“Hakon.”
Hakon looked around, but saw no one he recognized.
The voice came again, this time louder. “Hakon.”
He turned toward it, and froze. Udd's rotund body was propped against a boulder not ten paces away. Blood trickled over his fat lips and seeped through his hands where they cupped his stomach. Hakon's eyes narrowed at the sight of him.
“Help me, lad.”
Hakon stepped carefully through the broken limbs and corpses to Udd's side, where he cautiously knelt, ready for any trickery that Udd might attempt. “You are dying, Udd.” As he said the words, he realized that they evoked no emotion whatsoever—no pain, no joy, no sense of loss, no relief.
“I am, at that,” Udd grunted through his pain.
“So why do you call my name? Is there something you still desire from me even after all you have taken?”
“Aye. To show you the truth.” Udd grinned weakly. “The valkyrie come to take the heroes to Valhall.” His eyes rolled back, then refocused on Hakon. “Do you not see them, Christian? Flying overhead?” He coughed, and blood trickled onto his beard. “Where is your White Christ now?”
Hakon followed Udd's gaze skyward. Black shapes circled overhead—crows and ravens coming to feed. The valkyrie. Hakon studied them a moment, then turned back to look at Udd's blanched face. “Aye. Your valkyrie are coming for you.”
Epilogue
Winchester, Engla-lond. First week of July, A.D. 935
“Out! Everyone out!”
“But my lord, you have petitioners.”
Athelstan waved a hand at his steward. “Tell them to wait. Now, leave me. You as well, Byrnstan. And you too, Louis.”
Byrnstan grinned, bowed, then departed behind the others. Louis hesitated, but Athelstan's piercing gaze drove him from the hall. When they had gone, Athelstan grabbed the roll of parchment just delivered by the Northern trader and, with thudding heart, untied the ribbon that bound it. Slowly, carefully, he unrolled the thin vellum and began to read:
To King Athelstan, the glorious and generous servant of God, King of the Anglisc. I, King Hakon, brother in Christ and former fosterling in your charitable household, send greetings.
It is with joyous heart and humble thanks to our most Holy Master that I send you these good tidings. Erik Bloodaxe, son of Harald Fairhair, has been defeated by the forces of righteousness and expelled from this land. I know not where he fares, but have a suspicion, owing to his relationship with Jarl Einar of the Orkneyjar, that he might soon be seen in your kingdom. I pray that this will not come to pass, but I must warn you, nevertheless, to keep vigilant watch for him. He is a cunning fellow and I would not doubt that he will continue to be dangerous until the day he dies, and probably thereafter.
Concerning my forthcoming state of affairs, there is much to be done. Erik has torn asunder many of the right and proper structures of this realm and I fear my work to rebuild this land will be ceaseless. To that end, I would ask you to send me a force of fearless brothers in Christ, monks all, to assist in bringing the light of our faithful Lord to this dark place. The task will not be without its perils, as the Northerners do not know, and therefore do not understand, that this world is ruled only by God. Yet, I know that the good brothers do not lack for courage or zeal and, therefore, your task of finding such men should not be too troublesome.
As for my own personal affairs, there will soon be some changes (although I freely admit, these are born of necessity and not choice). In a month's time, at the honey moon, I am to marry the daughter of a powerful jarl named Ivar, one of the men who helped me win this kingdom. I accept this responsibility as due payment for the assistance this same jarl afforded me, yet my heart is heavy. The weight comes as a result of cruel misfortune and, even now, I find it hard to describe. I will spare you the details and come straight to the point. Aelfwin is dead. I found her here among the Northerners, a slave to Jarl Ivar, lost in her hope and used beyond description. I tried my best to restore her dignity and spare her life but, in the end, lost the struggle. Please convey my profound and heartfelt condolences to her parents. She will be remembered always in my prayers and, I hope, in yours as well.
I pray that this letter finds you in good health and spirits. Please convey to Louis, Byrnstan, Father Otker, and the others that I think of them often and pray that God keeps them well. May God protect you all and keep you always in His embrace.
Your friend and fellow king,
Hakon Haraldsson
Ever so carefully, Athelstan reread the text, savoring every word and every pen stroke. When he finished, he rerolled the letter and replaced the ribbon, then reached for his cup of wine and lifted it to the heavens. “Praise be to God.”
Historical Notes
I embarked on the retelling of Hakon's story decades ago. I could write an entire dissertation on why I chose to tell his story, but I'll spare you all the details. Suffice it to say that, in Hakon, I found a character who cut across the grain of convention. Most Viking heroes we read about are some combination of huge, crafty, battle-wise and pagan. Hakon was young and inexperienced and Christian, yet his rise to the High Seat of Viking Age Norway is no less heroic and his story contains all of the drama so indicative of that time. And, for the most part, it is true.
The retelling of Hakon's rise did have some complications though. Let us start with names and place names. Depending on what you read and where you look, you can find Hakon's name written as Haakon, Hakon, Hacon and so forth. I chose the middle option because I felt it was the best compromise of the three, and the easiest for modern readers to pronounce. I took the same creative license with others names because I wanted readers to get lost in the story, and not stop every time they came across a word they could not pronounce. Hence I chose “Athelstan” instead of “Æthelstan”, and “Winchester” instead of “Wintanceastre”.
Then there was the issue of place. Even though Athelstan called himself King of England, or Rex Anglorum, it is unclear how many English considered themselves part of a larger nation-state. Most likely, very few did, especially those living in the Danelaw of eastern England. Norway was not a country at all, but rather, a loose conglomeration of districts. The “kingdom” Harald ruled was believed to be in the west and south of modern Norway, though he had close ties to the Vestfold and Trondelag. Hence, I avoided using words like “Norwegians” and “Norway”. These terms would not have existed back then. “Northmen” was as close as I came to a group of people from that specific area.
As to the early life of Hakon Haraldsson, there is not a lot known. He was born around AD 920 in the west of modern day Norway. According to Heimskringla, he was the youngest, and illegitimate, son of an aging Harald Fairhair. His mother, Thora Mostertang, was a “servant-maid” of good lineage, though it is unclear as to whether or not she was ever Harald's wife. He was sent to the court of Athelstan to be fostered at the age of eight, though reasons vary as to why. It is also unclear why Athelstan would accept to foster a bastard (if indeed Hakon was a bastard child). Regardless, Athelstan did raise Hakon in the Christian faith, which was the religion of his forefathers and his court. Hakon then returned to the North and drove his brother Erik from the land.
The story itself raises one major question which became the premise for God's Hammer: how could a young Christian teenager with no ruling or battle experience return to his homeland and defeat a ruthless, battle-hardened king with deep ties to his area of influence? The story seems far-fetched, and yet, it is true. I chose to think that his supporting cast of counselors had much to do with his success. Some of his counselors are mentioned in historical texts, and it's not improbable to think that they influenced Hakon in some fashion. I chose to make their influence great.
For example, Hakon returned to the North as a Christian. Something or someone must have made a deep impression on Hakon for him to cling to an unpopular faith after returning to the North. The logical choice was Athelstan. To a youth, the most powerful king of
England would have been an impressive figure, as would the stories surrounding his lineage. Christianity played a large role in those stories. For a young man just beginning to understand the greater world around him, all of this could easily have laid the foundation for his faith.
Sigurd is another character who cannot be overlooked. He is said to have summoned Hakon back to the North, most likely because he viewed Erik Bloodaxe as a threat to his power in the North. But I believe the bond between Sigurd and Hakon was even deeper. According to Heimskringla, Sigurd had been with Hakon's mother at Hakon's birth and had named Hakon after his own father. It, therefore, seemed logical that he would also have had an emotional tie to Hakon, and perhaps even made an oath to ensure Hakon's success. Why else would a man of Sigurd's wealth and stature support a Christian youth?
Egil Woolsark is mentioned in Heimskringla as a standard bearer for Harald Fairhair, a mighty warrior who was “greater and stronger than all of the others [bonders].” In historical texts, Egil only plays a small role in Hakon's life. I gave him a larger role, particularly in the area of war craft, which could have been one of Hakon's weaknesses given the fact that he was only fifteen.
Then there was the issue of Hakon's allies, of which there must have been some. The logical choices for these would have been Jarl Tore and Hakon's nephews, Gudrod and Trygvi. Jarl Tore is mentioned in Heimskringla as the jarl of a district called More (which lies just to the south of Sigurd's realm) and the father-in-law of Sigurd. Tore is also the husband of Hakon's older sister, Alov. These connections made him a logical ally to Sigurd and Hakon. Gudrod and Trygvi were the sons of Hakon's brothers killed by Erik. That alone would have fueled their ire toward Erik. Just how much support any of these characters really gave Hakon is anyone's guess.
Aelfwin and her family are contrived, as are Groa and her family. However, in Groa's case, the eastern area of the Uplands would have presented a geographic advantage to Hakon in his fight against Erik, whose support center was primarily in the west and south of modern Norway, particularly in the areas of Agder and Rogaland. So an alliance with the Uplands in his fight against Erik seemed probable.
Prior to Harald Fairhair, landowners possessed hereditary rights to their land, which in turn distinguished a family's claim to the land. It is stated in Heimskringla that Harald took these away, effectively disconnecting families from the lands they had owned for generations. Heimskringla mentions Hakon's return of these odal rights to land owners. If this is true, and there is no reason to think it's not, it would have been a very savvy political move on Hakon's part. Given Hakon's youth, it makes sense that one of Hakon's counselors would have come up with this idea.
Then we come to Erik Bloodaxe. By all historical accounts, he was a ruthless king who killed at least two of his brothers, and perhaps more. We know that he flees the North after Hakon arrives and that he heads to the Orkneys and York to carve out a kingdom there. I found this completely puzzling. How could a Christian teenager rally enough support to make a strong and ruthless king flee, especially a king who shows no lack of courage in his fight against much more established (and probably more popular) brothers? I simply could not see Erik running away from the fight. It is for those reasons that I pitted Hakon against Erik in a final battle, and used Hakon's Christian charity as the vehicle for sparing Erik's life, thus allowing Erik to live on in historical texts.
Which brings me to a final thought, and one of the central themes in the book. In my story, Hakon embodies much of the teachings of modern Christianity, particularly “love thy brother”. In the Viking Age, there is no indication that kings adhered to this teaching. In fact, there is much evidence showing the opposite to be true. Yet I chose to make Hakon a naïve idealist driven by a singular mission to become the first Christian king of the North, a mission planted in his mind by his impressive foster father. Some readers might take issue with this, but historical fiction is not a clear-cut venture, and humans are never one dimensional. Hakon's “goodness” may change in later stories as life's harsh realities whittle away at his resolve; but for this book, and this time in Hakon's life, that is how I made him.
If you've read this far, I thank you and hope you've enjoyed the journey. Hakon is now the ruler of his realm, but challenges are not far from any king, as you will learn in the sequel, Raven's Feast.
About the Author
You might say that Eric Schumacher lives with one foot in the future and one in the past. By day, he runs his own award-winning PR agency, Neology, and shares stories with the press about the kind of future he believes his technology clients can deliver. By night (or frankly, whenever he can find the time), Eric wanders into his passion and unearths stories about people living in turbulent times.
Eric was born in Los Angeles in 1968. He is the author of two historical fiction novels, God's Hammer and its sequel, Raven's Feast. Both tell the story of the first Christian king of Viking Norway, Hakon Haraldsson, and his struggles to gain and hold the High Seat of his realm.
Eric’s fascination with Vikings and medieval history began at a young age, though exactly why is not clear. While Los Angeles has its own unique history, there are destroyed monasteries or Viking burial sites or hidden hoards buried in fields. Still, from the earliest age, he was drawn to books about Viking kings and warlords and was fascinated by their stories and the turbulent times in which they lived.
He began writing as a child, though never considered it as a career until he was in his second year of international business school and living in Germany. Poor timing given school loans but hey -- better late than never. It was there that Eric began researching and writing God's Hammer, his first novel.
Eric now resides in Santa Barbara with his wife, his two children, and his dog, Peanut.
He can be found here:
Website: ericschumacher.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EricSchumacherAuthor
Twitter: @DarkAgeScribe
Thank you for taking time to read God's Hammer. If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends or posting a short review. Word of mouth is an author’s best friend and much appreciated.
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