Hrolf the Viking (Norman Genesis Book 1)

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Hrolf the Viking (Norman Genesis Book 1) Page 26

by Griff Hosker


  Ulfheonar-an elite Norse warrior who wore a wolf skin over his armour

  Vectis- The Isle of Wight

  Volva- a witch or healing woman in Norse culture

  Waeclinga Straet- Watling Street (A5)

  Windlesore-Windsor

  Waite- a Viking word for farm

  Werham -Wareham (Dorset)

  Wintan-ceastre -Winchester

  Withy- the mechanism connecting the steering board to the ship

  Woden’s day- Wednesday

  Wyddfa-Snowdon

  Wyrd- Fate

  Yard- a timber from which the sail is suspended on a drekar

  Ynys Môn-Anglesey

  Maps and Illustrations

  Map courtesy of Wikipedia

  Map courtesy of Wikipedia

  The island the Raven Clan use. Courtesy of Wikipedia.

  Port Tudy is where the haunted farmhouse is located and Locmaria is the bay they landed upon. As you can see there is little beach!

  Charlemagne's Empire

  Courtesy of Wikipedia –Public Domain

  The Loire

  Courtesy of Wikipedia

  Courtesy of Wikipedia –Public Domain

  Historical note

  My research encompasses not only books and the Internet but also TV. Time Team was a great source of information. I wish they would bring it back! I saw the wooden compass on the Dan Snow programme about the Vikings. Apparently it was used in modern time to sail from Denmark to Edinburgh and was only a couple of points out. Similarly the construction of the temporary hall was copied from the settlement of Leif Eriksson in Newfoundland.

  Stirrups began to be introduced in Europe during the 7th and 8th Centuries. By Charlemagne's time there were widely used but only by nobles. It is said this was the true beginning of feudalism. It was the Vikings who introduced them to England. It was only in the time of Canute the Great that they were widespread. The use of stirrups enabled a rider to strike someone on the ground from the back of a horse and enabled the use of spears and later, lances.

  The Vikings may seem cruel to us now. They enslaved women and children. Many of the women became their wives. The DNA of the people of Iceland shows that it was made up of a mixture of Norse and Danish males and Celtic females. These were the people who settled Iceland, Greenland and Vinland. They did the same in England and, as we shall see, Normandy. They were different times and it would be wrong to judge them with our politically correct twenty first century eyes. This sort of behaviour still goes on in the world but with less justification.

  The Vikings began to raid the Loire and the Seine from the middle of the 9th century. They were able to raid as far as Tours. Tours, Saumur and the monastery at Marmoutier were all raided and destroyed. As a result of the raids and the destruction castles were built there during the latter part of the 9th century. There are many islands in the Loire and many tributaries. The Maine, which runs through Angers, is also a wide waterway. The lands seemed made for Viking raiders. They did not settle in Aquitaine but they did in Austrasia.

  At this time there were no Kings. There were clans. Each clan had a hersir or Jarl. A Hersir was more of a landlocked Viking while a Jarl usually had ship(s) at his command. Kings like Canute and Harald Hadrada were rare.

  Hermund the Bent is an actual Viking name but I do not know why he was called Bent. It seemed appropriate for my villain. Harald Black Teeth is made up but the practice of filing marks in teeth to allow them to blacken and to make the warrior more frightening was common in Viking times.

  Books used in the 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 4th-9th Century (Osprey)

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

  Keith Durham- ‘Viking Longship’ (Osprey)

  Anglo-Danish Project- 'The Vikings in England'

  The Varangian Guard- 988-1453 Raffael D’Amato

  Saxon Viking and Norman- Terence Wise

  The Walls of Constantinople AD 324-1453-Stephen Turnbull

  Byzantine Armies- 886-1118- Ian Heath

  The Age of Charlemagne-David Nicolle

  The Normans- David Nicolle

  Norman Knight AD 950-1204- Christopher Gravett

  The Norman Conquest of the North- William A Kappelle

  The Knight in History- Francis Gies

  The Norman Achievement- Richard F Cassady

  Knights- Constance Brittain Bouchard

  Knight Templar 1120-1312 -Helen Nicholson

  Griff Hosker

  April 2016

  Other books

  By

  Griff Hosker

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

  Ancient History

  The Sword of Cartimandua Series (Germania and Britannia 50A.D. – 128 A.D.)

  Ulpius Felix- Roman Warrior (prequel)

  Book 1 The Sword of Cartimandua

  Book 2 The Horse Warriors

  Book 3 Invasion Caledonia

  Book 4 Roman Retreat

  Book 5 Revolt of the Red Witch

  Book 6 Druid’s Gold

  Book 7 Trajan’s Hunters

  Book 8 The Last Frontier

  Book 9 Hero of Rome

  Book 10 Roman Hawk

  Book 11 Roman Treachery

  Book 12 Roman Wall

  The Wolf Warrior series (Britain in the late 6th Century)

  Book 1 Saxon Dawn

  Book 2 Saxon Revenge

  Book 3 Saxon England

  Book 4 Saxon Blood

  Book 5 Saxon Slayer

  Book 6 Saxon Slaughter

  Book 7 Saxon Bane

  Book 8 Saxon Fall: Rise of the Warlord

  Book 9 Saxon Throne

  The Dragon Heart Series

  Book 1 Viking Slave

  Book 2 Viking Warrior

  Book 3 Viking Jarl

  Book 4 Viking Kingdom

  Book 5 Viking Wolf

  Book 6 Viking War

  Book 7 Viking Sword

  Book 8 Viking Wrath

  Book 9 Viking Raid

  Book 10 Viking Legend

  Book 11 Viking Vengeance

  Book 12 Viking Dragon

  Book 13 Viking Treasure

  Norman Genesis Series (820-1020 A.D.)

  Hrolf the Viking

  The Aelfraed Series (Britain and Byzantium 1050 A.D. - 1085 A.D.)

  Book 1 Housecarl

  Book 2 Outlaw

  Book 3 Varangian

  The Anarchy Series (England 1120-1180)

  English Knight

  Knight of the Empress

  Northern Knight

  Baron of the North

  Earl

  King Henry's Champion

  The King is Dead

  Warlord of the North

  Enemy at the Gates

  Modern History

  The Napoleonic Horseman Series

  Chasseur à Cheval

  Napoleon’s Guard

  British Light Dragoon

  Soldier Spy

  1808: The Road to Corunna

  Waterloo

  The Lucky Jack American Civil War series

  Rebel Raiders

  Confederate Rangers

  The Road to Gettysburg

  The British Ace Series

  1914

  1915 Fokker Scourge

  1916 Angels over the Somme

  1917 Eagles Fall

  1918 We will remember them

  Combined Operations 1940-1945

  Commando

  Raider

  Behind Enemy Lines

  Dieppe

  Toehold in Europe

  Other Books

  Great Granny’s Ghost (Aimed at 9-14 year old young people)

&nbs
p; Adventure at 63-Backpacking to Istanbul

  For more information on all of the books then please visit the author’s web site at http://www.griffhosker.com where there is a link to contact him.

 

 

 


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