by M J Porter
“He thanked me, on his mother’s behalf, for all I did to help Lord Alfred.”
“That was all?” Ælfgar asked, thinking that there were many other greetings his father could have expected.
“No, he said one other thing.”
“And what was that?” Ælfgar asked when his father didn’t immediately tell him.
“He said my actions toward Lord Alfred save me from a traitors death,” Ælfgar gasped at the words, wondering how his father had managed to maintain such a serene edge when he’d been threatened.
His father barked a laugh then.
“It seems we have Lord Alfred to thank for our high favour.” Ælfgar swallowed down the hard lump of fear that had taken abrupt root in his stomach.
If that threat was high favour, what could the rest of the English expect from their new, Danish king?
What could Earl Godwine expect?
To be continued.........Viking King coming December 2019
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Entry for AD1040
This year king Harald died at Oxford, on the 16th before the Kalends of April, and he was buried at Westminster. And he ruled England four years and sixteen weeks; and in his days sixteen ships were retained in pay, at the rate of eight marks for each rower, in like manner as had been before done in the days of king Cnut. And in this same year came king Hardecanute to Sandwich, seven days before midsummer. And he was soon acknowledged as well by English as by Danes; though his advisers afterwards grievously requited it, when they decreed that seventy-two ships should be retained in pay, at the rate of eight marks for each rower. And in this same year the sester of wheat went up to fifty-five pence, and even further.
Cast of Characters
The House of Leofwine
Leofric, born 998
Marries Lady Godgifu in 1018
Ælfgar, son, born in 1018
Marries Lady Ælfgifu/Elgiva, the daughter of Morcar (a thegn murdered by Eadric Streona) and Ealdgyth, the niece of Ealdorman Ælfhelm, (murdered on Æthelred II’s orders early in his reign).
Burgheard – oldest son b. 1038
Eadwine – second son b. 1039
Ealdgyth, Leofric’s sister born 1000
Marries Olaf son of Horic (this is not historically attested, but neither is Ealdorman Leofwine’s daughter – just the vague understanding that he had five children, one of whom is unnamed.) Two children – Brother Leofric of Peteborough (historically accurate, although perhaps not at this time) and Æthelflæd (not historically attested)
Godwine, his younger brother born 1002,
Eadwine, his younger brother born 1006, Sheriff of Shropshire
Hund, Leofric’s hound
Leofwine, father of Leofric and his brothers and sister, Ealdorman of the Hwicce/Earl of Mercia under Cnut although difficult to pinpoint where his power was based (dies 1023). Son of Ælfwine who dies at the Battle of Maldon in 991.
Æthelflæd, Leofwine’s wife (Leofric’s mother – and mother to all of Leofwine’s children)
Northman, Leofwine’s oldest son born 996, executed 1017 on the orders of Cnut.
Married Mildryth in 1011 – two sons born 1012 – Wulfstan and 1014 – Ælfwine (not historically attested)
Leofric’s Household
Orkning (son of Horic, one of Leofwine’s household troop)
Otryggr – his son
Olaf (son of Horic) married Ealdgyth, Leofric’s sister (not historically attested)
Godwulf, member of Leofric’s household troop
Winhus, member of Leofric’s household troop
Scirwold, member of Leofric’s household troop
Eadsige, door warden in Oxford
Cena, member of Leofric’s household troop
Æthelheard, member of Leofric’s household troop
Kings/Princes
Jakob Anund, King of Sweden, Olof Skotkonung’s son. Reigns until 1050.
Olaf Haraldson, King of Norway (Olaf of Norway/St Olaf), exiled in 1028, dies in 1030 at the Battle of Seiklestad.
Magnus, his illegitimate son, becomes King of Norway in 1035, following Swein Cnutsson’s exile, and with the support of two regents.
Harald Hardrada, Olaf Haraldson’s half-brother, in exile throughout this book
Æthelred II of England (dies 1016), Emma’s first husband
Marries 1) Ælfgifu of York
Edmund Ironside (dies 1016) son of Æthelred and Ælfgifu.
Edward the Exile (his son)
Swein Forkbeard of Denmark (dies 1014)
Cnut (son) of England (from 1016 with Edmund/1017 sole ruler of England) and Denmark (from 1018).
His children with Lady Ælfgifu – Swein, King of Norway (1030-35)
Harald, Regent/King of England (1035-1040) Secretly marries Alfifa (Danish form of Ælfgifu to prevent confusion), one son, Ælfwine
His children with Lady Emma – Harthacnut, King of Denmark 1035-
Gunnhilda, married to Henry, son of Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor
Harald of Denmark (from 1014 when his father, Swein, dies in England until 1018 when he dies and Cnut becomes King of Denmark as well).
Lady Estrid, daughter of Swein Forkbeard, wife of Earl Ulfr, with whom she has two children Svein Estridsson (take their mother’s patronym, not their father’s who’s killed for treason in about 1026.)
Beorn Estridsson
Olaf Tryggvason, King of Norway, dies 1000 at the Battle of Svølder (ties with the House of Leofwine)
Donnchaid Mac Crinain, King of Scotland (Duncan in Macbeth)
Mac Bethad Mac Findlaich, king of Scotland’s enemy (Macbeth in Macbeth)
Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor,
his son, who would be Henry III marries Lady Gunnhilda (Cnut and Emma’s daughter) in 1036. She dies in 1038.
Duke Robert of Normany, Emma’s nephew and the second husband of Cnut’s sister, Estrid. He repudiated her. Left one illegitimate son, who would become William the Conqueror.
Godgifu, Countess of Bolougne, daughter of Lady Emma and Æthelred II
Walter, her son with first husband Drogo, Count of Vexin
Lord Edward, son of Lady Emma and Æthelred II, in exile in Normandy
Lord Alfred, son of Lady Emma and Æthelred II, in exile in Normandy, dies 1037 in England.
Gruffydd Ap Llewelyn – King of Powys and later Gwynedd
Count Baldwin of Flanders/Bruges
Cnut’s Wives
Lady Emma, Queen Dowager (King Æthelred’s second wife – renamed from Ælfgifu – mother of Edward, Alfred and Godgifu) (King Cnut’s wife from Summer 1017 – mother of Harthacnut (son) and Gunnhilda (daughter))
Lady Ælfgifu (King Cnut’s first wife, even though also married to Emma – sons Harald and Swein.)
Her brothers are Ufegat and Wulfhead who were blinded by Æthelred II when their father was murdered, the Ealdorman of Northumbria, Ælfhelm, by Eadric in the early 1000’s. Now both dead.
Earls
Earl Hrani (Herefordshire)
Earl Eilifr (of Gloucester) brother of Earl Ulfr, and Uncle to Estrid Sweinsdottir’s two children, as well as Uncle to Earl Godwine’s children.
Earl Godwine (of Kent and later Wessex)
Married to Lady Gytha, sister of Earls Ulfr and Eilifr
Their children,
Sweyn
Harold
Tostig
Edith
Gyth
Leofwine
Wulfnoth
Elgiva
Gunnhilda
Earl Siward of Northumbria married to Ealdred of Bamburgh’s daughter.
Osbjorn – his son, with first wife, not the Earl of Bamburgh’s daughter
Ealdred (self-styled) Earl of Bamburgh
Earl Thuri of South-West Midlands/Glouchestershire
Osgot Clapa, not an earl but a prominent thegn
Ælfgeat, Thurkill, Leofgar and Eadbald, allies of Sheriff Eadwine Leofwinesson
Holy Men
Bishop Lyfing – Bishop of Worcester
Archbishop Eadsige – Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop Ælfric – Archbishop of York
Brother Leofric (Leofric’s nephew – historical, although perhaps not at this time.)
Bishop Ælfweard – Bishop of London
Brihtwold – Bishop of Ramsbury
Misc (mostly fictional)
Edith – mother of Lady Alfifa – King Harald’s wife
Brother Wulfred – monk in Oxford
Coenred – Reeve of Oxford’s scribe
Eoppa – Earl Hrani’s commended man
Reeve Beorhtric – in Hereford
Æffa – messenger from Estrid
Sister Cwenburh – Barking Nunnery
Credda – door warden – Barking Nunnery
Thurkill, Ælfgeat, Leofgar, Eadbald – allies of Lord Eadwine Leofwinesson
Sigtrid – trader
Otryggr – Orkning’s son
Artair – trader and informant for Lady Ælfgifu
Tori – ally of Olaf, Lady Eadgifu’s husband, from Denmark
Rhodri – sworn to Gruffydd Ap Llewelyn
Places Mentioned (a short list)
Deerhurst – ancestral home of House of Leofwine
Barking Nunnery – in London
Oxford – place Witans are held. House of Leofwine hold land there (according to Doomesday Book).
London – place Harald bases his kingship, as opposed to Winchester.
Shaftesbury – Abbey where Wessex kings previously buried, most notably, Edward the Martyr, murdered brother of King Æthelred
Exeter – Lady Emma has an affiliation with Exeter and holds land there.
Worcestershire – on the border with the Welsh kingdoms
Shropshire – on the border with the Welsh kingdoms
Gwynedd – ancient Welsh kingdom
Powys – ancient Welsh kingdom
The Land of the Scots – not yet Scotland, but getting there!
Ribe (Denmark) – oldest extant town in Denmark (according to Wikipedia).
Bruges (Belgium)
Historical Notes
The years 1037-1040 are barely touched upon by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, or perhaps I should qualify, young King Harald is rarely mentioned. Only his coronation and subsequent death are mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle known as the ‘C’ text and attributed to a Mercian (House of Leofwine) bias. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, known as the ‘E’ text and said to carry a Wessex/Godwine (House of Godwine) basis only mentions King Harald’s death in 1040. The ‘D’ text, taken as something of a more balanced bias between the two extremes, doesn’t even mention Harald.
No charters survive from King Harald’s reign other than one that the king didn’t issue.
This then is not a great deal to go on. King Harald, as his successor Harthacnut, do not fare well in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles variants. It’s been argued that this has more to do with later events, and the dates of composition of the chronicles than to Kings Harald and Harthacnut, themselves, although the short reign of Harald probably also has something to do with this. It really wasn’t possible to accomplish a great deal in such a short reign.
To put this into some perspective, even N Higham in his eminently readable account of the period, ‘The Death of Anglo-Saxon England,’ gives the times period 1037-1040 (Harald’s reign) just about a third of a page. That’s is. Harthacnut, whose story is still to tell, doesn’t fare much better.
Indeed, and as I’ve touched upon in the first paragraph, this time period is very much a precursor to the events of the rivalry between the Houses of Leofwine and Godwine which form much of the narrative until the devastating events of 1066. It would be difficult to argue that our knowledge of the period 1037-1040 hasn’t been affected by an understanding of what was to come, just as the earlier entries, from the beginning of King Æthelred II’s reign, were also subject to later bias. Propaganda is not a new weapon in the writing of history, something I’ve tried to include in the narrative of earlier books in the series.
As such much of this novel is based on quite sparse information, and is, of necessity, influenced by what must happen in subsequent books. The character of Harald is impossible to interpret with the space of 1000 years and only a handful of mentions. He was tragically young when he died, and his death is explained as natural – I’ve taken some liberties with it and must apologise for casting him as somewhat of a villain. With the benefit of hindsight, I can’t imagine that Harald enjoyed his kingship very much, surrounded by enemies as he was. Still, three years was too little time for him to make a mark on the history of England. At least his coinage survived.
His mother, Lady Ælfgifu, disappears from the historical record after 1040, and while it may be thought a stretch for her to have sought sanctuary in Denmark in the novel, this was something that a number of prominent figures were forced to do in subsequent years as England was far from peaceful, and political war-mongering quite rife. She would not have been welcome at many of the Continental Court’s closer to home that had ties with King Æthelred’s children. Harald’s son is also mentioned as a monk/priest in some later documents. There’s no knowledge of what happened to his mother, or even if she was his mother and married to Harald. It would be fascinating to find out.
For those interested in the possible bias of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the period, I recommend the following article by S Baxter freely available on academia.edu – MS C of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the Politics of Mid-Eleventh Century England. It has a wealth of valuable information, arguments, and makes use of other, later sources, to make sense of what’s happening at this time.
As to the raids into Wales and Scotland (or the land of the Scots, for ‘Scotland’, was still not a coherent idea), the death of Eadwine Leofwinesson is reported in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, as is the information that he was killed in battle against Gruffydd Ap Llywelyn. Events in Strathclyde and Northumbria itself come from a different source, and while I might not usually include the fact, preferring to report information only from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, in this instance the possibilities of implying a concerted attack on England were too tempting to ignore.
On another note – you may have noticed that many, many of these characters have the same name. I’ve always sworn to keep names as they should appear, but when three historical characters all share the same name, some liberties must be taken, if only for the sake of sanity. But Elfgiva, Elgiva, Elfgyfu and Alfifa are all variants of Ælfgifu, which itself was incredibly popular during this period.
The story of the Earls of Mercia will continue in subsequent books. Please check my website for updates and release dates. www.mjporterauthor.com
Meet the Author
I'm an author of fantasy (viking age/dragon themed) and historical fiction (Anglo-Saxon, Vikings and the British Isles as a whole before the Norman Conquest), born in the old Mercian kingdom at some point since the end of Anglo-Saxon England. I write A LOT. You've been warned! Find me at https://mjporterauthor.com and @coloursofunison on twitter.
Books by M J Porter (in series reading order)
Gods and Kings Series (seventh century Britain)
Pagan Warrior
Pagan King
Warrior King
The Tenth Century
The Lady of Mercia’s Daughter
Kingmaker
The King's Daughters
Chronicles of the English (tenth century Britain)
Brunanburh
Of Kings and Half-Kings
The Second English King
The Mercian Brexit (can be read as a prequel to The First Queen of England)
The First Queen of England (can be read as a prequel to The Earls of Mercia)
The First Queen of England Part 2
The First Queen of England Part 3
The King’s Mother (can be read as a sequel to The First Queen, or a prequel to The Earls of Mercia)
The Queen Dowager
Once A Queen
The Earls of Mercia
The Earl of Mercia's Father
The Danish King's Enemy
Swein: The Danish King
Northman Part 1
Northman Part 2
Cnut: The Conqueror
Wulfstan: An Anglo-Saxon Thegn
The King’s Earl
The Earl of Mercia
The English Earl
The Earl’s King
Viking King
The Dragon of Unison (fantasy based on Viking Age Iceland)
Hidden Dragon
Dragon Gone
Dragon Alone
Dragon Ally
Dragon Lost
Dragon Bond