Welcome to the Great Heroes & Villains Blog Hop! This is an exciting event where you book mad fans get the chance to win some prizes on every blog you visit. On mine I have 5 e-book copies of my novel to be won, not just one copy but 5! that means you have plenty of chance to win. All you have to do is read my blog post and then follow the easy instructions at the end of the post. Its so easy! Then hop over and take a look at everyone else's blog posts for the chance to win more prizes! there are 21 blogs to visit so that's 21 chances to win a prize! The winners of the blog hop prize will be posted here on my blog for all to see and then all you have to do is message me either on FB or twitter and I will send you your prize.

To contribute to this fun blog hop, I wanted to explore the character of my protagonist in my novel, Sons of the Wolf. Wulfhere is more hero than villain, but he is extremely flawed and although he could neither be considered evil or bad, he struggles with the side of him that is selfish and immoral. In some ways, he is both hero and villain. To get some idea of the overview of Wulfhere's story read a synopsis of the novel.

At first glance, Wulfhere is everything a stereo-typical hero should be, steadfast, loyal, loving and protective of those close to him, putting others before himself. He perhaps models himself on his Lord, Harold, who is all of these things and generally unwavering in those qualities unless he has to be. But Wulfhere has weaknesses. Women. These come in all sorts of forms, one is his wife, one is his mistress and the other is his daughter Freyda. Imagine a huge lion  lying patiently  in the cool of the outstretched branches of a tree in the hot African  plains,   while his cubs play around him, climbing over him, swatting him with their little claws and annoying him like flies. The females hunt for him, provide him with his lunch and look after his offspring, but they nag him too, because he is lazy and he doesn't do anything they want him to. When lunch is served, the little ones continue to annoy him and no one badgers the head of the family when he is at table! Suddenly, the lion roars and everyone scatters in fear. This is how it is with Wulfhere. He will patiently endure his wife, Ealdgytha's  efforts to chastise him and punish him for his discretions or his lack of motivation or advancement; he will allow his mistress, the beautiful and enigmatic Alfgyva to pressure him and make him feel guilty; as for Freyda, his vivacious young daughter, she gets away with murder because she is his favourite child and he can deny her nothing until one day they over step the mark and his anger, slowly brought to boil, suddenly reaches its maximum heat and he explodes in rage, roars like the lion and everyone is sent running, just as the lion cubs have done, in the tornado of hot wind that emanates from his great jaws. It is then that Wulfhere becomes the villain, he lashes out, either on some poor human or on some inanimate but necessary object. If only he could have asserted himself more carefully and not allowed these women to cudgel him into action. He might then have remained on the moral high-ground and stayed even-tempered like the Earl, whom he looks up to.

It is during the Battle of  Hereford that we see this other side of this man. Wulfhere morphs into Hero Mode when he is forced out of necessity to fall into that role, taking command not only of his own unit but of all the men  when the English cavalry flank he is part of is thrown into chaos, betrayed and deserted by their commander-in-chief, Earl Ralph. The King's nephew had left the field with his own mounted men before the battle had even started, leaving the already overwhelmed English army, even more depleted. Wulfhere takes charge, he is an experienced horseman, but not experienced in fighting on horseback with organised cavalry. As a thegn, he is used to being a leader among men and he knows that his forces will look to him as he rallies them to him, shouting orders in the mayhem, bringing some order to the pandemonium that has ensued the Earl's desertion. The men rally to him and he manages to instil some inspiration in them, calling upon them not to be cowards and flee the field as the yellow-livered Franko/Normans had done. He knew that either way they would die, but at least if they stood their ground and fought, they would have a chance and if that chance did not come, he for one would die like a warrior with his sword in his hand till the end and not be taken down with a spear in his back.

And so here we have the many facets of our Wulfhere. He is neither the ultimate saintly hero who will fight against all evil and maintain that saintly, chivalric characteristic as he goes about the business of life, forging a road through to Heaven that is as unobstructed by rocks and boulders as his copy book is unblotted. Nor is he the villain of the piece, without conscience or a sense of guilt at his shortcomings; never trying to put the wrongs he has committed, aright. He is proud, often to his detriment. He cannot always see the full extent of what his actions have done to those he cares for, but he truly does try to make amends when he does. He is the lion, majestic and proud, considerate and protective, loyal and steadfast, expecting love and affection in return for his love and regard. He is the roar of the beast when pushed too far and his pride explodes in a tornado of wrath that everyone should do well to fear. He is neither devilish, roguish or villainous, saintly, patient or subservient. He is human and that is what I believe are the qualities that make my readers feel empathy for him.

 

Who do you love? Is your favourite character a hero, villain or a flawed human being like Wulfhere?

To enter for a chance to win an e-copy of my novel Sons of the Wolf, tell me who your favourite character is and why and you will be entered into the draw. there are five copies to win! Please leave your answers in the comment boxes below the boxes and click on the links to the other bloghoppers for more chances to win prizes! Thanks so much for visiting us here at Sons of the Wolf!






Don't forget to hop on over to the others!!! We're here for the longweekend!

List of Links

 

Nyki Blatchley

Martin Bolton
Adrian Chamberlin

Mike Cooley

Karin Cox

Rhiannon Douglas

 Joanne Hall

 Jolea M Harrison/

 Tinney S Heath

 Eleni Konstantine

K.Scott Lewis

Liz Long

Peter Lukes/

 Mark McClelland

Edward M McNally

 Su Millard

Ginger Myrick/

David Pilling

 Kim Rendfeld

 Terry L Smith

 Tara West

 Keith Yatsuhashi

A preview of an Excerpt from The Wolf Banner

            “You are very pensive today, min deore,” Harold said when he and Eadgyth, having broken their fast that Sunday morn, attended mass with everyone in Waltham present to welcome their lord home. He was surveying the work in progress, the new Church of the Holy Rood. Harold had commissioned the new church to replace the old ramshackle building in thanksgiving for surviving a serious illness when he had been younger. His mother had prayed for him at the altar in the old church for his recovery and it was where he had first met Eadgyth and fallen in love with her as she had tended him when he was sick. He had made the oath to rebuild the old church in new finery some years ago, inspired by King Edward’s work on his own project, the great church of St Peter in Westminster.

The children skipped around them with Ranulf acting as their guardian and although the day which had started bright with sunshine and blue sky was now cloudy with a chill in the air, there was nothing but warmth between them as Eadgyth held on to her husband as if he were nothing more than a vision that would soon vaporise into thin air if she didn’t.

            Eadgyth had been preoccupied, vague and hardly participating in her usual effervescent manner. Harold’s head canon, Adelard and the chief stonemason, a Frenchman called Robert Deschamps showed them around the half built church, explaining in his captivating style the machinations of the work. But Eadgyth seemed lost in a world of her own and although she was educated, knew how to converse very well in the French language that they were all speaking, she maintained a low profile throughout. As the party had paused to admire the building, the laughter of the children echoing as they skipped around the stone foundations and the half built walls, Harold stopped and leaned in closely to her and repeated what he had said to her earlier which had gone ignored. “Min Deore, you are lost in a world beyond here, what ails you this morning?” He emphasised ‘you’ as if he were referencing his own brooding manner from the previous night.

            She turned dreamy eyes toward him and they were moist, as if ready to break into tears. “’Tis nothing, Harold...” She hesitated as if there were more.

            Harold lowered his chin and raised thick brown eyebrows that contrasted to the lightness of his hair. So attuned to each other’s nature were they, that each one could read the other’s mood like a missive.

            “Nothing is ever nothing when it is nothing,” Harold said, his voice low and encouraging.

            “There is something that I wish to say to you, but I do not know where to begin,” she stated.

            “Then say it, Sweeting. What is it?”

            “Nay, I cannot here. Not with company around us.”

            “Then let us walk,” he suggested. And he indicated to Skalpi that he wanted to be alone with his wife to walk back to their manor, knowing that the children would be safe with their nurse and Ranulf and the rest of his companions.

            They walked on ahead and Eadgyth diverted to a peaceful place where she thought they could be in private for a while to talk. She had thought of nothing else all morning, all through the mass and then as they walked around their new church.

            “I want you to marry,” she said after a few moments of silence. Her voice was confident. They sat by the mill pond on the wooden seating that Harold himself had made so that she could go there with the children when the weather was good.

            For a moment, sitting beside her, it was as if he hadn’t heard her, for he didn’t move or make any acknowledgement. She heard him breathe and wondered if he was ever going to answer her. “It is the only way,” she said.

            He looked at her, bemused. “My love,” he said and he gave a little laugh that sounded fake. “What on earth has gotten into you? Have you tired of me already?”

            She shook her head and put her hand in his. “Never, never, never ever would I tire of you, my Lord. It is not for me that I ask this, for I could never imagine being without you... and you have, not ever in our time together, given me cause to be displeased with you, or want to be away from you. It is for Wulfnoth and Hakon that I ask this.” She paused and showed him intensity of her pale blue eyes that betrayed the self-assurance of her voice.

 He was looking at her with sudden understanding of the sacrifice she was attempting. “Eadgyth, lufestre, there is no point in asking this of me for I will not marry, not while I have you.”

“Even if it would get Hakon and Wulfhnoth back?”

“How would my marrying someone else help?” he asked.

“If you were to marry one of those women your sister is always urging you to marry, someone whose family could get you the influence you need at the court of the Duke – perhaps even the Duke’s niece, Judith. I have heard her name mentioned at court, or perhaps one of the Duke’s daughters, Agatha or something. Then the boys would be bound to come home.”

He looked at her with an amused smile and taking her hand to his lips, said: “You are such a clever little bee. I would never have thought of this idea myself.”

“Oh you!” she cried, smiling at his gentle teasing. “So why not do it then?” She gave him a playful slap on his upper arm and he winced, clasping the spot, pretending it had hurt.

“You want me to do this?” he asked. He was looking at her seriously.

“One day I will lose you Harold, we have always known that. If I have to lose you to another woman, then I would rather you did it for the boys.” She looked away and wiped the corner of her eye where a tear had formed. “It would make it easier...”

For a moment, Harold set his lips together and sighed. She did not look at him, but sensed that he was frowning. “You say this to me?” he asked suddenly, but it was not a question, more of a statement. “After all that we have meant to each other – I thought you knew me, Eadgyth. I thought you knew me better than myself! But I must have been wrong to think that, for if it were true, then you know I would never leave you for anyone else.” He stood and took a few steps away from her. Her words had made him angry.

She and Harold rarely exchanged heated words. When they had first met, she had thought him conceited and brash and mistook his outward show of self-confidence as arrogance. The second time she was to meet him, he was lying close death, grateful that she had taken the time to bathe him, change his soiled sheets and spoon feed him like a child. She had grown to love him in the months that followed and although she fought against it, he had won her heart. She came to know that she had loved him from the moment he brazenly kissed her hand with those mocking blue eyes of his gazing at her like some lecherous rogue. She just hadn’t realised it. Since she had agreed to become his handfastned wife, there had been very few times like this, where either one had hurt the other. Now it made her feel uncomfortable. She went to him and from behind, put her arms around him. He tautened, but did not pull away.

“If I have hurt you, my Lord, then please forgive me. It was not my intention,” she whispered as a lone tear rolled down her cheek. “I was trying to make it easier for us...”

“Easier?” he swung around and faced her, his face creased in a frown. “First you tell me to marry, then you tell me you could bear it if it was for Wulfnoth and Hakon. Do you think that when I said to you I would never marry anyone as long as I have you, that I did not mean it?”

“Harold, please, do not be angry with me. You said when you told me you wanted me to be your handfastned wife, that as the son of an earl, you may one day need to make an official alliance at the behest of the King for the sake of the kingdom. I have known all these years that we are together on borrowed time.”

“That was then, before I knew that our hearts and souls would always be as one. I couldn’t have known then that I would not want to put you aside, as I do not now.”

“But it will happen one day Harold –”

“And have I not resisted any attempts the King or my sister has made to wed me to some foreign princess?” She made to protest again, but he caught her shoulders. “I wish I could shake some sense into you, my beautiful, selfless Swannehaels!”

“Please, my love, do not be angry with me,” she cried, throwing herself into his arms. “I only thought of it because I saw how unhappy you were for Wulfnoth and Hakon.”

He stroked her hair. “My lady has been told that she need never worry, for she will never lose her lord, no matter what happens. You and the children are all I could ever need, Eadgyth. You are the one most constant in my life and will always be.”

As they stood there, in the strengthening wind, locked within each other’s arms, his words comforted her. She felt a sense of relief that although she would have been prepared for it, she didn’t have to lose him. Not right then, anyhow.

 

The Wolf Banner is the sequel to Sons Sons of the Wolf which you can purchase on Amazon UK/Com and Waterstones, The World Book Depository and Barnes and Noble.

 

Photograph care of Rich Price

This weekend I am taking part in an exciting Bank Holiday Blog Hop which involves lots of other really good bloggers, each of whom are giving a prize to those who enter their contests. It wont be difficult to enter, just follow the links to each blog and do what's asked. The theme of the blog hop is Heroes and Villains and everyone will be writing up a great blog post about their ideas about what this subject means to them so not only will you have the chance to win books and other prizes, but you'll be able to read all the great stuff people have written about their hero or their villain. Mine is basically about my character Wulfhere from Sons of the Wolf. but I won't say any more because I don't want to spoil it for you. See you next week peeps. Below is a list of people participating!

Niki Blatchley, Martin Bolton, Debra Brown, Adran Chamberlain, Mike Cooley, Karin Cox, Joanna Fay, Peter B Forster, Ron Fritsch, Mai Griffin, Joanne Hall, Jolea M Harrison, Sue Tinney Heath, Eleni Konstantine, Kyle Lewis, Liz Long, Peter Lukes, Mark McClelland, Edward M McNally, Sue Millard, Leilani Miller, Ginger Myrick, David Pilling, E M Powell, Kim Rendfeld, Terry L Smith, Tara West, Keith Yatsuhashi

BRAG medallionwinner

 

Welcome to my Blog post for the Historical Book Fair  kindly hosted by Francine Howarth. This is a great opportunity for us authors to allow readers a snippet of our work. I thought I would let some of my characters tell their story themselves. First though, please read a blurb from the back of the jacket.

 

1054, pious King Edward sits on the throne, spending his days hunting, sleeping and praying, leaving the security and administration of his kingdom to his much more capable brother-in-law Harold Godwinson, the powerful Earl of Wessex. Against this backdrop we meet Wulfhere, a Sussex thegn who, as the sun sets over the wild forest of Andredesweald, is returning home victoriously from a great battle in the north. Holding his lands directly from the King, his position demands loyalty to Edward himself, but Wulfhere is duty-bound to also serve Harold, a bond forged within Wulfhere’s family heritage and borne of the ancient Teutonic ideology of honour and loyalty.

Wulfhere is a man with the strength and courage of a bear, a warrior whose loyalty to his lord and king is unquestionable. He is also a man who holds his family dear and would do anything to protect them. So when Harold demands that he wed his daughter to the son of Helghi, his sworn enemy, Wulfhere has to find a way to save his daughter from a life of certain misery as the daughter-in-law of the cruel and resentful Helghi, without comprising his honour and loyalty to his lord, Harold.

On Battle fields he fights for his life, but the enemy is to be found closer to home, a far sinister and shadowy enemy than he can ever know.....

 

Sons of the Wolf is a snap shot of medieval life and politics as the events that lead to the downfall of Anglo-Saxon England play out, immersing the reader in the tapestry of life as it was before the Domesday Book. With depictions of everyday life experienced through the minds of the people of the times; of feasts in the Great Halls to battles fought in the countryside, it cannot help but enlighten, educate and entertain.

 

 

Now Please welcome the children of Horstede, here to tell you their stories.

 

 



 





Freyda

"I am the daughter of Wulfhere and I was fourteen when his story started. My father was the thegn of our village znd I loved him dearly and he loved me as his favourite. I had always known I was his favourite child. He could deny me nothing. But it all went wrong for me and him when he came back from warring in the Northern lands where he had fought a terrible battle against the Scots. You see, I had fallen in love with the son of our neighbour, Helghi of Gorde. All that summer whilst Father was away, I sneaked away to meet him in the forest. I knew it was forbidden for any of us to talk to any of the people from Gorde, but I had no idea why. I had no idea of the depth of animosity that ran between our fathers. Edgar was a handsome lad, but he had a crippled leg. His father blamed my father for it, something to do with a horse that my father had sold his father, although he had warned Helghi that the horse was not suitable for a boy; Edgar had only been a child at the time and the horse had thrown him and broken his leg. Neither Edgar nor I could see that this was a problem. But soon we were to find out that we were two young lovers stuck in the middle of a blood feud that we knew nothing about. We were soon to learn that the rivers of hatred ran deeper than any of us could ever have known. A hatred that would tear us apart and never die until one of our fathers was dead.”

 

Winflaed

“I was only 8 years old when our saga began; and two years younger than my brother Tovi, my closest companion in my short childhood. Life was wonderful for us until the day my father was sent a package from the Lady of Waldron. That day was the day that would change our lives forever. Tovi and I used to spend our summer days running through the forest, playing amongst the woods and the stream and the pond where we used to swim. Once we caught our sister Freyda, swimming with her paramour, Edgar Helghison. We knew it was forbidden for any of us to speak to the Helghisons, but we didn’t really know why. Of course seeing our big sister with Edgar was a great source of amusement and we used it to our advantage. Freyda was not very happy that she had to pay for our silence by handing over the brooch and copper plated mirror I was very fond of. But soon all was blown and Freyda and Edgar were found out and I had to return the items very reluctantly and much to my displeasure.

    The day that father received the package, Tovi and I had been hunting with some of the village children.  We were running like foxes through the woodland path when we met the man from Waldron, scaring his horse into throwing him off. Unfortunately he was hurt and  his horse had run away, so he was unable to continue on to Horstede to finish his mission which was to give my father this little mysterious package from the Lady Alfgyva who lived in Waldron. With the innocence of children, we offered to take it to my father. If only we had not, for some reason, Tovi and I would always blame ourselves for that mysterious package contained something that would drive a wedge between our mother and father forever. If I could turn back the time, from that day, I would, for life was to change dramatically for us all.”

 

Tovi

“My father, Wulfhere, thegn of Horstede was bred for war. He learned from a young age to fight with a spear first and then sword and axe. And it was also from a young age that he taught me and my twin brothers Wulfhere to fight too. I loved my father, but one day I was to catch him out and that was the day that my life changed. I began to see my father for the flawed human he truly was. But he always tried to be good to me and to my brothers and sisters and for that I would always respect him. Life was not always good for me in our household. My older brothers hated me, I never knew why. I think it was just their way. They loved to torment me and once they hung me from a tree to stop me from going hunting with the Earl. I was so excited that Father had said I could go and they stopped it from happening. Then another time they hung me down a well and almost drowned me because I stopped them from using my younger sister Winflaed as target practice. Luckily Father caught them and pulled me out. They were punished, but I never found out how. But you could be sure that they were not beaten. Father was not one for punishing us in that way.

    One happy thing in my life was my little sister Winflaed. She and I were allies against the tormenting twins. I wasn’t always very nice to her, but she always took my side, no matter what. But the worst thing in our lives was yet to come in the shape of a blood feud. No one could ever know what it was like to have your life blighted by one until you have experienced it yourself. My Father was to fight on many a bloody field, but sometimes the enemy was closer to home, far more sinister and deadly than any battle.” 

 

 

See Reviews

 

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An update on the new Novel and some Quick facts about women in Anglo Saxon England

Its been a long time since I updated this blog, I am currently working on the sequel to Sons of the Wolf which is called The Wolf Banner. I am going through the first re-write and the first edit with my new editor Michelle Gent of Gingernut Books and immensely enjoying this new partnership. Exciting times for Wulfhere and his family.

In the meantime, I will leave you with some interesting discoveries I have made in my research about women in this exciting era in history. If you would like to buy a copy of Sons of the Wolf, here are the links to it: Amazon UK  Amazon.com Waterstones

THE IMPORTANCE OF WOMEN IN HIGH STATUS ROLES

Much has been said about women being mere pawns in medieval society and that they had little say in the affairs of men but in her very insightful look at Women in Anglo Saxon England  Christine Fell has presented evidence that shows that women were far more intelligent, educated and efficient than previously given credit for. We are talking about high status women here of course, the average peasant lady, though most likely just as efficient and intelligent, would not have played much more of an important role beyond her scope, however, she too had laws to protect her and could own her own property aside from her husband.

Edith, Queen of Edward the Confessor, was known to have controlled the Royal Treasury and saw to it that Edward was arrayed in the splendour that befitted his office as King of the English Kingdoms. She was a highly intellectual woman, having been educated by one of the most popular high achieving academic nunneries in England, Wilton Abbey. According to Pauline Stafford in Queen Emma and Queen Edith Edward's queen had 5 goldsmiths to help design and make these trappings for the Royal Couple. As she held the keys to the Treasury, Edith was in control of Winchester. Edith's remit appears to have been  the ceremonial organisation of the court and she was a great landowner in her own right as is shown in the Domesday Book.

In the Domesday Book, a Lady called 'Eddiva' by the Norman scribes, whom we may believe to be Edith Swanneck, Harold Godwinson's handfastened wife. Handfastened meant that their union was not sanctified by a Church ceremony. To the Secular community, this did not mean that she was a mistress or a concubine. She was just as legally recognised as a wife as any other. however, because the union was more danico, this meant that Harold could be free to make a more political marriage if he needed to. So her union to Harold, we can assume was a 'love match', although we can also conjecture that there may have been some other motive for the union because a great deal of her lands  fell within his first Earldom of East Anglia.  This other Edith was no pawn either. She held land in Buckinghamshire, Hertfordhire, Cambridgeshire, Essex and Suffolk and perhaps Lincolnshire and Yorkshire.  This is estimated to around 27,000 acres.  She also had many free men commended to her service and would have brought a great deal of support to Harold as his wife. Unfortunately after the invasion of the Normans, her lands were confiscated and we do not hear of her beyond this. She was said to have identified the body of her husband Harold after the slaughter of Hastings in 1066. It seems as Harold's lady, she may have kept a low profile as far as court was concerned as we do not see her name recorded in official duties as such, however her obvious wealth and landholdings made her a potentially powerful woman.

According to a statement in the Liber Eliensis, a chronicle written on the history of Ely Abbey and the lives of the saints, some women were able to maintain their independence by rejecting marriage and running their own household. It mentions Aelswith, who in the 11thc did just that and retired to her manor at Coveney with her women and spent her time embroidering and weaving such splendid vestments at her won expense, four of which were singled out for special comment, made of gold thread. These were gifted to the church of Ely. Aeslwith must have been a woman of strong character to have sustained herself and avoided marriage without having to become a nun.

                                                                     





WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN MARRIAGE

The laws governing women's rights were improved upon as time went by. Aethelbert's original law codes  were improved on by Aelfred and then the laws of Aethelred improved upon them even more. Christine Fell believes that this may not have been due to a particular movement to create better conditions for women but more so that the tradtions of the Viking incursions and the influence the church was having on the law codes had changed by the time the 11thc came about. In any case, women were protected by these laws. There were laws to protect women from seduction, sexual assault and forced marriages. Aethelred's 1008 code states that a widow should remain unmarried for at least a year then she can choose as she wishes whether or not she can remarry. One wonders if a council of noble women were consulted on these laws or if they were wholly constructed by the men of the Witan.

SUMMARY

Doris Stenton had access to primary sources as a medieval specialist. She also could, as Christine Fell states in her book Women in Anglo Saxon England also have access to all of her husband Frank Stenton's work on the Anglo Saxons so we can in truth, precisely rely on her summary.

To paraphrase  from Doris Stenton's The English Woman in History, published in 1956, one can believe that all the surviving evidence  points to the fact that women were in law the equal to their husbands and brothers in pre-conquest time. Furhtermore, she even goes on to state that she believed that this was more so in Anglo Saxon England than any other era up until the modern age.



These are just some of the things about women from this era. I hope you enjoyed reading!

Links to my other blogs Threads to the Past 
                                        Paula Peruses
                                                                            picture care of Rich Price

THE WOLF BANNER IS RISING!



So it has been sometime since I updated my blog, I have been busy with Christmas and other things. However I have some exciting news about my new project, the second book in the Sons of the Wolf series, The Wolf Banner is coming!

For those that aren't familiar with my novel Sons of the Wolf, it is a historical novel set in  11thc England and you can read a brief synopsis here and an excerpt here. It follows the fortunes of an English warrior, Wulfhere and his Lord, Harold Godwinson. The theme which runs through the book is centred around a blood feud between Wulfhere and his Neighbour Helghi. Both characters have been brought to life from the Domesday Book, William the Conqueror's survey of England in 1086. They are the names of the men who owned the land around Little Horsted, near Uckfield in Sussex. In the Domesday book you can find information about their landholding and their property, but not their characters; their lives in my novel is my creation.

.The Wolf Banner continues on from where Sons of the Wolf left off. For those who have read the first novel, you will know how it ends but for those who haven't I shall not spoil it by saying anymore, however, The Wolf Banner covers more of both Wulfhere's and Harold's lives and the feud between Wulfhere and his nemesis Helghi, deepens. Helghi's threat to destroy Wulfhere takes on a more ominous t...hread and threatens to spill further into the lives of the two communities in which they live, Horstede and Gorde.
The storyline also broadens and will take the reader into Wales where we meet again the characters only touched on in the first book, Gruffydd, the Welsh King, Alfgar, his daughter Aldtih, whom he has married off to Gruffydd and Burghred, his son, desperately caught between his loyalty to his father and his English King. They flesh out the plot and will (I hope) serve to make the story more exciting. 
The Wolf is an emblem of Wulfhere's ancestry when his forebears came to the land south of the Thames and created the Kingdom of the South Saxons, Sussex. The wolf was a feared animal, a representative of the carnage caused by battle-the corpse eaters, they would appear when ever doom was about to befall men. Wulfhere's ancestors wore the skins in battle, to make them appear more fearsome in battle. To the enemy, they were bringing death to them.
Wulfhere's daughter Winflaed finds and repairs an old banner that belonged to her grandfather and his fathers before him and just as Wulfhere is readying to ride off to fight the Vikings again, she presents it to him. He takes it with him, proudly displaying for all to see as he goes to into battle to defend the homeland that his forefathers, the Sea Wolves, created for him.

Wolf Banner drawing by Gayle Copper of Steelpoint Tattoos

 

Stamford Bridge: The battle that ended an era: The Conclusion

 

The Norwegians have landed and have defeated the northern earls, brothers Morcar and Edwin, at Gate Fulford. Harold has marched north, gathering an army as he goes, to face his brother Tostig and King Harald of Norway as they unwittingly waited at Stamford Bridge for hostages and  supplies to arrive from York.

Stamford Bridge crossed the River Derwent a few miles south of York and was far enough away from York to be of little further threat to the city and half way between York and where the Norwegians had left their ships at Riccall. Harald, the  King of Norway, commonly known later as Hardraada, with the somewhat inimitable reputation and King Harold of England's implacable brother, Tostig, had brokered a deal with the defeated leaders of York that they would meet them here at this little settlement with the agreed 150 hostages and provisions that were promised. On Monday, September the 25th, their men were camped on both sides of the river Derwent. It was a warm sunny day and they were enjoying the warm weather. Then came the storm in a form of a dust cloud. The marching feet of thousands of infantry and horsemen could be seen, their glittering weapons and steel tipped spears sparkling like shards of broken ice. Harold Godwinson and his army were about to fall upon them in a surprise assault.  


The battle as drawn by
Tony Wait

 There are a variety of versions of the prelude to the battle, having done my best to piece the known evidence together, I have consolidated them into what seems the most feasible interpretation. What seems to be pretty conclusive is that unfortunately for  the Norsemen, they had gone to Stamford Bridge to meet the English hostages without their maille, the very thing necessary for survival in a battle. They did however, carrry their helmets, shields and weapons. The chronicles all agree that this was due to the warm and sunny weather and having defeated the Northern armies quite decisively at Gate Fulford, they were  certainly not expecting to have to use them so soon after their victory in York. Half of Hardrada's forces were back at Riccall with the fleet, led by his son Olaf and the Earl of Orkney. Some of his men had been out rounding up cattle (Rex 2011) and were on the open ground on the west bank of the river when the scouts spotted Harold's army approaching them. Marren (2004), in his book about the battles of 1066, describes the bridge by 11thc reckoning as being wide enough for the roads which reached the bridge, to go through it. This seems a reasonable reckoning seeing as the roads continue out to the battle flats and beyond.

According to Snorri Sturluson, Harold wanted to parley first, offering his brother peace and his former earldom back, plus more. Other sources state that Harold came upon them on horseback and swooped down on the Vikings on the open ground of the west bank, catching them unawares. They cut them down, slashing and spearing them.  The Norwegians fought to create a circular shieldwall as the horses ride round them. In the meantime, Hardrada rallies his men over from the east bank to cross the bridge in a boar-snout, Svinfylking,  to come to their aid as he sees the English ride them down. Despite losing many men, Harald of Norway manages to form a circular shieldwall and with his famous Landwaster banner flapping in the wind, get his men back to the bridge and across the otherside as the English are recoiling from this ferocious attack. 

Many of the sagas report the English use of cavalry, although there is some discrepency from historians as to the validity of it. The English were generally thought to favour fighting on foot as infantry, however this battle would not have been the first  that had seen the English fight on horseback as they did at The Battle of Hereford. It seems reasonable enough to believe that if Harold and his huscarles had journeyed on horse along that road from York,  seeing the Norwegians camped by the river, Harold may have felt that to stage a mounted surprise attack  would have given them the edge, rather than wasting time dismounting.

Once over the bridge, Hardrada was able to take in the gravity of the situation. There he was with just half his of his  lightly armed warriors, facing the hordes of English soldiers with only the bridge and the river between them. Both sides would have paused to regroup and marshall their troops ready for the next clash. At some point King Harald was said to have sent 3 riders to summon the rest of his forces back at Riccall to re-inforce his outnumbered army.

This would have been a good time to parley and if Snorri's version is to be believed, it was Harold who wanted to parley. Both kings are said to have ridden up to their respective riverbanks on their horses. Tostig was with Hardrada, perhaps to translate. Harold adressed his brother and offered him terms, saying that he would give him a third of his kingdom in return for abandoning the invasion.

Tostig is said to have answered with this: "This is very different to the hostility and humiliation offered to me last winter.If this offer had been made then, many a man who is dead now would still be alive and England would be in a better state. But if I accept this offer now, what will you offer
King Harald Siggurdsson for all his effort?"
Harold was alleged to have replied, "7ft of ground as he is much taller than other men."
Tostig rejects his offer and  tells Harold to make ready for battle.

As said before, Snorri is not a reliable source so we dont know if this particular conversation happened. However, although these were violent times, men would have wanted to avoid dying in battle of they could without compromising their honour. It is doubtful however that Harold would have agreed to give Tostig his earldom back and more, without incurring the wrath of the northerners who had fought hard to get rid of Harold's brother. They may have been disillusioned by the brothers Morcar and Edwin who failed to avert the disaster at Gate Fulford but I doubt they would have been happy to have Tostig back in the seat of his earldom. Additionally, Harold would have wanted to keep the young earls on side as they were his brother-in-laws. English sources state nothing of the initial parley and terms offered by Harold and rejected by Tostig and Hardrada. The version they offer state that Harold surprised them unawares beyond the bridge and they 'fought sternly' into the afternoon, whatever their idea of 'sternly' was. 



The warrior on the bridge
drawn by Gayle Copper

The most singular feature of this battle is the story that the bridge was held for sometime against the English by a somewhat fearsome Viking with an axe who prevented them from crossing, killing any man who attempted to attack him. He was wearing a maille shirt, obviously one of the few who had decided to bring his. Aforethought is forewarned perhaps; it's a shame that none of the others did. However though, after holding them back for sometime, a quickthinking Englishman waded under the bridge and spears him up through his under carriage and the English are free to cross the bridge.This story is the stuff of legend and is added to Chronicle C in the 12thc and it is also repeated by several other writers so there maybe some credence to it.

Once the great warrior is out of the way, the English storm across the bridge and the Norwegians form their shieldwall. According to the sagas, the English repeatedly charge on horse at them. This was probably not an pre-meditated attempt at an organised cavalry charge, more likely it was intended to catch men who had been caught out in the open on foot. The fighting was hard and went on into the late afternoon. Hardrada ordered for his banner, the black raven, 'Landwaster' to be brought forward and he ran out ahead of his men in a mad charge like the one he had led at Fulford, hoping to repeat his victory as he had done then. But his huge torso was unprotected and he was hit by an arrow in the throat, though not before he had hewn and sliced many men with his terrible two handed Dane Axe. Those that had followed his charge died with him and there came a pause in the fighting. The great Norwegian King had choked on his blood and died. As everyone took time to take it all in and perhaps remove Harald's body to a place of safety, the English Harold offered quarter to his brother and the beleaguered Norwegian troops.

Vikings hurrying to the battle from Riccall

Tostig now was in charge, however the death of Harald Hardrada must have had a devastating effect on morale. It was he they had come to fight for, not Tostig, but the younger Godwinson was all that they had left. Suddenly though, at this point, they were soon to have another commander, Eystein Orri, as the re-inforcements came pouring in from Riccall, exhausted from running several miles and dusty and sweating from the heat and their heavy mail. This last phase of the battle was to become known as 'Orri's storm'. Thus the Norwegians spurned the offer of quarter and they made one final devastaing charge at the English, many of whom were  been killed in the fresh enslaught. Such was the rage that the Norwegians felt at having ran for miles to find that their leader was dead. Such was their desire for revenge that they fought valiantly, some having to throw off their maille because they were so exhausted. But the Vikings were unable to maintain the momentum. Orri fought to the death as did Tostig. Some collapsed, fatigued by the stress of the battle and the harrowing journey on foot from Riccall.

The Norse poet Arnor later tells us:

It was an evil moment
When norway's king lay fallen;

Gold inlaid weapons                                                      
Brought death to Norway's leader.

All King Harald's warriors
Preferred to die beside him,
Sharing their brave king's fate,
Rather than beg for mercy.     

Some of the enemy survivors made their escape and were pursued by the English and given no quarter when it had been already twice refused. No prisoners were taken. The fleeing Norwegians, and we must not forget the Flemmings that had come with Tostig, were chased back to the fleet where, as darkness fell the English 'fiercely attack them from behind until some of them came to ship, some drowned, and also some burnt, and thus variously perished, so that there were few survivors, and the English had possession of the place of slaughter' (Anglo Saxon Chronicle D). The author of the chronicle then went on to say that Harold rounded up the survivors and offered them safe conduct if they would swear oaths before him to leave this land and keep the peace of these islands. Amongst these was King Harald's son, Olaf, who did as he was bid, promising never to return with hostility to these lands. He and their Bishop and  Earl Paul of Orkney were sent home with only 24 of the 300 odd ships they had sailed with. Such was their loss of men that only 24 were needed to carry them home. It must have been a traumatic turn around of events for the survivors that they should come so far for a great victory at Fulford, only to have their hopes of invading dashed within a few days.The great God of War, Hardrada, had proved himself to be destructable after all. The big man's luck had run out at last.

This was the last time that Scandinavian forces would attempt an invasion on such a massive scale. This was the end of the Viking threat to England, but their bones would lay scattered over fields in Yorkshire, visible to the travellers eye, for some years to come after this year of 1066.

References
Marren P (2004) 1066 The Battles of York, Stamford Bridge & Hastings Pen and Sword books Ltd, Yorkshire.
Morris M (2012) The Norman Conquest Hutchinson, London.
Rex P (2011) 1066 A New History of the Norman Conquest Amberley Publishing, Gloucestershire.
Swanton M (200) The Anglo-Saxon Chronichles (rev. ed) Phoenix Press, London.

To read the first episodes in the series click here for part one and here and to read more about these times check out Sons of the Wolf