Viking Dragon (29 page)

The Isle of Man(n) was one of the first places settled by Norsemen.  The names on the island reflect their long Viking history. The world's first parliament, the Tynewald was held there.  The Calf of Man is a small island off the south western coast. The three legs of Man which makes up their flag still came from an early Jarl on the island. I have used Jarl Erik as that warrior.  It is, of course, fiction of my own creation.

The place names are accurate and the mountain above Coniston is called the Old Man.  The river is not navigable up to Windermere but I have allowed my warriors to carry their drekar as the Vikings did in the land of the Rus when travelling to Miklagård. The ninth century saw the beginning of the reign of the Viking.  They raided Spain, the Rhone, Africa, and even Constantinople. They believed they could beat anyone!

There was a King Egbert who did indeed triumph over King Coenwulf. He founded the power base upon which Alfred the Great built. It was also at this time that the Danes came to take over East Anglia and Yorkshire. The land became, over the next 50 years, Danelaw. Its expansion was only halted by Alfred and was finally destroyed when King Harold defeated his brother and King Harald Hadrada at Stamford Bridge in 1066.  Until Alfred the Danes were used as hired swords.  They fought for gold.

I have made up Elfrida and Egbert’s marriage to her but the kings of that time had many liaisons with many women.  Some kings sired up to twenty illegitimate children and many legitimate ones. The practice continued into the late middle ages. Wives were frequently taken for political reasons. The inspiration for the abduction comes from the story of the Welsh Princess Nest (Nesta) who, in the 12
th
century had two children by King Henry 1
st
and was then married to one of his friends.  She was abducted by a Welsh knight who lived with her until her husband recaptured her and killed her abductor. Harald Klak became King of Denmark in 826 but I made up his brother.

The Danish raids on the east coast began in the late 700s. However the west coast and Hibernian were raided by Norse and Rus warriors who also went on to settle Iceland. There is less recorded evidence of their raids, attacks and settlements.  The records we have are the Anglo Saxon Chronicles and they tend to focus on the south and east of what was England.  The land that is now the Lake District was disputed land between Northumbria and Strathclyde however the Norse influence on the language and its proximity to the Isle of man and Dublin make me think that the Norse there would not have been part of what would become Danelaw.

There were many Viking raids on London in the ninth century.  They increased dramatically after 825. Dragonheart's raid is the first.  842 and 851 saw the largest raids.  One was reputed to have 350 drekar! It was in the ninth century when the Danes finally conquered what is now East Anglia, Essex and, of course, Northumbria. They were not uniquely Danes.  Some were Norse from Norway while others were the Rus or Swedes. However Denmark and the lands of the Low Countries were the closest and they had the majority of the raiders.  Rising sea levels at this time meant that much of their own lands were becoming submerged. The warriors came first; made homes and then brought their families.

I used the following books for research

British Museum - ‘Vikings- Life and Legends’

‘Saxon, Norman and Viking’ by Terence Wise (Osprey)

Ian Heath - ‘The Vikings’. (Osprey)

Ian Heath- ‘Byzantine Armies 668-1118 (Osprey)

David Nicholle- ‘Romano-Byzantine  Armies 4
th
-9
th
Century (Osprey)

Stephen Turnbull- ‘The Walls of Constantinople AD 324-1453’ (Osprey)

Keith Durham- ‘Viking Longship’ (Osprey)

Anglo-Danish Project- 'The Vikings in England'

Anglo Saxon Thegn AD 449-1066- Mark Harrison (Osprey)

Viking Hersir- 793-1066 AD - Mark Harrison (Osprey)

Hadrian's Wall- David Breeze (English Heritage)

Griff Hosker February 2016

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