Glendalough Fair: A Novel of Viking Age Ireland (The Norsemen Saga) (Volume 4)

by James L. Nelson

  Then he saw a few men climb aboard Sea Hammer and that, to him, was the most intolerable of all, as if they had profaned a temple, as if they had put one of their crosses on an alter to Thor. They were on his ship, his sacred ship. They were violating his beloved vessel.

  It’s gone, he thought. It’s all gone now. Not so long ago he had been Lord of Vík-ló. He had wealth and commanded four long ships and three hundred men. And now he had nothing. Nothing.

  He had been betrayed. He had been led to this place and, because he was a fool and blind and wretchedly stupid, he had allowed it to happen. He had let nearly three hundred fine men die. He had been stripped of everything. He was no better than a slave.

  Thorgrim clenched his teeth and pressed his lips together. He knew he might scream, or he might sob, or he might fling himself at the bastards who were defiling his ship, and he did not want to do any of it. He wanted Thor to strike him dead as he crouched like a thief in the woods.

  The Irishmen who had been aboard the ship climbed back down to the riverbank. The one who was in command gave an order. Thorgrim could hear it clearly, even with the distance that separated them. Harald and Starri were crouching next to him now, and Thorgrim was about to ask Harald what the man had said when he saw one of the Irishmen crouch down and lay something on the gravel, then fish some small, dark thing from a pocket. He began moving his arm in short, quick jerks, the unmistakable motion of striking steel on flint.

  Bastards, Thorgrim thought. They’re burning my ship! They are burning my ship and I can do nothing but watch. And when they’re done they’ll hunt us down and kill us all.

  The man with the fire-steel made a few more strokes, then leaned over and blew softly on the tinder. Thorgrim could see a little trail of smoke rising from the beach.

  No, he thought. I am not ready to die. I cannot die like this. He had lived through many years and many things, good and bad, joy and sorrow, but he could not let it end there. He could not die until he had brought vengeance down on the heads of those who had done this to him. He could not leave Midgard until he had taken back what was his and made those who would steal it pay for their crimes. He would not leave that world until he had shown the gods he was worthy of the next.

  He heard shuffling on his other side and turned his head to see the two they had captured, the man and the woman, inching up to where they could see. He heard the man whisper something, a single word, and to Thorgrim it sounded like a name, one of those odd Irish names. He turned to Harald.

  “Ask this one if he knows the man who commands those soldiers,” Thorgrim said. Harald leaned over and asked in a harsh whisper. The man hesitated before replying, and Thorgrim knew the truth even before he spoke.

  “Yes,” Harald said. “He knows him. He did not say how, or how well.”

  Thorgrim nodded. It didn’t matter. He reached out and grabbed the sack the man still carried over his shoulder, Thorgrim moving so fast that he had the sack in his hand before the man could react. It was heavy, heavier even than Thorgrim had thought it would be. He could see the sharp edges of something square, like a box, and he had no doubt as to what it contained.

  “Tell him,” Thorgrim said to Harald, nodding his head toward the prisoner, “to go tell those soldiers there are sixty warriors coming up the river bank. He’s to tell them to run before they’re taken. If he does that and returns, he gets his hoard back and the woman is unharmed. If he fails, or betrays us, the woman will die before we do.”

  Harald nodded and rendered the words into the Irish tongue. Thorgrim could see the anger on the man’s face, and the uncertainty. It might not be so easy to convince the soldiers to flee from an unseen enemy.

  He looks clever enough, Thorgrim though. He’ll manage.

  And then the young man stood, grim-faced, and pushed his way through the trees to the river, because he had no choice. Thorgrim watched him splashing upstream. He saw the reaction of the soldiers as they saw him coming. They turned and stared as he approached. They drew their weapons.

  The young man stopped fifteen feet short of the leader, his hands held up and spread apart in a gesture of supplication. Words flew between them. Thorgrim looked at Harald for translation but Harald only shook his head.

  Thorgrim looked back up river. The soldiers seemed to be spreading out, trying to encircle the young man, and the young man in turn was gesturing toward the bend downstream.

  “Harald, Godi, anyone who can walk, with me,” Thorgrim said. “Draw your weapons.”

  He stood and pulled Iron-tooth free and stepped from the woods into the river. He heard the others following behind him. They might not be sixty, but they were Northmen and they were warriors and they were armed, and they would show the Irish soldiers the truth of the man’s words.

  And that they did. As Thorgrim led the way up river, stepping with determination as if he was looking for a battle, he saw Irishmen pointing in their direction, saw them backing away from Sea Hammer, stepping back from the river’s edge. He heard a sharp order and the Irish soldiers turned and made their way toward the river bank and their mounts, picketed out of sight. They were not retreating in panic. But they were retreating.

  Thorgrim continued his advance, but slowly, giving the Irish time to ride away. When at last he heard the sounds of hooves pounding off, he called to the others and they came limping out of the woods, the girl in their company. They made their way back to Sea Hammer. The tinder that the man had laid on the gravel was still smoldering.

  Thorgrim stopped a few feet from the young Irishman. “Harald, tell this one he did well.”

  Harald translated. The man nodded. He did not smile. There was a troubled look on his face, something different from the one he had worn earlier. Thorgrim wondered if there had been more to his encounter with the soldiers than was immediately apparent.

  Thorgrim swung the heavy sack off his shoulder and handed it to the man, who took it with a look of surprise. He spoke and Harald translated.

  “He says the Irish are gone, but they will be back, and they will come with many more men.”

  Thorgrim nodded. He wondered why this fellow was telling him this. Did he not want to see the Northmen defeated? Did he not want to be rescued?

  “He’s right,” Thorgrim said, addressing his crew, his army, his ten exhausted and wounded men. “We have an hour, perhaps. No more. Probably less. We need to stop up that hole that Kjartan cut in Sea Hammer. We can stuff some of these dead men’s tunics in it, that will do for now. Bail her out and get her down river, far enough to be safe while we make her seaworthy.”

  The others nodded.

  “Then what will we do?” Harald asked.

  “Then we’re going hunt down the bastards who put us in this place and we will make them pay,” Thorgrim said. “We will make them pay.”

  He turned and led the way across the beach and over the sheer strake of his ship, his beloved ship, staggered and wounded like the rest of them. He stepped aft, into the shallow water that lapped over the deck boards, and his men followed behind. There was much they needed to do.

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  Other books in The Norsemen Saga:

  Fin Gall: Book I

  Dubh-linn: Book II

  Lord of Vík-ló: Book III

  Glossary

  adze – a tool much like an ax but with the blade set at a right angle to the handle.

  Ægir – Norse god of the sea. In Norse mythology he was also the host of great feasts for the gods.

  Asgard - the dwelling place of the Norse gods and goddesses, essentially the Norse heaven.

  athwartships – at a right angle to the centerline of a vessel.

  beitass- a wooden pole, or spar, secured to the side of a ship on the after end and leading forward to which the corner,
or clew, of a sail could be secured.

  berserker - a Viking warrior able to work himself up into a frenzy of blood-lust before a battle. The berserkers, near psychopathic killers in battle, were the fiercest of the Viking soldiers. The word berserker comes from the Norse for “bear shirt” and is the origin of the modern English “berserk”.

  boss - the round, iron centerpiece of a wooden shield. The boss formed and iron cup protruding from the front of the shield, providing a hollow in the back across which ran the hand grip.

  bothach – Gaelic term for poor tenant farmers, serfs

  brace - line used for hauling a yard side to side on a horizontal plane. Used to adjust the angle of the sail to the wind.

  brat – a rectangular cloth worn in various configurations as an outer garment over a leine.

  bride-price - money paid by the family of the groom to the family of the bride.

  byrdingr - A smaller ocean-going cargo vessel used by the Norsemen for trade and transportation. Generally about 40 feet in length, the byrdingr was a smaller version of the more well-known knarr.

  clench nail – a type of nail that, after being driven through a board, has a type of washer called a rove placed over the end and is then bent over to secure it in place.

  curach - a boat, unique to Ireland, made of a wood frame covered in hide. They ranged in size, the largest propelled by sail and capable of carrying several tons. The most common sea-going craft of mediaeval Ireland. Curach was the Gaelic word for boat which later became the word curragh.

  derbfine – In Irish law, a family of four generations, including a man, his sons, grandsons and great grandsons.

  dragon ship - the largest of the Viking warships, upwards of 160 feet long and able to carry as many as 300 men. Dragon ships were the flagships of the fleet, the ships of kings.

  dubh gall - Gaelic term for Vikings of Danish descent. It means Black Strangers, a reference to the mail armor they wore, made dark by the oil used to preserve it. See fin gall.

  ell – a unit of length, a little more than a yard.

  eyrir – Scandinavian unit of measurement, approximately an ounce.

  félag – a fellowship of men who owed each other a mutual obligation, such as multiple owners of a ship, or a band or warriors who had sworn allegiance to one another.

  fin gall - Gaelic term for Vikings of Norwegian descent. It means White Strangers. See dubh gall.

  Freya - Norse goddess of beauty and love, she was also associated with warriors, as many of the Norse deity were. Freya often led the Valkyrie to the battlefield.

  halyard - a line by which a sail or a yard is raised.

  gallows – tall, T-shaped posts on the ship’s centerline, forward of the mast, on which the oars and yard were stored when not in use.

  gunnel – the upper edge of a ship’s side.

  Hel - in Norse mythology, the daughter of Loki and the ruler of the underworld where those who are not raised up to Valhalla are sent to suffer. The same name, Hel, is given to the realm over which she rules, the Norse hell.

  hird - an elite corps of Viking warriors hired and maintained by a king or powerful jarl. Unlike most Viking warrior groups, which would assemble and disperse at will, the hird was retained as a semi-permanent force which formed the core of a Viking army.

  hirdsman - a warrior who is a member of the hird.

  jarl - title given to a man of high rank. A jarl might be an independent ruler or subordinate to a king. Jarl is the origin of the English word earl.

  knarr - a Norse merchant vessel. Smaller, wider and more sturdy than the longship, knarrs were the workhorse of Norse trade, carrying cargo and settlers where ever the Norsemen traveled.

  league – a distance of three miles.

  leech – either one of the two vertical edges of a square sail.

  leine – a long, loose-fitting smock worn by men and women under other clothing. Similar to the shift of a later period.

  levies - conscripted soldiers of 9th century warfare.

  Loki - Norse god of fire and free spirits. Loki was mischievous and his tricks caused great trouble for the gods, for which he was punished.

  luff – the shivering of a sail when its edge is pointed into the wind and the wind strikes it on both sides

  longphort - literally, a ship fortress. A small, fortified port to protect shipping and serve as a center of commerce and a launching off point for raiding.

  Odin - foremost of the Norse gods. Odin was the god of wisdom and war, protector of both chieftains and poets.

  oénach –a major fair, often held on a feast day in an area bordered by two territories.

  perch - a unit of measure equal to 16½ feet. The same as a rod.

  Ragnarok - the mythical final battle when most humans and gods would be killed by the forces of evil and the earth destroyed, only to rise again, purified.

  rod – a unit of measure equal to 16½ feet. The same as a perch

  ringfort - common Irish homestead, consisting of houses protected by circular earthwork and palisade walls.

  rí túaithe – Gaelic term for a minor king, who would owe allegiance to a high king.

  rí ruirech – Gaelic term for a supreme or provincial king, to whom the rí túaithe owe allegiance.

  sheer strake – the uppermost plank, or strake, of a boat or ship’s hull. On a Viking ship the sheer strake would form the upper edge of the ship’s hull.

  shieldwall - a defensive wall formed by soldiers standing in line with shields overlapping.

  shroud – a heavy rope stretching from the top of the mast to the ship’s side that prevents the mast from falling sideways.

  skald - a Viking-era poet, generally one attached to a royal court. The skalds wrote a very stylized type of verse particular to the medieval Scandinavians. Poetry was an important part of Viking culture and the ability to write it a highly-regarded skill.

  sling - the center portion of the yard.

  spar – generic term used for any of the masts or yards that are part of a ship’s rig.

  strake – one of the wooden planks that make up the hull of a ship. The construction technique, used by the Norsemen, in which one strake overlaps the one below it is called lapstrake construction.

  swine array - a Viking battle formation consisting of a wedge-shaped arrangement of men used to attack a shield wall or other defensive position.

  tánaise ríg – Gaelic term for heir apparent, the man assumed to be next in line for a kingship.

  thing - a communal assembly

  Thor - Norse god of storms and wind, but also the protector of humans and the other gods. Thor’s chosen weapon was a hammer. Hammer amulets were popular with Norsemen in the same way that crosses are popular with Christians.

  thrall - Norse term for a slave. Origin of the English word “enthrall”.

  thwart - a rower’s seat in a boat. From the old Norse term meaning “across”.

  Ulfberht – a particular make of sword crafted in the Germanic countries and inscribed with the name Ulfberht or some variant. Though it is not clear who Ulfberht was, the swords that bore his name were of the highest quality and much prized.

  Valhalla - a great hall in Asgard where slain warriors would go to feast, drink and fight until the coming of Ragnarok.

  Valkyrie - female spirits of Norse mythology who gathered the spirits of the dead from the battle field and escorted them to Valhalla. They were the Choosers of the Slain, and though later romantically portrayed as Odin’s warrior handmaidens, they were originally viewed more demonically, as spirits who devoured the corpses of the dead.

  vantnale – a wooden lever attached to the lower end of a shroud and used to make the shroud fast and to tension it.

  varonn – spring time. Literally “spring work” in Old Norse.

  Vik - An area of Norway south of modern-day Oslo. The name is possibly the origin of the term Viking.

  wattle and daub - common medieval technique for building walls. Small sticks were woven through
larger uprights to form the wattle, and the structure was plastered with mud or plaster, the daub.

  weather – closest to the direction from which the wind is blowing, when used to indicate the position of something relative to the wind.

  wergild - the fine imposed for taking a man’s life. The amount of the wergild was dependent on the victim’s social standing.

  yard - a long, tapered timber from which a sail was suspended. When a Viking ship was not under sail, the yard was turned lengthwise and lowered to near the deck with the sail lashed to it.

  Acknowledgements

  My warmest thanks to Nicky Grene for his insights into the country around Glendalough and for the great kindness he has always shown me and my family on our visits to Ireland. Thanks also to my sister, Stephanie, for her on-going support in general and for the wealth of Glendalough books, pamphlets, postcards, tour guides and maps she sent me. Thanks to David Mullaly for his help with this book and earlier volumes in this series, and for leading me into temptation with regard to buying Viking antiquities. Thanks again to David Bellows for his help. On-going thanks are due to Steve Cromwell for the look he has developed for these books. The fact is, people do judge books by their covers and Steve has been instrumental in helping build the popularity of this series. Thanks again to Alistair Corbett for the great, moody background photo. Thanks to all my great readers who help spread the word about this series and to my family for all their support.

  And to my beloved Lisa….

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen