought,

Or die out here, in Scarborough's cold?

A messenger.

Let the doubts fall.

Let them drown in the river's grey.

I am the Lord Protector.

I will obey.