Viking Gold

by V. Campbell

  “The woman who embroidered that was my mother. But she is dead, murdered by Jarl Ragnar.”

  Brother Luke leant against a desk for strength. “Even after all this time, I still believed she might be alive.” He looked up at Redknee, his eyes bright with tears. “And you lad, how old are you?”

  “Sixteen summers this year.” The import of the monk’s questions was beginning to dawn on Redknee.

  “It cannot be possible …” he said, squinting at Redknee, studying his features, “but miracles do happen … my work here has taught me that. My son,” he said opening his arms

  Redknee hesitated. “You are Erik Kodranson?”

  Brother Luke nodded slowly.

  “But you are a monk.”

  “A young man goes out to conquer the world, to change it in his image, yet finds, as he grows older, that he is the one changed by what he has seen, by what he has done.”

  “I don’t understand – what happened – I thought you died.”

  “At Ragnar’s hand?”

  “Or at Uncle Sven’s.”

  Brother Luke frowned. “Why do you say that? After Ragnar wounded me in our fight, Sven helped me, hid me in some caves and tended to my wounds.” He raised his withered arm. “This is my reminder. As for Sven, he saved my life, for Ragnar wanted me dead. I’d dared to challenge him for making eyes at Ingrid – your mother. Even then, Ragnar had a fast temper, and an even faster blade.”

  “What happened next? After Sven took you to the caves no one in the village saw you again. They thought you dead.”

  “Ah yes,” Brother Luke said, slumping onto a stool. “Sven told me Ragnar was still after me. That he would hunt me down and kill me. I thought it wrong to return to the village; putting the lives of others at risk. But I was also in the grip of a madness of my own. That book you carry – the Codex Hibernia – Sven and I stole it from a monastery not unlike this one.”

  “I know,” Redknee said. “I’ve been to the Promised Land.”

  Brother Luke sat up straight. “You have?”

  Redknee explained how Ragnar had attacked his village and stolen the Codex; instigating the chase across the high seas. “Sven died trying to find the Promised Land, and when we got there, there was no treasure … things were no better than in the Northlands, except for a few more trees.”

  Brother Luke sighed. “When I was a young man, I became obsessed with the stories in the Codex. I’d learnt a bit of Latin from my trading days and this was enough to ignite a passion in me. I’d spend days poring over the words, trying to work out what Saint Brendan had meant. So when Sven proposed I take a ship and actually look for this Promised Land, I’m ashamed to say, I jumped at the chance.”

  “But your wife?”

  “Sven said he would take care of Ingrid. And remember, I was a marked man. Ragnar has always been a favourite with King Hakon. And I didn’t know she was with child.”

  “How did you end up here?”

  “The ship Sven put me on was washed ashore here in a storm. I was the only survivor from the shipwreck. The monks took me in, clothed me; taught me to read; told me of our Lord. I learned that my fascination with the Codex lay with its deep expression of faith. So, with my ship at the bottom of the sea, and no way to return home, I was baptised and changed my name. Not long after, I took holy orders.”

  “Did you ever see Sven again?”

  Brother Luke nodded. “About seven months after the shipwreck. He’d worked out where I was from asking around. He must have known Ingrid was with child by then. That must have been what he came to tell me. But he found a very changed man – I was no longer the fighting, drinking Northman he had known. I told him I wasn’t coming back. He said he would take care of Ingrid as if she was his own wife. He never told me she was with child. I think he did the right thing, because, by then, I don’t think I could have left.”

  “And you never saw Sven again, after that?”

  “Once, about two and a half years ago Sven came here. Asked if I still had the Codex. Apparently the tales of Saint Brendan and his Promised Land had been haunting him. I told him I still had the book. Indeed, the old abbot was particularly interested in Saint Brendan, and without his support I never would have been able to go.”

  “Go where?”

  “Sven helped me prepare a ship to sail to the Promised Land. He didn’t come himself. Said it wasn’t the right time to leave the Northlands. I made it as far as Greenland, where I fell ill. The Jarl of Iceland had joined our quest and the others sailed west with him. Without a ship or men I was forced to return home.”

  Now Astrid’s story made sense. Brother Luke had been the monk who’d gone to Iceland.

  “When I returned to the monastery I was welcomed by the other monks as a hero. I never made it to the Promised Land of Saint Brendan, but it was then I realised I’d found my own right here.”

  “And that was the last time you saw Sven?”

  “He came one more time. I gave him the Codex, I had no use for it any more.”

  Redknee exhaled. The past was starting to make sense. “My uncle never married. He looked after me as a son.”

  A tear sprang to Brother Luke’s eye. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you,” he said, holding out his arms. “But I never knew …”

  “No,” Redknee said, stepping into the embrace. “My uncle never told you … I wonder why.”

  Brother Luke held Redknee away from him. “I’m so glad to have found such a fine son, so late in life,” he said, smiling broadly.

  My brother, Erik Kodranson, is not your father.

  Redknee tried to push Sven’s words from his head, but found that he could not. Sven had been trying to tell him something more. Of that Redknee was sure. But what? The dates added up … in truth either Kodranson brother could be his father …

  As tears of joy streamed down Brother Luke’s cheeks, Redknee came to a decision. “Yes,” he said, gripping Brother Luke by the shoulders, “I, too, am glad … to have finally found a father.”

  Epilogue

  The Codex could not be saved. Redknee was secretly glad. Its promises of glory and riches had ruined too many lives. They would ruin no more.

  Seeing Redknee’s interest in books, Brother Luke taught him to read the Latin that was so important to Sinead. It was slow work. Unused to sitting still and concentrating on one thing for such a long time, Redknee found it difficult at first. Soon though, as the words and their meanings blossomed into rich, interwoven tales and philosophies, he found himself looking forward to the time he spent reading and talking with Brother Luke each day.

  If it was cold or wet, they would read inside, often in the refectory. But if the weather was good, they would take long walks on the beach, finding a quiet spot, out of the breeze, to sit and study a particularly difficult passage. Redknee found that, while he enjoyed the bible stories of Moses and David, the Greeks were his favourite, especially the voyages of Odysseus, an adventurer like himself.

  He thought about Sinead a great deal – how she would have loved to explore the scriptorium and discuss book-ideas with Brother Luke. But it was more than that, he found he missed her. Silver did too, for whenever Redknee spoke her name, the pup would spin round, searching for her familiar features among the rocks.

  Redknee knew he couldn’t stay on the island, little more than a rock, forever. The others were restless too. Brother Alfred wanted to tell leaders in the Church about the Promised Land, convinced there would be an abbacy in it for him. Toki and Koll spent their days fishing and trapping wild birds, but such a small island held nothing more for them; they were restless. They needed to return to the world.

  A small amount of timber from Wavedancer had washed ashore, but not nearly enough to make a boat. The island was treeless, save for a few small shrubs. Brother Luke said they could wait for the annual visit of the ship from their sister monastery on the mainland – but that could be months away.

  One day, when Redknee was sitting on the beach,
trying to understand Pythagoras’ theorem, he remembered the story of Saint Brendan. Not the intoxicating tale where he reaches the Promised Land, but its humble beginning where he spends weeks constructing a boat from animal hides.

  Of course, with the Codex ruined, Redknee had no way of knowing how to go about this. Then he remembered the list Running Deer had given them. He ran, as fast as he could across the beach, taking the steps up the hillside two at a time until he reached the top. He’d left the Codex in the scriptorium because the monks thought they could perhaps reuse the vellum.

  When he burst through the door, the monks looked up from their desks, startled. He rushed to the back of the room and pulled the Codex Hibernia from the cabinet.

  Brother Luke got to his feet. “What are you looking for?” he asked.

  Redknee ran his finger along the inside edge of the book boards. The leather gaped open. He gave the Codex a shake and a small piece of vellum fluttered to the floor.

  He knelt down and unfolded it. The writing and diagram of a curragh were in perfect condition, protected by the leather boards from water damage.

  “I think,” Redknee said, smiling up at his father, “I have a wedding to stop.”

  Glossary

  Arboreal: of or relating to trees

  Ascetic: someone who seeks spiritual purity through self-denial and meditation

  Asgard: the land of the gods in Norse mythology

  Adze: a kind of chisel

  Berserker: fierce warrior who dresses as a bear

  blood-month: the month domestic animals were traditionally slaughtered for meat before the winter, November

  boss: reinforced area in the centre of a shield, usually metal, which protects the hand

  casket: small chest for keeping jewels

  crenellated: jagged-like battlements

  cacophony: loud jarring noise

  caldera: basin-like depression at top of volcano

  Fenrir: a giant wolf in Norse mythology

  Frankish: denoting someone from the land of the Franks, broadly modern day France

  Freya: Norse goddess

  Furthark: the Norse alphabet

  Gunnels: side rails of a ship

  Hela: Norse god of the underworld

  Helve: axe handle

  Ignoble: dishonourable

  Insolence: disrespect

  Kaupangen: Viking name for the modern Norwegian city of Trondheim, means ‘market place’

  Knar: A Viking merchant ship

  Mailcoat: A flexible armour tunic made of riveted iron rings or links

  Mead: An alcoholic drink made from fermented honey, drunk extensively in Viking times

  Nascent: new born or rising

  Necromancy: the magic of bringing the dead to life

  Novice: an inexperienced person; a trainee monk or nun

  Odin: Father of the Norse gods. God of wisdom and war. Exchanged his eye for the knowledge of all things.

  Parchment: scraped and treated animal skin (mostly sheep, goat or cow) used for writing before paper became widespread

  Pommel: heavy knob at the end of a sword’s handle

  Prosaic: ordinary, dull, like prose, rather than poetry

  Rictus: unnatural grin

  Runes: letters of the Norse alphabet, sometimes used for fortune telling

  Scriptorium: room where manuscripts are stored, read or copied

  Seer: one who can see the future

  Shingle: wooden roof tile/ stones on a beach

  Skald: Norse poet

  Skerling: Norse word for wretch, used by the Vikings to refer to the Native Americans in a derogatory way.

  Skiff: row boat

  Strake: horizontal plank in the hull of a ship

  Sunstone: a stone used to determine the height of the sun – used to aid navigation

  Tang: part of a blade that reaches into the handle of a knife or sword

  Tangible: something that has real physical existence i.e. can be touched, held etc.

  Thor: Norse god of Thunder. Son of Odin.

  Tomahawk: type of throwing axe used by Native Americans

  Valhalla: the great feasting hall of the gods in Norse mythology. Located in Asgard

  Valkyrie: female warrior in Norse mythology who collects the battle dead

  Vanguard: the leaders/those out front or first

  Vellum: the best quality parchment

  Verden: location of AD782 massacre by Charlemagne, a Christian king, of 4500 Saxons who refused to convert to Christianity

  Veracity: truthfulness

  Vespers: evening prayer service in Roman Catholic church, often involves singing

  whet/ whetted: to sharpen a blade with a stone/a sharpened blade

  White Christ: a Norse name for Jesus, ‘white’ meaning cowardly, as opposed to warrior like

  Yggdrasil: the tree of life in Norse mythology.

  Discussion Questions

  1. At the end of Chapter 1, where Redknee saves Skoggcat from falling off a cliff, he thinks of himself as having been weak. Do you agree? What are your reasons?

  2. In Chapter 7 Redknee thinks going on the whale hunt will help him become a warrior. Do you agree? What are your reasons?

  3. A thousand years ago the concept of a book – then called a codex – was quite new. Previously information was written on long scrolls that had to be unwound to the right place. Books were seen as a technological leap. Today, we are in the midst of another technological leap in the way we distribute information through computers and the internet. Do you think physical books, as we know them, will exist in a hundred years? What about computers? How might such changes affect our society?

  4. Several times in the story, Ragnar tells Redknee that ‘they are more alike than he knows.’ Do you agree? Can ‘baddies’ and ‘goodies’ ever share traits? If so, what differentiates baddies from goodies, both in real life and in fiction? It could be said Sven is an ambivalent character – one that possesses good and bad traits – in the end, did you think he was mostly a goodie, mostly a baddie, or somewhere in between?

  5. When they are talking together on the beach, Sinead asks Redknee if it really matters who his father is. Do you agree with her? How much does someone’s background, whether that be their parents, their hometown, or their education, matter to their future? What do you think about the quote from the poem Invictus at the start of the novel?

  6. Deganawida suggests people can learn from failure – do you agree?

  7. Did Redknee do the right thing when he agreed with Brother Luke’s assertion in the last chapter? Why do you think Redknee did this?

  8. In the novel, the Promised Land means different things to different people. Sinead is seeking a new home where she can be free. Redknee is seeking the truth about his father and acceptance from his peers. Do they find these things? To what extent can such concepts as ‘home,’ ‘freedom’ and ‘acceptance’ be found? And if they can’t be found, are they worth looking for?

  9. In the story of Saint Brendan, the search for the Promised Land can be taken as a metaphor for the quest for spiritual enlightenment. In the last chapter, Brother Luke says he’s found his own promised land in his scriptorium. Do you believe him? Do you see parallels in the search for such enlightenment and Sinead’s search for ‘home,’ and ‘freedom’ and Redknee’s search for ‘the truth’? The novel also draws on the connection between knowledge and enlightenment. Do you think they are the same thing?

  10. What do you think might happen next?

  Author’s Note

  It is believed by historians that Leif Eriksson, a Viking explorer, was the first European in historical times to reach North America, and that he did so around AD1000. What remains disputed is to what extent the Norse travelled within America, established settlements and interacted with the native population. To date, the stone longhouses at L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland are the only agreed upon evidence of a permanent, or semi-permanent Norse presence.

  In Viking Gold, I chose to
push the boundaries of established history somewhat by allowing my Vikings to travel further south on the American continent to the area believed to be then occupied by the tribes of the Iroquois language group – somewhere around modern day New York State. I chose to do this for two main reasons: Newfoundland, the site of the proven Viking settlement, was probably sparsely, if at all, populated by native people around 1000 years ago due to its harsh climate.

  Secondly, I fell in love with the Iroquois tale of Hiawatha and the Tree of Peace, and believed this to be a fitting end-point for my main character’s quest. I must point out that the story of Hiawatha, Deganawida and the Tree of Peace, as told in Viking Gold, necessarily only draws briefly on the rich tale of the founding of the real Iroquois Confederacy – an early parliamentary system that must vie with the Icelandic All-Thing, for the honour of being one of the earliest such electoral systems. I must also confess to moving Hiawatha and Deganawida a little earlier in time than it’s thought they existed, with the lunar eclipse of AD1159 currently thought of as the earliest possible date for the real founding of the Iroquois Confederacy.

  While I am making my confessions, I might as well admit there is no evidence of people living below ground in Greenland – this was pure authorial invention, in part to reflect the dark times in the characters lives at this point in the story, and partly to add a bit of variety in setting. I feel I must also mention that 10th Century Iceland was a mostly egalitarian society – with no jarls or over-lords, and Reykjavik, at that time, was little more than a farm or small village, not the large trading town I describe.

  However, while the Codex Hibernia I describe in the novel is entirely made up, there really was a 6th Century Irish monk called Saint Brendan who it is believed sailed to a place far to the west he called the Promised Land, and did so in a leather curragh. Saint Brendan’s legendary voyage is documented in a very real medieval text called The Voyage of Saint Brendan, and certain of the passages quoted in the novel as coming from the fictional Codex, are in fact taken from this work, although in most cases I have made certain amendments to the quoted passages to facilitate the plot (for example, there is no mention of the Great White Pine in The Voyage). In this regard, I would like to offer a special thanks to Colin Smythe of Colin Smythe Limited for allowing me to use The Voyage in this way, and also to thank, John J. O’Meara, the late translator of this work, without whose scholarship I would not have had access to this fascinating tale.