Viking Legend (27 page)

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 12th century had two children by King Henry 1st 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.

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)

Griff Hosker July 2015

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

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