February 2012
1 post
July 2011
1 post
'...slaying our miserable people.'
1011 AD was no cakewalk for England. The English had their hands full once again with a rampaging Viking army, as this entry in the Anglo Saxon Chronicle details.
This year sent the king and his council to the army, and desired peace; promising them both tribute and provisions, on condition that they ceased from plunder. They had now overrun East-Anglia, and Essex, and Middlesex, and...
May 2011
1 post
OUT NOW! Chronicle II of The Raven & the Wolf
Land of Ire is the second chronicle of my Viking/Anglo Saxon Age drama/action/suspense series. Set two years after the end of Blood Oath, Land of Ire follows Wulfric Orvarsson on his ill-starred journey through England and across the sea to forbidding lands where he must wage both an internal and external struggle in order to salvage the lives of his kinfolk. Fast-paced, heart-stopping and...
April 2011
3 posts
Viking Art of War: The Strandhögg
Apart from the wealth of factual medieval literary accounts of Viking depredations across the face of Northern Europe, the Icelandic Sagas feature numerous accounts of barbaric raiding by Norse pirates during the Viking Age. What many readers of such tales are not aware of is that there was an actual term that related to these raids. The strandhögg was not merely a haphazard and disorderly...
March 2011
1 post
Chronicle II of The Raven & the Wolf nearing...
I am in the final stretch of the second book, a sequel to The Raven & the Wolf: Blood Oath. Details on title and expected publication forthcoming.
January 2011
1 post
An Account of the Battle of Clontarf
On the 23rd of April, 1014, Brian Boru led an army of Munster and Connacht Irishmen, Manx Viking mercenaries and Dal Caissan warriors to the fields of Clontarf, Ireland. Arrayed against him were nearly 7,000 warriors led by Máel Mórda and Sigtrygg Silkbeard. Brian’s enemies were a hodge-podge force of Norsemen from the Orkney Islands and the Isle of Man as well as local militias from...
December 2010
1 post
Yule Feasting in the Dark Ages
As winter’s shadow darkens its time to reflect on the olden ceremony of Yule. The Venerable Bede wrote of the Anglo-Saxon Yule celebration in 730 AD, commenting:
“They began the year with December 25, the day some now celebrate as Christmas; and the very night to which we attach special sanctity they designated by the heathen term Mōdraniht, that is, the mothers’ night — a...
November 2010
4 posts
Viking Siege of Paris - 1125 Years On →
Beginning on the 25th of November, 885 and lasting until October of 886, a Danish/Norse army under Sigfred and Hrolf sailed up France’s Seine river in a bid to take the city of Paris. A few chronicles detailing the attack survive and paint a vivid picture of the events of this momentous struggle. Among the most striking accounts comes from the hand of Abbo Cernuus, a Benedictine monk...
Did Viking Settlers Bring Amerindians Back to... →
A fascinating study is investigating the presence of American Indian genes in the Icelandic population. Its generally agreed that Norse settlers, probably lead by Leif Ericsson, arrived in North America around 1000 AD, setting up a small colony of some 50 individuals. Norse Sagas relate trade, tension and eventual conflict with Native American tribes so it seems reasonable the Norse...
Massacre of the Danes on St. Brice's Day →
On November 13th, 1002 AD, an uprising against the Danish settlers in England took place. By order of King Aethelred the Unraed (often referred to as “the Unready”) all Danes were to be exterminated from the isle. This became known as the St. Brice’s Day Massacre. This article covers some archaeological finds that might be evidence of that dark day in English history.
Queen Eadgyth (910 - 946 AD) Re-buried →
Daughter of King Alfred and half-sister to King Athelstan, Eadgyth was betrothed to Emperor Otto of Germany in 929 AD. After her death she was entombed beneath a cathedral and over the centuries was moved multiple times. Her skeletal remains are not complete but were intact enough to give archaeologists a glimpse back 1,100 years at one of the more prominent female figures of the period. She has...
September 2010
1 post
Who were the Norse-Gaels? →
When reading historical fiction, particularly fiction set 1100 years in the past, its important to understand various terms describing places and peoples. Ethnic groups change over time and so to those readers who struggle to make sense of some of the terms in my book, here is a little history lesson! Click on the title of this blog entry to read about the Norse-Gaels of the 9-10th centuries.
August 2010
2 posts
Viking Danevirke Gatehouse Discovered →
The Danevirke is a system of Danish fortifications in Schleswig-Holstein (Northern Germany). This important linear defensive earthwork was constructed across the neck of the Cimbrian peninsula during Denmark’s Viking Age.
For a century, archeologists have been looking for a gate through a wall built by the Vikings in northern Europe. This summer, it was found. Researchers now believe the...
A sequel...a sequel...my kingdom for a sequel!
Those who have completed their read of The Raven & the Wolf: Blood Oath and have posted reviews or otherwise contacted me to provide their feedback seem to be clamoring for a sequel. Well, you need not ask as this was part of the master plan all along! I have begun the follow-up to the first chronicle and am plugging right along nicely. I won’t reveal the title just yet but it was...
June 2010
3 posts
First feedback is trickling in...
The novel has been out for about two months and the first readers are nearing the final chapters. As far as I can tell the first person to finish the novel is a friend of mine who absolutely loved it.
Currently my priority is getting a good publishing deal and working on the next Chronicle for the series, which I have already started. The next installment will be a breathless page turner more...
April 2010
2 posts
Click here to order the novel! →
Alternatively the book can be obtained through Amazon.com or Barnesandnoble.com.
March 2010
5 posts
The Harvest Season is Upon Us
Given that spring time is upon us here are some interesting tidbits on Anglo Saxon farming.
Farming. In the countryside the vast majority of the people lived by farming. At first most of the farms were owned outright. The ceorls worked cooperatively, sharing the expense of a team of oxen to plow the large common fields in narrow strips that were shared out alternately so that each farmer had an...
Viking Mass Grave Unearthed in Dorset, UK →
Fascinating discovery made recently in England during preparatory construction for the 2012 Olympics. What appears to have taken place was a mass execution of Vikings (likely from Norway based on analysis of isotopic ratios in the teeth). The men were beheaded and I’ll chance a guess that they were involved in a battle with a local Saxon militia, surrendered and were summarily executed.
January 2010
2 posts
1 tag
Origins of The Raven & the Wolf
I embarked on this novel series as more of a personal challenge some two and a half years ago. The genesis of the story itself was rooted in my rather accidental discovery of an old news article from a British publication.
It was late spring of 2005 when, while researching something or another on Viking age battles in England I stumbled upon a story concerning the “discovery” of a...