Meet Oswyth
Yesterday I introduced you to Siward of Gloucester, the male protagonist of Rising from the Ruins. Today it is the turn of Oswyth, the main female character. She is completely fictional, so my imagination has run even more riot with her than Siward!
In 1066 Oswyth is 10 years old. She is the daughter of a minor Somerset nobleman, with her grandfather ranked as Thegn. Her childhood so far has been good. She is the adored only child of her parents, although a sibling is on the way and, oblivious to any political tensions in the realm, she expects her life to continue that way.
When her father is summoned to fight at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, her mother and grandfather hide their concerns and her father too appears confident as he bids her farewell. Oswyth expects her father to soon return and the report of the triumph at Stamford Bridge only confirms how invincible her strong, handsome father is. The reports of Hastings – 14th October 1066 turns her world upside down, when news arrives that her father is dead. When her mother dies in childbirth a few weeks later, along with her baby brother, Oswyth’s devastation is complete.
After that day, Oswyth is raised by her grandfather, Thegn Raedwulf. The old man has always doted on his little granddaughter, but as his only remaining kin, his devotion intensifies. With her only guidance coming from a grieving, indulgent grandfather, Oswyth grows up rather more willful and opinionated than is proper for an 11th-century young lady!
[image error]With her happy childhood over, Oswyth remains devoted to the memory of her dead father, while terrified for her future. As her grandfather’s only heir, it is a near certainty she will have to one day marry one of the invaders.
Although she hates the Normans for everything they are doing to her country, her grief has focussed her anger over her father’s death, not on the Norman who killed him, but the Englishman whose momentary error led to the slaughter.
Over time the anger bubbles beneath the surface, but by the start of the book in 1073 when she is seventeen years old, it no longer dominates her thoughts. Why should it? After all, she’s not likely to meet Siward of Gloucester again, is she?
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