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Saxon Fall

Page 26

by Griff Hosker


  It was at the beginning of the sixth century that King Aethelfrith was killed in battle. His sons, Eanforth, Oswiu and Oswald became famous and outshone both their father and King Edwin. Although Edwin became king he did not have the three brothers killed and they had an uneasy alliance.

  King Cadwallon became the last great British leader until modern times. Alfred ruled the Saxons but no one held such sway over the country from Scotland to Cornwall in the same way that King Cadwallon did. He did this not by feat of arms alone but by using alliances. He even allied with the Mercians to ensure security for his land. His death saw the end of the hopes of the native Britons. They would survive but they would never reconquer their land. I have invented a Warlord to aid him but that is backed up by the few writings we have. Dux Britannicus and Arthur are both shadowy figures who crop up in what we now term, the Dark Ages.

  King Edwin’s life was saved by Bishop Paulinus who had been sent by the Pope to convert the Northumbrians to Christianity. The act made King Edwin order all of his people to convert. I have used Paulinus as a sort of villain. I have no doubt that the Church at the time thought they were doing good work but like the Spanish Inquisition a thousand years later they were not averse to suing any means possible when dealing with what they deemed pagans. King Cadwallon did convert to Christianity but still fought King Edwin. Bede, the Northumbrian propagandist, portrayed Cadwallon as a cruel man who destroyed the Christian kingdom of Northumbria. Perhaps that was because King Edwin became an early Christian martyr. History is written by the winners and the Anglo-Saxons did win, albeit briefly before the Norse and the Bretons combined to reconquer England in 1066.

  The people of Brittany did arrive there as stated in the novel. I have obviously invented both names and events to suit my story but the background is accurate. They spoke a variation of Welsh/Cornish. There was a famous witch who lived on one of the islands of Scilly. Although this was in the Viking age a century or so later I can see no reason why mystics did not choose to live there.

  The horses used by William the Conqueror at Hastings were about fifteen and a half hands high. The largest contingent of non-Norman knights who accompanies him were the Bretons and their horses were marginally bigger. It is ironical that the people of Britain came back to defeat the Saxons. It was a mixture of Briton and Viking (Norman) who finally conquered Britain. (Wyrd!)

  The battle of Hatfield took place on the River Don close to Doncaster. It was fought on a swamp in a bend of the river. It was in the early 630s. King Edwin was killed at the battle and the leaders of the victorious armies were named as Penda and Cadwallon. It marked a reversal in fortunes for the Saxons. They were forced to retreat further north and Eanfrith, the eldest of Aethelfrith’s children became king of Deira. He was also killed by Cadwallon and Oswald became king. The kingdom of Northumbria would never be as powerful again until the Vikings conquered it in the ninth century. Bernicia and Deira emerged as minor kingdoms. King Cadwallon had a brief year of glory when he rampaged through the land of Bernicia. It was not to last.

  I used many books to research the material. The first was the excellent Michael Wood’s book “In Search of the Dark Ages” and the second was “The Middle Ages” Edited by Robert Fossier. The third was the Osprey Book- “Saxon, Viking and Norman” by Terence Wise. I also used Brian Sykes book, “Blood of the Isles” for reference. “Arthur and the Anglo-Saxon Wars” by David Nicholle was also useful. In addition, I searched on line for more obscure information. All the place names are accurate, as far as I know, and I have researched the names of the characters to reflect the period. My apologies if I have made a mistake.

  The Warlord and King Cadwallon will return and they will meet the Saxons once more on the field of battle.

  Griff Hosker December 2014

  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 11Roman 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

  The Dragon Heart Series

  Book 1 Viking Slave

  Book 2 Viking Warrior

  Book 3 Viking Jarl

  Book 4 Viking Kingdom

  Book 5 Viking Wolf

  Modern History

  The Napoleonic Horseman Series

  Book 1 Chasseurs à Cheval

  Book 2 Napoleon’s Guard

  Book 3 British Light Dragoon

  Book 4 Soldier Spy

  Book 5 1808: The Road to Corunna

  The Lucky Jack American Civil War series

  Rebel Raiders

  Confederate Rangers

  The Road to Gettysburg

  1808: The Road to Corunna

  The British Ace Series

  1914

  1915 Fokker Scourge

  1916 Angels over the Somme

  1917 Eagles Fall

  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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