Viking Weregeld

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Viking Weregeld Page 26

by Griff Hosker


  King Mordaf ap Hopkin hung on for a moon. His daughters never left his side. Gruffyd and Einar Fair Face were never more than twenty paces from the women they hoped to marry. We buried King Mordaf ap Hopkin by the Stad on the Eden. Aiden told us that the ancient kings, Urien, Coel and Pasgen, had ruled from there. It seemed right. We used stone from Old Olaf to build him a tomb. He was the last of a long line. Ebrel might have sons but, as we laid him in the ground, it was though one of the Norns’ threads had been severed.

  We returned to my hall. The two princesses went to Aiden and Kara’s hall and I took Gruffyd and Einar with me to my hall. Brigid was on edge for she did not know my mind. We ate alone. Myfanwy was now of an age where she took note of everything. In two years or so she would be a woman. I allowed her to stay for it was important she saw how adults spoke.

  Gruffyd waited until the food was finished and Uhtric and the slaves had cleared the table. Then he leaned forward and spoke, “So, father, when can I marry Ebrel and Einar Fair Face, Bronnen?”

  I took my time and emptied my horn of ale, “I swore an oath to King Mordaf ap Hopkin. I said I would be as a father to Ebrel and Bronnen.” I pointed to Myfanwy. “In a few years’ time, I will have to decide if a suitor can marry Myfanwy.”

  “I am your son!”

  “And I can recall how you were reckless in battle. I remember when you did not think as a warrior should. Do you?”

  His head hung, “I have changed.”

  “Aye, you have and I am proud of you but think on this. The woman you have chosen is a princess. If you marry her then you are honour bound to reclaim her kingdom. Are you the warrior to do that? Think before you answer, my son. Would you be king? I have never wished to be king. Do you?”

  I saw that my words were not what he had expected. He studied his horn as though it had a hidden message etched on the bone. “I am not certain that I wish to be king but I wish to marry Ebrel. I wish to have her bear my children and, if she wishes it then I would happily reclaim her kingdom for her.”

  I nodded, “And Einar Fair Face, you would marry Bronnen. How do you see your future?”

  “Jarl, I have carried your banner. I have stood in the shield wall. I would be a warrior of the Clan of the Wolf. Bronnen is not heiress to Om Walum. She will be the wife of a warrior. I will give her a good home and, hopefully, I will become a jarl and give her all that she deserves as the daughter of a king.” He smiled, “If that does not suit you, jarl, then I will not change my answer. I have learned from you. A warrior speaks the truth and keeps his word. That is the path I have chosen and the one I will keep.”

  I smiled, “You have given me good answers. If you wish to marry the two princesses then you have my permission save that, before you do, each of you build a hall and finds ten oathsworn to follow you. What say you? Will you agree or will you take your princesses and flee?”

  They looked at each other. Gruffyd smiled, “Father I expected a much harder task. We agree and we will have a hall built before the new grass is grown.”

  I smiled too for my son had become a warrior, he had become a man. Wyrd .

  The End

  Norse Calendar

  Gormánuður October 14th - November 13th

  Ýlir November 14th - December 13th

  Mörsugur December 14th - January 12th

  Þorri - January 13th - February 11th

  Gói - February 12th - March 13th

  Einmánuður - March 14th - April 13th

  Harpa April 14th - May 13th

  Skerpla - May 14th - June 12th

  Sólmánuður - June 13th - July 12th

  Heyannir - July 13th - August 14th

  Tvímánuður - August 15th - September 14th

  Haustmánuður September 15th-October 13th

  Glossary

  Afen- River Avon

  Afon Hafron- River Severn in Welsh

  Àird Rosain – Ardrossan (On the Clyde Estuary)

  Alpín mac Echdach – the father of Kenneth MacAlpin, reputedly the first king of the Scots

  Alt Clut- Dumbarton Castle on the Clyde

  An Lysardh - Lizard Peninsula Cornwall

  Balley Chashtal -Castleton (Isle of Man)

  Bardanes Tourkos- Rebel Byzantine General

  Bebbanburgh- Bamburgh Castle, Northumbria also known as Din Guardi in the ancient tongue

  Beck- a stream

  Beinn na bhFadhla- Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides

  Belesduna - Basildon

  Blót – a blood sacrifice made by a jarl

  Blue Sea- The Mediterranean

  Bondi- Viking farmers who fight

  Bourde- Bordeaux

  Bjarnarøy –Great Bernera (Bear Island)

  Brycgstow- Bristol

  Byrnie- a mail or leather shirt reaching down to the knees

  Caerlleon- Welsh for Chester

  Caer Ufra -South Shields

  Caestir - Chester (old English)

  Càrdainn Ros -Cardross (Argyll)

  Cas-gwent -Chepstow Monmouthshire

  Casnewydd –Newport, Wales

  Cephas- Greek for Simon Peter (St. Peter)

  Chape- the tip of a scabbard

  Charlemagne- Holy Roman Emperor at the end of the 8th and beginning of the 9th centuries

  Celchyth - Chelsea

  Cherestanc- Garstang (Lancashire)

  Cil-y-coed -Caldicot Monmouthshire

  Corn Walum or Om Walum- Cornwall

  Cymri- Welsh

  Cymru- Wales

  Cyninges-tūn – Coniston. It means the estate of the king (Cumbria)

  Dùn Èideann –Edinburgh (Gaelic)

  Din Guardi- Bamburgh castle

  Drekar- a Dragon ship (a Viking warship) pl. drekar

  Duboglassio –Douglas, Isle of Man

  Dun Holme- Durham

  Dún Lethglaise - Downpatrick (Northern Ireland)

  Durdle- Durdle dor- the Jurassic coast in Dorset

  Dyrøy –Jura (Inner Hebrides)

  Dyflin- Old Norse for Dublin

  Ēa Lōn - River Lune

  Ein-mánuðr - middle of March to the middle of April

  Eoforwic- Saxon for York

  Falgrave- Scarborough (North Yorkshire)

  Faro Bregancio- Corunna (Spain)

  Ferneberga -Farnborough (Hampshire)

  Fey- having second sight

  Firkin- a barrel containing eight gallons (usually beer)

  Fret-a sea mist

  Frankia- France and part of Germany

  Fyrd-the Saxon levy

  Ganda- Ghent (Belgium)

  Garth - Dragon Heart

  Gaill- Irish for foreigners

  Galdramenn- wizard

  Gesith- A Saxon nobleman. After 850 AD, they were known as thegns

  Glaesum –amber

  Glannoventa -Ravenglass

  Gleawecastre- Gloucester

  Gói- the end of February to the middle of March

  Gormánuður- October to November (Slaughter month- the beginning of winter)

  Grendel- the monster slain by Beowulf

  Grenewic- Greenwich

  Gulle - Goole (Humberside)

  Hagustaldes ham -Hexham

  Hamwic -Southampton

  Hæstingaceaster- Hastings

  Haustmánuður - September 16th - October 16th (cutting of the corn)

  Haughs- small hills in Norse (As in Tarn Hows)

  Hearth weru- The bodyguard or oathsworn of a jarl

  Heels- when a ship leans to one side under the pressure of the wind

  Hel - Queen of Niflheim , the Norse underworld.

  Here Wic- Harwich

  Hersey- Isle of Arran

  Hersir- a Viking landowner and minor noble. It ranks below a jarl

  Hetaereiarch – Byzantine general

  Hí- Iona (Gaelic)

  Hjáp - Shap- Cumbria (Norse for stone circle)

  Hoggs or Hogging- when the pressure of the wind causes the stern or the bow to droop

  Hrams-a – Ramsey, Isle of Man<
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  Hundred- Saxon military organisation. (One hundred men from an area-led by a thegn or gesith)

  Hwitebi - Norse for Whitby, North Yorkshire

  Hywel ap Rhodri Molwynog- King of Gwynedd 814-825

  Icaunis- British river god

  Issicauna- Gaulish for the lower Seine

  Itouna- River Eden Cumbria

  Jarl- Norse earl or lord

  Joro-goddess of the earth

  kjerringa - Old Woman- the solid block in which the mast rested

  Knarr- a merchant ship or a coastal vessel

  Kyrtle-woven top

  Lambehitha- Lambeth

  Leathes Water- Thirlmere

  Legacaestir- Anglo Saxon for Chester

  Ljoðhús- Lewis

  Lochlannach – Irish for Northerners (Vikings)

  Lothuwistoft- Lowestoft

  Lough- Irish lake

  Louis the Pious- King of the Franks and son of Charlemagne

  Lundenburgh- the fort in the heart of London (the former Roman fort)

  Lundenwic - London

  Maeresea- River Mersey

  Mammceaster- Manchester

  Manau/Mann – The Isle of Man(n) (Saxon)

  Marcia Hispanic- Spanish Marches (the land around Barcelona)

  Mast fish- two large racks on a ship designed to store the mast when not required

  Melita- Malta

  Midden- a place where they dumped human waste

  Miklagård - Constantinople

  Mörsugur - December 13th -January 12th (the fat sucker month!)

  Njoror- God of the sea

  Nithing- A man without honour (Saxon)

  Odin - The "All Father" God of war, also associated with wisdom, poetry, and magic (The Ruler of the gods).

  Olissipo- Lisbon

  Orkneyjar-Orkney

  Penrhudd – Penrith Cumbria

  Poor john- a dried and shrivelled fish (disparaging slang for a male member- Shakespeare)

  Þorri -January 13th -February 12th - midwinter

  Portesmūða -Portsmouth

  Pillars of Hercules- Straits of Gibraltar

  Pyrlweall -Thirwell, Cumbria

  Ran- Goddess of the sea

  Roof rock- slate

  Rinaz –The Rhine

  Sabrina- Latin and Celtic for the River Severn. Also, the name of a female Celtic deity

  Saami- the people who live in what is now Northern Norway/Sweden

  Samhain- a Celtic festival of the dead between 31st October and1st November (Halloween)

  St. Cybi- Holyhead

  Scree- loose rocks in a glacial valley

  Seax – short sword

  Sennight- seven knights- a week

  Sheerstrake- the uppermost strake in the hull

  Sheet- a rope fastened to the lower corner of a sail

  Shroud- a rope from the masthead to the hull amidships

  Skeggox – an axe with a shorter beard on one side of the blade

  South Folk- Suffolk

  Stad- Norse settlement

  Stays- ropes running from the mast-head to the bow

  Strake- the wood on the side of a drekar

  Streanæshalc- Saxon for Whitby, North Yorkshire

  Suthriganaworc - Southwark (London)

  Syllingar Insula, Syllingar- Scilly Isles

  Tarn- small lake (Norse)

  Tella- River Béthune which empties near to Dieppe

  Temese- River Thames (also called the Tamese)

  The Norns- The three sisters who weave webs of intrigue for men

  Thing-Norse for a parliament or a debate (Tynwald)

  Thor’s day- Thursday

  Threttanessa- a drekar with 13 oars on each side.

  Tinea- Tyne

  Tilaburg – Tilbury

  Tintaieol- Tintagel (Cornwall)

  Thrall- slave

  Trenail- a round wooden peg used to secure strakes

  Tynwald- the Parliament on the Isle of Man

  Tvímánuður -Hay time-August 15th -September 15th

  Úlfarrberg- Helvellyn

  Úlfarrland- Cumbria

  Úlfarr- Wolf Warrior

  Úlfarrston- Ulverston

  Ullr-Norse God of Hunting

  Ulfheonar-an elite Norse warrior who wore a wolf skin over his armour

  Vectis- The Isle of Wight

  Veisafjǫrðr – Wexford (Ireland)

  Volva- a witch or healing woman in Norse culture

  Waeclinga Straet- Watling Street (A5) Windlesore-Windsor

  Waite- a Viking word for farm

  Werham -Wareham (Dorset)

  Wykinglo- Wicklow (Ireland)

  Wintan-ceastre -Winchester

  Withy- the mechanism connecting the steering board to the ship

  Woden’s day- Wednesday

  Wulfhere-Old English for Wolf Army

  Wyddfa-Snowdon

  Wyrd- Fate

  Wyrme- Norse for Dragon

  Yard- a timber from which the sail is suspended

  Ynys Enlli- Bardsey Island

  Ynys Môn-Anglesey

  Maps and drawings

  Ulf Olafsson’s Stronghold

  Britannia 825 A.D.

  Wessex 830-338

  Source: File:Southern British Isles 9th century.svg - https://en.wikipedia.org

  Tintagel castle

  Source: File:RemainsofTintagel.jpg - https://en.wikipedia.org

  A knarr (reproduced from the Hrolf series- same design)

  Historical note

  The Viking raids began, according to records left by the monks, in the 790s when Lindisfarne was pillaged. However, there were many small settlements along the east coast and most were undefended. I have chosen a fictitious village on the Tees as the home of Garth who is enslaved and then, when he gains his freedom, becomes Dragon Heart. As buildings were all made of wood then any evidence of their existence would have rotted long ago, save for a few post holes. The Norse began to raid well before 790. There was a rise in the populations of Norway and Denmark and Britain was not well prepared for defence against such random attacks.

  My raiders represent the Norse warriors who wanted the plunder of the soft Saxon kingdom. There is a myth that the Vikings raided in large numbers but this is not so. It was only in the tenth and eleventh centuries that the numbers grew. They also did not have allegiances to kings. The Norse settlements were often isolated family groups. The term Viking was not used in what we now term the Viking Age beyond the lands of Norway and Denmark. Warriors went a-Viking which meant that they sailed for adventure or pirating. Their lives were hard. Slavery was commonplace. The Norse for slave is thrall and I have used both terms.

  The ship, ‘The Heart of the Dragon’ is based on the Gokstad ship which was found in 1880 in Norway. It is 23.24 metres long and 5.25 metres wide at its widest point. It was made entirely of oak except for the pine decking. There are 16 strakes on each side and from the base to the gunwale is 2.02 metres giving it a high freeboard. The keel is cut from a piece of oak 17.6 metres long. There are 19 ribs. The pine mast was 13 metres high. The ship could carry 70 men although there were just sixteen oars on each side. This meant that half the crew could rest while the other half rowed. Sea battles could be brutal. The drekar was the most efficient warship of its day. The world would have to wait until the frigates of the eighteenth century to see such a dominant ship again. When the Saxons before Alfred the Great tried to meet Vikings at sea it ended in disaster. It was Alfred who created a warship which stood a chance against the Vikings but they never really competed. The same ships as Dragonheart used carried King William to England in 1066.

  The Vikings raided far and wide. They raided and subsequently conquered much of Western France and made serious inroads into Spain. They even travelled up the Rhone River as well as raiding North Africa. The sailors and warriors we call Vikings were very adaptable and could, indeed, carry their long ships over hills to travel from one river to the next. The Viking ships are quite remarkable. Replicas of the smaller ones have mana
ged speeds of 8-10 knots. The sea going ferries, which ply the Bay of Biscay, travel at 14-16 knots. The journey the ‘Heart of the Dragon’ makes from Santander to the Isles of Scilly in a day and a half would have been possible with the oars and a favourable wind and, of course, the cooperation of the Goddess of the sea, Ran! The journey from the Rhine to Istanbul is 1188 nautical miles. If the ‘Heart of the Dragon’ had had favourable winds and travelled nonstop she might have made the journey in 6 days! Sailing during the day only and with some adverse winds means that 18 or 20 days would be more realistic.

  I have recently used the British Museum book and research about the Vikings. Apparently, rather like punks and Goths, the men did wear eye makeup. It would make them appear more frightening. There is also evidence that they filed their teeth. The leaders of warriors built up a large retinue by paying them and giving them gifts such as the wolf pendant. This was seen as a sort of bond between leader and warrior. It also marked them out in battle as oathsworn. There was no national identity. They operated in small bands of free booters loyal to their clan leader. The idea of sword killing was to render a weapon unusable by anyone else. On a simplistic level this could just be a bend but I have seen examples which are tightly curled like a spring. Viking kings were rare it was not until the end of the ninth century that national identity began to emerge.

  The length of the swords in this period was not the same as in the later medieval period. By the year 850 they were only 76 cm long and in the eighth century they were shorter still. The first sword Dragon Heart used, Ragnar’s, was a new design, and was 75 cm long. This would only have been slightly longer than a Roman gladius. At this time the sword, not the axe was the main weapon. The best swords came from Frankia, and were probably German in origin. A sword was considered a special weapon and a good one would be handed from father to son. A warrior with a famous blade would be sought out on the battlefield. There was little mail around at the time and warriors learned to be agile to avoid being struck. A skeggox was an axe with a shorter edge on one side. The use of an aventail (a chain mail extension of a helmet) began at about this time. The highly-decorated scabbard also began at this time.

  A wedge was formed by having a warrior at the front and then two and so on. Sometimes it would have a double point, boar's snout. A wedge with twenty men at the rear might have over a hundred and fifty men. It would be hard to stop. The blood eagle was performed by cutting the skin of the victim by the spine , breaking the ribs so they resembled blood-stained wings, and pulling the lungs out through the wounds in the victim's back.

 

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