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Horseman (Norman Genesis Book 2)

Page 25

by Griff Hosker


  Sheerstrake- the uppermost strake in the hull

  Sheet- a rope fastened to the lower corner of a sail

  Shroud- a rope from the masthead to the hull amidships

  Skeggox – an axe with a shorter beard on one side of the blade

  South Folk- Suffolk

  Stad- Norse settlement

  Stays- ropes running from the mast-head to the bow

  Stirap- stirrup

  Strake- the wood on the side of a drekar

  Suthriganaworc - Southwark (London)

  Syllingar- Scilly Isles

  Syllingar Insula- Scilly Isles

  Tarn- small lake (Norse)

  Temese- River Thames (also called the Tamese)

  The Norns- The three sisters who weave webs of intrigue for men

  Thing-Norse for a parliament or a debate (Tynwald)

  Thor’s day- Thursday

  Threttanessa- a drekar with 13 oars on each side.

  Thrall- slave

  Tinea- Tyne

  Trenail- a round wooden peg used to secure strakes

  Tynwald- the Parliament on the Isle of Man

  Úlfarrberg- Helvellyn

  Úlfarrland- Cumbria

  Úlfarr- Wolf Warrior

  Úlfarrston- Ulverston

  Ullr-Norse God of Hunting

  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

  Griff Hosker 2016

  Griff Hosker 2016

  Map courtesy of Wikipedia

  The island the Raven Clan use. Courtesy of Wikipedia.

  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 which my sailors use 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 they 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 became widespread. The use of stirrups enabled a rider to strike someone on the ground from the back of a horse and facilitated 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. Their influence was widespread. Genghis Khan and his Mongols did the same in the 13th century. It is said that a high proportion of European males have Mongol blood in them. The Romans did it with the Sabine tribe. 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 Viking Kings. There were clans. Each clan had a hersir or Jarl. Clans were loyal to each other. A hersir was more of a landlocked Viking or a farmer while a Jarl usually had ship(s) at his command. A hersir would command bondi. They were the Norse equivalent of the fyrd although they were much better warriors. They would all have a helmet shield and a sword. Most would also have a spear. Hearth-weru were the oathsworn or bodyguards for a jarl or, much later on, a king. Kings like Canute and Harald Hadrada were rare and they only emerged at the beginning of tenth century.

  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.

  The wolf and the raven were both held in high esteem by the Vikings. Odin is often depicted with a wolf and a raven at his side.

  The battle at Rochester Bridge is based on the famous incident at Stamford Bridge in 1066 when three Vikings held off the whole of King Harold's army until warriors went below the wooden bridge and killed the Vikings from beneath by stabbing their spears through the wood of the bridge. Rochester Bridge was made by the Romans!

  I apologise for the complications of the names and the plotting of the Irish kings. I did not have to make them up. The events leading up to the battle outside did happen and the High King was murdered himself a couple of years later. High King was similar to being a Mafia boss. There was always someone trying to take over. There was, as far as I know, no battle between the Irish and the Vikings in 825 but as neither civilisation had good written records it is hard to find hard evidence. The Irish warriors did not wear armour. Until the arrival of the Vikings they had no need for their enemies fought as they did. Their courage was unquestioned and they had managed to conquer what is now Scotland but the Vikings proved a stronger enemy. By the end of the ninth century the key strongholds in Ireland were all controlled by the Vikings. History would repeat itself when Henry II arrived with his Normans three centuries later.

  Books used in the research

  British Museum - Vikings- Life and Legends

  Arthur and the Saxon Wars- David Nicolle (Osprey)

  Saxon, Norman and Viking Terence Wise (Osprey)

  The Vikings- Ian Heath (Osprey)

  Byzantine Armies 668-1118 - Ian Heath (Osprey)

  Romano-Byzantine Armies 4th-9th Century - David Nicholle (Osprey)

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

  Viking Longship - Keith Durham (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

  Griff Hosker

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

  Book 1 Housecarl

  Book 2 Outlaw

  Book 3 Varangian

  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

  The Norman Genesis Series

  Rolf

  Horseman

  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 Gate

  The Fallen Crown

  Modern History

  The Napoleonic Horseman Series

  Book 1 Chasseur a Cheval

  Book 2 Napoleon’s Guard

  Book 3 British Light Dragoon

  Book 4 Soldier Spy

  Book 5 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 series 1940-1945

  Commando

  Raider

  Behind Enemy Lines

  Dieppe

  Toehold in Europe

  Sword Beach

  Other Books

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

  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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