Anna Chant's Blog, page 18
August 20, 2016
Countdown deal on The Girl from Brittia
Starting 20th August ‘The Girl from Brittia’ will be just 99p or $o.99 for one week! Telling the story first recorded by Procopius, it’s a curious tale of a jilted bride. Unlike so many Dark Age tales, here it is the women who drive the story and call the shots at pretty much every turn! Read the blurb here
The beginning…
Edlin shook her head in a mixture of grief and amusement. Even while dying, her father was still throwing around orders. He lay swathed in blankets in his bed that had been moved into the Hall of Dumnoc. His face was white, his eyes watery, but his voice remained strong, as he instructed Rendel, his oldest son. Rendel was a tall man, powerfully built and with a commanding manner, but as he listened to his father he was respectful and almost humble.
“You must strike more inland, my son,” Wilhelm spoke. “The coast is ours from the Blide to the Ald. Move inland.”
“We shall, Father,” Rendel replied. “The greatness of the Suff Anglii shall know no bounds. The Wolf shall conquer all.”
“And see to your sister’s betrothal. There must be someone she finds acceptable.”
Rendel gave Edlin a brief, but sympathetic look. “I will, Father,” he said soothingly.
“You would not want me to marry just anyone,” Edlin protested. “We are the Wolf Children of Wotan. I cannot marry just anyone.”
“Anyone would be better than no one,” her father grumbled, closing his eyes. “It is not right that I have no grandchildren.”
“Do not trouble yourself, Father. Your wishes shall be done,” Rendel replied smoothly, shooting a look at Leofe, his wife. “I am sure there will be a new Child of the Wolf soon.”
Leofe looked down at her stitching, but Edlin caught the stricken look on her face. Her sister-in-law was not her favourite person, being both bossy and overbearing, but Edlin felt a brief flicker of sympathy. However, she could not help feeling relieved that the matter of her own marriage had been forgotten for the time being. Before anyone could say any more, a draught blew in making the torches flicker wildly. The door had opened to admit another man, dressed in dusty, dark clothes. He was younger than Rendel, but like him was fair haired and blue eyed. He strode quickly towards the bed.
“Praise the Gods, I arrived in time,” the man said, looking down at Wilhelm.
“Wehha!” Rendel took the man by the hands. “What news, Brother?”
“We have crossed the Ald. The woods beyond are in our hands,” Wehha replied, taking the drink Leofe had offered him with a grateful smile.
Wilhelm’s eyes flickered open. “Good work, my son. The Wolf grows ever greater. Perhaps there will be a man there who will appeal to your sister.”
Wehha shook his head. “He’s not still going on about that is he?” he asked.
“Her unwed state preys on his mind,” replied Rendel. “And he is right. Her morning gift and handgeld will be less if she delays too long, while the bridegift that we must pay will grow ever greater.”
Wehha looked down at his sister. “She has seen but sixteen years. I think she has a few years of childbearing left! She’s pretty enough to command a high price.”
Edlin glared at him, glad to forget her grief for an instant. “Pretty enough? You flatter me, Brother!”
The Girl from Brittia is available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk
August 19, 2016
Countdown deal on The Girl from Brittia
Starting 20th August ‘The Girl from Brittia’ will be just 99p or $o.99 for one week! Telling the story first recorded by Procopius, it’s a curious tale of a jilted bride. Unlike so many Dark Age tales, here it is the women who drive the story and call the shots at pretty much every turn! Read the blurb here
The beginning…
Edlin shook her head in a mixture of grief and amusement. Even while dying, her father was still throwing around orders. He lay swathed in blankets in his bed that had been moved into the Hall of Dumnoc. His face was white, his eyes watery, but his voice remained strong, as he instructed Rendel, his oldest son. Rendel was a tall man, powerfully built and with a commanding manner, but as he listened to his father he was respectful and almost humble.
“You must strike more inland, my son,” Wilhelm spoke. “The coast is ours from the Blide to the Ald. Move inland.”
“We shall, Father,” Rendel replied. “The greatness of the Suff Anglii shall know no bounds. The Wolf shall conquer all.”
“And see to your sister’s betrothal. There must be someone she finds acceptable.”
Rendel gave Edlin a brief, but sympathetic look. “I will, Father,” he said soothingly.
“You would not want me to marry just anyone,” Edlin protested. “We are the Wolf Children of Wotan. I cannot marry just anyone.”
“Anyone would be better than no one,” her father grumbled, closing his eyes. “It is not right that I have no grandchildren.”
“Do not trouble yourself, Father. Your wishes shall be done,” Rendel replied smoothly, shooting a look at Leofe, his wife. “I am sure there will be a new Child of the Wolf soon.”
Leofe looked down at her stitching, but Edlin caught the stricken look on her face. Her sister-in-law was not her favourite person, being both bossy and overbearing, but Edlin felt a brief flicker of sympathy. However, she could not help feeling relieved that the matter of her own marriage had been forgotten for the time being. Before anyone could say any more, a draught blew in making the torches flicker wildly. The door had opened to admit another man, dressed in dusty, dark clothes. He was younger than Rendel, but like him was fair haired and blue eyed. He strode quickly towards the bed.
“Praise the Gods, I arrived in time,” the man said, looking down at Wilhelm.
“Wehha!” Rendel took the man by the hands. “What news, Brother?”
“We have crossed the Ald. The woods beyond are in our hands,” Wehha replied, taking the drink Leofe had offered him with a grateful smile.
Wilhelm’s eyes flickered open. “Good work, my son. The Wolf grows ever greater. Perhaps there will be a man there who will appeal to your sister.”
Wehha shook his head. “He’s not still going on about that is he?” he asked.
“Her unwed state preys on his mind,” replied Rendel. “And he is right. Her morning gift and handgeld will be less if she delays too long, while the bridegift that we must pay will grow ever greater.”
Wehha looked down at his sister. “She has seen but sixteen years. I think she has a few years of childbearing left! She’s pretty enough to command a high price.”
Edlin glared at him, glad to forget her grief for an instant. “Pretty enough? You flatter me, Brother!”
The Girl from Brittia is available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk
August 12, 2016
Historical fiction vs Historical fact
It was a simple statement of fact, that really should not have thrown me as much as it did. While researching events for the years of my next book I came across this entry for the year 858
858 – King Kenneth Mac Alpin of Scotland died. He is succeeded by his 46 year old brother Donald I.
Now I’ll be honest, however stupid it sounds. That first sentence upsets me, but obviously I know the dates for my characters, so I was expecting to see it. It was that second sentence that really threw me. Domnall’s 46? Really? When the hell did that happen?
This really brought home to me how fixed these characters are now for me. To me Domnall will always be that irrepressible young man in his twenties and early thirties. Placing him older than that just doesn’t seem right.
I suspect there’s now rather a lot of ‘facts’ in my mind that are nothing of the sort. Some of them are reasonable inferences, some are complete invention. None deserve the label ‘fact’, yet I think it would be difficult now to persuade me otherwise. For example The Girl from Brittia is a Wuffinger and Wehha’s sister. In reality it’s a good possibility, but very far from fact. She might be Wuffa’s sister. She might be Wilhelm’s. But for me there’s no doubt that she was Wehha’s.
Apart from the damage to my historical knowledge, it probably doesn’t matter if fact and fiction are mixed in my mind. It might even make my characters more believable if I truly believe everything I’ve written.
But what happens if I have stories that overlap? The story I’m currently working on takes place in the years that make up the last few years of Cinaed’s (Kenneth Mac Alpin) reign, the years of Domnall’s (Donald I) and the early years of Causantin’s (Constantine I). It’s a certainty that the characters of the two stories never met, but they would almost definitely have known about each other. It would, therefore, be completely reasonable to mention Cinaed, Domnall or Causantin in this new book. Yet I already know I won’t.
858 – King Kenneth Mac Alpin of Scotland died. He is succeeded by his 46 year old brother Donald I.
Given how much this statement of fact bothers me, for now I’ll leave Cinaed and Domnall where they were in ‘Kenneth’s Queen’, back in the 830s and 40s as confident young men who feel like they rule the world and allow them to achieve, in my own mind at least, a kind of immortality.
‘Kenneth’s Queen’ is available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk
August 8, 2016
In the footsteps of King Alfred
Last week I had the chance to visit Winchester, capital of the Dark Age realm of Wessex. This is a city that virtually screams history as you walk around it and its association with two famous dark Age Kings – King Arthur and Alfred the Great – as well as a host of less famous ones, is well known. However although the city appears very ancient to our modern eyes, I realise that to King Alfred and to the Wessex Kings and Queens who will feature in my next book, the city of today would seem highly futuristic.
The first site we visited was the Great Hall, all that remains of Winchester Castle. This was built for William the Conqueror and so would be unfamiliar to Alfred and his family. As for the Round Table that hangs on the wall, I’m not sure even King Arthur would recognise that!
The city walls would be much more familiar, with some parts dating back to Roman times. They would find a bridge over the river in the place they would expect, although the one that is there today is presumably very different from the one said to have been built by Saint Swithun back in the ninth century. The Cathedral too would be roughly where they expected it. The site of the Old Minster that Alfred’s family would have known so well lies next to the more modern (Norman!) cathedral.
Inside the cathedral they would have found some familiar names on the mortuary chests which house the remains of some of the West Saxon kings. Unfortunately they were not on display on the day I visited, but even so I found it a slightly unsettling experience to know that one of my characters was lying just a few feet away from me.
I wonder what they would have made of seeing Saint Swithun as the cathedral’s patron saint. They would have known him well. He was bishop of Winchester in the ninth century and had been the teacher of Alfred’s father and possibly Alfred himself. To Alfred’s family he was a teacher, an advisor and a bishop. Would they be surprised to see him venerated as a saint or consider it an honour well deserved?
But most of all I wonder what they would have thought of that statue that is placed at the end of the high street. A noble looking Dark Age king gazes out over the city, his sword raised like a cross in his hand. He appears how the Victorians considered Alfred to look. It is unlikely that Alfred’s family would possibly recognise him.
August 6, 2016
In the footsteps of King Alfred
Last week I had the chance to visit Winchester, capital of the Dark Age realm of Wessex. This is a city that virtually screams history as you walk around it and its association with two famous dark Age Kings – King Arthur and Alfred the Great – as well as a host of less famous ones, is well known. However although the city appears very ancient to our modern eyes, I realise that to King Alfred and to the Wessex Kings and Queens who will feature in my next book, the city of today would seem highly futuristic.
The first site we visited was the Great Hall, all that remains of Winchester Castle. This was built for William the Conqueror and so would be unfamiliar to Alfred and his family. As for the Round Table that hangs on the wall, I’m not sure even King Arthur would recognise that!
The city walls would be much more familiar, with some parts dating back to Roman times. They would find a bridge over the river in the place they would expect, although the one that is there today is presumably very different from the one said to have been built by Saint Swithun back in the ninth century. The Cathedral too would be roughly where they expected it. The site of the Old Minster that Alfred’s family would have known so well lies next to the more modern (Norman!) cathedral.
Inside the cathedral they would have found some familiar names on the mortuary chests which house the remains of some of the West Saxon kings. Unfortunately they were not on display on the day I visited, but even so I found it a slightly unsettling experience to know that one of my characters was lying just a few feet away from me.
I wonder what they would have made of seeing Saint Swithun as the cathedral’s patron saint. They would have known him well. He was bishop of Winchester in the ninth century and had been the teacher of Alfred’s father and possibly Alfred himself. To Alfred’s family he was a teacher, an advisor and a bishop. Would they be surprised to see him venerated as a saint or consider it an honour well deserved?
But most of all I wonder what they would have thought of that statue that is placed at the end of the high street. A noble looking Dark Age king gazes out over the city, his sword raised like a cross in his hand. He appears how the Victorians considered Alfred to look. It is unlikely that Alfred’s family would possibly recognise him.
July 30, 2016
In Search of the Wasteland
April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land…
So begins T S Eliot’s masterpiece, the Waste Land – that poem that was used to torture me during A level English and that I appreciate so much more as an adult! Eliot’s waste land is not just a physical one, but also a spiritual one – the waste land of civilisation, struggling to recover after World War One.
There are a number of influences in this poem, but perhaps the most obvious one and the one that most interests me is the Arthurian legend. King Arthur – Britain’s hero, the once and future king. Definitely a mythological character, but possibly also a historical one. His story has been told and retold down the generations with many associated legends. One of the most famous is the Grail Quest and the Fisher King, both of which feature in Eliot’s poem.
The Fisher King is the last in the line of kings charged with guarding the grail, but he is wounded in the groin. The resulting impotence of this king spreads to his land, which becomes a waste land. All this helpless king can do is fish, to keep his people from starving until he is healed by the perfect knight.
The link between the king and his land is a theme that crops up in many mythologies and may have played a part in Dark Age kingship rituals. At the ancient Scottish hill fort of Dunadd there is a footprint carved in the rock, which may well have formed part of the crowning of Dark Age Scottish kings, where the king became one with his land.
The legend of the Fisher King first appears in the 12th century but is likely to have its roots in much earlier legends. But could it also have a historical basis? The dates for King Arthur are sketchy at best, but the 10th century Annales Cambriae put the Battle of Badon at 516-18 and Arthur’s final battle at Camlann to 537-9.
In the years 535-6 was a period of extreme cooling across the Northern Hemisphere. The Byzantine historian Procopius recorded it in his history of the wars “during this year a most dread portent took place. For the sun gave forth its light without brightness”. The Annals of Ulster recorded a failure of bread. In China snowfalls were recorded in August and a dense dry fog. There was drought in Peru. Crop failure was widely reported. Britain was a largely illiterate society at this time and there are no records of this event. But could it have lingered on in people’s memories, forming the basis of one of our most famous legends?
What caused this disaster is unknown. Possibly a comet or asteroid exploding in the upper atmosphere. But perhaps more likely is an eruption of a super volcano, spewing its dust and ashes into the air. Krakatoa, Rabual or North American volcanos are all possible candidates, but the people of the time would have had no idea and may well have attributed it to some supernatural event caused by the physical or spiritual illness of their ruler.
We can only speculate on the effect on the people of Britain as their land became a wasteland. How did the Saxons and Angles, recently arrived in Britain, cope? We don’t know what methods the people of Britain might have used to assure their survival, but I find an added poignancy now to the title of Fisher king – an unknown Dark Ages leader turning, as the harvest failed, to his last possible food source as the only thing that would stand between his people and starvation.
July 29, 2016
In search of The Waste Land
April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land…
So begins T S Eliot’s masterpiece, the Waste Land – that poem that was used to torture me during A level English and that I appreciate so much more as an adult! Eliot’s waste land is not just a physical one, but also a spiritual one – the waste land of civilisation, struggling to recover after World War One.
There are a number of influences in this poem, but perhaps the most obvious one and the one that most interests me is the Arthurian legend. King Arthur – Britain’s hero, the once and future king. Definitely a mythological character, but possibly also a historical one. His story has been told and retold down the generations with many associated legends. One of the most famous is the Grail Quest and the Fisher King, both of which feature in Eliot’s poem.
The Fisher King is the last in the line of kings charged with guarding the grail, but he is wounded in the groin. The resulting impotence of this king spreads to his land, which becomes a waste land. All this helpless king can do is fish, to keep his people from starving until he is healed by the perfect knight.
The link between the king and his land is a theme that crops up in many mythologies and may have played a part in Dark Age kingship rituals. At the ancient Scottish hill fort of Dunadd there is a footprint carved in the rock, which may well have formed part of the crowning of Dark Age Scottish kings, where the king became one with his land.
The legend of the Fisher King first appears in the 12th century but is likely to have its roots in much earlier legends. But could it also have a historical basis? The dates for King Arthur are sketchy at best, but the 10th century Annales Cambriae put the Battle of Badon at 516-18 and Arthur’s final battle at Camlann to 537-9.
In the years 535-6 was a period of extreme cooling across the Northern Hemisphere. The Byzantine historian Procopius recorded it in his history of the wars “during this year a most dread portent took place. For the sun gave forth its light without brightness”. The Annals of Ulster recorded a failure of bread. In China snowfalls were recorded in August and a dense dry fog. There was drought in Peru. Crop failure was widely reported. Britain was a largely illiterate society at this time and there are no records of this event. But could it have lingered on in people’s memories, forming the basis of one of our most famous legends?
What caused this disaster is unknown. possibly a comet or asteroid exploding in the upper atmosphere. But perhaps more likely is an eruption of a super volcano, spewing its dust and ashes into the air. Krakatoa, Rabual or North American volcanos are all possible candidates, but the people of the time would have had no idea and may well have attributed it to some supernatural event caused by the physical or spiritual illness of their ruler.
We can only speculate on the effect on the people of Britain as their land became a wasteland. How did the Saxons and Angles, recently arrived in Britain, cope? We don’t know what methods the people of Britain might have used to assure their survival, but I find an added poignancy now to the title of Fisher king – an unknown Dark Ages leader turning, as the harvest failed, to his last possible food source as the only thing that would stand between his people and starvation.
July 25, 2016
The trouble with Dark Age Heroes
While my focus is on Women of the Dark Ages, unless I write about one of the many women who took up a religious life, the chances are there is going to be at least one and probably more strong male characters in the book. This throws up a number of challenges in remaining true to the history, while still making the character sympathetic to a modern audience.
Marriages of girls as young as twelve or thirteen were considered normal to people of the time, but would be rightly condemned today. I had my concerns when portraying the dynastic marriage of the frightened fifteen-year-old Pict princess to the arrogant twenty-two-year-old Cinaed Mac Alpin, as to how that could result in a love story. Here I was able to avoid some of the issues by leaving the marriage unconsummated until she was well past the age of consent even by modern standards. This had the added bonus of accounting for the three year gap between their marriage and the birth of their first child.
The issue of teenage marriage will become even more relevant in the story I'm currently working on, with a teenage bride and an age gap that makes the seven years between Cinaed and Baena appear as nothing. I have no intention of making this one a love story, but having looked carefully at both historic characters I don't want to portray it as overwhelmingly negative or completely lacking in affection
Cinaed's marriage is in some ways the least of the problems in keeping him a sympathetic character. The historical records show him as a reputable warrior, while the possibly historic, possibly mythological events known as Mac Alpin's Treason show him to be someone capable of brutal atrocities and despicable acts. In creating this character I have tried not to shy away from this aspect of his personality, but to balance it with other more noble characteristics. As well as ambition he is genuinely motivated by a desire to protect his land and his people. We also get to see his gentler side in his relationships with his family. We see him as a devoted and loving son who is crushed by the deaths of his parents. We see his unswerving loyalty and friendship with his kinsmen, Domnall and Graunt. Sometimes serious, sometimes playful, and not without rivalry, those three always stick together. While the raising of his children was undoubtedly left to their mother and other women, he is a doting father willing to indulge in horseplay and games during his rare moments of leisure.
Strangely I had the opposite problem with Radigis, the Varni Prince in 'The Girl from Brittia'. In the original source he appears distinctly weak, continually pulled in all directions by the other, much stronger characters and making self-pitying excuses for his lack of action. Not exactly hero material for any age! But careful reading of Procopius's account helps to account for his character. First is the description of the Franks, as people who had the power to help or hinder the Varni. The threat is obvious - the Varni are at their mercy. Radigis ends up not necessarily weak, but definitely powerless.
The other point that is made is that Radigis is an only child. Cinaed has his brother Domnall. Edlin, the Girl from Brittia, has her brother Wehha. Both Cinaed and Edlin gain strength from that support. Radigis is alone. There is also another issue which is relevant to his character. Unless your parents really hated each other, being an only child in the Dark Ages probably means one thing - a lot of dead siblings. Who can blame his parents for slightly over-protecting their only surviving child?
So Radigis emerges as a character who is not weak, but who has never had to be strong. He is defenseless, but he has the courage to find his defenses. Like all young men of his rank he has been taught to fight and to lead men in battle, but he is better suited to leading in peace. He is not the killing machine that Cinaed, Domnall and Wehha have all been raised to be. I would hope that even in the Dark Ages he would not be condemned for that.
'Kenneth's Queen' and 'The Girl from Brittia' are available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk
The trouble with Dark Age heroes
While my focus is on Women of the Dark Ages, unless I write about one of the many women who took up a religious life, the chances are there is going to be at least one and probably more strong male characters in the book. This throws up a number of challenges in remaining true to the history, while still making the character sympathetic to a modern audience.
Marriages of girls as young as twelve or thirteen were considered normal to people of the time, but would be rightly condemned today. I had my concerns when portraying the dynastic marriage of the frightened fifteen-year-old Pict princess to the arrogant twenty-two-year-old Cinaed Mac Alpin, as to how that could result in a love story. Here I was able to avoid some of the issues by leaving the marriage unconsummated until she was well past the age of consent even by modern standards. This had the added bonus of accounting for the three year gap between their marriage and the birth of their first child.
The issue of teenage marriage will become even more relevant in the story I’m currently working on, with a teenage bride and an age gap that makes the seven years between Cinaed and Baena appear as nothing. I have no intention of making this one a love story, but having looked carefully at both historic characters I don’t want to portray it as overwhelmingly negative or completely lacking in affection
Cinaed’s marriage is in some ways the least of the problems in keeping him a sympathetic character. The historical records show him as a reputable warrior, while the possibly historic, possibly mythological events known as Mac Alpin’s Treason show him to be someone capable of brutal atrocities and despicable acts. In creating this character I have tried not to shy away from this aspect of his personality, but to balance it with other more noble characteristics. As well as ambition he is genuinely motivated by a desire to protect his land and his people. We also get to see his gentler side in his relationships with his family. We see him as a devoted and loving son who is crushed by the deaths of his parents. We see his unswerving loyalty and friendship with his kinsmen, Domnall and Graunt. Sometimes serious, sometimes playful, and not without rivalry, those three always stick together. While the raising of his children was undoubtedly left to their mother and other women, he is a doting father willing to indulge in horseplay and games during his rare moments of leisure.
Strangely I had the opposite problem with Radigis, the Varni Prince in ‘The Girl from Brittia’. In the original source he appears distinctly weak, continually pulled in all directions by the other, much stronger characters and making self-pitying excuses for his lack of action. Not exactly hero material for any age! But careful reading of Procopius’s account helps to account for his character. First is the description of the Franks, as people who had the power to help or hinder the Varni. The threat is obvious – the Varni are at their mercy. Radigis ends up not necessarily weak, but definitely powerless.
The other point that is made is that Radigis is an only child. Cinaed has his brother Domnall. Edlin, the Girl from Brittia, has her brother Wehha. Both Cinaed and Edlin gain strength from that support. Radigis is alone. There is also another issue which is relevant to his character. Unless your parents really hated each other, being an only child in the Dark Ages probably means one thing – a lot of dead siblings. Who can blame his parents for slightly over-protecting their only surviving child?
So Radigis emerges as a character who is not weak, but who has never had to be strong. He is defenseless, but he has the courage to find his defenses. Like all young men of his rank he has been taught to fight and to lead men in battle, but he is better suited to leading in peace. He is not the killing machine that Cinaed, Domnall and Wehha have all been raised to be. I would hope that even in the Dark Ages he would not be condemned for that.
‘Kenneth’s Queen’ and ‘The Girl from Brittia’ are available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk
