Outlaw (Aelfraed) (34 page)

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Authors: Griff Hosker

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“Well Ridley, this is it.
  We leave this land.  Did you find out the destinations of any of the ships?”

As we hefted our bags containing our gear he said, “Aye and there are none for Constantinople.
  Most go to Jorvik or London and one goes to the land of the Danes.”

“Then that is the one for us.”

He looked appalled.  “That liar?  You would go to his land?”

“The Jew told me to take the first boat.
  It happens to go to Denmark. 
Wyrd
! Besides, he said once that he owed you and me for saving his men at Jorvik.  Let us see. Anyway, old friend, the world is filled with people who want to kill us.  And Denmark is the shortest sea crossing.  Let us find a berth on that ship. We sail to Denmark.”

Striding along the quayside I felt my heart lighten as my old friend and I set off to conquer the world or at least see a greater part of it.

 

 

 

 

The End
Historical note

The events around Edwin, Morcar and Edgar are largely true.  They did submit and then rebel.  Edgar did ally with King Sweyn of Denmark and invade Northumbria, attacking Jorvik. Edith and Ealdgyth both disappeared from history after Harold died.  I have merely speculated. After he had won at Hastings William did spend a long time back in Normandy and eventually returned in 1067.  He appointed Copsi as Earl even though he had fought with Tostig. The motivations of both men are interesting. The battles of Hastings and Stamford Bridge took out the leadership of the English which is why William was able to conquer the rest of the country with so few men.

There is a deserted medieval village called Griff close to Helmsley.
  I did not make it up.  It was deserted some time after the invasion. William of Perci was given Topcliffe and huge estates in North Yorkshire.  He was nicknamed Aux Gemons because of his long moustaches.

Edgar did invite Sweyn of Denmark to invade England; they captured York and then ravaged the countryside.
  When William came north he bought off Sweyn with the money he had raised through taxes and then punished the people of the north by slaughtering them! Edgar fled to Scotland where his sister had married King Malcolm and then William completely emptied the land north of York; killing every man woman and child. William (who was known as the Bastard) tried to wipe Anglo-Saxon England from the map.  His genocide did not work and the language of England still has many Anglo-Saxon words.  For a good book on this try Melvyn Bragg’s “The Adventure of English”.  The reason why English did not die out is because the Norman women used Anglo-Saxon wet nurses for their children and they spoke English to the Norman children. Within a hundred or so years the nobility were using English again.

Ealdgyth, Ulf and Harold all disappeared from history following the Battle of Hastings.
  This is my version of their lives. They were treacherous and dangerous times. The Varangian Guard was originally filled with men from the Rus, (Russian Vikings and Swedes) but following Hastings the numbers were swelled with Anglo-Saxon warriors fleeing the Norman tyranny.

Edgar the Aetheling did flee to Scotland where he stayed with his sister, the wife of Malcolm Canmore. Morcar and Edwin both died in captivity. William, wisely, never trusted them again!

The next and last book in the series will be Varangian and it should be out in Spring 2013 when Ridley and Aelfraed journey to Constantinople.

 

 

Characters and places in the novel

Fictional characters are in italics.

Name

Explanation

aelfe

Saxon Elf

Aelfraed

Descendant of Alfred the Great’s son

Aethelward

Aelfraed’s uncle

Alfred

King of Wessex

Branton

Osbert’s brother, an archer

byrnie

Armoured coat

Catherick

Catherick North Yorkshire

conroi

Knights who follow a leader

Danegeld

Bribe paid to Danes by English kings in the 8
th
-10
th
centuries

Dunelm

Durham

Ealdgyth

Wife of
King Harold

Eidyn Dun

Edinburgh

gammer

Old woman or mother

Guy of Evreux

Norman knight

Gytha

Relative of the Earl of Hereford and wife of Aelfraed

Hetaireia

Imperial bodyguard of the Byzantine Emperor

King Sweyn

King of the Danes

leat

An open stretch of water close to a river

Legacaestir

Chester

Maeresea

River Mersey

Malcolm Canmore

King of Scotland

Mara

Delamere forest Cheshire

Medelai

Middleham North Yorkshire

Othenesberg

Roseberry Topping, Cleveland

Osbert

Sergeant at arms of Aelfraed

Oswald

Priest at Topcliffe

Persebrig

Piercebridge

Reuben

Jewish money lender

Ridley

Housecarl of the Earl

strategos

A Byzantine general

thrall

slave

Thingman

Housecarls of the English Royal family until 1051

Ulf

Housecarl killed at Senlac Hill

villein

peasant

Wight

Spirit

Witenagemot

The council of England wh
ich
chose the king

wyrd

fate

 

him.

 

126

 

 

 

 

 

 

The En
d
Other books by
Griff Hosker

If you enjoyed reading this book then why not read another one by the author?

The Sword of Cartimandua Series
(Germania and Britannia 50A.D. – 128 A.D.)

Ulpius Felix-
Roman Warrior

Book 1
              The Sword of Cartimandua

Book 2
              The Horse Warriors

Book 3
              Invasion Caledonia

Book 4
              Roman Retreat

Book 5
              Revolt of the Red Witch

Book 6
              Druid’s Gold

Book 7
              Trajan’s Hunters

Book 8
              The Last Frontier

Book 9
              Hero of Rome

Book 10
              Roman Hawk

Book 11
              Roman Treachery

They are all available in the Kindle format
.

The Aelfraed Series
(Britain and Byzantium 1050 A.D.- 1085 A.D.)

Book 1
             
Housecarl

Book 2
             
Outlaw

Book 3
             
Varangian

These are available in the Kindle format.

The Wolf Warrior series
(Britain in the late 6
th
Century)

Book 1
             
Saxon Dawn

Book 2
             
              Saxon Revenge

Book 3
             
              Saxon England

Book 4
             
              Saxon Blood

Also available in paperback and Kindle is the book aimed at 12-15 years olds,
Great Granny’s Ghost

Carnage at Cannes
is a modern thriller and is available in the Kindle format
.

Travel


        
Adventure at 63-Backpacking to Istanbul

 

The Lucky Jack Civil War series


        
Book 1 The Rebel Raider

For more information
on all of the books then please visit the author’s web site at
http://www.griffhosker.com
where there is a link to contact him.

All the books are now published by Sword Books Ltd.

 

 

 

Historical note

Griff Hosker
June 2013

Other books by
Griff Hosker

If you enjoyed reading this book then why not read another one by the author?

The
Sword of Cartimandua Series
(Germania and Britannia 50A.D. – 128 A.D.)

Ulpius Felix-
Roman Warrior

Book 1
              The Sword of Cartimandua

Book 2
              The Horse Warriors

Book 3
              Invasion Caledonia

Book 4
              Roman Retreat

Book 5
              Revolt of the Red Witch

Book 6
              Druid’s Gold

Book 7
              Trajan’s Hunters

Book 8
              The Last Frontier

Book 9
              Hero of Rome

Book 10
              Roman Hawk

Book 11
              Roman Treachery

They are all available in the Kindle format
.

The Aelfraed Series
(Britain and Byzantium 1050 A.D.- 1085 A.D.)

Book 1
             
Housecarl

Book 2
             
Outlaw

Book 3
             
Varangian

These are available in the Kindle format.

The Wolf Warrior series
(Britain in the late 6
th
Century)

Book 1
             
Saxon Dawn

Book 2
             
              Saxon Revenge

Book 3
             
              Saxon England

Also available in paperback and Kindle is the book aimed at 12-15 years olds,
Great Granny’s Ghost

Carnage at Cannes
is a modern thriller and is available in the Kindle format
.

Travel


        
Adventure at 63-Backpacking to Istanbul

Coming in Autumn 2013


        
The Irishman in the grey - a trilogy set in the American Civil War

For more information
on all of the books then please visit the author’s web site at
http://www.griffhosker.com
where there is a link to contact him.

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