A Time for Swords

by Matthew Harffy

  The layout of Warkworth is based on the disposition of minster buildings of the time. The monastery buildings would be separated from those of the lay people by a vallum, or ditch, that encircled the minster. This was symbolic of the separation from the worldly of the brethren within. The later thirteenth-century castle at Warkworth looms high above the village on a motte. But there is evidence that this man-made hill was created on top of an older earthwork. There is also what looks like a defensive ditch to the south that predates the castle and even the Anglo-Saxon period. So I have chosen to have Werce’s Hall, situated on this lower, but still significant, elevation in the south portion of the piece of land that is almost surrounded by the river.

  Monastic hours and the names of the offices have changed over time, but it seems likely that at this time in history Lauds was not celebrated, rather the dawn prayer was Matins. There would also have been a series of Vigils, or Nocturns, during the night.

  The books that are mentioned in the scriptoria are all real and would be volumes that a monk at the end of the eighth century might well have read or worked on. The exception is The Treasure of Life. It is unlikely a Northumbrian monk would have stumbled on a copy, but that book too is based on reality. The title is one of the books written in the third century by an Iranian named Mani. His works and teachings went on to spawn Manichaeism, a major religion that spread quickly across the known world and in many regions vied for supremacy with Christianity, Buddhism and Islam. Manichaeism is a dualist religion, in which God is not omnipotent and the earth and humans are a battleground between the light goodness of God and the evil darkness of the Devil. Mani believed that the teachings of Buddha, Zoroaster and Jesus were incomplete, and that his revelations, which he called the “Religion of Light”, were for the entire world. The Manichaean religion was repressed and persecuted, and copies of Mani’s teachings were destroyed as heretical. However, it was still practised as late as the fourteenth century in parts of China. In Europe, later religions, deemed to be heretical and persecuted by the Inquisition, such as the Cathar church, were collectively known as “Manichaean” and were clearly influenced by the teachings of Mani.

  Mani’s writings would originally have been in Syriac Aramaic, so a book of his teachings in Latin would have been a marvel for a scholar and theologian such as Leofstan.

  The covers of early medieval books were often decorated with incredible craftsmanship, adding the value of gold and gems to the almost priceless contents of learning and knowledge within them. I have largely based the description of the cover of The Treasure of Life on the lower cover of the Lindau Gospels that dates from the eighth century.

  Paulinus founded St Peter’s School and York Minster in 627. I have assumed that the town would pay special attention to the feast day of St Peter as a result of their church’s dedication to that saint. The feast is on 29 June and again I have made an assumption that for several days prior to the actual feast day, festivities would take place in the city. Incidentally, St Peter’s School in York is still going strong and is the fourth oldest school in the world. The aforementioned Alcuin was also one of its headmasters for a time before heading to the continent to teach Charlemagne’s children.

  As far as I am aware there is no evidence for an immersion baptismal font in St Peter’s Church in York. But as the capital of Northumbria and the episcopal see, it seemed possible that such a font might exist, despite the abundance of water nearby where baptisms could be performed. Royalty and nobility usually prefer to be baptised in comfort. The cruciform shape of the font, with the three steps leading down into it, is based on early medieval fonts found throughout Christendom.

  A quick note about the use of the word “Christendom”. It is an Anglo-Saxon term, probably invented in the ninth century by a scribe somewhere in southern England (quite possibly at the court of King Alfred the Great of Wessex). The scribe in question was translating History Against the Pagans by Paulus Orosius. Needing a word to express the concept of the universal culture focused on Jesus Christ, the scribe coined the term “Christendom”. At that time the word was akin to the modern word “Christianity”. It has since evolved and I have used it in its modern context of meaning the “Christian World”.

  Coquet Island was owned by the Lindisfarne community and there is evidence of a monk’s cell there. So it is not much of a stretch to imagine a solitary monk living there in isolation following the most ascetic monastic lifestyle.

  The Anglo-Saxons loved to riddle. The rather obscene riddles told by Hereward during the feast when the warriors first arrive at Warkworth are taken directly from the Exeter Book. Also known as the Codex Exoniensis, the Exeter Book is a tenth-century anthology of Anglo-Saxon poetry. In fact, it is the largest known existing collection of Old English literature.

  At the end of A Time for Swords, Hunlaf has put down his quill to rest, perhaps for death to claim him. But if he manages to stay alive for a few more weeks or months, hopefully he will take up pen and ink once more and tell the tales he has only hinted at so far. Tales of his journeys across the known world, to places most men of the early medieval period would never even have heard of, let alone dreamt of visiting. It is clear that by the twilight of his life Hunlaf had seen many wondrous things and I hope he managed to get more of them down onto vellum before he succumbed to whatever illness ailed him in his old age.

  But whatever other tales he will tell, they will be for another day. And other books.

  Acknowledgements

  As always, thank you, dear reader, for taking the time to read this book. The modern world is a hectic place and I know how difficult it can be to find the time to read a book. I hope you have found this one to be worth the effort. If you have enjoyed it, please spread the word to others who haven’t yet discovered my writing. And if you have a moment, please consider leaving a short review on your online store of choice. Reviews really do help new readers find books and decide on one they might otherwise not take a chance on.

  Extra special thanks to Jon McAfee, Anna Bucci, Roger Dyer, Robert Vicky McGuire, Emma Stone, Holly Smith and Mary Faulkner for their generous patronage. To find out more about becoming a patron, and what rewards you can receive for doing so, please go to www.matthewharffy.com.

  Thanks to my test readers, Gareth Jones, Alex Forbes, Clive Harffy, Shane Smart and Simon Blunsdon. Their input into the early draft was invaluable in improving the manuscript.

  I must extend my gratitude to Tim Hodkinson and Matt Bunker, both of whom were quick to help me pinpoint the correct date of the first Viking attack on Lindisfarne and to explain to me how the confusion with the date arose.

  Special thanks to Dr Kate Wiles for her advice on the Old English and to Phil Lavender for help with one of the trickier Old Norse terms. Any linguistic errors in the final text are my own.

  No book reaches publication without a lot of help, so thank you to my editor, Nicolas Cheetham, and all of the wonderful team at Head of Zeus. With every book they produce I am in awe of the quality. I do my best with the writing, but the wonderful professionals at Head of Zeus are responsible for creating the beautiful books that end up on bookshelves and in your hands.

  Thanks to the incredibly supportive online community of historical fiction authors and readers who connect with me regularly on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. My writing career would be a lot more isolated without the ability to connect with like-minded people via the Internet.

  And finally, but of course not least, my undying thanks and love to my family. To my daughters for putting up with me and keeping me grounded, and to my gorgeous wife, Maite (Maria to her work colleagues), for her endless support, wise counsel and, of course, love.

  Matthew Harffy

  Wiltshire, May 2020

  About the Author

  Matthew grew up in Northumberland where the rugged terrain, ruined castles and rocky coastline had a huge impact on him. He now lives in Wiltshire, England, with his wife and their two daughters.

  @M
atthewHarffy www.matthewharffy.com

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  Table of Contents

  By Matthew Harffy

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Contents

  Map

  Epigraph

  Place Names

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Twenty-One

  Twenty-Two

  Twenty-Three

  Twenty-Four

  Twenty-Five

  Twenty-Six

  Twenty-Seven

  Twenty-Eight

  Twenty-Nine

  Thirty

  Thirty-One

  Thirty-Two

  Thirty-Three

  Thirty-Four

  Thirty-Five

  Thirty-Six

  Thirty-Seven

  Thirty-Eight

  Thirty-Nine

  Forty

  Forty-One

  Forty-Two

  Forty-Three

  Forty-Four

  Forty-Five

  Forty-Six

  Forty-Seven

  Forty-Eight

  Forty-Nine

  Fifty

  Fifty-One

  Fifty-Two

  Fifty-Three

  Fifty-Four

  Fifty-Five

  Fifty-Six

  Fifty-Seven

  Fifty-Eight

  Fifty-Nine

  Author’s Note

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  An Invitation from the Publisher