Authors: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

97 Select Quotes By Bernard Cornwell, The Author Of The Last Kingdom

Famous As: Author of Historical Novels
Born On: February 23, 1944
Age: 80 Years

Bernard Cornwell is a British historical novelist and broadcaster, who lives in the United States and is regarded as one of the better known personalities in the world of historical literature. Cornwell grew up in Great Britain and after completing his education, he started his professional life as a teacher but then joined the BBC as a broadcaster. However, his career as a historical novelist really took off when he settled in the United States and wrote the first of the Sharpe Stories in 1981, depicting the Napoleonic Wars from the point of view of a soldier named Richard Sharpe. It remains his most famous work and comprises 24 distinct stories. His other famous works include ‘The Starbuck Chronicles’, ‘The Saxon Stories’, ‘The Warlord Chronicles’, ‘The Grail Quest Continues’ and plenty of other novels. He has also written a well-known non-fiction book titled ‘Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles. There is no doubt that Cornwell is a man of rare gift, intelligence and knowledge and his books have been read far and wide, across several nations. Here are some of the select quotes by Bernard Cornwell.

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Destiny is all, Ravn liked to tell me, destiny is everything. He would even say it in English, “Wyrd biõ ful ãræd.

Destiny is all, Ravn liked to tell me, destiny is everything. He would even say it in English, “Wyrd biõ ful ãræd.

Bernard Cornwell
Every day is ordinary, until it isn't.

Every day is ordinary, until it isn't.

Bernard Cornwell
We all suffer from dreams.

We all suffer from dreams.

Bernard Cornwell
The bards sing of love, they celebrate slaughter, they extol kings and flatter queens, but were I a poet I would write in praise of friendship.

The bards sing of love, they celebrate slaughter, they extol kings and flatter queens, but were I a poet I would write in praise of friendship.

Bernard Cornwell
He tolerated his fellow Englishmen, but the Welsh were cabbage-farting dwarves, the Scots were scabby arse-suckers, and the French were shriveled turds.

He tolerated his fellow Englishmen, but the Welsh were cabbage-farting dwarves, the Scots were scabby arse-suckers, and the French were shriveled turds.

Bernard Cornwell
The preachers tell us that pride is a great sin, but the preachers are wrong. Pride makes a man, it drives him, it is the shield wall around his reputation... Men die, they said, but reputation does not die.

The preachers tell us that pride is a great sin, but the preachers are wrong. Pride makes a man, it drives him, it is the shield wall around his reputation... Men die, they said, but reputation does not die.

Bernard Cornwell
Fate is inexorable.

Fate is inexorable.

Bernard Cornwell
Life is simple,

Life is simple," I said. "Ale, women, sword, and reputation. Nothing else matters.

Bernard Cornwell
A leader leads,” Ragnar said, “and you can’t ask men to risk death if you’re not willing to risk it yourself.

A leader leads,” Ragnar said, “and you can’t ask men to risk death if you’re not willing to risk it yourself.

Bernard Cornwell
Wyrd bið ful āræd. Fate is inexorable.

Wyrd bið ful āræd. Fate is inexorable.

Bernard Cornwell
Madness ends sometimes. The Gods decree it, not man.

Madness ends sometimes. The Gods decree it, not man.

Bernard Cornwell
Why do we fight?

Why do we fight?" he asked. "Because we were born.

Bernard Cornwell
Wyrd biõ ful ãræd,” I said. Fate is fate. It cannot be changed or cheated.

Wyrd biõ ful ãræd,” I said. Fate is fate. It cannot be changed or cheated.

Bernard Cornwell
And you look bloody young to be a sergeant

And you look bloody young to be a sergeant" "I was born late, sir

Bernard Cornwell
All those separate people were a part of my life, strings strung on the frame of Uhtred, and though they were separate they affected one another and together they would make the music of my life.

All those separate people were a part of my life, strings strung on the frame of Uhtred, and though they were separate they affected one another and together they would make the music of my life.

Bernard Cornwell
Doubtless there were insanely frenzied warriors, but there is no evidence that lunatic nudists made regular appearances on the battlefield.

Doubtless there were insanely frenzied warriors, but there is no evidence that lunatic nudists made regular appearances on the battlefield.

Bernard Cornwell
There is such joy in chaos. Stow all the world's evils behind a door and tell men that they must never, ever, open the door, and it will be opened because there is pure joy in destruction.

There is such joy in chaos. Stow all the world's evils behind a door and tell men that they must never, ever, open the door, and it will be opened because there is pure joy in destruction.

Bernard Cornwell
Latin! The language of God! Or perhaps He speaks Hebrew? I suppose that’s more likely and it will make things rather awkward in heaven, won’t it? Will we all have to learn Hebrew?

Latin! The language of God! Or perhaps He speaks Hebrew? I suppose that’s more likely and it will make things rather awkward in heaven, won’t it? Will we all have to learn Hebrew?

Bernard Cornwell
I wondered why the gods no longer came to earth. It would make belief so much easier.

I wondered why the gods no longer came to earth. It would make belief so much easier.

Bernard Cornwell
Robin Hood’s Lament”?’ Every archer knew that tune.

Robin Hood’s Lament”?’ Every archer knew that tune.

Bernard Cornwell
It was funny, Richard Sharpe thought, that there were no vultures in England.

It was funny, Richard Sharpe thought, that there were no vultures in England.

Bernard Cornwell
Who do you serve?” Lanferelle asked.
“Sir John Cornerwailled,” Hook said proudly.
Lanferelle was pleased. “Sir John! Ah, there's a man. His mother must have slept with a Frenchman.

Who do you serve?” Lanferelle asked. “Sir John Cornerwailled,” Hook said proudly. Lanferelle was pleased. “Sir John! Ah, there's a man. His mother must have slept with a Frenchman.

Bernard Cornwell
We are all lonely and all seek a hand to hold in the darkness. It is not the harp, but the hand that plays it.

We are all lonely and all seek a hand to hold in the darkness. It is not the harp, but the hand that plays it.

Bernard Cornwell
And, in her fury, she slapped the king with a skinned eel.

And, in her fury, she slapped the king with a skinned eel.

Bernard Cornwell
Wyrd bið ful āræd. Fate is inexorable. We are given power and we lose it.

Wyrd bið ful āræd. Fate is inexorable. We are given power and we lose it.

Bernard Cornwell
Religion makes strange bedfellows.

Religion makes strange bedfellows.

Bernard Cornwell
If a man can’t remember the laws,” Ragnar said, “then he’s got too many of them.

If a man can’t remember the laws,” Ragnar said, “then he’s got too many of them.

Bernard Cornwell
She was as faithful as a morning mist, as hard as a sword-bayonet, and that, he thought, made her a suitable reward for a soldier.

She was as faithful as a morning mist, as hard as a sword-bayonet, and that, he thought, made her a suitable reward for a soldier.

Bernard Cornwell
Shun epic verse.

Shun epic verse.

Bernard Cornwell
It was an unsettling thought, that somehow we were sliding back into the smoky dark and that never again would man make something so perfect as this small building.

It was an unsettling thought, that somehow we were sliding back into the smoky dark and that never again would man make something so perfect as this small building.

Bernard Cornwell