tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84979823907356501582024-03-13T20:44:59.866-07:00ShieldmaidenVikings in Cumbria.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032653072085070741noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8497982390735650158.post-35837514718642182722019-01-25T01:56:00.000-08:002019-01-25T01:56:33.365-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhd3mj_ZHnE1XZ_JaSvRLJKnLIIITRDYXK9Gsf_Ix-_8lpowspszkzDpJBNcVBalGJIcoZgWkZH1bVrGg1jfCqqGF61ugTvz8SPsk3PyxQNjyXXfndYpQ9_E2Ih0sQhKT-OH9Jtpf2I5E/s1600/The+Shieldmaiden+Trilogy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1113" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhd3mj_ZHnE1XZ_JaSvRLJKnLIIITRDYXK9Gsf_Ix-_8lpowspszkzDpJBNcVBalGJIcoZgWkZH1bVrGg1jfCqqGF61ugTvz8SPsk3PyxQNjyXXfndYpQ9_E2Ih0sQhKT-OH9Jtpf2I5E/s320/The+Shieldmaiden+Trilogy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Giving Birth to a Shieldmaiden.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Giving birth to my Shieldmaiden has been a long, sometimes
painful, experience. I always knew I had to write a book about Vikings. It felt
like it was my duty as a Scandinavian to educate the British about our shared
heritage and rescue these deluded people from the notion that Vikings was all
about the ‘rape and pillage’ by wild Northmen of peaceful, Christian Anglo
Saxons. </div>
<o:p> </o:p><br />
It took a long time. Life got in the way; mortgage, career,
travel. It took a dream to get me started. I dreamt that I woke up. I opened my
eyes, it was dark, I could smell wood-smoke, wet dogs and damp woollen clothes.
I could hear the rustle made when mice scurried among the reeds covering the floor.
When my eyes got used to the dark I discerned tall rafters supporting a steep
roof. I’m Swedish, I know a Viking longhouse when I see one. This was the 10<sup>th</sup>
Century and I was very old. Aches and pains stopped me going back to sleep and
I fell to reminiscing about my life. <br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
The next morning, after waking up properly, back in the 21<sup>st</sup>
Century, I began writing the story of Sigrid Kveldulfsdaughter. I don’t believe
in reincarnation or spirits, it was a dream, nothing more. It doesn’t actually
matter how it came about and when people ask if Sigrid is me, I just tell them
that, although I may look it, I’m not over a thousand years old.<br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
I thought my Scandinavian background and my past as a
student of History would be enough and I’d get this book written pretty
quickly. And the gods in Asgard laughed at my hubris.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
Why, oh why, did I set the story in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cumbria</st1:place></st1:country-region>? Of
course I’d been to Buttermere on holiday and loved it there. But describing
life there in the 10<sup>th</sup> Century threw up some difficult questions. Was
it part of Strathclyde or <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Northumbria</st1:place></st1:country-region>?
To whom would the Viking settlers there pledge their allegiance? I assumed that
the Cumbrian Vikings, being predominantly Norse, would support the <st1:city w:st="on">Dublin</st1:city> kings in their claims on the crown of what I have
called the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Kingdom</st1:placetype>
of <st1:placename w:st="on">Jorvik</st1:placename></st1:place>. Above all, I
felt safe setting them against the Saxons. But what was their relationship to
Strathclyde and the Scots?<br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Forget about nation states, forget about boundaries. This is
a time of personal power based on a network of supporters. A centre of power,
Jorvik for example, had its sphere of interest where its ruler collected
tribute, could call up an army and keep law and order. That influence
diminished the further from the centre you got. Several centres worked together
as less powerful chieftains added their spheres of interest to the strongest
one. A king was only as safe and as powerful as the support he was afforded by
his followers. The commitment was based on mutual duties and rewards; the king
was supposed to show generosity towards his supporters in the form of gifts of
land and gold.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p>Sigrid lives in the area of Buttermere and Loweswater. This
was a border zone between the interests of Viking Northumbria/Jorvik,
Strathclyde and the expanding Saxons intent on conquering all <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region>. It was
difficult terrain for an army or even for tax collectors. The Norse Viking
communities seem to have had a fair amount of independence or at least choice
whom to submit to. There were local Thing gatherings and many of the Thing
mounds where they discussed matters of common interest, voted and held law
court have been identified. I decided that Sigrid and her family would attend
the Thing at Fellfoot in Little Langdale. </div>
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
The first book, Shieldmaiden, features the battle of
Brunnanburgh. The problem here is that nobody knows where that took place.
Eminent historians differ on the matter and here was I, a mere novelist, having
to settle on a place. I did. Then a group including the Professor of Viking
Studies at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Nottingham</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place> decided on a
site on the Wirral. So, assuming they must be right, I re-wrote a whole
chapter. I have since learnt about yet another possible site for the battle
which I actually find more credible but what’s been put in print has to stand.</div>
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Historical accuracy is important to me. I learnt a lot of
History through fiction and I believe that historical novelists have a duty to
present to their readers a scenario that is at the very least not impossible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we can only be as accurate as the sources
we use. The Vikings had no written language apart from the runes and the
inscriptions on stones tell us very little: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Thorstein went to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region> with Canute and died
there,” for example. So most of the contemporary sources are manuscripts
written by monks and priests. The Anglo Saxon Chronicles were commissioned by
King Alfred the Great to give his family a history, to justify their claim to
power and to generally make them seem good. Much of what’s written there comes
under the heading of ‘well, he would say that, wouldn’t he?’ </div>
<o:p> </o:p><br />
There are six versions of the Anglo Saxon Chronicles and
they sometimes disagree even about basic facts like the year of an event and
the names of people involved. This held me up when I wanted to describe a
battle at <st1:place w:st="on">Leicester</st1:place>. Two separate dates 941
and 943, only the first name of the Viking king given: Anlaf. Unfortunately
there were two Anlafs; one was King of Jorvik in 941, the other in 943. I
decided there had been two battles, subsequent events made this quite plausible
or at least not impossible.<br />
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Written sources are prone to be biased so you’d have thought
that archaeology would provide some certainty. Not so. Finds have to be
interpreted. To me and to most Scandinavians the notion of women warriors,
shieldmaidens, is neither new nor overly contentious. Many graves contain
evidence of powerful women and some of those also contain weapons. The ideas that
‘she must have looked after them for her husband’ or ‘they were ceremonial’ or ‘not
actually weapons at all’, were all new to me. I was taught in school that both
boys and girls in Viking times learnt to ride, swim and use bow and arrow, that
when the men were away trading or raiding women needed to be able to defend the
farmstead. </div>
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Likewise, I find it strange when people explain away the
writings by Adam of Bremen or Saxo Grammaticus claiming they were told lies or
misunderstood when people told them about warrior women. And that’s before we
even get into myths and legends preserved in folk-memory. Most of all I have on
occasion been saddened by the vitriol with which some people conduct what
should be a grown-up discussion based on evidence. For myself I am satisfied
that some women did fight and some women were warriors. As far as I know
there’s no evidence for women taking part in raids but we know they accompanied
raiding parties and invading armies of Vikings. Maybe it just made sense for
them to at least be able to fend for themselves. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
So I wrote a novel about a woman who became a warrior. I
told it the way I dreamt it when I woke up in that longhouse and remembered a
life as Shieldmaiden.</div>
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Marianne Whiting </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032653072085070741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8497982390735650158.post-34355714769419462412013-03-13T13:19:00.000-07:002013-03-13T13:29:53.519-07:00A Viking Settlement<strong><span style="font-size: large;">A Viking Settlement.</span></strong><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlGwBhNaz1IqOxvaLDC9N4pr5LxoenO5OsFfj0Zs3KlZIYJXtyQPSLKUAP0rb5aydFqEqFpyDhiNY6YWRW3bAgn-JVuscWt0XrzR2Sv8jvfDRF-M9FPQOxM0fopOc_z-ki4prCe7It0bo/s1600/DSCN1242rev.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" psa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlGwBhNaz1IqOxvaLDC9N4pr5LxoenO5OsFfj0Zs3KlZIYJXtyQPSLKUAP0rb5aydFqEqFpyDhiNY6YWRW3bAgn-JVuscWt0XrzR2Sv8jvfDRF-M9FPQOxM0fopOc_z-ki4prCe7It0bo/s640/DSCN1242rev.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Photo by Jon Whiting from Lejre outdoor museum near Roskilde in Denmark.<br />
<br />
Most Viking settlements were probably farmsteads inhabited by an extended family or, where the land was fertile enough to support more people, small villages. Where the novel Shieldmaiden is set, around the lakes of Loweswater and Buttermere in Cumbria, in the mid-10th Century the most likely scenario is that of farmsteads. So this picture could well show something similar to what Sigrid's home looked like; a collection of houses surrounded by a fence. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1AaO5H226EVOKyJx81Ly_nOdrYj5trzquYYv5v7ncFSiKJKHjY73wmq0nGLmfwVbZ2Q2VqiefwjAy23I_IRP9cyBPqjJq-qP6Kaw0_ZxUClwAFYAx9bOhzuRG-Wqe8Y_VhOrgAqfiGwE/s1600/small+hall+setting.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" psa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1AaO5H226EVOKyJx81Ly_nOdrYj5trzquYYv5v7ncFSiKJKHjY73wmq0nGLmfwVbZ2Q2VqiefwjAy23I_IRP9cyBPqjJq-qP6Kaw0_ZxUClwAFYAx9bOhzuRG-Wqe8Y_VhOrgAqfiGwE/s640/small+hall+setting.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
Photo by Marianne Whiting of reconstructed Viking longhouse from South Sweden.<br />
There is little archaeological evidence from Viking buildings in Cumbria. There are, as I discussed in an earlier post, lots of place names but the only excavation of a Viking house, outside York, that I know of is the one at Ribblehead. there may of course be many more that are buried under buildings still standing today. Ribblehead consists of three buildings, a main house which looks much like the ones in the picture and two smaller ones used perhaps as dairy and workshop. The walls of the main Ribblehead house are stone-built with a thick layer of soil between the wall and the sides of the roof which almost touches the ground. They knew about insulation and with the central hearth these houses were probably quite cosy.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgubIdF1E6F6BdTCOn3W4vha75Pg7Bs8ZUmd0ZLyC8Y3aDgGb2-fyeF9gy2ecZrazCM_ZXrcbzW3dqsfOfzR0phvO4lW0d2b4eTEkKcg9e_9xn3Fz012SWjjdBohrH60qdtRk1C1r2eqzg/s1600/interior+small+hall.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" psa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgubIdF1E6F6BdTCOn3W4vha75Pg7Bs8ZUmd0ZLyC8Y3aDgGb2-fyeF9gy2ecZrazCM_ZXrcbzW3dqsfOfzR0phvO4lW0d2b4eTEkKcg9e_9xn3Fz012SWjjdBohrH60qdtRk1C1r2eqzg/s640/interior+small+hall.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
Photo as above.<br />
<br />
This gives you some idea of the construction with a framework of beams holding up the roof-timbers. The picture is taken about half way along the house. It looks a bit empty and sad but would have been furnished with wall-hangings and benches covered in blankets and furs.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWMZuo4N0Gnh_EVWbew9izt0LQgaMxGFNG553y9xur5BNmkAW4lBckfIHMcMZSBfBU7Pchzx1AhNGA-ngsfLN7S8gvC0z8TGKCFEMte8EJRH9xf8TcpACkRsNuxSxT7H_TVtzUfPK_k5g/s1600/hearth+i+hall.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" psa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWMZuo4N0Gnh_EVWbew9izt0LQgaMxGFNG553y9xur5BNmkAW4lBckfIHMcMZSBfBU7Pchzx1AhNGA-ngsfLN7S8gvC0z8TGKCFEMte8EJRH9xf8TcpACkRsNuxSxT7H_TVtzUfPK_k5g/s640/hearth+i+hall.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
Photo by Jon Whiting from Ribe Viking Centre in Denmark.<br />
<br />
This gives a better impression of what the hearth would look like even if this one is from a larger building. There would also, within the enclosed farmstead, be smaller buildings such as a dairy, a stable, store houses and barns. Well away from other buildings was the smithy.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI0SQhsfV4Z_YZQOvUf2K7jjDonkOqnrcWnmdYlQ5GzXryvBI0WSsFJ81v-ZTsFE1kR4NJeXYxas_WBbxgRgVSFCN6ClFLbc7ADoW_K_T9lmwTlr8fTtT6e0d4gb8zu5YGEWMFRCzyjTU/s1600/P5250557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" psa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI0SQhsfV4Z_YZQOvUf2K7jjDonkOqnrcWnmdYlQ5GzXryvBI0WSsFJ81v-ZTsFE1kR4NJeXYxas_WBbxgRgVSFCN6ClFLbc7ADoW_K_T9lmwTlr8fTtT6e0d4gb8zu5YGEWMFRCzyjTU/s640/P5250557.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
Photo by Marianne Whiting from Foteviken Viking Village in Sweden.<br />
<br />
Just to show an alternative building technique using horizontal planks and a turf roof. This is a very small house and some of the cooking is likely to have taken place outside as the hearth is quite small.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-GnHiK13pjxu_WLy1zxDesB0o_eZZejnDjKuTGkrIqx5UXcZcTLbjudQO4cFmJWl1dPvh5arZTBzaVJJZgtV6Xrf55EwuC1Zs2r7i0EXK2rk_C3ct-PsMn3e7MW0outRe_twPCzdXHFE/s1600/P5250558.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" psa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-GnHiK13pjxu_WLy1zxDesB0o_eZZejnDjKuTGkrIqx5UXcZcTLbjudQO4cFmJWl1dPvh5arZTBzaVJJZgtV6Xrf55EwuC1Zs2r7i0EXK2rk_C3ct-PsMn3e7MW0outRe_twPCzdXHFE/s640/P5250558.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
Photo as above.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032653072085070741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8497982390735650158.post-60759434148270327722013-02-25T08:13:00.000-08:002013-02-25T08:13:54.930-08:00A Viking Hall<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtL7wOaNpCUMkHgZDQkBhgTc43t04p0OJpXRGvkS8h_pQjUgbxoxbTZa_UY7GUatoWQLKLfX_S1mX5MedHI3254Q1-SRM-pzt8CZL0HyAiv8EqUtx2HZEOkArfBhxXyVAMMhFPWDjzkhg/s1600/P5300565.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gsa="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtL7wOaNpCUMkHgZDQkBhgTc43t04p0OJpXRGvkS8h_pQjUgbxoxbTZa_UY7GUatoWQLKLfX_S1mX5MedHI3254Q1-SRM-pzt8CZL0HyAiv8EqUtx2HZEOkArfBhxXyVAMMhFPWDjzkhg/s400/P5300565.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Photo from Ribe Vikinge Center, Ribe, Denmark by Marianne Whiting.<br />
<br />
The above longhouse or chieftain's hall is rather grand but I imagine this to be something like Jarl Sigurd's hall at Lade. Inside there are rooms partitioned off for the chieftain and his family and a great hall.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv8-GARlXuoin_vzm93MxEO414ssAC1-SB5W0aTYAbtq4ysodsGXU6cOL41Usqo9_an8OdHtQWubU19zwlpTqCLV1U3JVC_tjUkx1o37vhIADtIuzNeAYmM98_HzarNPg89RVmkyk-Ip0/s1600/P5300594.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gsa="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv8-GARlXuoin_vzm93MxEO414ssAC1-SB5W0aTYAbtq4ysodsGXU6cOL41Usqo9_an8OdHtQWubU19zwlpTqCLV1U3JVC_tjUkx1o37vhIADtIuzNeAYmM98_HzarNPg89RVmkyk-Ip0/s400/P5300594.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Photo as above.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The family had beds with curtains to keepout the cold and to give some privacy. I'm never quite sure whether they had sheets. Icelandic sagas speak of bed linen but they were written up 300 years or so after the event and may well reflect life in that time. Woven blankets, cured skins and fleeces are certain as were bolsters filled with straw. In the picture someone has put up a wooden pole to do some tablet weaving from.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRmkDjChyphenhyphenzSljxSOJBXX-seMMOpRn2JMXJdxNgTyef1I11oSjUEmUK0Qyaw3kmgv_v_8iwcbjoyAH2jL-0fDVlgzRRs-PjlYD2oUOBIaWs3pnl-Rfp2MbRGYJZ5RG6ONjQ7IeT64_wMSc/s1600/P5300569rev.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gsa="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRmkDjChyphenhyphenzSljxSOJBXX-seMMOpRn2JMXJdxNgTyef1I11oSjUEmUK0Qyaw3kmgv_v_8iwcbjoyAH2jL-0fDVlgzRRs-PjlYD2oUOBIaWs3pnl-Rfp2MbRGYJZ5RG6ONjQ7IeT64_wMSc/s400/P5300569rev.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
photo as above.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This is part of the main hall. a raised hearth in the centre, pots and pans and meat and fish drying out above the fire. On the right hand side are the raised platforms that serve as seating and beds for servants, housekarls and guests. There were also store rooms but in this type of house the byre and stables would be in separate buildings. So imagine the Jarl, his royal guest and his family at the table on the dais to the left, the rest of the household on the seating along the walls with trestle tables full of food and drink.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032653072085070741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8497982390735650158.post-64440286748330396252013-02-11T04:11:00.000-08:002013-02-11T04:11:10.938-08:00Shieldmaiden in Cumbria.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD3ODsBmak_M5-3kGJyDhaAmG6AHwwNUa266sNlZ_d6UE_20FKiKKzJt9mR59g8gLztU-6IfwXF0Zmtk7FFDHOmmVpJzSb4ffe9swuChGT_rCQ0AE51GRmkZF75iH8i0HlO2baN-PDlH0/s1600/Buttermere+valley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD3ODsBmak_M5-3kGJyDhaAmG6AHwwNUa266sNlZ_d6UE_20FKiKKzJt9mR59g8gLztU-6IfwXF0Zmtk7FFDHOmmVpJzSb4ffe9swuChGT_rCQ0AE51GRmkZF75iH8i0HlO2baN-PDlH0/s400/Buttermere+valley.jpg" uea="true" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Photo by Marianne Whiting</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A reader recently asked about the exact location of the places I mention in Shieldmaiden. Not the villages and lakes, they are where they are but Becklund, Buttermere Farm etc and what route did Sigrid take when she walked from Becklund to Swanhill .</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">First a general admission; I haven't been able to find out exactly what the four lakes, the many rivers and the streams looked like 1000+ years ago. Rivers and streams will have changed their courses and, for some reason, I am convinced that there would also have been more water in the lakes. I have assumed this for three reasons.,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 87.75pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 87.75pt; text-indent: -48.75pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1)<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Travel was so much easier and safer on water and the Norse settlers would surely have come by boat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 87.75pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 87.75pt; text-indent: -48.75pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2)<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I read somewhere that Crummockwater and Buttermere were one lake and became separated when the bit in the middle silted up, Loweswater was supposedly connected to them by a navigable river, presumably Park Beck and Dub Beck. I don't know when this was though.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 87.75pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 87.75pt; text-indent: -48.75pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3)<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We help ourselves to quite a lot of water from various lakes and rivers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 39pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">All this is conjecture. Was the River Cocker even navigable? I'm still researching this for the sequel to Shieldmaiden.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The other question is about tree-cover. Generally there were no more trees in England as a whole in the 10th Century than there is now but what was it like in specific localities? Loweswater means leafy lake so that would seem straighforward, Keskadale holds the remains of an ancient oak-forest but around Buttermere and other places I can only guess.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">So for the question about locations:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Becklund. Originally I had the farm down by Loweswater Lake, around where Watergate farm is today but because I didn't know about the water-level in the lake and because the hill behind it seemed a bit steep I changed it to somewhere around Kirkgate Farm. That is elevated enough should Park Beck have been wider in those days and low enough for fields and meadows.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">There is another point about Loweswater. Many places beginning in Kirk, Kirkgate, Kirkhill, Kirkgill. This could refer to the site of a heathen temple which may have been later taken over by the Christian Church. The closeness to an ancient earthworks is evocative. More research needed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Swanhill I have imagined roughly by Whins. I chose that because the footpath from Crummockwater to Ennerdale Water comes out around there. It follows a gap in the hills and is likely to have been well used over the centuries.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Buttermere Farm I think is between the Bridge Hotel and the little chapel on the road to Keskadale. Not too close to the lake of Buttermere, hidden by trees of which I have decided (!) there were more. Mill Beck is today surrounded by trees that look like remains of older woodland and I have imagined this as stretching further in all directions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The route Sigrid uses from Loweswater along Mosedale is the present footpath along the Western slope of Mellbreak. I have walked it a few times and it looks like it could take a horse whereas on the other side of the valley it looks steeper and the valley floor itself is rather boggy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The route from Swanhill by Ennerdale Water to Crummockwater follows the footpath marked on the OS map, past Floutern Tarn. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">There are remains of a thingmound in Little Langdale by Fell Foot Farm and I settled for that as a likely assembly for Sigrid and her family to attend. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032653072085070741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8497982390735650158.post-80829619249111677012013-01-25T01:05:00.000-08:002013-02-11T04:14:19.361-08:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Cumbrian Vikings – places mentioned in Shieldmaiden.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">A friend asked about my use of modern English names for places mentioned in Shieldmaiden and to be honest it wasn’t something I had though about. Below is some information I have, very belatedly, dug out from Robert Ferguson, The Northmen in <st1:city w:st="on">Cumberland</st1:city> and Westmoreland, (1856), a leaflet: Place Names in the <st1:place w:st="on">Lake District</st1:place> from The National Park Information Service and Wikipedia.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTs83Qg8BzCkkEYOUIOhAsrEbaBLO_FZks11xCI-Avc3nkpEa7HRvLCDGNi6WKL0jHbmk2AczXdnr08g3do0EvdXE3USr7wBJmRCWF5sB6xHrUHdfUtzqlw1xJ8F2s6i4q_2bhu4lrsrQ/s1600/ButtermereDSCN0787.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" oea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTs83Qg8BzCkkEYOUIOhAsrEbaBLO_FZks11xCI-Avc3nkpEa7HRvLCDGNi6WKL0jHbmk2AczXdnr08g3do0EvdXE3USr7wBJmRCWF5sB6xHrUHdfUtzqlw1xJ8F2s6i4q_2bhu4lrsrQ/s320/ButtermereDSCN0787.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Buttermere.</b> I love the area around Buttermere. The legend about how the Vikings from Manx, on the run from the wrath of Harald Finehair, settled in Buttermere was my inspiration for Shieldmaiden. There are two conflicting explanations for this name. </div>
<div style="text-indent: 36pt;">
It could mean "the lake by the dairy pastures".</div>
<div style="text-indent: 36pt;">
It could also be "Buthar's mere" and this agrees with the local tradition about the Norse chieftain <span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Jarl Buthar or Boethar who in late 11<sup>th</sup> and early 12<sup>th</sup> centuries conducted a campaign of running resistance against the Norman invaders. Jarl Buthar is a semi-mythological figure. He is apparently mentioned in 12th century <st1:place w:st="on">Norman</st1:place> documents, but much of his story appears to be based on local legend and archaeology. Nicholas Size's <i>"The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Secret</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Valley</st1:placetype></st1:place> "</i> tells of Jarl Buthar's campaign. For almost half a century it's claimed that the Cumbrians fought a guerrilla war against the <st1:city w:st="on">Normans</st1:city>, attacking supply wagons, ambushing patrols and inflicting great losses until, in a final battle at Rannerdale ("Ragnar's dale"), the Anglo-Scandinavian Cumbrians were defeated by the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Normans</st1:city></st1:place>. </span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36pt;">
Legend it may be but it is very attractive except that it creates a problem for me as Shieldmaiden is set in the middle of the 10<sup>th</sup> Century, 100 years or more before Jarl Boethar. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So maybe I’ll have to stick to the dairy-pastures as the origin of the name Buttermere while hanging my head in shame at not having checked up on this before. Or could Jarl Boethar have taken his name from where he lived? It happened.</div>
<div style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Becklund </b>is a made up name for the farm by Loweswater where Sigrid grew up. There is a Becklund in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sweden</st1:place></st1:country-region> and I spent my childhood’s summers there. Beck means stream and a <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">lund</st1:city></st1:place> is a grove, possibly a holy place for worship and sacrifice. It’s a perfectly respectable name for a farm.<br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Loweswater </b>‘Laufsasaervatn’ means leafy lake.<br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Honister </b>comes from Hogni, a man’s name and ter from tadir meaning place. It doesn’t necessarily mean that Hogni lived there, he may have been buried there as the Vikings liked to be buried, or at least have their stones and/or mounds, in prominent places where they could be seen by lots of people who would then remember them and their great deeds ( or villainous exploits, depending on your point of view).<br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Honister Hause. </b>Hause, from ‘hals’ meaning neck and its derivative haw means a low area between hills ie a pass.<br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Swanhill. </b>I have to apologise for this one, not only is it made up but it isn’t even a Viking place-name. It should have been Heltrehaugr from heltre, swan, and haugr, one of several words for hill. My imaginary Swanhill is near the end of the footpath from Crummockwater to Ennerdale Water.<br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ennerdale</b>, early <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>spelling Ananderdale from the personal name Anund and dale which means valley.<br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Floutern Tarn</b>. There’s more than one of these in the <st1:place w:st="on">Lake District</st1:place> but the one I have in mind lies between Crummockwater and Ennerdale. The footpath passes quite close to it. <br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Crummockwater. </b>Crooked lake or could be Cromboc or Crumbeck from the man’s name Krumr and beck. It was connected to Buttermere until a narrow stretch silted up and divided them. <br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Keswick </span></b><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">in the Dark Ages and the early medieval period was part of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Kingdom</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Strathclyde</st1:placename></st1:place>. The Vikings arrived in the 10th century and are thought to have come as invited settlers rather than as invaders, perhaps for economic reasons or possibly to bolster Strathclyde’s southern border against incursion by the Northumbrians. The Norsemen were great traders and farmers, and are thought to have introduced the Herdwik sheep whose ancestors doubtless provided milk for the industry that gave Keswick its name: it means ‘cheese town’ from Cese and wic.</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN"> </span></b><br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Keskadale</b>, I have not been able to find a translation for but it is in the Newlands valley which until 13<sup>th</sup> century was known as <span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Rogersat or Rogersyde which was derived from “Roger-Saetr”, which translates as <i>Summer pasture belonging to Roger</i>. My own thought on Keskadale is that it could be to do with cese, cheese, same as Keswick.</span><br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Jorvik/York. </span></b><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">I never even considered using the modern name, thinking Jorvik is familiar to most people. When describing Sigrid and Ansgar’s visit I made good use of ‘Jorvik a <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Viking</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">City</st1:placetype></st1:place>’ from York Archaeological Trust.</span><br />
<br />
<st1:place w:st="on"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Scarborough</span></b></st1:place><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">, </span></b><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Skarthi’s fort, an indulgence on my part as it is another place I like to visit and the legend of Skarthi building the settlement on the slope of the old Roman fort is well established. Skarthi was a nick-name for someone with a hare-lip. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032653072085070741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8497982390735650158.post-13223261478518648422013-01-04T08:12:00.002-08:002013-01-04T08:12:33.496-08:00<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;">Blog entry by Emma Keir from the Grassroutes Project about the launch of Shieldmaiden.</span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zXQiG-VztS0/UOb-jmIkRRI/AAAAAAAAAEA/qkoHu-PFO2g/s1600/Speech+compressed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" eea="true" height="145" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zXQiG-VztS0/UOb-jmIkRRI/AAAAAAAAAEA/qkoHu-PFO2g/s320/Speech+compressed.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;"></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;">Picture by Rod Duncan</span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<u><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;">Book Launch: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shieldmaiden </i>by Marianne Whiting<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>On Thursday 6<sup>th</sup><span style="mso-text-raise: 3.0pt; position: relative; top: -3pt;"> </span>December Marianne Whiting, poet, novelist and member of <st1:place w:st="on">Leicester</st1:place> writer's club released her novel <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shieldmaiden. </i>The evening, at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Leicester</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Adult</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Eduction</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">College</st1:placetype></st1:place>, consisted of Marianne's witty introduction to her novel, readings from the manuscript and an intriguing historical background into its context.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Marianne begins her talk by telling the audience about her Scandinavian heritage. The author grew up on historical fiction, yet she felt frustrated that most roles allocated to women were limited. The exception seemed to be the Viking era. She tells us her usual responses to her Scandinavian heritage: a joke about Vikings, “either a leer or sneer but always the same words: Vikings, oh yes, rape and pillage”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Marianne had always intended to write a book about Vikings, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shieldmaiden </i>has taken years in the making. She tells the room “when I first began writing Shieldmaiden I was very arrogant thinking that being Scandinavian and a student of history I wouldn't really need to do much research”. Yet as the evening goes on, her dedication to her formed research is clear for all to see.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The gap in her knowledge, she tells us, turned out to be about Viking settlers in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cumbria</st1:place></st1:country-region>. The novelist continues to give us an interesting background into British history. Marianne explains she was a historian before becoming a novelist, but she was, as she puts it: “a lousy historian because I had so much imagination”. However, she has evidently maintained an impressive vat of historical knowledge, which keeps everyone in the room fascinated. Even after her launch, the room is buzzing with excited listeners sharing their appreciation of the novel and its author.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I too, became a new fan of Marianne and couldn't wait to get my hands on a signed copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shieldmaiden. </i>I explained to her I was from Grassroutes writing team and she helpfully offered me her transcript from the evening. I gratefully accepted it and eagerly took my seat with my new novel. Within ten minutes, I had already read two chapters and I can tell you now, I cannot wait to read twenty eight more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">By Emma Keir<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(Member of Grassroutes writing team and proud owner of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shieldmaiden </i>by Marianne Whiting)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #271915;">Shieldmaiden</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #271915; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #271915;">is available as e-book and paperback from </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.troubador.co.uk/matadorand"><span style="color: navy;">www.troubador.co.uk/matadorand</span></a><span style="color: #271915;"> </span><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/"><span style="color: purple;">www.amazon.co.uk</span></a></span><u><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #271915; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></u><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #271915;">,as e-book from WH Smith and the paperback can be ordered from major book stores if it's not on their shelves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032653072085070741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8497982390735650158.post-66168119645889618512012-12-10T07:13:00.000-08:002013-02-11T04:14:19.358-08:00Cumbrian Vikings, sources and research.<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cumbrian Vikings.</span></strong></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;">When I first began writing Shieldmaiden I was very arrogant thinking that being Scandinavian, growing up with legends and sagas and being a student of History I wouldn’t really need to do much research. Please insert hollow laughter here!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;">The first enormous gap in my knowledge was of course about the Viking settlers in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Cumbria</st1:country-region></st1:place>. While staying at the Bridge Hotel in Buttermere I came across the tale of the Vikings from the Isle of Man who got a bit uppety and refused to pay tribute to Harald Finehair of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Norway</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Well, that must be one of the worst miscalculations ever. Harald Finehair’s punishment expeditions were legendary and, when they heard that he’d set sail and was on his way, the Manx Vikings left in a hurry taking their families, animals and all they could carry on their ships. Some of them ended up in Buttermere and Rannerdale. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;">Jarl Sweyn and his family are based on this tale but here I have exercised the novelist’s prerogative and shaped the events to suit me. Otherwise I have made every effort to stay true to actual events. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;">The Vikings left practically no written records. The Anglo Saxon Chronicle was written by monks who weren’t over-fond of Vikings and anyway don’t deal with everyday life. So I have used what sources I found, the Anglo Saxon Chronicle, Icelandic Sagas, reports from archaeological digs and secondary sources such as the writing of W.G. Colloingwood and Nicholas Size. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;">They were both scholars, specialists on the Viking settlers in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cumbria</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Collingwood wrote Thorstein of the Mere, a Saga of the Northmen in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lakeland</st1:place></st1:city>. This saga fills in the gaps that the Historian has to leave alone due to lack of unambiguous evidence or simply lack of any evidence at all. Nicholas Size writes about his novel The Secret Valley, the Real Romance of Unconquered Lakeland : “There are details to imagine and suggestions to make in order to cover points which have not been recorded; and as life is too short for most of us, it seems best to put the facts into the form of a readable story appreciated by the many, instead of into a dry handbook appreciated by the very few.” I couldn’t agree more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;">The novelist can continue where the historian must stop and admit that we don’t know. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But to use conjecture and create fiction carries responsibility and, like Collingwood and Size, although I am no longer an academic, I do take that seriously. More about sources and inspiration in my next blog.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032653072085070741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8497982390735650158.post-20547805433680765792012-12-03T04:17:00.000-08:002012-12-03T04:17:10.116-08:00Shieldmaiden Interview and ReviewThe Bookish Dame has inviewed me and reviewed Shieldmaiden on her blog:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: darkgreen; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 14pt;"><a href="http://abookishlibraria.blogspot.com/2012/12/shieldmaiden-by-marianne.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple;">http://abookishlibraria.blogspot.com/2012/12/shieldmaiden-by-marianne.html</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<h3 style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Alice; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p><span style="color: #0e4d9b;"> </span></o:p></span></h3>
<h3 style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Alice;"><a href="http://abookishlibraria.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/shieldmaiden-by-marianne.html"><span style="color: purple; font-size: large;">"Shieldmaiden" by Marianne Whiting~Absorbing Story!</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0e4d9b;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 2.25pt 2.25pt 3.75pt 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #666464; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Alice;"><script src="http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" type="text/javascript">
</script></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #666464; font-family: Alice; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbkLmZS86JvlAPYfGjpa9KluLAznL5pUF9MIt8qqAiAJlfbhoZ9mnMwNmT2udA69y8Y4pRHasmxsuirsLlyUEbcj-0VnJn287lKkByvH3ELhIUbhciAhyphenhyphenIdcuwL0_Z5XnJ_esoy4hss-s/s1600/shieldmaiden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbkLmZS86JvlAPYfGjpa9KluLAznL5pUF9MIt8qqAiAJlfbhoZ9mnMwNmT2udA69y8Y4pRHasmxsuirsLlyUEbcj-0VnJn287lKkByvH3ELhIUbhciAhyphenhyphenIdcuwL0_Z5XnJ_esoy4hss-s/s200/shieldmaiden.jpg" tea="true" width="126" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 2.25pt 2.25pt 3.75pt 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #666464; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #666464; font-family: Alice; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #666464; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #666464; font-family: Alice; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<u><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #e06666; font-family: Alice; font-size: 10.5pt;">SUMMARY</span></u><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #666464; font-family: Alice; font-size: 10.5pt;">: Sigrid is the daughter of a runaway Norwegian princess and a warrior who was once Harald Finehair’s housekarl. She grows up on a farm by Loweswater but her childhood comes to an abrupt end when her father is outlawed and killed, her home is burnt and the rest of her family disappears... <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #666464; font-family: Alice; font-size: 10.5pt;">In the year 934 <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cumbria</st1:place></st1:country-region> is in turmoil. The English fight Vikings for political supremacy in the North, whilst the traditional Viking way of life is threatened as Christianity advances against the worship of Norse gods. Against this background, Sigrid embarks on a quest for justice and security for herself and her children. Her only option is to appeal to the King of Norway to reverse his judgement on her father and allow her to inherit the family farm, but <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Norway</st1:country-region></st1:place> is far away and Sigrid is a daughter of an outlaw with only her wits and her sword skills to help her cause.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #666464; font-size: 10.5pt;"> Recruiting a small but gallant force of allies,</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #666464; font-family: Alice; font-size: 10.5pt;"> she sets out to regain her birth-right. During her quest, she encounters kings, warriors and villains. While her fighting skills earn her admiration and rewards, she also begins to understand about duty, honour and loyalty, changing from a headstrong teenager into a respected warrior woman. Shieldmaiden is a well-researched and realistic tale that will appeal to fans of historical fiction, as well as young adult readers. Marianne has been inspired by Nordic sagas and legends and the Icelandic sagas, as well as Frans G. Bengtsson’s The Long Ships, Robert Low’s The Oathsworn series and Manda Scott’s Boudica novels.<br /></span><u><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #e06666; font-family: Alice; font-size: 10.5pt;">PARTICULARS OF THE BOOK </span></u><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #e06666; font-family: Alice; font-size: 10.5pt;">:</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #666464; font-family: Alice; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: Alice; font-size: 10.5pt;">Published by: Troubador Publishing Inc./Matador</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #666464; font-family: Alice; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br />Pages: 264<br />Genre: Historical Fiction<br />Purchase: <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shieldmaiden-marianne-whiting/1113125523?ean=2940015549195"><span style="color: #33bf9e;">Barnes & Noble</span></a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shieldmaiden-Marianne-Whiting/dp/1780882971/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354414265&sr=1-3&keywords=Shieldmaiden#_"><span style="color: #33bf9e;">Amazon</span></a><br /><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span><u>AN INTERVIEW WITH MARIANNE WHITING</u> :</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #666464; font-family: Alice; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #666464; font-family: Alice; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: purple; font-family: Alice; font-size: 10.5pt;">Welcome to A Bookish Libraria, Marianne. I'm anxious to hear your answers to some of my questions!<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: purple; font-family: Alice;">1) First of all, please tell us a special something about what makes you “tick.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you aren’t writing, what are you doing? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #666464; font-family: Alice;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Alice;">Reading, unless my husband drags me, kicking and screaming, out for a walk or bike ride which I then enjoy very much.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: purple; font-family: Alice;">2) We’re always curious about where a writer chooses to write.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Could you tell us about your favorite place to write?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Describe it in detail…what’s on your desk, what do you see from the window if any…do you have a favorite lucky charm?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Alice;"> This is one of my big problems. I have a very small, crowded room where I do my writing, keep track of my finances (it can be seriously scary to find an unpaid bill between chapter one and two), keep the accounts for Leicester Writers’ Club and any correspondence. A shared filing-cabinet and a chest of drawers ensure regular interruptions. This is why I’m often found in our lovely little conservatory; it’s bright and with a view of the garden but cold in winter and boiling hot in summer. I may also claim space in our living room or on the dining table. Need I say, how grateful I am to whoever invented the laptop! My desk is a mess – you really don’t want to know!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Alice;">Every now and then I excavate my desk and then I find my lucky charm. It is a small stuffed dog, about two inches long, with a funny smile on its face. He’s very cute and I’m always very pleased to see him. I make a great deal of fuss of him until he’s again buried under the debris.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: purple; font-family: Alice;">3) Bronte or Austen?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hemingway or Hawthorne?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Alice;"> My dad introduced me to historical fiction. He took me to see The Three Musketeers with Errol Flynn and when we got home he let me borrow his copy of the book. I never looked back! I devoured historical adventure and novels about war and, yes, I read Hemingway and Steinbeck too. Never a fan of romantic fiction, I do however also have a complaint about adventure stories; the men and the boys always seem to have all the fun and excitement. We have tough female detectives, why not a warrior woman? Sigrid, the Viking shieldmaiden, demanded that her story be told. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: purple; font-family: Alice;"> 4) In your opinion, what makes a book a great one?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Alice;">One that stays with you; one that makes you think and feel; one that challenges you and shows you something new. I like to find out facts and ideas from my fiction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #666464; font-family: Alice;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: purple; font-family: Alice;">5) Which author(s) most influenced your love of books?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Alice;"> This could easily be a long list and it would probably change quite often but Villhelm Moberg and Sven-Edvin Salje, two historical novelists from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sweden</st1:place></st1:country-region> have had a lasting influence because they manage to combine historical accuracy with realistic characters facing challenging situations and moral dilemmas which feel relevant to the modern reader. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Alice;">Going back to my childhood, I’ve already mentioned Alexandre Dumas but there is of course also Astrid Lindgren whose Pippi Longstocking influenced not just my love of books but probably my attitude to life as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: purple; font-family: Alice;">6) Read any good books in the past 6 months?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Alice;"> You want the whole list?! I belong to a book club which makes me read things I wouldn’t otherwise choose. This year I discovered David Mitchell’s Ghostwritten, Rose Tremain’s Restoration, Georgina Harding’s Painter of Silence and Fawsia Koofi’s autobiography The Favoured Daughter. Outside the club I have enjoyed Robert Low’s Oathsworn, a series of Viking adventures. At the moment I’m re-reading Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #666464; font-family: Alice;">7) </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: purple; font-family: Alice;">Choose 4 guests from any era for dinner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who would they be and what would you choose for a topic of conversation?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Alice;">Theodora Byzantine Empress, Queen Margareta of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Sweden</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Denmark</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on">Norway</st1:country-region> 1389-1412, Elizabeth I of <st1:country-region w:st="on">England</st1:country-region> and Catherine the Great of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Russia</st1:place></st1:country-region>. I think they would find a discussion about the challenges women face when ruling empires. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: purple; font-family: Alice;">8) There’s a song that goes along with your book, what is it? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Alice;"> Clannad, Boadicea. It is a celtic tune but I don’t think there are any surviving examples of Viking music.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: purple; font-family: Alice;">9) If you could cast your book for a movie, who would you choose for your 2 main characters?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Alice;">Jennifer Lawrence as Sigrid and Viggo Mortensen (20 years ago) as Ragnar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: purple; font-family: Alice;">10) Worst habit you have while writing books?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Alice;">Answering questions that I then have no recollection of. This is particularly embarrassing if I have promised to do something.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: purple; font-family: Alice;"> 11) How much research did you do before and during writing?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #666464; font-family: Alice;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Alice;">In my arrogance I thought that being Swedish I knew enough about Vikings so I did nothing before starting. I have since done lots of reading, searching on the internet, looking up websites of re-enactment societies and visiting museums, Viking Centres and places I mention in the book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: purple; font-family: Alice;">12) Psychologists tell us the thing we think we’d most like to grow up to be when we’re ten years old is our avocation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What did you want to be?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Alice;">Honestly, I wanted to be a novelist. It just took me half a century to get started!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-pagination: none;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #666464; font-family: Alice;"> </span><u><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #e06666; font-family: Alice; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">THE BOOKISH DAME REVIEWS </span></u><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #e06666; font-family: Alice; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">:</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #666464; font-family: Alice; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #666464; font-family: Alice; font-size: 10.5pt;"> I read and thoroughly enjoyed "Shieldmaiden: You are your Father's Daughter..." this week. It wasn't at all what I expected. Frankly I thought I would be bogged down in Viking names and history and would have to plough my way through them to find a story to enjoy. Quite the contrary. <br /><br />We are very soon introduced to the strong-willed and beautiful Sigrid, who is the shieldmaiden, and her soon-to-be-lover, Ragnar. Both of these young warriors are beautifully rendered, exciting, and not at all boring or bogged down! Through them and their personal struggles around a great battle, we become familiar with the times and the peoples of the year 934.<br /><br />Mythologically, Norse gods and Christianity wrestle for foundations amongst the English and the Vikings in Ms Whiting's novel. I loved the contrasts shown in the warriors and peoples. I saw <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Norway</st1:country-region></st1:place> as I'd never experienced it before.<br /><br />This is a historical novel that's a surprise. It's well-written and wonderfully told. I enjoyed the love story and the strength of character of the warrior woman, Sigrid. I would recommend it for those who like to take a risk on unusual historical fiction with a wonderful love story.<br /><br />4 stars Deborah/TheBookishDame <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 18.75pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span class="post-labels"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3f2e26; font-family: Alice; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 1.2pt;">Labels: <a href="http://abookishlibraria.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/historical%20fiction"><span class="etiquetas"><span style="color: #33bf9e;">historical fiction</span></span></a>, <a href="http://abookishlibraria.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Shieldmaiden"><span class="etiquetas"><span style="color: #33bf9e;">Shieldmaiden</span></span></a>, <a href="http://abookishlibraria.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Viking%20history"><span class="etiquetas"><span style="color: #33bf9e;">Viking history</span></span></a> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3f2e26; font-family: Alice; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 1.2pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: 18.75pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span class="post-authorvcard"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3f2e26; font-family: Alice; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 1.2pt;">Posted by </span></span><span class="fn"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3f2e26; font-family: Alice; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 1.2pt;">Deb</span></span><span class="post-authorvcard"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3f2e26; font-family: Alice; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 1.2pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3f2e26; font-family: Alice; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 1.2pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbkLmZS86JvlAPYfGjpa9KluLAznL5pUF9MIt8qqAiAJlfbhoZ9mnMwNmT2udA69y8Y4pRHasmxsuirsLlyUEbcj-0VnJn287lKkByvH3ELhIUbhciAhyphenhyphenIdcuwL0_Z5XnJ_esoy4hss-s/s1600/shieldmaiden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbkLmZS86JvlAPYfGjpa9KluLAznL5pUF9MIt8qqAiAJlfbhoZ9mnMwNmT2udA69y8Y4pRHasmxsuirsLlyUEbcj-0VnJn287lKkByvH3ELhIUbhciAhyphenhyphenIdcuwL0_Z5XnJ_esoy4hss-s/s1600/shieldmaiden.jpg" tea="true" /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032653072085070741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8497982390735650158.post-60087968874322406712012-11-19T09:26:00.002-08:002012-11-19T09:26:31.109-08:00<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhleGM990AiwZPCAzmzUSWof4-zb-5f9xT-Sh38DBCmEJ9pwsvU5rGmlhipDE9Lo0w_C_JfMFi1J_JItVSnrnGo7h_10E0amOrt6KKzQjzIZo2lMNhtAkNgSCVCQhO_chost_wCAaN9CLU/s1600/Keswick+Reminder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhleGM990AiwZPCAzmzUSWof4-zb-5f9xT-Sh38DBCmEJ9pwsvU5rGmlhipDE9Lo0w_C_JfMFi1J_JItVSnrnGo7h_10E0amOrt6KKzQjzIZo2lMNhtAkNgSCVCQhO_chost_wCAaN9CLU/s320/Keswick+Reminder.jpg" width="222" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Review of Shieldmaiden by Joyce Wilson in the Keswick Reminder:</strong></span><br />
<br />
"The story of Cumbria has been fundamentally shaped by the Viking occupation; we know that from our place names, words in our dialect and even our DNA. Marianne Whiting is a Swedish-born, Leicestershire-based writer with a deep love of the Lake District and the Cumbrian mountains. Her tale is born in the Loweawater/Buttermere valleys, but also includes a visit by the heroine 'Sigrid Kveldulfsdaughter' to her mother's homeland; to visit her grandfather the King of Norway.<br />
For those who know these two valleys well this tale tells a colourful story of what it might be like to have lived there in the tenth Century. After reading this novel any future visit we make will sharply recall the fictional story of Sigrid, which is likely to be close to that lived by real people, those who lived, loved and died amid these towering fells. It's tale of murder, the merciless slaughter of war, love, hatred, binding honour, also marking the change from the old Norse gods, Odin and Thor to a slow and often unwilling acceptance of the new Christianity forced upon them by a succession of converted kings.<br />
Sigrid is an unusual female child; she learns how to use a sword and to fight in the tradition of the ancient Viking warriors who had accepted maiden warriors into their ranks in earlier times. Her bravery and skill leads her into battles which are brutal, bloody and very graphically described by a writer who has meticulously and lovingly researched her source materials.<br />
The storyline is captivating and doesn't allow the reader to 'escape'. It's a novel that cannot be put down until the very last sentence! I sat up to finish it! This compelling saga would be a lovely Christmas present for anyone who enjoys a good adventure story with a unique local historical input."Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032653072085070741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8497982390735650158.post-12645909400329048822012-11-13T09:42:00.002-08:002012-11-13T09:42:56.333-08:00this business about blogging....<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje11R-fmgxUrsgt3hGMx08tAhOTOZiNx5f1PUkmfJpE4GmRR3uyy2HWtWsnNcyY6HCqKBx9ey8f9SV_yUx1jfT1iUVv85c7l-l6zgT1nddzvAUW3D4oFC8r0-LoHC0UEuVglicgf5ofOo/s1600/cover+pc+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje11R-fmgxUrsgt3hGMx08tAhOTOZiNx5f1PUkmfJpE4GmRR3uyy2HWtWsnNcyY6HCqKBx9ey8f9SV_yUx1jfT1iUVv85c7l-l6zgT1nddzvAUW3D4oFC8r0-LoHC0UEuVglicgf5ofOo/s200/cover+pc+2.jpg" width="138" /></a></div>
I'm not sure I'm cut out for this! So far I have tried not to blame blogspot (poor craftsperson blaming tools or whatever) but OMG this is so much harder than they made it sound. Why did my picture in the first post change to a black space with a 'no entry' sign? I'll give it one more go.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032653072085070741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8497982390735650158.post-36007723807316584262012-11-09T07:40:00.001-08:002012-11-13T09:29:31.764-08:00Shieldmaiden has arrived!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Welcome to my blog about Vikings, historical fiction and my life as a writer.<br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbkLmZS86JvlAPYfGjpa9KluLAznL5pUF9MIt8qqAiAJlfbhoZ9mnMwNmT2udA69y8Y4pRHasmxsuirsLlyUEbcj-0VnJn287lKkByvH3ELhIUbhciAhyphenhyphenIdcuwL0_Z5XnJ_esoy4hss-s/s1600/shieldmaiden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbkLmZS86JvlAPYfGjpa9KluLAznL5pUF9MIt8qqAiAJlfbhoZ9mnMwNmT2udA69y8Y4pRHasmxsuirsLlyUEbcj-0VnJn287lKkByvH3ELhIUbhciAhyphenhyphenIdcuwL0_Z5XnJ_esoy4hss-s/s1600/shieldmaiden.jpg" /></a>When I first arrived in the UK and mentioned Vikings I was met with two responses. They could be described as 'a leer' and 'a sneer' but they were both accompanied by the same comment: 'Vikings, oh yes, rape and pillage.' I've known for a long time time that my mission in life would be to provide a counterbalance to the bad press the Vikings have received in this country.</div>
<br />
Shieldmaiden is the first step in this campain but that's all I want to say about her. If you want to know more you'll have to check out my website mariannewhiting.com . My blog will be about other things.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10032653072085070741noreply@blogger.com0