Blood and Blade (The Bernicia Chronicles Book 3)
Page 31
And Bassus had started to get better.
She liked Bassus and she had witnessed how much Beobrand loved him. She was glad he would live, though she saw the sorrow in the huge warrior’s eyes every day when he remembered that he was no longer whole.
Without warning, Bassus leapt to his feet, dropping the fur-lined cloak to the earth. Reaghan cursed. The ground was wet and to brush mud out of the fur would be a tiresome task.
“See there?” Bassus shouted in a huge voice. “I told you I saw Attor before. He must have stayed down at Ubba’s hall.”
Octa awoke at the sound of Bassus’ booming voice. Reaghan flashed Bassus a sharp look and scooped up the baby.
“There, there,” she cooed, rocking Octa on her hip.
“What did I tell you?” Bassus continued, more excitement in his voice than she had heard since he had been wounded. “They are returned.”
Reaghan followed Bassus’ gaze and all worries about the sullied cloak and Octa’s crying vanished like mist under a hot sun.
Splashing through the ford, sending up a great spray, came a fair-haired warrior astride a massive black steed. Unbidden, Reaghan felt her face stretch into a broad grin. She stroked Octa’s pink cheek and the babe ceased bawling.
“That’s right, Octa,” she said, joy shining in her voice, “your father is home.”
We hope you enjoyed this book!
Kin of Cain, a Bernicia Chronicles novella, will be released in spring 2017
Find out more
Killer of Kings, the fourth novel in the Bernicia Chronicles, will be released in summer 2017
Find out more
More addictive fiction from Aria:
Find out more
Find out more
Find out more
For more information, click the following links
Historical Note
Acknowledgements
About Matthew Harffy
About The Bernicia Chronicles
Become an Aria Addict
Historical Note
As usual in my stories about Beobrand's adventures in seventh-century Britain, despite being fiction, there is much that is true in this book. King Oswald did marry the daughter of Cynegils, King of Wessex. She may have been called Cyneburg, but she is not mentioned by name until later chroniclers write of her. Oswald also became Cynegils' Godfather, thus cementing an important relationship with an ally through both marriage and religion. Oswald grew up surrounded by the monks of Iona and was renowned for his piety by the likes of Bede, but I am sure that he must also have been an astute statesman who used the newly resurgent religion to further his own ends. The fact that the Christian monks and priests could read and write may well have provided an added benefit, as Oswald could use the network of scribes to carry messages that were guaranteed to be accurate and that very few possible interceptors could decipher.
On their journey south, Beobrand and Oswald meet King Sigeberht (later Saint Sigeberht) of East Anglia at a place called Dommoc. I don’t believe there is any evidence for this meeting, but the pious East Anglian was too interesting not to mention. His story is complex and, as with many kings of the time, ends in violence. He may well be the subject of a future tale, so I will not give away all the details here. The location of Dommoc is debated by historians, with rival claims being staked by different groups of monks much later in the Middle Ages. I have plumped for Dunwich, in Suffolk.
The appearance of a second King Sigeberht, this time of Essex, is also factual. The spelling of names is very fluid at this time, and it would have been possible to have each of these kings with clearly different spellings to their names, thus avoiding confusion. But I liked the idea of the mistake being made, and this is a small nod to all the times that students of the Anglo-Saxon period (or writers of historical fiction!) bemoan the fact that all the characters have very similar names. Funnily enough, the Sigeberht of Essex mentioned here (known as Sigeberht the Little), was succeeded by yet another Sigeberht – Sigeberht the Good.
Bishop Birinus was one of a number of European missionaries who came to the British Isles and is recognised as being responsible for the conversion of the West Saxons, or Gewisse, as the tribe was known. However, despite being called Wessex, the kingdom at this time did not match that occupied by later generations and that most famous of Wessex kings – Alfred. The Wessex of the early seventh century is a smaller expanse of land, nestled between Mercia and what would become the later larger kingdom of Wessex. Its capital was Dorchester-on-Thames (Dorcic), not to be confused with Dorchester in modern-day Dorset.
Eowa, brother of Penda, existed. His story will reappear in Oswald's tale, though his connection with Cynegils and his unfortunate meeting with the King of Northumbria is pure fiction on my part.
Abbot Aidan (later Saint Aidan) is one of the most famous Christian figures in the north-east of Britain, perhaps only second to Cuthbert. It is recorded that he liked to walk everywhere and it is a matter of folklore that he crossed the Tweed (Tuidi) at Norham (Ubbanford) on his way to Lindisfarne. When I read this, how could I resist having him appear at just the right time to save the day? More than once I show the practical worth of the educated Christian clergy in terms of their knowledge of healing. I am sure there are many reasons for Christianity taking sway over the populace, but I think that the assistance offered to communities would certainly have helped the cause. The description of the amputation of Bassus’ arm and the subsequent treatment of the affected area comes from Bald's Leechbook, a medical text probably compiled sometime in the ninth century. It is the source of many strange and wonderful cures and treatments. The Leechbook has recently been the focus of renewed study as, in March 2015, one of its recipes, which included garlic and the bile from a cow's stomach, was found to kill the hospital "superbug", Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). It seems the Anglo-Saxons knew a thing or two about medicine!
Details of the siege of Din Eidyn (Edinburgh) are sketchy, and I have employed some artistic licence. The siege probably occurred a little later (around 638), but I have chosen to compress the events to make the story more compelling. Little is known of what led up to the siege or even its outcome, although it is known that Oswald became the over-king of Northumbria and Gododdin (the kingdom in which Din Eidyn lay), making it most likely that the siege did not end well for the defenders.
I've chosen to have the Angelfolc (the people of Oswald and Beobrand) refer to all of the people north of the Tweed as Picts. This is of course a gross simplification of the situation, as is having all of the Anglo-Saxons referred to as either Angelfolc or Seaxons. However, I think it is important to be able to tell a gripping tale without getting bogged down in all the specifics of the different tribes and peoples interacting at the time. In the same way, Beobrand and the other “Anglo-Saxons” refer to all those who are foreign to them (i.e. native Britons) as Waelisc.
The term Wealh (with the same derivation as Waelisc and the connotation of foreigner) was a common term for thrall, or slave. Slavery was accepted and commonplace, and a way of generating wealth from victory over one’s enemies. Reaghan is such a foreign slave, captured in a raid. It was possible to give slaves their freedom, something that perhaps Beobrand is considering towards the end of this tale.
Poisons play an important part in the story. Many deadly poisons were known, such as aconite, belladonna, hemlock and mandrake. Cunning women, or witches, would have had a wide-ranging knowledge of how herbs could be used for both good and nefarious ends. Poison on the blade of a weapon is judged by most experts to be a dubious method of delivery and unlikely to be very effective. However, I used the story of the attack on King Edwin’s life in 626 by a West Saxon assassin wielding a dagger dipped in poison as inspiration for Torran’s envenomed sword blade.
Another moment in the story that is inspired by a real historical event, but from a different time and place, is that of Nelda’s escape from the fortress of Din Eidyn. In 1142, Queen Matilda escaped the
siege of Oxford Castle during a blizzard. It is said she was wrapped in a white cloak to avoid detection. This just seemed too good a story not to use for Nelda, Finola and Talorcan to elude Oswald and the Northumbrian host.
Beobrand’s story is far from over. King Oswald’s ambitions will not allow there to be peace for long, and where there are battles, you can be sure that Beobrand will be there standing shoulder-to-shoulder with his gesithas in the shieldwall. And of course, there is the matter of vengeance and bloodfeud. Beobrand will not rest until he sees Wybert and Nelda providing carrion for the crows.
But that is for another tale, and another book.
Acknowledgements
First of all, I must thank you, dear reader, for buying this book and reading it. I sincerely hope you have been entertained and enjoyed this chapter in Beobrand’s ongoing saga. If you have, please tell your friends and family and help to spread the word. One of the best ways of doing this is to leave a review on the online store where you bought the book, or to give the book a mention on social media. Of course, the old-fashioned word of mouth is good too!
No novel is written in complete isolation, and I would like to thank those who have helped with the creation of this book.
Special thanks to my daughter, Iona Harffy, who gave me some great ideas for the siege of Din Eidyn and Beobrand’s distraction of the besieged Picts.
Thanks to my trusty test readers, Gareth Jones, Simon Blunsdon, Rich Ward, Shane Smart, Alex Forbes, Clive Harffy and Angela Harffy. I must not forget to mention Graham Glendinning, who provided me with feedback on my first two books and whom I missed out of both acknowledgements! Sorry, Graham!
A big thanks goes to the team at Aria and Head of Zeus. Thank you to Caroline Ridding, Nia Beynon, Geo Willis, Yasemin Turan, Blake Brooks, Sarah Ritherdon, Paul King and everyone else on the team that has worked on getting the book ready for publication and also for the hard work of marketing and publicising the books once released. It’s great to be part of such a wonderful team.
As always, thanks go to my agent, Robin Wade, for his steadfast support and belief in my writing and for his tireless search for a publisher.
Over the last few years I have become part of a lively online community of historical fiction authors, readers and reviewers. There are too many people to mention them all here, but I am indebted to everyone who has shared my posts and tweets, offered support, written reviews and generally provided a network of like-minded people with whom to talk about history and writing.
And lastly, as always my thanks go to my ever-loving family. I am never sure how much impact my writing has on my daughters, Elora and Iona, but I know that I am not always the most patient of people when I am trying to pin down the muse and get the words written, so thank you for putting up with me, not that you have much of a choice! And of course, to my wonderfully patient and supportive wife, Maite. You not only put up with me, but encourage me and champion me every day. For that I love you even more than I already did, if that’s possible.
About Matthew Harffy
MATTHEW HARFFY has worked in the IT industry, where he spent all day writing and editing, just not the words that most interested him. Prior to that he worked in Spain as an English teacher and translator. Matthew lives in Wiltshire, England, with his wife and their two daughters. When not writing, or spending time with his family, Matthew sings in a band called Rock Dog.
Find me on Twitter
Find me on Facebook
Visit my website
About The Bernicia Chronicles
The Bernicia Chronicles is a series of action-packed historical fiction books set against the backdrop of the clash between peoples and religions in Dark Ages Britain.
Find out more
Find out more
Find out more
Kin of Cain, a Bernicia Chronicles novella, will be released in spring 2017
Find out more
Killer of Kings, the fourth novel in the Bernicia Chronicles, will be released in summer 2017
Find out more
Visit Aria now
Become an Aria Addict
Aria is the new digital-first fiction imprint from Head of Zeus.
It’s Aria’s ambition to discover and publish tomorrow’s superstars, targeting fiction addicts and readers keen to discover new and exciting authors.
Aria will publish a variety of genres under the commercial fiction umbrella such as women’s fiction, crime, thrillers, historical fiction, saga and erotica.
So, whether you’re a budding writer looking for a publisher or an avid reader looking for something to escape with – Aria will have something for you.
Get in touch: aria@headofzeus.com
Become an Aria Addict
Find us on Twitter
Find us on Facebook
Find us on BookGrail
Addictive Fiction
First published in the UK in 2016 by Aria, an imprint of Head of Zeus Ltd
Copyright © Matthew Harffy
The moral right of Matthew Harffy to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
9 7 5 3 1 2 4 6 8
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN (E) 9781784978846
Cover photograph © Stephen Weatherly
Cover design and imagery: www.headdesign.co.uk
Aria
Clerkenwell House
45-47 Clerkenwell Green
London EC1R 0HT
www.ariafiction.com