Desire's Hostage: Viking Lore, Book 3 (24 page)

“How do you like this new land, Olaf?” Eirik said with a pound on the red giant’s back.

“Very well indeed,” Olaf said, his eyes slipping toward a dark-haired widow who stood outside her hut watching the Northmen. “It is a land of great…opportunity.”

Alaric shook his head and chuckled. Though Olaf’s recovery had been slow, he was now as good as ever during training and had apparently caught the eye of the Pictish woman who gazed at him with a small smile.

When the greetings were complete and the Northlanders were sent back to their tasks, Alaric led Eirik and Laurel into the fortress.

Eirik’s eyes widened in respect at the thick stone walls and the wooden great hall within. “A clever design,” he said as he turned in the yard, taking in the smaller buildings and the guards along the walls.

“Ja, they have fewer natural defenses in this land,” Alaric said. “So they built their own—the wall, the gates, the iron grille. This fortress is a powerful asset indeed.”

Alaric led them into the great hall and called for ale, bread, and meat to be brought.

“And have you had to make use of its defenses much?” Eirik asked as they all took seats at the high table.

Alaric exchanged a glance with Elisead. “There was some…trouble when we first arrived.”

“Rúnin mentioned it, but said he’d let you explain.”

“Ja. All has been quiet since last summer, blessedly. Perhaps I can tell you more tomorrow, once you are settled.”

Eirik raised an eyebrow but nodded.

“How many of the crew you landed with will be staying on?” Alaric said as the food began to arrive.

“Perhaps half—so a score. We will leave you with the two ships you sailed with last summer and return with only one.”

“So you don’t plan on staying?”

Eirik glanced at his son, who squirmed in Laurel’s lap. “Nei. Dalgaard still needs their Jarl, though the village is smaller now that so many have chosen to settle here.”

“And how does the village fare?”

“In truth, we had another hard winter, but with fewer people, the small harvest was not as much of a burden. Even with the promise of a new land, I think there will always be those who wish to stay—it is their home.”

“Ja,” Alaric said. “Someday I hope to show Elisead—and our children—where I grew up.”

“It is only a sennight’s sail in good weather,” Laurel said with a smile.

As the others turned their attention toward the food, Alaric spoke only loud enough for Eirik’s ears.

“Now that you have seen the settlement, have I honored you, Jarl?”

Alaric rarely used Eirik’s title, for they had been friends since childhood. But he invoked it now to make clear just how seriously he took the responsibility with which Eirik had entrusted him.

Eirik must have sensed Alaric’s earnestness, for he grew sober. “You have done more than honor me, Alaric. You have honored yourself and the gods with all you have achieved.”

“Thank you,” Alaric said, extending his arm toward Eirik. “I will work hard to continue to do right by your people.”

Eirik took Alaric’s proffered arm in a firm grasp. “They are not my people anymore, Alaric,” he said with respect shining in his blue eyes. “They are yours now—yours and Elisead’s. In my eyes you are a Jarl now, my equal, not my subject—or whatever the equivalent to a Jarl is in Pictland.”

Alaric’s chest swelled so greatly with pride that he feared it would burst. Eirik released his forearm and lifted his wooden cup of ale toward Alaric in a little salute.

Elisead’s small, callused hand fell on Alaric’s arm where Eirik had just shared their grip. Though he’d thought Eirik and his voices had been too low to overhear, Elisead’s eyes shone with understanding and pride as she gazed up at him.

He was most blessed indeed.

The End

One of my favorite things about writing historical romances is, well, the history! In doing research for this book, however, I learned just how little we know about the Picts. It made for a fascinating treasure hunt for information!

Very few examples of Pictish writing remain, but they are thought to be ethnically and linguistically similar to the Celts. They appear in others’ written accounts even before Roman occupation of Britain. The Picts were considered fierce and wild because they resisted all outside conquest, both from the Romans and later from the Northumbrians with their victory in the Battle of Dun Nechtain in 685.

They were, however, influenced by Christianity by way of the Celts in the sixth century. Conversion from Pictish polytheism to Christianity was probably gradual, and involved a delicate balance between the Picts’ old ways and the new. I tried to portray this fluid perspective on religion in my story.

The Picts lived in loose bands and confederations, though in the eighth and ninth centuries they began united under kings of increasingly large areas. Causantín mac Fergusa (Domnall’s father, who is referred to in this story as the King of Picts) reigned from 789 to 820 as king of Fortriu. Fortriu was the most powerful of all the kingdoms within Pictland, and Causantín was therefore considered the King of all Picts. Fortriu was likely located in what is today the region of Moray, Scotland, just east of Inverness.

Causantín mac Fergusa did indeed have a son named Domnall, whom Causantín made King of the lesser kingdom of Dál Riata (what is today the western coast of Scotland and the northern tip of Northern Ireland) likely in the year 811. Other than Domnall’s role as Causantín’s son and the future king of Dál Riata, his portrayal here is fictionalized, since so little is known of him.

Causantín probably lived in a fortress in what was once called Torridon and is now called Burghead Fort. The fort, built on a promontory overlooking the Moray Firth, was the main stronghold of Fortriu. It was built in phases starting before the third century, possibly by the Picts, or perhaps by even earlier peoples in the area. It had a thick stone wall and two inner courtyards, probably containing a great hall and private chambers. The fort was sieged by an onslaught of Viking raids in the ninth century, and in 884 Sigurd the Powerful captured Torridon. The remains of the fort were uncovered in a nineteenth-century excavation, and you can see some of the stones used for the wall today in Burghead.

Eventually, the Picts fell to the constant waves of attack from the Vikings in the middle and late ninth century. The Picts seemingly disappeared from history after the tenth century, but in reality they merged with the Vikings and the Gaels to become the Scots.

Although part of the Picts’ “disappearance” had to do with the Vikings’ relentless attacks on their shores, the Vikings did more than simply raid and slaughter, as is the common perception. In the early ninth century (when my story takes place), Vikings began “overwintering” in what are now France, Ireland, England, and Scotland. This is because they went sailing for more than just loot.

Historians hypothesize that Vikings were also looking for arable land and less harsh climates, because farming was incredibly difficult in Scandinavia and their population was outstripping their resources. While Vikings did attack and raid many lands, they also settled and blended with the locals, working side by side, intermarrying, and eventually melding their cultures.

Now on to a few more specific elements I included in my story. In researching Viking tents (I know, my job is strange), I stumbled across a wealth of knowledge that came mostly from the Oseberg ship remains. The Oseberg ship was found in the early twentieth century in Norway. It was a Viking burial ship from around 850 that had been almost perfectly preserved due to soil conditions. The ship was full of artifacts from everyday life, since the Vikings believed that a deceased person must be sent into the afterlife with everything he or she would need to continue living in one of the nine realms.

One such object was a tent. As I described in this story, a Viking tent was basically a giant A-frame construction. The tops of the leaning poles were decorated with the same dragon heads that adorned many a Viking longship prow, and the wood was painted. Though the material used for siding had decomposed, it is fair to guess that it might have been similar to the finely spun woolen sails the Vikings used on their ships. Today, there is a small but dedicated community of people who spend their free time building replicas of these Viking tents—what a conversation starter!

A note on how I portrayed women in Viking society, and specifically their freedom in choosing a husband or leading the life of a warrior. I have stretched the truth a bit here. In reality, Viking women were similar to most other women in the Medieval period in Europe—their marriages were arranged for the financial and political betterment of their families, and they often had little say in the matter.

However, Viking culture is known to be more egalitarian
compared to others of its time
. As I discussed in my note accompanying
Shieldmaiden’s Revenge
(Viking Lore, Book 2), there is debate among scholars about whether or not Viking women could be warriors, or if it is just a mythical construct in the Sagas. Because of recent discoveries of weapons in female Vikings’ graves, it is very possible that some Viking women were in fact warriors.

Regarding courtship, since most marriages were arranged, little wooing was involved. But just like couples for all of time, Vikings fell in love and courted, sometimes in secret. It was, however, considered a grave offence to compose poetry praising a woman—it would indicate that the speaker had intimate knowledge of the woman in question, which could lead to generations-long blood feuds over the insult.

And although marriage was arranged by one’s parents for financial and political reasons, the Sagas make it clear that it was best for parents to secure their daughter’s blessing and consent when picking a husband. In that way, Viking women had more power and choice than many other women in Europe at the time.

Perhaps my favorite aspect of researching for this book was getting to learn about Pictish stone carving. I aimed to portray the process as accurately as possible. Masons would sketch the designs they wanted to create with charcoal, then chisel dots along the charcoal lines. Using various sizes and shapes of pebbles, they’d connect the dots—literally—with the pebbles, or with a chisel and mallet if less detail was called for.

Such artistry was highly valued, and skilled stone masons likely would have been in demand. They may have travelled with their tools, just as Elisead’s teacher Una did in this story. They may have held their designs in their head, or they may have had plans for them. Many of the stones that still exist today have a common language of sorts when it comes to reappearing symbols. The comb and mirror, for example, were added next to a human figure to indicate that it was a woman.

Carved stones from the time of the Picts vary widely. Some, dating back as early as the fifth century, are simple designs or animals, incised into unshaped stones or boulders. As Christianity was introduced in the sixth century, many stones began bearing the symbol of the cross.

As time passed, carving techniques grew more sophisticated, so that rather than a simple incision on the face of a freestanding stone, stones were quarried and shaped, then carved so that figures stood out in relief. By the eighth and ninth centuries, these stone carvings were incredibly detailed, complex, and symbolically rich. Often, one side of the stone would bear Christian symbols, while the other would bear Pictish symbols and patterns evocative of Celtic designs.

I based my depiction of Elisead’s bride gift on the Hilton of Cadboll stone, which was originally found less than thirty miles (forty-eight kilometers) east of where I set my story. The Hilton of Cadboll stone is thought to have been carved around the year 800. On one face is a Christian cross, and on the other are secular Pictish designs. It stands over seven and a half feet (2.34 meters) tall.

Scholars have two main interpretations of the non-cross side. Some think that it is an aristocratic hunting scene—a woman riding sidesaddle (with comb and mirror to indicate her gender) is accompanied by many men riding below her. Others, however, hypothesize that the woman represents the Virgin Mary, since she was often portrayed riding sidesaddle.

The Hilton of Cadboll stone does not bear a longship on the bottom—that was my addition. However, some carved stones from this period depict ships with the distinctly long, shallow keel of the Vikings. I liked considering the ways that these Pictish carved stones would have changed to reflect tumultuous times, including the appearance of Vikings on their shores.

Thank you for journeying with me to the time of the Vikings and the Picts!

Thank you for taking the time to read
Desire’s Hostage
(Viking Lore, Book 3)! Please share your enjoyment of this book (or my other books) with fellow readers by leaving a review on sites like Amazon and Goodreads. Reviews are much appreciated by readers and authors alike!

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