by Griff Hosker
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
Stirap- stirrup
Strake- the wood on the side of a drekar
Suthriganaworc - Southwark (London)
Syllingar- Scilly Isles
Syllingar Insula- Scilly Isles
Tarn- small lake (Norse)
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.
Thrall- slave
Tinea- Tyne
Trenail- a round wooden peg used to secure strakes
Tynwald- the Parliament on the Isle of Man
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
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)
Wintan-ceastre -Winchester
Withy- the mechanism connecting the steering board to the ship
Woden’s day- Wednesday
Wyddfa-Snowdon
Wyrd- Fate
Yard- a timber from which the sail is suspended on a drekar
Ynys Môn-Anglesey
Maps and Illustrations
Griff Hosker 2016
Griff Hosker 2016
Map courtesy of Wikipedia
The island the Raven Clan use. Courtesy of Wikipedia.
Charlemagne's Empire
Courtesy of Wikipedia –Public Domain
The Loire
Courtesy of Wikipedia
Courtesy of Wikipedia –Public Domain
Historical note
My research encompasses not only books and the Internet but also TV. Time Team was a great source of information. I wish they would bring it back! I saw the wooden compass which my sailors use on the Dan Snow programme about the Vikings. Apparently it was used in modern time to sail from Denmark to Edinburgh and was only a couple of points out. Similarly the construction of the temporary hall was copied from the settlement of Leif Eriksson in Newfoundland.
Stirrups began to be introduced in Europe during the 7th and 8th Centuries. By Charlemagne's time they were widely used but only by nobles. It is said this was the true beginning of feudalism. It was the Vikings who introduced them to England. It was only in the time of Canute the Great that they became widespread. The use of stirrups enabled a rider to strike someone on the ground from the back of a horse and facilitated the use of spears and later, lances.
The Vikings may seem cruel to us now. They enslaved women and children. Many of the women became their wives. The DNA of the people of Iceland shows that it was made up of a mixture of Norse and Danish males and Celtic females. These were the people who settled Iceland, Greenland and Vinland. They did the same in England and, as we shall see, Normandy. Their influence was widespread. Genghis Khan and his Mongols did the same in the 13th century. It is said that a high proportion of European males have Mongol blood in them. The Romans did it with the Sabine tribe. They were different times and it would be wrong to judge them with our politically correct twenty first century eyes. This sort of behaviour still goes on in the world but with less justification.
The Vikings began to raid the Loire and the Seine from the middle of the 9th century. They were able to raid as far as Tours. Tours, Saumur and the monastery at Marmoutier were all raided and destroyed. As a result of the raids and the destruction castles were built there during the latter part of the 9th century. There are many islands in the Loire and many tributaries. The Maine, which runs through Angers, is also a wide waterway. The lands seemed made for Viking raiders. They did not settle in Aquitaine but they did in Austrasia.
At this time there were no Viking Kings. There were clans. Each clan had a hersir or Jarl. Clans were loyal to each other. A hersir was more of a landlocked Viking or a farmer while a Jarl usually had ship(s) at his command. A hersir would command bondi. They were the Norse equivalent of the fyrd although they were much better warriors. They would all have a helmet shield and a sword. Most would also have a spear. Hearth-weru were the oathsworn or bodyguards for a jarl or, much later on, a king. Kings like Canute and Harald Hadrada were rare and they only emerged at the beginning of tenth century.
Hermund the Bent is an actual Viking name but I do not know why he was called Bent. It seemed appropriate for my villain. Harald Black Teeth is made up but the practice of filing marks in teeth to allow them to blacken and to make the warrior more frightening was common in Viking times.
The wolf and the raven were both held in high esteem by the Vikings. Odin is often depicted with a wolf and a raven at his side.
The battle at Rochester Bridge is based on the famous incident at Stamford Bridge in 1066 when three Vikings held off the whole of King Harold's army until warriors went below the wooden bridge and killed the Vikings from beneath by stabbing their spears through the wood of the bridge. Rochester Bridge was made by the Romans!
I apologise for the complications of the names and the plotting of the Irish kings. I did not have to make them up. The events leading up to the battle outside did happen and the High King was murdered himself a couple of years later. High King was similar to being a Mafia boss. There was always someone trying to take over. There was, as far as I know, no battle between the Irish and the Vikings in 825 but as neither civilisation had good written records it is hard to find hard evidence. The Irish warriors did not wear armour. Until the arrival of the Vikings they had no need for their enemies fought as they did. Their courage was unquestioned and they had managed to conquer what is now Scotland but the Vikings proved a stronger enemy. By the end of the ninth century the key strongholds in Ireland were all controlled by the Vikings. History would repeat itself when Henry II arrived with his Normans three centuries later.
Books used in the research
British Museum - Vikings- Life and Legends
Arthur and the Saxon Wars- David Nicolle (Osprey)
Saxon, Norman and Viking Terence Wise (Osprey)
The Vikings- Ian Heath (Osprey)
Byzantine Armies 668-1118 - Ian Heath (Osprey)
Romano-Byzantine Armies 4th-9th Century - David Nicholle (Osprey)
The Walls of Constantinople AD 324-1453 - Stephen Turnbull (Osprey)
Viking Longship - Keith Durham (Osprey)
Anglo-Danish Project- The Vikings in England
The Varangian Guard- 988-1453 Raffael D’Amato
Saxon Viking and Norman- Terence Wise
The Walls of Constantinople AD 324-1453-Stephen Turnbull
Byzantine Armies- 886-1118- Ian Heath
The Age of Charlemagne-David Nicolle
The Normans- David Nicolle
Norman Knight AD 950-1204- Christopher Gravett
The Norman Conquest of the North- William A Kappelle
The Knight in History- Francis Gies
The Norman Achievement- Richard F Cassady
Knights- Constance Brittain Bouchard
Griff Hosker
July 2016
Other books
by
Griff Hosker
If you enjoyed reading this book then why not read another one by the author?
Ancient History
The Sword of Cartimandua Series (Germania and Britannia 50A.D. – 128 A.D.)
Ulpius Felix- Roman Warrior (prequel)
Book 1 The Sword of Cartimandua
Book 2 The Horse Warriors
Book 3 Invasion Caledonia
Book 4 Roman Retreat
Book 5 Revolt of the Red Witch
Book 6 Druid’s Gold
Book 7 Trajan’s Hunters
Book 8 The Last Frontier
Book 9 Hero of Rome
Book 10 Roman Hawk
Book 11 Roman Treachery
Book 12 Roman Wall
The Aelfraed Series (Britain and Byzantium 1050 A.D. - 1085 A.D.
Book 1 Housecarl
Book 2 Outlaw
Book 3 Varangian
The Wolf Warrior series (Britain in the late 6th Century)
Book 1 Saxon Dawn
Book 2 Saxon Revenge
Book 3 Saxon England
Book 4 Saxon Blood
Book 5 Saxon Slayer
Book 6 Saxon Slaughter
Book 7 Saxon Bane
Book 8 Saxon Fall: Rise of the Warlord
Book 9 Saxon Throne
The Dragon Heart Series
Book 1 Viking Slave
Book 2 Viking Warrior
Book 3 Viking Jarl
Book 4 Viking Kingdom
Book 5 Viking Wolf
Book 6 Viking War
Book 7 Viking Sword
Book 8 Viking Wrath
Book 9 Viking Raid
Book 10 Viking Legend
Book 11 Viking Vengeance
Book 12 Viking Dragon
Book 13 Viking Treasure
The Norman Genesis Series
Rolf
Horseman
The Anarchy Series England 1120-1180
English Knight
Knight of the Empress
Northern Knight
Baron of the North
Earl
King Henry’s Champion
The King is Dead
Warlord of the North
Enemy at the Gate
The Fallen Crown
Modern History
The Napoleonic Horseman Series
Book 1 Chasseur a Cheval
Book 2 Napoleon’s Guard
Book 3 British Light Dragoon
Book 4 Soldier Spy
Book 5 1808: The Road to Corunna
Waterloo
The Lucky Jack American Civil War series
Rebel Raiders
Confederate Rangers
The Road to Gettysburg
The British Ace Series
1914
1915 Fokker Scourge
1916 Angels over the Somme
1917 Eagles Fall
1918 We will remember them
Combined Operations series 1940-1945
Commando
Raider
Behind Enemy Lines
Dieppe
Toehold in Europe
Sword Beach
Other Books
Great Granny’s Ghost (Aimed at 9-14 year old young people)
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For more information on all of the books then please visit the author’s web site at http://www.griffhosker.com where there is a link to contact him.
