Sir Thomas More by Hals Holbein (Accessed via Wikipedia ) During lockdown, we had Time. Remember that? I was in my probationary year of teaching: almost certainly among the most exhausting years for any profession. All my time had been taken up with school work, and I regularly stayed at school until after 6pm, having arrived there at eight in the morning. Now, children, this is not sustainable and, very soon, I decided I didn’t like working where I was. Then I realised that I didn’t like teaching at all. But, in fact, neither was particularly true: I just needed to be true to myself and to say no, which would give me the ability to manage my work/life balance in a more appropriate way. What does this have to do with historical fiction, I hear you say? Well, during March 2020, we went into lockdown and suddenly I went from working ten-hour-days to ten-hour-weeks. I met up with my class on Google Meet, I put work up for them on a meticulously designed Google Classroom, but I just h...
Blurb
Scotland. 1263. The scent of rain mingles with the smoke of campfires as word spreads: the Norse are coming…
As tempers rise between King Alexander and the Norse King Haakon, at the center of it all is sixteen-year-old William Douglas, a squire in service to Sir John Stewart, Lord High Steward of Scotland.
When Haakon's fearsome fleet is espied approaching Scotland's shores, carrying the greatest invasion force the Norse have ever mustered, the dread of battle settles over the land. Summoned to Ayr Castle, William joins the Scottish forces in a desperate defense. Now tasked with serving his newly knighted brother, Hugh, William has little time to dwell on the fear – or thrill – of his first real taste of war.
And once the Norse's menacing line of ships finally touches shore, Scotland's fate may rest on more than noble titles and knightly deeds— it'll take the mettle of every soul on the ground for them to triumph.
Set against the wind-swept coast of medieval Scotland, On a Sword's Edge takes you right into the center of The Battle of Largs alongside a mere – yet fearless – squire.
On a Sword's Edge
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Guest Post
Vikings were not a nation, tribe, or group, but the term appears to derive from Old Norse. While there is evidence that it was used during the Viking Age, its exact meaning is debated among people who debate such things. I believe it simply meant "raider," which is one widely accepted meaning.
In fiction, the terms Viking, Norse, and Dane have often been used incorrectly, causing many people mistakenly to believe they represent the same individuals or groups. For instance, the attackers in the Battle of Largs are frequently called Vikings, even though the Viking Age ended around 1050 CE, two hundred years before the battle took place.
There is even a Largs Viking Festival, which promotes itself as a way to "commemorate and embrace the historical and cultural links between these two great nations." The nation referred to is Norway, which was Norse. But were these people Vikings? No. "Viking" is simply a more exciting term for a festival than "Norse." There were strong trading ties between Scotland and Norway but these festivals always ignore that as not enough fun.
Obviously, the Viking Danes were Danish. Redundant much? Yet Wikipedia, unsurprisingly, gets it wrong and uses the term Norsemen for Vikings, as if to suggest that the Danes did not exist or engage in raiding. (One of many arguments against using Wikipedia for historical research.)
Most of the Vikings who raided Scotland and settled there were Norse. The end of the Viking Age did not mean that the thousands of Norse settlers in the Scottish Isles and mainland simply packed up and went back to Norway. Instead, from the Northern and Western Isles and the Hebrides to the mainland regions of Caithness, Sutherland, and much of Scotland's western seaboard, as far south as the Isle of Bute and Wester Ross, they swore fealty to the King of Norway.
In the Scottish Isles, the Norse seem to have replaced the native population, while on the mainland, such as in Wester Ross, they lived alongside it. Of course, they brought their language and culture with them.
Even today, Shetland is culturally distinct in many ways from mainland Scotland. The Up Helly Aa fire festival is one celebration of that distinctness. For example, you will rarely find Scottish tartan but frequently find Fair Isle knitting there. Those Isles also have a dialect of Scots with a Norse vocabulary and pronunciation. Norse law was followed in Shetland until the early 17th century.
Identifying other cultural contributions from the Norse is more challenging. The Norse had a rich tradition of singing, storytelling, laws, art, and architecture, which certainly influenced Scottish culture. Outside Shetland, much of this cultural heritage became mixed with local Scottish traditions. For instance, the caber toss may have Norse origins. Scots Gaelic and Scots likely contain hundreds of loanwords from Old Norse. There are countless Norse place names and other words as well. For example, "bairn" comes from the Old Norse "barn," meaning "a child, a son, or daughter." "Firth" is derived from the Old Norse word "fjǫrðr," meaning "a sea inlet."
Scotland has been a mix of cultural influences for a thousand years and which influences to credit can be hard to know. From the Irish migration, the English, the Norse, and the Normans, to incomers from all over the world today, Scotland is a healthy hotchpotch with local variations.
Now, let's meet the author:
When JR isn’t writing, she enjoys spending time hiking, playing with her Westie, and killing monsters in computer games. In addition to having lived in Scotland, she has traveled in the US, Europe and the Pacific Rim. She now lives in Oregon in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
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Hi Clemency, Thanks for letting me talk a bit about the Norse influence in Scotland which of course was an important element in my new novel. All the best, JR
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for hosting J R Tomlin today, with her thrilling new adventure, On a Sword's Edge.
ReplyDeleteTake care,
Cathie xx
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