Tag Archives: Vikings
From my blog...
Vikings or vikings?
In Chapter Two of The Steel Beneath the Silk King Æthelred asks his son Athelstan why he has arrived several days late to an important meeting of the witan. Athelstan responds, “I was in Devon, my lord, responding to news … Read More
The Last Kingdom 4, Episode 10
The final episode of this season’s The Last Kingdom is set in Winchester where events cascade breathlessly one after another. Winchester has been under siege for 30 days, and the no man’s land between the Saxon camp and the city … Read More
The Last Kingdom 4, Episode 9
Episode 9 opens in Aylesbury where Edward is lingering (too long) to witness Aethelflaed become Lady of Mercia in what looks like a wedding ceremony. Eventually we learn that the king is going to return to Wessex (finally) and Aethelflaed … Read More
Emma of Normandy & Bayeux
The charming town of Bayeux near the coast of Normandy is perhaps best known for its remarkable Tapestry, a very long length of embroidered linen that portrays events surrounding the Battle of Hastings in 1066. A few years ago I … Read More
The Last Kingdom, Episode 8: The Battle of Edington
878 A.D. In the seventh week after Easter King Alfred rode to Ecbryht’s Stone…All those of Somerset came to meet him, and those of Wiltshire and Hampshire…they were glad of his coming. ..He went from that camp…to Edington, and there … Read More
The Last Kingdom, Episode 2
At the beginning of this episode of The Last Kingdom, as scenes from the previous episode flash across the television screen and the voice of Uhtred summarizes his early life, he says, “Destiny is all.” This phrase appears in every … Read More
Those Brutal Middle Ages
I read a scholarly article recently which suggested that medieval warriors suffered from post traumatic stress syndrome, just as modern soldiers do. It also proposed that the fighting men of the middle ages were not the brutal savages that we … Read More
5 May 1010: The Battle of Ringmere
On 5 May in the year 1010, a great battle was fought between the Anglo-Saxons and the Danes at a place in East Anglia called Ringmere. In the fall of 2012, as part of the research for my novel The … Read More
Guest Post by Acclaimed Author Jeri Westerson
I met author Jeri Westerson when she swept into my hometown a few years back to talk about history, mystery and her Medieval Noir hero Crispin Guest. She’s a terrific speaker and a talented mystery writer, and today I’m delighted … Read More