Raider's Wake: A Novel of Viking Age Ireland (The Norsemen Saga Book 6)

by James L. Nelson

  Then Louis began to speak. He spoke Irish and he spoke to Failend, the words as angry-sounding as Thorgrim’s. Thorgrim could not understand it, but he was pretty sure he knew what the Frank was saying, could almost hear his protesting Failend’s interference in a matter of honor.

  Failed turned her back on Thorgrim and spoke to Louis, and Thorgrim could hear the same biting tone. Women, he knew, could often see things in a way he could not understand. It was as if they were able to climb to some place where men could not go, and it gave them a perspective that men could never get.

  She turned away from Louis, back to Thorgrim, switched back to the Northmen’s language. “Louis wants only to be free of Ireland and to get to his home. You want only to be free of Ireland and get to your home. You two have nothing to fight about.”

  Thorgrim lowered his sword. Here was one of the most irritating things about a woman’s perspective. It often made sense, even when Thorgrim did not want to admit as much.

  “Why do you care about this?” Thorgrim asked. “Why should you meddle in our affair?”

  That question seemed to throw Failend off a bit, though Thorgrim could not tell if it was because she had not thought about her own motives, or if because she thought the answer so obvious it was not worth asking the question. Whichever it was, she frowned and seemed to need some time to come up with her reply.

  “Why can’t I stand here and watch you two do this?” she asked. “Can’t you see why not? Even beyond the sheer stupid waste of it all?”

  Thorgrim nodded. He did not reply. But he understood.

  Failend took a step closer. “By God, Thorgrim, don’t we have enough to do now? Hasn’t there been death enough?”

  Thorgrim looked around. The men were watching in silence. What they thought of all this he could not tell. To the east, nearly up on the beach now, was the half-sunk and shattered remains of Sea Hammer, the flotsam that was once Brunhard’s ship, and the second merchantman, run up on the sand, tilted on her side, showing off her crew of dead and wounded men.

  Blood Hawk was heaved up on the sand, and she was damaged as well. How much, Thorgrim did not know. His two other ships, Dragon and Fox were somewhere off to the north. He had barely enough crew to man all those ships. He had no sails for any of them. They were in an unknown country surrounded by people who were strangers to them, but who they could be fairly certain would want them dead.

  And then Thorgrim came to a decision. There was no real thought in it, he was just going by instinct now, doing the thing his heart told him to do. He turned Iron-tooth around and slid the blade back into its scabbard.

  “Tell Louis he will live. For now, anyway,” he said to Failend. He turned to the others. “We have work to do. A lot of work to do.”

  And it was true. Once again they had to gather up the wreckage and piece it together and hope that this time, this time, the gods would finally grant them leave to go.

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  Glossary

  adze – a tool much like an ax but with the blade set at a right angle to the handle.

  Ægir – Norse god of the sea. In Norse mythology he was also the host of great feasts for the gods.

  Asgard – the dwelling place of the Norse gods and goddesses, essentially the Norse heaven.

  athwartships – at a right angle to the centerline of a vessel.

  beitass – a wooden pole, or spar, secured to the side of a ship on the after end and leading forward to which the corner, or clew, of a sail could be secured.

  berserker – a Viking warrior able to work himself up into a frenzy of blood-lust before a battle. The berserkirs, near psychopathic killers in battle, were the fiercest of the Viking soldiers. The word berserkir comes from the Norse for “bear shirt” and is the origin of the modern English “berserk.”

  block – nautical term for a pulley.

  boss – the round, iron centerpiece of a wooden shield. The boss formed an iron cup protruding from the front of the shield, providing a hollow in the back across which ran the hand grip.

  bothach – Gaelic term for poor tenant farmers, serfs

  brace – line used for hauling a yard side to side on a horizontal plane. Used to adjust the angle of the sail to the wind.

  brat – a rectangular cloth worn in various configurations as an outer garment over a leine.

  bride-price – money paid by the family of the groom to the family of the bride.

  byrdingr – a smaller ocean-going cargo vessel used by the Norsemen for trade and transportation. Generally about 40 feet in length, the byrdingr was a smaller version of the more well-known knarr.

  cable – a measure of approximately 600 feet.

  clench nail – a type of nail that, after being driven through a board, has a type of washer called a rove placed over the end and is then bent over to secure it in place.

  clew – one of the lower corners of a square sail, to which the sheet is attached.

  curach – a boat, unique to Ireland, made of a wood frame covered in hide. They ranged in size, the largest propelled by sail and capable of carrying several tons. The most common sea-going craft of mediaeval Ireland. Curach was the Gaelic word for boat which later became the word curragh.

  derbfine – In Irish law, a family of four generations, including a man, his sons, grandsons and great-grandsons.

  dragon ship – the largest of the Viking warships, upwards of 160 feet long and able to carry as many as 300 men. Dragon ships were the flagships of the fleet, the ships of kings.

  dubh gall – Gaelic term for Vikings of Danish descent. It means Black Strangers, a reference to the mail armor they wore, made dark by the oil used to preserve it. See fin gall.

  ell – a unit of length, a little more than a yard.

  eyrir – Scandinavian unit of measurement, approximately an ounce.

  félag – a fellowship of men who owed each other a mutual obligation, such as multiple owners of a ship, or a band of warriors who had sworn allegiance to one another.

  figurehead – ornamental carving on the bow of a ship.

  fin gall – Gaelic term for Vikings of Norwegian descent. It means White Strangers. See dubh gall.

  forestay – a rope running from the top of a ship’s mast to the bow used to support the mast.

  Frisia – a region in the northern part of the modern-day Netherlands.

  Freya – Norse goddess of beauty and love, she was also associated with warriors, as many of the Norse deity were. Freya often led the Valkyrie to the battlefield.

  gallows – tall, T-shaped posts on the ship’s centerline, forward of the mast, on which the oars and yard were stored when not in use.

  gunnel – the upper edge of a ship’s side.

  hack silver – pieces of silver from larger units cut up for distribution.

  halyard – a line by which a sail or a yard is raised.

  Hel – in Norse mythology, the daughter of Loki and the ruler of the underworld where those who are not raised up to Valhalla are sent to suffer. The same name, Hel, is sometimes given to the realm over which she rules, the Norse hell.

  hird – an elite corps of Viking warriors hired and maintained by a king or powerful jarl. Unlike most Viking warrior groups, which would assemble and disperse at will, the hird was retained as a semi-permanent force which formed the core of a Viking army.

  hólmganga – a formal, organized duel fought in a marked off area between two men.

  Haustmánudur – early autumn. Literally, harvest-month.

  hirdsman – a warrior who is a member of the hird.

  jarl – title given to a man of high rank. A jarl might be an independent ruler or subordinate to a king. Jarl is the origin of the English word earl. />
  Jörmungandr – in Norse mythology, a vast sea serpent that surrounds the earth, grasping its own tail.

  knarr – a Norse merchant vessel. Smaller, wider and sturdier than the longship, knarrs were the workhorse of Norse trade, carrying cargo and settlers wherever the Norsemen traveled.

  league – a distance of three miles.

  lee shore – land that is downwind of a ship, on which a ship is in danger of being driven.

  leeward – down wind.

  leech – either one of the two vertical edges of a square sail.

  leine – a long, loose-fitting smock worn by men and women under other clothing. Similar to the shift of a later period.

  levies – conscripted soldiers of ninth century warfare.

  Loki – Norse god of fire and free spirits. Loki was mischievous and his tricks caused great trouble for the gods, for which he was punished.

  longphort – literally, a ship fortress. A small, fortified port to protect shipping and serve as a center of commerce and a launching off point for raiding.

  luchrupán – middle Irish word that became the modern-day leprechaun.

  luff – the shivering of a sail when its edge is pointed into the wind and the wind strikes it on both sides.

  Midgard – one of nine worlds in Norse mythology, it is the earth, the world known and visible to humans.

  Niflheim – the World of Fog. One of the nine worlds in Norse mythology, somewhat analogous to Hell, the afterlife for people who do not die honorable deaths.

  Njord – Norse god of the sea and seafaring.

  Odin – foremost of the Norse gods. Odin was the god of wisdom and war, protector of both chieftains and poets.

  oénach – a major fair, often held on a feast day in an area bordered by two territories.

  perch – a unit of measure equal to 16½ feet. The same as a rod.

  Ragnarok – the mythical final battle when most humans and gods would be killed by the forces of evil and the earth destroyed, only to rise again, purified.

  rath – Gaelic word for a ringfort.

  rod – a unit of measure equal to 16½ feet. The same as a perch

  ringfort – common Irish homestead, consisting of houses protected by circular earthwork and palisade walls.

  rí túaithe – Gaelic term for a minor king, who would owe allegiance to a high king.

  rí ruirech – Gaelic term for a supreme or provincial king, to whom the rí túaithe owe allegiance.

  sceattas – small, thick silver coins minted in England and Frisia in the early Middle Ages.

  seax – any of a variety of edged weapons longer than a knife but shorter and lighter than a typical sword.

  sheer strake – the uppermost plank, or strake, of a boat or ship’s hull. On a Viking ship the sheer strake would form the upper edge of the ship’s hull.

  sheet – a rope that controls a sail. In the case of a square sail the sheets pull the clews down to hold the sail so the wind can fill it.

  shieldwall – a defensive wall formed by soldiers standing in line with shields overlapping.

  shroud – a heavy rope stretching from the top of the mast to the ship’s side that prevents the mast from falling sideways.

  skald – a Viking-era poet, generally one attached to a royal court. The skalds wrote a very stylized type of verse particular to the medieval Scandinavians. Poetry was an important part of Viking culture and the ability to write it a highly regarded skill.

  sling – the center portion of the yard.

  spar – generic term used for any of the masts or yards that are part of a ship’s rig.

  stem – the curved timber that forms the bow of the ship. On Viking ships the stem extended well above the upper edge of the ship and the figurehead was mounted there.

  strake – one of the wooden planks that make up the hull of a ship. The construction technique, used by the Norsemen, in which one strake overlaps the one below it is called lapstrake construction.

  swine array – a Viking battle formation consisting of a wedge-shaped arrangement of men used to attack a shield wall or other defensive position.

  tánaise ríg – Gaelic term for heir apparent, the man assumed to be next in line for a kingship.

  thing – a communal assembly

  Thor – Norse god of storms and wind, but also the protector of humans and the other gods. Thor’s chosen weapon was a hammer. Hammer amulets were popular with Norsemen in the same way that crosses are popular with Christians.

  thrall – Norse term for a slave. Origin of the English word “enthrall.”

  thwart – a rower’s seat in a boat. From the Old Norse term meaning “across.”

  Ulfberht – a particular make of sword crafted in the Germanic countries and inscribed with the name Ulfberht or some variant. Though it is not clear who Ulfberht was, the swords that bore his name were of the highest quality and much prized.

  unstep – to take a mast down. To put a mast in place is to step the mast.

  Valhalla – a great hall in Asgard where slain warriors would go to feast, drink and fight until the coming of Ragnarok.

  Valkyrie – female spirits of Norse mythology who gathered the spirits of the dead from the battlefield and escorted them to Valhalla. They were the Choosers of the Slain, and though later romantically portrayed as Odin’s warrior handmaidens, they were originally viewed more demonically, as spirits who devoured the corpses of the dead.

  vantnale – a wooden lever attached to the lower end of a shroud and used to make the shroud fast and to tension it.

  varonn – springtime. Literally “spring work” in Old Norse.

  Vik – an area of Norway south of modern-day Oslo. The name is possibly the origin of the term Viking.

  wattle and daub – common medieval technique for building walls. Small sticks were woven through larger uprights to form the wattle, and the structure was plastered with mud or plaster, the daub.

  weather – closest to the direction from which the wind is blowing, when used to indicate the position of something relative to the wind.

  wergild – the fine imposed for taking a man’s life. The amount of the wergild was dependant on the victim’s social standing.

  yard – a long, tapered timber from which a sail was suspended. When a Viking ship was not under sail, the yard was turned lengthwise and lowered to near the deck with the sail lashed to it.

  Acknowledgements

  As with any book, thanks are due to many. Steve Cromwell came through once again with one of the finest covers in the series (in my somewhat humble opinion) and once more Alistair Corbett’s magnificent photography helped make the look even more dramatic. Thanks to Alicia Street at iProofread and More for correcting my poor spelling a grammar. That’s to my long-time agents Nat Sobel and Judith Weber and all the good folks at Sobel Weber Associates for all their great work in getting Russian, German, Spanish and audiobook versions of the Norsemen Saga.

  And to Lisa, for keeping the rest of it together…